III. THE PELAGIAN CONTROVERSY Much of the most influential part of Saint Augustine’s theology was concerned in combating the Pelagian heresy. Pelagius was a Welshman, whose real name was Morgan, which means “man of the sea,” as “Pelagius” does in Greek. He was a cultivated and agreeable ecclesiastic, less fanatical than many of his contemporaries. He believed in free will, questioned the doctrine of original sin, and thought that, when men act virtuously, it is by virtue of their own moral effort. If they act rightly, and are orthodox, they go to heaven as a reward of their virtues.
