Macarius of Antioch
Encyclopedia
Macarius of Antioch was Patriarch of Antioch
in the 7th century, deposed in 681. His title seems to have been a purely honorary one, for his patriarchate lay under the dominion of the Saracen
s, and he himself resided at Constantinople
. Nothing is known of him before the Sixth Ecumenical Council
, which deposed him on account of his monothelitism
, after which he disappeared into obscurity in a Roman
monastery. Nonetheless, he is noted in ecclesiastical history for causing the anathemisation or condemnation of Pope Honorius I
.
In the first session of the council, the Roman legates delivered an address in which they described four successive patriarchs of Constantinople and others as having "disturbed the peace of the world by new and unorthodox expressions", referring to the controversial doctrine of monothelitism
. Macarius retorted, "We did not publish new expressions but what we have received from the holy and œcumenical synods and from holy approved fathers". He then went through the names given by the legates, adding to them that of Pope Honorius.
In this and the following session Macarius was unable to find any references to monothelitism in a passage from St. Cyril of Alexandria
and St. Leo
. In the third session, several documents which he claimed emanated from Mennas and Pope Vigilius
were found to be forgeries, surreptitiously introduced into the Acts of the Fifth Ecumenical Council. In the fifth and sixth sessions, he and his adherents produced three volumes of patristic testimonies which were sealed up for later examination. In the eighth session, he read his ecthesis, or "profession of faith", in which he appealed to the authority of Honorius on behalf of Monothelitism. In answer to questions put to him by the Emperor, he declared that he would rather be cut to pieces and thrown into the sea than admit the doctrine of Dythelitism
, which states that Jesus Christ had two wills, the divine and human. In this same session and the following one his patristic testimonies were found to be hopelessly garbled. He was formally deposed at the close of the ninth session.
Although his case was closed, Macarius had left the council more work to do. The papal legate
s seemed determined that monothelitism should be disposed of once and for all, so, when at the eleventh session the emperor inquired if there was any further business, they answered that there were some further writings presented by Macarius and one of his disciples still awaiting examination. Among these documents was the first letter of Honorius to Sergius
. The legates, apparently without any reluctance, accepted the necessity of condemning Honorius. They must have felt that any other course of action would leave the door open for a revival of monothelitism. Their conduct in this respect is the more noteworthy because the Sixth General Council acted throughout on the assumption that the doctrinal definitions of the Roman Pontiff were irreformable. The council had not met to deliberate but to bring about submission to the epistle of Pope St. Agatho
— an uncompromising assertion of papal infallibility
— addressed to it.
At the close of the council Macarius and five others were sent to Rome to be dealt with by the pope. This was done at the request of the council and not, as Hefele
makes it appear, at the request of Macarius and his adherents . Macarius and three others who still held out were confined in different monasteries (see Liber Pontificalis
, Leo II).
Later on Pope Benedict II
tried for thirty days to persuade Macarius to recant. This attempt was quoted in the first session of the Seventh General Council as a precedent for the restoration of bishops who had fallen from the Faith. Baronius gives reasons for supposing that Benedict's purpose was to restore Macarius to his patriarchal dignity, the patriarch who had succeeded him having just died (Annales, ann. 685).
The profession of faith in the Eucharist, in his "Ecthesis", is perhaps the earliest instance of a reference to this doctrine in a formal creed. To Macarius the Eucharist
was a palmary argument against Nestorianism
. The flesh and blood in the Eucharist is not mere flesh and blood, he argued, for how else could it be life-giving? He contended that it is life-giving because it is the own flesh and blood of the Word, which being God is by nature Life. Macarius develops this argument in a manner which shows how shadowy the line was which separated the Monothelite from the Monophysite.
