Monotheletism or Monothelitism [Gr.,=one will], 7th-century opinion condemned as heretical by the Third Council of Constantinople in 680 (see Constantinople, Third Council of ). This doctrine, by declaring that Christ operated with but one will, although he had two natures, opposed the intent of the Council of Chalcedon. Monotheletism was first proposed in 622 and was immediately adopted by Byzantine Emperor Heraclius , for political reasons, as a compromise between Monophysitism and orthodoxy. The Eastern hierarchy, while doubtful of the dogma, tended to support Heraclius. In 631, Cyrus of Phasis, patriarch of Alexandria, promulgated a Monothelite thesis, which was opposed by Sophronius, a Palestinian monk (later patriarch of Jerusalem). At Sophronius' behest, Sergius, patriarch of Constantinople, wrote to Pope Honorius I for advice. The pope replied with a letter that apparently supported the doctrine of one will but forbade further discussion of the question. Soon afterward (638) Heraclius published the Ecthesis, which defined Monotheletism as the official imperial form of Christianity. When the Ecthesis arrived in Rome, Pope Severinus, Honorius' successor, immediately condemned it, ex cathedra. Heraclius, before he died, disclaimed the Ecthesis and attributed it to Sergius. Heraclius' successors, Constantine III and Constans II, however, continued to enforce the heresy. Popes John IV and Theodore I anathematized Monotheletism, but they could do little in face of imperial support of it. Constans II withdrew the Ecthesis and promulgated instead the Typus, a decree flatly forbidding the mention of one will or two wills or one energy or two energies in the Second Person. The Typus was favorable to the Monophysitism established in the empire but would have silenced the orthodox. Intended to make peace, it brought the controversy to a crisis. In 649, Pope St. Martin I convened a Lateran Council to condemn Monotheletism and was subsequently seized by the emperor, imprisoned, and exiled. St. Maximus was the most vigorous opponent of Monotheletism. The accession of Constantine IV to the imperial throne brought toleration for the Catholics. After the Council at Constantinople in 680, Monotheletism died out except among the Maronites in Syria. There was a brief revival of imperial Monotheletism from 711 to 713. The last of the Christological controversies, the Monotheletism question enhanced the prestige of the papacy, which took the lead in opposing official imperial heresy.
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The Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition 2008
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Maximus the Confessor and his Companions
The Catholic Historical Review; 10/1/2004; Haldon, John; 597 words;
... in an effort to bring together the dyophysite and monophysite tendencies within the imperial church; and second, that of monotheletism, which evolved out of the former and was eventually adopted by the government of Constans II in the mid-640's. The seven ...
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Hindu avatara and Christian incarnation: a comparison.
Philosophy East and West; 1/1/2002; Sheth, Noel; 13725 words;
... after the incarnation there remains only one divine nature, since the human nature is absorbed into the divine nature. (e) Monotheletism. Christ has only one, divine, will; he has no human will. (f) Monenergism. There is only one, divine, action in Christ ...
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Heraclius: Emperor of Byzantium
Domes; 4/30/2004; Farah, Caesar E.; 1782 words;
... is a summation of the key points discussed in the chapter termed `Conclusions'; the narrative is supported by a list of maps, figures, a chronological table, bibliography, and an index. One's overall impression is that the author undertook considerable ... thirteen major crises in his thirty-year tenure as ...
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(book reviews)
The Journal of the American Oriental Society; 4/1/1994; Hoyland, Robert; 2260 words;
... commonplace that it no longer required explanation? After the bad news of the demise of Greek history writing, Averil Cameron offers us the good news that theological works--particularly disputations, question-and-an ... output and the doctrinal controversies of Monophysitism and Monotheletism which racked ...
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THE THEANDRIC NATURE OF CHRIST.
Theological Studies; 9/1/1999; COFFEY, DAVID; 12193 words;
... divine, and in the case of Christ actually so. But this does not mean that Rahner has lapsed into Monophysitism (from below), Monotheletism, or Apollinarianism, as for him Christ's human nature remains genuinely human, that is to say, it is divinely human, human ...
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Crossroads to Islam: The Origins of the Arab Religion and the Arab State.(Book review)
The Journal of the American Oriental Society; 7/1/2005; Reynolds, Gabriel Said; 3573 words;
... division from the imperial Church. When the doctrine of Monotheletism was proclaimed under Heraclius--a move usually seen as a ... p. 59). For when the Sixth Ecumenical Council rejected Monotheletism in 680 C.E. even those Christians who had accepted the novel ...
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(book review)
Church History; 6/1/2002; Roeber, Anthony; 1211 words;
... christological issues most Eastern and Western churches have regarded as settled (was pope Honorius perhaps right in defending Monotheletism despite his condemnation at the Third Council of Constantinople? [1:180]) reflects this subjective idea of what church means ...
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