The Life of Augustine of Hippo
Part Three: The Pelagian Crisis (411–430)
Edited By Frederick Van Fleteren
Article 259: Council of Diospolis
Extract
ARTICLE 259
Council of Diospolis
The precise reason for the presence of Heros and Lazarus in Palestine in 415 is unknown. Discharged of the burden of the episcopacy they may have gone in search of quiet and edification in the holy land. They had risen up strongly against Pelagius. According to Augustine, they were offended by his corrupt teaching.1 Caelestius claimed before Pope Zosimus he had seen Lazarus in passing once.2 According to Caelestius, Heros had excused himself from this meeting since, before Heros had met him, he had bad opinions of Caelestius’ teaching. However they had parted friends.
Heros and Lazarus certainly wrote a memorandum in Latin concerning the errors of which they maintained Pelagius was guilty.3 This memorandum was taken partially from the works of Pelagius and partially from the works of Caelestius. These prelates realized these passages constituted an abridgement of extracts and they had not been able to cite complete passages. To this memorandum the articles for which Caelestius been condemned by the Council of Carthage (411) and what Hilary had sent Augustine from Sicily were joined.4 These two bishops presented themselves to Bishop Eulogius. Augustine places him as the first of fourteen bishops at the Council of Diospolis, even before John of Jerusalem.5 This placement causes Baronius and others to judge that Eulogius was archbishop of Caesarea and metropolitan of Palestine.6 John Chrysostom had initially praised him but later abandoned defense of his cause.
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