Vigilantius
(fl.
c.
400) the Christian
presbyter
, wrote a work, no longer extant, which opposed a number of common 5th-century practices,
[1]
and which inspired one of the most violent of the polemical treatises of
Jerome
(died 420).
[2]
Vigilantius was born about 370 at Calagurris (current
Saint Martory
) in
Aquitania
,
[2]
where his father kept an
inn
on the great
Roman road
from
Gallia Aquitania
to
Spain
. While still a youth his talent became known to
Sulpicius Severus
(
c.
363
?
c.
425
), who had estates in that neighborhood, and in 395 Sulpicius, who probably
baptized
him, sent him with letters to
Paulinus of Nola
, where he met with a friendly reception.
[3]
Some Protestant historians regard Vigilantius, along with
Jovinian
,
Aerius of Sebaste
and
Helvidius
, as 4th-5th century early
proto-protestants
.
[4]
On his return to Severus in
Gaul
he was
ordained
; and, having soon afterwards inherited means through the death of his father, he set out for
Palestine
, where Saint Jerome received him with great respect at
Bethlehem
.
[3]
The stay of Vigilantius lasted for some time; but, as was almost inevitable, he became involved in the dispute then raging about
Origen of Alexandria
(
c.
184
?
c.
253
), in the course of which Vigilantius accused Jerome of Origenism.
[2]
On his return to the West Vigilantius bore a letter from Jerome to Paulinus, and at various places where he stopped on the way he appears to have expressed himself about Jerome in a manner that - when reported - gave great offence to that
father
, and provoked him to write a reply (
Ep.
61). Vigilantius now settled for some time in Gaul, and is said by one authority (
Gennadius
) to have afterwards held a charge in the
diocese
of
Barcelona
. About 403, some years after his return from the East, Vigilantius wrote his work against some church practices, in which he argued against the veneration of
relics
, as also against the vigils in the
basilicas
of the
martyrs
, then so common, the sending of
alms
to Jerusalem, the rejection of earthly goods and the attribution of special virtue to the unmarried state, especially in the case of the
clergy
. He was especially indignant in the veneration of saints and their relics.
[3]
All knowledge of his work comes from Jerome's treatise
Contra Vigilantium
. In time, the Church accepted Jerome's views as correct, and Vigilantius gradually came to be ranked among heretics, though his influence remained potent for a time in both
France
and Spain, as is shown by the polemical tract of
Faustus of Rhegium
(died c. 490).
[3]
One school of thought attempts to associate Vigilantius with proto-
Waldensians
in the European Alps.
[5]
The doctrines of Vigilantius, at least to the extent that they are understood on the basis of Jerome's letter, feature strongly in the 'Twelve Conclusions' of the English
Lollards
.
[6]
Beliefs
[
edit
]
Vigilantius opposed monastic
ascetism
and superstitions connected with it. Jerome attacked Vigilantius, even calling him a monster; for "believing that the graves of martyrs and saints should not be venerated, opposing virginity and being against fasting for the saints."
[1]
Vigilantius also denied the veneration of saints and relics, which he considered superstition and idolatry. Vigilantius said his adversaries "worshipped bones and ash of dead men" and called them idolaters.
[1]
Vigilantius also attacked
intercession for the dead
as useless.
[1]
References
[
edit
]
- ^
a
b
c
d
"Philip Schaff: History of the Christian Church, Volume III: Nicene and Post-Nicene Christianity. A.D. 311-600 - Christian Classics Ethereal Library"
.
ccel.org
. Retrieved
2022-01-26
.
- ^
a
b
c
The Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church
by F. L. Cross (Editor), E. A. Livingstone (Editor) Oxford University Press, USA; 3 edition p.1697 (March 13, 1997)
- ^
a
b
c
d
One or more of the preceding sentences incorporates text from a publication now in the
public domain
:
Chisholm, Hugh
, ed. (1911). "
Vigilantius
".
Encyclopædia Britannica
. Vol. 28 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 60.
- ^
"Philip Schaff: History of the Christian Church, Volume III: Nicene and Post-Nicene Christianity. A.D. 311-600 - Christian Classics Ethereal Library"
.
ccel.org
. Retrieved
2021-12-21
.
To this class of opponents belong Helvidius, Jovinian, Vigilantius, and Aerius. The first three are known to us through the passionate replies of Jerome, the last through the Panarion of Epiphanius. They figure in Catholic church history among the heretics, while they have received from many Protestant historians a place among the 'witnesses of the truth' and the forerunners of the Reformation.
- ^
"Accounts of the Waldenses".
Sketches of the Waldenses
. Religious Tract Society. 1846. p. 18
. Retrieved
2 March
2022
.
[...] returning to the region of the Alps, he [Vigilantius] found a body of Christians like-minded with himself; with these he gladly united, and laboured.
- ^
Jerome (c. 345 ? 420). Against Vigilantius. Trans. by W.H. Fremantle, G. Lewis and W.G. Martley. Accessed 19 January 2023.
https://www.newadvent.org/fathers/3010.htm
.
External links
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]
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