Commonitorium De Coelestio Imperatori Oblatum

Marius Mercator's Memorandum concerning Coelestius, Presented to the Emperor, The title of which in the ancient copies is: A copy of the Memorandum which was given by Mercator in the Greek language concerning the name of Coelestius, not only to the Church of Constantinople, but also to very many most religious men; also presented to the most pious prince Theodosius, ever Augustus; the same translated from Greek into Latin by the same Marius Mercator, servant of Christ, in the consulship of Florentius and Dionysius, most illustrious men; through which Memorandum, after the most ruinous error was recognized, by imperial decree both Julian, the defender and follower of him, together with his other associates and participants, and later the same Coelestius, were thrust out of the city of Constantinople, and were afterwards condemned in the present by the sentence of two hundred and seventy-five bishops in the Synod of Ephesus. CHAPTER ONE. Concerning the case of Coelestius: how it was conducted at Carthage, Constantinople, and Rome.

Coelestius, a certain eunuch born from his mother's womb, a disciple and hearer of Pelagius, came forth from the city of Rome about twenty years more or less ago to Carthage in Africa, the metropolis of the whole province. There he was accused before Aurelius, bishop of the said city, concerning the chapters written below, by means of a libellus from a certain Paulinus, a deacon of blessed memory Ambrose, bishop of Milan, as the record of the proceedings has it, in which the same libellus is inserted (of which proceedings we have copies in our hands), on the ground that he not only taught this himself, but also sent throughout the provinces various persons conspiring with him, who would disseminate these things among the peoples, that is: That Adam was made mortal, and that whether he sinned or did not sin, he would have died. That the sin of Adam injured him alone, and not the human race. That infants who are born are in the same state in which Adam was before the transgression.

Since neither through the death or transgression of Adam does the whole human race die, nor through the resurrection of Christ does the whole human race rise again. Since the Law sends to the kingdom of heaven in the same way as the Gospel. Since even before the coming of the Lord there were men impeccable, that is, without sin. Concerning all which chapters, as is evident from the above-written copies of the synodal acts, the Fathers and bishops of that region opposed Coelestius, and ordered that he condemn the same, because they were heretical opinions. But Coelestius in no way acquiesced, but rather resisted those same acts, by which he was frequently heard. He was deprived of ecclesiastical communion. From which sentence he believed he should appeal to the examination of the Roman bishop of Asia; but soon, that appeal being neglected, he hastened to Ephesus, a city of Asia, and there dared by surreptitious means to seek a place from the presbytery.

Then, after some years, under Bishop Atticus of blessed memory, he sought the city of Constantinople, where, having been detected in similar errors, he was expelled from the aforementioned venerable city through the great zeal of that holy man, with letters concerning his name sent to the bishops of Asia, Thessalonica, and Carthage, copies of which we have and are prepared to produce. Nevertheless, the aforementioned Coelestius, even after being expelled from there, proceeded with all haste to the city of Rome under Bishop Zosimus of blessed memory; where, in the acts (copies of which we possess), when interrogated, being somewhat intimidated by that judge, through his frequent responses and statements he sowed hope beforehand, promising to condemn those chapters of which he had been accused at Carthage. For this was more insistently demanded [Bal. adds: and he was more vehemently expected to do so], and on this account he was deemed worthy of some humanity from that holy priest; and thus he obtained a certain letter full of kindness to the African bishops, which letter he has abused, or still abuses, to deceive many who are ignorant.

The bishops from Africa, writing back to the truth, and setting forth the entire case which had been conducted among them, also sending the acts which had then been drawn up with him or concerning him, he was summoned to a fuller hearing, so that he might hasten to fulfill what he had promised, that is, that after the condemnation of the aforesaid chapters, he might be absolved from the sentence of the African pontiffs by which he had been deprived of communion. Not only did he not appear, but he even fled from the aforementioned city of Rome, and for this reason he was condemned in writing, very fully and at great length, by the aforementioned Zosimus of blessed memory, in which writings both the chapters themselves of which he had been accused are contained, and the entire case, both concerning the aforementioned Coelestius and concerning his master Pelagius, seems to be narrated; of which writings we also have copies here, and we suggest that similar and identical writings were transmitted to the Eastern Churches, the diocese of Egypt, and to Constantinople, and Thessalonica, and Jerusalem, to the bishops.

