Michael Baius, also known as Michel De Bay, (151316 September 1589) was a Belgian

theologian Theology is the study of religious belief from a religious perspective, with a focus on the nature of divinity. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of ...

. He formulated the school of thought now known as Baianism.

Life

He was born at Meslin L'Eveque near Ath in Hainaut as Michel De Bay, the son of Jean de Bay, a farmer. De Bay studied humanities in Brugelette and in

Enghien Enghien (; ; ; ) is a city and municipality of Wallonia located in the province of Hainaut, Belgium. On 1January 2006, Enghien had a total population of 11,980. The total area is , which gives a population density of 295 inhabitants per km2. ...

and in 1533, he began studying philosophy at the Grand College het Varken of Leuven University. From 1535, he also studied theology at the Pope Adrian VI College.Sollier, Joseph. "Michel Baius", The Catholic Encyclopedia
Vol. 2. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1907. 26 Jan. 2021 He was an excellent student and was ordained a priest in 1542, and was appointed director of the Standonck-College in Leuven. In 1544, De Bay obtained his doctorate in philosophy and became a teacher at the College het Varken. In 1549, De Bay was appointed professor of scholastic philosophy. The following year, De Bay also obtained a license in theology and became president of the College Adrian, and also substituted for the professor of Holy Scripture, who was then absent at the

Council of Trent The Council of Trent (), held between 1545 and 1563 in Trent (or Trento), now in northern Italy, was the 19th ecumenical council of the Catholic Church. Prompted by the Protestant Reformation at the time, it has been described as the "most ...

. From February to August 1553, he was the rector of the university.''A measure for nothing?'' ; by Guido Marnef; in ''The Archdiocese of Mechelen-Brussels, part 1'' , 2009, p. 84-86 Baius had very early formed a close friendship with Jean Hessels. While Chancellor Ruard Tapper and

Josse Ravesteyn Josse Ravesteyn, also spelled Ravestein (ca. 1506–1570), was a Flemish Roman Catholic theologian. Biography Born about 1506, at Tielt, a small town in Flanders, hence often called ''Tiletanus (Jodacus)''). He studied philosophy at the Collè ...

, Professor of Theology were at the Council of Trent, Baius and Hessels took the occasion to introduce new methods and new doctrines. They believed that Catholic apologists were seriously handicapped by their reliance on the authority and methods of the Scholastics, and that if instead of appealing to the writings of St. Thomas as the ultimate criterion of truth they were to insist more on the authority of the Bible and of the works of the Early Fathers, such as St. Cyprian, St. Jerome, and St. Augustine, they would find themselves on much safer ground, and their arguments would be more likely to command the respect of their opponents. On his return from Trent in 1552, Tapper asked Cardinal de Granvelle,

archbishop of Mechelen In Christian denominations, an archbishop is a bishop of higher rank or office. In most cases, such as the Catholic Church, there are many archbishops who either have jurisdiction over an ecclesiastical province in addition to their own archdio ...

, to intervene. Granvelle succeeded in quieting the innovators for a while. De Bay's theories were very popular with theology students who spread it further. This was met with much opposition, and around 1558, later Cardinal

Antoine Perrenot de Granvelle Antoine Perrenot de Granvelle (20 August 151721 September 1586), Comte de La Baume Saint Amour, typically known as Cardinal Granvelle in English, was a Burgundian statesman, made a cardinal, who followed his father as a leading minister of th ...

and

Viglius Viglius (October 19, 1507, SwichumMay 5, 1577) was the name taken by Wigle Aytta van Zwichem, a Netherlands, Dutch statesman and jurist, a Frisians, Frisian by birth. Biography Viglis studied at various universities—Old University of Leuve ...

tried unsuccessfully to persuade De Bay to make some adjustments to his positions. However, in 1560, at the request of the

Franciscans The Franciscans are a group of related organizations in the Catholic Church, founded or inspired by the Italian saint Francis of Assisi. They include three independent religious orders for men (the Order of Friars Minor being the largest conte ...

, the Sorbonne condemned 18 of his statements. Baius answered the censure in a memoir now lost, and the controversy only increased in acridity.

Pope Pius IV Pope Pius IV (; 31 March 1499 – 9 December 1565), born Giovanni Angelo Medici, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 25 December 1559 to his death, in December 1565. Born in Milan, his family considered itself a b ...

, through Cardinal Granvelle, imposed silence upon both Baius and the Franciscans, without, however, rendering any doctrinal decision.

Career

In 1563, he was nominated one of the Belgian representatives at the

, but arrived too late to play an important part in its deliberations. Indeed, there was resistance to his presence at the Council, and he was allowed to attend only as a theologian of the King of Spain. The Council Fathers looked upon him with not a little suspicion. Just before leaving for Trent, Baius had published his first tracts. The contents of those tracts were not within the programme of the last three sessions of the Council of Trent, so no public discussion of the disputed points took place. It is known, however, that Baius' and Hessels' views were distasteful to the Fathers, and that the Catholic king's prestige alone saved them from formal condemnation. Baius returned to Louvain in 1564, and published new tracts the same year. At

Leuven Leuven (, , ), also called Louvain (, , ), is the capital and largest City status in Belgium, city of the Provinces of Belgium, province of Flemish Brabant in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is located about east of Brussels. The municipalit ...

