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to your God-honored holiness and, as it is our opinion, so that you might be ignorant of none of our affairs. For this is dear and customary to us. 2 We say, therefore, that the definitions and the allotments which are made by a fitting word are most firm. For the divine scripture says that "God brought all the living creatures to Adam to see what he would call them. And whatever Adam called each living soul, that was its name." We see therefore names separating species from species and names being given separating hypostasis from hypostasis, and definitions and laws being set and prevailing until now. Thus I say that it was revealed definitively by God to Isaiah through the seraphim and through the trisagion hymn, the one three-hypostases Godhead and Lordship, as through a certain numerical manifestation. For why did they not hymn "holy" twice or four times or ten thousand times, and why did the seraphim not proclaim "Lord of hosts, heaven and earth are full of his glory" twice or three or four or ten thousand times, but "holy" three times, "holy, holy, holy," and "Lord" singularly, if not to show three holy hypostases, but one Lordship of the three and one beginning and glory and essence and Godhead, and that the three hypostases are one holy God: holy the Father, holy the Son, holy the Holy Spirit, but one Holy One, not three holy ones, one Lord, not three lords? For the three hypostases are God and God and God, but one God and not three gods; holy, holy, holy, but one Holy One and not three holy ones; lord and lord and lord, but one Lord and not three lords. For this reason he also added: 'Heaven and earth are full of his glory,' and not 'their' glory. The Godhead, therefore, or essence, is threefoldly extended indivisibly, being known in three hypostases, and the three hypostases are united and joined into one essence, or Godhead. And the Godhead is threefoldly hallowed and glorified, "holy, holy, holy," and the three hypostases are singularly glorified, "Lord of hosts; heaven and earth are full of his glory." For one God in three hypostases, and the three are one, that is, one nature, not one hypostasis, and each of the hypostases is not triply glorified and hallowed. For the Godhead, being a triad of hypostases, is appropriately and fittingly hallowed threefoldly: holy the Father, holy the Son, holy the Holy Spirit, Lord of hosts. For the three are one God and Lord. But each of the hypostases, being one hypostasis and not three, for what reason