The Third Council of Constantinople, counted by the Orthodox and Catholic churches as the Sixth Ecumenical Council, was convened by the Byzantine emperor Constantine IV to settle the dispute over Monothelitism, the doctrine that Christ had only one will. The emperor hoped to restore unity within the empire, after the loss of Syria, Palestine and Egypt to the Arabs, where this teaching had been favoured as a compromise. The council, helped by a letter from Pope Agatho, defined that Christ has two wills, divine and human, in harmony with each other. It condemned the Monothelite leaders, including Patriarch Sergius and, controversially, Pope Honorius I. The council's decisions were confirmed by the emperor and became part of the standard teaching of Christianity.
Before and after
- 670 CEConstruction of Kairouan
- 670 CEDeath of Brahmagupta
- from 680 CE to 1355Byzantine–Bulgarian Wars
- from 680 CE to 692 CESecond Fitna
- from 7 November 680 CE to 16 September 681 CEThird Council of Constantinople
- from 681 CE to 1018First Bulgarian Empire
- c. 683 CESrivijaya emerges as a maritime empire in Sumatra
- c. 683 CEEruption of Rabaul
- 6 August 686 CEBattle of Khazir
More in Art, literature & culture
- c. 500sRise of medieval music
- from 8th century to 9th centuryRise of Carolingian Renaissance
- c. 1010sMurasaki Shikibu writes The Tale of Genji
- from 1140 to 1530Gothic art
- 1353Publication of The Decameron
- from 1478 to 1834Spanish Inquisition
The era
This moment belongs to the Medieval world (500 CE to 1500 CE), kingdoms, faiths and trade routes. You can also browse everything in the 7th century.