CHAPTER II. Concerning the doctrine of Pelagius, of what sort it is known from his own writings. But so that Pelagius might be condemned together with him [Bal. that man] as well, this is the reason. The aforementioned man dared, before the devastation of the city of Rome, to compose commentaries on the Apostle Paul, and to publish these, relying on the friendship of those for whom he presumed; he thought, however, to explain each individual word or sense of the Apostle. Therefore, in the Epistle which is to the Romans, when he had come to those places where the vessel of election speaks thus: "Therefore, just as through one man sin entered into this world, and through sin death, and thus it passed through to all men" (Rom. 5:12), he believed it was to be expounded up to that point. We have that book of his, and we produce it to convict the error of his enemy. Thus the same man says: "Through one man sin entered into the world, and through sin death: He used, he says, an example or image, because just as when there was no sin, it crept in through Adam; so also when righteousness had remained with no one, life was restored through Christ.

«And death passed through to all men: Since, he says, those who sin similarly also die, for death did not pass through to Abraham, or Isaac, or Jacob, of whom the Lord says: These all live (Luke 20:38). But here, he says, he speaks of all as dead, because the multitude of sinners does not exclude the few just, just as there he says: There is no one who does good, not even one (Psalm 52:2,4). And again he says this: Every man is a liar (Psalm 115:11), or certainly it passed through to all, he says, who lived by human custom, not by heavenly custom.» And after a little: «But death reigned from Adam until Moses, even over those who did not transgress in the likeness of Adam’s transgression (Romans 5:14): Whether, he says, when there was no one to distinguish between the just and the unjust, death thought it ruled over all, or over those who transgressed the commandment like Adam, that is, among the sons of Noah, to whom it was commanded not to eat blood with the soul, and among the sons of Abraham, to whom circumcision was commanded; but also, he says, over those who, beyond the commandment, had despised the natural law.»

«Who is the form of the future» (Ibid.): Because, he says, just as Adam was formed by God without coitus, so Christ proceeded from the Virgin, the Holy Spirit fashioning him; or, as some say, a form by contrast, that is, just as that one is the head of sin, so also this one is the head of righteousness. «But not as the offense, so also the gift» (Ibid. 15): Lest, he says, equality be thought in the form. «For if many died in the transgression of one, much more did the gift and grace of God through one man Christ abound to many» (Ibid.). The Apostle says that grace was more powerful in giving life than sin in killing: because Adam killed not only himself but also his descendants; Christ, however, freed both those who were then in the body and those who were to come afterward. Here the attentive Catholic reader should note what he says: «Adam harmed not only himself but also his descendants.» Hold fast to his earlier definition: for here he says «descendants» not all men everywhere and entirely harmed by that sin, but only those who through imitation are similarly guilty of transgression by their own sins and deeds, just as Adam; who without doubt are found to be his own great-grandsons and descendants.

«But those,» he says, «who hold against the transmission of sin, and sharply try to attack those who defend the transmission, say: If the sin of Adam harmed even those who do not sin, then the justice of Christ also benefits those who do not believe; since the Apostle says similarly, indeed more strongly, that through one man we are freed than that through one man we had previously perished. Then they say: If baptism cleanses that ancient and long-standing sin, those born from two baptized parents ought to be free of this sin; for they will not be able to transmit to their descendants what they themselves did not have. To this they add: Since the soul is not from the transmission, just as it is not, but only the flesh has the transmission of sin, only the flesh deserves the penalty; for it is unjust that a soul born today, not from the mass of Adam, should bear such an ancient sin that is alien to it; indeed, it is reasonable that God, who forgives one's own sins, should not impute another's sin.»

And again in another sermon of his, the same Pelagius says: «If a sinner,» he says, «begot a sinner, so that the original sin of his infant is absolved in the reception of baptism, then a just man ought to beget a just man. If parents,» he says, «after conversion, their own sins do not harm them, much less will they be able to harm their children through them. If the first man happened to be the cause of death, then by the coming of Christ it ought no longer to be necessary to die. If death arose through the sin of Adam, we would never die after the remission of sins, which he granted to us when freed. Therefore the sin of Adam availed more by killing absolutely all men than the grace of Christ in saving, which benefited not all, but only believers: for not all who are born from Adam are also reborn in Christ.» And the rest. CHAPTER III. On the condemnation of Pelagius and Coelestius, and especially of Pelagius, both by the Roman pontiffs Innocent and Zosimus, and by the Fathers of Diospolis and Theodotus, bishop of Antioch.

