Immediate translation of a
Coptic refutation of the Council of Chalcedon,
Matenadaran Institute in
Yerevan, 1476 The Council of Chalcedon faced immediate opposition in the eastern parts of the Empire.
Syria was divided between pro- and anti-Chalcedonians, while in
Egypt the vast majority were against Chalcedon. They felt that Leo's Tome and the Chalcedonian Definition, despite condemning Nestorius in name, had restored his heretical teachings by describing Christ as "in two natures". Rumours about Chalcedon spread in Egypt, claiming that it had vindicated Nestorius' teachings, that it taught that the one crucified was not God, that it was not scriptural, and that the Jews were delighted to hear of it. Leo complained that Greek translations of his Tome misleadingly made him speak of "two persons". These rumours were not helped by the fact that Chalcedon had restored two Nestorian bishops to their sees,
Theodoret of Cyrrhus and
Ibas of Edessa, although that was on the condition that they anathematise Nestorius, which they did. The opposition to Chalcedon initially included respectable monastic figures like
Saint Gerasimus, Saint Gerontius (former confidant of
Melania the Younger),
Peter the Iberian, and the former empress
Aelia Eudocia. Patriarch
Juvenal of Jerusalem, who was originally Dioscorus' ally but switched sides at Chalcedon, returned to violent protests in Palestine which temporarily drove him out of his see. In Egypt, a mob set fire to the
Serapeum, killing many soldiers who were inside. At first, Marcian and Pulcheria tried using diplomacy, writing letters directly to the rebels, but when that did not work they sent troops to suppress them. In Egypt, those troops raped women, further galvanising Egyptian opposition to Chalcedon. Of the 20 Egyptian bishops at Chalcedon, 13 refused to depose Dioscorus. They argued that they would be killed in Egypt if they turned on Dioscorus, and cited Canon 6 of Nicea, which states that bishops of Egypt should be under the authority of the Pope of Alexandria. However, four of the Egyptian bishops joined the council in condemning Dioscorus. Those four consecrated his former arch-priest
Proterius as the next Pope of Alexandria. He had been known for his strong Cyrillian position, to the extent that Leo even doubted his orthodoxy. His successor,
Timothy Salophakiolos, was well-liked by both sides of the schism, and did his best to reconcile them to each other. However, the non-Chalcedonians continued to consider Timothy Ailuros their Pope. One sticking point between Chalcedonians and Miaphysites was
Theopaschism: the belief that God the Son suffered in the flesh on the cross. Theopaschism had been affirmed in Cyril's 12th anathema, in Leo's Tome, and in the
Nicene Creed. However, several Chalcedonian writers, like Theodoret,
Gennadius,
Macedonius, and the
Acoemetae, were unwilling or reluctant to confess it. In 469, the
Zeno appointed the non-Chalcedonian
Peter the Fuller as
Patriarch of Antioch. Peter the Fuller added a theopaschite statement to the , changing "Holy God, Holy Mighty, Holy Immortal, have mercy on us" to "Holy God, Holy Mighty, Holy Immortal, who was crucified for us, have mercy on us". Zeno became emperor in 474, but the next year he was ousted by
Basiliscus. He tried to appease the Miaphysites by restoring Timothy Ailuros and Peter the Fuller (both of whom were in exile) to their patriarchates. When Timothy arrived in Constantinople from his exile in
Cherson, he was greeted by the populace and Basiliscus himself, then paraded by Alexandrian seamen to the "Great Church" (later the
Hagia Sophia) on a donkey, as though he were Jesus himself. He then entered Alexandria to popular cries of "Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord". On 9 April 475, Basiliscus published an encyclical which praised the first three ecumenical councils, but condemned Chalcedon and Leo's Tome. These measures were widely popular in Egypt and Syria, but equally unpopular in Constantinople and Rome. The Patriarch of Constantinople,
Acacius, refused to sign the encyclical, and
Daniel the Stylite descended from his pillar for the first time in 33 years to chastise Basiliscus as a "new
Diocletian". Faced by all this, Basiliscus backtracked and published a counter-encyclical, which made no mention of Chalcedon.
