Pope St Martin I (d. 655) the last martyred pope
The decline of Rome and the rise of Constantinople
From
the time Constantine (312-327) moved the centre of imperial rule to the
East, Rome and Italy began to lose out in prestige. Italy became almost
a Greek colony administered from Constantinople.
Milan under Theodosius
(378-392) and Ravenna under the Ostrogoth leader (493-526) and Emperor
Justinian (525-565) surpassed Rome as the leading cities on the
peninsula.
The papacy struggling
The papacy itself was
struggling.
The interference of the emperor to sort out matters of
doctrine, as Constantine did with Arianism at Nicea, was not always an
unmixed blessing.
Many of those elected as popes, such as Gregory the
Great, had served an apprenticeship as apocrisiary (that is, a
liaison person or papal nuncio) at the imperial court in Constantinople.
And after the re-conquest of Italy in the time of Justinian each pope
had to seek confirmation of their election, often involving a difficult
journey to Constantinople before they could be consecrated.
Monothelitism
At this time in order to reconcile
Monophysites (those who believed that Jesus has only one divine nature
and no human nature) with the defined doctrine of Chalcedon (Jesus has
two natures, human and divine, united in one person), a new movement
called monothelitism (Jesus has only one divine will) came into favour
in the East and was backed by the patriarchs and the emperor.
From Rome
Martin's predecessor, the Greek Pope Theodore (642-649), had
excommunicated two patriarchs for their support of this doctrine and was
preparing a synod in the Lateran in Rome to condemn it when he died.
Martin's election and the Lateran synod 649
Martin was elected to succeed Theodore in 649.
He had previously been the apocrisiary
at the imperial court so he was well aware of the issues at stake.
He
courageously declined to seek the imperial confirmation and was
consecrated without it two days after his election.
He then went ahead
with the synod which was attended by 105 Western bishops and a number of
Easterners, mainly monks present in Rome, refugees from monothelite
persecution.
He took steps to publicise the Acta of the synod
throughout the West and to secure the agreement of important absentees,
like the Archbishop of Milan.
These were sent with a Greek translation
to the Emperor Constans II (642-668).
Constans sends Olympius as exarch to silence Martin
Constans
had sent Olympius as exarch (governor of a province at a distance from
the capital) to Italy to intervene in the discussion of the two wills at
the synod.
Failing that, he was to assassinate the pope.
Unsuccessful
in both, he went off to Sicily where he led a revolt against the empire
and died.
Martin deposed and taken captive
Constans then
sent Theodore Calliopas as exarch with orders to bring Martin to
Constantinople.
Calliopas arrived in Rome on the 15th June, 653.
He
entered the Lateran Basilica two days later, informed the clergy that
Martin had been deposed as an unworthy intruder, that he must be brought
to Constantinople and another pope was to be chosen in his place.
Martin, wishing to avoid bloodshed, forbade resistance and accepted to
be brought before the emperor.
With only a few attendants, and suffering
from dysentry, he was brought first to the island of Naxos, where he
was kept for a year.
Eugenius I was elected pope in his place to please
the emperor but was shouted down by the Roman congregation when he tried
to have the monothelite position accepted.
Comdemnation, exile and death
Eventually when
Martin was brought to Constantinople, he was charged with treason and
condemned unheard.
Brought before a large crowd, the emperor requested
them to pass anathemas on him, but only a few responded.
The Patriarch
of Constantinople interceded to save his life, so instead of being put
to death, he was exiled to the Chersonesus (the Crimea in present day
Ukraine).
From there he wrote of the famine and neglect be suffered.
He
blamed the Romans for forgetting him, while he had prayed steadily for
their faith to be preserved.
He died in exile on 13th April 655, the
last pope to be venerated as a martyr.
Relics and letters
Martin's relics are said to
have been transferred to Rome, where they are kept in the church of San
Martino ai Monti.
Of his letters seventeen are extant in PL 87:119.