Pope Theodore I

Theodore became bishop of Rome on 24 November 642, stepping into a church consumed by the Monothelite controversy — the question of whether Jesus possessed a divine will alone or both divine and human. His pontificate, from that November day until his death on 14 May 649, was defined almost entirely by this doctrinal struggle. For six and a half years, the fight over Monothelitism shaped every major decision of his papacy. He died in office, the dispute unresolved.