Ecthesis

The Ecthesis () is a letter published in 638 CE by the Byzantine emperor Heraclius which defined monotheletism as the official imperial form of Christianity.

==Background== right|thumb|Sophronius of Jerusalem was instrumental in overturning Patriarch Sergius' first attempt at solving the monophysite question. The Ecthesis was another attempt by the Byzantine emperors to heal the schism in the Christian Church over the nature of Jesus Christ. In 451 the Council of Chalcedon had ruled that Christ did not possess one divine nature, but instead possessed two distinct natures, one fully divine and one fully human, with both acting in harmony together. This ruling was consistently rejected by the Non-Chalcedonians, who were against the idea of the two natures, maintaining that the humanity and divinity of Christ were united in one nature. Throughout the 6th century, the Byzantine Emperors either covertly encouraged this group (Anastasius I), or actively persecuted them (Justin II).