Monothelitism

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A theological doctrine proposing that Jesus Christ has two natures but only a single divine will
2. A belief in Christian theology asserting that Christ possesses dual natures united under one will rather than two distinct wills
3. An early Christian heresy claiming that while Christ is both divine and human, he operates through one unified will instead of separate divine and human wills

Etymology: Monothelitism was a 7th-century compromise that tried to settle a bitter dispute about Christ's nature. The Church had already declared at the Council of Chalcedon (451) that Christ was one person with two natures, divine and human. Some theologians then argued that if Christ had only one divine will, the controversy would end. The doctrine's name was built in Greek from "monos" ("one") and "thelema" ("will"), the same root that gives English "thelema" as a Greek noun for will or desire. The Church did not accept the idea. The Third Council of Constantinople (680–681) condemned it and affirmed that Christ had two wills, human and divine, working together. The debate had become a political tool as well as a theological one, since emperors had backed the one-will formula to unite their divided empire. The English word is a modern formation: "monothelite" (the follower of the doctrine) with the suffix "-ism" added to name the teaching itself. The suffix comes from Greek "-ismos," which turns a noun into a name for a doctrine or system.

Synonyms: one-will doctrine, monotheletism

Antonyms: dyothelitism, two-will doctrine