Acacian Schism inscribed in
Pahlavi with a theopaschite formula:
He who is truly God in heaven suffered on the cross. Valiyapalli Church in
Kottayam,
India In 476, Zeno was restored as emperor, and all of Basiliscus' acts were abrogated. On 28 July 482, on the advice of Acacius, Zeno published the in an attempt to mend the schism. It accepted the orthodoxy of Cyril's 12 Anathemas in his third letter to Nestorius (which was ignored at Chalcedon), but also that of the Formula of Reunion in his letter to John of Antioch (which was an embarrassment to anti-Chalcedonians). Around this time,
Severus of Antioch was becoming the main spokesman of the anti-Chalcedonians. He was a convert from paganism, a brilliant theologian and an extremely prolific writer educated in rhetoric, Greek, philosophy and law. In 509, he was expelled from Antioch by Chalcedonians, and took refuge in Constantinople. There, he wrote a
typos, circulated by Anastasius, that presented itself as an interpretation of the Henotikon, but condemned Chalcedon and Leo's Tome. He also promoted the theopaschite addition to the Trisagion. When it was chanted for the first time at the Great Church in 512, Chalcedonians rioted, overthrew statues of Anastasius, and violently attacked Miaphysites. Anastasius calmed them by appearing before the crowds at the
Hippodrome in mourning clothes and without his crown, and offering to resign as emperor. Also in 512, the Miaphysites secured Severus' ordination as Patriarch of Antioch. Anastasius, who hoped to use the Henotikon to bridge Chalcedonians and Miaphysites, was frustrated by Severus' persistent attempts to make it an anti-Chalcedonian document. By the time Anastasius died in 518, it was clear that the Henotikon had failed to live up to its name, which means "unifier". The next emperor,
Justin I, therefore abandoned it, restored Chalcedon, and expelled Miaphysite bishops (including Severus) from every province except Egypt. He and his two consuls,
Vitalian and
Justinian, sought reunion with Rome at any cost.
Pope Hormisdas sent them the , a list people Rome wanted condemned that included Acacius, his four successors, and the emperors Zeno and Anastasius. The patriarch
John signed it on 28 March 519, ending the Acacian Schism. Beginning from about 520,
Julian of Halicarnassus claimed that Christ's body was incorruptible since his
Incarnation, and that therefore his humanity was different to ours. Severus corrected him, arguing that Christ's body only became incorruptible following his
Resurrection. Julian responded with insults, and soon the Miaphysite movement was divided between Severans and Julianists (who were also known as ). From then on, Severus had to fight on two fronts: on one side against the Chalcedonians, and on the other against the .
Justinian In addition to the end of the Acacian Schism, March 519 also saw the arrival in Constantinople of a group of
Scythian monks from modern
Dobruja, headed by
John Maxentius. These monks held a Christology that was both Cyrillian and Chalcedonian. Importantly, they promoted the theopaschite formula "One of the Holy Trinity suffered in the flesh" (which had been used in 435 by
Proclus in his
Tome to the Armenians). The Scythian monks believed that, since Christ's which suffered in the flesh was the pre-existent of the Logos, and since there is one Son, not two, their theopaschite formula was a necessary litmus test for orthodoxy. After campaigning unsuccessfully for the adoption of their formula in Constantinople, they also went to Rome to present their case before
Pope Hormisdas. Although they met support there (such as from
Fulgentius of Ruspe and their fellow Scythian
Dionysius Exiguus), Hormisdas eventually decided that their theopaschite formula was unnecessary and expelled them from Rome. However, they won the support of Justinian, who became convinced that their formula was the key to religious unity in the empire.
