Monothelitism

Monothelitism was the christological doctrine that Jesus had one will but two natures (divine and human). Under the influence of the Patriarch Sergius I of Constantinople, monothelitism was developed during the reign of Heraclius (610-641) as a response to the failure of Monoenergism as an attempt to reconcile the Monophysites with the Chalcedonians. However, it was rejected by the Church, and was never accepted by most of the Monophysites either. One prominent opponent of the doctrine was Maximus the Confessor, who insisted instead on dythelitism, the belief that Christ had two wills rather than one.

The Maronite Church in modern Lebanon split from the Church in response to the Monothelite Controversy, although there is dispute as to whether the Maronites were actually Monothelites - the Maronites themselves, now in communion with Rome, deny that their Christology was ever anything but orthodox.

External links

• Catholic Encyclopedia: Monothelitism and Monothelites