The Monophysite Crisis

Subtitle…The Monophysite “Debacle”

Monophysitism Condemned at Chalcedon 451

EVERYONE EXPECTED MONOPHYSITISM TO DISAPPEAR AFTER CHALCEDON IN 451

BUT….

But For Many Years After The Council of Chalcedon…..

WHY WON’T THE EASTERN BISHOPS OBEY CHALCEDON

ALREADY????

Even through the 500s and early 600s, Monophysitism was ***still***

being taught in the East

GET WITH THE PROGRAM ALREADY!

STOP TEACHING MONOPHYSITISM!!!!!!!!

MONOPHYSITISM HAS BEEN CONDEMNDED FOR YEARS

BUT WE LIKE IT

TRUTH BE TOLD…

• Eastern empire wasn’t all monophysite

TO OUR CREDIT…WE’RE NOT ALL MONOPHYSITES…

WE DO HAVE ORTHODOX BISHOPS OVER HERE TOO…

I.E., BISHOPS WHO ACTUALLY AGREE WITH

CHALCEDON

MORE TRUTH BE TOLD

EVEN THOUGH IT LOOKS LIKE THE EASTERN EMPIRE IS MONOPHYSITE HEAVEN,

THEE TRUTH IS THAT THE ORTHODOX BISHOPS AND MONOPHYSITE BISHOPS

DON’T REALLY GET ALONG

EASTERN BISHOPS JUST DIDN’T SEE EYE TO EYE

I AM SOOO NOT TALKING

TO THAT “ORTHODOX”

BISHOP

WHAT A MONOPHYSITE

LOOSER!!WHY CAN’T HE

JUST OBEY CHALCEDON?

Eastern Emperor Wants his Eastern Bishops to Get Along

• Heraclius

I NEED ALL OF THESE EASTERN BISHOPS TO GET ALONG…

IF THEY WOULD ONLY STOP ARGUING!

AT A TIME WHEN THE PERSIANS ARE ATTACKING OUR EASTERN EMPIRE, WE NEED

MORE UNITY IN OUR DIOCESE!!!

Patriarch of Constantinople Has A Plan to Get the Eastern Bishops to All Agree

LET’S KEEP THE ORTHODOX HAPPY AND

SAY JESUS HAD 2 NATURES

LET’S KEEP THE MONOPHYSITES HAPPY AND SAY JESUS HAD 1

WILL

YO SERGIUS!!!

WHAT CAN WE DO TO MAKE

OUR EASTERN BISHOPS

AGREE????

AND…I BET I CAN GET THAT SILLY OLD POPE HONORIUS IN

THE WEST TO AGREE TO IT

DO IT!!!!!

SERGIUSHERACLIUS

HEY POPE HONORIUS…

YOU CAN AGREE THAT JESUS HAD ONE WILL,

RIGHT?

I MEAN, THE HUMAN AND DIVINE WILLS WERE ALWAYS IN

SYNC…MIGHT AS WELL HAVE BEEN 1 WILL

I’LL WRITE YOU BACK

Hey SERG!I’LL TRICK HIM WITH SNEAKY

LANGUAGE!

LETTER FROM POPE HONORIUS!

HE SAYS THAT JESUS HAD 1

WILL

SWEET…NOW IF I CAN JUST GET THE EASTERN BISHOPS TO AGREE TO

MONOTHELITISM

BTW…DON’T EVER READ MY MAIL AGAIN.

HONORIUS DIES!!!

Something tells me I agreed to a

heresy. Oops

Oh well, the next pope can deal with

it. Time to catch some Zs

DRATS!!!WE NEEDED

HIM TO MAKE IT OFFICIAL

FOR THE ENTIRE

CHURCH

DON’T WORRY…

I STILL HAVE HIS LETTER

Eastern Emperor Signs Monothelitism into law with a

document called the “Ecthesis”

JUST NEED TO GET THE NEW POPE’S SIGNATURE ON THE “ECTHESIS”

IF POPE SEVERINUS DOESN’T SIGN IT, I WON’T RECOGNIZE HIM AS POPE

Pope Severinus Advised to Sign the Ecthesis (Otherwise….)

YOU’RE SAYING I HAVE TO TO SIGN THE

ECTHESIS?

OTHERWISE THE EAST WON’T OFFICIALLY RECOGNIZE ME AS

POPE?

YES!!!

JUST SIGN THE DOCUMENT ALREADY!!

