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
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!!!
• Heraclius
Patriarch of Constantinople Has A Plan
to Get the Eastern Bishops to All Agree
YO SERGIUS!!!
WHAT CAN WE
DO TO MAKE
OUR EASTERN
BISHOPS
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
AND…I BET I CAN
GET THAT SILLY OLD
POPE HONORIUS IN
THE WEST TO AGREE
TO IT
DO IT!!!!!
HERACLIUS
SERGIUS
HEY POPE HONORIUS…
YOU CAN AGREE THAT
JESUS HAD ONE WILL,
RIGHT?
Hey SERG!
I MEAN, THE HUMAN
AND DIVINE WILLS
WERE ALWAYS IN
SYNC…MIGHT AS WELL
HAVE BEEN 1 WILL
I’LL WRITE
YOU BACK
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 NATURES
JESUS HAS ONE WILL
by signing this, you are actually denying
that Jesus has a *real* human nature
(i.e. a human nature with a human will)
Severinus Cannot Make It
Official For the Whole Church
EASY PEASY…
BUT HOW CAN I
SIGN A HERESY
INTO LAW FOR THE
EASTERN (AND
WESTERN)
CHURCH?
POPE HONORIUS,
YOUR
PREDESESSOR
WOULD HAVE…
DON’T BE A CHICKEN
Some Eastern Anti-Monothelites
Advised The Pope Not To Sign
I DON’T KNOW WHAT
HONORIUS WAS
THINKING
BUT, I REFUSE TO HELP
THE EASTERN
EMPEROR SIGN THIS
DUMB HERESY INTO
LAW
AS ONE OF THE
FEW ANTIMONOTHELITES
IN THE EAST, I
AGREE…
DON’T SIGN IT!!!!
Lateran Palace (Pope’s Home)
Get’s Besieged by Eastern Soldiers
Working in Rome
DO THESE
GUYS
UNDERSTAND
THE MEANING
OF THE
WORD
“NO”???
AS HEAD OF
EASTERN
ARMY IN
ROME, I SAY
LET’S ATTACK
THE LATERAN
PALACE AND
TAKE MONEY
YES…PUT HIM
UNDER
PRESSURE…
MAYBE THEN
HE’LL AGREE
Severinus Dies…
WHY DID HE HAVE TO
DIE???
SURE GLAD I’M
DEAD…
NOW I DON’T
HAVE TO SIGN
THAT DUMB
ECTHESIS
GRRRRRRR
ALL I NEEDED WAS HIS
SIGNATURE
MAYBE THE NEXT POPE
WILL BE EASIER TO WIN
OVER
New Pope—John IV
WHEN 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)
BUT I’M PYHRRUS
I’VE HAD A NUFF
THE NEW
PATRIARCH IN
CONSTANTINOPL
E AND I CTUALLY
DIG THE
ECTHESIS
Heraclius Dies
But the Ecthesis (Monothelitism)
Lives On
HERACLIUS
REGRETTED THE
ECTHESIS, BUT I’M
GOING TO CONVINCE
THE NEXT EMPEROR
TO KEEP PUSHING
FOR IT.
OH DEFINITELY!!
YO PYHRRUS,
SHOULD I KEEP
PUSHING FOR THE
POPE TO APPROVE
THE ECTHESIS?
NEW EASTERN
EMPEROR
CONSTANTINE III
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.
PHYRRUS OF CONSTANTINOPLE
WROTE ME A LETTER TO SAY I ***HAVE
TO** AGREE TO THE ECTHESIS
BECAUSE HONORIUS APPROVED
MONOTHELITISM.
I HATE MAIL FROM
CONSTANTINOPLE
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’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 HONORIUS
AS SAYING JESUS HAD ONE WILL!!
HONORIUS DID NOT MEAN JESUS HAS
ONE WILL
HE MEANT THAT
JESUS’ 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.
BUT I’M
JUST A
LITTLE
KID…
WAAAAA
YOU DO REALIZE THAT THE LAST
POPE (JOHN IV) AND THE OLD
EMPEROR HERECLIUS WERE
AGAINST IT, DON’T YOU???
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 I
I 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 IS
AGAINST 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
AS POPE
ALL
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?