Justinian was an ambitious man with a keen interest in theology. He had a grand vision to
restore the empire, which involved reuniting the East and West and bringing all his subjects to the
one orthodox faith. His reign during the 530s was almost miraculously successful: He published masterpieces of Roman law like the
Digest,
Institutes,
Novellae, and
Code of Laws (which included a theopaschite confession of faith in its preamble). He built the
Hagia Sophia as a church for all his Christian subjects, and it remains the
second-largest Orthodox cathedral ever completed. His general
Belisarius reconquered
Africa and
Italy, bringing the Byzantine Empire to the greatest territorial extent in its history. Thus, his early religious policies were set against an optimistic backdrop. In his dealings with non-Chalcedonians, Justinian was advised and helped by his Miaphysite wife
Theodora. His cooperation with Theodora on religious affairs, and their love and support for one another, were so strong that their contemporaries
Procopius and
Evagrius suspected they were only pretending to disagree. In 532, following her advice, he invited 6 Chalcedonian and 6 Miaphysite theologians to a conference in Constantinople. This was one of the very few times in the schism's history that competent representatives from either side calmly discussed their differences. The Miaphysites admitted that Eutyches was a heretic, that Dioscorus made a mistake in 449 by restoring him, and that therefore Marcian was justified in summoning a council. Meanwhile, the Chalcedonians fully accepted theopaschism. When Justinian asked the Miaphysites to list their biggest issues with Chalcedon, they mentioned that it had restored two Nestorian bishops to their sees:
Theodoret of Cyrrhus and
Ibas of Edessa. The Chalcedonian delegates admitted that Ibas' letter to Mari the Persian had doctrinal issues, but could not condemn him because Chalcedon had declared him orthodox. At the end of the conference, Justinian asked the non-Chalcedonians to recognise that the Chalcedonians are not heretics, but they refused. However, one of them (Philoxenus of
Doliche) converted to Chalcedonianism. The conference gave Justinian the impression that further interfaith discussion could alleviate the religious division in his empire. To promote theopaschism and help his Miaphysite subjects integrate into the state church, he had the hymn
Only-begotten Son added to the
order of the
eucharistic synaxis. During this time, in 535, Severus himself came to Constantinople, where Theodora sheltered him and hundreds of his followers in the
Palace of Hormisdas. There, he entered negotiations with
Patriarch Anthimus over a plan to reunite the two churches which would have involved the Miaphysites accepting Chalcedon. However, when
Pope Agapetus visited Constantinople in February 536, Justinian had to tone down his religious tolerance. He convened another synod in May which condemned Anthimus, Severus, and other Miaphysite leaders. Severus and his followers had to flee back to Egypt, while Anthimus was hidden by Theodora in her palace until her death 12 years later. But even after this, Justinian (through Theodora's mediation) maintained respectful relations with his Miaphysite subjects. In stark contrast to the 530s, the 540s were marked by unrelenting disaster. In 540, the
Sasanians captured, looted, burned and deported the population of
Antioch, while the
Ostrogothic king
Totila retook almost all of Italy. The
Plague of Justinian also swept the empire from 541 to 543, killing 10,000 people a day in Constantinople alone. Justinian apparently interpreted all these disasters as signs of God's anger with the schism, and so redoubled his efforts to repair it. This was urgent, as separate Miaphysite churches and ecclesiastical hierarchies were being established around this time. In Syria,
Jacob Baradaeus and
John of Tella were worsening the schism by performing thousands of "underground" ordinations, under the belief that
sacraments from Chalcedonian priests were invalid. s shaded in pink In 543, in response to an unrelated theological controversy called the
Origenist crisis, Justinian published an edict condemning
Origenism. He soon followed it with another edict condemning the
Three Chapters: several controversially Nestorian writings by
Theodore of Mopsuestia,
Theodoret of Cyrrhus and
