Historical Myths

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Historical myth: Pope Honorius I. was a heretic and therefore, the doctrine of papal infallibility is wrong

Pope Honorius I. (pope 625-638) is one of the very few popes who can even be accused of heresy. However, as well as in the other cases, the argument falls flat.

The basis for this accusation is this passage in one of his private letters: “We confess one will of our Lord Jesus Christ, since our [human] nature was plainly assumed by the Godhead, and this being faultless, as it was before the Fall.” (Quoted in Charles Joseph Hefele, A History of the Councils of the Church, vol. 5 (Edinburgh: T. & T. Clark, 1896; AMS Reprint, 1972), 29, quoted in here) For one, this was contained in a private letter, not an official document, and secondly, he just wanted to say that the two wills of Jesus were of one will, that is, they want the same thing. A thing to note is that he adds “before the Fall”. What he is referring to here is that, as Paul says in Romans 7:21-23, there are two opposing wills in human beings: one drawing them to God and another drawing them to sin. In Jesus, there was no conflict, since he was sinless. So, as Steven O’Reilly explains in his excellent article about this topic, Honorius is referring to the human nature of Christ, not his divine and his human nature. Otherwise, it would make no sense to reference human nature before the fall.

He was anathematized by the Third Council of Constantinople in 680. However, the pope is above an ecumenical council, he can overrule it. Pope Leo II did not agree with the verdict of the council and only found Honorius guilty if negligence: Honorius didn’t care about heresies being spread. Leo wrote that Honorius didn’t “extinguish the flame of heretical teaching in its first beginning, but fostered it by his negligence” (Leonis II ad Episcopos Hispanie in the Catholic Encyclopedia 7:455, quoted in here). Being negligent and disinterested when heresies are being spread and using an ambiguous sentence in a private letter is not the same as being a heretic.

Also, people who opposed the Monothelites, like Maximus the Confessor, stated that the Monothelites “lie against the Apostolic See itself in claiming Honorius to be one with their cause”. (here)

Historical myth: Giordano Bruno was burned at the stake for his scientific discoveries

In atheist circles, Giordano Bruno (1548-1600), an Italian philosopher-occultist, is popularly regarded as a “martyr for science”. A German atheist foundation bears the name “Giordano Bruno Foundation”. He was burned at the stake in Rome after the Inquisition in Rome found him guilty of heresy. However, many atheists allege that his execution happened due to his belief in heliocentrism and the idea of “infinitely many worlds” in the universe. 

Bruno was not a scientist, as many claim. He did not conduct any empirical science, like observation or experiments. His belief in heliocentrism, an infinite universe, and infinitely many planets did not originate from science, but his occult beliefs. Besides, he was a pantheist, not an atheist. 

Tim O’Neill of the “History for Atheists” blog remarks aptly that Giordano Bruno is comparable to Deepak Chopra, a New Age pseudoscience doctor, not to an actual scientist. “He accepted science only when it suited his non-scientific ideas.” And: “In his De immenso he came up against the problem that the planets did not actually move the way his mystical vision said they should.  But he just brushed this aside with a blithe assurance to his readers that “the geometers” would eventually realise that he was right.  They didn’t.” (here)

The exact list of charges by the Roman Inquisition has been lost, but the charges brought against him by the Venetian Inquisition in 1591 do remain. He was accused of heresy, specifically of calling Jesus a magician, denying Transsubstantiation and the Trinity. He was questioned about his scientific ideas, but they were not the reason for his execution.

It is clear that the Catholic Church had no problem with scientific investigation and that Giordano Bruno was executed for heresy. It was tragic, but he is in no way a “martyr of science”.