This week in Christian history: Samurai beatified; controversial theologian born

By Michael Gryboski, Mainline Church Editor Sunday, February 06, 2022

Controversial Catholic theologian born – Feb. 6, 1612

This week marks the anniversary of when Antoine Arnauld, a Catholic theologian who belonged to a polarizing movement within Catholicism known as Jansenism, was born.

The son of a lawyer and ordained a Catholic priest, Arnauld wrote essays defending Jansenism in 1641. The movement, among other things, supported a predestination model of salvation rather than free will.

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"[Arnauld] won such fame as a theologian that Pope Innocent XI is said to have considered making him a cardinal," noted Encyclopedia Britannica.

"In 1679, the persecution of Jansenists was renewed and Arnauld sought refuge first in the Netherlands and then in Belgium. He settled permanently in Brussels in 1682, where he was to remain in voluntary exile until his death."