Ibas of Edessa. Because their authors had all been declared orthodox at Chalcedon, these writings were often used to accuse Chalcedon of Nestorianism (like at the 532 conference). So, by condemning them, Justinian intended to remove any reasonable grounds for the Miaphysites to make that accusation. He hoped that this step, even if it does not end the controversy over Chalcedon, would at least stop the Miaphysites from abandoning the state church and establishing a rival church, thereby preventing the schism from becoming permanent. He wrote many theological treatises, particularly during the decade of 543–553, trying to convince his opponents (Origenists, Miaphysites and defenders of the Three Chapters) to accept his views. They broke communion with the East, beginning the
Schism of the Three Chapters. Realising that he needed
Pope Vigilius' support to win over the Western bishops, Justinian invited him to Constantinople to negotiate. There, after six months of imperial pressure, Vigilius signed a pledge anathematising the Three Chapters, giving one copy of it to Justinian and one to Theodora. The next year, in 548, he published the , publicly condemning the Three Chapters. It was met with unexpectedly strong protests in the West, with one bishop (Reparatus of
Carthage) even convening a council that deposed the Pope. Justinian allowed Vigilius to withdraw the , and they agreed that the issue of the Three Chapters would have to be solved by an ecumenical council. In July 551, Justinian published another edict,
On the orthodox faith, which concluded with 13 anathemas. This led a falling out between him and Vigilius, whom he put under house arrest until the council.
Second Council of Constantinople depicting the Second Council of Constantinope in the
Ferapontov Monastery, 1502 The
Second Council of Constantinople began on 5 May 553 with 145 bishops, the vast majority of whom were Eastern. In the first three sessions, the bishops repeatedly summoned Vigilius to attend the council, but he refused. Instead, he sent them the , which anathematised everyone who condemned the Three Chapters. Justinian responded by presenting Vigilius' pledge and the as proof that Vigilius himself had opposed the Three Chapters for seven years, and thus he anathematised himself. The council therefore excommunicated Vigilius and moved on to examining the Three Chapters. In the council's last session on 2 June, they approved a list of 14 canons, largely based on the anathemas at the end of Justinian's
On the orthodox faith. The canons affirmed Chalcedon, but interpreted it in a way that aligned with
Cyril of Alexandria's writings. For example, Canon 3 affirmed the Scythian monks' theopaschite formula, Canon 7 affirmed Cyril's phrase , and Canon 13 explicitly affirmed Cyril's
12 Anathemas which were ignored at Chalcedon. After Vigilius' death in 555, Justinian appointed as the next Pope his deacon
Pelagius, who had initially opposed the council but later changed his mind. Justinian and Pelagius suppressed the Schism of the Three Chapters so thoroughly that, by the next decade, most of the West had accepted Constantinople II. They achieved this by deposing and exiling many opponents of the council, like Reparatus of
Carthage,
Facundus of Hermiane,
Victor of Tunnuna, Theodore of
Cebarsussi,
Primasius of Hadrumetum, Felix of
Gillitanum and
Liberatus of Carthage. Some of these exiles wrote chronicles, and their writings have since shaped the low reputation of Constantinople II in the West. As historian Richard Price put it, "in this case history was written by the losers". By 568, the only areas that remained against Constantinople II were in northern Italy, which was controlled by the
Lombards, not the Byzantines. The
Patriarchate of Aquileia remained out of communion with Rome until the
Council of Pavia in 698, long after the reason behind the Schism of the Three Chapters had been forgotten. , the site of the or where the council was held Sadly, the Second Council of Constantinople failed to restore unity with the Miaphysites. They saw it not as proof that the Chalcedonians had repented of their errors and could now be reconciled with, but as proof that Chalcedon was so flawed it needed to be corrected by another ecumenical council. According to the tract by Leontius Scholasticus, they asked "Why do you anathematize [Theodoret and Ibas]? They are either good or evil. If they are good, why do you anathematize them? If they are evil, why did the council accept them?" The Miaphysite scholar
John Philoponus listed canons from Chalcedon and Constantinople II that he believed contradict each other, concluding that the Chalcedonians had anathematised themselves.
