Maximus the Confessor

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Theological anthropology, asceticism
Notable ideasDyophysitism
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Maximus the Confessor (

theologian
, and scholar.

In his early life, Maximus was a civil servant, and an aide to the

Chalcedonian formula on the basis of which it was asserted that Jesus had both a human and a divine will. Maximus is venerated in both the Catholic and Eastern Orthodox
Churches. He was eventually persecuted for his Christological positions; following a trial, his tongue and right hand were mutilated.

He was then exiled and died on 13 August 662, in

Western Church and 21 January in the Byzantine Christianity.[3]

Life

Early life

Very little is known about the details of Maximus' life prior to his involvement in the theological and political conflicts of the Monothelite controversy.

monastic vows at the monastery of Philippicus in Chrysopolis, a city across the Bosporus from Constantinople. Maximus was elevated to the position of abbot of the monastery.[6]

When the

exarch Gregory and the eparch George.[9]

Involvement in Monothelite controversy

A silver hexagramma showing Constans II with his son. Constans II supported Monothelitism, and had Maximus exiled for his refusal to agree to Monothelite teachings.

While Maximus was in Carthage, a controversy broke out regarding how to understand the interaction between the human and divine natures within 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").

The Monothelite position was promulgated by

Pyrrhus.[10] Following the death of Sergius in 638, Pyrrhus succeeded him as Patriarch, but was shortly deposed owing to political circumstances. During Pyrrhus' 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 Pyrrhus admitted the error of the Monothelite position, and Maximus accompanied him to Rome in 645.[11]

Maximus may have remained in Rome at

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.[15]

Trial and exile

Maximus' refusal to accept Monothelitism caused him to be brought to the imperial capital of

in Egypt and North Africa, which he rejected as slander.[16][17]

Manasses Chronicle
.

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, so he could no longer speak his rebellion, and his right hand cut off, so that he could no longer write letters.[18] Maximus was then exiled to the Lazica or Colchis region of modern-day Georgia and was cast in the fortress of Schemarum, perhaps Muris-Tsikhe near the modern town of Tsageri.[19] He died soon thereafter, on 13 August 662.[20][21] The events of the trials of Maximus were recorded by Anastasius Bibliothecarius.[22]

Legacy

Stroganov school icon from Solvychegodsk
.

Along with Pope Martin I, Maximus was vindicated by the

Christ possessed both a human and a divine will. With this declaration Monothelitism became heresy, and Maximus was posthumously declared innocent.[23]

Maximus is among those Christians who were venerated as saints shortly after their deaths. The vindication of Maximus' theological position made him extremely popular within a generation after his death, and his cause was aided by the accounts of miracles at his tomb.[24]

Maximus is one of the last men to be recognized by both the Orthodox and Catholic Churches as a Father of the Church. In the encyclical Spe Salvi (2007), Pope Benedict XVI called Maximus 'the great Greek doctor of the Church', although it is not clear if the Pontiff intended to nominate Maximus 'Doctor of the Church' or to say that he already was one.[25]

Theology

As a student of

John Scotus Eriugena at the request of Charles the Bald.[26]

The Platonic influence on Maximus' thought can be seen most clearly in his

theosis helped secure Maximus' place in Eastern theology, as these concepts have always held an important place in Eastern Christianity.[28]

Christologically Maximus insisted on a strict dyophysitism, which can be seen as a corollary of the emphasis on theosis. In terms of salvation, humanity is intended to be fully united with God. This is possible for Maximus because God was first fully united with humanity in the incarnation.[26] If Christ did not become fully human (if, for example, he only had a divine and not a human will), then salvation was no longer possible, as humanity could not become fully divine.[29] Furthermore, in his works Maximus the Confessor argued the unconditionality of the divine incarnation.[30]

Regarding salvation, Maximus, like

universal reconciliation with his most spiritually mature students.[33]

Reception

In Eastern Christianity, Maximus has always been influential.[34] A number of his works are included in the Greek Philokalia, a collection of some of the most influential Eastern Orthodox Christian writers.[34]

Writings

Attributed texts

  • Scholia – commentary on the earlier writings of Pseudo-Dionysius. The original edition in Latin of Balthasar Corderius (Antwerp 1634) attributes all of the Scholia to Maximus, but the authorship has been questioned with Hans Urs von Balthasar (1940, 1961) attributing some of the Scholia to John of Scythopolis.[38]
  • Life of the Virgin – earliest complete biography of Mary, the mother of Jesus.[39] This is an attributed work and now believed not to be by Maximus the Confessor. Jankowiak and Booth argue that "none of Maximus' characteristic preoccupations appear in the Life, and in turn none of the Life' s central themes appear in the fleeting Marian reflections contained within his genuine corpus". They also write that there is no Greek manuscript witnessing the text, no evidence that any key thinkers who draw on Maximus were aware of the Life' s existence and that no record of the Life as a work exists prior to the second half of the tenth century.[40]

