Commentary on the Nicene Creed

Commentary on the Nicene Creed

Theodore of Mopsuestia

c. AD 350–428

Bishop and the leading exegete of Antioch.

Translator's Introduction

COMMENTARY OF THEODORE OF MOPSUESTIA ON THE NICENE CREED

2 CAMBRIDGE W. HEFFER & SONS LIMITED 1932

INTRODUCTORY NOTE.

3 The present volume is the fifth in the series of Woodbrooke Studies, the contents of which are drawn from MSS. in my collection. Owing to the fact that I have relinquished my duties in the John Rylands Library, Manchester, it was not found convenient to continue the publication of the "Studies" in serial parts in the "Bulletin" of that Library. Slight changes have accordingly been made in the preliminary matter as well as in the headings of the "Studies," and it is hoped that these will be found more suitable to works of this kind. This volume contains the hitherto lost commentary of Theodore of Mopsuestia (c. 350-428) on the Nicene Creed, which is undoubtedly one of the most important theological works of the golden age of Christianity. In places I experienced some difficulty in following the author's method of reasoning, but it may confidently be stated that the translation which I have adopted in the following pages reveals as accurately as possible the secret of the author's argumentation, which is nearly always fresh and illuminating.

4 Short passages were by inadvertence omitted in the first part of the work, which was published in the January issue of the "Bulletin of the John Rylands Library". These have been inserted in the present edition together with some corrections. It is a pleasing duty to offer here my sincerest thanks to Mr. Edward Cadbury whose generosity has again made possible the publication of the "Studies" in their new form. A. MINGANA. Selly Oak Colleges Library, Birmingham, 5th July, 1932.

PREFATORY NOTE.

5 (i) Theodore of Mopsuestia. IT is a great satisfaction for any scholar to be in a position to publish the hitherto lost theological works of Theodore of Mopsuestia. In the Mingana collection of MSS., I have so far discovered two works by this Father, which I propose to edit and translate according to their chronological order. This is not the place to write the history of Theodore nor to give a full list of his works, some of which have, wholly or partially, survived in their Greek original or in East Syrian translations. He seems to have been the most profound thinker and independent inquirer of the Fathers of the Church in the golden age of Christianity: the fourth and the fifth centuries. He is directly or indirectly responsible for the three general Councils of Ephesus, of Chalcedon and of the Three Chapters. In the Council of Ephesus Nestorianism was discussed and condemned, but Nestorianism was in reality an amplification of some points in Theodore's teaching in connection with the mystery of the Incarnation of the Word, while the Council of Chalcedon seems to have accomplished little except to reveal a slight reaction against the Christological conclusions drawn from the doctrine established at Ephesus under the familiar ecclesiastical sanction of anathema sit. The fifth Council, commonly called the Council of the Three Chapters, is even more directly concerned with Theodore than its two immediate predecessors.

6 It tells much in favour of the high esteem in which Theodore was held by all his contemporaries that in condemning doctrinal points which had their origin in his writings no one dared to mention his name in relation to them, and the first Synodal fulminations in which his name is found are those of the fifth Council, held about one hundred and twenty-five years after his death. I will here allude to a few episodes in the life of Theodore, which might illustrate the respect with which his contemporaries regarded his scientific attainments. In 394 he was present in Constantinople on the occasion of the Synod held to decide a question concerning the see of Bostra in the patriarchate of Antioch. His fame had spread to such an extent in the Capital that the Emperor Theodosius, who was already making preparations for his last journey to the West, desired to hear him. Theodore preached before Theodosius, who declared at the end of the sermon that he had never heard such a teacher: "Qui in desiderio visionis viri factus, in ecclesia ejus doctrinae fuit auditor magnus ille imperator; nec arbitratus est alterum se talem comperisse doctorem, superadmiratus quidem ejus doctrinam, et colloquio delectatus atque obstupefactus." We are also informed by John of Antioch that the Emperor Theodosius the Younger was often in correspondence with Theodore: "Jam vero et a vestro imperio, pro sui reverentia, et spiritali sapientia, ei saepius attestatum est, et vestris litteris honoratus est."

7 The same John of Antioch, who had become Patriarch of the historic see of the Metropolis of Syria in the year following Theodore's death in 428, speaks in eloquent terms of his work and teaching: "Qui bene de vita profectus est beatus Theodorus, et quinque et quadraginta annis clare in doctrina praefulsit, et omnem haeresim expugnavit nullam alicubi detractionem ab orthodoxis in vita suscipiens." The same prelate addresses, in glowing words, the Emperor who had shown interest in Theodore's memory: "Iste ille est Flaviani magni Antiochensium sanctae Dei Ecclesiae pontificis amantissimus discipulus, et beati Joannis Constantinopolitani episcopi condiscipulus, cujus memoriam redivivam fecistis, maximam hunc gloriam pietatis vestrae imperio facientes." A glimpse of the early life of Theodore is supplied by the writings of his bosom friend John Chrysostom who testifies that his days were spent in reading and his nights in prayer, that his fasts were long and his bed was the bare ground, that he indulged in every form of asceticism and self-discipline. [Greek omitted]

8 A letter from Chrysostom to Theodore shows that the former's affection and admiration for the friend of his childhood remained till the end of his days. The letter was written while Chrysostom was in exile at Cucusus (a.d. 404-407). In it the exiled Patriarch testifies that "he can never forget the love of Theodore, so genuine and warm, so sincere and guileless, a love maintained from early years," and thanks him for the efforts that he had made to obtain his release, and ends his correspondence with the memorable sentence: "Exile as I am I reap no ordinary consolation from having such a treasure, such a mine of wealth within my heart as the love of so vigilant and noble a soul." As the late Dr. Swete points out, higher testimony could not have been borne, or by a more competent judge. 9 Death did not put a stop to the fame of Theodore. It is recorded in Tillemont that Meletius, Theodore's successor to the see of Mopsuestia, asserted that he would have endangered his own life if he had uttered words detrimental to his predecessor. Even Cyril of Alexandria whose views on the Incarnation were not in harmony with those of Theodore was obliged to avow that in the Churches of the East one often heard the cry: "We believe as Theodore believed; long live the faith of Theodore!" The same Cyril of Alexandria informs us that when a party of bishops was found ready to condemn him, the answer of the bishops of Syria to them was: "We had rather be burnt than condemn Theodore." Leontius Byzantinus informs us also that Cyril of Alexandria advised against the condemnation of Theodore because all the bishops of the Eastern Church considered him an eminent Doctor, and if he were condemned there would be serious disturbance in that Church. The famous Church historian, Theodoret, was pleased to call him "Doctor of the Universal Church." This title is also ascribed to him by a much later Greek author, Nicephorus Callistus, who calls him "Doctor of all the Churches."

10 There is no need to emphasise the fact that Theodore's memory and especially his writings have always been considered as the most esteemed treasures of the East Syrian Church. They were gradually translated after his death; and their authority among the innumerable adherents of the Eastern Church, which for a long time stretched from the eastern Mediterranean shores to Manchuria and from the Caspian Sea to the Indian Ocean, was only one degree below that of Paul. With them he was the "interpreter" par excellence. The only discordant note seems to have been struck towards the end of the sixth century by individual teachers of no great importance in the councils of the Church, but the Synod held in a.d. 596 by the Patriarch Sabrisho` rose vehemently against them: "We reject and anathematize all those who do not adhere to the commentaries, the traditions and the teaching of the eminent Doctor, the blessed Theodore the interpreter; and who endeavour to introduce new and foreign doctrines saturated with errors and blasphemies, which are in contradiction to the true and exact teaching of this saint and of all the orthodox Doctors, heads of the schools, who have followed in his steps, corroborated his doctrine and taught the true faith of the incorruptible orthodoxy in our eastern regions."

