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we who are deemed worthy of a way of life are spurred on by these same things to both arouse the mind and direct it towards 1.2 what is useful. For the ever-humble disposition within us, which strives to persevere in tranquility and not to extend itself further, keeping in mind that which was said by the Apostle, "that I not stretch myself beyond the measure of the rule that God has given us as a measure," is now compelled to arrive at this 1.3 point. For the votes from all sides, so to speak, prevailing through the God-given zeal in you and in the others of like mind—I mean those zealous for orthodoxy, among whom was also Hypatius our son who came to me from the land of the Egyptians for this very reason—have caused me to put aside all indolence and all hesitation, and no longer to keep silent or to put in second place writing to you about the faith, since you and our brothers seek the things concerning our salvation from the divine and holy scripture: the firm foundation of the faith concerning Father and Son and Holy Spirit and all the rest of salvation in Christ, I mean the resurrection of the dead and the incarnate presence of the Only-begotten, and concerning the holy covenant both old and new, and simply of all the other constituents of our 1.4 perfect salvation. I, therefore, having received 1.4 such a proposal of requests, which were not a few, from those with brother Conon the fellow presbyter and his followers, and from others and from your honor, most beloved children, and not least also from our son Hypatius who came to me from Egypt for this reason, seeing together the many unanimous votes, my mind was stung and I considered the matter, and it seemed good to me to set out eagerly and without hesitation according to your request by letter, that not only willingly but also unwillingly, on account of the immensity of your request and that of those with you, I, the insignificant one, should set upon writing this my letter for your longing. 2.1 And I am very much astonished, marveling at the dispensation of our Lord and God, who was pleased in the excess of his goodness to give his Holy Spirit in all things to those who seek him in truth. For I did not consider your requests and those of your people, made through letters, to have happened without God, most beloved, but I discerned the impulse 2.2 as having begun in you from the grace of God. For in truth those who hold orthodox views concerning the Son of God and the Holy Spirit and