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8 [The faith dictated in the synod.] We believe in one God, Father, Almighty, maker of all things visible and invisible, and in one Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God, begotten from the Father, only-begotten, that is, from the substance of the Father, God from God, Light from Light, true God from true God, begotten not made, of one substance with the Father, through whom all things were made, both things in heaven and things on earth, who for us men and for our salvation came down and was incarnate, was made man, suffered and rose again on the third day, ascended into the heavens and is coming to judge the living and the dead. And in the Holy Spirit. But those who say "there was a time when he was not" and "before he was begotten he was not" and that "he came into being from nothing" or who assert that the Son of God is from another hypostasis or substance, or is created or subject to change or alteration—these the catholic church anathematizes.

9 And indeed when this document was dictated by them, how they had said "from the substance of the Father" and "of one substance with the Father," we did not leave it unexamined among them. Therefore questions and answers arose from this, and the argument scrutinized the meaning of what was said. And indeed the phrase "from the substance" was acknowledged by them to signify that he is from the Father, but not as being a part of the Father. 10 And so it seemed good to us to assent to this understanding of the pious teaching, which dictates that the Son is from the Father, but not as being a part of His substance. Therefore we too agreed with this understanding, not rejecting the term "homoousios," with the goal of peace set before our eyes and of not falling away from the right understanding.

11 In the same way we also accepted "begotten and not made," since they said "made" is a common term for the rest of the creatures that came into being through the Son, with which the Son has no likeness; therefore he is not a creature like those made through him, but is of a substance superior to every creature, which the divine oracles teach has been begotten from the Father, the manner of His generation being inexpressible and incomprehensible to every created nature. 12 So too the argument, when examined, establishes that the Son is "of one substance with the Father," not in the manner of bodies nor similarly to mortal creatures, for it is neither by a division of the substance nor by a cutting off, nor by any passion or change or alteration of the Father's substance and power. For the unbegotten nature of the Father is foreign to all these things. And "of one substance with the Father" is indicative that the Son of God bears no resemblance to the begotten creatures, but is made like in every way only to the Father who begot him, and is not from any other hypostasis and substance, but from the Father. To this, when it was interpreted in this way, it seemed good to assent, since we also knew some of the ancient, learned, and distinguished bishops and writers who used the term "homoousios" in their theology of the Father and Son.

14 So let these things be said concerning the faith that was set forth, to which we all agreed, not without examination, but according to the meanings given, which were examined in the presence of the most God-beloved emperor himself and acknowledged on the basis of the aforesaid reasonings. And we considered the anathema set forth by them after the creed to be without offense, because it forbids the use of unscriptural terms, from which has come almost all the confusion and disorder of the church. For since no divinely inspired scripture uses "from nothing" and "there was a time when he was not" and what follows

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8 [Ἡ ἐν τῇ συνόδῳ ὑπαγορευθεῖσα πίστις.] Πιστεύομεν εἰς ἕνα θεόν, πατέρα, παντοκράτορα, πάντων ὁρατῶν τε καὶ ἀοράτων ποιητήν, καὶ εἰς ἕνα κύριον Ἰησοῦν Χριστόν, τὸν υἱὸν τοῦ θεοῦ, γεννηθέντα ἐκ τοῦ πατρὸς μονογενῆ τουτέστιν ἐκ τῆς οὐσίας τοῦ πατρός, θεὸν ἐκ θεοῦ, φῶς ἐκ φωτός, θεὸν ἀληθινὸν ἐκ θεοῦ ἀληθινοῦ, γεννηθέντα οὐ ποιηθέντα, ὁμοούσιον τῷ πατρί, δι' οὗ τὰ πάντα ἐγένετο τά τε ἐν τῷ οὐρανῷ καὶ τὰ ἐν τῇ γῇ, τὸν δι' ἡμᾶς τοὺς ἀνθρώπους καὶ διὰ τὴν ἡμετέραν σωτηρίαν κατελθόντα καὶ σαρκωθέντα, ἐνανθρωπήσαντα, παθόντα καὶ ἀναστάντα τῇ τρίτῃ ἡμέρᾳ, ἀνελθόντα εἰς οὐρανοὺς καὶ ἐρχόμενον κρῖναι ζῶντας καὶ νεκρούς. καὶ εἰς τὸ ἅγιον πνεῦμα. τοὺς δὲ λέγοντας «ἦν ποτε ὅτε οὐκ ἦν» καὶ «πρὶν γεννηθῆναι οὐκ ἦν» καὶ ὅτι «ἐξ οὐκ ὄντων ἐγένετο» ἢ ἐξ ἑτέρας ὑποστάσεως ἢ οὐσίας φάσκοντας εἶναι ἢ κτιστὸν ἢ τρεπτὸν ἢ ἀλλοιωτὸν τὸν υἱὸν τοῦ θεοῦ ἀναθεματίζει ἡ καθολικὴ ἐκκλησία.