11 In the Synod of Gregory I, held in a.d. 605, all the eastern archbishops and bishops bound themselves to abide by the teaching of Theodore: "We all assembled in this Synod have decided that each of us should receive and accept all the commentaries and works written by the blessed Theodore the interpreter, bishop of Mopsuestia, a man by the grace of God set over the treasures of the two Testaments: the Old and the New, and who like a river of abundant floods watered and nurtured the children of the Church in his lifetime and after his death with the true meaning of the sacred Books in which he was instructed by the Holy Spirit. ... No one, who in these days wishes to perform the office of teaching in the Church, is allowed to deviate from the works of this eminent and divine man. . . . All our venerable Fathers who have handed down this true faith to us, in their teaching, from his day to our own, have studied his writings and adhered to his statements."

12 I will also refer to two of the earliest East Syrian historians: "He (Theodore) did not astonish the world in his lifetime only, but also astonished every one with his books after his death. Who is able to narrate the good works of this sea of wisdom, or who is in a position to describe the prodigies which the Spirit worked in him! When other bishops came near him, they considered themselves as mere pupils; and philosophers, subtle in reasoning, were before him as students. Every knotty and difficult problem stopped with him and never went beyond him, and he explained it before inquirers and made it as clear as the light of the sun." "At that time shone in all branches of knowledge the truly divine man St. Theodore the interpreter, who was the first to explain philosophically and rationally the economy of the divine mysteries of the birth and the passion of our Lord."

13 In the West the only writer who before the fifth Council dared to speak openly against Theodore was Marius Mercator, who died about 450. As early as the year 431 he accused him of being the real author of Pelagianism: "Quaestio contra Catholicam fidem apud nonnullos Syrorum et praecipue in Cilicia a Theodoro quondam episcopo oppidi Mopsuesteni jamdudum mota. . . ." This hostile note is also clearly found in his Latin translations of some of Theodore's treatises, in which he denounced him as the master of Nestorius and Nestorianism: ". . . Pravum ejus de dispensatione Dominica, et a fide Catholica alienum, ac satis extorrem sensum, quo Nestorium Constantinopolitanae urbis quondam episcopum secum male decepit. . . ." An anti-Theodorian party, however, was steadily gaining ground in Egypt where Cyril of Alexandria held sway. Towards the middle of the sixth century the Alexandrian Doctors, followers of Cyril, counted many adherents in the Metropolis, who were powerful enough to influence the Emperor Justinian and induce him to summon a Council and condemn Theodore.

14 Given free rein the outbursts of the Cyrillian Bishops of the Council knew no bounds. Expressions such as "impious," "blasphemous," "heretical" were continuously hurled against a man dead one hundred and twenty-five years previously. The following phrases reveal the spirit which permeated the Fathers of the fifth Council: Isti sunt thesauri impietatis Theodori. Sceleratum symbolum impii Theodori. . . . Et postquam lectae sunt blasphemiae Theodori Mopsuesteni et impium ejus symbolum. . . . Et post acclamationes sancta synodus dixit: Multitudo lectarum blasphemiarum, quas contra magnum Deum et Salvatorem nostrum Jesum Christum, imo magis contra suam animam Theodorus Mopsuestenus evomuit,justam ejus facit condemnationem. The condemnation of a dead man gave satisfaction to his adversaries in the Cyrillian camp, but rent asunder the Catholic Church of the time and caused a deep wound in the spiritual body of the faithful. The evil effects of that wound are to some extent felt even in our days, in which the theological admirers of Theodore are, more than one thousand and five hundred years after his death, still counted in thousands.

15 The condemnation of the works of the great Antiochian theologian decreased their influence on Western thought, and the MSS. containing them were either burnt or underwent a gradual process of slow disappearance from the shelves of ecclesiastical libraries. Fortunately, however, his works were translated shortly after his death by his admirers in the East, and the Catalogue of `Abdisho` registers almost all of them. When `Abdisho` wrote his Catalogue in about a.d. 1298 all the works of Theodore were found in the churches and monasteries of his day, and probably also in his own library at Nisibin. The numerous persecutions inflicted since that date on the eastern Christians by Mongols, Turks and Kurds have, however, resulted in their complete disappearance even in East Syrian lands, and the only complete treatises known to have survived are: (a) his commentary on the Gospel of John which was edited in 1897, according to a MS. of our Lady near Alkosh, by J. B. Chabot who, however, did not venture to give any translation of it; (b) his short controversial treatise against the Macedonians which was edited and translated in 1913 by F. Nau, from a recently acquired MS. of the British Museum.

16 (ii) The Present Work. The work of which I give an edition and translation in the following pages is in form of catechetical lectures, and is the one called "The Book on Faith" by `Abdisho` in his Catalogue, while the Chronicle of Seert calls it more accurately "The interpretation of the faith of the three hundred and eighteen," i.e., of the Council of Nicea. In a letter of the Pope Pelagius the work is referred to as "De interpretatione symboli trecentorum decem et octo Patrum," and the Acts of the fifth Council mention it also once under the same title: "De interpretatione symboli trecentorum decem et octo sanctorum Patrum." Nicephorus Theotokes has doubtless this work in mind when he writes: ἑπμηνεία εἰς τὸ Νικαίᾳ σύμβολον, "An explanation of the Nicene Profession of faith." From the extracts that I give below it will be seen that the work is more frequently referred to under the title "Liber ad baptizandos." The Acts of the fifth Council quote it once under the title " Interpretatio symboli trecentorum decem et octo sanctorum Patrum" and eight times under the title of "Liber ad baptizandos." Facundus also quotes it under the slightly modified title of "Liber ad baptizatos."

17 This "Liber ad baptizandos" is divided into two distinct parts which embrace all the Christian doctrine which the Catechumens had to learn before their baptism. The first part deals with the explanation of the Nicene Creed, as above, and the second part, which constitutes a book by itself, contains a commentary on the Lord's Prayer, on the sacrament of baptism in general, and the Greek liturgy used in his day. I will give now the quotations from the present work found in the Acts of the fifth Council, in the synodical letter of the Pope Pelagius, in the works of Facundus and in those of Marius Mercator. [Material in Latin and Syriac omitted, pp.8-14] From the above quotations we may infer that the official Latin translator of the Acts of the fifth Council was not always a good translator. Extenuating circumstances may be pleaded in his favour from the fact that he was dealing with stray quotations and isolated extracts culled from their context without any regard to the sequence of events, but when every allowance is made under this head there still remain some imperfections in his work. Let us take as examples two sentences from the first and the fourth quotations as given above. In the first quotation Theodore says: "Nobody believes that he who is from the Jews according to the flesh is God by nature, nor that God who is above all is from the Jews by nature." This simple and clear sentence has received the complicated and inaccurate rendering: Nemo igitur neque eum qui secundum carnem ex Judaeis est, dicat Deum qui est super omnia, secundum carnem ex Judaeis. The sentence is somewhat better translated in the Synodical letter of the Pope Pelagius as follows: Nemo igitur, neque eum qui secundum carnem ex Judaeis est, dicat Deum: nec iterum Deum qui est super omniar secundum camem ex Judaeis.

