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Dyotheletism is a theological doctrine that has a central place in the history of Christian thought. The word is derived from the Greek words dyo (“two”) and thelema (“will”). It asserts that there are two wills in the one person of Jesus Christ—a divine and human will. One of the doctrine’s early defenders was Maximus the Confessor (AD 580—662).
To fully appreciate dyotheletism, it is essential to recognize its place within the broader Christological debates of the early church. These debates revolved around how to properly understand the nature of Jesus Christ, particularly how His divinity and humanity could coexist. The Council of Chalcedon in AD 451 established the doctrine of the hypostatic union, affirming that Jesus Christ is one person with two natures—fully divine and fully human. However, the question of how these two natures interact within the person of Christ, particularly regarding His will and operation, remained a matter of intense theological debate.
Dyotheletism emerged as a response to a competing doctrine known as monotheletism, which posited that Christ had only one will—the divine will. Monotheletism arose in the seventh century to reconcile the Chalcedonian definition of Christ with concerns about preserving the unity of His person. Proponents of monotheletism argued that having two wills in Christ would imply a division within His person, which they believed would undermine the unity of His being. They suggested that Christ’s human will be effectively subsumed or absorbed into His divine will, resulting in a unified will.
Opponents of monotheletism, who supported dyotheletism, argued that this view compromised the full humanity of Christ. They contended that He could not be fully human if He lacked a human will. Since the will is a fundamental aspect of human nature, denying Christ a human will would mean denying the completeness of His humanity. This denial would have profound implications on the doctrine of salvation, as the church believed that what is not assumed by Christ in the Incarnation cannot be redeemed. Thus, Christ had to take a complete human nature, including a human will, to redeem humanity.
The doctrine of dyotheletism was formally affirmed at the Third Council of Constantinople (the Sixth Ecumenical Council) in AD 681. This council declared that in the one person of Christ there are two distinct but harmonious wills—one divine and one human. The council’s definition stated, “We proclaim equally two natural wills in Him and two natural operations indivisibly, inconvertibly, inseparably, inconfusedly; and these two natural wills are not contrary to each other, God forbid, as the impious heretics assert, but His human will follow, and that not as resisting or reluctant, but rather as subject to His divine and omnipotent will.”
This affirmation of two wills in Christ is significant for several reasons. First, it safeguards the integrity of Christ’s human nature. By affirming that Christ possesses a human will distinct from His divine will, dyotheletism upholds the belief that Jesus is fully human, experiencing human emotions, choices, and struggles. This is seen in His prayer in the Garden of Gethsemane, where He says to the Father, “Not my will, but yours, be done” (Luke 22:42, ESV). This prayer demonstrates the existence of a human will that is distinct from, but obedient to, the divine will of the Father.
Second, dyotheletism reinforces the understanding of the Incarnation as a true union of God and man. The doctrine emphasizes that, while Christ’s divine and human wills are distinct, they are not in conflict. Instead, His human will is perfectly aligned with His Father’s will, demonstrating a perfect obedience that was crucial for the redemption of humanity (Philippians 2:8).
The implications of dyotheletism for Christian theology are profound. It ensures that the Incarnation is understood as an accurate and complete union of divinity and humanity. The doctrine affirms that Jesus fully participated in human life while remaining fully divine by maintaining the distinct yet harmonious existence of two wills in Christ. This duality is essential for understanding salvation, affirming that Christ, as fully God and man, is uniquely qualified to mediate between God and humanity.
