A member of the Sorbonne, the theological faculty of the University of Paris. Brother to Jacqueline Arnauld, abbess of a Cistercian convent called Port-Royal outside of Paris. After Cornelius Jansen's death in 1638, he assumed the leadership of the Jansenist cause. In 1643, he challenged the Jesuits and their teaching that frequent confession could compensate for frequent sinning. Was nearly expelled from the Sorbonne for his controversy. Befriended Blaise Pascal, who helped him defend his position.
[tags]Antonine-Arnauld-II, Blaise-Pascal, BlogRodent, church-history, ChurchRodent, Cornelius, history, Jesuits[/tags]
A presbyter of Rome who responded to Novatian, another presbyter, holding that the bishop could forgive even grave sins. His view was popular enough to get him elected bishop of Rome by a majority.
[tags]BlogRodent, church-history, ChurchRodent, Cornelius, history, Novatian[/tags]
The most aggressive opposition to the "cheap grace" of the French Jesuits came from a movement called Jansenism. Cornelius Jansen (1585-1638) was a Dutchman who had adopted St. Augustine's views of sin and grace at the University of Louvain. He came to believe that the best way to defend Catholicism against the Calvinist challenge was to return to the doctrines of the great North African Father Augustine and establish a rigorous moral code for the Catholic clergy to combat the easy-going ethics of the Jesuits. The Jesuits called it Calvinism in Catholic garb.
[tags]Augustine, BlogRodent, church-history, ChurchRodent, Cornelius, history, Jansenism, Jesuits[/tags]
A presbyter and highly respected theologian, Novatian argued that the church had no power to grant forgiveness to those guilty of murder, adultery, and apostasy. It could only intercede for God's mercy at the Last Judgment. Novatian found resistance in the person of Cornelius, another presbyter, who held that the bishop could forgive even grave sins. The church was split over the matter. Cornelius was eventually elected bishop of Rome. The Novatianists organized their own network of churches.
[tags]BlogRodent, church-history, ChurchRodent, Cornelius, history, Novatian, Novationists[/tags]
