Monothelitism

The Western Roman Empire and Eastern Byzantine Empire had many differences over the centuries. Some of the biggest differences were religious. One such was the Filioque controversy: did the Holy Spirit proceed from the father, or the Father and the Son? Another was the question of Monothelitism.

Monothelitism ("one will") had come up in the 600s in opposition to dyothelitism ("dual wills"), the doctrine that Jesus had two "wills": a divine aspect and a human aspect. Monothelitism was the opinion that he had one will, a single "energy."

The debates over this had started generations earlier. The Church had determined that Jesus was the Son of God, but exactly how a human could also be God was still being argued. The First Council of Nicaea had decreed that Jesus was fully divine, and any other thought was heretical (this was to combat Arianism; this is the council where Nicholas of Myra reportedly slapped Arius). By declaring that God's Son became a man, they opened the door to discussion (and debate) over how two different natures could combine in a human being.

The debates could be fierce, and fights broke out over them. Emperor Heraclius (610 - 641) suggested monothelitism in order to establish one unifying doctrine. Patriarch of Constantinople Sergius I wrote to Pope Honorius, arguing that the idea of two wills in Jesus could lead to the argument that his human and divine wills were opposed to each other. (Consider the scene in Gethsemane when Jesus asks if fate can be taken away.) Sergius wanted Honorius to agree that divisive arguments should be suppressed. Honorius went along at first, but arguments arose that monothelitism was inconsistent with orthodoxy.

When Constans II came to power in 641, the debate in the Eastern Mediterranean was still raging. Constans tried to suppress it by decree, which did not endear him to either faction. This decree, called the Type of Constans, made it illegal to discuss whether Christ had one or two natures or energies and the matter was to be forgotten. He was 17 years old at the time, and did not care much about religion.

When Pope Martin I wrote to him, telling him to condemn both monothelitism and his own decree, Constans had Martin arrested and brought to Constantinople for trial. Martin was exiled to Crimea. When Adrian of Canterbury—a monk and an acquaintance of Constans—was traveling through Gaul, he was detained by Frankish authorities (Ebroin, Mayor of the Palace) on suspicion of being there to create disruption. The only disruption I can imagine of which he might be accused is regarding monothelitism, which the Roman Catholic West opposed.

When Constans died, his son, Constantine IV, was asked to rule on the subject, but he refused, saying it should be determined by church synods. Several were held over the following years, and monothelitism was declared erroneous.

Before we leave Constans, however, I want to talk about the last years of his reign that did not have anything to do with religion, including his connections with China. See you next time.

Constans Moves Westward

Yesterday's post mentioned Ebroin, Mayor of the Palace under King Clotaire III, distrusting Adrian of Canterbury because of Adrian's connection to Byzantine Emperor Constans II. Ebroin worried that Adrian was in Gaul to create disruption on behalf of Constans. This raises the question: what would a ruler in Gaul fear from a ruler at the far eastern end of the Mediterranean, in Constantinople?

That was precisely the problem: Constans was no longer in Constantinople; he had moved his seat of power to Syracuse on the island of Sicily, much closer to Gaul. And he brought his military.

Constans II (630 - 668) was not particularly well-liked. He was crowned co-emperor at the age of 10 in 641 and became sole ruler after his brother Heraclonas was deposed on suspicion that he had poisoned their father to gain the throne. During his time, the Byzantines withdrew from Egypt in the face of Muslim approaches. He also refused to take sides in a ferocious religious debate over the nature of Jesus. He even decreed in 648 that there should be no discussion on the matter, which did not defuse the situation as he had hoped, nor did it endear him to either side.

The Rashidun Caliphate was moving across the eastern Mediterranean: Armenia, Cappadocia, Crete, Rhodes. Constans fought back, leading a fleet in the Battle of the Masts, in which 500 Byzantine ships were destroyed and Constans almost died. He traded clothes with a sailor to disguise himself and escape.

Besides Muslims, he was fearful of his younger brother Theodosius, whom he suspected of wanting to take over the throne. He pushed Theodosius into taking Holy Orders, but then had him killed in 660.

He finally decided to get involved in religious matters after all, because Pope Martin I had condemned Constans publicly for halting the debate. Constans actually had Martin arrested by the Exarch of Ravenna (a Byzantine representative) and brought to Constantinople where he was condemned and exiled to a Greek town on the Crimean peninsula, where he remained until his death.

After having inspired his subjects to hatred of his poor leadership, he decided to abandon Constantinople for Sicily, taking the military and attacking the Lombards who were threatening Rome from the north. Despite his treatment of Pope Martin, current Pope Vitalian was friendly with him. (After all, there was no emperor in Rome, so they had to look to Constantinople for the highest secular authority, and Vitalian knew what had happened to Martin.)

So, as far as Ebroin in Gaul was concerned, Constans' military aspirations and his proximity might have been a threat. To be fair, however, would a Benedictine like Adrian be the likeliest person sent by Constans to be a disruptive element? There was another aspect of Byzantine culture that Ebroin might have feared a Benedictine could be part of: the nature of Jesus that was such a hot topic between the East and West. Tomorrow I'll discuss the hot topic of Monothelitism.

Adrian of Canterbury

Adrian (also called Hadrian) was born in North Africa sometime prior to 637; Bede referred to him as a Berber. He became a well-known teacher and a Benedictine monk. He knew Byzantine Emperor Constans II, who introduced Adrian to Pope Vitalian, who made Adrian his advisor.

While Adrian was abbot of a monastery near Naples, Pope Vitalian twice offered him to go to England and become Archbishop of Canterbury. In each case he declined, suggesting others: first a nearby monk named Andrew, who also declined, then Theodore of Tarsus, who accepted the role. Adrian had been through Gaul before, and Vitalian that Adrian would accompany Theodore to England.

The journey took them awhile. They left Rome on 27 May 668 and went by ship to Marseille, then to meet with Archbishop John of Arles while applying for passports of safe conduct through Gaul. These had to come from Ebroin, the Mayor of the Palace under Clotaire III. By the time they got to the north of France it was winter, and since travel would be more difficult, they waited until spring. Adrian went to stay with Bishop Emmon of Sens, then Bishop Faro of Meaux. (Theodore stayed with Bishop Agilbert of Paris.)

When King Ecgberht of Kent sent a message to Theodore in the spring of 669 to hurry up, he went to England, arriving in May. Adrian was detained on the orders of Ebroin, who suspected that Adrian might be an emissary of the Byzantine emperor, Constans II, intending to disrupt the Franks.

Adrian eventually made it to England and became abbot of Saint Peter's and Saint Paul's in Canterbury, administering the place for 39 years. Adrian and Theodore together made Canterbury a center for learning, teaching Greek as well as Latin and several subjects that were later part of the Trivium and Quadrivium of medieval universities. Writing later, Bede praised the two for their love of teaching and the spread of learning.

After Adrian died in 709, miracles were reported at his tomb.

Why did Ebroin suspect Adrian of being an agent of Emperor Constans? What could the Byzantine emperor do that would threaten Gaul? Let's look at that tomorrow.