the world was created by him; and through these he created the world and through these he governs it. And these three properties we call three hypostases, that is, three persons; and because these properties do not divide the one and most simple essence of God, for this reason God is, even with these properties, one God and there are not three gods, as some dare to say.

Interpretation; Ch. 4. Text; We believe that from the nature of God arise word and spirit just as from fire, light and heat. And just as fire, even if there is nothing to be illumined and warmed by it, nevertheless the fire itself always has light and heat and sends forth light and heat to us, so also before the world was created were the word and the spirit, natural energies of God, since God is mind, as has been said before, and these three, mind, word and spirit are one God, just as in the one soul of man there is mind and intelligible word and intelligible will, and yet these three are one soul in essence. Again, the word of God we call the wisdom of God and power and his son, because it is an offspring of his nature, just as the offspring of the nature of man, <we call the son of man> and just as the thought of the same is an offspring of his soul. And again we call the will of God the spirit of God and love. And the mind itself we call father, because he is unbegotten and uncaused, but the cause of the son and of the spirit. That God therefore not only perceives his creations, but rather perceives and knows himself, and for this reason he has word and wisdom, through which he perceives himself in a special way; likewise God does not only will and love his own creations, but he wills and loves himself much more. For this reason the word and his spirit eternally proceed from God and are eternally in him. And these properties with God are one God.

Interpretation; Ch. 5. Text; We believe that God through the word of his wisdom and power created the world; and through the spirit, his good will and love, he provides for and governs and moves all his nature in the world toward the good according to the order of that nature. And for this reason we believe that, when God willed, through his mercy alone he turned men from the error of demons and of idolatry, because except for the small place of the Jews, in which one god was worshiped and believed in from the law of Moses, the rest of the whole inhabited world revered the creations of God and worshiped many non-existent gods instead of the one and only true God; and each conducted himself according to his own desires, not according to any law of God.

Interpretation; Ch. 6. Text; Then God made such a new creation of men through his word and through his holy spirit; and for this reason the word of God put on human nature, so that as a man he might speak to men, and as the word of God and wisdom of God he might teach men to believe in the one and true God and to live according to the law which he himself gave; and again as a man so that he might give his way of life as an example of his teaching. For he himself first kept the law which he gave to men. But as the word of God and power he was able to accomplish the universal good which he willed, because it was impossible by the power of one man to turn the inhabited world to God. And thus through his word the almighty and invisible God sowed the truth in Jerusalem, and through his spirit he enlightened and strengthened his 452 apostles, so that they themselves might sow the truth also into all the world and so that they might despise the world on account of the love of God who sent him and on account of the love of the salvation of the world according to the example of Jesus,

δημιουργηθῆναι ὑπ' αὐτοῦ τὸν κόσμον· καὶ διὰ τούτων ἐδημιούργησε τὸν κόσμον καὶ διὰ τούτων κυβερνᾷ αὐτόν. Καὶ ταῦτα τὰ τρία ἰδιώματα ὀνομάζομεν τρεῖς ὑποστάσεις, ἤγουν τρία πρόσω πα· καὶ διότι αὐτὰ τὰ ἰδιώματα οὐ μερίζουσι τὴν μίαν καὶ ἁπλουστάτην οὐσίαν τοῦ Θεοῦ, διὰ τοῦτό ἐστι Θεὸς καὶ μετὰ τῶν ἰδιωμάτων τούτων εἷς Θεὸς καὶ οὐκ εἰσὶ τρεῖς θεοί, καθώς τινες τολμῶντες λέγουσιν.

