St. Martin I, Pope and Martyr

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[Salvation]

ST. MARTIN I

649 - 654 AD

 

The man chosen to face the storm raised by the Emperor Constans was Martin from Todi, of noble birth, learned, experienced, and above all a man of solid virtue. He had served as ambassador to Constantinople and had had dealings with the Byzantine bureaucracy over the question of the deposition of Pyrrhus. He was to need all his experience and all his virtue to face the imperial fury.

Scarcely had Martin been consecrated on July S, 649, when he was bombarded with appeals to make a downright condemnation of Monothelism and a ringing declaration of the true doctrine that in Christ there are two wills. Martin held a council in the Lateran attended by 105 bishops. The Fathers strongly condemned the notion that there is but one will in Christ. They further condemned the Emperor's Type for daring to silence the teaching of truth. Prudently the council gave credit to Constans for good intentions, but that did not appease the furious Emperor.

Constans decided on strong measures. Olympius, his new exarch, was ordered to force all Italians from the Pope down to accept the Type. But Olympius found himself at a loss. He tried to persuade the Pope, with no success. He tried to prevent a schism. In vain. At last he decided to have the strong and popular Pope assassinated. But what seemed a miraculous intervention caused Olympius to repent, wash his hands of the affair, and go off to Sicily to fight Moslem raiders.

Constans was furious. He sent another exarch, Theodore Calliopas to bring Pope Martin back to Constantinople. Calliopas entered Rome with his armed cohorts and carried off the unresisting Pope. This terrible voyage took over a year. The Pope already sick, was reduced to utter misery by the time the ship landed. He was so weak he could not stand unsupported.

Martin was accused before the imperial court of crimes ranging from intrigue against the Emperor to lack of faith in regard to the Mother of God! Weak as he was and in dire peril, Martin could only laugh at the absurd accusations.

And indeed the witnesses brought against him were so contradictory that the kindly Pope pleaded that they be excused from testifying on oath lest they add perjury to false witness.

Constans, determined to break the Pope, had him condemned to death in a public square with a large crowd to witness his degradation. The crowd, however, showed by silence its disapproval of the shameful goings on. After eighty-five days in a Byzantine prison, Pope Martin was exiled to Cherson in what is now the Crimea. There in that frontier outpost he suffered until death released him on September 6, 655.

In life Martin was disgraced, loaded with chains and exiled, but after death, miracles were worked at his tomb. He was hailed as a saint. And to this day the gallant Pope is regarded as a martyr for the faith not only by the Roman Church but also by the Greek and the Russian.

[Salvation]

Could not find anything previously posted about Saint Martin I.

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Catholic Culture

 

Collect: Merciful God, our Father, neither hardship, pain, nor the threat of death could weaken the faith of St. Martin. Through our faith, give us courage to endure whatever sufferings the world may inflict upon us. We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Recipes: » Spanish Casserole Activities: » Namedays » What is a Nameday? Prayers: » Regina Coeli (Queen of Heaven) » Roman Ritual Blessing Before and After Meals: Easter Season (2nd Plan) » Novena to St. Bernadette » Collect for Feast of St. Hermenegild more » Litany of the Holy Ghost less