Patriarch of Antioch
Patriarch of Antioch is a traditional title held by the Bishop of Antioch. As the traditional "overseer" of the first gentile Christian community, the position has been of prime importance in the church from its earliest period...
in the 7th century, deposed in 681. His title seems to have been a purely honorary one, for his patriarchate lay under the dominion of the Saracen
Saracen
Saracen was a term used by the ancient Romans to refer to a people who lived in desert areas in and around the Roman province of Arabia, and who were distinguished from Arabs. In Europe during the Middle Ages the term was expanded to include Arabs, and then all who professed the religion of Islam...
s, and he himself resided at Constantinople
Constantinople
Constantinople was the capital of the Roman, Eastern Roman, Byzantine, Latin, and Ottoman Empires. Throughout most of the Middle Ages, Constantinople was Europe's largest and wealthiest city.-Names:...
. Nothing is known of him before the Sixth Ecumenical Council
Third Council of Constantinople
The Third Council of Constantinople, counted as the Sixth Ecumenical Council by the Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox churches and other Christian groups, met in 680/681 and condemned monoenergism and monothelitism as heretical and defined Jesus Christ as having two energies and two wills...
, which deposed him on account of his monothelitism
Monothelitism
Monothelitism is a particular teaching about how the divine and human relate in the person of Jesus, known as a Christological doctrine, that formally emerged in Armenia and Syria in 629. Specifically, monothelitism teaches that Jesus Christ had two natures but only one will...
, after which he disappeared into obscurity in a Roman
Rome
Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...
monastery. Nonetheless, he is noted in ecclesiastical history for causing the anathemisation or condemnation of Pope Honorius I
Pope Honorius I
Pope Honorius I was pope from 625 to 638.Honorius, according to the Liber Pontificalis, came from Campania and was the son of the consul Petronius. He became pope on October 27, 625, two days after the death of his predecessor, Boniface V...
.
In the first session of the council, the Roman legates delivered an address in which they described four successive patriarchs of Constantinople and others as having "disturbed the peace of the world by new and unorthodox expressions", referring to the controversial doctrine of monothelitism
Monothelitism
Monothelitism is a particular teaching about how the divine and human relate in the person of Jesus, known as a Christological doctrine, that formally emerged in Armenia and Syria in 629. Specifically, monothelitism teaches that Jesus Christ had two natures but only one will...
. Macarius retorted, "We did not publish new expressions but what we have received from the holy and œcumenical synods and from holy approved fathers". He then went through the names given by the legates, adding to them that of Pope Honorius.
In this and the following session Macarius was unable to find any references to monothelitism in a passage from St. Cyril of Alexandria
Cyril of Alexandria
Cyril of Alexandria was the Patriarch of Alexandria from 412 to 444. He came to power when the city was at its height of influence and power within the Roman Empire. Cyril wrote extensively and was a leading protagonist in the Christological controversies of the later 4th and 5th centuries...
and St. Leo
St. Leo
-Places:United States* St. Leo, Florida** Saint Leo University** St. Leo Abbey Historic District* St. Leo, Kansas* St. Leo, Minnesota* Saint Leo the Great Parish, within the Roman Catholic Diocese of San Jose, CaliforniaAustralia...
. In the third session, several documents which he claimed emanated from Mennas and Pope Vigilius
Pope Vigilius
Pope Vigilius reigned as pope from 537 to 555, is considered the first pope of the Byzantine Papacy.-Early life:He belonged to a aristocratic Roman family; his father Johannes is identified as a consul in the Liber pontificalis, having received that title from the emperor...
were found to be forgeries, surreptitiously introduced into the Acts of the Fifth Ecumenical Council. In the fifth and sixth sessions, he and his adherents produced three volumes of patristic testimonies which were sealed up for later examination. In the eighth session, he read his ecthesis, or "profession of faith", in which he appealed to the authority of Honorius on behalf of Monothelitism. In answer to questions put to him by the Emperor, he declared that he would rather be cut to pieces and thrown into the sea than admit the doctrine of Dythelitism
Dythelitism
Dythelitism is the Christological doctrine that Jesus Christ had two wills, the divine and human. It was championed by Maximus the Confessor against monothelitism, the doctrine of one will....
, which states that Jesus Christ had two wills, the divine and human. In this same session and the following one his patristic testimonies were found to be hopelessly garbled. He was formally deposed at the close of the ninth session.