After Justinian Justinian was succeeded by his nephew
Justin II, who was advised in religious affairs by his wife
Sophia, much like Justinian and Theodora. They largely continued Justinian's policy of remaining Chalcedonian but maintaining respectful relations with Miaphysites. For example, Justin and Sophia personally met
Pope Theodosius of Alexandria, and had him buried with honour when he died in 566. Justin also ordered that the
Nicene Creed be recited at each
Eucharist, to show that the Chalcedonian Church had not betrayed the ancient faith. He and the staunchly Chalcedonian Patriarch
John Scholasticus even participated in the internal debates of the Miaphysites, and invited prominent Miaphysites like
Jacob Baradaeus to Constantinople for negotiations. , gifted by Justin and Sophia to the people of Rome. In its centre is a small piece of the
True Cross In 571, Justin II published a "Program for all Christians" (), referred to by some historians as Justin's
Second Henotikon. However, unlike Zeno's Henotikon, this one contained no ambiguities. After summarising the faith, it concluded with the emperor entreating his subjects to avoid "unnecessary disputes about persons and words", since the different terminologies ultimately "lead to one true belief and understanding". The terms of reunion with Miaphysites had never been spelled out more clearly. Although some Miaphysite leaders accepted Justin's reunion, such as
Paul the Black of Antioch, the majority of them rejected it. By this point, the sloganeering against Chalcedon, the existence of a parallel Miaphysite church, and the painful memories of their leaders' exiles all made any compromise with the Chalcedonians seem like a betrayal. Seeing that diplomacy would not work, Justin tried forcing the Miaphysites to accept his union. Meanwhile, the Miaphysite movement was increasingly splintering into factions. The most moderate faction was called the
Severans or
Theodosians. Another, more extreme sect was variously called the
Julianists,
Gaianites or . By the end of the 6th century, there were about twenty Miaphysite sects, including the
tritheists (like
John Philoponus and Theodora's grandson
Athanasius), the (who rejected the
Henotikon and broke off in 482), the Dioscorians (who rejected every pope since
Dioscorus's death in 454), the , and other sects which
Timothy of Constantinople described. This made reconciliation talks extremely difficult, since even the most respected Miaphysite leaders, like
Theodosius or
Jacob Baradaeus, could not speak on behalf of the entire movement. Additionally, each sect claimed to be the true heirs of the Miaphysite tradition, and they sought to prove their claim by outdoing each other in rejecting Chalcedon. After John Scholasticus' death in 577 and Justin's in 578, the imperial restrictions against Miaphysites were relaxed by the next emperor,
Tiberius. He was in turn succeeded by
Maurice, who used force, persuasion and diplomatic skill to outmanoeuvre the Miaphysites. In 584, he abolished the
Ghassanid "
phylarchy", depriving the Miaphysites of their most powerful political supporters. He also expanded the Byzantine Empire's influence in
Armenia and the
Caucasus, turning the Georgian
catholicosate of Mtskheta towards Chalcedonianism and effecting a temporary union with the Armenians. Maurice's cousin, Bishop
Domitian of Melitene, is remembered by the Miaphysites as a stern persecutor. The division and persecution of the
Coptic Church in the late 6th century severely weakened it, allowing the
Chalcedonian patriarchs of Alexandria to exert much greater influence over the Egyptians than their Miaphysite counterparts. For example, Patriarch
Eulogius of Alexandria controlled both the religious and, when necessary, the civil administration of Egypt. In the spirit of Justin II's "program", he was largely accommodating of the Miaphysites. However, they were persecuted by his successor
Theodore, who was appointed by Maurice's murderer
Phocas.
