Letter 4

From: Lucidus (presbyter) To: Faustus, Bishop of Riez Date: ~474 AD Context: Lucidus recants his predestinarian views following pressure from Faustus and the Council of Arles — a remarkable document of formal theological retraction. Lucidus, a sinner, to the holy Bishop Faustus. I have received your letter, I have heard the judgment of the council, and I have prayed. After genuine reflection, I believe that the positions I have been defending are in error, and I recant them. I was wrong to say that the human will has no genuine role in salvation. I was wrong to say that Christ died only for the elect and not for all humanity. I was wrong to say that God predestines some to damnation. These claims, taken together, do make God the author of evil, and I understand now why the tradition has rejected them. What I was trying to say — and what I still believe, properly stated — is that human salvation depends entirely on God's grace and not on any merit of our own. Grace is prior; human response is response, not initiative. But this does not mean the response is unreal. It means that even the response is itself enabled by grace. I am grateful for your correction. It is a painful thing to be publicly wrong about something one has argued for publicly. But it is better to be corrected now than to continue in error. I ask your prayers and your continued patience with me. Your servant, Lucidus