Monothelitism

Monothelitism, or monotheletism was a theological doctrine in Christianity that was proposed in the 7th century, but was ultimately rejected by the sixth ecumenical council.

Historically, monothelitism was closely related to monoenergism, a theological doctrine that holds Jesus Christ as having only one energy.

Meanwhile, the non-Chalcedonians accused the Chalcedonians of espousing a form of Nestorianism, a rejected doctrine that held that Jesus Christ was two distinct subsistences.

Over the next few years Heraclius was preoccupied with his prosecution of the war against the Sassanids, but by 626, he had issued a decree to Arcadius, Bishop of Cyprus, requesting him to teach the doctrine of "one hegumenic energy".

By all accounts, that was met with notable success, particularly as there was then a large colony of Armenians on the island,[11] which encouraged Heraclius to attempt to seek a wider approval of his compromise.

With the successful conclusion to the Persian War, Heraclius could devote more time to promoting his compromise, which was now more urgent because of the administration of the recovered monophysite (also referred to as "non-Chalcedonian" for rejecting of that particular council) provinces of Syria and Egypt.

An agreement was struck in which the Jacobites were to return to the Imperial Church on the basis of the single energy doctrine, and Athanasius was to be made Patriarch of Antioch.

Determined to prevent that formidable challenge to his Christological compromise, Sergius wrote to Pope Honorius I (625–638) at Rome to ask him to endorse a position that Church unity should not be endangered by having any discussions or disputes over whether Christ had one energy or two.

[13] Honorius's reply in 635 endorsed that view that all discussions should cease and agreed that Jesus has only one will, not two conflicting wills, since Jesus assumed not the vitiated human nature, tainted by Adam's fall, but human nature as it existed prior to Adam's fall.

Sophronius had died before the release of the new doctrine, and his replacement, Bishop Sergius of Jaffa, as Patriarch Abraham I of Jerusalem, approved the modified formula.

The two remaining patriarchs in the East also gave their approval to the doctrine now referred to as monothelitism and so it looked as if Heraclius would finally heal the divisions in the imperial church.

His successor, Pope John IV (640–42), also rejected the doctrine completely, leading to a major schism between the eastern and western halves of the Chalcedonian Church.

He declared with his dying breath that the controversy was all due to Sergius and that the patriarch had pressured him to give his unwilling approval to the Ecthesis.

The death of Heraclius in 641 had thrown the political situation in Constantinople into chaos, and his young grandson Constans II (641–668) succeeded him.

Meanwhile, in Africa, a monk, Maximus the Confessor, carried on a furious campaign against monothelitism, and in 646, he convinced the African councils to draw up a manifesto against the doctrine, which they forwarded to the new pope, Theodore I (642–649), who, in turn, wrote to Patriarch Paul II of Constantinople to outline the heretical nature of monothelitism.

Paul, another devoted monothelite, replied in a letter directing the pope to adhere to the doctrine of one will.

In Rome and the West, opposition to monothelitism was reaching fever pitch, and the Type of Constans did nothing to defuse the situation but indeed made it worse by implying that either doctrine was as good as the other.

[20] Theodore planned the Lateran Council of 649 to condemn the Ecthesis but died before he could convene it, which his successor, Pope Martin I (649–653), did.

After the synod, Pope Martin wrote to Constans to inform him of its conclusions and to require him to condemn both the monothelite doctrine and his own Type.

Pope Vitalian (657–672), who had hosted the visit of Constans II to Rome in 663, almost immediately declared himself for the doctrine of the two wills of Christ.

Pope Agatho agreed but first held a preliminary synod at Rome 680 to obtain the opinion of the western theologians.

A side issue over the statements of Pope Honorius I and his condemnation by the council arose in discussions concerning papal infallibility.

In the view of historians such as John Bagnell Bury, Honorius, with a traditional Latin dislike for dialectics, did not fully comprehend the issues.

However, they sought to revise the doctrines of Apollinarus by arguing that Christ in eternity already possessed those properties necessary for human personality in archetypal form.

However, these new Monothelite proposals are highly controversial, and all major branches of Christendom affirm dyothelitism as in the statements of the third council of Constantinople.