Heresy Condemnation · 418
Pelagius condemned at Carthage
354–420
Pelagius was condemned because his moral seriousness seemed to make grace secondary. The African bishops, with Augustine's theology behind them, insisted that grace is needed not only to do the good but even to begin desiring it rightly. The dispute was about more than human effort; it asked whether salvation starts with God's mercy or with the unaided will. Carthage answered in Augustine's direction.
How it happened
What happened
African bishops condemned Pelagian teaching in the wake of Augustine's long anti-Pelagian campaign.
The argument
Can human beings begin choosing God without grace, or is grace needed even for the first movement of faith?
What changed
The council made anti-Pelagian grace doctrine a formal Western boundary.
Why it matters
It shaped later debates about sin, freedom, baptism, merit, and salvation.
Book of the day
Enchiridion
Augustine of HippoA reading pick tied to today's figure, quote, era, or event. A compact Augustinian map of faith, hope, love, grace, and salvation after the Pelagian fight.
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