DECHAMPS, ETIENNE. – Jesuit controversialist, also known by the name of Agar de Champ, born in Bourges on 2 September 1613, died in Paris on 31 July 1701. Professor of philosophy and theology, rector of several colleges, provincial three times, and confessor to the Prince of Condé, he distinguished himself in the struggle against Jansenism, displaying particular acumen and lively readiness in replies and counter-replies.
His best work remains: De haeresi Ianseniana (Paris 1654), in which he justifies the condemnation of Jansenism. Earlier, he had defended human freedom against it in a Disputatio theologica de libero arbitrio (there 1645). It is also worth citing: Quesstio facti (there 1659) concerning probabilism, against Pascal’s Provinciali.