Council · Today in 680
Third Council of Constantinople
Constantinople III answered the question of Christ's will. Monothelitism had offered a compromise: Christ has two natures, but only one will. Maximus the Confessor rejected that because a human will not assumed by Christ could not be healed by Christ. The council vindicated him after his death, confessing two wills in the one Christ, divine and human, working without opposition.
Christ has two wills because he is fully God and fully human.
Highlights
- Monothelitism was condemned.
- Maximus was vindicated.
- Two wills were affirmed.
- Chalcedonian Christology was completed.
How it happened
What happened
The council condemned Monothelitism after decades of imperial attempts to use it as a compromise formula.
The argument
Does Christ have one will or two? Maximus argued that a complete human nature includes a human will.
What changed
The council confessed two wills in Christ, divine and human, united without opposition.
Why it matters
It completed Chalcedonian logic: what Christ does not assume, he does not heal.
Book of the day
Centuries on Charity
Maximus the ConfessorA reading pick tied to today's figure, quote, era, or event. A more approachable route into Maximus than starting with the Ambigua.
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