will it be hallowed three times and not once or twice or four times or ten thousand times? For each of the hypostases of the Godhead is not a triad; for thus the Godhead would be an ennead and not a triad. For why did they not hymn a dis-agion or tetr-agion or myri-agion hymn, but a trisagion, according to the number of the hypostases? For just as we say the Father is a hypostasis and the Son a hypostasis and the Holy Spirit a hypostasis, and the Godhead, or essence, is of three hypostases as containing the three hypostases, and it is not lawful to say that the Father is of three hypostases, nor the Son of three hypostases, nor the Holy Spirit of three hypostases, so also not one of the hypostases is 'thrice-holy,' but holy the Father, holy the Son, holy the Holy Spirit, and 'thrice-holy' the three-hypostases Godhead. If, therefore, the trisagion hymn is not indicative of the three hypostases, let us hymn 'holy' twice and add 'Lord of hosts.' But it is not lawful, nor did the seraphim hymn thus. Let us not argue superfluously nor seem to be wiser than the seraphim. 3 But if the God-bearing fathers, whose word is law, should say that they hymn the Son "holy, holy, holy," if they said that they hymn the Son alone, there would be a suspicion that the trisagion hymn was spoken of the Son alone. But if the Son is inseparable from the Father and the Spirit, the hymn is also inseparable; for he is worshipped together with the Father

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θεοτιμήτῳ ὑμῶν ἁγιότητι καί, ὅπως γνώμης ἔχομεν, ἵνα μηδὲν αὐτὴν ἀγνοεῖν τῶν ἡμετέρων. Τοῦτο γὰρ ἡμῖν φίλον καὶ σύνηθες. 2 Φαμὲν τοίνυν, ὡς οἱ ὅροι καὶ αἱ κληρώσεις οἱ λόγῳ γινόμενοι πρέποντι βεβαιότατοι τυγχάνουσι. Φησὶ γὰρ ἡ θεία γραφή, ὅτι «ἤγαγεν ὁ θεὸς πάντα τὰ ζῷα πρὸς τὸν Ἀδὰμ τοῦ ἰδεῖν, τί καλέσει αὐτά. Καὶ πᾶν, ὃ ἐὰν ἐκάλεσεν αὐτῷ Ἀδὰμ ψυχὴν ζῶσαν, τοῦτο ὄνομα αὐτῷ». Ὁρῶμεν οὖν ὀνόματα χωρίζοντα εἶδος ἐξ εἴδους καὶ ὀνόματα ἐπιτιθέμενα χωρίζοντα ὑπόστασιν ἐξ ὑποστάσεως, καὶ ὅρους δὲ καὶ νόμους τεθέντας καὶ μέχρι νῦν κεκρατηκότας. Οὕτω φημὶ ὁριστικῶς ἀποκεκαλύφθαι τῷ Ἡσαΐᾳ ἐκ θεοῦ διὰ τῶν σεραφὶμ καὶ διὰ τοῦ τρισαγίου ὕμνου τὴν μίαν τρισυπόστατον θεότητά τε καὶ κυριότητα ὡς διά τινος ἀριθμητικῆς ἐκφαντορίας. ∆ιὰ τί γὰρ οὐ δὶς ἢ τετράκις ἢ μυριάκις τὸ «ἅγιος» ὕμνησαν, καὶ διὰ τί μὴ δὶς ἢ τρὶς ἢ τετράκις ἢ μυριάκις τὸ «κύριος σαβαώθ, πλήρης ὁ οὐρανὸς καὶ ἡ γῆ τῆς δόξης αὐτοῦ», τὰ σεραφὶμ ἐξεφώνησεν, ἀλλὰ τὸ μὲν «ἅγιος» τρὶς «ἅγιος, ἅγιος, ἅγιος», τὸ δὲ «κύριος» μοναδικῶς, ἢ δεικνύντα τρεῖς μὲν τὰς ἁγίας ὑποστάσεις, μίαν δὲ κυριότητα τῶν τριῶν καὶ μίαν ἀρχὴν καὶ δόξαν οὐσίαν τε καὶ θεότητα καὶ ἕνα τὰς τρεῖς ὑποστάσεις εἶναι θεὸν ἅγιον, ἅγιον μὲν τὸν πατέρα, ἅγιον τὸν υἱόν, ἅγιον τὸ πνεῦμα τὸ ἅγιον, ἀλλ' ἕνα ἅγιον, οὐ τρεῖς ἁγίους, ἕνα κύριον, οὐ τρεῖς κυρίους; Αἱ μὲν γὰρ τρεῖς ὑποστάσεις θεὸς καὶ θεὸς καὶ θεός, ἀλλ' εἷς θεὸς καὶ οὐ τρεῖς θεοί· ἅγιος, ἅγιος, ἅγιος, ἀλλ' εἷς ἅγιος καὶ οὐ τρεῖς ἅγιοι· κύριος καὶ κύριος καὶ κύριος, ἀλλ' εἷς κύριος καὶ οὐ τρεῖς κύριοι. ∆ιὸ καὶ ἐπήγαγε· «Πλήρης ὁ οὐρανὸς καὶ ἡ γῆ τῆς δόξης αὐτοῦ», καὶ οὐκ αὐτῶν. Ἡ μὲν οὖν θεότης ἤτοι οὐσία τριαδικῶς ἐξαπλοῦται ἀδιαιρέτως ἐν τρισὶ γνωριζομένη ὑποστάσεσι, καὶ αἱ τρεῖς ὑποστάσεις εἰς μίαν οὐσίαν ἤτοι θεότητα ἑνοῦνταί τε καὶ συνάπτονται. Καὶ ἡ μὲν θεότης τριαδικῶς ἁγιάζεται καὶ δοξάζεται «ἅγιος, ἅγιος, ἅγιος», καὶ αἱ τρεῖς ὑποστάσεις μοναδικῶς δοξολογοῦνται «κύριος σαβαώθ· πλήρης ὁ οὐρανὸς καὶ ἡ γῆ τῆς δόξης αὐτοῦ». Εἷς γὰρ θεὸς ἐν τρισὶν ὑποστάσεσι, καὶ τὰ τρία ἓν ἤτοι μία φύσις, οὐχ ὑπόστασις μία, οὐχ ἑκάστη δὲ τῶν ὑποστάσεων τρισσῶς δοξολογεῖται καὶ ἁγιάζεται. Ἡ μὲν γὰρ θεότης τριὰς ὑποστάσεων οὖσα οἰκείως καὶ προσηνῶς τριαδικῶς ἁγιάζεται· ἅγιος ὁ πατήρ, ἅγιος ὁ υἱός, ἅγιον τὸ πνεῦμα τὸ ἅγιον, κύριος σαβαώθ. Εἷς γὰρ τὰ τρία θεός τε καὶ κύριος. Ἑκάστη δὲ τῶν ὑποστάσεων μία οὖσα ὑπόστασις καὶ οὐ τρεῖς τίνος ἕνεκεν τρὶς ἁγιασθήσεται καὶ οὐχ ἅπαξ ἢ δὶς ἢ τετράκις ἢ μυριάκις; Οὐ γὰρ ἑκάστη τῶν τῆς θεότητος ὑποστάσεων τριάς· οὕτω γὰρ ἂν ἐννὰς ἔσται ἡ θεότης καὶ οὐ τριάς. ∆ιὰ τί γὰρ μὴ δισάγιον ἢ τετράγιον ἢ μυριάγιον ὕμνον ὕμνησαν, ἀλλὰ τρισάγιον, κατὰ τὸν τῶν ὑποστάσεων ἀριθμόν; Ὥσπερ γὰρ τὸν πατέρα ὑπόστασίν φαμεν καὶ τὸν υἱὸν ὑπόστασιν καὶ τὸ πνεῦμα τὸ ἅγιον ὑπόστασιν καὶ τὴν θεότητα ἤτοι οὐσίαν τρισυπόστατον ὡς τὰς τρεῖς περιέχουσαν ὑποστάσεις καὶ οὔτε τὸν πατέρα τρισυπόστατον οὔτε τὸν υἱὸν τρισυπόστατον οὔτε τὸ πνεῦμα τὸ ἅγιον τρισυπόστατον εἰπεῖν θεμιτόν, οὕτως οὐδὲ τρισάγιον μίαν τῶν ὑποστάσεων, ἀλλ' ἅγιον τὸν πατέρα, ἅγιον τὸν υἱόν, ἅγιον τὸ πνεῦμα τὸ ἅγιον, τρισάγιον δὲ τὴν τρισυπόστατον θεότητα. Εἰ οὖν μὴ τῶν τριῶν ὑποστάσεών ἐστιν σημαντικὸς ὁ τρισάγιος ὕμνος, ὑμνήσωμεν δὶς τὸ «ἅγιος» καὶ ἐπαγάγωμεν τὸ «κύριος σαβαώθ.» Ἀλλ' οὐ θέμις, οὐδ' οὕτω τὰ σεραφὶμ ὕμνησαν. Μὴ σοφισώμεθα περιττὰ μηδὲ τῶν σεραφὶμ σοφώτεροι εἶναι δόξωμεν. 3 Εἰ δὲ λέγοιεν οἱ θεοφόροι πατέρες, ὧν νόμος ὁ λόγος, ὅτι τὸν υἱὸν ὑμνοῦντά φασιν «ἅγιος, ἅγιος, ἅγιος», εἰ μὲν ἔφησαν, ὅτι τὸν υἱὸν μόνον ὑμνοῦντα, εἶχεν ἂν ὑποψίαν καὶ εἰς τὸν υἱὸν μόνον εἰρῆσθαι τὸν τρισάγιον ὕμνον. Εἰ δὲ ἀχώριστος ὁ υἱὸς τοῦ πατρὸς καὶ τοῦ πνεύματος, ἀχώριστος καὶ ὁ ὕμνος· συμπροσκυνεῖται γὰρ τῷ πατρὶ