principal tenets of his party were that Adam would have died whether he had sinned or not; that the rest of mankind receive no disadvantage from Adam's sin; and that new-born infants are in the condition of Adam before the Fall. Also that the disobedience and death of Adam are not necessary causes of death to his descendants, any more than the resurrection of Christ insures a general resurrection of the dead; and that the grace and assistance of God are not necessary for the performance of every moral act; but that human nature possesses in itself the necessary power to fulfil the law, and earn eternal life. These and some other doctrines which may be drawn from them were condemned in many provincial councils of the Church; particularly in that of Diospolis in Palestine in 415, when Pelagius was present, but saved himself from excommunication by retracting his opinions for the time. His disciple Celestius was also condemned in the Council of Carthage.

When this heresy appeared, S. Austin had just brought the Donatist controversy to a successful issue; and he turned the energies of his mind to meet the new danger. He attacked it in his sermons and in his writings, and one treatise on Nature and Grace among others he devoted to the refutation of the novel doctrines. In 418 the Emperor Honorius published an edict against them; and Zozimus, Bishop of Rome, pronounced a public sentence of condemnation, which the bishops of the whole Church approved and signed, except eighteen who were deposed. The progress of the heresy in Britain deserves more particular notice. It is supposed to have been

carried into Britain by Agricola,—a relation of Severianus a Pelagian bishop in Gaul,—who was probably obliged to leave that country when Valentinian III. in 425 published a severe rescript against the defenders of the heresy. Before long the country was filled with it, and at the request of the British Church, two learned defenders of the faith came over from Gaul in 429 to arrest its progress. These were S. Germanus bishop of Auxerre, and Lupus bishop of Troyes. It is doubted whether Germanus was not sent into Britain as the legate of Celestine the Bishop of Rome, or whether the British bishops applied for assistance immediately to their Gallican brethren1. They landed safely after encountering a violent storm; and began without delay to teach the true faith of Christ in every part of the country. A great conference was held at S. Alban's, in which the Pelagians were refuted, and the people testified their joy by loud shouts. Their confidence was further secured by a great victory over the Saxons and Picts, which was gained while Germanus and Lupus were in the camp.

About twenty years afterwards the heresy began to revive, and Germanus returned in the company of Severus bishop of Treves, on the same errand as his former one. They were welcomed with great honour, and finding the people for the most part orthodox, they persuaded them to banish the leaders of the sect out of the country; and thus Britain was once more delivered from it. The champions of the faith confirmed their doctrines by several wonderful miracles.

1 See Collier's summary of the evidence on either side. Eccl. Hist. B. I. p. 44.

They are said to have introduced at that time schools of learning, and the Gallican Liturgy, into Britain. Soon afterwards Germanus died at Ravenna, in old age.

MARCH 2.

S. Chad, Bishop.

673.

S. CHAD, or Ceadda, was one of four brothers, natives of Britain, who all devoted themselves to the service of the altar, and two of whom became bishops. They were educated in the monastery of Lindisfarne on the coast of Northumbria, under the care of Aidan its founder. When King Oswald had obtained the sovereignty of the united provinces of the Northumbrians, the Deiri, and the Berenicians, that holy man was brought by him in 634, from the college of Iona in Scotland, to preach the faith among them. He founded a monastery on the island of Lindisfarne and established his episcopal see there, in preference to the city of York, for the sake of the retirement which the island afforded him. Lindisfarne became famous for the holy ascetics who lived in it during the space of nearly two centuries and a half, before it was destroyed by the Danes. Insomuch that its common name, even at this day, is Holy Island. Aidan went about preaching, and baptizing; and at times the king himself might be seen acting as interpreter between the Christian bishop and the people; for Aidan was a stranger at

first to the dialect of the Northumbrians, and the king had become familiar with the northern language during his residence in Scotland. It is worthy of remark that this holy bishop never conformed to the Catholic rule of calculating the time of Easter. He slept in the Lord in the year 651.

Cedd, the elder brother of S. Chad, was sent by the influence of Oswi king of the Northumbrians to evangelize the East Saxons, about the year 653; and in three years afterwards he was consecrated their bishop by S. Finan the successor of S. Aidan at Lindisfarne, and fixed his see at London. In 660 he founded the monastery of Lestinghen in the province of the Deiri, and died in 664.

Alefrid king of the Deiri, to whom his father Oswi had delegated his authority over that province, sent Wilfrid a priest of great sanctity into France to be consecrated to the see of York by Agilbert bishop of Paris. After this had been done with great ceremony at Compiegne, he delayed his return home for a long time. In this interval Oswi sent Ceadda to Canterbury to receive consecration, from Deusdedit the archbishop, to the church of York. On his arrival at Canterbury he found that the archbishop was dead; and he therefore went into Wessex, to Wina bishop of Winchester, who with two British bishops consecrated him in 666. Neither of these two bishops observed Easter in the regular manner, nor used the tonsure according to the rule of the Latin Church, and hence, as well as for other reasons, a doubt was afterwards thrown upon the canonical regularity of Chad's consecration.

"Chad then being consecrated to the episcopate,"

H

says Venerable Bede, "presently began to devote his whole care to the truth and chastity becoming so high an ecclesiastical office; he gave up himself to humility, continence, and study; and diligently visited the towns and villages and castles, and the country cottages and hamlets in his diocess, preaching the gospel; and going not on horseback, but, like the Apostles, on foot'." The example of those two saints who had gone before him, Aidan his master, and his brother Cedd, he made his model in all things. In the mean time Wilfrid returned from France, bringing with him many admirable customs which he had learnt abroad. And thus the see of York was for a time divided between these holy men, each of them claiming to be the rightful bishop. The dispute was settled in favour of Wilfrid, on the arrival of Theodorus the archbishop of Canterbury. He was a native of Tarsus in Cilicia, and after living for a long time in a monastery in Rome, had been consecrated by Vitalian Bishop of Rome to the see of Canterbury in 668. He was the fifth in descent from S. Austin, who died in 604, not including his predecessor Wigard, who had died before his consecration. When he had given judgment in favour of Wilfrid and had objected to the consecration of his rival, Chad meekly answered, If you adjudge that I have not duly received the episcopate I willingly resign it; for indeed I never deemed myself worthy of it, but from obedience I consented, although so unworthy. Theodorus would not accept his resignation; but completed what he considered was wanting to perfect his consecration, and reserved

1 Eccl. Hist. Lib. III. c. 28.