know how to speak in harmony and agreement with the most blessed apostle Peter that "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God," will clearly be called blessed by the Lord himself, just as that holy one was called blessed when he heard, "Blessed are you, Simon bar-Jona," that is, son of Jona; for his father was called Jona, 2.3 and `bar` is interpreted from the Hebrew dialect as `son`. For this was the life which the only-begotten Son of God gave to his own disciples, saying "that they might have life in themselves," and this is the life of which he spoke: "that they might know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have 2.4 sent." In saying, therefore, "the only true God," he led us to monarchy, so that we should no longer "be enslaved to the elements of the world," so that polytheism should no longer be among us and the thoughts of men be scattered to such fornication, but to the unity of the only true God; for "the first fornication 2.5 is the devising of idols," says the scripture. And he says, "and Jesus Christ whom you have sent." Jesus Christ, who but God? But if Jesus Christ is God, as John says of him, "the only-begotten God who is in the bosom of the Father, he has made him known," then the Father is one God 2.6 and the only true God, and the Only-begotten is God. He is not, therefore, alien to God and to the Monad; but since he is Son from the Father, for this reason he is the only true God. And not according to the false gods, whom

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πολιτείαν καταξιούμεθα ὑπὸ τῶν αὐτῶν ὑπονύττεσθαι εἰς τὸ τὸν νοῦν διεγείρειν τε καὶ παριστᾶν εἰς 1.2 τὸ χρήσιμον. τὸ γὰρ ἐν ἡμῖν ἀεὶ ταπεινὸν φρόνημα ἡσυχῇ καρτερεῖν σπουδάζον καὶ μὴ περαιτέρω ἐπεκτείνεσθαι τῶν ἄγαν σκοπούντων ἐκεῖνο τὸ παρὰ τῷ ἀποστόλῳ εἰρημένον «ἵνα μὴ ἐπεκτείνωμαι ὑπὲρ τὸ μέτρον τοῦ κανόνος οὗ δέδωκεν ἡμῖν ὁ θεὸς μέτρου», ἀφικέσθαι 1.3 πρὸς τοῦτο νῦν ἀναγκάζεται. ἐκ πανταχόθεν γὰρ αἱ ψῆφοι πρυτανεύσασαι ὡς εἰπεῖν τοῦ ἐν ὑμῖν θεόθεν ζήλου τῶν τε ἄλλων ὁμοδόξων, φημὶ δὴ τῶν τὴν ὀρθοδοξίαν ζηλούντων, ἐν οἷς καὶ Ὑπατίου τοῦ τέκνου ἡμῶν ἀπὸ τῆς Αἰγυπτίων χώρας πρός με διὰ τοῦτο αὐτὸ ἥκοντος, πᾶσαν μὲν ῥᾳθυμίαν πάντα δὲ ὄκνον παρεσκεύασαν ἀποθέσθαι μηκέτι τε στέγειν μήτε ἐν δευτέρῳ τίθεσθαι τὰ περὶ πίστεως γράφειν ὑμῖν, ἐπιζητούντων ὑμῶν καὶ τῶν ἡμετέρων ἀδελφῶν τὰ περὶ τῆς ἐν ἡμῖν σωτηρίας ἐκ τῆς θείας καὶ ἁγίας γραφῆς, τὸν στερεὸν θεμέλιον τῆς πίστεως περὶ πατρὸς καὶ υἱοῦ καὶ ἁγίου πνεύματος καὶ τῆς ἄλλης ἁπάσης ἐν Χριστῷ σωτηρίας, ἀναστάσεώς τε νεκρῶν λέγω