Heraclius In 608, the
Exarch of Africa Heraclius the Elder, with help from the
Blues and Greens, began a popular revolt against Phocas known as the
Heraclian revolt. He conquered Egypt from Phocas' government and appointed his nephew
Nicetas as its
governor. Heraclius the Elder's son
Heraclius then defeated Phocas and became the new emperor. Patriarch Theodore was killed in the Heraclian revolt, so in 612 Heraclius replaced him with
John the Merciful on the recommendation of Nicetas. Between 604 and 621, the Persian Shah
Khosrow II invaded the entire eastern region of the Byzantine Empire, taking
Osroene,
Syria,
Palestine,
Egypt, and much of
Asia Minor. The Persians tended to favour the Miaphysites over the Chalcedonians; they massacred 44 Chalcedonian monks at the
lavra of St Sabas, and transported the Chalcedonian Patriarch
Zacharias of Jerusalem, along with portions of the
True Cross and 35,000 other prisoners, to
Ctesiphon. Miaphysite and Nestorian bishops often accompanied the Persian army, replacing Chalcedonian bishops who were expelled by the Persians. Khosrow's wife was the Miaphysite
Shirin, and on two occasions he sent elaborate gifts to the Miaphysite shrine of
Saint Sergius in
Circesium. When the Persians invaded Syria in 614,
Athanasius of Antioch wrote to
Anastasius of Alexandria that "The world rejoiced in peace and love, because the Chalcedonian night has been chased away." However, the Persian occupation quickly became unpopular among the Miaphysites because, in an attempt to balance the interests of his Nestorian and Miaphysite subjects, Khosrow appointed Nestorian bishops in cities like
Edessa. . Heraclius' reconquest of the eastern provinces in 627–628 was thus welcomed and celebrated even by the Miaphysites. Both sides of the
Byzantine–Sasanian War saw it as a religious struggle between Christianity and
Zoroastrianism. For the first time, the Byzantine army marched into battle carrying icons of Christ and the Virgin for protection. In particular, Heraclius' recovery of the True Cross in 630 made him a hero to the entire Christian world for centuries. To this day, the Copts celebrate the
Feast of the Cross twice a year: once to commemorate its discovery by
Constantine and
Helena, and once to commemorate its recovery by Heraclius. While he was liberating the East, Heraclius left Constantinople in the hands of his good friend, the Patriarch
Sergius. In 626, when
Constantinople was besieged by Khosrow and his allies the
Slavs and
Avars, Sergius kept the soldiers' and peasants' morale high with his religious fervour. The failure of the siege was attributed to the special protection of the Virgin Mary, particularly associated with her
church near Blachernae and the
icon of her that was kept there. Although the
Akathist Hymn to the Theotokos may be older, the popularity of its Kontakion, which praises Mary as a "victorious general" (), dates back to this siege. Heraclius and Sergius, like almost all their predecessors, sought to end the Chalcedonian Schism. However, their attempts were not based on edicts like Zeno's and Justin II's. Instead, Sergius formulated a doctrine called
Monoenergism that he believed was the natural conclusion of Chalcedon and Constantinople II: that Christ has two natures but one divine-human energy (), and that his will belonged to his one hypostasis.
