Synergism comes from the Greek syn (with) and ergon (work) and refers to two or more sources working together.^[1] In Christian theology, it describes the cooperative effort between God and humanity in the process of salvation.^[2][3] It implies a free human participation in salvation.^[4]

Before Augustine (354–430), the synergistic view of salvation was almost universally endorsed.^[5]

Pelagius (c. 354–418), however, argued that humans could perfectly obey God by their own will.^[6] The Pelagian view is therefore referred to as "humanistic monergism".^[7][8] This view was condemned at the Council of Carthage (418) and Ephesus (431).^[9]

In response, Augustine proposed a view in which God is the ultimate cause of all human actions, a stance that aligns with soft determinism.^[10] The Augustinian view is therefore referred to as "divine monergism".^[11] However, Augustinian soteriology implied double predestination,^[12] which was condemned by the Council of Arles (475).^[13]

During this period, a moderate form of Pelagianism emerged, later termed Semi-Pelagianism. This view asserted that human will initiates salvation, rather than divine grace.^[14] The Semi-Pelagian view is therefore described as "human-initiated synergism".^[15]

In 529, the Second Council of Orange addressed Semi-Pelagianism and declared that even the inception of faith is a result of God’s grace.^[16][17][18] This highlights the role of prevenient grace enabling human belief.^[19][20] This view, often referred to as "Semi-Augustinian," is therefore described as "God-initiated synergism".^{[21][22][23][24]} The Council also rejected predestination to evil.^[25]

Semi-Pelagianism holds that a person can initiate faith independently, without prevenient grace.^[26] This view holds that faith begins with human will, while its continuation and fulfillment depend on God’s grace,^[14][27] giving it the label "human-initiated synergism".^[15] After the Reformation, Reformed theologians used "Semi-Pelagianism" to describe both "Semi-Pelagianism" and "Semi-Augustininianism," a divine-initiated synergism.^[24][28]

Synergism is an important part of the salvation theology of the Catholic Church.^[29] Following the Second Council of Orange (529),^[20] the Council of Trent (1545–63) reaffirmed the resistibility of prevenient grace and its synergistic nature.^[30] The Catechism of the Catholic Church (1992) teaches that the ability of the human will to respond to divine grace is itself conferred by grace.^[31][32] This synergistic process applies to both justification and sanctification.^[33][34] The sacraments of the Catholic Church such as baptism and the Eucharist, are part of God's grace and are thus a vital element in the synergistic process of salvation.^[35]

In Eastern Orthodox theology, God's grace and the human response work together in a "cooperation" or "synergy".^[36] This perspective has historically presented less theological tension on this issue compared to the Christian West.^[37] In the salvation process, divine grace always precedes any human action.^[38] Man possesses libertarian freedom (as implied by the Gnomic will) and must consciously respond to divine grace.^[39] This understanding is similar to the Arminian protestant synergism.^[40] The Orthodox synergistic process of salvation includes baptism as a response to divine grace.^[41] Deification, or theosis is also an integral part of this process.^[42]

Anabaptists hold to synergism,^[44] teaching that "both God and man play real and necessary parts in the reconciling relationship which binds them."^[45] Anabaptists have a high view of the moral capacities of humans when "enlivened by the active agency of the Holy Spirit".^[45]

Martin Luther (1483-1546) limited monergism strictly to soteriological aspects.^[46] He asserted that monergism applied to both election (to salvation) and reprobation.^[47][48] Philip Melanchthon (1497-1560), however, rejected monergism after Luther's death in favor of synergism.^[49] Melanchthon's stance influenced many Lutherans of his time throughout Europe to adopt synergism.^[50] The Book of Concord (1580), by contrast, affirms soteriological monergism solely in relation to election (to salvation), explicitly rejecting its application to reprobation.^[51] Accordingly, the contemporary Lutheran Church continues to uphold this view.^[52][53] While monergism remains the official stance, Lutheran history includes both monergist and synergist views.^[54][52]

In orthodox Reformed theology, divine monergism is understood as operating through an exhaustive divine providence.^[55] For example, Huldrych Zwingli (1484–1531) viewed that everything, including human salvation and reprobation, was determined by God.^[56] In contrast, "libertarian Calvinism", a revision described by Oliver D. Crisp in his book Deviant Calvinism (2014), is a soteriological monergism.^[57] Historically, this perspective has remained a minority view within Calvinism.^[58]