, he obtained a great name as a leader in the anti-scholastic reaction of the 16th century. The champions of this reaction fought under the banner of

Augustine of Hippo Augustine of Hippo ( , ; ; 13 November 354 – 28 August 430) was a theologian and philosopher of Berber origin and the bishop of Hippo Regius in Numidia, Roman North Africa. His writings deeply influenced the development of Western philosop ...

though paradoxically they undermined Augustine's doctrine of grace; as a result, Baius' heterodox-Augustinian predilections brought him into conflict with

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

on questions of grace, free-will and the like. In various respects, Baius was seen as

Pelagian Pelagianism is a Christian theological position that holds that the fall did not taint human nature and that humans by divine grace have free will to achieve human perfection. Pelagius (), an ascetic and philosopher from the British Isles, ta ...

. Ravestein, who had succeeded Tapper as chancellor, informed Rome, requesting decisive action. On 1 October 1567,

Pope Pius V Pope Pius V, OP (; 17 January 1504 – 1 May 1572), born Antonio Ghislieri (and from 1518 called Michele Ghislieri), was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 7 January 1566 to his death, in May 1572. He was an ...

signed the

papal bull A papal bull is a type of public decree, letters patent, or charter issued by the pope of the Catholic Church. It is named after the leaden Seal (emblem), seal (''bulla (seal), bulla'') traditionally appended to authenticate it. History Papal ...

''Ex omnibus afflictionibus'', in which he condemned seventy-nine propositions from Baius' writings,Leszek Kolakowski, ''God owes Us Nothing'', (University of Chicago Press, 1998), 4. but without mention of Baius' name. To this Baius submitted; though certain indiscreet utterances on the part of himself and his supporters led to a renewal of the condemnation in 1579 by

Pope Gregory XIII Pope Gregory XIII (, , born Ugo Boncompagni; 7 January 1502 – 10 April 1585) was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 13 May 1572 to his death in April 1585. He is best known for commissioning and being the namesake ...

. Baius, however, was allowed to retain his professorship, and even became chancellor of Leuven in 1575.

Death

He died, still holding these two offices, in 1589. His writings are described by Adolf Harnack as a curious mixture of Catholic orthodoxy and unconscious tendencies to

Protestantism Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that emphasizes Justification (theology), justification of sinners Sola fide, through faith alone, the teaching that Salvation in Christianity, salvation comes by unmerited Grace in Christianity, divin ...

. His principal works were published in a collected form at

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, 1696; some large treatises were excluded. There is a study of both books and author by Linsenmann, ''Michael Baius und die Grundlegung des Jansenismus'', published at

Tübingen Tübingen (; ) is a traditional college town, university city in central Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It is situated south of the state capital, Stuttgart, and developed on both sides of the Neckar and Ammer (Neckar), Ammer rivers. about one in ...

in 1867.

Beliefs

De Bay based his theology on Holy Scripture and the

Fathers of the Church The Church Fathers, Early Church Fathers, Christian Fathers, or Fathers of the Church were ancient and influential Christian theologians and writers who established the intellectual and doctrinal foundations of Christianity. The historical per ...

, especially on the teaching of Augustine of Hippo, introducing deviant scholastic terminologies. His doctrine, later referred to as '' Baianism'', was based on sin, free will, and grace of God along with the fight against

papal infallibility Papal infallibility is a Dogma in the Catholic Church, dogma of the Catholic Church which states that, in virtue of the promise of Jesus to Saint Peter, Peter, the Pope when he speaks is preserved from the possibility of error on doctrine "in ...

, saying that the episcopal legal power comes directly from God. Joseph Sollier, writing in the ''Catholic Encyclopedia'' sees Baius' as a precursor to the

Jansenism Jansenism was a 17th- and 18th-century Christian theology, theological movement within Roman Catholicism, primarily active in Kingdom of France, France, which arose as an attempt to reconcile the theological concepts of Free will in theology, f ...

and the Port-Royal theologians such as

Blaise Pascal Blaise Pascal (19June 162319August 1662) was a French mathematician, physicist, inventor, philosopher, and Catholic Church, Catholic writer. Pascal was a child prodigy who was educated by his father, a tax collector in Rouen. His earliest ...

Works

Michaelis Baii Sacrarum litterarum in Academia Loviensi

References

External links

Alphonsus Ligouri. "The Errors of Michael Baius"
{{DEFAULTSORT:Baius, Michael 1513 births 1589 deaths Roman Catholic priests from the Habsburg Netherlands Participants in the Council of Trent People from Ath Old University of Leuven alumni Academic staff of the Old University of Leuven