Pope Honorius I

Lore & Background

Honorius I was a wealthy aristocrat born in Campania, the son of Petronius, who held the honorary title of consul. Little is known about his life before he was elected pope on 27 October 625, two days after the death of his predecessor, Boniface V. Historians suggest the short vacancy was due to the presence in Rome of Isaac the Armenian, the imperial exarch of Italy, who was empowered to confirm the election. As pope, Honorius modeled his papacy after Gregory I and employed monks rather than secular clergy in the administration of the Lateran Palace. He supported Adaloald, the deposed Catholic king of the Lombards, but also established diplomatic relations with Adaloald's Arian rival, Arioald. He did not succeed in resolving the Schism of the Three Chapters in Venetia and Istria, but attempted to appease the archbishops of Ravenna. Honorius actively supported the Christianisation of Anglo-Saxon England, sending Birinus to convert the West Saxons, and bestowing the pallium on the archbishops of York and Canterbury. He was less successful in convincing the Celtic clergy to abandon their divergent Paschal cycle. At the Sixth Council of Toledo, he urged the Visigothic bishops to persevere in their policies regarding the Jews, referencing precedents set by Gregory I.

Reader's Guide

Honorius I's legacy is dominated by his involvement in the Monoenergism and Monothelite controversies. Patriarch Sergius I of Constantinople wrote to Honorius asking him to endorse a policy of silence to prevent disputes over whether Christ possessed one energy or two. Pope Honorius's reply in 635 endorsed the view that discussions over energies should cease. He agreed that Jesus does not have two conflicting wills, but one will, reasoning that Jesus did not assume the 'vitiated' human nature tainted by Adam's fall, but human nature as it existed prior to the fall. At the Third Council of Constantinople in 681, Honorius was anathematized by name 'as having followed them in all things.' The XVI session explicitly stated, 'To Honorius, the heretic, anathema!' Pope Leo II confirmed the condemnation, charging Honorius with failing to extinguish the heresy. Defenders, including his secretary Abbot John Symponus, testified that the text referred to the human will alone. St. Maximus the Confessor also defended Honorius's orthodoxy. The Venerable Bede described Honorius as a holy pastor. Later historians, such as J. B. Bury, argued that Honorius did not really apprehend the point at issue, considering it more a question of grammar than theology. Louis Nazaire Bégin stated that Honorius was not a 'formal heretic' but only a 'material heretic' for tolerating the Monothelite heresy instead of believing and teaching it, and that his condemnation was based on the guilt of negligence.

Did You Know?

• Honorius I was consecrated pope just two days after the death of his predecessor, Boniface V, a very short vacancy historians attribute to the presence of Isaac the Armenian, the imperial exarch of Italy.
• His reply to Patriarch Sergius I in 635 endorsed a policy of silence on whether Christ had one energy or two, and stated that Jesus does not have two conflicting wills, but one will.
• At the Third Council of Constantinople in 681, Honorius was anathematized by name, with the XVI session explicitly declaring 'To Honorius, the heretic, anathema!'
• Pope Leo II confirmed the condemnation, charging Honorius with failing to extinguish the heresy, saying he 'did not attempt to sanctify this Apostolic Church with the teaching of apostolic tradition, but by profane treachery permitted its purity to be polluted.'
• The Venerable Bede described Honorius as a holy pastor, a characterization later cited by theologians such as Robert Bellarmine to argue against charges of heresy.

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