Although his case was closed, Macarius had left the council more work to do. The papal legate
Papal legate
A papal legate – from the Latin, authentic Roman title Legatus – is a personal representative of the pope to foreign nations, or to some part of the Catholic Church. He is empowered on matters of Catholic Faith and for the settlement of ecclesiastical matters....
s seemed determined that monothelitism should be disposed of once and for all, so, when at the eleventh session the emperor inquired if there was any further business, they answered that there were some further writings presented by Macarius and one of his disciples still awaiting examination. Among these documents was the first letter of Honorius to Sergius
Sergius
Sergius was a name of a Roman Patrician Gens originally from Alba Longa and can refer to:- Roman Catholic Popes :*Pope Sergius I , Sicilian-born pope*Pope Sergius II , Italian-born pope...
. The legates, apparently without any reluctance, accepted the necessity of condemning Honorius. They must have felt that any other course of action would leave the door open for a revival of monothelitism. Their conduct in this respect is the more noteworthy because the Sixth General Council acted throughout on the assumption that the doctrinal definitions of the Roman Pontiff were irreformable. The council had not met to deliberate but to bring about submission to the epistle of Pope St. Agatho
Pope Agatho
-Background and early life:Little is known of Agatho before his papacy. A letter written by St. Gregory the Great to the abbot of St. Hermes in Palermo mentions an Agatho, a Greek born in Sicily to wealthy parents. He wished to give away his inheritance and join a monastery, and in this letter...
— an uncompromising assertion of papal infallibility
Papal infallibility
Papal infallibility is a dogma of the Catholic Church which states that, by action of the Holy Spirit, the Pope is preserved from even the possibility of error when in his official capacity he solemnly declares or promulgates to the universal Church a dogmatic teaching on faith or morals...
— addressed to it.
At the close of the council Macarius and five others were sent to Rome to be dealt with by the pope. This was done at the request of the council and not, as Hefele
Hefele
Hefele:* Melchior Hefele , Austrian-Hungarian architect* Karl Josef von Hefele , a German Roman Catholic theologian, bishop* Hermann Hefele , German historian* Herbert Hefele , astronomer...
makes it appear, at the request of Macarius and his adherents . Macarius and three others who still held out were confined in different monasteries (see Liber Pontificalis
Liber Pontificalis
The Liber Pontificalis is a book of biographies of popes from Saint Peter until the 15th century. The original publication of the Liber Pontificalis stopped with Pope Adrian II or Pope Stephen V , but it was later supplemented in a different style until Pope Eugene IV and then Pope Pius II...
, Leo II).
Later on Pope Benedict II
Pope Benedict II
Pope Saint Benedict II was Pope from 684 to 685.Pope Benedict II died on May 8, 685. He succeeded Leo II. Although chosen in 683, he was not ordained until 684 because the leave of Emperor Constantine IV was not obtained until some months after the election...
tried for thirty days to persuade Macarius to recant. This attempt was quoted in the first session of the Seventh General Council as a precedent for the restoration of bishops who had fallen from the Faith. Baronius gives reasons for supposing that Benedict's purpose was to restore Macarius to his patriarchal dignity, the patriarch who had succeeded him having just died (Annales, ann. 685).
The profession of faith in the Eucharist, in his "Ecthesis", is perhaps the earliest instance of a reference to this doctrine in a formal creed. To Macarius the Eucharist
Eucharist
The Eucharist , also called Holy Communion, the Sacrament of the Altar, the Blessed Sacrament, the Lord's Supper, and other names, is a Christian sacrament or ordinance...
was a palmary argument against Nestorianism
Nestorianism
Nestorianism is a Christological doctrine advanced by Nestorius, Patriarch of Constantinople from 428–431. The doctrine, which was informed by Nestorius's studies under Theodore of Mopsuestia at the School of Antioch, emphasizes the disunion between the human and divine natures of Jesus...
. The flesh and blood in the Eucharist is not mere flesh and blood, he argued, for how else could it be life-giving? He contended that it is life-giving because it is the own flesh and blood of the Word, which being God is by nature Life. Macarius develops this argument in a manner which shows how shadowy the line was which separated the Monothelite from the Monophysite.