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De ecclesiastica theologia

OF ECCLESIASTICAL THEOLOGY I The first book contains the following: 1. That Marcellus slandered Sabellius in vain, holding the same opinions as he. 2. That the grace of Christ bestowed on the church of God the special knowledge concerning the Father and the Son. 3. That the heterodox erred in various ways in their doctrine concerning the Son. 4. That those who do not confess that the Son of God has subsistence call themselves Christians in vain. 5. How Marcellus denied the Son of God, imitating the heresy of Sabellius. 6. How the church of God believes. 7. How the heterodox have fallen away in various ways from the theology concerning the Son. 8. A presentation of the sound and ecclesiastical orthodoxy. 9. That the Son did not come into subsistence in the same way as the many created things. 10. That being alone begotten of the Father, He alone is rightly called both God and Only-begotten Son. 11. How the church acknowledges one God, although accepting that the Son is God from God. 12. That His generation from the Father is ineffable. 13. That the oversight of the Son is necessary and saving for all. 14. That the church reasonably rejected Marcellus, who held the same opinions as Sabellius. 15. With what words Marcellus attacked Sabellius, pretending not to hold the same opinions as he. 16. How he is convicted by his own words of holding the same opinions as Sabellius. 17. How he denied with uncovered head the hypostasis of the Son. 18. How he asserted that before the incarnation the Son was nothing other than simply a Word, like that among men. 19. How the divine scriptures called the Son of God not only Word but also countless other things before the incarnation. 20. Citations and some interpretations of proofs from the divine scripture in a total of 30 chapters. I for my part thought that the citations of Marcellus' own words, which I have collected in the preceding, would be sufficient for their own refutation. For they contained such a manifest and irrefutable denial of the Son of God, that even without any contradiction, the teaching in them would be shunned by those nurtured by the church of God. 1.Pref.2 But since I considered that perhaps some might be drawn away from ecclesiastical theology by the numerous citations which the man has used to confirm what he thought would contribute to his case, I judged it necessary to publish a refutation of these things at present, so that everyone might learn that not a single word of the inspired scripture provided consonant testimony for him who denied the Son of God, but all openly uttered the contrary voice, straightforwardly correcting his incorrect misinterpretations of the divine scriptures. And I will join together at the same time, with the exposure of these things, the theology of our Savior, having nothing new to say, nor any wise and personal discovery of my own, but putting forward the incorruptible teaching of the church of God, which, having received it from the beginning from those who were eyewitnesses and hearers of the Word, it preserves 1.1.1 But before the examination of these things, since in the midst of the treatise I found Sabellius being attacked by him, being astounded at the man's foolishness, that he did not spare from speaking ill of one whom he ought to have praised above all others, having become of the same opinion and of the same mind with him, I did not think I should pass over the matter in silence, but to deliver a refutation of this also in the present writing. For the fact that the ministers of God were slandered by him, even if it brought blame upon him but glory to those freed from fellowship with him, 1.1.2 nevertheless had a certain plausibility in seeming to disparage things not dear to him; but to have unwittingly attacked himself

