Vincent of Lérins
Born into a noble Gallic family, Vincent may have been the brother of St. Lupus of Troyes and may have served in the army before entering the monastery of Lérins. He became a priest and is said to have educated Sts. Salonus and Veranus, the sons of Eucherius of Lyons. Known for his spiritual learning and command of dogma, Vincent wrote the Commonitorium (literally, memorandum), in which he presents the criteria for establishing the correctness of theological opinion---such have been believed everywhere, always, by the community of believers. He also presents the relationship between scripture and the church: scripture is the ground of the Christian faith, and the church's authority interprets the scripture. The work was published c. 434 under the pseudonym Peregrinus, Pilgrim. Vincent considers Augustine an innovator whose thinking is not completely consonant with the criteria for orthodoxy, and as a result of his attacks on the teachings of the saint, especially those about predestination, St. Prosper of Aquitaine attacked Vincent, who died c. 450, as a semi-Pelagian.
Karen Rae Keck
including the header and this copyright remain intact.