Letter 215. To Valentin and the Adrumetian monks [who labor] with him

The teaching on the role of Divine grace, set forth by Bl. Aurelius Augustine in a letter to the Roman presbyter Sixtus (Letter 194), caused controversy among the monastic community. This theory called into question the monastic desire to grow in perfection and to achieve unity with God. The abbot of the monastery of Adrumeta, Valentin, sent his monks to the city of Hippo to receive from the blessed. Augustine provides necessary explanations regarding monastic life. Letter 215 (8 chapters) is the second that the Bishop of Hippo sends to Valentine. Blzh. Augustine warns of the danger of the emergence of the heresy of the “new Pelagians,” who believed that grace was a reward for merit. He also points out the erroneous opinion that the Last Judgment is not carried out in accordance with deeds. The author of the letter defends the necessity and priority of grace, the freedom of human will and the Divine Judgment, which is fair. Blzh. Augustine not only explained to the monks his position in the Pelagian dispute, but also sent to the monastery, along with a letter, his treatise “On Grace and Free Decision,” specially written in response to the situation that had developed in Adrumet. Letter two Contents The reason for the delay of the monks. Various errors on the issue of grace and Judgment Augustine sends the monks the book “On Grace and Free Decision” and other writings against the Pelagians The book of Blessed Cyprian On the Lord’s Prayer also puts the Pelagian to shame What does the right faith teach on the issue of free decision Evidence from the book of Proverbs of Solomon God does good deeds, man himself does evil God gives us to do good deeds, therefore we must attribute them to Him and not to yourself. One should not deviate either to the right or to the left. The reason for the monks' delay. Various Misconceptions on the Question of Grace and Judgment 1. Let Your Love know that the servants of God Cresconius, Felix and the other Felix, who came to us from your community, spent Easter with us. For this reason, we kept them a little longer, so that they would return to you, having received more instructions against the new heretics - the Pelagians, into whose delusion [everyone] falls into thinking that the grace of God, which alone frees man through our Lord Jesus Christ, is given according to some human merit. However, the one who, on the contrary, believes, when it comes to the Lord’s Judgment, is equally in error that a person (one who, due to his age, can already use the free decision of his will) is not judged according to his deeds. For only those infants who were not helped by the grace of the Savior through the washing of regeneration 1, not having their own good or evil deeds, are condemned for original sin alone. And all others, already using free decision, add their own sins to original sin, unless they are delivered from the power of darkness by the grace of God and transferred to the Kingdom of Christ 2. [So, sinners] receive condemnation not only for original [guilt], but also for the [evil] merits of their own will. And the good ones acquire a reward in accordance with the merits of their good will, but they acquired this good will itself by God’s grace, and thus what is written is fulfilled: Fury and anger, sorrow and distress to every soul of a person who does evil, first the Jew, then the Greek. On the contrary, glory and honor and peace to everyone who does good, first to the Jew, then to the Greek 3. Augustine sends the monks the book “On Grace and Free Decision” and other writings against the Pelagians 2. But about this most complex question - that is, about will and grace, I do not need to discuss any longer in this letter; after all, I gave them another letter, [written when I thought] that they would return [to you] faster. I also wrote a book for you; and if, with God’s help, you read it carefully and understand it with vividness, then, it seems to me, in the future you will no longer have any disagreements on this issue. They will bring with them other [works] that we considered necessary to send to you; from them you will be able to learn how the Catholic Church, by the mercy of God, neutralized the poison of the Pelagian heresy. [These writings include messages] written to Pope Innocent, bishop of the city of Rome, at the local Council of Carthage 4 and at the Council of Numidia 5 and [another] more detailed [message] of five bishops 6, and what he answered to these three letters 7; also [includes] what was written to Pope Zosima at the African Council 8, and his answer sent to all the bishops of the universe 9; [and also that] we briefly decreed against this heresy at the last full council of all Africa 10; and moreover, my aforementioned book, which I just wrote for you - we personally read all this with them and send it to you through them. The book of Blessed Cyprian On the Lord's Prayer also puts the Pelagians to shame 3. We also read with them the book of the most blessed martyr Cyprian On the Lord's Prayer and showed how he taught that