Dyothelitism or dithelitism (from

Greek Greek may refer to: Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor of all kno ...

δυοθελητισμός "doctrine of two wills") is the

Christological In Christianity, Christology is a branch of theology that concerns Jesus. Different denominations have different opinions on questions such as whether Jesus was human, divine, or both, and as a messiah what his role would be in the freeing of ...

doctrine that teaches the existence of two wills (divine and human) in the person of

Jesus Christ Jesus (AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ, Jesus of Nazareth, and many Names and titles of Jesus in the New Testament, other names and titles, was a 1st-century Jewish preacher and religious leader. He is the Jesus in Chris ...

. Specifically, dyothelitism correlates the distinctiveness of two wills with the existence of two specific natures (divine and human) in the person of Jesus Christ, in a

dyophysite Dyophysitism (; from Greek δύο ''dyo'', "two" and φύσις ''physis'', "nature") is the Christological position that Jesus Christ is in two distinct, inseparable natures: divine and human. It is accepted by the majority of Christian denomin ...

context.

History

Dyothelitism as a position stands in opposition to the view of

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 ...

, the doctrine of Jesus having one will, in Christological thought. Dyothelitism was championed by

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 ...

. The conflict arose between varying views of the constitution of a 'person' and 'will': monothelites believe that a single person can only possess a single will without arising in conflict, whereas dyothelites emphasize the perfect humanity in Christ's nature. The debate concerning the monothelite and dithelite churches came to a conclusion at the

Third Council of Constantinople The Third Council of Constantinople, counted as the Sixth Ecumenical Council by the Eastern Orthodox and Catholic Churches, and by certain other Western Churches, met in 680–681 and condemned monoenergism and monothelitism as heretical a ...

in 681. The Council declared that, in line with the declarations of the

Council of Chalcedon The Council of Chalcedon (; ) was the fourth ecumenical council of the Christian Church. It was convoked by the Roman emperor Marcian. The council convened in the city of Chalcedon, Bithynia (modern-day Kadıköy, Istanbul, Turkey) from 8 Oct ...

in 451, just as there are two natures in the one person of Jesus Christ, there are equally two "wills" or "modes of operation" in the one person of Jesus as well:

Chalcedonian Christianity Chalcedonian Christianity is the branches of Christianity that accept and uphold theological resolutions of the Council of Chalcedon, the fourth ecumenical council, held in AD 451. Chalcedonian Christianity accepts the Christological Definiti ...

accepts dyothelitism as theologically orthodox. The

Catechism of the Catholic Church The ''Catechism of the Catholic Church'' (; commonly called the ''Catechism'' or the ''CCC'') is a reference work that summarizes the Catholic Church's doctrine. It was Promulgation (Catholic canon law), promulgated by Pope John Paul II in 1992 ...

states:

Thomism

Saint

Thomas Aquinas Thomas Aquinas ( ; ; – 7 March 1274) was an Italian Dominican Order, Dominican friar and Catholic priest, priest, the foremost Scholasticism, Scholastic thinker, as well as one of the most influential philosophers and theologians in the W ...

Doctor of the Church Doctor of the Church (Latin: ''doctor'' "teacher"), also referred to as Doctor of the Universal Church (Latin: ''Doctor Ecclesiae Universalis''), is a title given by the Catholic Church to saints recognized as having made a significant contribut ...

, distinguished ('' S.Th.'' III, q. 18) in Jesus Christ God two types of will (dyothelitism: the divine and the human will) as a consequence of His human-divine nature. Like in the human creatures, the human will is splitted into three aspects: sensitive appetite, natural appetite and rational appetite. The natural appetite (will) is spontaneously and naturally inclined and disposed towards the good, but it does not know the means necessary to achieve it. The rational appetite (will), also called deliberative will, chooses through

reason Reason is the capacity of consciously applying logic by drawing valid conclusions from new or existing information, with the aim of seeking the truth. It is associated with such characteristically human activities as philosophy, religion, scien ...

the means necessary to achieve the ultimate end, which is the Supreme Good, identified with God himself. Generally, the rational will is the freedom of human beings and dominates and prevails over all others. However, in imperfect men who are slaves to sin, the sensual appetite, common to the animal kingdom, can prevail. This cannot be true for Christ who is true and perfect man as well as true and perfect God (without any stain of sin). In Jesus Christ God, the human rational will is always in harmony with and never contradicts His divine will. The divine will of Jesus Christ God, is the same as that of God the Father and God the Holy Spirit.

References

Sources

* * Andrew Loke, "On Dyothelitism Versus Monothelitism: The Divine Preconscious Model", The Heythrop Journal, vol. 57/1 (2016) 135–141. * * * {{Cite book, last=Ostrogorsky, first=George, author-link=George Ostrogorsky, year=1956, title=History of the Byzantine State, location=Oxford, publisher=Basil Blackwell, url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Bt0_AAAAYAAJ

External links

Classical Christianity (2016): St. Cyril on Dyoenergism and Dyotheletism

Christology Christian terminology Eastern Orthodox theology Christianity in the Byzantine Empire 7th-century Christianity Nature of Jesus Christ

History

Thomism

See also

References

Sources

External links