Vincent of Lérins

Vincent of Lérins (died c. 450) was a monk and priest of the island monastery of Lérins, off the coast of Provence. Almost all that is known of him comes from a short notice by Gennadius of Marseille. In 434, under the pen name Peregrinus, he wrote the Commonitorium. He is commemorated in the Roman Martyrology on 24 May.

The Commonitorium asks how a Christian can distinguish the Catholic faith from heresy. Vincent answers with Scripture read according to the Church's tradition, and gives a rule for recognizing that tradition: what has been believed everywhere, always and by all. He also distinguishes legitimate development, in which doctrine grows like a body that remains itself, from alteration. Both ideas were taken up by later theologians, including writers in this library on the development of dogma such as Marín-Sola. Vincent probably shared the reservations of the Provençal monks about Augustine's teaching on predestination, and he may have been the target of one of Prosper's replies.

The library holds the Commonitorium, his only surviving work. It is short and a good starting point.