Maxime the Confessor

(Saint) Maxime the Confessor (580 - 662), monk and Byzantine theologist . Its festival is on January 21st.

Biographical elements

There exist two versions of the life of Maxime. According to a hagiography of the 10th century, it would be resulting from a famous family of Constantinople. Born into 580, Maxime would have been with thirty years, First Secretary at the court of the emperor Héraclius. He would have become monk in 613, with the monastery of Chrysopolis, near of Constantinople then with Cyzique. Following the Persian invasion of 626, it would have taken refuge with Carthage.

According to a syriaque writing of the 7th century allotted to Georges/Gregoire de Reshaina, it would be on the contrary originating in the Palestinian village of Heshfin and would have returned to the monastery of saint-Sabas close to Jerusalem. It seems that this version corresponds better to the relations that maintained Maxime with Palestinian personalities like Sophrone Jerusalem or the Theodore pope.

He wrote comments of the Écriture: the Quaestiones AD Thalassium and of the Fathers: the Ambigua AD Iohannem , of the ascetic and mystical opuscules, a letter treated on the liturgy: the Mystagogie and other letters concerning theology, of the works of controversy. He was opposed in particular to the monophysites which supported that there is not, in Christ, that only one nature (the divine one, with the detriment of its humanity).

In 638, an imperial decree wanted to reconcile monophysites and orthodoxe by declaring that there were in Christ two natures (human and divine), but only one will (monothelism). From 639, Maxime implied himself in the controversy about the Monothélisme in Constantinople, in Africa and in Rome, while defending, in accordance with the Concile of Chalcédoine which recognizes “only one Christ, truly God and truly man”, the theory of the two wills. In 645, he manages during a debate to make return to orthodoxy Pyrrhus, old the Patriarche of Constantinople, which had taken party for the Monophysisme and the monothelism.

As a monk, it could not take part in the synod of Lateran (in Rome) of 649 which condemned the monothelism, but undoubtedly inspired the final decision of the bishops and contributed to the drafting of the Acts of the council. Its signature appears in a document brought to the council in the name of the monks of saint-Sabas. There is since work of R. Riedinger of large doubts about the authenticity of this council of Lateran whose acts seem to be written in Greek before it takes place. Maxime remained in Rome juqu' into 653.

Thereafter, the doctrinal variations of the Byzantine emperors turned in his discredit. In 653, it was stopped by Constant II at the same time as the pope Martin. At the time of its lawsuit with Constantinople, he refused to declare himself in communion with the patriarch of Constantinople. That was worth to him to be exiled in Bizya, on banks of the Black Sea, in 655. He refused the offers of forgiveness and reconciliation of the emperor and the patriarch of Constantinople, in favor of the monothelism.

He was again convened in Constantinople into 662, and was again judged by the Byzantine bishops and senators. Tortured, Maxime had the cut language and the right hand.

Off-set in the country of Lazes (area of Batoum, in the east of the Black Sea), it was to die there of the continuations of its wounds on August 13rd 662.

Its firmness in the faith, as well as the ill treatments which it accepted, were worth to him the qualifier of “Confessor” of the faith. He is recognized today like an authority of reference for theology, in particular in the dialog between catholics and orthodoxe.

Work

The work of St maxim is considerable.

One finds there, amongst other things, the " Centuries on Charité" , the " Mystagogie" , of the " Lettres" , the " Questions and difficultés" on writings of St Gregoire the Theologist and Denys Aréopagite, " Theological opuscules and polémiques" , of the " Speech ascétiques" , of the " Chapters théologiques" , of the " Scholies on works of Denys Aréopagite" , a " Treaty on the âme" , a " comment of the " Our Père" , of the " Scholies on the letters of Denys Aréopagite" …

Some of these writings were translated into French (Centuries on Charity, Questions and difficulties (= " Ambigua"), the theological and polemical Opuscules, the Letters, Mystagogie), but the majority still wait. Because of precision and difficulty of the texts, certain translations besides will not raise difficult problems.

Its theology is strongly influenced in the writings of tendency Neo-Platonist of the Pseudo-Denys Aréopagite, which he comments on on several occasions. It is the object, under its philosophical aspect, of the recent research most interesting. The monothelism, to which Maxime was strongly opposed, was finally condemned by the IIIe council of Constantinople (6th ecumenical council) in 680.

Quotations

“holy Église is image of God, insofar as it carries out the same union as Him believers with God. ” ( Mystagogie , beginning of CH. 1)

“Which could be initiated with direction and wisdom with the rites practiced in the Church made its own heart a divine Church, a Church really of God. ” ( Mystagogie , end of CH. 5)

“We were saved by the human will of a divine person. ”

“It is not my intention to displease with the Emperor, but I then to solve me to offend God. ”

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