18 In the second quotation the translator of the Council does not seem to have understood the meaning of some words in Theodore's sentence. Theodore says: "But He (God) remained with him (Christ) until He by (His) help assisted him to loose the pains of death. And He delivered his soul from bonds which were indissoluble; and raised him from the dead and transferred him to immortal life, and made him immortal and incorruptible, and caused him to go up to heaven where he is now sitting at the right hand of God." The Latin translation of this sentence is given as follows: Permanens autem, donec secundum suam creaturam et virtutem solvens mortis dolores, liberavit eum ineffabilibus illis vinculis etc. The Latin translator seems here to have misread a possible Greek word ἄρρηκτος unbroken as ἄρρητος unspeakable, ineffable. So far as Marius Mercator is concerned, we may point out that he seems to have deliberately omitted to translate two sentences of Theodore. The first sentence is: "And the separation of natures does not preclude their being one" [Syriac omitted]

19 The second sentence reads: "It is known that here he (Paul) calls "Son" the one made of the seed of David in the flesh." Mercator deliberately omits also to translate the adjective "close" when Theodore uses it to express the " close union " between God the Word and man. The Syriac expression used in this connection is [omitted] We may incidentally remark that the technical terms used in the mystery of the Incarnation were so imperfectly fixed even in the time of Marius Mercator that he translates the word nature, the Syriac [Syriac] which doubtless renders the Greek φύσις, by the Latin substantia. This last word generally renders the Greek ὑπόστασις and the Syriac [Syriac] and hardly ever stands for the word "nature." It should here be stated that some quotations from the present work of Theodore may be seen in East-Syrian literature, especially in a MS. recently added to my collection through the good offices of Mr. W. G. Greenslade.

20 (iii) Theodore's Doctrine. 21 We do not intend to give here a synopsis of the Christological doctrine of Theodore, which gave rise to such bitter controversies among Christian theologians who came after him, and which divided the followers of Christ into so many distinct and hostile groups. We assume that the readers of the present work are well acquainted with the Trinitarian and Christological dogmas with which it deals, and we leave to them the task of understanding and assimilating Theodore in his own words. It will be sufficient to state that in arguing against some early Christian thinkers who had unduly emphasised the divine side of Christ to the detriment of His humanity, he laid great stress on the fact that the man Jesus was a true man, endowed with all human faculties including a true human soul, and that the second person of the Trinity, or God the Word, Son of God the Father, was to be distinguished from the human son of Mary, born of the seed of David, although through the very close and intimate union existing between them, they were not two Sons but one Son. The man Jesus was, so to speak, only figuratively and honorifically the Son of God, while the true and natural Son of God was and is the Word-God who assumed the form of the man Jesus. The close union between them was, as it were, not physical but moral and spiritual, manifesting itself in one visible individual, or rather personage, who formed the one πρόσωπον or outward appearance of Christ.

22 Nowhere, however, do we find in Theodore the idea of two persons (ὑποστασις) in Christ. Such an idea had its full development in the time that followed the Council of Ephesus. Theodore never goes beyond the idea of two natures and one πρόσωπον. He writes in the third chapter: "From the fact also that they (the Fathers of the Council of Nicea) referred both words to the one person (= prosopon) of the Son they showed us the close union between the two natures": [Syriac] 23 As the present work is a commentary on the Nicene creed and consequently covers the whole field of Christian religion, the readers will find in it many other interesting points besides Trinity and Incarnation. These last two points, however, are treated with much more detail than the others. As a commentator Theodore has been criticised by no less an authority than Harnack as too prosaic and monotonous. This stylistic defect is noticeable in the present work which is in some places marred by many verbal antitheses and repetitions arising from his desire to stress his point for his readers or rather hearers. (iv) The Manuscript. The MS. containing the present work of Theodore is found in my collection of MSS. and is therein numbered Mingana Syr. 561. As the MS. is not throughout in a good state of preservation and is in many places wormed and damaged by damp, it was not found desirable to reproduce it in facsimile. For this reason I have had to copy all its text and edit it in the ordinary Syriac type instead of following the usual practice in my Woodbrooke Studies of giving facsimiles in case of unique texts.

Introduction

Translation.

[By Alphonse Mingana] By the power of our Lord Jesus Christ we begin to write the exposition of the faith of the three hundred and eighteen (Fathers)1 composed by Mar Theodore the interpreter.

Chapter I.

1 What discourse is worthy of, and what mind is equal to, the greatness of the subjects placed before us? Or which is the tongue that is able to teach these mysteries? It is indeed difficult for our tongues to speak with accuracy even of the created natures, because they also are created with great wisdom by the Maker. As for those which are higher than our nature—because such are those of which we intend to speak—how much are they not higher than all the minds of men? They truly transcend our words! The blessed Paul bears witness concerning them in saying: "Eye hath not seen nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man the things which God hath prepared for them that love Him." 2 2 It is with these wonderful things that our discourse wishes to deal, and it is to the delight of these mysteries that we have been invited, because the time of the great festival of the holy Passover leads us to teach them. If God had wished those heavenly gifts not to be known to us, it is evident that we should not have been able to discourse on them, because how could a man have spoken of unknown things? Since, however, He wished from the first and before the foundations of the world to make manifest the wisdom that was in Him 3 through the Economy of our Lord Jesus Christ, He revealed to us these hidden mysteries and the greatness of these gifts, and He granted their knowledge to men through the Holy Spirit. It is indeed written that God revealed to us by His Spirit and showed us the sublime and ineffable mysteries which are performed by the power of the Holy Spirit so that through them we might proceed in a congruous way, by degrees and by |19 faith, to these future gifts.4 This is the reason why we desired to discourse with confidence, according to the grace of God vouchsafed to us, on these unspeakable things which are higher than ourselves. It is this time of this festival that has led us to speak with those who wish [to participate in] these awe-inspiring mysteries.

3 Now is the time for me to say: "Sing unto the Lord a new song for He has done marvellous things." 5 Indeed a new song is required for new things, as we are dealing with the New Testament which God established for the human race through the Economy of our Lord Jesus Christ, when He abolished all old things and showed new things in their place. Every man who is in Christ is a new creature; old things are passed away and all things are become new.6 Death and corruption have ceased, passions and mutability have passed away, and the life of the new creature has been made manifest, a life which we hope to reach after 7 our resurrection from the dead. At the resurrection from the dead He will make us new instead of old, and incorruptible and immortal instead of corruptible and mortal. He gave us this new covenant which is fit for those who are renewed; and because of this covenant we receive the knowledge of these mysteries so that we should put off the old man and put on the new man who is renewed after the image of Him who created him, where there is neither Jew nor Greek, bond nor free, but Christ is all and in all. This will take place in reality in the next world when we shall have become immortal and incorruptible, when we shall only contemplate Christ of whose Kingdom we shall partake, when the incident of being Jew or Greek, bond or free, shall be taken from us, and when all the ways of the image of this world shall have completely disappeared. Indeed what incidence of being Jew or Greek, bond or free, can remain with those who are in an immortal and incorruptible nature after the image of Christ, according to the testimony of the blessed Paul?

4 Because it was necessary that the faith in the truth of the future gifts should remain in us so that we should not throw doubts on them on account of their greatness—since we see them very much alien to our nature and above it—these awe-inspiring mysteries were confided |20 to us in order that through them as through symbols we might gradually approach our future hope, and in order to obtain a faith without doubts in these gifts, while cultivating a conduct that is in harmony with the new world and arranging our work in this world as much as possible in conformity with the following sentences: "Our conversation is in heaven," 9 and: "our building is of God," 10 and "we have a house in heaven not made with hands." 11 5 While still on the earth we have been inscribed 12 in that awe-inspiring glory of the future world through these mysteries, but we (ought to) live as much as possible a heavenly life in spurning visible things and aspiring after future things. Those who are about to partake now of these awe-inspiring mysteries are inspired to do so by the grace of God. They do not do this in order to partake of small and ordinary gifts, but to be transformed completely into new men and to possess different virtues which they will receive by the gift of the grace of God: being mortal they will become immortal, being corruptible they will become incorruptible, being passible they will become impassible, being changeable they will become unchangeable, being bond they will become free, being enemies they will become friends, being strangers they will become sons. They will no more be considered a part of Adam but of Christ; they will call as their head not Adam but Christ, who has renewed them; they will not cultivate a ground that will bring forth thorns and thistles to them,13 but they will dwell in a heaven which is remote and immune from all sorrow and sighing;nor will death rule over them but they will become themselves rulers in a new life where they will be not slaves of sin but warriors of righteousness, not servants of Satan but intimate friends of Christ for all time.