1

De ecclesiastica theologia

ΤΗΣ ΕΚΚΛΗΣΙΑΣΤΙΚΗΣ ΘΕΟΛΟΓΙΑΣ Αʹ Τάδε τὸ αʹ περιέχει σύγγραμμα αʹ ὅτι μάτην Σαβέλλιον διέβαλλεν Μάρκελλος τὰ ἴσα αὐτῷ δοξάζων. βʹ ὅτι τῇ ἐκκλησίᾳ τοῦ θεοῦ ἡ Χριστοῦ χάρις τὴν περὶ πατρὸς καὶ υἱοῦ γνῶσιν ἐξαίρετον ἐδωρήσατο. γʹ ὅτι ποικίλως ἐσφάλησαν οἱ ἑτερόδοξοι ἐν τῷ περὶ υἱοῦ λόγῳ. δʹ ὅτι μάτην Χριστιανοὺς ἑαυτοὺς λέγουσιν οἱ μὴ ὑφεστάναι τὸν υἱὸν τοῦ θεοῦ ὁμολογοῦντες. εʹ ὅπως Μάρκελλος τὸν υἱὸν τοῦ θεοῦ ἠρνεῖτο τὴν Σαβελλίου αἵρεσιν μιμούμενος. ʹ ὅπως ἡ ἐκκλησία τοῦ θεοῦ πιστεύει. ζʹ ὅπως οἱ ἑτερόδοξοι διαφόρως τῆς περὶ τοῦ υἱοῦ θεολογίας ἐκπεπτώκασιν. ηʹ παράθεσις τῆς ὑγιοῦς καὶ ἐκκλησιαστικῆς ὀρθοδοξίας. θʹ ὅτι μὴ τοῖς πολλοῖς κτίσμασιν ὁμοίως καὶ ὁ υἱὸς ὑπέστη. ιʹ ὅτι μόνος ἐκ τοῦ πατρὸς γεννηθεὶς εἰκότως καὶ θεὸς καὶ μονογενὴς υἱὸς μόνος αὐτὸς ἀνείρηται. ιαʹ ὅπως ἕνα θεὸν ἡ ἐκκλησία γνωρίζει, καίτοι τὸν υἱὸν θεὸν ἐκ θεοῦ εἶναι παραδεχομένη. ιβʹ ὡς ἄρρητος αὐτοῦ ἡ ἐκ τοῦ πατρὸς γέννησις. ιγʹ ὅτι ἀναγκαία καὶ σωτήριος τοῖς πᾶσιν ἡ τοῦ υἱοῦ ἐπιστασία. ιδʹ ὅτι εὐλόγως ἡ ἐκκλησία τὰ αὐτὰ φρονήσαντα Σαβελλίῳ Μάρκελλον ἀπεδοκίμασεν. ιεʹ ὁποίοις ῥήμασιν Μάρκελλος τὸν Σαβέλλιον ἔκοπτεν, προσποιούμενος μὴ τὰ ἴσα αὐτῷ φρονεῖν. ιʹ ὅπως ἁλίσκεται διὰ τῶν αὐτοῦ φωνῶν τὰ αὐτὰ τῷ Σαβελλίῳ δοξάζων. ιζʹ ὅπως ἠρνεῖτο γυμνῇ τῇ κεφαλῇ τὴν ὑπόστασιν τοῦ υἱοῦ. ιηʹ ὅπως πρὸ τῆς ἐνανθρωπήσεως οὐδὲν ἕτερον ἔφασκεν εἶναι τὸν υἱόν, ἢ λόγον αὐτὸ μόνον ὅμοιον τῷ παρ' ἀνθρώποις. ιθʹ ὅπως αἱ θεῖαι γραφαὶ οὐ μόνον λόγον ἀλλὰ καὶ μυρία ἕτερα καὶ πρὸ τῆς ἐνανθρωπήσεως ὠνόμαζον τὸν υἱὸν τοῦ θεοῦ. κʹ παραθέσεις καὶ ἑρμηνεῖαι μερικαὶ τῶν ἀπὸ τῆς θείας γραφῆς ἀπο δείξεων ἐν ὅλοις λʹ κεφαλαίοις. Ἐγὼ μὲν ᾤμην ἐξαρκεῖν τὰς τῶν αὐτοῦ Μαρκέλλου φωνῶν παραθέσεις, ἃς διὰ τῶν ἔμπροσθεν ἀνελεξάμην, πρὸς τὸν καθ' ἑαυτῶν ἔλεγχον. οὕτω γὰρ προφανῆ καὶ ἀδιάτρεπτον τὴν ἄρνησιν τοῦ υἱοῦ τοῦ θεοῦ περιεῖχον, ὡς καὶ δίχα πάσης ἀντιρρήσεως τοῖς τῆς ἐκκλησίας τοῦ θεοῦ τροφίμοις φευκτὸν εἶναι τὸν ἐν αὐτοῖς λόγον. 1.Pref.2 ἐπεὶ δὲ διεσκεψάμην, μήποτ' ἄρα τινὲς τῆς ἐκκλησιαστικῆς θεολογίας ὑποσυρεῖεν τῇ πολλῇ παραθέσει, ᾗ κέχρηται ὁ ἀνὴρ εἰς πίστωσιν ὧν ᾤετο αὐτῷ συμβαλεῖσθαι, καὶ τούτων ἔκρινα δεῖν ἐπὶ τοῦ παρόντος τὸν ἔλεγχον ἐκφῆναι, ὡς ἂν μάθοι πᾶς ὅτι μηδὲ εἷς αὐτῷ λόγος τῆς ἐνθέου γραφῆς ἀρνουμένῳ τὸν υἱὸν τοῦ θεοῦ συνῳδὸν παρείχετο μαρτυρίαν, πάντες δ' ἄντικρυς αὐτῷ τὴν ἐναντίαν ἐφθέγγοντο φωνὴν ἀδιαστρόφως τὰς οὐκ ὀρθῶς αὐτοῦ τῶν θείων γραφῶν παρεξηγήσεις εὐθύνοντες. συνάψω δὲ κατὰ τὸ αὐτὸ τῇ τούτων φώρᾳ τὴν τοῦ σωτῆρος ἡμῶν θεολογίαν, νεώτερον μὲν λέγειν ἔχων οὐδέν, οὐδ' ἐμαυτοῦ σοφόν τι καὶ οἰκεῖον εὕρεμα, τῆς δ' ἐκκλησίας τοῦ θεοῦ τὴν ἀδιάφθορον διδασκαλίαν προϊσχόμενος, ἣν παρὰ τῶν αὐτοπτῶν καὶ αὐτηκόων τοῦ λόγου ἄνωθεν ἐξ ἀρχῆς παραλαβοῦσα φυλάττει 1.1.1 πρὸ δὲ τῆς τούτων ἐξετάσεως, ἐπειδὴ μεταξὺ τοῦ συγγράμματος τὸν Σαβέλλιον ὑπ' αὐτοῦ κοπτόμενον εὗρον, καταπλαγεὶς τῆς ἠλιθιότητος τὸν ἄνδρα, ὡς οὐκ ἐφείσατο κακῶς ἀγορεῦσαι ὃν πάντων μᾶλλον ἐπαινεῖν αὐτὸν ἐχρῆν ὁμόδοξον αὐτῷ καὶ ὁμογνώμονα γεγονότα, οὐχ ἡγησάμην ἀντιπαρελθεῖν σιγῇ τὸν λόγον, παραδοῦναι δὲ καὶ τούτου ἔλεγχον τῷ παρόντι γράμματι. τὸ μὲν γὰρ τοὺς τοῦ θεοῦ λειτουργοὺς πρὸς αὐτοῦ διαβεβλῆσθαι εἰ καὶ αὐτῷ μὲν ψόγον τοῖς δ' ἐλευθερουμένοις τῆς πρὸς αὐτὸν κοινωνίας εὐδοξίαν ἐπήγαγεν, 1.1.2 ὅμως εἴχετό τινος εἰκότος τὸ δοκεῖν τὰ μὴ αὐτῷ φίλα φαυλίζειν· τὸ δὲ λαθεῖν κόπτοντα αὑτὸν