Constantine the New

From OrthodoxWiki
Revision as of 13:43, June 10, 2008 by Θεοδωρος (Talk | contribs)

Jump to: navigation, search

The holy and right-believing Emperor Constantine the New or Constantine IV was the Byzantine emperor from 668-685. He is sometimes incorrectly called Pogonatos, "the Bearded", by confusion with his father. He had been named a co-emperor with his father Constans II in 654, and became emperor when Constans was assassinated in 668. The Orthodox Church commemorates him on September 3.


Eldest son of Emperor Constans II (also known as "Constantine Pogonatus" or "Constantine the Bearded") and Fausta, he married Anastasia and had two sons, Justinian II (who later succeeded his father) and Heraclius.

Constantine called the Sixth Ecumenical Council (also known as the Third Council of Constantinople) that met from November of 680 until September of 681. During its 18 sittings, 12 of which were actually led by Constantine himself, the council attempted to bring about a reconciliation between the Western Church in Rome and the Orthodox Church in Constantinople. The council decreed that Christ had both a divine and human will that matched his two natures, reaffirming the doctrines of the Council of Chalcedon in 451. This solved the controversy over monothelitism. The council's actions helped to promote a feeling of unity between the two churches and bring them closer together than they had been in recent years.

He was buried at the Church of the Holy Apostles in Constantinople.


Sources and external links