6 Adam, the father of mankind, received the abode of Paradise from which he was driven out through his disobedience and sin, and we, who became the heirs of his nature and his punishment, ascend to heaven by faith in Christ through our participation in these mysteries, as He said: "Except a man he born of water and of the Spirit he cannot enter into the Kingdom of Heaven." 15 The man, however, who receives this spiritual birth is immediately inscribed in heaven and |21 becomes the heir and partaker of those future gifts, as the blessed Paul said,16 because those who believed in Christ are in expectation of making their abode in heaven after the resurrection from the dead. Indeed we hope to go to heaven where the first man,17 Christ, went on our behalf. Through these mysteries we are truly inscribed in that abode. We are in need of great care and immense diligence in order not to fall away from this great promise and suffer the fate of Adam who was driven out of Paradise. This is the reason why we partake in a wonderful way of these awe-inspiring mysteries with a true faith which has no doubt,18 and we ought not to forget this faith but to keep what we have received with great care. When we have received these heavenly gifts in a perfect manner so that we may delight in them, and when we have become their heirs in our actions, it is impossible that we should fall away from them. As long as we are on the earth, however, because we only receive them by hope through our participation in these mysteries, it is possible to fall away from them, as we have a changeable nature. We ought, therefore, to have great care and anxiety concerning them and to endeavour truly to possess the hope of the future in our souls.

7 Now which is the faith and which are the promises through which we have our part in mysteries in the hope of these heavenly gifts in which we will delight? These are found in the profession of faith which we make before Christ our Lord at the time of our baptism. If it were possible to comprehend their power by hearing only, our words would have been useless, because their mere recitation would have made them understood by those who heard them. Since, however, there is much power hidden in them—as our holy Fathers confided to us from the gift of God an ineffable treasure condensed in words which are easy to learn and to remember—it is necessary to teach those who are about to receive these mysteries and to show them the sense and the meaning that are hidden in them. When they have learnt the greatness of the gift to which they wish to make their approach, and have understood the meaning of their religion and their promises for the sake of which they receive such a great gift, they will keep with diligence in their souls the faith which has been handed down to them. |22

8 The principle of your faith and promise which is to be carefully kept in these mysteries is: I believe in one God, Father Almighty, Creator of all things visible and invisible. By the grace of our Lord we will explain these words one after another, because it is good that you should know the power of all of them. Let us, therefore, rightly begin from where you also began in your profession of faith: I believe in one God, Father Almighty. This is the foundation of the religion of the fear of God,19 "for with the heart man believeth unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation."20 This is the truth of the true teaching of the faith. Because the question of religion lies in the belief in things that are invisible and indescribable, it is in need of faith, which causes mind to see a thing that is invisible. The things that are visible we see them with our eyes, while the things that are invisible are only seen by faith, as "faith is the substance of things hoped for and the evidence of things not seen." 21

9 This faith brings in substance to the mind the things that are not yet existent in reality. We accept by faith as true the resurrection from the dead to heaven and all the future existence, which is not yet in existence. Faith causes the soul to see and understand the things that are invisible and indescribable. We are enabled by faith to be worthy of seeing the nature of God "who is the sole invisible and incorruptible, who dwelleth in the bright light which has no equal, and whom no man hath seen nor can see."22 We are able to see the visible thing with material eyes, if these are sound and able to see, and if there is nothing to hinder them from seeing properly; but if they are affected by injury, all things that were visible become invisible, although in reality visible. In this same way we all see with accuracy the invisible and the indescribable things, which the question of religion has taught us, if our faith is sound, but they are not seen by those whose faith is not sound. The question of religion consists in two things: confession concerning God and concerning all the various and numerous things that were and will be made by Him, and both of these are in need of faith as is shown by the blessed Paul: "He that cometh to the religion of God must believe that He is" 23 and that the "worlds were framed by His |23 Word so that things which are seen were not made of things which do appear." 24

10 In these he shows first that even confession concerning God cannot consist in anything but the thought of religion 25 through faith alone; secondly, that we are unable to understand and confess the things that were made by Him if we do not receive their knowledge by faith. Faith perfects those who accept it thoroughly in the truth of religion while those who become remote from it sink in error completely. Paul called the Church of God "the pillar and ground of the truth," 26 because it is sound in faith and well established in the teaching of religion. As to those who are outside the faith: pagans, Jews, and heretics, because they are devoid of faith, they greatly stray from the truth. Indeed because the pagans had no faith they were unable to understand how God was able to create and to make everything from nothing and establish it in substance, and in their error they gave fancifully to God a consort to whom He had given a seat with Him from eternity; and they strayed from the truth into various other insipid stories. As to Jews they recoiled from the name of a son, and because of their lack of faith they did not understand the one who is a true Son.

11 In this way all the heretics who are outside the Church and who have ascribed the name of Christ with untruth to themselves, because they have no faith, have erred and strayed from the truth. In order not to mention to your hearing all the heresies, it will be sufficient to refer to Arius and Eunomius and all those who subscribe to their opinion, and note how they were affected with the disease of the Jews; and because of their lack of faith they did not understand nor did they accept that the Son is of Divine nature, and that everything that is said of the nature of the Father is said also of that of the Son, while the nature of the Father in no way suffers from the fact that it has a true Son who in His nature is a true mirror of itself.27 12 These few things have been said out of many in order to rebuke |24 those who have strayed from the truth, and to show that they have strayed because of their lack of faith. Indeed, the error of men who have gone astray because of their lack of faith is great and possesses many ramifications, and as error increases in proportion to its remoteness from faith, so also knowledge increases in proportion to its nearness to faith. It is by faith that we know that God is, that He is the creator of everything and that He created everything from nothing. It is by it that we understand that those who have passed away and perished will come back again to life and existence, when the Creator wishes. It is by faith that we have known that the Father has a Son born of His nature and God like Himself. It is by faith that we have accepted that the Holy Spirit is of the same nature as God the Father and that He is always with the Father and the Son. It is by faith that we have no doubt nor suspicion concerning the preaching of the Economy of Christ which took place in the world.

13 It is, therefore, with justice that our blessed Fathers placed faith like a foundation in the forefront of our teaching and of the mystery of our covenant, and it is with right that they intimated to us to begin from there and say: I believe in one God, Father Almighty. We must not be astonished that our blessed Fathers included and handed down to us all the teaching of religion in a few words. They thought that a long discourse would better fit other times and other persons. As to you who for a long time have been weaned from the world, and have come nigh unto religion with a good will, and have made yourselves ready to receive the Divine mysteries with a clean conscience at a time full of fear, condensed words are more useful, as their fewness renders them more easy to keep in your memory when you wish to remember the faith which you professed and the promises which you made on account of these mysteries It is right, however, that a detailed teaching of them should be added to you so that you should understand them more accurately, and beware in your souls of all the words of the enemies of religion when you stand fast by this Divine teaching which is confided to you. I believe in one God, Father Almighty. See how our blessed Fathers, with the first word of the true profession of faith in one God the Father, removed us with care from the error of polytheism and from the fallacy of Judaism which puts in practice to-day all the teaching of the Old Testament in its entirety. |25

14 The words of the New Testament concerning Christ were found in the prophets of the Old Testament; they were indeed found in the prophets as a symbol and a sign whereby the Jews expected Christ to appear to them as a man, but none of them was aware of the divinity of the Only Begotten Son—the Word-God. (Our blessed Fathers) gave us a perfect doctrine which separates from paganism those who become initiated to religion, and which removes completely from the error of polytheism those who obey its commandments, while teaching that the natures of the Godhead are not many and separate, but that God is in one, single and eternal nature which is the cause of everything; that such a one is God, and outside Him there is no other God; that God is a being who is eternal and the cause of everything; that a being who is not like this is not God by nature; that a being who is eternal is the cause of everything; that a being who is not eternal and the cause of everything, is not God but the work of God, who alone is capable of creating everything from nothing.

