Pasquier Quesnel, CO (14 July 1634 – 2 December 1719) was a French

Jansenist Jansenism was an early modern theological movement within Catholicism, primarily active in the Kingdom of France, that emphasized original sin, human depravity, the necessity of divine grace, and predestination. It was declared a heresy by th ...

theologian Theology is the systematic study of the nature of the divine and, more broadly, of religious belief. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of analyzing the ...

Life

Quesnel was born in

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

, and, after graduating from the

Sorbonne Sorbonne may refer to: * Sorbonne (building), historic building in Paris, which housed the University of Paris and is now shared among multiple universities. *the University of Paris (c. 1150 – 1970) *one of its components or linked institution, ...

with distinction in 1653, he joined the

French Oratory The Congregation of the Oratory of Jesus and Mary Immaculate (french: Société de l'Oratoire de Jésus et de Marie Immaculée, la, Congregatio Oratorii Iesu et Mariæ), best known as the French Oratory, is a society of apostolic life of Cathol ...

in 1657. There he soon became prominent; he took a leading part in scholarly controversy, for example against

Joseph Anthelmi Joseph Anthelmi (Antelmi) (25 July 1648 at Fréjus – 21 June 1697 at Fréjus) was a French ecclesiastical historian. Life Several of his ancestors had occupied canonries in Fréjus, the history and traditions of which they had investigated ...

. His Jansenist sympathies led to his banishment from Paris in 1681, following the

formulary controversy The formulary controversy was a 17th- and 18th-century Jansenist refusal to confirm the ''Formula of Submission for the Jansenists'' on the part of a group of Catholic ecclesiastical personnel and teachers who did not accept the charge that their ...

. He took refuge with the friendly Cardinal Coislin,

bishop of Orléans A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ca ...

; four years later, however, foreseeing that a fresh storm of persecution was about to burst, he fled to

Brussels Brussels (french: Bruxelles or ; nl, Brussel ), officially the Brussels-Capital Region (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) (french: link=no, Région de Bruxelles-Capitale; nl, link=no, Bruss ...

, and took up his abode with

Antoine Arnauld Antoine Arnauld (6 February 16128 August 1694) was a French Catholic theologian, philosopher and mathematician. He was one of the leading intellectuals of the Jansenist group of Port-Royal and had a very thorough knowledge of patristics. Contem ...

. There he remained till 1703, when he was arrested by order of the archbishop of

Mechelen Mechelen (; french: Malines ; traditional English name: MechlinMechelen has been known in English as ''Mechlin'', from where the adjective ''Mechlinian'' is derived. This name may still be used, especially in a traditional or historical contex ...

. After three months imprisonment he made a highly dramatic escape, and settled at

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Amstel'') is the Capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, most populous city of the Netherlands, with The Hague being the seat of government. It has a population ...

, where he spent the remainder of his life. After

's death in 1694 Quesnel was generally regarded as the leader of the Jansenist party; and his ''Réflexions morales sur le Nouveau Testament'' played almost as large a part in its literature as Jansen's ''

Augustinus Augustine of Hippo ( , ; la, Aurelius Augustinus Hipponensis; 13 November 354 – 28 August 430), also known as Saint Augustine, was a theologian and philosopher of Berber origin and the bishop of Hippo Regius in Numidia, Roman North Afri ...

'' itself. As its title betokens, Quesnel's book was a devotional commentary on the

New Testament The New Testament grc, Ἡ Καινὴ Διαθήκη, transl. ; la, Novum Testamentum. (NT) is the second division of the Christian biblical canon. It discusses the teachings and person of Jesus, as well as events in first-century Christ ...

, wherein Quesnel managed to explain the aims and ideals of the Jansenist party better than any earlier writer had done; and it accordingly became the chief object of

Jesuit , image = Ihs-logo.svg , image_size = 175px , caption = ChristogramOfficial seal of the Jesuits , abbreviation = SJ , nickname = Jesuits , formation = , founders ...

attack. It appeared in many forms and under various titles, the original germ going back so far as 1668; the first complete edition was published in 1692. The papal bull ''

Unigenitus ''Unigenitus'' (named for its Latin opening words ''Unigenitus dei filius'', or "Only-begotten son of God") is an apostolic constitution in the form of a papal bull promulgated by Pope Clement XI in 1713. It opened the final phase of the Jansenis ...

'', in which no fewer than 101 sentences from the ''Réflexions morales'' were condemned as

heretical Heresy is any belief or theory that is strongly at variance with established beliefs or customs, in particular the accepted beliefs of a church or religious organization. The term is usually used in reference to violations of important religi ...

, was obtained from

Clement XI Pope Clement XI ( la, Clemens XI; it, Clemente XI; 23 July 1649 – 19 March 1721), born Giovanni Francesco Albani, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 23 November 1700 to his death in March 1721. Clement XI w ...

on 8 September 1713. Quesnel died at Amsterdam in 1719. ''

'' marked the end of Catholic toleration of Jansenist doctrine. The bull ''

'', dated 8 September 1713, was produced with the contribution of Gregorio Selleri, a lector at the College of Saint Thomas, the future Pontifical University of Saint Thomas Aquinas, ''Angelicum'', fostered the condemnation of

Jansenism Jansenism was an early modern theological movement within Catholicism, primarily active in the Kingdom of France, that emphasized original sin, human depravity, the necessity of divine grace, and predestination. It was declared a heresy by t ...

by condemning 101 propositions from the ''Réflexions morales'' of Quesnel as

, and as identical with propositions already condemned in the writings of Jansen.

Notes

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Quesnel, Pasquier 1634 births 1719 deaths French Oratory University of Paris alumni Jansenists 17th-century French Catholic theologians