καὶ ἐνσάρκου παρουσίας τοῦ μονογενοῦς, καὶ περὶ τῆς ἁγίας διαθήκης παλαιᾶς τε καὶ καινῆς καὶ τῶν ἄλλων 1.4 ἁπαξαπλῶς συστάσεων τῆς τελείας σωτηρίας. ἐγὼ γοῦν λαβὼν τὴν 1.4 τοιαύτην πρότασιν τῶν αἰτήσεων οὐκ ὀλίγων οὐσῶν παρὰ τῶν περὶ τὸν ἀδελφὸν Κώνωπα τὸν συμπρεσβύτερον καὶ τῶν αὐτῷ ἑπομένων, ἄλλων τε καὶ ὑμῶν τῆς τιμιότητος, τέκνα ποθεινότατα, οὐ μὴν ἀλλὰ καὶ τοῦ τέκνου ἡμῶν Ὑπατίου ἀπὸ τῆς Αἰγύπτου πρός με διὰ τοῦτο ἥκοντος, τὰς ὁμοφώνους ψήφους πολλὰς ὁρῶν ὁμοῦ, δηχθεὶς τὴν φρένα καὶ τὸν λογισμὸν ἐσκεψάμην καὶ ἔδοξέ μοι προθύμως ὁρμῆσαι κατὰ τὴν ὑμῶν διὰ γραμμάτων ἀξίωσιν ἀνενδοιάστως τε, ὅτι οὐ μόνον ἑκὼν ἀλλὰ καὶ ἄκων διὰ τὴν ὑπερβολὴν τῆς ὑμῶν τε καὶ τῶν καθ' ὑμᾶς αἰτήσεως, ἐπὶ τὸ γράφειν ταύτην μου τὴν ἐπιστολὴν ἐμὲ τὸν βραχὺν τῷ ὑμετέρῳ πόθῳ. 2.1 Καὶ σφόδρα μὲν ἐκπέπληγμαι θαυμάσας τὴν τοῦ κυρίου καὶ θεοῦ ἡμῶν οἰκονομίαν, ὃς εὐδόκησε τῇ ὑπερβολῇ τῆς αὐτοῦ ἀγαθότητος ἐν ἅπασι δοῦναι τὸ ἅγιον αὐτοῦ πνεῦμα τοῖς αὐτὸν ἐν ἀληθείᾳ ζητοῦσιν. οὐκ ἀθεεὶ γὰρ γενομένας τὰς ὑμῶν καὶ τῶν καθ' ὑμᾶς αἰτήσεις τὰς διὰ τῶν γραμμάτων ἡγησάμην, ποθεινότατοι, ἀλλὰ τὴν κίνησιν 2.2 ἐδοκίμασα ἐκ τῆς τοῦ θεοῦ χάριτος ἐν ὑμῖν ἀπάρξασαν. ἐπ' ἀληθείας γὰρ οἱ περὶ τοῦ υἱοῦ τοῦ θεοῦ ὀρθοδόξως ἔχοντες καὶ τοῦ ἁγίου πνεύματος καὶ εἰδότες συνῳδά τε καὶ σύμφωνα λέγειν τῷ μακαριωτάτῳ Πέτρῳ τῷ ἀποστόλῳ ὅτι «σὺ εἶ ὁ Χριστὸς ὁ υἱὸς τοῦ θεοῦ ζῶντος», σαφῶς ὑπ' αὐτοῦ τοῦ κυρίου μακαρισθήσονται, καθὼς καὶ ὁ ἅγιος ἐκεῖνος ἐμακαρίσθη ἀκούσας τό «μακάριος εἶ Σίμων βὰρ Ἰωνᾶ» τουτέστι υἱὲ Ἰωνᾶ· ὁ γὰρ πατὴρ αὐτοῦ Ἰωνᾶς ἐκαλεῖτο,2.3 τὸ δὲ βὰρ ἑρμηνεύεται ἐκ τῆς Ἑβραϊκῆς διαλέκτου υἱός. αὕτη γὰρ ἦν ἡ ζωή, ἣν ἔδωκεν ὁ μονογενὴς υἱὸς τοῦ θεοῦ τοῖς ἑαυτοῦ μαθηταῖς λέγων «ἵνα ἔχωσι τὴν ζωὴν ἐν ἑαυτοῖς», αὕτη δὲ ἔστιν ἡ ζωὴ ἣν ἔφη· «ἵνα γινώσκωσί σε τὸν μόνον ἀληθινὸν θεὸν καὶ ὃν ἀπέ2.4 στειλας Ἰησοῦν Χριστόν». ἐν τῷ οὖν εἰπεῖν «τὸν μόνον ἀληθινὸν θεόν» εἰς μοναρχίαν ἡμᾶς ἤγαγεν, ἵνα μηκέτι «ὑπὸ τὰ στοιχεῖα τοῦ κόσμου ὦμεν δεδουλωμένοι», ἵνα μὴ πολυθεΐα ἐν ἡμῖν ἔτι ᾖ καὶ ἐπὶ τὴν πορνείαν τοιαύτην διασκορπίζηται τὰ τῶν ἀνθρώπων νοήματα, ἀλλ' ἐπὶ ἑνότητα τοῦ μόνου ἀληθινοῦ θεοῦ· «πρώτη γὰρ πορνεία 2.5 ἐπίνοια εἰδώλων», φησὶν ἡ γραφή. καί φησι «καὶ ὃν ἀπέστειλας Ἰησοῦν Χριστόν». Ἰησοῦν Χριστὸν τίνα ἀλλ' ἢ θεόν; εἰ δὲ θεὸν Χριστὸν Ἰησοῦν, ὡς λέγει περὶ αὐτοῦ ὁ Ἰωάννης «ὁ μονογενὴς θεὸςὁ ὢν εἰς τὸν κόλπον τοῦ πατρός, ἐκεῖνος ἐξηγήσατο», εἷς θεὸς τοίνυν 2.6 ὁ πατὴρ καὶ μόνος ἀληθινὸς θεὸς καὶ θεὸς ὁ μονογενής. οὐκ ἄρα ἀλλότριος θεοῦ καὶ τῆς μονάδος· ἀλλ' ἐπειδὴ υἱὸς ἐκ πατρός, διὰ τοῦτο μόνος ἀληθινὸς θεός. καὶ οὐ κατὰ τοὺς ἐψευσμένους θεούς, οὓς