Celestius

CELESTIUS. – Leading figure of Pelagianism, he was probably a native of Italy. He was practicing law in Rome when, around 405, he met Pelagius and accepted his doctrines. An eloquent speaker, skilled in every dialectical artifice, energetic, bold, and scheming, he took pleasure in accentuating the provocative character of Pelagian doctrines, such as the denial of original sin (it may be said that the Celestian heresy of which St. Augustine’s contemporaries speak consisted precisely in this denial), the relative uselessness of Baptism, and the incompatibility of Grace with human freedom. Foreseeing the sack of Rome by the Visigoths, he went to Syracuse (409) and then to Carthage (410). Hoping to be ordained a priest there, he remained there while Pelagius proceeded to Palestine. His doctrines soon attracted the attention of the deacon Paulinus, formerly secretary to St. Ambrose, who denounced him to Aurelius, bishop of Carthage. The latter had him condemned by the Council convened for that purpose in 411. C. appealed to Rome, but departed for Ephesus. Innocent I confirmed the condemnation (27 January 417), while allowing a possibility of forgiveness in the event of repentance. In the meantime, C. had succeeded in being ordained a priest at Ephesus; but soon, because of his propaganda, he was expelled from there as well, and shortly afterward from Constantinople. He then returned to Rome, where the new pope, Zosimus, seemed inclined to revise the condemnation. C.’s improper and scheming conduct ruined everything. The emperor ordered his expulsion (30 April 418), and Zosimus confirmed the condemnation (cf. Epist. Tractoria of the summer of 418). Protected by devoted friends, the exile was able to evade arrest; indeed, he dared to reappear in Rome in 423 and in Constantinople in 429. From then on, all trace of him is lost. He probably died in 431. Various writings are attributed to him: Three Letters on the Monastic Life; The Book against the Transmission of Original Sin; The Definitions, etc. Of all these works, only fragments remain, collected by J. Garnier in the edition of the works of Marius Mercator (Paris 1673), reprinted in PL 48, 497 ff.