Editing Pope Honorius I (section)

== Papacy ==
As pope, Honorius I looked up to [[Pope Gregory I|Gregory I]] and employed monks rather than secular clergy as staff at the [[Lateran Palace]]. He initially supported [[Adaloald]], the deposed Catholic [[king of the Lombards]], but established cordial relations with Adoald's [[Arian]] rival [[Arioald]]. He did not succeed in resolving the schism of Venetia-Istria, but took steps to appease the [[archbishops of Ravenna]], who were dissatisfied with their subordination to Rome. Honorius actively supported the difficult [[Christianisation of Anglo-Saxon England]] and sent [[Birinus]] to convert the [[West Saxons]], but less successful in convincing the [[Celts]] to abandon [[Celtic Christianity|their system]] of [[Easter controversy|computing the date of Easter]]. At the [[Sixth Council of Toledo]], Honorius urged the Visigothic bishops to continue [[History of the Jews in Spain#Visigoth rule – Repression and forced conversions (5th century to 711)|baptizing Jews]], a policy instituted by Gregory I.<ref name="Attwater"/>

Honorius became involved in early discussions regarding the doctrine of [[Monothelitism]], which is the teaching that Christ has only one energy and one will, in contrast with the teaching that he has two energies and two wills, both human and divine.<ref>[http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/10502a.htm Catholic Encyclopedia: Monothelitism and Monothelites]</ref> Patriarch [[Sergius I of Constantinople]] wrote an initial letter informing Honorius of the [[Monoenergism]] controversy, asking Honorius to endorse a position that Church unity should not be endangered by having any discussions or disputes over Christ's possessing one energy or two.  Sergius added that the doctrine of two energies could lead to the erroneous belief that Jesus has two conflicting wills.<ref name="Hefele, pg 25">Hefele, p. 25</ref> Pope Honorius’ reply in 635 endorsed this view that all discussions over energies should cease, and agreed that Jesus does not have two conflicting wills, but one will, since Jesus did not assume the vitiated human nature tainted by [[Adam]]'s fall, but human nature as it existed prior to Adam's fall.<ref name="Hefele, pg 29-30">Hefele, pp. 29–30</ref>

Honorius however did not endorse Monothelitism as his latter accusers would charge him. Rather it was known in the west that he was not a [[Monothelitism|Monothelite]] and his secretary and author of the letter, the Abbot John, testified that ''"When we spoke of a single will in the Lord, we did not have in view His double nature, divine and human, but His humanity only…. We meant that Jesus Christ did not have two contrary wills, that is to say one of the flesh and one of the spirit, as we ourselves have on account of sin, but that, with regard to His humanity, He had but one natural will."''<ref>{{Cite book |last=Migne |title=Patrologia Graeca |volume=91 |pages=328–329}}</ref>

[[Pope John IV]], Honorius' near immediate successor, also noted that Honorius spoke ''"only of the human and not also of the divine nature"'' when commenting on Honorius' use of the phrase "one will". St [[Maximus the Confessor]] is another notable figure who rose to the defense of Honorius' orthodoxy. In writing about Pope Honorius, Venerable [[Bede]] notes his constant sanctity, a point [[Robert Bellarmine]] does not fail to notice and amplify in saying, <blockquote>For, that Bede considered Honorius to be a holy man, also after his death, is clear both from book 2, chapters 17–19 in his history of the English people, where he often speaks about Honorius as an excellent pastor, and from the life of the Abbot St. Bertolfus, where he calls Honorius, now blessed, now holy, and among other things he also says: ''Honorius was a venerable bishop, wise in his thinking, strong in giving counsel, clear in doctrine, distinguished for his sweetness and humility.'' And after that: ''The holy Pope offered the desired office to the mentioned father Bertolfus, namely, the privileges of the apostolic See, inasmuch as none of the bishops in the previously mentioned cloister attempted to rule in any way.'' These are Bede’s words about Honorius; certainly he would not have said such things, if he considered him to be a condemned heretic, as the adversaries claim.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Bellarmine |first=Robert |url=https://isidore.co/CalibreLibrary/Bellarmine,%20St.%20Robert,%20S.J.,%201542-1621/Controversies%20of%20the%20Christian%20Faith%20(9187)/ |title=Controversies of the Christian Faith |date=2016 |isbn=978-0-9912268-6-3 |pages=997 |publisher=Keep the Faith, Incorporated |translator-last=Baker |translator-first=Kenneth}}</ref></blockquote>

Honorius was apparently aware of the [[rise of Islam]] and viewed this religion's tenets as closely resembling those of [[Arius]].<ref>Ata Ur-Rahim, Thomson 2003, p. 148., quote: "Pope Honorius was aware of the rising tide of Islam, whose tenets very much resembled those of [[Arius]]. The mutual killing of Christians by each other was still fresh in his memory, and perhaps he thought that what he had heard about Islam might be applied in healing the differences between the various Christian sects.  In his letters he began to support the doctrine of 'one mind' within the doctrine of Trinity. He argued that if God had three independent minds, the result would be chaos. This logical and reasonable conclusion pointed to the belief in the existence of One God."</ref>