Maximus the Confessor
Saint Maximus | |
|---|---|
 Icon of St. Maximus | |
| Confessor, Theologian, Homogoletes | |
| Born | c. 580 Constantinople or Palestine |
| Died | August 13, 662 exile in Russian Georgia |
| Venerated in | Eastern Christianity and Western Christianity |
| Feast | August 13 in the West, January 21 or August 13 in the East |
Saint Maximus the Confessor (c. 580 - August 13, 662) was a Christian monk, theologian, and scholar. In addition, he was a civil servant in his early life, as the personal secretary to the Byzantine Emperor Heraclius.[1].
Maximus was involved in the Christological controversy known as Monothelitism, in which Maximus supported the Chalcedonian position that Jesus had both a human and a divine will. Maximus (also known as Maximus the Theologian and Maximus of Constantinople) is venerated in both Eastern Christianity and Western Christianity. His feast day is August 13 (or January 21).
Life
Early Life
Maximus was most likely born in Constantinople - although a biography written by his Maronite opponents has him born in Palestine.[2] Maximus' was born into Byzantine nobility, as indicated by his position in the court of Heraclius.[3] For reasons unknown, Maximus left the public life in 630, and took monastic vows at a monastery in Chrysopolis, a city across the Bosporus from Constantinople (also known as Scutari, the modern Turkish city of Üsküdar). In his years in Chrysopolis, Maximus was elevated to the position of Abbot of the monastery.
When the Persian Empire conquered Anatolia, Maximus was forced to flee to a monastery near Carthage. It was there that he came under the tutelage of Saint Sophronius, and began studying the Christological writings of Gregory of Nazianzus and Pseudo-Dionysius the Areopagite. It was also during his stay in Carthage that Maximus began his career as a theological and spiritual writer.
Involvement in Monothelite controversy
While Maximus was in Carthage, a controversy broke out regarding how to understand the interaction between the human and divine natures within the person of Jesus. This Christological debate was the latest development in disagreements that began following the Council of Nicaea in 325, and were intensified following the Council of Chalcedon in 451. The Monothelite position was a developed as a compromise to appease those whose Christology was declared heresy at Chalcedon. The Monothelites adhered to the Chalcedonian definition of the hypostatic union: that two natures, one divine and one human, were united in the person of Christ. However, they went on to say that Christ had only a divine will and no human will (Monothelite is derived from the Greek for "one will").[4]
Emperor Constans II supported Monothelitism, and had Maximus exiled for his refusal to agree to Monothelite teachings.
The Monothelite position was promulgated by Patriarch Sergius I of Constantinople and by Maximus' friend and successor as the Abbot of Chrysoplis, Pyrrus.[5] Following the death of Sergius in 638, Pyrrhus succeeded him as Patriarch, but was shortly deposed due to political circumstances. During Pyrrus' exile from Constantinople, Maximus and the deposed Patriarch held a public debate on the issue of Monothelitism. In the debate, which was held in the presence of many North African bishops, Maximus took the position that Jesus possessed both a human and a divine will. The result of the debate was that Pyrrus admitted the error of the Monothelite position, and Maximus accompanied him to Rome so that Pyrrus could submit to Pope Severinus in 645.[6] However, on the death on Emperor Heraclius and the ascension of Emperor Constans II, Pyrrus returned to Constantinople and recanted of his acceptance of the Dyothelite ("two wills") position.
Maximus may have remained in Rome, because he was present when the newly elected Pope Martin I convened a gathering of bishops at the Lateran Basilica in Rome in 649.[7] The 105 bishops present condemned Monothelitism in the official acts of the synod, which some believe may have been written by Maximus.[8] It was in Rome that Pope Martin and Maximus were arrested in 653 under orders from Constans II, who supported the Monothelite doctrine. Pope Martin was condemned without a trial, and died before he could be sent to the Imperial Capital.[9]
Trial and Exile
Maximus' refusal to accept Monothelitism caused him to brought to the Imperial capital of Constantinople to be tried as a heretic in 658. In Constantinople, the Monothelite position had gained the favor of both the Emperor and the Patriarch of Constantinople. Maximus stood behind the Dyothelite position, and was sent back into exile for four more years.
