TurretinFan on Maximus

I'm involved with some other things (and probably will be so for the next few weeks). Let's just say some of those other things require me to read a sampling of documents from the medieval church. That's why I recently posted on Maximus. The book posted on the left is available via Google preview. It is an affordable book as well. If you haven't ever done so, read through the trial of Maximus. It is a very interesting read.

A few critics jumped all over an earlier post of mine on Maximus (one even admitting to not even having read the context of the Maximus quote I posted). My choices were to drop the things I'm doing and dialog with a few Roman Catholic bloggers (some of whom are anonymous, all of which have not been given any Roman authority to either interpret Romanism or the history of Romanism), or continue doing that which has more value at the present moment.

Fortunately TurretinFan  put together an interesting response to these critics: Maximus the Roman Catholic Confessor?  I'm grateful for this post. It certainly shows that our Roman Catholic friends use a template by which to interpret everything, and that template is riddled with anachronism.

Since I don't have any time to quibble over the details, I suggest any Maximus comments find their way  over to TurretinFan's blog. Thanks!

Maximus the Confessor on the Authority of Rome and Galatians 1:8

Maximus Confessor held that since “will” and “activity” pertain to a nature rather than to a person, Christ therefore had a human will and a divine will. In 653 Maximus was arrested, tried for treason and then banished in 655 for not adhering to the idea that Christ has but one will. He eventually had his tongue cut out and his right hand cut off for his refusal to change his position. He died in 662 and became popularly referred to with the title “confessor.”

In the account of his trial, the Eastern authorities questioned him on what he would do if the Roman Church made any sort of agreement with the Byzantines (those who had imprisoned Maximus). Here's how it went down:

7. They said to him, "And what will you do if the Romans unite with the Byzantines? For behold, yesterday there came legates of Rome and tomorrow on Sunday they will take communion with the patriarch; it will become evident to all that it was you who turned the Romans away. Doubtless with you removed, there will then be an easy union." And he said to them, "Those who are coming cannot in any way prejudice the see of Rome, even if they should take communion because they have not brought a letter to the patriarch. And I am not at all convinced that the Romans will unite with them unless they confess that our Lord and God by nature both wills and works our salvation according to each of the natures from which he is, in which he is, as well as which he is." And they said, "And if the Romans should come to terms with them at this time, what will you do?" He replied, "The Holy Spirit, according to the Apostle, condemns even angels who sanction anything against what has been preached" [Maximus the Confessor, Selected Writings (Paulist Press, 1985), p 23].

Notice at the end Maximus quotes Galatians 1:8, "But even if we, or an angel from heaven, should preach to you a gospel contrary to what we have preached to you, he is to be accursed!" I'm not saying Maximus was a proto-Protestant, but he certainly had the right idea here about what the ultimate authority truly is.