Council · Today in 529
Second Council of Orange
Can a person take the first step toward God by sheer willpower, or does God meet us first with grace? This was the question behind a long Western argument after Augustine. Orange answered that even our first desire to turn to God is enabled by grace. It did not try to settle every later debate about predestination. Its lasting pastoral point is clearer: salvation begins with God's mercy, not with self-improvement.
Faith itself begins as gift.
Highlights
- The idea that people begin salvation unaided was rejected.
- Grace was placed before human initiative.
- Augustine's influence was preserved.
- The council did not settle every question about predestination.
How it happened
What happened
A regional council in Gaul addressed the legacy of Augustine's arguments about grace and free will.
The argument
Does the first step toward faith arise from unaided human initiative, or from prevenient grace?
What changed
Orange affirmed that grace comes first, including the desire to believe.
Why it matters
It gave the West a durable anti-Pelagian account of grace without making all later Augustinian conclusions mandatory.
People in the story
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.
Daily Patristic Wisdom in your inbox
Get one early Church quote each morning, with historical context in plain English. Free. Unsubscribe whenever.