The British theologian Pelagius (died ca. 430) held that the human will is free to do either good or evil and taught that divine grace only facilitates what the will can do itself. Pelagianism was condemned by the Church.

Soon after 400 Pelagius appeared in Rome. Widespread evidence indicates that he came originally from the British Isles. Whatever his origin, when Pelagius arrived in Rome, he was a layman. Perhaps it was his style of life or the nature of his moral teachings that caused others to refer to him as a monk, but he belonged to no monastic order or community. Even Augustine, who became Pelagius's severest critic, both referred to him as a monk and praised the upstanding character of his life.

While in Rome, Pelagius first heard of Augustine through his reading of a prayer from Augustine's Confessions: "Give what Thou commandest and command that Thou wilt...