- St Martin the Confessor, pope of Rome (655)
- "Martin became Pope on July 5th, 649, at the time of a furious
quarrel between the Orthodox and the Monothelite heretics. Constans the
Second, Heraclius' grandson, was on the throne at the time, and Paul
was Patriarch of Constantinople. To restore peace in the Church, the
Emperor himself wrote a dogmatic decree, the Typos, which leaned heavily
towards heresy. Pope Martin summoned a Council of 105 bishops, at
which the Emperor's statement was condemned. At the same time, the Pope
wrote a letter to Patriarch Paul, begging him to uphold the purity of
the Orthodox faith and to counsel the Emperor to reject the theories of
the heretics. This letter infuriated both the Patriarch and the
Emperor. The Emperor sent one of his generals, Olympius, to take the
Pope to Constantinople in bonds. The general did not dare to bind the
Pope with his own hands, but instructed one of his soldiers to kill him
with the sword in church. But, when the soldier entered the church with
his sword concealed, he was instantly blinded. So, by the providence
of God, Martin escaped death. At that time, the Saracens fell upon
Sicily, and Olympius went off there, where he died. Then, by the
intrigues of the heretic Patriarch Paul, the Emperor sent a second
general, Theodore, to bind and take the Pope on the charge that he, the
Pope, was in collusion with the Saracens and that he did not reverence
the most holy Mother of God. [!!] When the general arrived in Rome and
read the accusation against the Pope, he replied that it was a libel;
that he had no contact of any sort with the Saracens, the opponents of
Christianity, 'and whoever does not confess the most holy Mother of God
and do her reverence, let him be damned in this age and in that which is
to come.' But this did not affect the general's decision. The Pope
was bound and taken to Constantinople, where he lay long in prison in
great sickness, tortured by both anxiety and hunger,until he was finally
sentenced to exile in Cherson, where he lived for two years before his
death. He gave his soul into the hands of the Lord, for whom he had
suffered so greatly, in 655. The evil Patriarch, Paul,died two years
before him and, when the Emperor visited him on his deathbed, he smote
his head against the wall, confessing with tears that he had greatly
sinned against Pope Martin and asking the Emperor to set Martin free.' (Prologue)
source: http://www.abbamoses.com
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