April 13, 2005 Optional Memorial of St. Martin I, pope & martyr Old Calendar: St. Hermenegild, martyr St. Martin was born in Todi, Italy. He was elected pope in 649 during the period of the last christological controversy. For his defense of Christ as true God and true man, he was exiled by the Byzantine emperor Constans II to Crimea where he died, broken by his sufferings. Before the reform of the General Roman Calendar today was the feast of St. Hermenegild, son of the king of the Visigoths in Spain, who married the daughter of the king of the Franks. Despite the opposition of his father, who was an Arian, he was converted to Catholicism. He was imprisioned and then was put to death. The feast of St. Martin I was celebrated on November 12. Spirit of the fear of the Lord, have mercy on us. Litany of the Holy Spirit for the election of a holy pope. St. Martin I The unfortunate victim of Constans' wrath was the virtuous Martin. Born in Todi of noble birth, he had served as nuncio to Constantinople under Pope Theodore, gaining experience in dealing with the Byzantine court and familiarizing himself with the Monothelite teachings so prevalent in the East. Without waiting for the necessary imperial mandate, Martin proceeded with his consecration on July 5, 649. This independent act so enraged the emperor that he refused to acknowledge Martin as the legitimate pope. A staunch defender of the orthodox, Martin immediately convened a synod in the Lateran. Attended by 105 Western bishops, the synod studied all aspects of Monothelitism and the emperor's Type. After nearly a month, the synod reached a conclusion. They determined that there were two wills in Christ, condemned the One Will heresy, and further condemned Constans' Type for boldly prohibiting the truthful teachings of the apostles. In an effort to pacify the emperor, Martin acknowledged Constans' good intentions in trying to unify the Church and placed the burden of responsibility on the poor advice of Constantinople's patriarchs. Constans, far from appeased, was determined that his religious policies would not be ignored. Appointing his chamberlain Olympius as exarch to Italy, he dispatched him with the order to obtain the signatures of acceptance from all Italians without exception. Olympius proved to be a dismal failure, both in his mission and in an attempted assassination of the popular pope. The exarch prudently abandoned his post and fled to Sicily to fight the invading Muslims. In the summer of 653, the furious emperor appointed yet another exarch, Theodore Calliopas, with orders to escort the inflexible pontiff to Constantinople. Calliopas and his officers boldly entered the Lateran, arrested the bedridden Martin, and presented the clergy with Constans' edict deposing the pope who had been consecrated illegally. The voyage, which took nearly three months, subjected the sickly pope to humiliation and abuse. Arriving in Constantinople, racked with dysentery and disabled by gout, Martin was placed in solitary confinement. On December 19, 653, Martin was brought to trial on trumped-up charges of treason and sacrilege. The pope, near death and realizing his position futile, could only laugh at the ridiculous accusations and beg the emperor to excuse the fumbling witnesses before they added perjury to false witness! Constans pronounced the predetermined verdict of guilty on the pontiff and sentenced him to public flogging and death. The disapproving crowd watched, horrified; and it was only by the dying Patriarch Paul's intercession that Martin's sentence of public execution was commuted to banishment. For nearly three months, the pope suffered under the worst conditions in a Byzantine prison before he was exiled to the Crimea. There, on September 16, 655, suffering from cold and starvation, Pope Martin gratefully met his God. Pious Martin had been disgraced in life but later became honored as a martyr. Today he is venerated as a saint; his feast is celebrated by both the Roman and Greek Churches on April 13. — The Popes: A Papal History, J.V. Bartlett Symbols: Pope holding money; Pope with geese around him (possible confusion by artist with Martin of Tours); Pope in a prison cell. Things to Do: Read another biography of St. Martin I. As head of the Church, St. Martin condemned false doctrine and thereby brought upon himself the wrath of the Emperor. He would not yield a hairbreadth from the way of truth, even when such a stand entailed suffering, imprisonment, exile, death. Here is a model for fidelity to one's vocation. In every state of life there are opportunities for martyrdom. Spend some time considering your own life and examine whether or not you take the opportunities presented to witness to the truth. Pope Martin, fearing that the truth about Christ would not be taught, called a council at the Lateran. Learn more about monothelitism and monothelites. St. Hermenegild Leovigild, Arian King of the Visigoths, had two sons, Hermenegild and Recared, who were reigning conjointly with him. All were Arians, but Hermenegild married a zealous Catholic, the daughter of Sigebert, King of France, and by her holy example was converted to the faith. His father, on hearing the news, denounced him as a traitor, and marched to seize his person. Hermenegild tried to rally the Catholics of Spain in his defense, but they were too weak to make any stand; and after a two years’ fruitless struggle, Hermenegild surrendered on the assurance of a free pardon. Once he was safely in the royal camp, the king had him loaded with fetters and cast into a foul dungeon at Seville. Tortures and bribes were in turn employed to shake his faith, but Hermenegild wrote to his father that he regarded the crown as nothing, and preferred to lose scepter and life rather than betray the truth of God. At length, on Easter night, an Arian bishop entered his cell, and promised him his father’s pardon if he would receive Communion from his hands. Hermenegild indignantly rejected the offer, and knelt with joy for his death-stroke, praying for his persecutors. The same night a light streaming from his cell told the Christians keeping vigil nearby that the martyr had won his crown and was celebrating the Resurrection of the Lord with the Saints in glory. King Leovigild, on his death-bed, was changed interiorly. He had been witness to the miracles that had occurred after his son’s cruel death, and he told his son and successor Recared to seek out Saint Leander, whom he himself had persecuted. Recared should follow Hermenegild’s example, said the king, and be received by the bishop into the Church. Recared did so; and although his father himself had not had the courage to renounce the false faith publicly, after his father’s death the new king labored so earnestly for the extirpation of Arianism that he brought over the whole nation of the Visigoths to the Church. “Nor is it to be wondered,” says Saint Gregory, “that he came thus to be a preacher of the true faith, since he was the brother of a martyr, whose merits helped him to bring so many into the haven of God’s Church.” — Little Pictorial Lives of the Saints Patron: Converts. Symbols: Young prince in armour being borne to heaven while contemplating the crucifix while around him angels carry an axe; chains; royal regalia; a palm; and a rose wreath and heretical bishops and king stand below him; prince with an axe. Things to Do: Learn more about Spain under the Visigoths.

