Testimony of John of Nikius about the Patriarchs of Constantinople Menas and John Scholasticus: delusion or falsification?

Abstract

The Chronicle of John of Nikius contains a message, that in the Epistle to Vigilius, Patriarch Menas of Constanitople speaks of the “one will and one judgement” of Christ. The so-called Epistle of Menas to Vigilius to which John of Nikius refers, is most likely a Monothelite falsification, created under Patriarch Sergius and included in the Acts of the V Ecumenical Council under Patriarch Paul. The attribution of the formula “one will, one judgement” to Menas is in blatant contradiction with the texts of St. Patriarch, who faithfully adhered to Justinian’s theology. Probably, the fake did not seem particularly convincing to its creators, so they did not publish it widely, which is why it was not preserved in Monophysite writings (Coptic, Ethiopian, Syriac, Armenian, Jacobite, Arabic). Only the key quote “one will, one judgement” has reached us, which, in particular, was preserved by John of Nikius. During the time of Patriarchs Sergius and Paul, other falsifications were created, for example, the so-called Book of Vigilius, translated from Greek into Latin. All of them were expertly exposed at the VI Ecumenical Council. John of Nikius, in addition to Patriarch Menas, attributes Monophysite (more specifically, Monothelite) views also to St. Patriarch John Scholasticus, entering into a striking contradiction even with Monophysite writers, in particular with John of Ephesus, who considers John Scholasticus a semi-Nestorian. The persecution launched by Patriarch John Scholasticus against Monophysite bishops convincingly testifies against his “monothelitism”. The Monophysite chronicler’s attribution of Monothelite views to Orthodox writers can be explained by his polemical tendentiousness towards Orthodoxy and the need to take revenge for the defeat of Monophysitism at the VI Ecumenical Council.