In Anglican Churches there is a reformed monergistic view of salvation,^[59] but also a synergistic one.^[60]

Christians who adhere to Arminian theology, such as Methodists, believe that salvation is synergistic.^[61] Jacobus Arminius first emphasized the role of prevenient grace, which involves a monergistic act of God, followed by "subsequent" act involving a synergistic work.^[62] Thus, for Arminians, prevenient grace involves a synergistic process.^[63] Similarly, John Wesley held that salvation begins with divine initiative.^[64] Additionally, Wesleyan-Arminian theology teaches that both justification and sanctification are synergistic.^[65] The Arminian perspective on salvation is often described as "God-initiated synergism".^[64] This perspective aligns closely with the main characteristic of the early Semi-Augustinian thought.^[66][24]

• Dyoenergism
• Dyothelitism
• Libertarianism (metaphysics)
• Monergism
• Monoenergism
• Prevenient grace
• Theosis

• Allison, Gregg R. (2021). 40 Questions About Roman Catholicism. Grand Rapids, MI: Kregel Publications.
• Barrett, Matthew (2013). Salvation by Grace: The Case for Effectual Calling and Regeneration. Phillipsburg: P & R Publishing.
• Bente, Friedrich (1921). Historical Introductions to the Symbolical Books of the Evangelical Lutheran Church. St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House.
• Bloesch, Donald G. (2005). The Holy Spirit: Works Gifts. Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press. ISBN 978-0-8308-2755-8.
• Bordwell, David (1999). Catechism Of The Catholic Church Revised PB. London: Burns & Oates.
• Bounds, Christopher. T. (2011). "How are People Saved? The Major Views of Salvation with a Focus on Wesleyan Perspectives and their Implications". Wesley and Methodist Studies. 3: 31–54. doi:10.2307/42909800. JSTOR 42909800.
• Cross, F. L. (2005). The Oxford dictionary of the Christian church. New York: Oxford University Press.
• Denzinger, Henricus (1954). Enchiridion Symbolorum et Definitionum (30th ed.). Freiburg im Breisgau: Herder.
• Fahlbusch, Erwin (2008). The Encyclopedia of Christianity. Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing. ISBN 9780802824172.
• Hill, Samuel S. (2020). Southern Churches in Crisis Revisited. Tuscaloosa: University of Alabama Press. ISBN 978-0-8173-6008-5.
• Horton, Michael (2011). The Christian Faith: A Systematic Theology for Pilgrims on the Way. Grand Rapids, MI (US): Zondervan Academic.
• James, Frank A. (1998). Peter Martyr Vermigli and Predestination: The Augustinian Inheritance of an Italian Reformer. Oxford: Clarendon.
• James, Frank A. (1998b). "Neglected Sources of the Reformation Doctrine of Predestination Ulrich Zwingli and Peter Martyr Vermigli". Modern Reformation. 7 (6): 18–22.
• John Paul II (1993). Catechism of the Catholic Church Second Edition Apostolic Constitution Fidei Depositum (PDF). Citta del Vaticano: Libreria Editrice Vaticana.
• Kirkpatrick, Daniel (2018). Monergism or Synergism: Is Salvation Cooperative or the Work of God Alone?. Eugene, OR: Pickwick Publications.
• Lambert, David (2005). "Semipelagianism". The Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church (3 ed.). Oxford; New York: Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-280290-3.
• Levering, Matthew (2011). Predestination: Biblical and Theological Paths. New York: Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-960452-4.
• Lowery, Kevin Twain (2008). Salvaging Wesley's Agenda: A New Paradigm for Wesleyan Virtue Ethics. Eugene, OR: Wipf and Stock Publishers.
• LWF&RCC (2019). Joint Declaration on the Doctrine of Justification (PDF). Geneva: The Lutheran World Federation.
• Marko, Jonathan S. (2020). "Grace, Early Modern Discussion of". In Jalobeanu, Dana; Wolfe, Charles T. (eds.). Encyclopedia of Early Modern Philosophy and the Sciences. Cham: Springer International Publishing. ISBN 978-3-319-20791-9.
