Read this after you have some footing in late Greek theology.
Centuries on Charity
Maximus the ConfessorA more approachable route into Maximus than starting with the Ambigua.
Maximus the Confessor
c. 580 – 662 · b. Constantinople
MonkTheologianMartyr
Quick facts
- Born
- c. 580, Constantinople
- Died
- 662, Lazica
- Region
- east
- Era
- post nicene
- Significance
- Major Father(3/4)
- Also known as
- Maximus Confessor · Maximos
Highlights
- Main contribution
- Maximus paid for Christology with his body.
- Event connection
- Third Council of Constantinople (680)
- Best first read
- Ambigua
- Primary source
- Maximus, Opuscula Theologica et Polemica
Greek monk and the principal theological opponent of Monothelitism. Defended two wills (divine and human) in Christ. Tried, mutilated (tongue and right hand cut off), and exiled by Constans II. Major systematizer of Greek patristic theology; deep influence on John of Damascus and later Byzantine theology.
Why Maximus the Confessor matters
Maximus paid for Christology with his body. He opposed Monothelitism, the imperial compromise that said Christ had only one will, because he believed a Saviour without a human will could not heal the human will. For that refusal he was tried, mutilated, and exiled, dying far from the centres of power. His theology is demanding, but its centre is pastoral: everything human must be assumed by Christ if everything human is to be saved.
Recommended reading near Maximus the Confessor
A cover-visible starting point chosen from the curated reading path, either by this figure or by their era.
Chain to Jesus
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Common questions
- Who was Maximus the Confessor?
- Maximus the Confessor (580–662) — Greek monk and the principal theological opponent of Monothelitism. Defended two wills (divine and human) in Christ. Tried, mutilated (tongue and right hand cut off), and exiled by Constans II. Major systematizer of Greek patristic theology; deep influence on John of Damascus and later Byzantine theology.
- Who did Maximus the Confessor correspond with?
- Pope Martin I.
- Who did Maximus the Confessor oppose?
- Constans II.
Works
- Ambiguac. 634
Difficulties from Gregory of Nazianzus and Pseudo-Dionysius — the apex of Byzantine theological synthesis.
- Centuries on Charityc. 626
Four centuries of contemplative aphorisms widely read in the Philokalia tradition.
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Sources for biography
- Maximus, Opuscula Theologica et Polemica primary
- Maximus, Ambigua primary
- Maximus, Mystagogia primary
- Relatio Motionis (Trial of Maximus) primary
documented connections(5)
- Maximus wrote scholia on the Dionysian corpus (transmitted with John of Scythopolis' scholia) and integrated Dionysian theology into his own.Maximus, Ambigua ad Iohannem · Scholia in Corpus Areopagiticum
- corresponded Pope Martin IMaximus collaborated with Martin in preparing and defending the Lateran Council of 649; both were arrested by Constans II.Acta Concilii Lateranensis (649) · Relatio Motionis
- knew of Sophronius of JerusalemMaximus revered Sophronius as his spiritual master and mentor in opposing Monothelitism.Maximus, Opusc. 12 (PG 91, 142) · Maximus, Epistola 13
- opposed Constans IIMaximus refused to accept the Typos and was tried, mutilated, and exiled by Constans II.Relatio Motionis · Disputatio Bizyae
- cited (incoming) John of DamascusJohn of Damascus' Christology in De Fide Orthodoxa depends heavily on Maximus' formulations.John of Damascus, De Fide Orthodoxa 3 · Louth, St John Damascene, Oxford 2002, ch. 6
tradition connections(1)
- cited John ClimacusMaximus (d. 662) draws on Sinaitic ascetic literature; Climacus (d. c. 649) is older. Direct quotation is not formal but Maximus's spiritual anthropology shares Climacus's framework.Louth, Maximus the Confessor (Routledge 1996), pp. 35-37
External resources
📖WikipediaFull encyclopedic biography with footnotes and further reading.🔗WikidataStructured data hub linking to library catalogues, archives, and academic sources worldwide.🏛️WikisourcePublic-domain primary texts and translations (search).⛪Catholic Encyclopedia1913 reference — long entries, useful for less-known figures (search for Maximus the Confessor).