everything related to our morals, everything thanks to which we live faithfully, should be asked from our Heavenly Father, so that we, exalting ourselves with our free decision, do not retreat from Divine grace. Here we also showed how the same most glorious martyr convinced that we must pray for our enemies who have not yet believed in Christ, so that they would believe - this, undoubtedly, would have been done in vain if the Church did not believe that even the evil and unbelieving wills of people can be turned to good by God’s grace. But we are not sending you this book of St. Cyprian, because they said that you have it. We also read with them my letter sent to the presbyter of the Roman Church Sixtus, which they brought to us with them, and showed them that it was written against those who say that the grace of God is given to us according to our merits, that is, against all the same Pelagians. What does the right faith teach about free decision and grace? 4. So, as best we could, we talked with these brothers of yours and ours, [inspiring them] to remain in the intact Catholic faith. And this faith does not deny the free decision [directed] towards a good or evil life, but does not attribute too much to it: as if it is capable of something without the grace of God - whether to turn from evil to good, or to constantly improve in goodness, or to achieve eternal good, when there is no longer any need to be afraid of falling away [from it]. And you too, beloved, I urge in this letter, as the apostle calls us all: not to philosophize more than one ought to philosophize, but to philosophize modestly, for God has assigned to everyone [his] measure of faith 11 . Testimony from the Book of Proverbs of Solomon 5. Look at what the Holy Spirit convinces through Solomon; Thus says He: Make right paths for your feet and straighten your ways; do not turn aside to the right or to the left; remove your foot from the evil way. Because the Lord knows the right ways, and the left ways are perverse. He will make your paths straight and arrange your marches in peace 12. Listening to these words of Holy Scripture, brethren, think about the fact that if there were no free decision, it would not be said: Make right paths for your feet and straighten your ways; do not turn aside to the right or to the left; and yet if this could have happened without God’s grace, then it would not have been said below: He will make your paths straight and arrange your marches in peace. God does good deeds, man himself does evil deeds 6. Therefore, do not turn aside to the right or to the left, although the paths on the right are praiseworthy and the paths on the left are blameworthy. Indeed, for this reason He adds: Remove your foot from the evil path, that is, from the left path; which he clearly shows in the following discussion, saying: For the Lord knows the right ways, and the perverse ways of the left. It is clear that we must walk in those paths that the Lord knows, about which we read in the psalm: The Lord knows the way of the righteous, but the path of the wicked will perish 13 . For the Lord does not know this [way of the wicked], since it is the left one; then it will also be said to those placed on the left side: I do not know you 14. What does this mean when He who undoubtedly knows everything characteristic of people, both good and evil, does not know them? What does it mean: I don’t know you, if not this: “I did not create you so”? In the same way, when it is said about the Lord Jesus Christ Himself that He knew no sin, 15 what do [the words] He did not know, if not that He did not do? And therefore, how should we understand what was said: Because the Lord knows the right ways, if not in the sense that He Himself created the right ways, that is, the ways of the righteous - and these, undoubtedly, are the good works that God prepared, as the apostle says, for us to walk in them 16? But He, of course, does not know the perverse left-hand paths, that is, the paths of the wicked, since He did not create them for man, but man himself for himself; That’s why it says [in the psalm]: I have hated the perverse ways of the evil ones, 17 these are the left ways. God gives us the gift of doing good deeds, so we should attribute them to Him and not to ourselves. 7. But they can answer us: “Why then is it said: Do not deviate either to the right or to the left, although, it seems, it would rather be possible to say: “Keep to the right side and do not deviate to the left,” if the right paths are the good paths? We believe that [it is said this way] precisely because the right paths are good in such a way that to deviate to the right is still something unkind. After all, one should think that he deviates to the right who wants to attribute the very good deeds that belong to the right path to himself and not to God. And therefore, when [the prophet] said: For the Lord knows the right ways, and the perverse ways of the left; They seemed to object to him: “Then why don’t you want us to deviate to the right?” - and he further added: He will make your paths straight and arrange your processions