Maximus the Confessor was a Christian monk, theologian, and scholar. In his early life, he was a civil servant, and an aide to the Byzantine Emperor Heraclius. However, he gave up this life in the political sphere to enter into the monastic life. After moving to Carthage, Maximus studied several Neo-Platonist writers and became a prominent author. When one of his friends began espousing the Christological position known as Monothelitism, Maximus was drawn into the controversy, in which he supported the Chalcedonian position that Jesus had both a human and a divine will. Maximus is venerated in both Eastern Christianity and Western Christianity. His positions eventually resulted in exile, soon after which he died. However, his theology was vindicated by the Third Council of Constantinople and he was venerated as a saint soon after his death. His feast day is 13 August.

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_______________________________ Today's selected anniversaries:

1704: Led by the Duke of Marlborough, the combined forces of England, the Holy Roman Empire, and the United Provinces defeated France and Bavaria in the Battle of Blenheim, one of the turning points of the War of the Spanish Succession. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Blenheim)

1961: Construction of the Berlin Wall, a long barrier separating West Berlin from East Berlin and the surrounding territory of East Germany, began. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Berlin_Wall)

2004: Black Friday: The Maldivian National Security Service cracked down on a peaceful protest in Malé, the capital of the Maldives, causing Maldivian President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom to declare a state of emergency in Malé and nearby islands. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_Friday_%28Maldives%29)

_____________________ Wiktionary's Word of the day:

implicit: Implied indirectly, without being directly expressed. (http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/implicit)

_____________________ Wikiquote of the day:

The Supreme Ethical Rule: Act so as to elicit the best in others and thereby in thy self. -- Felix Adler (http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Felix_Adler)