YOU CAN’T JUST DO THAT!!! YOU

BASICALLY WANT ME TO ALTER WHO

JESUS IS. JESUS HAD 2 WILLS. 1

HUMAN, 1 DIVINE

Severinus Knows The Theological Implications of The ECTHESIS

OH MY GOSH… ECTHESIS

JESUS HAS TWO NATURESJESUS HAS ONE WILL

by signing this, you are actually denyingthat Jesus has a *real* human nature

(i.e. a human nature with a human will)

Severinus Cannot Make It Official For the Whole Church

BUT HOW CAN I SIGN A HERESY

INTO LAW FOR THE EASTERN (AND

WESTERN) CHURCH?

EASY PEASY…

POPE HONORIUS, YOUR

PREDESESSOR WOULD HAVE…

DON’T BE A CHICKEN

Some Eastern Anti-Monothelites Advised The Pope Not To Sign

AS ONE OF THE FEW ANTI-

MONOTHELITES IN THE EAST, I

AGREE…

DON’T SIGN IT!!!!

I DON’T KNOW WHAT HONORIUS WAS

THINKING

BUT, I REFUSE TO HELP THE EASTERN

EMPEROR SIGN THIS DUMB HERESY INTO

LAW

Lateran Palace (Pope’s Home) Get’s Besieged by Eastern Soldiers

Working in RomeYES…PUT HIM

UNDER PRESSURE…

MAYBE THEN HE’LL AGREE

AS HEAD OF EASTERN

ARMY IN ROME, I SAY LET’S

ATTACK THE LATERAN

PALACE AND TAKE MONEY

DO THESE GUYS

UNDERSTAND THE MEANING OF THE WORD

“NO”???

Severinus Dies…

SURE GLAD I’M DEAD…

NOW I DON’T HAVE TO SIGN

THAT DUMB ECTHESIS

WHY DID HE HAVE TO DIE???

GRRRRRRR

ALL I NEEDED WAS HIS SIGNATURE

MAYBE THE NEXT POPE WILL BE EASIER TO WIN

OVER

New Pope—John IVWHEN ARE YOU

GUYS IN THE EAST JUST GOING TO

GET OVER IT AND ACCEPT THE

TEACHINGS OF CHALCEDON IN 451

AS SOON AS YOU SIGN THE ECTHESIS

ONLY THEN WILL WE GIVE YOU IMPERIAL

RECOGNITION AS POPE

Pope John IV Condemn’s the Ecthesis as Heretical

LET’S HAVE A WESTERN SYNOD

AND CONDEMN THE ECTHESIS

(THAT’LL SHOW THE EASTERN EMPEROR)

WE AGREE…

THE ECTHESIS IS TOTALLY DUMB

WE CONDEMN IT AS HERETICAL

I JUST DON’T GET IT!!!!

THE EASTERN EMPEROR SHOULD SPEND HIS ENERGY FIGHTINIG OFF THE MUSLIMS

INSTEAD, ALL HE WANTS ME TO DO IS SIGN A HERESY INTO

LAW

I DON’T CARE ANYMORE. I’M TOO OLD FOR THIS!!!!

I’M SICK OF TRYING TO FORCE THE POPE TO SIGN THE ECTHESIS

MONOTHELITISM WAS PATRIARCH SERGIUS’ IDEA (AND HE’S DEAD NOW)

I’VE HAD A NUFFBUT I’M PYHRRUS

THE NEW PATRIARCH IN

CONSTANTINOPLE AND I CTUALLY

DIG THE ECTHESIS

Heraclius Dies But the Ecthesis (Monothelitism)

Lives OnHERACLIUS

REGRETTED THE ECTHESIS, BUT I’M

GOING TO CONVINCE THE NEXT EMPEROR TO KEEP PUSHING

FOR IT.

OH DEFINITELY!!

I’LL WRITE A LETTER TO POPE JOHN IV EXPLAINING

WHY HE HAS TO APPROVE IT.BASICALLY HE PRETTY MUCH

**HAS TO** APPROVE THE ECHTHESIS BECAUSE POPE HONORIUS I (2 POPES AGO)

WROTE TO SERGIUS (PATRIARCH BEFORE ME)

THAT JESUS HAS ONLY ONE WILL.

YO PYHRRUS, SHOULD I KEEP

PUSHING FOR THE POPE TO APPROVE

THE ECTHESIS?

NEW EASTERN EMPEROR CONSTANTINE III

PHYRRUS OF CONSTANTINOPLE WROTE ME A LETTER TO SAY I ***HAVE

TO** AGREE TO THE ECTHESIS BECAUSE HONORIUS APPROVED

MONOTHELITISM.

HOW DARE HE TWIST HONORIUS’ WORDS!!!

