Pope Saint Martin I

Martin was born in Todi, Umbria, and served as papal representative in Constantinople before being elected pope in 649. At that time Emperor Constans II supported Monothelitism, the teaching that Christ had only a divine will, and had forbidden any discussion of the question. Soon after his election Martin held the Lateran Council of 649, which affirmed that Christ has both a divine and a human will and condemned the imperial decree.

In 653 imperial troops seized the sick pope in Rome and took him to Constantinople. He was imprisoned, publicly humiliated, condemned for treason and stripped of his robes, then exiled to Chersonesus in Crimea. Suffering hunger, cold and abandonment, he wrote letters lamenting that even friends had forgotten him, yet he prayed for the Church and for its leaders. He died there on September 16, 655, and is honored as the last pope venerated as a martyr.

Martin is honored in Rome and in the Eastern Churches, which also venerate him as a confessor of the faith. His feast is a day to pray for persecuted Christians and for all who suffer exile for their convictions.