Augustinians, name given in schools to Theologians who maintain that grace is by nature absolutely and morally effective, and not relatively and by degrees. See Effective Grace. They are so called because their opinions are principally founded on the authority of St. Augustine.

The system of the Augustinians on grace is mainly reduced to these points.

[List beg]

They distinguish between natural works and supernatural works; between a state of innocence and a state of fallen nature.

They maintain that all free creatures in one or the other of these two states have need for each natural action of the actual help of God.

That this help is not antecedent or physically predetermined, but simultaneous and flexible to the choice of the will, such that God helps one action or another because the will determines to act, and if it is not so determined, God does not lend his help.

That as for supernatural works, the same free creatures, in whatever state one supposes them to be, have need of the special and supernatural help of grace.

That in the state of innocent nature, this grace was not effective by itself and by its nature, as it is now, but versatile; and this is what is called adjutorium sine quo .

That in the same state of innocent nature, there have never been absolute and effective decrees, antecedent to the free consent of the creature’s will, and consequently no predestination to glory before the prediction of merits, no reprobation that does not presuppose the prediction of demerits.

That in the state of fallen nature (or corrupted by sin), effective grace by itself is necessary for all actions that are in the supernatural order.

They found the necessity of this grace solely upon the weakness of human will, considered to be after the fall of Adam, and not on the subordination and dependence in which the creature should be upon the creator, as the Thomists wish.

They ordinarily make nature of this effective grace consist of a certain delectation and victorious sweetness, not by degrees and relatively, as the Jansenists accept, but simply and absolutely, by which God inclines the will to the good, although without injuring freedom. Although they admit that God has an infinity of means unknown to man, in order to determine freely the will, following this principle of Saint Augustine: Deux miris ineffabilibusque modis homines ad se vocat and trahit. Book I.

Apart from effective grace, they also accept another sufficient and real grace, properly speaking, which gives to the will enough strength to be able, either by mediation or immediately, to produce supernatural and meritorious works, but which still never has en effect without the help of effective grace.

That when God calls someone effectively, he gives him, according to them, an effective grace; and he grants to others a grace sufficient to accomplish his commandments, or at least to obtain the more abundant and stronger graces in order to accomplish them.

They maintain that as for the state of fallen nature, absolute and effective decrees must be admitted for works that are in the supernatural order.

That prescience of these same works is founded on absolute and effective decrees.

That any predestination either to grace or to glory is entirely gratuitous.

That positive reprobation is made with a view to actual sins, and negative reprobation with a view only to original sin.

[List Ends on 15]

This system strongly resembles Thomism for the state of innocent nature and Molinism for the state of fallen nature. See Molinism and Thomism.

Augustinians are divided into rigid and relaxed. The rigid ones are those who maintain all the points that we have just listed. The relaxed ones are those who among supernatural works distinguish between easy and difficult ones; they do not require effective grace by itself except for the latter, and maintain that for the others, such as the prayer by which one obtains more abundant graces, sufficient grace really suffices and often has an effect, without having need of other help. This was the feeling of Cardinal Noris, of P. Thomassin, and according to M. Habert, bishop of Vabres, that which in his time was most commonly followed at the Sorbonne. Tournely, De gratia. Part. II, quoest ,v. parag. Il.

Augustinians is also, according to Lindanus, the name of some heretics of the 16 ^th century, disciples of a sacramentarian called Augustin , who maintained that heaven is not open to anybody before the Last Judgment.