Collections

References

  1. ISBN 978-0-19-967383-4
    .
  2. ISBN 0-571-15466-2
    .
  3. ^ Petruzzello, Melissa (2023). "St. Maximus the Confessor". Britannica. Encyclopaedia Britannica. Retrieved 29 June 2023.
  4. ^ The following account is based on the lengthy tenth-century biography catalogued as BHG 1234 and printed in Migne's Patrologia Graeca (90, 68A1-109B9). In recent years, however, this account has been called into question on the basis of new scholarly research. The author, or rather compiler, of BHG 1234 turns out to have used one of the biographies of Theodore the Studite (BHG 1755) to fill the gaps in the information he had on Maximus (See W. Lackner, Zu Quellen und Datierung der Maximosvita (BHG3 1234), in Analecta Bollandiana 85 [1967], p. 285-316). The information the compiler of BHG 1234 did have he drew from the passions extant at the time, in which nothing is said about Maximus' early years (See B. Roosen, Maximi Confessoris Vitae et Passiones Graecae. The Development of a Hagiographic Dossier, in Byzantion 80 [2010], forthcoming). On the basis of mostly internal evidence from Maximus' writings, C. Boudignon advocates a Palestinian birth for Maximus instead (See C. Boudignon, Maxime le Confesseur était-il constantinopolitain?, in B. Janssens – B. Roosen – P. Van Deun [ed.], Philomathestatos. Studies in Greek and Byzantine Texts Presented to Jacques Noret for his Sixty-Fifth Birthday [= Orientalia Lovaniensia Analecta 137], Leuven – Paris – Dudley, MA, 2004, p. 11-43; and id., Le pouvoir de l'anathème ou Maxime le Confesseur et les moines palestiniens du VIIe siècle, in A. Camplani – G. Filoramo, Foundations of Power and Conflicts of Authority in Late-Antique Monasticism. Proceedings of the International Seminar, Turin, 2–4 December 2004 [= Orientalia Lovaniensia Analecta, 157], Leuven – Paris – Dudley, MA, 2007, p. 245-274). If this is true, it confirms the value of the Maronite biography, even though it is clearly anti-Maximian.
  5. ISBN 978-0-674-72666-6
    .
  6. ^ M. Gildas (1913). "St. Maximus of Constantinople" . In Herbermann, Charles (ed.). Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton Company. "This great man was of a noble family of Constantinople."
  7. ^ The Cambridge History of Later Greek and Early Medieval Philosophy. ed A H Armstrong Cambridge 1967. p 492
  8. ISBN 0-8153-1663-1
    .
  9. ISBN 0-86054-119-3
    .
  10. ^ Herbermann, Charles, ed. (1913). "St. Maximus of Constantinople" . Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton Company.: "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 ..."
  11. ^ Philip Schaff, History of the Christian Church, Volume IV: Mediaeval Christianity. A.D. 590–1073 (online edition)§111, accessed 15 January 2007.
  12. ^ Sebastian Brock, "An Early Syriac Life of Maximus the Confessor", Analecta Bollandina 91 (1973): 318-319, 328.
  13. Ecumenical Council
    .
  14. ISBN 0-8153-1663-1
    ).
  15. Bishop of Rome
    to be venerated as a martyr.
  16. ISBN 9780521196772
    .
  17. ISBN 9780898707588
    .
  18. ISBN 0-8153-1663-1
    ).
  19. ISBN 0-8091-2659-1
    .
  20. ^ For example, see Catholic Forum Archived 2007-06-25 at the Wayback Machine. The injuries Maximus sustained while being tortured and the conditions of his exile both contributed to his death, causing Maximus to be considered a martyr by many.
  21. ISBN 9780191583421
    .
  22. ISBN 9780191068805
    .
  23. ISBN 9781610695664
    .
  24. ^ For example, from the biography provided by the Orthodox Church in America: "Three candles appeared over the grave of St Maximus and burned miraculously. This was a sign that St Maximus was a beacon of Orthodoxy during his lifetime, and continues to shine forth as an example of virtue for all. Many healings occurred at his tomb."
  25. ^ The Sacred Congregation for the Causes of Saints (Prot. Num. VAR. 7479/14) considers the Pope's declaration in Spe Salvi an informal one.
  26. ^ a b Herbermann, Charles, ed. (1913). "St. Maximus of Constantinople" . Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton Company.
  27. ISBN 0-19-211522-7
    ). One sees this especially in Maximus' Mystagogy and Ambigua.
  28. ISBN 0-8146-5595-5
    ).
  29. ISBN 0-19-211522-7
    ).
  30. ^ Hieromonk Artemije Radosavljević, Τὸ Μυστήριον τῆς Σωτηρίας κατὰ τὸν Ἅγιον Μάξιμον τὸν Ὁμολογητήν. Αθήνα, 1975. English version: Bishop Artemije Radosavljević Why Did God Become Man? The Unconditionality of the Divine Incarnation. Deification as the End and Fulfillment of Salvation According to St. Maximos the Confessor — Source: Τὸ Μυστήριον... [The mystery of salvation according to St. Maximos the Confessor] (Athens: 1975), pp. 180–196
  31. ^ "Apokatastasis Archived 2006-06-20 at archive.today" Theandros: An Online Journal of Orthodox Christian Theology and Philosophy. Accessed 12 August 2007. Herbermann, Charles, ed. (1913). "Apocatastasis" . Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton Company.
  32. ISBN 0-89870-758-7
    .
  33. ^ Médaille, John C., The Daring Hope of Hans Urs Von Balthasar, archived from the original on 26 June 2002, retrieved 15 June 2017
  34. ^
    ISBN 9780195390261
    .
  35. ^
    ISBN 9781498295581
    .
  36. ^
    ISBN 9780191655258
    .
  37. ISBN 9780191655258
    .
  38. ^ Cosmic liturgy: the universe according to Maximus the Confessor – Page 393 Hans Urs von Balthasar 1961 English translation 2003
  39. ISBN 0300175043); Maximus's Mary
    , by Sally Cuneen, Commonweal Magazine, 4 December 2009
  40. ISBN 978-0-19-967383-4
    .

Further reading

External links

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