in peace. Therefore, understand in this way what is commanded to you, [namely]: Make right paths for your feet and straighten your ways, so that, having done this, you will know that it was granted to you by the Lord God. By doing this, you will not turn aside to the right, although you will begin to walk in right paths, not relying on your own strength, and your strength will be the One who will make your paths straight and arrange your processions in the world. You should not deviate either to the right or to the left 8. Therefore, beloved, anyone who says, “My will is sufficient for me to do good deeds,” is turning to the right. On the contrary, those who believe that they should leave a good life when they hear the preaching of God's grace, encouraging them to believe and think that this grace itself makes human wills from evil to good and that it itself protects what it has done; [so], those who for this reason say: Let us do evil so that good may come 18 - they turn to the left. That is why it is said to you: Do not deviate either to the right or to the left, that is, do not defend a free decision in such a way as to attribute to it good deeds [performed] without God’s grace; and do not defend grace in such a way that, being confident in it, you will love evil deeds - let the very grace of God turn such things away from you! After all, having offered himself the words of those who think this way, the apostle says: What shall we say? Should we remain in sin so that grace may increase? And to these words of people who are mistaken and do not understand the grace of God, he responds as he should, saying: Let it not be. After all, if we died to sin, how can we live in it? 19 He couldn’t say anything better or shorter. After all, what is more beneficial to us than the grace of God in this evil age than the fact that we die to sin? And therefore, he who wants to live in sin through it turns out to be ungrateful to this very grace, whereas thanks to it he died to sin. May God, who is rich in mercy, 20 grant you to think undamaged and to remain consistent until the end in your good intention. Pray for this continually and vigilantly in the brotherly world and ask for it for yourself, for us, for everyone who loves you, and for those who hate you. Live well in God. If you deign to write something to me, let Brother Flor come to me. This refers to the Council of Carthage in 416 against Pelagius and Celestius.. For the text of the message, see among the letters of Augustine - letter 175 // PL T. 33. Col 758–762; and also in PL T. 33. Col. 1711–1712 (shortened version). – Approx. edit This refers to the council of 416 in Milevia (Numidia) against the Pelagians. For the text of the message, see among Augustine’s letters - letter 176 // PL T. 33. Col. 762–764; and also in PL T. 33. Col. 1712–1713 (shortened version). Note ed. This letter to Pope Innocent was written by five African bishops: Aurelius, Alypius, Augustine, Euodius and Possidius after the two mentioned councils of 416. For the text of the letter, see among Augustine’s letters - letter 177 // PL T. 33. Col. 764–772; and also in PL T. 33. Col. 1713–1714 (shortened version). – Approx. ed. For the text of the messages of Pope Innocent I, see among the letters of Augustine - letters 181–183 // PL T. 33. Col. 780–788; and also in PL T. 33. Col. 1714–1715 (shortened version). For a Russian translation of fragments from the first message, see the collection: Christian Doctrine. Dogmatic texts of the magisterium of the Church of the 3rd-20th centuries. SPb.. 2002. P. 242. – Note. ed. This refers to the Council of Carthage in 417 against Pelagius and Celestius. For the message of the Council Fathers to Pope Zosima, see: PL T. 45. Col. 1723–1724; and also: Prosper of Aquitaine. Contra Collatorem, 15. – Approx. edit For the text of the message of Pope Zosima (417–418), see: PL T. 45. Col. 1725–1726. – Approx. ed. This refers to the XVI Council of Carthage in 418 (the so-called concilium generale, or universale). Canons of the cathedral see: PL T. 45. Col. 1728–1730. For a Russian translation of the eight canons, see the collection: Christian Doctrine. Dogmatic texts of the magisterium of the Church of the 3rd-20th centuries. St. Petersburg, 2002. P. 170, 331–333. – Approx. edit Proverbs 4:26–27 (according to LXX). In the Synod, trans.: Consider the path for your feet, and let all your ways be sure. Do not turn aside to the right or to the left; remove your foot from evil, [for the Lord watches over the right ways, but the left ones are corrupt]. Matthew 25:12; 7:23; Luke 13:27. Eph 2:10. In Synod, trans.: For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to walk in. Ps 119:104. In the Synod, trans.: I have been admonished by Your commandments; That’s why I hate every path of lies. CPL 262. Translation based on the publication: Patrologiae Cursus Completus Series Latina. Accurante J.-P. Migne. Paris, 1845. T. 33. Col. 971–974. Places with discrepancies were verified with the publication: Corpus Scriptorum Ecclesiasticorum Latinorum. Vindobonae, 1911. Vo1. 57. R. 387–396. You might be interested in: