Jovinian

Jovinian (; died c. 405) was an opponent of Christian asceticism in the 4th century and was condemned as a heretic at synods convened in Rome under Pope Siricius and in Milan by Ambrose in 393 because of his views. Our information about him is derived principally from the work of Jerome in two books, Adversus Jovinianum. Jerome referred to him as the "Epicurus of Christianity". John Henry Newman called Aerius of Sebaste, Jovinian and Vigilantius the forerunners of Protestantism, likening them to the "Luther, Calvin, and Zwingli of the fourth century". Other Protestants also praise Jovinian as an early reformer or even credit him as the "first Protestant". Jovinian's teachings received much popular support in Rome and Milan and his followers Sarmatio and Barbatianus kept preaching his ideas after Jovinian was expelled. From a remark in Jerome's work Against Vigilantius, written in 409, that he "amidst pheasants and pork rather belched out than breathed out his life", it is inferred by some that he was then dead.

Teachings The writings of Jovinian were sent to Jerome by his friend Pammachius. See, the Apostle confesses that as regards virgins he has no commandment of the Lord, and he who had with authority laid down the law respecting husbands and wives, does not dare to command what the Lord has not enjoined. And rightly too. For what is enjoined is commanded, what is commanded must be done, and that which must be done implies punishment if it be not done. For it is useless to order a thing to be done and yet leave the individual free to do it or not do it. If the Lord had commanded virginity He would have seemed to condemn marriage, and to do away with the seed-plot of mankind, of which virginity itself is a growth. If He had cut off the root, how was He to expect fruit If the foundations were not first laid, how was He to build the edifice, and put on the roof to cover all! Excavators toil hard to remove mountains; the bowels of the earth are pierced in the search for gold. And, when the tiny particles, first by the blast of the furnace, then by the hand of the cunning workman have been fashioned into an ornament, men do not call him blessed who has separated the gold from the dross but him who wears the beautiful gold. Do not marvel then if, placed as we are, amid temptations of the flesh and incentives to vice, the angelic life be not exacted of us, but merely recommended. If advice be given, a man is free to proffer obedience; if there be a command, he is a servant bound to compliance.

Jovinian also maintained that abstinence is no better than the partaking of food in the right disposition. Looking back into the creation, Jovinian stated that God gave dominion to humanity over the creation. After the great flood, God allowed humanity to take food not only from plants, but also from animals. St. Paul in the New Testament also teaches that all food is clean if they are eaten with thankfulness (Romans 14:20). Another point that Jovinian argues is, "they who with full assurance of faith have been born again in baptism, cannot be overthrown by the devil." As Jerome critiques in his treatise, Jerome alters the word "overthrown" with "tempted". This may show that either Jerome missed a point that Jovinian was making, as his argument on this point was much shorter. The word "overthrow" may have indicated much more significance than a believer committing sin since Jovinian believed that a believer was able to sin after the baptism. He wrote that if they do sin, they must repent. Rather, Jovinian seems to have been arguing that something significant occurs in the life of the believer when he or she is baptized, something that goes beyond peccability. Those who are baptized into the Church are in a permanent state of grace. Jovinian limited the impossibility of relapse to the truly regenerate, thus his teaching on perseverance has affinities with Augustine's gift of perseverance and the Calvinist doctrine of perseverance of the saints. However Jovinian did not derive his view of eternal security from a doctrine of predestination, but instead from his denial of works having merit. Jovinian rejected the idea that believers should be divided into classes, some more spiritual than others, because the New Testament repeatedly emphasizes that all believers partake of the body and blood of Christ (John 6:56), that the Holy Spirit indwells all believers (1 Cor 6:19), and that the Church itself is one. For these reasons, the common teaching that an ascetic lifestyle produces greater reward should be rejected. All believers possess the presence of Christ and are part of the same body. Therefore, all experience the same reward. It has been argued that Jovinian believed in a distinction between the visible and invisible churches, based on his statement that the Church is founded on faith, and that all in the Church are taught by God and that no "unripe" members exist within the Church and no one can enter the church "by fraud".

Jovinian distinguished physical baptism and baptism of the Holy Spirit, which confers grace to the believer.

Later in the Protestant reformation, Jovinian has been seen as a "witness of truth", while he is most often seen as a heretic by Catholics.