9 Καὶ δὴ ταύτης τῆς γραφῆς ὑπ' αὐτῶν ὑπαγορευθείσης, ὅπως εἴρηται αὐτοῖς τὸ «ἐκ τῆς οὐσίας τοῦ πατρὸς» καὶ τὸ «τῷ πατρὶ ὁμοούσιον», οὐκ ἀνεξέταστον αὐτοῖς κατελιμπάνομεν. ἐπερωτήσεις τοιγαροῦν καὶ ἀποκρίσεις ἐντεῦθεν ἀνεκινοῦντο ἐβασάνιζέν τε ὁ λόγος τὴν διάνοιαν τῶν εἰρημένων. καὶ δὴ τὸ «ἐκ τῆς οὐσίας» ὡμολογεῖτο πρὸς αὐτῶν δηλωτικὸν εἶναι τοῦ ἐκ μὲν τοῦ πατρὸς εἶναι, οὐ μὴν ὡς μέρος ὑπάρχειν τοῦ πατρός. 10 ταύτῃ δὲ καὶ ἡμῖν ἐδόκει καλῶς ἔχειν συγκατατίθεσθαι τῇ διανοίᾳ τῆς εὐσεβοῦς διδασκαλίας ὑπαγορευούσης ἐκ τοῦ πατρὸς εἶναι τὸν υἱόν, οὐ μὴν μέρος αὐτοῦ τῆς οὐσίας τυγχάνειν. διόπερ τῇ διανοίᾳ καὶ ἡμεῖς συνετιθέμεθα οὐδὲ τὴν φωνὴν τοῦ ὁμοουσίου παραιτούμενοι τοῦ τῆς εἰρήνης σκοποῦ πρὸ ὀφθαλμῶν ἡμῖν κειμένου καὶ τοῦ μὴ τῆς ὀρθῆς ἐκπεσεῖν διανοίας.

11 Κατὰ τὰ αὐτὰ δὲ καὶ τὸ «γεννηθέντα καὶ οὐ ποιηθέντα» κατεδεξάμεθα, ἐπειδὴ τὸ «ποιηθὲν» κοινὸν ἔφασκεν εἶναι πρόσρημα τῶν λοιπῶν κτισμάτων τῶν διὰ τοῦ υἱοῦ γενομένων, ὧν οὐδὲν ὅμοιον ἔχειν τὸν υἱόν· διὸ δὴ μὴ εἶναι αὐτὸν ποίημα τοῖς δι' αὐτοῦ γενομένοις ἐμφερές, κρείττονος δὲ ἢ κατὰ πᾶν ποίημα τυγχάνειν οὐσίας, ἣν ἐκ τοῦ πατρὸς γεγεννῆσθαι τὰ θεῖα διδάσκει λόγια, τοῦ τρόπου τῆς γεννήσεως ἀνεκφράστου καὶ ἀνεπιλογίστου πάσῃ γενητῇ φύσει τυγχάνοντος. 12 Οὕτω δὲ καὶ τὸ «ὁμοούσιον εἶναι τοῦ πατρὸς τὸν υἱὸν» ἐξεταζόμενος ὁ λόγος συνίστησιν, οὐ κατὰ τὸν τῶν σωμάτων τρόπον οὐδὲ τοῖς θνητοῖς ζῴοις παραπλησίως, οὔτε γὰρ κατὰ διαίρεσιν τῆς οὐσίας οὔτε κατὰ ἀποτομήν, ἀλλ' οὐδὲ κατά τι πάθος ἢ τροπὴν ἢ ἀλλοίωσιν τῆς τοῦ πατρὸς οὐσίας τε καὶ δυνάμεως. τούτων γὰρ πάντων ἀλλο13 τρίαν εἶναι τὴν ἀγένητον τοῦ πατρὸς φύσιν. παραστατικὸν δὲ εἶναι τὸ «ὁμοούσιον τῷ πατρὶ» τοῦ μηδεμίαν ἐμφέρειαν πρὸς τὰ γενητὰ κτίσματα τὸν υἱὸν τοῦ θεοῦ φέρειν, μόνῳ δὲ τῷ πατρὶ τῷ γεγεννηκότι κατὰ πάντα τρόπον ἀφωμοιῶσθαι καὶ μὴ εἶναι ἐξ ἑτέρας τινὸς ὑποστάσεώς τε καὶ οὐσίας, ἀλλ' ἐκ τοῦ πατρός. ᾧ καὶ αὐτῷ τοῦτον ἑρμηνευθέντι τὸν τρόπον καλῶς ἔχειν ἐφάνη συγκαταθέσθαι, ἐπεὶ καὶ τῶν παλαιῶν τινας λογίους καὶ ἐπιφανεῖς ἐπισκόπους καὶ συγγραφεῖς ἔγνωμεν ἐπὶ τῆς τοῦ πατρὸς καὶ υἱοῦ θεολογίας τῷ τοῦ ὁμοουσίου χρησαμένους ὀνόματι.

14 Ταῦτα μὲν οὖν περὶ τῆς ἐκτεθείσης εἰρήσθω πίστεως, ᾗ συνεφωνήσαμεν οἱ πάντες οὐκ ἀνεξετάστως, ἀλλὰ κατὰ τὰς ἀποδοθείσας διανοίας ἐπ' αὐτοῦ τοῦ θεοφιλεστάτου 15 βασιλέως ἐξετασθείσας καὶ τοῖς εἰρημένοις λογισμοῖς συνομολογηθείσας. καὶ τὸν ἀναθεματισμὸν δὲ τὸν μετὰ τὴν πίστιν πρὸς αὐτῶν ἐκτεθέντα ἄλυπον εἶναι ἡγησάμεθα διὰ τὸ ἀπείργειν ἀγράφοις χρῆσθαι φωναῖς, διὸ σχεδὸν ἡ πᾶσα γέγονε σύγχυσις καὶ ἀκαταστασία τῆς ἐκκλησίας. μηδεμιᾶς γοῦν θεοπνεύστου γραφῆς τῷ «ἐξ οὐκ ὄντων» καὶ τῷ «ἦν ποτε ὅτε οὐκ ἦν» καὶ τοῖς ἑξῆς