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The Library

Forty Centuries of Christian Writing

1774 works catalogued century by century, from the literature the Bible was written among to the present — each with a note on what it is, why it lasted, and where to read it.

601–700

The Seventh Century

2 works

638

Greek

The Ecthesis

Heraclius, drafted by Sergius · Heraclius, c. 575 – 641

Posted in the narthex of Hagia Sophia. It forbids anyone to speak of one energy or two in Christ, and requires the confession of a single will — imperial law settling a question the councils had left open, in the year Jerusalem fell.

Byzantine · Imperial edictJohnLukePhilippiansRead elsewhere

648

Greek

The Typos

Constans II · 630 – 668

Withdrawing the Ecthesis and going further: nobody may argue about one will or two at all, in either direction, on pain of deposition for clergy and exile and confiscation for everyone else. The disputed texts were to be taken down.

Byzantine · Imperial edictActsMatthew1 PeterRead elsewhere