Ἑρμηνεία· Κφ. δʹ. Κείμενον· Πιστεύομεν, ὅτι ἐκ τῆς φύσεως τοῦ Θεοῦ ἀνατέλουσι λό γος καὶ πνεῦμα ὥσπερ ἀπὸ τοῦ πυρὸς φῶς καὶ θέρμη. Καὶ καθάπερ τὸ πῦρ καὶ εἰ μή ἐστί τι τὸ φωτιζόμενον καὶ θερμαινόμενον ὑπ' αὐτοῦ, ἀλλ' ὁμῶς αὐτὸ τὸ πῦρ ἀεὶ ἔχει φῶς καὶ θέρμην καὶ ἐκπέμπει φῶς καὶ θέρμην ἡμῖν, οὕτω καὶ πρὸ τοῦ δημιουργηθῆ ναι τὸν κόσμον ἦσαν ὁ λόγος καὶ τὸ πνεῦμα, ἐνέργειαι τοῦ Θεοῦ φυσικαί, ἐπεὶ ὁ Θεὸς νοῦς ἐστιν, ὡς προείρηται, καὶ ταῦτα τὰ τρία, νοῦς, λόγος καὶ πνεῦμα εἷς θεός ἐστιν, ὥσπερ ἐν τῇ μιᾷ ψυχῇ τοῦ ἀνθρώπου ἐστι νοῦς καὶ λόγος νοητὸς καὶ θέλησις νοητή, καὶ ὅμως ταῦτα τὰ τρία εἰσὶ μία ψυχὴ κατὰ τὴν οὐσίαν. Πάλιν τὸν λόγον τοῦ Θεοῦ ὀνομάζομεν σοφίαν τοῦ Θεοῦ καὶ δύναμιν καὶ υἱὸν αὐτοῦ, διότι ἐστὶ γέννημα τῆς φύσεως αὐτοῦ, ὥσπερ τὸ γέννημα τῆς φύσεως τοῦ ἀνθρώπου, <καλοῦμεν υἱὸν τοῦ ἀνθρώπου> καὶ ὥσπερ τὸ νοήμα τοῦ αὐτοῦ ἐστι γέννημα τῆς ψυχῆς αὐτοῦ. Καὶ πά λιν ὀνομάζομεν τὴν θέλησιν τοῦ Θεοῦ πνεῦμα τοῦ Θεοῦ καὶ ἀγάπην. Αὐτὸν δὲ τὸν νοῦν καλοῦμεν πατέρα, διότι αὐτός ἐστιν ἀγέννητος καὶ ἀναίτιος, αἴτιος δὲ τοῦ υἱοῦ καὶ τοῦ πνεύματος. Ὅτι οὖν ὁ Θεὸς οὐ νοεῖ μόνον τὰ κτίσματα αὐτοῦ, ἀλλὰ μᾶλλον νοεῖ καὶ γινώσκει ἑαυτόν, καὶ διὰ τοῦτο ἔχει λόγον καὶ σοφίαν, δι' ἧς νοεῖ ἑαυτὸν ἱδίως· ὁμοίως οὐ θέλει καὶ ἀγαπᾷ μόνον τὰ ποιήματα ἑαυτοῦ ὁ Θεός, ἀλλὰ θέλει καὶ ἀγαπᾷ ἑαυτὸν πολλῷ μᾶλλον. ∆ιὰ τοῦτο ἀϊδίως προέρχονται ἐκ τοῦ Θεοῦ ὁ λόγος καὶ τὸ πνεῦμα αὐτοῦ καὶ ἀϊδίως εἰσὶν ἐν αὐτῷ. Καὶ ταῦτα τὰ ἰδιώματα μετὰ τοῦ Θεοῦ εἷς ἐστι Θεός.

