Vigilantius: Mailman Heretic

June 22 commemorates Saint Paulinus of Nola – one of the richest men of the 5th century who gave everything away to serve Christ.

An interesting fact is that Suplicius Severus (the famous biographer of Saint Martin of Tours) shared letters back and forth with Saint Paulinus. The “mailman” who delivered these messages was a man named Vigilantius. Later, Vigilantius carried correspondence between Saint Jerome and Saint Paulinus.

This very same Vigilantius later became the subject of Saint Jerome’s famous treatise “Contra Vigilantium.” Vigilantius was a proto-Protestant of sorts who cast scorn on devotion to the saints, relics, and celibacy. Saint Jerome’s treatise is not for the faint-hearted. He spares nothing in insulting and belittling the heresies of Vigilantius. It’s an interesting read. In the Latin, Jerome employs a number of Latin puns against Vigilantius, which are pretty clever.

Anyway, it’s interesting to think of the heretic Vigilantius as an insider with some of the greatest Christians of that era.