Severus of Antioch had accepted the "two natures divided in thought alone" formula, but stressed that Christ has one agent () and one activity (). Since Constantinople II had also accepted the "in thought alone" formula, it was logical to conclude that Monoenergism was in line with Chalcedonian Orthodoxy. Sergius had been promoting Monoenergism possibly as early as 615–617, but he and Heraclius were so well-respected and trusted by the Christian world that their doctrine's agreement with Chalcedon went unchallenged for nearly two decades. By 622, Sergius had convinced Heraclius of Monoenergism. In 626, when Heraclius was in
Lazica, he met the local Metropolitan
Cyrus of Phasis and converted him to Monoenergism, as well as Ezr (Esras) the
Catholicos of Armenia. Later, in 633, Ezr convened a
council in Theodosiopolis that officially marked the acceptance of Monoenergism by the Armenian Church. However, Monoenergism was less successful in Egypt and Syria. When Heraclius published an encyclical about it to the Miaphysites, Patriarch
Athanasius responded by simply reiterating their objections to Chalcedon. Heraclius invited him to a conference in
Hierapolis, where Cyrus of Phasis personally tried to persuade him of Monoenergism, but their debates were ended by Athanasius' untimely death in July 631. Despite this, many of Syria's major Chalcedonian and Miaphysite monasteries did accept Monoenergism. In autumn 631, Heraclius appointed Cyrus as both the
Patriarch and
governor of Egypt, an exceptional and non-canonical combination of roles. Cyrus wrote a list of anathemas known as the Nine Chapters () of which the seventh was a bold assertion of Monoenergism. For the next ten years, he tried to convert the Copts to Monoenergism through persecution, imprisonment, torture and mutilation. He had Coptic priests put to death wherever they were discovered, and appointed Chalcedonian bishops in every Egyptian city up to
Ansena. The Coptic
Pope Benjamin went into hiding, and was relentlessly pursued by Cyrus. By 3 June 633, when an official union was celebrated, Cyrus' heavy-handed methods seem to have succeeded in (temporarily) making the majority of Alexandria's Copts accept Chalcedon and the Nine Chapters. In 633, Cyrus showed the Nine Chapters to an elderly monk named
Sophronius, who was immediately horrified by what he saw the "doctrines of
Apollinaris" in the seventh chapter. He travelled to Constantinople to raise his objections to Sergius in person. In response, Sergius cited the union that Monoenergism had achieved between the Chalcedonians, Miaphysites and Nestorians. He then challenged Sophronius to produce evidence from the Bible or the Fathers attributing "two energies" to Christ. Sophronius left Constantinople in defeat.
Monothelitism Sergius was affected by Sophronius' arguments against Monoenergism, so he published the Psephos, in which he stated that the talk of "one" or "two" energies was divisive, and that the correct phrasing was that in Christ there was one Divine will operating in two natures. This doctrine is known as
Monothelitism. Sergius also wrote to
Pope Honorius about the Psephos and union he had achieved, hoping to gain his approval. Honorius evidently felt that Monoenergism was heretical, but wanted to maintain a good relationship with Sergius, so in his response he praised him for his achievements, but cautioned him against inventing new doctrines. However, in his attempt to turn Sergius away from Monoenergism, Honorius explicitly confessed Monothelitism, writing "Therefore, we confess the one will of our Lord Jesus Christ". In 634, Sophronius was elected as the
Patriarch of Jerusalem. As was customary, he sent a Synodical Letter to the other four patriarchs asking for recognition. However, in his letter he offered the first theological critique of Monoenergism, arguing that "to each nature corresponds a proper energy", and that those who believe in only "one, unique, essential, natural and undifferentiated energy" in Christ essentially believe in one essence and one nature. In response, Sergius and the abbot
Pyrrhus drafted the
Ecthesis, which was published by Heraclius in 638, and explicitly defined Monothelitism as the official faith of the empire. Honorius died shortly afterwards, without having expressed his opinion on the Ecthesis. Sergius also soon died and was succeeded by Pyrrhus.
