<p>Martin was born in Todi, Italy. In his youth he served the church as a lector and later as a deacon. There were many contacts between the Roman Church and the Eastern Empire in the seventh century, and Martin was appointed as the papal legate in Constantinople. He succeeded Theodore I as pope in 649.</p>
<p>Martin opposed the monothelite heresy which held that Christ had only one will, the divine will, and not a human will as well. Since the emperor, Constans II, favoured the heresy, Martin was arrested on various charges and exiled to Constantinople where he was stripped of his honours and condemned to death. He later died in misery and hunger in the Crimea, the last pope to be martyred. In the Eastern Liturgy, Martin is hailed as a "glorious defender of the Orthodox faith."©2011 <em>Living with Christ, </em>Novalis - Bayard Press Canada Inc., <strong>http://www.livingwithchrist.ca/</strong>. Reprinted with permission.</p>
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