Brother Cadfael 16: The Heretic's Apprentice

earl will be back in Chester by tonight. No doubt the canon will be relieved to be able to continue his journey."
    "No doubt," said the abbot. He did not smile, but even in two bare syllables there was a tone of satisfaction in his voice.
    Elave came to his trial shaven, washed clean of his smoky disfigurement, and provided, by Brother Denis's good offices, with a clean shirt and a decent coat in exchange for his scorched and unsightly one. It was almost as if the community had grown so accustomed to him during his few days' stay, and so completely lost all inclination to regard him as in any way perilous or to be condemned, that they were united in wishing him to present the most acceptable appearance possible, and make the most favourable impression, in a benevolent conspiracy which had come into being quite spontaneously.
    "I have been taking advice," said the bishop briskly, opening the assembly, "concerning the ordinary human record of this young man, from some who know him well and have had dealings with him, as well as what I have observed with my own eyes in this short while. And let no man present feel that the probity or otherwise of a man's common behaviour has nothing to do with such a charge as heresy. There is authority in scripture: By their fruits you may know them. A good tree cannot bring forth bad fruit, nor a bad tree good fruit. So far as anyone has been able to inform me, this man's fruits would seem to bear comparison with what most of us can show. I have heard of none that could be called rotten. Bear that in mind. It is relevant. As to the exact charges brought against him, that he has said certain things which go directly against the teachings of the Church... let someone now rehearse them to me."
    Prior Robert had them written down, and delivered them with a neutral voice and impartial countenance, as if even he had felt how the very atmosphere within the enclave had changed towards the accused.
    "My lord, in sum, there are four heads: first, that he does not believe that children who die unbaptized are doomed to reprobation. Second, and as reason for that, he does not believe in original sin, but holds that the state of newborn children is the state of Adam before his fall, a state of innocence. Third, that he holds that a man can, by his own acts, make his own way towards salvation, which is held by the Church to be a denial of divine grace. Fourth, that he rejects what Saint Augustine wrote of predestination, that the number of the elect is already chosen and cannot be changed, and all others are doomed to reprobation. For he said rather that he held with Origen, who wrote that in the end all men would be saved, since all things came from God, and to God they must return."
    "And those four heads are all the matter?" said the bishop thoughtfully.
    "They are, my lord."
    "And how do you say, Elave? Have you been misreported in any of these counts?"
    "No, my lord," said Elave firmly. "I hold by all of those. Though I never named this Origen, for I did not then know the name of the elder who wrote what I accepted and still believe."
    "Very well! Let us consider the first head, your defence of those infants who die unbaptized. You are not alone in having difficulty in accepting their damnation. In doubt, go back to Holy Writ. That cannot be wrong. Our Lord," said the bishop, "ordered that children should be allowed to come to him freely, for of such, he said, is the kingdom of heaven. To the best of my reading, he never asked first whether they were baptized or not before he took them up in his arms. Heaven he certainly allotted to them. But tell me, then, Elave, what value do you see in infant baptism, if it is not the sole way to salvation?"
    "It is a welcome into the Church and into life, surely," said Elave, uncertain as yet of his ground and of his judge, but hopeful. "We come innocent, but such a membership and such a blessing is to help us keep our innocence."
    "To speak of innocence at birth is to bring us to the second count. It is part of the same thinking. You do not believe that we come into the world already rotten with the sin of Adam?"
    Pale, obstinate, and unrelenting, Elave said, "No, I do not believe it. It would be unjust. How can God be unjust? By the time we are grown we have enough to bear with our own sins."
    "Of all men," agreed the bishop with a rueful smile, "that is certainly true. Saint Augustine, who has been mentioned here, regarded the sin of Adam as perpetuated