25.—The Pelagians Falsely Pretended that the Eastern Churches Were on Their Side.

Now, by reason of these questions, and the very contentious assertions of these tenets, which are everywhere accompanied with heated feelings, many weak brethren were disturbed. We have accordingly, in the anxiety of that love which it becomes us to feel towards the Church of Christ through His grace, and out of regard to Marcellinus of blessed memory (who was extremely vexed day by day by these disputers, and who asked my advice by letter), been obliged to write on some of these questions, and especially on the baptism of infants. On this same subject also I afterwards, at your request, and assisted by your prayers, delivered an earnest address, to the best of my ability, in the church of the Majores,71    “In the Basilica Majorum.” According to another reading, “the church of Majorinus.” holding in my hands an epistle of the most glorious martyr Cyprian, and reading therefrom and applying his words on the very matter, in order to remove this dangerous error out of the hearts of sundry persons, who had been persuaded to take up with the opinions which, as we see, were condemned in these proceedings. These opinions it has been attempted by their promoters to force upon the minds of some of the brethren, by threatening, as if from the Eastern Churches, that unless they adopted the said opinions, they would be formally condemned by those Churches. Observe, however, that no less than fourteen bishops of the Eastern Church,72    Augustin mentions their names in his work Contra Julianum, Book i. ch. v. (19). assembled in synod in the land where the Lord manifested His presence in the days of His flesh, refused to acquit Pelagius unless he condemned these opinions as opposed to the Catholic faith. Since, therefore, he was then acquitted because he anathematized such views, it follows beyond a doubt that the said opinions were condemned. This, indeed, will appear more clearly still, and on still stronger evidence, in the sequel.

25. His autem quaestionibus, et istarum sententiarum contentiosissimis assertionibus jam usquequaque ferventibus, multorum fratrum perturbabatur infirmitas. Unde coacti sumus sollicitudine charitatis, quam erga Ecclesiam Christi per gratiam Christi nos habere convenit, etiam ad beatae memoriae Marcellinum, qui eos quotidie disputatores molestissimos patiebatur, et me per litteras consulebat, de quibusdam istarum quaestionibus scribere, et maxime de Baptismo parvulorum: de quo etiam postea, te jubente, in basilica Majorum , gestans quoque in manibus epistolam gloriosissimi martyris Cypriani, et de hac re verba ejus recitans atque pertractans, ut error iste nefarius de quorumdam cordibus auferretur, quibus persuasa fuerant quae in his gestis videmus damnata, adjutus orationibus tuis, quantum potui, laboravi. Haec sunt, quae nonnullis fratribus, quidam talia sentientes, ita persuadere conabantur, ut de orientalibus comminarentur Ecclesiis, quod nisi haec tenerent, earum possent judicio condemnari. Ecce quatuordecim antistites orientalis Ecclesiae , in ea terra cui Dominus praesentiam suae carnis exhibuit, Pelagium non absolverent, nisi ea tanquam fidei catholicae adversa damnaret. Unde, si propterea est iste absolutus, quod anathematizaverit talia; procul dubio illa damnata sunt: quod multo cumulatius atque clarius in consequentibus apparebit.