Muslim invasions in Egypt Meanwhile, Sophronius was occupied defending Jerusalem from an
Arab siege. After about 6 months, when it became clear that the city could no longer hold out, he surrendered it to them. From 639 to 642, the Muslims also
invaded Egypt. Its governor, who was still
Cyrus, repeatedly sabotaged the Byzantine defence of the country, such as by signing secret treaties of surrender with the Arabs. He also continued his policy of persecuting the Copts, allowing Coptic prisoners to be tortured in the
Babylon Fortress even while it was being
besieged by Arabs. In frustration, Heraclius had him recalled to Constantinople, where he angrily insulted him and threatened to kill him, then had him exiled. With Heraclius' death in 641, his two sons
Constantine III and the 15-year-old
Heraclonas became co-emperors, as stipulated in his will. But Constantine III suddenly became ill and died after a reign of only three months. Heraclonas' mother
Martina was widely suspected of poisoning him so that her son could be the sole emperor. After six months, Martina and Heraclonas were overthrown by the general
Valentinus, who placed Constantine III's 10-year-old son
Constans II on the throne. Amidst this chaotic succession crisis, Cyrus was recalled from exile and restored as the governor of Egypt, where he continued to persecute the Copts and surrender to the Muslims. Cyrus died on 21 March 642, and on 29 September
Amr ibn al-As rode into Alexandria at the head of his army, marking the end of
Roman Egypt. With the Miaphysite strongholds of Egypt and Syria now under Muslim rule, contact between Chalcedonians and non-Chalcedonians was almost completely severed, so both the Chalcedonian and Nestorian schisms were fossilised for centuries. Through persecution,
Christians in the Middle East were reduced to
dhimmi and gradually
Arabised, with their churches often marked by submissiveness and loyalty to the Muslim government. According to Fr
John Meyendorff's analysis, this effect was particularly devasting for the Copts. They had inherited from
pharaonic civilisation a characteristic sense of superiority, which was only strengthened by the global influence of Coptic popes like
Athanasius and
Cyril. However, after being cut off from the outside world, they lost the sense that they were part of a global church, and their popes were reduced to local
ethnarchs of Egypt's dwindling Christian minority.
Third Council of Constantinople .
Monothelitism, the last major attempt at compromise between the Chalcedonians and non-Chalcedonians, would remain controversial for decades. Honorius' successors
Severinus,
John IV,
Theodore and
Martin all rejected Monothelitism, while the patriarchs of Constantinople
Sergius,
Pyrrhus and
Paul accepted it. But the most notable opponent of Monothelitism was a monk known as
Maximus the Confessor, who had been a disciple of Sophronius, and who was able to brilliantly express the flaws of Monothelitism. The emperor
Constans II tried to silence critics of Monothelitism by decreeing the
Typos of Constans, which forbade "any discussion of one will or one energy, two wills or two energies". In response, Pope Martin gathered about 105 bishops at the
Lateran Council of 649, where they anathematised both the
Ecthesis and the
Typos of Constans. Maximus the Confessor wrote the council's canons, which confessed
two energies and
two wills in Christ. Furious at this defiance to his decree, Constans II had the
Exarch of Ravenna Theodore Calliopas arrest Pope Martin and take him to Constantinople, where he was imprisoned for three months then exiled to
Kherson in
Crimea. Later, in 655, Maximus and his two disciples were also arrested and sent to Constantinople, where they were tried as heretics by the patriarchs
Peter of Constantinople and Macedonius of Antioch. For years, they were variously imprisoned, exiled, tortured, and offered pardons and riches, but they adamantly refused to accept Monothelitism. Maximus' tongue was cut out so he could no longer speak his rebellion, and his right hand was cut off so that he could no longer write letters. He was then exiled to
Lazica, where he died in 662. The Monothelite controversy continued until, in 679, Emperor
Constantine IV invited
Pope Donus to a conference to reunite the churches of Rome and Constantinople. Pope Donus was dead by the time the letter arrived, but his successor
Agatho received it and agreed. He had local synods held all over the West, such as the
Council of Hatfield in England, to discuss Monothelitism, and they unanimously condemned it. Thus backed by the entire Western episcopate, Pope Agatho sent a Roman delegation to Constantinople to attend the conference. They met in a domed hall in the
Great Palace called the
Troullon. In its first session, the conference declared itself an ecumenical council. After eighteen sessions of debate, they confessed
Dyothelitism (two wills in Christ) and anathematised Monothelite leaders, including Theodore of Pharan,
Sergius,
Cyrus,
Honorius,
Pyrrhus,
Paul,
Peter, and
Macarius. Thus ended the last major imperial attempt at compromise between the Chalcedonians and non-Chalcedonians. ==Modern dialogue==