Saint Patrick, Pelagius and sin

Two Celtic Christians have a mission in the Church of God at the turn of the fourth/fifth century Anno Domini.

Austere monk Pelagius travels apparently from the British Isles to Rome where he is shocked by the moral liberties and life of supposedly Christians. The reason to the lax behaviour is, according to what we know about Pelagius' theology, in the wrong preaching of God's grace.

Augustine's pious "demand what you want, God, and give me what you demand" seems to Pelagius to be the root of the evil that has crept into the Christian church. He is much more optimistic than Augustine about the ability of children of Adam and Eve to live according to God's will. The citizens of Rome, including Augustine himself, could not find a fault in his holy ways of life.

It has been suggested that Celtic Christianity carries some of the mental framework of British Isles with him, the religious attitudes of druids who saw men victorious in the fight with the powers of darkness, able to control such powers for evil and good. Man could even destroy the beasts of the dark in mighty battle. If so, Pelagius could be seen as representing optimistic, humanistic Christianity and indeed the Roman Catholic Church has adopted a half-Pelagian doctrine in which man is not doomed to failure but God's grace and man together work together for the eternal salvation of the baptised.

The other man with mission is Saint Patrick who is called to preach and baptise the inhabitants of Ireland. We only have two authentic documents written by him - in contrast to the numerous volumes by Saint Augustine and also Church fathers writings about Pelagius and his own surviving texts.

The Confession contains some reflection on some sin of the youth Saint Patrick remembers. The text is not long and perhaps not too much should be read into it. But the general impression we get from the Confessio is really very far from the memories and experiences of Saint Augustine he describes in his Confessions.

Could it be that both Saint Patrick and Pelagius indeed represent a somewhat more optimistic and positive view of human ability to fulfil the commandments of God than Saint Augustine? Can this be explained at least partly on the basis of their joint background in the early Christianity of British Isles?

By no means I suggest that Saint Patrick is "pelagian" or "augustinian". The comparison is more about the general cultural and spiritual framework from which the two men with mission, Saint Patrick and Pelagius, came.