St. Maximus the Confessor

Maximus was a high official at the imperial court who gave it up to become a monk. When the emperors pushed the teaching that Christ had only one will, Maximus defended the faith that Christ has a human will as well as a divine one, freely obeying the Father. He was arrested, and when he still would not give in, his tongue was cut out and his right hand cut off so he could neither speak nor write. He died in exile in the Caucasus in 662, and the Sixth Ecumenical Council vindicated him in 681.

• Feast: January 21 (New Calendar)
• Lived: c. 580–662
• Place: Lazica, Georgia