St. Maximos is one of the last historical figures who was both venerated in the Eastern and Western churches. He boldly defended the Chalcedonian definition of Christ, thinking through the depth of what it means to proclaim Christ as fully God and fully man! For this he greatly suffered: his opponents cut out his tongue and severed his right hand, but Maximos did not count those present sufferings as anything compared to the glory of Christ and the glory He gives to his faithful friends.

St. Maximos saw clearly that the Christian was preaching nothing short of Union with God: apotheosis! Just as Christ united God and human in His person, Christ’s death on the cross and the ever glorious resurrection was to unite us to Him, which would unite us to God forever. And being united to God, we can embrace the suffering and embrace the glory.

Theologically speaking, he was also a man of great union. United in his writing (symbolized by the pen in this image), he united the Byzantine philosophy, the Latin order of theology, and the Pseudo-Dionysian mysticism into a cohesive pattern of presenting the person of Jesus Christ. Illumined by the grace of the Holy Spirit, he lived a life that pointed us to yearn for what God so loving gives: the return to Union with Him.

St. Maximos is a particularly important figure to the church today because he teaches us that to be united to Christ thereby means that each of us must be united to one another. Love and forgive your brother and sister. I invite the intercessions of St. Maximos (and you, dear reader) to pray for the reunion of the church: of East and West and the schismatics. I believe in one, holy, catholic, and apostolic church! And despite all the insurmountable impossibilities of seeing Christ’s church unified, God is known to do the impossible: “He who calls life out of death and calls into being that which was not!”
 
A commissioned piece for Daniel and Celeste Lightsey.