This week in Christian history: Geneva burns heretic, first Presbyterian woman ordained

By Michael Gryboski, Mainline Church Editor Sunday, October 24, 2021

Honorius I installed as pope – Oct. 27, 625

Saint Peter's Basilica is pictured at the Vatican March 7, 2013. | Reuters/Stefano Rellandini

This week marks the anniversary of when Honorius I, a former head of the Roman Catholic Church who some believe was a heretic, was installed as pope and ruled until his death in 638.

Succeeding Pope Boniface V, Honorius I oversaw efforts to evangelize the Anglo-Saxon population and to rebuild various churches in Italy that had fallen into disrepair.

Posthumously, he became a subject of controversy, as some argued that he endorsed the heresy of monothelitism, which claimed that Christ had only one will, as opposed to the orthodox view that Christ had two wills, one human and the other divine.

“In 680 the third Council of Constantinople was summoned by the Byzantine emperor Constantine IV to settle the controversy, which still raged. Because the council decreed that Christ had two wills, Honorius’ doctrine was condemned as being pro-monothelitic,” explained Britannica.

“Honorius’ defenders denied that his statements were official, maintaining that his teaching was imprudent rather than heretical, and many scholars believe that it is debatable whether he was a heretic. They hold that he seems to have misunderstood the point at issue, noting that his language is partially vague.”