Palladius the Pelagian: Becoming 'St. Patrick'

Irish Clover (by George McFinnigan)

Before there was a Saint Patrick, there was a Saint Palladius. Because both were associated with the Christianization of Ireland, they are sometimes confused with one another– even to the point of being perceived as one and the same.

Wikipedia reports that Palladius is believed to have “flourished” (engaged in peak activities) circa 408 – 431 CE, and to have died circa 457 - 461 CE.  His date of birth remains unknown.  His father was thought to have been Exuperantius of Poitiers, a prefect

of the Gallic provinces (one of four large divisions of the Late Roman Empire) – about whom was written:  “he re-establishes the laws, brings freedom back and suffers not the inhabitants to be their servants’ slaves.”

Palladius was apparently leading a somewhat conventional life (complete with a wife and a daughter) when he “came under the influence of Pelagius in Rome.”  Pelagius was an ascetic’s ascetic who blamed society’s “moral laxity” on Saint Augustine’s “divine grace” teachings.  At the time that Palladius came under his influence, Pelagius was already known for his radical views (which are still being heartily debated); however,

the name “Pelagius” had not yet become as closely associated with the term “heretic” as it later was.

Palladius was so impressed with Pelagius that he parted from his wife, gave his daughter up to a Sicilian convent, and became an ascetic circa 408/409 CE.  He then authored six Pelagian documents, and seems to have become a priest circa 415 CE.  (Whether Palladius was forced to recant the Pelagian teachings before becoming a Catholic priest remains unknown.)

In The Lives of the Saints, Rev. Alban Butler states that Saint Palladius was a Deacon who urged Pope Celestine I to send Bishop Germanus to bring “back the Britons to the Catholic faith.”  Butler also mentions that “St. Palladius had preached in Ireland a little before St. Patrick…”   

Resources

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Palladius

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pelagius

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saint_Patrick

http://www.bartleby.com/210/7/061.html

Copyright March 16, 2012 by Linda Van Slyke   All Rights Reserved