Select Language

简体中文 正體中文 English
History of Theology · Monk

Vincent of Lerins

fl. 434
勒林斯的文森特

V
Before Chalcedon Lérins, Gaul Also: Vincent of Lerins
Together with Cassian and Faustus he formed the iron triangle opposed to monergism. ⭐ González rates him very highly: no other writer, he says, has set out so clearly the arguments for the legitimate authority that upholds the church's doctrine — he is the classic voice of the argument for tradition as authority, and an important node later on thread 6 (Scripture and Tradition). ⚠ A curious fact: his work, González notes, was almost unknown in the Middle Ages; González guesses this may be because medieval readers caught its anti-Augustinian tone.
Below: first his own position, then the church’s verdict — kept separate. A rejected opinion keeps equal weight here.
His own position
⭐ His method differed from Cassian's, and González judges it more profound: he did not attack Augustine directly, but in the Commonitory defended traditional doctrine against unnamed novelties — which plainly meant Augustine and his disciples. He states his aim himself: “to record with the fidelity of a narrator rather than the presumption of an author, the things which our forefathers have handed down to us and committed to our keeping”.
The church’s verdict
Later counted among the Semi-Pelagians — ⚠ but González points out that this label is not entirely justified, and that these men were really Semi-Augustinians: they rejected Pelagius's teaching and admired and respected Augustine, only they would not follow him in his extreme positions.
Principal works
  • Commonitory (Commonitorium)
    The classic statement of the argument for tradition as authority

Threads he belongs to

Grace and Free Will Round 1 · The Pelagian Controversy Counterclaim

He opposed Augustine without naming him — using the argument of tradition as authority, which is also the seed of thread 6.