Pelagianism

Pe·la·gi·an·ism  (p-lj--nzm)

n.

The theological doctrine propounded by Pelagius, a British monk, and condemned as heresy by the Roman Catholic Church in a.d. 416. It denied original sin and affirmed the ability of humans to be righteous by the exercise of free will.

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Pe·lagi·an adj. & n.

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Pelagianism

the heretical doctrines of Pelagius, 4th-century British monk, especially a denial of original sin and man’s fallen spiritual nature, and an assertion that man’s goodness was sufficiënt for him to work out his salva-tion without the assistance of the Holy Spirit. Cf. Semi-Pelagianism. — Pelagian, n., adj.

See also: Heresy

Thesaurus

Noun

1.

Pelagianism - the theological doctrine put forward by Pelagius which denied original sin and affirmed the ability of humans to be righteous; condemned as heresy by the Council of Ephesus in 431 heresy, unorthodoxy - a belief that rejects the orthodox tenets of a religion theological doctrine - the doctrine of a religious group