SAINT AGATHON THE WONDERWORKER

In the early history of the ancient Roman Church, a tradition arose quite early on according to which the Apostle Peter resided in Rome, leading the local Christian community for twenty-five years. Another tradition held that none of the Roman bishops, considered to be Peter’s successors, would be able to exceed this quarter-century term at the head of the Roman Christians. “The Years of Peter” refer to this quarter-century. Until the second half of the nineteenth century, this “sacred record” remained unbroken. Saint Agathon’s pontificate was very brief, and he was elected Bishop of Rome at the age of one hundred. “Age is given to us so that we may learn to say goodbye”—Agathon became the embodiment of these words. Through his envoys, he was one of the Holy Fathers of the Sixth Ecumenical Council in Constantinople (680–681). He is one of the very few Roman popes—and indeed, primates of the great Churches—who was honored with the title “the Wonderworker.” Holy Agathon the Wonderworker, from June 27, 678, to January 10, 681, was the 79th Bishop of Rome in history.

Saint Agathon (577–681) was a Bishop of Rome—as the ancient Orthodox primates of that Church preferred to call themselves in those days, since they avoided additional titles. His ministry was brief, lasting only three years. However, during this period—which was very short even by the standards of that time—Agathon managed to accomplish a great deal for the good of the Church and the people.

Thus, thanks to Agathon’s efforts, the Sixth Ecumenical Council was held in 680–681 in Constantinople. At this council, the broken communion between the Churches of Rome and Constantinople was restored. The heretical teaching of the Monothelites, which denied the human action and will of the Lord Jesus Christ, was condemned there. To make the Council possible, Saint Agathon first convened a local council of bishops of the Western Church, at which the Orthodox teaching on this complex subject was precisely formulated.

In their teaching on the fullness and integrity of the human will in Christ, the Fathers adhered to the dogmatic axiom: “What was not taken upon Himself by the Redeemer could not be healed.” According to this dogma, Jesus could not commit sins. This is precisely why He was completely free. In this, the Church follows Scripture and, in particular, the teaching on free will by the Western, African Church Father St. Augustine of Hippo (354–430). It is remarkable that in those days, Roman-Carthaginian Africa—the homeland of Tertullian, Cyprian, and Augustine, and the modern Maghreb—belonged to the civilization of the Latin world and the civilization of the Christian West. 3, At the same time, there was a fully human will and action in Christ. However this will and this action do not pertain to the person of Jesus, the God-man, but to His human nature. On this point, the logic of the Eastern Church Fathers, as expressed with particular force in the works of Sophronius of Jerusalem (560–638) and Maximus the Confessor (580–662), is particularly evident. Contemporary Orthodox apologetics often points out that, from the perspective of dogma and practice, Western Christianity appears more human, whereas Eastern Christianity appears more exalted—or, in the language of popular piety, divine. The ancient Church Fathers and the Ecumenical Councils were able to synthesize these two most important aspects, particularly in the mystery of Christological dogma.

Agathon took particular care to uphold the synodal, or conciliar, principle in the life of the Church—that is, the practice of consulting with the brethren on all matters. An English bishop, who had been deposed from his see by his fellow bishops, appealed to Rome. The ecclesiastical council convened by Agathon for this purpose reinstated him to his episcopal office. The Church of Ravenna, which enjoyed proximity to the imperial court of Constantinople, once proclaimed its autocephaly, which, from the perspective of Western ecclesiology of that time—which was also Orthodox—was incorrect. In both politics and church affairs, much was built—and continues to be built—on a combination of two principles: power and authority. Apparently, his authority was so great that the Bishop of Ravenna himself appealed to him to abolish this canonical anomaly and restore fraternal communion. Such was the remarkable and rare harmony of power and authority in the deeds of the saint.

Saint Agathon, whose name translates from Greek as “kind” or “good,” was a native of Sicily, where the influence of Greek Christianity had been particularly strong in ancient times. Unlike most Roman bishops of that era, who were chosen from among the priests, Agathon had been a monk prior to his ordination. He was of very advanced age. A life spent in asceticism and monastic service imbued his character with a special friendliness and gentleness. In this, there was undoubtedly a special divine providence. A devastating epidemic struck during the pontificate of Saint Agathon. Children were buried alongside their parents; often, a brother and sister were laid to rest together in a single coffin. To alleviate the suffering of his flock, Agathon persuaded the Emperor to abolish the tax on the appointment of a bishop, which the Emperor had once imposed on the Roman faithful. “My humble God,” is how the great theologian Simeon the New Theologian referred to the Lord. The nature of Agathon’s pontificate was in keeping with the meaning of his name. It lasted only three years, corresponding to the number of years of the Lord’s earthly ministry. He was a good shepherd of the Good Shepherd, Jesus.