15 He said: "The Lord Thy God is one Lord" 28 in order that we might learn that there is one nature in the Godhead to which is due the name of Lord and God. He also said: "the gods that have not made the heavens and the earth shall perish from the earth and from under the heavens " 29 in order that we might understand that he who is not the cause of everything is not God. The one who is the cause of everything is God alone. He said to Moses, "I am the cause of everything," 30 in order that we might learn that He is truly the one who was from eternity and is always, and that He is God. He who does not possess this attribute and is not eternal, is not truly existent by Himself, but is made and has actually been made when he was not existent, at the time at which the one who is from eternity, that is to say God, wished to make him.

16 He also said: "I am the first and the last God and there was no other god before me and there shall be no other god after me," 31 in order that we might understand that He is the God who was first and from eternity and that it is impossible that another God that is created should exist. Divine nature cannot indeed fall within the notion of creation.32 |26 All these words teach us the doctrine of religion and expel the error of paganism. Among pagans gods are many and of different kinds: some of them are young, and some others old; some of them can do this, and some others that; some of them perish, and some others will continue their existence; and they are of different natures. That we ought to reject all these the Old Testament taught us in the prophets, who spoke through the Holy Spirit to the effect that all the gods of the Gentiles are false and are not gods because God is one, who is from eternity and is the cause of everything, as He said: "There shall be no strange god in thee," 33 that is to say a new god, and, "neither shalt thou worship a strange god" 34 because everything that is new is not God, and "they are new gods that came newly up." 35

17 Divine nature is one and eternal. It was in no need to be made by another, because it is the cause of everything. This is the reason why He is God alone, and anything that is made cannot by nature be God, as it is made by another. All the created things rightly attribute their existence to their Creator who is God, to whom they owe their being, and for this they are under an obligation of gratitude to Him who by His own good will and power vouchsafed to them to be what they are. Our blessed Fathers succinctly included all this great teaching in the sentence: I believe in one God. Let us, therefore, accept the belief in one God according to the preaching of the prophets and the teaching of our Fathers. Divine nature is truly one, and it exists from eternity and is the cause of everything; this is not as the pagans erroneously state that there are many gods of different kinds.

18 It is necessary that we should offer you an oral teaching about everything, little by little, in order that you may be able to remember the things that are spoken to you, as these are indispensable to those who adhere to what has preceded. By the help of the grace of God we will keep our promise to you in other days, and now let the words that have been spoken suffice, and let us glorify the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, now, always and for ever and ever. Here ends the first chapter. |27

Chapter II. On Faith.

1 Yesterday we spoke to your love sufficiently, and in the measure granted to us by the grace of God, of faith which is the foundation of the principle of religion. We approached the words of our profession of faith and showed how through faith in one God all the error of the polytheism of the Gentiles vanishes completely. We learned from the holy Books of the prophets to shake off from us all the aberrations of pagans, whose gods are different and numerous, and to believe that Divine nature which ought to be called God and Lord is one, because He alone is from eternity and is the cause of everything. All the created beings are very remote from this nature, as it is impossible to admit that a created being is from eternity, and the created beings themselves will not suffer to be called rightfully Lord and God by nature. A being who is created by another cannot by any means create another being from nothing, or be called God with justice, but the one who created him is God by necessity. This is the reason why we say that there is only one God as the blessed prophets taught us; and by the grace of the Holy Spirit they spoke and defined the kind of nature which belongs to God. Beyond this they did not teach us anything clearly.

2 The doctrine concerning the Father and the Son was kept (to be promulgated) by Christ our Lord, who taught His disciples that which was unknown before and was not revealed to men, and ordered them to teach it to others also in saying to them plainly: "Go ye and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost." 36 As the blessed Moses said when he promulgated his doctrine: "The Lord, Thy God is one Lord" 37—a doctrine that was taught and handed down by all the prophets—so the Christ our Lord gave His teaching in the name of the Father, of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost, but did not say what we had to learn and to teach others concerning the Lord and God, as this had been clearly done by the prophets. He ordered His disciples to teach all the nations that which was lacking to make the teaching of the prophets perfect, and for this He said: "Go ye and teach all nations |28 baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost," not that we should think that one of these is not God nor that there is a God beside them, but that we should believe that they alone constitute Divine nature, which we had formerly learnt from the prophets to be one.

3 Because the Gentiles had previously taught the doctrine of the plurality of gods, who were numerous and different in youth and old age, in weakness and strength, so that some of them were able to do this and some others that—Christ ordered His disciples against this to teach all the nations to turn from all the error of paganism, and to believe in the unity of nature in the Godhead, as was the case with the doctrine first taught to mankind, from which the knowledge of religion was received; and also to learn that the one who is from eternity and is the cause of everything is one Divine nature known in the three persons of the Father, of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. He would not have induced the Gentiles to turn away from names of false gods to the knowledge of the Father if He did not know that He (the Father) was truly Divine nature, nor would He have brought them to the knowledge of the Son if He did not know that He (the Son) was truly of the same Divine nature, nor would He have inculcated to them the knowledge of the Holy Spirit if He knew that He (the Holy Spirit) was alien to that nature, otherwise He would have caused them to turn from one falsehood to the knowledge of another falsehood. It is known that it is from false gods, who were wrongly called gods, that He ordered His disciples in His teaching to turn the Gentiles to the knowledge of the true God, which consists in the faith in the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. Each one of these persons is a true God, but the Divine nature of the Father, of the Son and of the Holy Spirit which we believe to be eternal and the cause of everything, is one.

4 In this way the teaching of the Old Testament is in harmony with the teaching of the New Testament, and the words which the prophets uttered concerning God are not foreign nor contradictory to those which Christ our Lord delivered to the Gentiles through the Apostles, as His words are in full harmony with the true knowledge of religion according to the teaching of the prophets. Through the prophets we only understood God and the being to whom an uncreated nature belongs, but the teaching of our Lord Jesus Christ gave us also with |29 certainty the persons in whom is Divine nature. This is the reason why our blessed Fathers placed first the doctrine of the belief in one God as it was written in the Old Testament in order to destroy the error of polytheism, and then imparted to us the knowledge of the persons according to the teaching of Christ. They were in a position—and it was easy for them—to repeat the words of our Lord "in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost," but because they wrote this profession of faith against the teaching of the heretics, they taught it as succinctly as possible with more words than those uttered by our Lord, for the demolition of error and the construction of the doctrine of the Church, so that by their meaning they should reprove those who contradict the true faith. For this reason they added with justice the name of the Father after they had said, I believe in one God.