[Salvation]

Catholic Forum

MARTIN I

Memorial

13 April

Profile

Raised to the papacy in 649 without imperial approval. Conducted the Lateran Council which condemned the patriach of Constantinople for a doctrine (Monothelite) that claimed Christ had no human will. This put him in opposition to the emporer, as well, who had him arrested and tortured. Paul, Patriarch of Constantinople, repented of his stance which saved Martin from execution, but the pope died soon after from damage done during his torture, and so is considered a martyr, the last martyred pope.

Born

at Todi, Tuscany, Italy

Papal Ascension

649

Died

655 from starvation

Representation

pope holding money; pope with geese around him (possible confusion by artist with Martin of Tours); pope in a prison cell

[Pyro7480]

Paul, Patriarch of Constantinople, repented of his stance which saved Martin from execution, but the pope died soon after from damage done during his torture, and so is considered a martyr, the last martyred pope.

We came close a few times after that, most recently in 1981 (and possibly 1994, given the al Qaeda assassination plot against the Pope during his visit to the Phillipines).

[Salvation]

American Cathlic's Saint of the Day

April 13, 2005

St. Martin I

(d. 655)

When Martin I became pope in 649, Constantinople was the capital of the Byzantine empire and the patriarch of Constantinople was the most influential Church leader in the eastern Christian world. The struggles that existed within the Church at that time were magnified by the close cooperation of emperor and patriarch.

A teaching, strongly supported in the East, held that Christ had no human will. Twice emperors had officially favored this position, Heraclius by publishing a formula of faith and Constans II by silencing the issue of one or two wills in Christ.

Shortly after assuming the office of the papacy (which he did without first being confirmed by the emperor), Martin held a council at the Lateran in which the imperial documents were censured, and in which the patriarch of Constantinople and two of his predecessors were condemned. Constans II, in response, tried first to turn bishops and people against the pope.

Failing in this and in an attempt to kill the pope, the emperor sent troops to Rome to seize Martin and to bring him back to Constantinople. Martin, already in poor health, offered no resistance, returned with the exarch Calliopas and was then submitted to various imprisonments, tortures and hardships. Although condemned to death and with some of the torture imposed already carried out, Martin was saved from execution by the pleas of a repentant Paul, patriarch of Constantinople, who himself was gravely ill.

Martin died shortly thereafter, tortures and cruel treatment having taken their toll. He is the last of the early popes to be venerated as a martyr.

Comment:

The real significance of the word martyr comes not from the dying but from the witnessing, which the word means in its derivation. People who are willing to give up everything, their most precious possessions, their very lives, put a supreme value on the cause or belief for which they sacrifice. Martyrdom, dying for the faith, is an incidental extreme to which some have had to go to manifest their belief in Christ. A living faith, a life that exemplifies Christ's teaching throughout, and that in spite of difficulties, is required of all Christians. Martin might have temporized; he might have sought means to ease his lot, to make some accommodations with the civil rulers.

Quote:

The breviary of the Orthodox Church pays tribute to Martin: “Glorious definer of the Orthodox Faith...sacred chief of divine dogmas, unstained by error...true reprover of heresy...foundation of bishops, pillar of the Orthodox faith, teacher of religion.... Thou didst adorn the divine see of Peter, and since from this divine Rock, thou didst immovably defend the Church, so now thou art glorified with him.”

