St Martin I

When Martin finished school he became a priest right away. In the year 649 Martin became the Pope. During this time, the land was being ruled by Emperor Constans II of Constantinople. Emperor Constans II believed that Jesus did not think like a human being but only thought like God. The Church and Pope Martin believed that Jesus did think like God but that He also had human thoughts, just like we do. Pope Martin stood up against the Emperor when he tried to get others to believe that Jesus did not have human thoughts. This made the Emperor very angry. He had Pope Martin kidnapped and put in jail. The Emperor had plans to kill Pope Martin but changed his mind and decided to send him to a land far away where he was not able to return to Rome. Pope Martin lived the last few years of his life in what is now Russia. He had very little food and he suffered a lot. He died alone in the year 655. He has been called a martyr because he suffered for his belief in the Truth about Jesus. He is the last Pope to have died a martyr's death.