All these above-written chapters, as has already been said above, are contained in that letter of blessed memory Bishop Zosimus, which is called the Tractoria, by which Coelestius and Pelagius were condemned; which letter was sent to Constantinople and throughout the whole world, and was confirmed by the subscriptions of the holy Fathers; to which Julian and the remaining accomplices, refusing to subscribe and unwilling to make themselves in agreement with those same Fathers, were not only by imperial laws but also by priestly statutes deposed and stripped of their office, and driven out from all Italy: from among whom very many, coming to their senses and corrected from the aforesaid error, returned as suppliants to the apostolic see, and were received and recovered their Churches. The aforesaid Coelestius and Pelagius, indeed, do not seem to have been condemned then for the first time by Zosimus of holy memory, but by his predecessor Innocent of holy recollection, by whom also Julian had been ordained, who after their condemnation, and up to the passing from life of the aforesaid Bishop Innocent, remaining in his communion, and persevering in sincere opinion, and communicating with the condemner of the aforesaid, he himself also without doubt condemned Pelagius and Coelestius, and what he now desires, or about what he complains, we do not know.

However, the reason they were condemned by Innocent of blessed memory was as follows. After the sack of the city of Rome, Pelagius was living in Palestine. Some zealous bishops discovered his books, in which many and various things appeared to be written against the Catholic faith. These were sent with letters to the Fathers and bishops in Africa, where they were read in three assembled councils. Then, after reports were sent to Rome, along with the books themselves, the apostolic sentence was issued in reply to the aforementioned councils, which deprived those same individuals, Coelestius and Pelagius, of ecclesiastical communion; we have copies of these writings in our hands. Furthermore, while still in Jerusalem, Pelagius was accused before a synod, and at first, by prevaricating, covering himself with certain ambiguous professions, and pursuing evasions or giving responses, he seems at that time to have deceived the hearing of the bishops.

But afterwards he was clearly caught, with his accusers pressing, and was exposed by the later synod over which Theodotus of blessed memory, bishop of Antioch, presided, and was also cast out by the holy and venerable bishops of Jerusalem. The writings of the same holy Theodotus to the most reverend bishop of the city of Rome, and of Praylius of blessed memory, bishop of Jerusalem, bear witness to this, copies of which we hold in our hands as evidence. CHAPTER IV. On the shared opinion of both heretics and their condemnation. In the very accusation of the chapters that were then brought against Pelagius, this also was included, among other abominable things, which his disciple Coelestius held: that is, "Infants, even if they are not baptized, have eternal life." Also that chapter set forth above, which we recalled was held by Coelestius and was consistent with the teaching of his master, namely, "The Law sends to the kingdom of heaven in the same way as the Gospel," Pelagius openly confirms and declares in certain of his writings.

Finally, there is his little book, which we have in our hands, addressed to a certain widow named Livaniam, containing an exhortatory discourse, in which it is stated: "It is fitting," he says, "for a handmaid of Christ to follow simplicity: not that which is more foolishness than simplicity, but that about which Scripture says: 'Blessed is the soul that is simple' (Proverbs 11:27, according to the Septuagint); and elsewhere Scripture says: 'Cursed is every man who does not abide by all that is written in the book of the law, so as to do them' (Deuteronomy 27:26). Hence," he says, "it is shown that true simplicity is not that which despises God's commandments with senseless security, but that which guards the precepts of the law with wise fear; for since it is said that he who does not abide by what is written is cursed, by contrast it is implied that he who has not kept all the precepts is not blessed. And if every simple person is blessed, then that person is simple who fulfills all the precepts of the law.

He asserts that this point, which has already been stated so many times above—"He sends the books of Moses to the kingdom of heaven just as the Gospel"—no Catholic who has read this chapter doubts, nor can he sustain any difficulty in understanding it. And because in that same most impious chapter he indiscreetly named "the law," if he meant the Mosaic law, whose testimony he placed under a curse, he openly attempts to draw us into Judaism; but if, to conceal himself through deceit, he claimed to have named the Gospel by the name of "law," in that he calls the law the Gospel, he does not err. But he is impious in that he does not shrink from placing us, who are under the Gospel, under a similar and equal curse, equating the grace of the Gospel with the law of circumcision and all Judaism; whence also his disciple Coelestinus openly dared to pronounce: "He sends the law to the kingdoms of heaven just as the Gospel.

