Church and State during the Reign of Emperor Constantin IV (668-685)
Church and State during the Reign of Emperor Constantin IV (668-685)

Summary/Abstract: Church and State during the Reign of Emperor Constantine IV (668-665). Our study aims to present the measures taken by Emperor Constantine IV for meeting the objectives of his religious policy, and his efforts to reconcile the Church and the State. Constantine IV recanted his support of Monothelism, aiming to restore Orthodoxy. Simultaneously, he took steps towards reestablishing the relations between Constantinople and Rome. In 678, Constantine IV started negotiations aimed at reconciling the Church of Constantinople with the Church of Rome. These negotiations were materialized by his summoning of the 6th Ecumenical Council of Constantinople (680-681). The Emperor presided the Council; he took part in the first eleven sessions, as well as the concluding session thereof. The dogmatic definition of the Council denies Monothelism and confesses Diothelism and Dioenergism. Emperor Constantine IV regained his role as temporal ruler of the Church, as well as that of guarantor and defender of the true faith.

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