American Cathlic's Saint of the Day

April 13, 2005

St. Martin I

(d. 655)

When Martin I became pope in 649, Constantinople was the capital of the Byzantine empire and the patriarch of Constantinople was the most influential Church leader in the eastern Christian world. The struggles that existed within the Church at that time were magnified by the close cooperation of emperor and patriarch.

A teaching, strongly supported in the East, held that Christ had no human will. Twice emperors had officially favored this position, Heraclius by publishing a formula of faith and Constans II by silencing the issue of one or two wills in Christ.

Shortly after assuming the office of the papacy (which he did without first being confirmed by the emperor), Martin held a council at the Lateran in which the imperial documents were censured, and in which the patriarch of Constantinople and two of his predecessors were condemned. Constans II, in response, tried first to turn bishops and people against the pope.

Failing in this and in an attempt to kill the pope, the emperor sent troops to Rome to seize Martin and to bring him back to Constantinople. Martin, already in poor health, offered no resistance, returned with the exarch Calliopas and was then submitted to various imprisonments, tortures and hardships. Although condemned to death and with some of the torture imposed already carried out, Martin was saved from execution by the pleas of a repentant Paul, patriarch of Constantinople, who himself was gravely ill.

Martin died shortly thereafter, tortures and cruel treatment having taken their toll. He is the last of the early popes to be venerated as a martyr.

Comment:

The real significance of the word martyr comes not from the dying but from the witnessing, which the word means in its derivation. People who are willing to give up everything, their most precious possessions, their very lives, put a supreme value on the cause or belief for which they sacrifice. Martyrdom, dying for the faith, is an incidental extreme to which some have had to go to manifest their belief in Christ. A living faith, a life that exemplifies Christ's teaching throughout, and that in spite of difficulties, is required of all Christians. Martin might have temporized; he might have sought means to ease his lot, to make some accommodations with the civil rulers.

Quote:

The breviary of the Orthodox Church pays tribute to Martin: “Glorious definer of the Orthodox Faith...sacred chief of divine dogmas, unstained by error...true reprover of heresy...foundation of bishops, pillar of the Orthodox faith, teacher of religion.... Thou didst adorn the divine see of Peter, and since from this divine Rock, thou didst immovably defend the Church, so now thou art glorified with him.”

[Salvation]

Definitely, with Pope John Paul II being shot.

[dsmatuska]

...And to this day the gallant Pope is regarded as a martyr for the faith not only by the Roman Church but also by the Greek and the Russian.

That's because St. Martin lived and was canonized before the Great Schism in 1054. Before 1054 the church, east and west, was one.

[Salvation]

Thanks for that information!

[Kolokotronis]

Kontakion:

Second Tone

You strengthened the Church with true doctrine, wise hierarch Martin. You declared the two natures of Christ, putting heresy to shame. Entreat the Lord to grant us His great mercy.

Troparion:

Third Tone

High Priest and teacher of the mysteries, you poured forth streams Of doctrine. You expounded the true doctrine of the two natures Of Christ. Intercede for those who cry: "Rejoice, blessed Father Martin."

In the GOA he is commemorated April 13, as in the Roman Church, while in Slavic Churches, generally on April 14.

[Siobhan]

Bump

[kosta50]

This is a good post; thank you Salvation. For the Latin Rite Catholics, it is a good example that the Orthodox glorify popes as all other patriarchs of the undivided Church. To the Orthodox, this is a good example how the Holy See resisted heresies from the East, heresies that were usually perpetrated and supported by the Byzantine Emperors. But, we must remember that the Holy See resisted the Filioque from the West for nearly as long. We should ask ourselves, where would the Faith be today had we not had all the orthodox Saints and Fathers to protect us, whether they were from the East or West "lung" of the Church.

One more reason to return to the Church of the Seven Councils. Even JPII considered that.

[AlbionGirl]

Thanks for the ping, Kolo.

And indeed the witnesses brought against him were so contradictory that the kindly Pope pleaded that they be excused from testifying on oath lest they add perjury to false witness.

Unbelievable! That's what I call a POPE!

[AlbionGirl]

One more reason to return to the Church of the Seven Councils.

From you lips to God's ear, Kosta.