Archbishop Arkadios II (; died 643) was the head of the

Church of Cyprus The Church of Cyprus () is one of the autocephalous Greek Orthodox churches that together with other Eastern Orthodox churches form the communion of the Eastern Orthodox Church. It is one of the oldest Eastern Orthodox autocephalous churches; ...

during the 630s. He was a supporter of the Monoenergism formula also propounded by

Patriarch Sergius I of Constantinople Sergius I of Constantinople (, ''Sergios''; died 9 December 638) was the Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople from 610 to 638. He is most famous for promoting Monothelitism Christianity, especially through the '' Ecthesis''. Sergius I was bo ...

, and Emperor

Heraclius Heraclius (; 11 February 641) was Byzantine emperor from 610 to 641. His rise to power began in 608, when he and his father, Heraclius the Elder, the Exarch of Africa, led a revolt against the unpopular emperor Phocas. Heraclius's reign was ...

. Arkadios wrote an epistle supporting Monoenergism and disparaging its opponents, of which the chief then was

Sophronius of Jerusalem Sophronius (; ; c. 560 – March 11, 638), called Sophronius the Sophist, was the Greek Orthodox Patriarch of the city known as Aelia Capitolina and then Jerusalem from 634 until his death. He is venerated as a saint in the Eastern Orthodox and ...

. When Sophronius became Patriarch in 634, Sophronius sent a letter to Arkadios requesting him to call a

synod A synod () is a council of a Christian denomination, usually convened to decide an issue of doctrine, administration or application. The word '' synod'' comes from the Ancient Greek () ; the term is analogous with the Latin word . Originally, ...

. Arkadios invited Cyrus of Alexandria, as well as Sergius and Honorius. Kyros arrived himself, and so did representatives of Constantinople and Rome. Then Arkadios invited Sophronius. Sophronius and his protégé

Maximus the Confessor Maximus the Confessor (), also spelled Maximos, otherwise known as Maximus the Theologian and Maximus of Constantinople ( – 13 August 662), was a Christianity, Christian monk, theologian, and scholar. In his early life, Maximus was a civil se ...

each sent representatives of his own. When the Jerusalmite delegation arrived, Arkadios received the guests with honor. The next morning, all 46 of the dignitaries haggled over the details. The anti-Monoenergists agreed upon a common letter, but Arkadios declared its suggestions to be anathema. Sophronius asked him, "What then do you want - that this should reach the emperor?" Arkadius retorted, "It is because of your lack of belief, and because of the false doctrine you and your companions hold, in that you resist the truth f Monoenergism. Cyrus then cut short the debate and ordered Sophronius's letter to issue to the Emperor Heraclius. Heraclius promptly replaced Monoenergism with

Monothelitism Monothelitism, or monotheletism was a theological doctrine in Christianity that was proposed in the 7th century, but was ultimately rejected by the sixth ecumenical council. It held Christ as having only one will and was thus contrary to dyoth ...

and issued an Edict to all the metropolitan sees (probably the

Ecthesis The Ecthesis () is a letter published in 638 CE by the Byzantine emperor Heraclius which defined monotheletism as the official imperial form of Christianity. Background The ''Ecthesis'' was another attempt by the Byzantine emperors to heal the di ...

). When this Edict arrived in Cyprus, Arkadios added his signature to the list.

Writings

*''Epistle on Monothelitism'' Lost.

References

* George of Reshaina, "An Early Life of Maximus the Confessor" trans. Sebastian P Brock, pp. 315–7 Year of birth missing 643 deaths Archbishops of Cyprus 7th-century Byzantine bishops 7th-century archbishops Christology {{Cyprus-bio-stub