Ἑρμηνεία· Κφ. εʹ. Κείμενον· Πιστεύομεν, ὅτι ὁ Θεὸς διὰ τοῦ λόγου τῆς σοφίας καὶ τῆς δυνάμεως αὐτοῦ ἐδημιούργησε τὸν κόσμον· καὶ διὰ τοῦ πνεύματος, τῆς ἀγαθῆς θελή σεως καὶ ἀγάπης αὐτοῦ προνεῖται καὶ κυβερνᾷ καὶ κινεῖ πᾶσαν φύσιν αὐτοῦ ἐν τῷ κόσμῳ πρὸς τὸ ἀγαθὸν κατὰ τὴν τάξιν ἐκείνης φύσεως. Καὶ διὰ τοῦτο πιστεύομεν, ὅτι, ὅτε ἠθέλησεν ὁ Θεός, διὰ μόνην τὴν ἐλεημοσύνην αὐτοῦ ἐπέστρεψε τοὺς ἀνθρώ πους ἀπὸ τῆς πλάνης τῶν δαιμόνων καὶ τῆς εἰδωλολατρείας, διότι πλὴν τοῦ ὀλίγου τόπου τῶν Ἰουδαίων, ἐν ᾧ προσεκυνεῖτο καὶ ἐπιστεύετο εἷς θεὸς ἐκ τοῦ νόμου τοῦ Μωύσεως, ἡ δ' ἄλλη πᾶσα ἡ οἰκουμένη ἐσεβάζετο τὰ κτίσματα τοῦ Θεοῦ καὶ πολλοὺς θεοὺς μὴ ὄντας ἀντὶ τοῦ ἑνὸς καὶ μόνου ἀληθινοῦ Θεοῦ προσεκύνουν· καὶ ἐπολιτεύοντο κατὰ τὰς ἰδίας ἕκαστος ἐπιθυμίας, οὐ κατά τινα τοῦ Θεοῦ νόμον.

Ἑρμηνεία· Κφ. ʹ. Κείμενον· Τότε ἐποίησεν ὁ Θεὸς τὴν τοιαύτην ἀνάπλασιν τῶν ἀνθρώ πων διὰ τοῦ λόγου καὶ διὰ τοῦ ἁγίου πνεύματος αὑτοῦ· καὶ διὰ τοῦτο ὁ λόγος τοῦ Θεοῦ ἐνεδύθη τὴν ἀνθρωπείαν φύσιν, ἵνα ὡς μὲν ἄνθρωπος ὁμιλήσῃ ἀνθρώποις, ὡς δὲ λόγος τοῦ Θεοῦ καὶ Θεοῦ σοφία διδάξῃ τοὺς ἀνθρώπους πιστεύειν εἰς τὸν ἕνα καὶ ἀληθῆ Θεὸν καὶ πολιτεύεσθαι κατὰ τὸν νόμον, ὃν αὐτὸς ἔδωκε· καὶ πάλιν ὡς μὲν ἄν θρωπος ἵνα δῷ τὴν πολιτείαν αὐτοῦ παράδειγμα τῆς διδασκαλίας αὑτοῦ. Πρῶτος γὰρ αὐτὸς ἐτήρησε τὸν νόμον, ὃν ἔδωκε τοῖς ἀνθρώποις. Ὡς δὲ λόγος τοῦ Θεοῦ καὶ δύ ναμις δυνηθῆ κατορθῶσαι τὸ παγκόσμιον ἀγαθόν, ὅπερ ἐβούλετο, διότι ἦν ἀδύνατον δι' ἑνὸς ἀνθρώπου δυνάμει ἐπιστρέψαι τὴν οἰκουμένην πρὸς τὸν Θεόν. Καὶ οὕτως διὰ μὲν τοῦ λόγου αὐτοῦ ἔσπειρε τὴν ἀλήθειαν ὁ παντοδύναμος καὶ ἀόρατος Θεὸς ἐν Ἱερουσαλήμ, διὰ δὲ τοῦ πνεύματος αὐτοῦ ἐφώτισε καὶ ἐνίσχυσε τοὺς ἀποστόλους 452 αὑτοῦ, ἵνα σπείρωσιν αὐτοὶ τὴν ἀλήθειαν καὶ εἰς πάντα τὸν κόσμον καὶ ἵνα καταφρο νήσωσι τὸν κόσμον διὰ τὴν ἀγάπην τοῦ πέμψαντος αὐτὸν Θεοῦ καὶ διὰ τὴν ἀγάπην τῆς σωτηρίας τοῦ κόσμου κατὰ τὸ παράδειγμα τοῦ Ἰησοῦ,