HONORIUS OBVIOUSLY MEANT THAT JESUS HAD 1 WILL BECAUSE HIS 2

WILLS WERE NEVER IN OPPOSITION

YOU THINK THEY SHOULD SPEND THEIR

TIME FIGHTING OFF THE MUSLIMS

I HATE MAIL FROM CONSTANTINOPLE

I’M WRITING TO THE NEW EASTERN EMPEROR

CONSTANTINE III

DEAR NEW EMPEROR CONSTANTINE III,

NEW PATRIARCH PYHRRUS IS WAY OUT OF LINE!

HOW DARE HE INTERPRET HONORIUSAS SAYING JESUS HAD ONE WILL!!

HONORIUS DID NOT MEAN JESUS HAS ONE WILL

HE MEANT THATJESUS’ TWO WILLS WERE IN UNIFORMITY

ALSO, I DEMAND YOU TAKE DOWN ALL OF THE COPIES OF THE ECTHESIS

THAT ARE POSTED THROUGHOUT CONSTANTINOPLE

DUDE!!!

JOHN IV IS A TUFFIE

A Few Years Later…A New Pope (Theodore I) A New (Boy) Eastern Emperor (Constans) and a

New Patriarch (Paul II)

HEY KID!!!DID YOU READ MY LETTER

YET?I WROTE ASKING WHY YOU HAVEN’T GOTTEN RID OF

THE ECTHESIS YET.

YOU DO REALIZE THAT THE LAST POPE (JOHN IV) AND THE

OLD EMPEROR HERECLIUS WERE AGAINST IT, DON’T

YOU???

BUT I’M JUST A LITTLE KID…

WAAAAA

POPE THEODORE

Theodore I Gets Tough“HEY PAUL III

I REFUSE TO RECOGNIZE YOU AS PATRIARCH UNTIL YOU HAVE

PHYRRUS (WHO IS ALIVE) PROPERLY DEPOSED”

“ALSO I WANT YOU TO PUBLICALLY DENY THE ECTHESIS

AND HAVE IT REMOVED FROM PUBLIC PLACES.”

Yikes

I ACTUALLY LIKE THE ECTHESIS

Pope Theodore I Excommunicates the Eastern Patriarch

OKAY PAUL III, IT’S OBVIOUS YOU ARE IN FAVOR OF THE

ECTHESIS…

YOU’RE HEREBY EXCOMMUNICATED!

WHIMPER

Pope Theodore I Excommunicates Former Eastern Patriarch Phyrrus

YOU ARE HEREBY EXCOMMUNICATED BAM

EXCOMMUNICATION

SNAP

HE DIDN’T HAVE TO SIGN MY

EXCOMMUNICATION IN CONSECRATED

EUCHARISTIC WINE

Then Theodore I Dies!!!

PHEW…I’M GLAD THEODORE I DIED

HE EXCOMMUNICATED PATRIARCH OF

CONSTANTINOPLE AND THE FORMER PATRIARCH OF

CONSTANTINOPLE

HE MADE ME NERVOUS

I WISH ALL THIS CONTROVERSY

OVER THE ECHTHESIS

JUST ENDED

Meet The New Pope, Martin II USED TO WORK IN

CONSTANTINOPLE AS THEODORE I’s DIPLOMATIC

REPRESENTATIVE.

I AM FAMILIAR WITH THE HERESY OF MONOTHELITISM AND ALL THE

PEOPLE INVOLVED

Eastern (Boy) Emperor Writes The “Typos” In Order To Ignore The Ecthesis

ALL OF THIS FIGHTING IS GETTING US NO WHERE

LET’S NOT TALK ABOUT IT

IN FACT, FROM NOW ON, IT IS AGAINST THE LAW TO TALK

ABOUT MONOTHELITISM “THE TYPOS”

FROM NOW ON, IT ISAGAINST THE LAW TO TALK

ABOUT MONOTHELITISM

105 Bishops Show Up At the Lateran

WE CONDEMN THE ECTHESIS AND

“THE TYPOS” I’LL WRITE TO CONSTANS AND

ASK HIM TO DENOUNCE

MONOTHELITISM WHICH HIS EASTERN

PATRIARCHS STARTED

678 A.D. The Third Council of Constantinople

AS THE NEW EASTERN EMPEROR

(CONSTANTINE IV) I SAY….

LET’S HAVE A COUNCIL TO END

THIS HERESY ONCE AND FOR ALL

AS POPE LEO II I AM TOTALLY

COOL WITH THAT…

680 A.D. Monotheletism Condemned by a General Council—The Third Council of Constantinople

WE CONDEMN HONORIUS

AS A HERETIC!!

WE CONDEMN MONOPHYSITISM

AND MONOTHELITISM

CAN WE ALL JUST GET

ALONG NOW?