It is manifest, according to Pelagius, that if we are still under the same or a similar bond even in the time of the Gospel; and if, as men, we have erred in anything, or have not fulfilled one of the precepts of the Gospel, we are accursed. If this is so—which God forbid, yet as he wishes it to be said—the Gospel has been made equal to the Old Law; and where then will be the saying of the Apostle Paul: "Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law, having become a curse for us," because it is written (Deut. xxvii): "Cursed is every man who does not abide in all that is written in the book of the law, to do them" (Gal. iii, 10)? Moreover, descending further, he pursues this same sense more broadly in the same sermon of this little book, and commends it more widely. For after many things there he says: "To hate, to curse, and to envy, to lie, to detract, and to believe those who detract, is thought to be a light or no sin; but those who think this have forgotten that we read that even those guilty of a light precept are to be consigned to gehenna. For it is manifest, he says, that the Lord said: 'Whoever says to his brother, "Fool" or "Raca," shall be liable to gehenna.'

CHAPTER V. Julian is confronted and invited to come to his senses by the example of his associates. Therefore, let Julian and his other partisans condemn, even now, Pelagius and Coelestius, caught as they are in such impious errors, to the satisfaction of the Church; and if they trust that any are not thinking rightly against the catholic faith, let them not hesitate to designate them by name, and they shall receive from us, according to our ability, a response in ecclesiastical order, or certainly from him whom they claim is deviating from catholic sense. For, as we have stated above, many who had followed Coelestius and Pelagius along with him, and had also become partakers and associates of Julian, having abandoned him and condemned Pelagius, submitting themselves to the apostolic see and professing repentance for what they had wrongly thought, have been deemed worthy of mercy by the holy Fathers and have been received. A WARNING IN THE FOLLOWING BOOK OF MARIUS MERCATOR'S SUB-ANNOTATIONS.

This work has been divided by Mercator into two parts. One part has received the name of a Commonitory to the reader, because it serves as a preface; the other, of Subnotations to the words of Julian, which is the work itself. Both contain many clearly outstanding things; but the first especially those things that pertain to history; the second, those that pertain to doctrines, although this latter also reveals about Julian certain things unknown up to this very day. One question is here proposed for treatment on its own, concerning the mortality of Adam through sin; others are touched upon as appendages, concerning original sin, concerning the baptism and redemption of infants, etc. Whence Mercator (in the Commonitory or Prologue, which is part one of this book): "The whole sum of the foolish and more impious labor of Julian seems to be reduced to one depraved opinion, namely, that the transgression of Adam and Eve did not make them mortal." And afterwards (at the end of the book of Subnotations): "You know that in this question which is being debated between us, concerning mortality, namely of the human race, which through the first transgressors of the divine command ran generally through the seeds, and runs, and will run until the end, your entire case is constructed.

Concerning the time, I think something can be gathered here with probability. Mercator wrote after the death of Theodorus of Mopsuestia, as is evident from these words (at the beginning of the Prologue or Commonitory): "From Theodorus, once bishop of the town of Mopsuestia"; indeed, after the death of St. Augustine: "Augustinus, bishop of holy memory, at various times," etc.; and also after the publication of his own response to the final work of Julian. For thus Mercator (Ibid., near the end): "St. Augustine, in his six books, overturned the four earlier ones of that man, and also the eight later ones, with his individual responses appended to individual chapters: which work of both, when it had come into our hands," etc. Since, therefore, Theodorus departed from life in the year 427, Augustine in the year (Theodoretus at the end of the Ecclesiastical History), and the Unfinished Work could scarcely have reached Mercator, who was situated in the East, before Bassula the deacon arrived at Ephesus, who, as is credible, brought this work together with the letters of Capreolus, bishop of Carthage, as a sacred testament of the most holy man in defense of dying grace; it does not seem far from the truth that the Subnotations were made by Mercator toward the end of the year.

431, the year the Synod of Ephesus was held, but collected into a single book at the urging of Pientius in the following year; for what undoubtedly happened to Mercator is what usually happens to the curious: he eagerly read the long-awaited work as soon as he received it; having read it, he annotated it, and in his own time gathered the annotations into one. It is in the reader's interest to have noted three things here. First, that we have indeed divided the Subnotationes into eight chapters, but in this we have followed Mercator, who set himself the same number of excerpts from Julian's books to examine; we have distinguished the individual chapters and the Commonitory itself with various numbers, so that if we ever need to cite something, it may be found all the more easily, the more numerous the indicators by which it has been designated. Second, that although Mercator did not append Augustine's response to each of Julian's excerpts, we have nevertheless subjoined it, so that the responses of each doctor, set side by side, may shed mutual light upon each other. Lastly, that nowhere, either in Mercator or in other authors of the same field, are more arcane matters in themselves, which pertain to the history of the Coelestian heresy, contained, so that one might rightly call this little work for that reason: The Mystery of the Coelestian Heresy Revealed.