5 After the words concerning God they proceeded to the teaching of the persons, which is the true teaching of the Christian faith and the true knowledge for those who become disciples of Christ. Because the sentence denotes Divine nature, it refers to the three persons, but as the teaching concerning the persons could not be considered as referring to one of them only, they rightly spoke to us of what is due to each person separately. At the beginning of their sentence they placed the Father from whom are the Son and the Holy Spirit. The Father is truly the one who is a Father alone, but we hold each one of the three persons to be God, because Christ included this true doctrine in His teaching concerning these three persons. 6 When we hear the name "Father" we do not hear it to no purpose, but we understand that God is a Father, and a true Father, because He is Father alone; and we hold that God is Father in a way that belongs only to Divine nature. All the created beings obtain the power of being fathers after their creation, and there is no human being that has the attribute of fatherhood concomitantly with his existence. Even Adam, the first man, who was not born of another man, had not the attribute of fatherhood concomitantly with his existence. He came first into existence by the will of God the Creator and afterwards received the power of becoming a father, as it is said: "Adam knew his wife, and she conceived and bore a son." 38 He became and was called a father after his intercourse with Eve, after a long time of gestation, after pangs of travail, and after the birth of his child. It is iniquitous |30 to attribute any of those functions to Divine nature. He who had no need of time to exist was in no need of time to become a Father. Because He was from eternity, He was also a Father from eternity.

7 God the Father is truly a father; and He did not receive this in time, because He did not have a Son after a time, but the latter was with Him from eternity and was from Him as a Son also from eternity. It is for this that when our Lord gave this wonderful teaching to His disciples He said, "Teach in the name of the Father," and did not need to add another sentence in order to show whom He was calling "Father." It was sufficient for Him to say, "Teach and baptize" to show whom He was calling Father. He called God the Father in whom they had to believe and in whose name they had to be baptized, the God who was from eternity according to the teaching of the prophets. 8 It is not possible that the one who is from eternity should become Father after a time. The very name Father shows this without further addition. If like us He became Father later, He would also be identical with us in attribute and in the meaning of the word. Now since this vocable "father" is one and the same with many men, we should rightly inquire as to whom He called Father. Because He is a true Father, He is Father alone. As He is eternal by nature so He is eternally a Father. Since He is alone called by this name and in the full meaning of the word,39 we do not feel any necessity to inquire who is the one who is called Father, as His very name indicates to us the true Father. When He says: "I am that I am," this is my name for ever and this is my memorial unto generations," 40 we understand that God is called by this name, because He is truly "I am that I am" while all the created beings are not truly "I am that I am," 41 because they were created from nothing according to the will of their Maker. Because He is the true being, He is called I am that I am, and He is not made by another.

9 As He is not like us He is not a Father like us, because He did not receive the power of becoming a Father in time. So when we hear the word "father" we should rightly think of that true Father who did not acquire the power of becoming a Father in time, nor was He in need of an intercourse. He is a Father in truth and from |31 eternity, a complete nature, with whom His child exists also from eternity. The sentence: I believe in one God the Father taught us all these things. It is rightly followed by the phrase Creator of all things visible and invisible, so that we should understand that He is not only the Father of the Son but also the Creator of all the creatures, and think of the difference which exists between Father and Creator, and between Son and creatures. He is the Father of the Son and the Creator of the creatures. The creatures were created later while the Son was from the beginning with Him and from Him. This is the difference between Father and Creator. He is called the Father of the one who was born of Him, and the Creator of all the natures which are outside Him and which were created from nothing by His will. This is the reason why they added nothing to the doctrine concerning the Father; indeed the very word Father sufficed to indicate the Son, as there is no father without a son, and as wherever there is a father there is also a son. As to the Son they were going to teach us as much as possible concerning Him later.

10 Because He is Creator they added, Of all things visible and invisible in order to show in this also the difference between the Son and the creatures: that He is the Father of the Son only, while He is the Creator of everything visible and invisible, as everything was created from nothing. He would not have been called Father of the Son and Creator of the creatures if there was not a great difference between the two: the difference that should exist between a Son and creatures. He is called and He is the Father of the Son, because He is of the same nature as the one who is said to be His Son, but He is the Creator of everything because everything was created from nothing; and although the natures of the visible and invisible things differ among themselves yet all these created things, whether visible or invisible, came into existence by the will of their Maker. The fact that they were made from nothing is common to all of them, as all were created from nothing by the will of their Maker.

11 This is the reason why the blessed David said: "Praise ye the Lord from the heavens. Praise ye Him all His angels. Praise ye Him all His hosts. Praise ye Him sun and moon." 42 And he gradually enumerated all other creatures found in the heavens and on |32 the earth, visible and invisible, mortal and immortal, rational and irrational, material and immaterial, those with life and those without life. When he invited them to the praise of God he gave one reason which holds good for all of them: "For He commanded, and they were created. He hath established them for ever and ever. He hath made a decree which shall not pass." 43 Because everything was created by Him and is sustained by His will, everything whether visible or not owes praise to the Creator. Two things render it obligatory for us to praise God: because He is God and because He is Creator. We must, however, understand the difference between the two. It is not because He is Father that He is also Creator, and it is not because He is Creator that He is also Father. Indeed He is not the Creator of the One whose Father He is, nor is He the Father of those whose Creator He is. He is only the Father of the true and only Son who is in His Father's bosom, because He was born of Him and is with Him from eternity, but He is the Creator of all the things which are created and made, which are very remote from His essence and which were created by His will when He pleased. He is called and He is the Father of the Son because the latter is from Him and consubstantial with Him, and He is the Maker and the Creator of the creatures because He brought them to existence from nothing.

12 If He is called Father of men, He is not called their Father because He created them, but because of their proximity to Him and relation with Him. This is the reason why He is not called Father of all men but only of those who have relation with Him, such as "I have nourished and brought up children." 44 To these He granted by special favour to be called in this way. As such also is the sentence: "Israel is my son, even my first-born," 45 because the others were not sons. 46 Since we know the difference in our calling God: the Father of the Only Begotten Son who alone is the true Son because consubstantial with Him, and the Creator of everything which was created and came into |33 being from nothing—we should retain this meaning in our faith. When, therefore, we say "Father," "Maker" we ought not to conceive of God that which we conceive of men when we call them fathers and makers, but we ought to understand the difference between Father and Maker from the way they may be applied to us. Indeed, as with God so with us, a father is one thing and a maker another thing. We are called the fathers of those who are from us and are born of our nature, but the makers of those things which are not of our nature but which were made and came into existence outside us. A house, a ship and similar things are not of our nature, and are made by us.

13 Such being the case with us, we ought to think with a clear mind of the differences in God between the two terms of Father and Creator, and to understand that He is the Father of the Only Begotten Son who was born of His nature, and the Creator of all the creatures, which were created and came into existence from nothing. For this He did not need any matter but He created the natures through which they are seen and exist. 14 Since we were created in the image of God,47 we picture to ourselves the higher things that are said of God through an image taken from things that belong to us. In this way it is possible also to picture to ourselves what and how great is the difference in the belief in God as Father and as Creator from things belonging to us, although it is clear that there is a great difference between us and God; and this difference we ought not to overlook when thinking of Divine nature and the works done 48 by it. Indeed when we speak of Divine nature we must remove completely from our mind all things that happen to us through weakness. When we do a work we are in need of labour, matter and time; but God is above all these, because the moment He wished it, His works were completed out of nothing. From the fact also that we are born in labour and through human agency,49 when we become fathers we need the nature of a female as matter, and a long period of time. Without these we cannot become fathers. As to God He is a Father without all these, because He did not experience labour nor did He make use of any material agency 49 nor did He need |34 intercourse, nor did He wait for any lapse of time, but He was at once Father from eternity.

