Maximos the Confessor (580-662) is universally regarded as one of the greatest theologians ever to commit his ruminations to the page East or West. He is most famous, perhaps, for his opposition to monothelitism (which held that Christ had a single will) in defense of a brand of dyothelitism rooted in Chalcedon (Christ has two natures and thus two wills), a stance that led to the mutilation of his tongue and right hand, then to his exile, and finally to his death–thus, the sobriquet, “the Confessor.” In him profound spiritual insight and an astonishing command of Greek philosophy permeate a theological vision that is as compelling as it is challenging. The originality of Maximos lies in his ability to deploy his unparalleled knowledge of preceding patristic and philosophical traditions in order to engage with the pressing theological questions of his period. In many ways, then, we encounter in Maximos a recapitulation of the best of what preceded in the patristic era and a harbinger of the riches that were to follow in medieval Byzantium, on which the thought of Maximos had massive influence.
Fr. Maximos [Constas] of Mt. Athos has produced a meticulous scholarly work of the highest order and one worthy of his patron saint, enabling a far wider audience than previously to immerse themselves in the brilliance of one of the greatest works of one of the greatest late-antique theologians.
Mark DelCogliano
The Medieval Review