• Moreland, J. P. (2001). "Miracles, Agency, and Theistic Science: A Reply to Steven B. Cowan". Philosophia Christi. 4 (1).
• Oakley, Francis (1988). The Medieval Experience: Foundations of Western Cultural Singularity. Toronto: University of Toronto Press.
• Olson, Roger E. (1999). The Story of Christian Theology: Twenty Centuries of Tradition & Reform. Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press. ISBN 9780830815050.
• Olson, Roger E. (2002). The Mosaic of Christian Beliefs: Twenty Centuries of Unity & Diversity. Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press.
• Olson, Roger E. (2009). Arminian Theology: Myths and Realities. Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press.
• Olson, Roger E. (2015). "Review of Oliver Crisp's "Deviant Calvinism" Part Three". My evangelical, Arminian theological musings. Retrieved 2019-11-10.
• Payton Jr., James R. (2010). Light from the Christian East: An Introduction to the Orthodox Tradition. Downers Grove: InterVarsity Press.
• Pickar, C. H. (1981) [1967]. The New Catholic Encyclopedia. Vol. 5. Washington D.C.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
• Pinson, J. Matthew (2022). 40 Questions about Arminianism. Grand Rapids, MI: Kregel Publications.
• Pohle, Joseph (1912). "Semipelagianism" . In Herbermann, Charles (ed.). Catholic Encyclopedia. Vol. 13. New York: Robert Appleton Company.
• Puchniak, Robert (2008). "Pelagius: Kierkegaard's use of Pelagius and Pelagianism". In Stewart, Jon Bartley (ed.). Kierkegaard and the Patristic and Medieval Traditions. Farnham: Ashgate Publishing. ISBN 978-0-7546-6391-1.
• Peterson, Robert A.; Williams, Michael D. (2004). Why I am not an Arminian. Downers Grove, IL: Intervarsity Press. ISBN 0-8308-3248-3.
• Pugh, Philip (1860). Arminianism V. Hyper-Calvinism: Being Three Letters. Tunstall: Arthur Tomkinson.
• Reymond, Robert L. (2010). A New Systematic Theology of the Christian Faith (2 ed.). Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson.
• Robertson, James Nathaniel William Beauchamp, ed. (1899). The acts and decrees of the Synod of Jerusalem, sometimes called the Council of Bethlehem, holden under Dositheus, Patriarch of Jerusalem in 1672. Harvard University. New York, AMS Press.
• Robinson, Geoffrey D. (2022). Saved by Grace through Faith or Saved by Decree?. Eugene, OR: Wipf and Stock Publishers.
• Rogers, Katherin (2004). "Augustine's Compatibilism". Religious Studies. 40 (4): 415–435. doi:10.1017/S003441250400722X.
• Salter, Roger (2018). "THE MARTYRS' STAKE: The Ensign of Reformational Anglicanism". VirtueOnline. Retrieved 23 June 2019.
• Sammons, Peter (2020). Reprobation: from Augustine to the Synod of Dort: The Historical Development of the Reformed Doctrine of Reprobation. Gottingen: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht.
• Schaff, Philip (1997). History of the Christian Church. Vol. 3. Oak Harbor, WA: Logos Research Systems.
• Stanglin, Keith D.; McCall, Thomas H. (2012). Jacob Arminius: Theologian of Grace. New York: OUP USA.
• Stamoolis, James J. (2010). Three Views on Eastern Orthodoxy and Evangelicalism. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan. ISBN 9780310864363.
• Straton, Timothy A. (2020). Human Freedom, Divine Knowledge, and Mere Molinism: A Biblical, Historical, Theological, and Philosophical Analysis. Eugene, OR: Wipf and Stock Publishers.
• Teselle, Eugene (2014). "The Background: Augustine and the Pelagian Controversy". In Hwang, Alexander Y.; Matz, Brian J.; Casiday, Augustine (eds.). Grace for Grace: The Debates after Augustine and Pelagius. Washington, D.C.: Catholic University of America Press. pp. 1–13. ISBN 978-0-8132-2601-9.
• Thorsen, Don (2007). An Exploration of Christian Theology. Grand Rapids: Baker Books.
• Ware, Timothy (1993). The Orthodox Church. London: Penguin UK. ISBN 978-0-14192500-4.