15 We should, therefore, rightly remove from God all unbecoming thoughts of things which happen to us through weakness whether in the domain of offspring or of work. We do everything in labour, and our nature itself emanates and suffers from it. As to God, He is above all these. Even when we reign, when we become governors, when we judge, when we work, when we speak, when we look, and do any other thing, we do all with labour; and when fatigue is protracted, it is followed by sweat; and because our nature is mortal and corruptible, it will perish through labour. As to God He does all things ascribed to Him, such as governing, providing, judging, reigning and the like without fatigue, without material agency and without injury.50 It is such an idea that we must have of God, and it is such a faith that we ought to possess concerning God the Father. When we call Him Father, we mean 51 Father of the Son; and He is truly a Father by nature, as we are. It is impossible to understand how He is truly a Father if He were not a Father by nature. He is eternally a Father because His nature, in which He is a Father, is eternal. When we call Him Creator we mean that He created everything in wisdom as it is said: "In wisdom Thou hast made them all," 52 as we also do things in the wisdom of the skill that we possess. God is creator in the sense that when He wished, the creatures came fully into existence, and He was in no need of time or any other intervening thing between His wish and the coming into existence of His creatures. Immediately after He wishes to create a thing, it comes into existence from nothing.

16 It is in this kind of profession of faith and with this meaning that our blessed Fathers gave us the belief in one God, Father and Creator, whom we have tried to explain to your love in a long teaching, which you should keep without modification, so that you should flee from the iniquitous opinions of the heretics, while your faith is sound, by the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ to whom, in conjunction with His Father and the Holy Spirit, be glory and honour for ever and ever. Amen. Here ends the second chapter. |35

Chapter III. On Faith.

1 I believe that from what has been said you have learnt sufficiently which are the things that those whose solicitude is the fear of God have to understand and utter concerning God the Father. Let us now quote and examine also the words uttered by our blessed Fathers in the profession of faith concerning the Son: And in one Lord Jesus Christ the Only Begotten Son of God, the first-born of all the creatures. It was right that after their doctrine concerning the Father they should teach concerning the Son according to the teaching of our Lord, while preserving the order and the sequence of their words. As when speaking of the Father they not only said "Father" according to the teaching of our Lord, but added, in one God the Father and the Creator of all things, and first placed the name of God in the profession of faith by saying that He is one in order to refute the error of polytheism, and then added, the Father and the Creator of all things—so also they acted concerning the Son: In one Lord Jesus Christ the Only Begotten Son of God, the first-born of all the creatures. In this they clearly followed the preaching of the blessed Paul, who when teaching against idols and erroneous creeds said in refutation of the error of polytheism: "There is but one God," 53 and because he knew that we hold the doctrine of the faith in the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, he strove openly to show us that the question of the faith in these persons does not inflict any injury on us in our faith 54 nor does it lead us to the error of polytheism.

2 Because we know that the Divine nature of the Father, of the Son and of the Holy Spirit is one, when he desired to teach us this faith in a succinct manner he said: "To us there is but one God, the Father, of whom are all things." 55 In saying "one God the Father" he confuted all the error of polytheism, and showed that to us one Divine nature is preached. By the addition of the person of the Father he showed us the Son also, as after this he said: "And one Lord Jesus Christ by whom are all things" 56 in order to proclaim the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit together, while including also in his sentence |36 the Incarnation of our Lord which took place for our salvation and in which Divine nature became our Saviour. When he says: "one Lord by whom are all things" he alludes to God the Word who is a true Son consubstantial with His Father. He called Him rightly Lord in order to make us understand that He is from the Divine nature of God the Father.

3 We do not say that the Father is one God in the sense that the Son is not God, nor that the Son is one Lord in the sense that the Father is not Lord, because it is known and evident that any one who is truly God is also truly Lord, and any one who is truly Lord is also truly God, and any one who is not truly God is not truly Lord: "The Lord thy God is one Lord," 57 as He alone is so in truth. He who possesses these true attributes is alone called Lord and God in truth, and there is no other thing outside this nature which may be called Lord and God in truth. He who says "one God" shows also that there is one Lord, and he who says "there is but one Lord" confesses also that there is but one God. He (Paul) first said: "There is but one God" and immediately after "there is but one Lord," in order to separate the persons, because in repeating the word "one" about each one of them he showed that the two persons are to be known as of one Divine nature, which is truly both Lord and God.

4 In order to include in their sentence the human nature which was assumed for our salvation they said: In one Lord Jesus Christ. This name is that of the man whom God put on, as the angel said: "She shall bring forth a Son whose name shall be called 'Jesus.'" 58They added also the word Christ in order to allude to the Holy Spirit, as it is written: "Jesus of Nazareth whom God anointed with the Holy Ghost and with power." 59 And He is God because of the close union with that Divine nature which is truly God. In this same way our blessed Fathers who assembled in that wonderful Council of the Catholic Church [of Nicea] first spoke, like Paul, of Divine nature while coupling with it a word which denotes the form of humanity which He took upon Him 60 and said: And in one Lord Jesus Christ the Only Begotten Son of God, the first-born of all creatures. It is thus that they wished to teach mankind when they spoke of the Divine nature of the Son. His humanity, in which |37 is Divine nature, is also made known and proclaimed in it, according to the saying of the blessed Paul: "God was manifest in the flesh," and according to the saying of John the evangelist, "The Word was made flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth." 62

5 Our Fathers rightly thought not to overlook the humanity of our Lord which possesses such an ineffable union with Divine nature, but added: And in one Lord Jesus Christ, as if they had said, 'We believe in one Lord who is of Divine nature, to which the name of Lord and God is truly due.' In speaking of God the Word they said: By whom are all things,63 as the evangelist said: "All things were made by Him, and nothing was made without Him." 64 It is as if they had said, ' This one we understand to be one Lord who is of the Divine nature of God the Father, who for our salvation put on a man in whom He dwelt and through whom He appeared and became known to mankind. It is this man who was said by the angel that he would be called Jesus, who was anointed with the Holy Ghost in whom He was perfected and justified, as the blessed Paul testifies.' 65After saying these and showing the Divine nature and the human nature which God put on, they added: The "Only Begotten Son," the "first-born" of all creatures. With these two words they alluded to the two natures, and by the difference between the words they made us understand the difference between the natures. From the fact also that they referred both words to the one person 66 of the Son they showed us the close union between the two natures.

6 They did not make use of these words out of their own head but they took them from the teaching of Holy Writ. The blessed Paul said: "Of whom Christ in the flesh, who is God over all," 67 not that He is God by nature from the fact that He is of the House of David in the flesh, but he said "in the flesh" in order to indicate the human nature that was assumed. He said "God over all" in order to indicate the Divine nature which is higher than all, and which is the Lord. He used both words of one person in order to teach the close union of the two natures, and in order to make manifest the majesty and the honour that came to the man who was assumed by God who put Him on. |38 7 In this same way they said also: The Only Begotten Son, the first-born of all creatures. Because they were on the point of enlightening us concerning the two natures: how they are, which was the Divine nature which came down, and which was the human nature which was assumed—they used in advance these two expressions together in order to indicate the two natures through them. It is clear that they do not speak of one nature when they say: The Only Begotten Son, the first-born of all creatures, because the two expressions cannot be said of one nature, as there is a great difference between an only son and a first-born. It is not possible that an only son and a first-born should denote the same man. A first-born is the one who has many brothers while an only son is the one who has no brothers. So great is the difference between an only son and a firstborn that it may be compared with the difference that nature places between the one who is alone and the one who is in company of others.

8 We call an only son one who has no other brothers at all while we call a first-born one who clearly has other brothers. This the Sacred Book teaches us also without ambiguity. In wishing to speak of an only son it says: "We beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth." 68 It says also: "The only begotten Son who is in the bosom of the Father," 69 so that by His close proximity to His Father He might be known as an only Son. The sentence, "We beheld His glory, the glory as of an only begotten of the Father" shows that He alone is of the nature of the Father by birth, and He alone is a Son. In using the word "bosom" it conveys to us a union that never ceases, as it is unbecoming to understand this word to refer to a corporeal bosom of God. Inasmuch as they call eye "sight" and ear "hearing," so also they call a union that never ceases "bosom," as it is said: "Render unto our neighbours sevenfold into their bosom," 70 that is to say let them receive punishment continually and always. The expression "only Son" that has been used signifies, therefore, that He is alone born of the Father, that He is alone Son, that He is always with His Father and is known with Him, because He is truly a Son from His Father.

