THE IMAGE OF TEMPLUM DEI IN PELAGIUS AND AUGUSTINE 1 Rafał Toczko Abstract In the writings of Pelagius and Augustine one finds a number of interpreta- tions of the Pauline metaphor of templum Dei. Augustine used the metaphor of templum Dei on many occasions, and he did it in a way very similar to Pelagius’s. Both writers recognized its twofold meaning, concerning both an individual Christian and the Church. But when Augustine started his polemics against Pelagius he came up with new, different interpretations of the Pauline metaphor. This paper argues that this is not a mere coincidence. The evidence presented suggests that Augustine must have read Pelagius’s Expositiones to the Pauline Letters to Corinthians. In reaction to these readings, the bishop of Hippo also modified his understanding of the image of templum Dei. This development, which started already around 411, is particularly evident after the year 416. During these years, Augustine underlines the fact that in the absolute sense, templum Dei may describe only the eschatological reality, the kingdom of God, and not the present, wounded state of being. One of the most important testimonies is Augustine’s Letter 187 where one finds direct polemics against Pelagius. It is also shown that, 1 I would like to thank David G. Hunter and two anonymous reviewers of Augus- tiniana for their invaluable remarks and well-deserved critics of the first version of this paper. In terms of methodology, this paper was inspired by the works of M.-F. Berrouard, ‘L’exégèse augustinienne de Rom., 7,7-25 entre 396 et 418, avec des remarques sur les deux premières périodes de la crise “pélagienne”,’ RechAug 16 (1981), pp. 101-96 and R. Dodaro, ‘«Ego miser homo»: Augustine, the Pelagian Controversy, and the Paul of Romans 7:7-25,’ Augustinianum 44 (2004), pp. 135-44. The first draft of this paper was written independently of G. Azzali Bernardelli, ‘“Templum Dei estis” (1 Co 3,16). Osservazioni sugli sviluppi dell’esegesi e del lessico dell’inabitazione divina negli scrittori africani da Tertulliano ad Agostino,’ [in:] Cultura latina cristiana fra terzo e quinto secolo. Atti del convegno, Mantova 5-7 novembre 1998, Firenze 2001, pp. 45-170. Although Azzali Bernardelli’s text has the merit of presenting Augustine’s ideas in the context of classical and Christian writers, it is also its main flaw. This ‘continuity’ perspective disables Azzali Bernardelli to see Augustine’s use of the analyzed metaphor in its own proper historical and theological context. Clearly, Tertullian and Cyprian did not have to fight with Pelagius. I have used Brepolis.net tools to trace all the occurrences of the three passages of Pauline epistles to Corinthians, and of the expression ‘templum Dei’ in all grammati- cal variants in Augustine, and searched it on my own in the works of Pelagius. Clearly, it was not possible to present and comment on all the occurrences. Thus, in this paper, I refer to those among them that exemplify most aptly and vividly notions present in Augustine’s works. Augustiniana 63 (1-4), 231-255. doi: 10.2143/AUG.63.1.3013253. © 2013 by Peeters Publishers. All rights reserved.