Étienne Agard de Champs

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Étienne Agard de Champs (Dechamps) (born at Bourges, 2 September 1613; died at Paris (according to De Backer, at La Flèche), 31 July 1701) was a French Jesuit theologian and author.

[edit] Life

He entered the Jesuit novitiate in 1630, and later, in Paris, was professor of rhetoric, philosophy, and theology. He was rector at Rennes, three times rector at Paris, head of the professed house, twice provincial of France, and once provincial of Lyon.

[edit] Works

Jansenism, the major topic of debate in the France of his day, is the theme of all his books. Writing under the name of Richard Antonius, he composed: "Defensio Censurae Sacrae Facultatis Parisiensis -- seu Disputatio Theologica de libero arbitrio" (Paris, 1645). This was well received, and went through five editions in two years. It called forth a reply from Vincent Lenis in his "Theriaca" (Paris, 1648), which occasioned the "Antonii Ricardi Theologi Responsio ad objectiones Vincentianas" (Paris, 1648).

He defends the Sorbonne in his "De Haeresi Janseniana" (1654). Among his other works the best known is "Le secret du Jansenisme découvert et refute par un Docteur Catholique" (Paris, 1651).

This article incorporates text from the entry Etienne Agard de Champs in the public-domain Catholic Encyclopedia of 1913.