In 662, Maximus was placed on trial once more, and was once more convicted of heresy. Following the trial Maximus was tortured, having his tongue cut out and his right hand cut off.[10] Maximus was then exiled to the Lazica or Colchis region of Russian Georgia - perhaps the city of Batum - where he died in exile of natural causes on 13 August, 662.[11] The events of the trials of Maximus were recorded by Anastasius Bibliothecarius.
Legacy
Along with Pope Martin I, Maximus was vindicated by the Third Council of Constantinople (the Sixth Ecumenical Council, 680-681), which declared that Christ possessed both a human and a divine will. With this declaration Monothelitism became heresy, and Maximus was posthumously declared innocent of all charges against him.
Maximus' work on Pseudo-Dionysius was continued by John Scotus Erigena. Other than this work by Scotus, Maximus was largely overlooked by Western theologians until recent years.[12] It is another story in the East, where Maximus has always been influential. The Eastern theologians Simeon the New Theologian and Gregory Palamas are seen as intellectual heirs to Maximus. Further, a number of Maximus' works are included in the Greek Philokalia - a collection of some of the most influential Greek Christian writers.
His writings:
- Questions to Thalassius
- Ambigua
- Mystagogy
- Commentary on Psalm 59
- Commentary on the Lord's Prayer
- Centuries on Love
- Centuries on Theology
- The Ascetic Life
- Hymns
References
- ^ "Maximos, St., Confessor" in the Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church, ed. F.L. Cross (London: Oxford Press, 1958).
- ^ George C. Berthold, "Maximus Confessor" in The Encyclopedia of Early Christianity, ed. Everett Ferguson (New York: Garland Publishing, 1997).
- ^ Catholic Encyclopedia retrieved January 12, 2007: "This great man was of a noble family of Constantinople."
- ^ For more detailed info on the controversy, see Monothelite.
- ^ Catholic Encyclopedia retrieved January 15, 2007: "The first action of St. Maximus that we know of in this affair is a letter sent by him to Pyrrhus, then an abbot at Chrysopolis ..."
- ^ Philip Schaff, History of the Christian Church, Volume IV: Mediaeval Christianity. A.D. 590-1073 (online edition)§111, accessed January 15, 2007.
- ^ "Maximus the Confessor", in The Westminster Dictionary of Church History, ed. Jerald Brauer (Philadelphia: Westminster Press, 1971). This is generally known as the First or Second Lateran Synod, and is not recognized as an Ecumenical Council.
- ^ For example, Gerald Berthold, "Maximus Confessor" in Encyclopedia of Early Christianity, (New York:Garland, 1997)
- ^ David Hughes Farmer, The Oxford Dictionary of the Saints (Oxford:Oxford University Press, 1987) p.288. This made Martin the last Bishop of Rome to be venerated as a martyr.
- ^ Gerald Berthold, "Maximus Confessor" in Encyclopedia of Early Christianity, (New York:Garland, 1997).
- ^ For example, see Catholic Forum.
- ^ The Oxford Dictionary of the Saints (David Hugh Farmer), which does not have an entry for Maximus, is an excellent example of how the West overlooked Maximus for years. The Systematic Theology of Robert Jenson, written in the late 1990s, is an example of how Western theologians are rediscovering Maximus. See also "Maximus the Confessor" in Michael O'Carroll, Trinitas: A Theological Encyclopedia of the Holy Trinity (Delaware:Michael Glazier, Inc, 1987); O'Carroll names Hans Urs von Balthasar as a "pioneer" in the Western rediscovery of Maximus.
External links
- Selected works of Saint Maximus Confessor
- Maximus Confessor in the Catholic Encyclopedia
- Maximus Confessor in the Catholic Forum
- Maximus Confessor in the Orthodox Church in America