9 As to the expression "the first-born of all the creatures," we |39 understand it in the sense in which it is said: "For whom He did foreknow He also did predestinate, and He formed them to the image of His Son that He might be the first-born among many brethren." 71 (Paul) did not make use of this word in order to show us that He is Son alone, but in order to make us understand that He has many brethren and that He is known among many since they acquired with Him participation in the adoption of sons,72 and because of them He is called first-born as they are His brothers. In another passage He is called "first-born of all the creatures." 73 This is also said about the humanity of Christ, because (Paul) did not simply say "first-born" but "first-born of all the creatures." No one is called first-born if he has no other brothers because of whom he is called and is a first-born, so the expression "the first-born of all creatures" means that He was the first to be renewed by His resurrection from the dead; and He changed into a new and wonderful life, and He renewed also all the creatures and brought them to a new and a higher creation. It is indeed said: "Everything that is in Christ is a new creature. Old things are passed away, and all things are become new through our Lord Jesus Christ." 74 He is the firstborn of all the creatures because all the creation was renewed and changed through the renewal which He granted to it by His grace from the renewal into which He Himself was renewed, and through which He moved to a new life and ascended high above all creatures.

10 He is rightly called the first-born of all the creatures, because He was first renewed, and then He renewed the creatures, while He is higher in honour than all of them. This is how we understand the difference between the two names. Our Fathers, who took their wisdom from Holy Writ, referred this difference to one person and said: In the Only Begotten Son, the first-born of all creatures, in order to show us, as I said previously, the close union of the two natures. It is with justice, therefore, that they first said, "an only Son" and then, "the first-born." Indeed they had first to show us who was the one who was in the form of God,75 and who, because of His grace, took upon Him our nature, and afterwards to speak of that form of a servant which was assumed for our salvation. In this way and by the change in the terms that they used, they made manifest to us the two natures and |40 differences, and also the unity of sonship arising out of the closeness of the union of the natures, which was effected by the will of God. In this they kept also the right order of things as they taught first concerning Divine nature which by its grace came down to us and put on humanity, and then concerning that humanity which was assumed through grace, and afterwards they gave the true doctrine for the refutation of the heretics who strove to twist the truth.

11 In their teaching they began later to speak of Divine nature about which they had already spoken at the beginning of the profession of faith: Who was bom before all the worlds, and not made. It is clear that they said these words concerning Divine nature, although the word "only Son" was sufficient to teach the true doctrine concerning the Son to all non-contentious. If He is an only Son, it is clear that He alone is born of God, and He alone is a Son con-substantial with His Father. The expression "only Son" denotes all these things, and even more, because those who are called sons of God are numerous, while this one is alone the only Son. It is, indeed written: "I have said, Ye are gods, and all of you children of the Most High," 76 and again, "I have nourished and brought up children." 77 Since there are many who are called "sons" this one would not have been called "an only Son" if there was not a great difference between them. They were called sons by grace because they became near to God and members of the household,78 and because of this membership of the household they deserved by grace to be called by this name. This one, however, was called an only Son because He alone is a Son consubstantial with His Father. He was not called a Son, because He, like others, became by grace worthy of the adoption of sons, but because He was born of the very nature (of the Father) He was called and He is a Son. Although these things are clear and evident in the Sacred Books, and although it is patent to every one that no one can be called an only son except the one who is truly of the same nature as his father, the unholy and erroneous opinion of the heretics remained for some time without rectification.

12 Of all those who had received the knowledge of Christ, Arius was the first to dare and to say impiously that the Son was a creature 79 and was made from nothing: a novel theory alien to public opinion and |41 to the laws of nature, as any one who is created is not a Son, and any one who is a Son is not a creature, because it is impossible that a creature should be called a true Son or a true Son to be called a creature. This compelled our blessed Fathers to assemble from all regions and hold a holy Synod in the town of Nicea in the district of Bithynia, and to write this (profession of) faith in order to uphold the true faith, to confute the wickedness of Arius, to refute those who sprang up later and who are called by the name of their deceiver Eunomius, and to overthrow those heresies which arose out of erroneous opinions. Although the question was clear and evident to all from the law of nature, from common consent and from the teaching of the Sacred Books, they added and said: Born and not made.

13 They used words suitable to the belief in the Son, as if they had said: we call Him a Son, not a mere man and not like one who is figuratively called so—such as those who are by grace called children because of their adoption in the household—but alone a true Son. He is a true Son because He is an only Son; and He is truly born of His Father, is from Him and from His nature, and is eternally like Him. There is no created thing that is before the worlds, as the one who is before the worlds is the one who is alone from eternity. As the Father is from eternity so also the Son who is from Him is from eternity. He did not come into existence after a time nor was He born later, but He was born eternally before all the worlds from the one who is from eternity, and He is with Him from eternity as the evangelist said: "In the beginning was the Word." 80

14 He is from eternity, and did not come into existence later, but He was in the beginning before everything. He who comes into existence later is called "the last," and the last is not the first; and he who is not the first was not in the beginning. If, therefore, He was in the beginning, He was also the first, as there is nothing that precedes the beginning. If He is the first He is not the last, and if He is not the last He did not come into existence later. In the beginning He was,81 and He was in the beginning from God, that is to say He was from eternity and before all the worlds with God. And to show that He was with God, and not from outside, as something foreign and not from the very nature of Divinity, the blessed evangelist called Him "Word," because a word belongs to |42 a man and is from a man; and since it is possible that the being who was with Him was from another he made use of this illustration so that the hearers should not doubt that He was from eternity from the one who is eternally from eternity. Indeed, the word of the soul, the rational character of which is accomplished in itself, is with it and in it by nature, and it is through it that this same soul is known to be rational. And it comes out of the soul, and is seen from it and in it, and is always with it and known through it.

15 In this same way the Son is from the Father like the word is from the soul. He is eternally from Him, with Him and in Him, and He is known from eternity with Him. "He was in the beginning," that is to say He was from eternity, from the beginning, and before everything; not that He came into existence later, but that He was in the beginning and always; that He was eternally from Him and eternally with Him, like the word is with the soul, from which and with which it always is. The word, however, is seen as something different from the soul, and is the personality82 of the soul, because not having its own personality it is seen in the soul. In order that, by following this illustration, we may not believe that the Son has no personality 82 or that He was alien to the nature of the Father he quickly added: "And the Word was God." After saying that He "was" and that He "was with God" he added "And the Word was God" so that he should show clearly that He was not from a nature different from that of God, or that He was different from Him in the Godhead, but that He was identical with the one from whom He was and that He was God with the one who was God.

16 He said wonderfully: "And the Word was God" in order to show that He is what God is, and that He is what our blessed Fathers rightly described: Born of Him before all the worlds. In this they wished to convey that from eternity and before all the worlds He was in the beginning from Him and with Him. Their words did not stop here but to complete the doctrine of truth, to warn the children of faith and to overthrow the error of the heretics, they added the sentence: And not made. We should be in need of many words if we intended to comment fully upon all things said by our blessed Fathers concerning the Divinity |43 of the Only Begotten. In order, however, to lighten to you the burden of the many things that are said to you we shall utter them little by little so that you may better be able to hear and to learn them. With your permission, therefore, we shall put an end here to the things that were said to-day, and keep the things that follow (in the credo) to another day, and for all of them let us praise the Father, the Only Begotten Son and the Holy Spirit, now, always, and for ever and ever. Amen.

17 Here ends the third chapter.