hearing [Him] begotten of the Father before all ages and having the [word] "alone" understood and implied along with [the phrase] "from the Father," just as you yourself would agree with us, yet no one ever added the [word] "alone" there, so that your doctrine that the Spirit proceeds also from the Son, even if it were confessed, and agreed upon by us and simply by the whole Church of Christ, even so it should not have been added by you to the symbol of the faith.

It would therefore have been most just not even to deem you worthy of discussion, unless you cease from adding to the sacred symbol; but with our addition having first been cast out by you, then to inquire whether the Holy Spirit is also from the Son or not also from the Son, and to ratify what has appeared to be the consensus of the God-bearers; but even so, not adding it to the symbol of the faith, just as in the case of the two natures and wills and energies of the one Christ, and of the hypostatic union and of the title of the Virgin Mother, those before us have acted well and piously, as ones who lay claim to piety and the common peace, although they often afterwards gathered together in common, (p.86) with the hierarchs of old Rome from time to time also assembling or consenting. Therefore, no one can take into account the high standing of the present pope; for it is not on account of this one or those after them that one must reject so many and so great men who concluded a sanctified and variously witnessed-to-by-God life with a blessed end.

But indeed not only the symbol of the orthodox faith, for it is necessary to speak for the sake of those who will listen with goodwill; not only, then, the symbol of the faith, but also almost every theological tongue proclaiming the Son begotten of the Father and the Holy Spirit proceeding from the same Father, does not add the [word] "alone"; as though even if it is not added, it is necessarily implied, and this you will know by unrolling and going through the theological books themselves. But for your sake, let us also bring forward a few things written in brief. The great Athanasius, for instance, says, "What is God? The principle of all things according to the Apostle, who says, 'one God, the Father, from whom are all things,' for the Word is from Him by way of generation and the Spirit is from Him by way of procession." Do you see "from Him" equally for both and the [word] "alone" nowhere attached to the statement? And so you, likewise, for both, will either take your addition or you will understand "alone" as necessarily implied.

What of him immediately after him in time but not after him in greatness with God, the royal priesthood bearing his name [Basil], will he not agree and be of the same mind? But listen and learn: "properly the Son is from God, since the Son came forth from the Father and the Spirit proceeds from the Father; but the one [comes] from the Father by way of generation, while the other [comes] ineffably from God." Behold, many times over he has placed "from (p. 88) the Father" equally for both; can you then at all still say that the Holy Spirit is not from the Father alone, because the [word] "alone" is not added?

Do you wish now also to hear from the great theologian Gregory, who sums up the whole matter in brief and, as with a chisel, carves away your addition and applies "from alone" to both? and what is more wonderful, not that he adds it, but that it is not added. "To us there is one God," he says, "because there is one divinity, and the things from him have their reference to one, even if three are believed in." Have you heard? He said both are "from him." Are we then not to understand and add that both proceed from the Father and from some other, because the [word] "alone" is not added, and of the only God of the highest Trinity through

Πατρός ἀκούοντες γεννηθέντα πρό πάντων τῶν αἰώνων καί τῷ ἐκ τοῦ Πατρός συννοούμενόν τε καί συνυπακουόμενον ἔχοντες τό «μόνου», καθάπερ ἄν καί αὐτός ἡμῖν συμφήσαις, ὅμως οὐδείς οὐδέποτε τό «μόνου» προσέθηκεν ἐκεῖ, ὥστε καί τήν σήν δόξαν ὅτι καί ἐκ τοῦ Υἱοῦ τό Πνεῦμα ἐκπορεύεται, εἰ καί ἀνωμολογημένον ἦν, καί ἡμῖν καί ἁπλῶς πάσῃ τῇ τοῦ Χριστοῦ Ἐκκλησίᾳ συνδοκοῦν, οὐδ᾿ οὕτως ἐχρῆν ἐν τῷ τῆς πίστεως συμβόλῳ προστεθῆναι παρ᾿ ὑμῶν.

Ἦν οὖν ἄρα τῶν δικαιοτάτων μηδέ λόγου ἀξιοῦν ὑμᾶς, εἰ μή τοῦ προστιθέναι τῷ ἱερῷ συμβόλῳ παύσησθε˙ τῆς δέ παρ᾿ ἡμῶν προσθήκης παρ᾿ ὑμῶν ἐκβεβλημένης πρότερον, ἔπειτα ζητεῖν, εἰ καί ἐκ τοῦ Υἱοῦ ἤ οὐχί καί ἐκ τοῦ Υἱοῦ τό Πνεῦμα τό ἅγιον, καί τό ἀναφανέν τοῖς θεοφόροις συνδοκοῦν κυροῦν˙ ἀλλ᾿ οὐδ᾿ οὕτω προστιθέναι τῷ συμβόλῳ τῆς πίστεως, καθάπερ ἐπί τῶν δύο τοῦ ἑνός Χριστοῦ φύσεων καί θελημάτων καί ἐνεργειῶν, τῆς τε καθ᾿ ὑπόστασιν ἑνώσεως καί τοῦ ἐπωνύμου τῆς παρθενομήτορος, οἱ πρό ἡμῶν πεπράχασι καλῶς τε καί φιλευσεβῶς, ὡς μετά τῆς εὐσεβείας καί τῆς κοινῆς εἰρήνης ἀντιποιούμενοι, καίτοι πολλάκις ἔπειτα κοινῇ συνειλεγμένοι, (σελ.86) συνεκκλησιαζόντων ἤ συνευδοκούντων καί τῶν κατά καιρούς τῆς παλαιᾶς Ρώμης ἀρχιερατικῶς προϊσταμένων. Οὔκουν ἔχει τις ὑπολογίζεσθαι τήν τοῦ περιόντος πάπα περιωπήν˙ οὐ γάρ διά τοῦτον ἤ τούτους τούς μετ᾿ ἐκείνους ἀποστερκτέον τούς τοσούτους καί τηλικούτους καί μακαρίῳ τέλει τήν ἡγιασμένην καί πολυειδῶς παρά Θεοῦ μεμαρτυρημένην κατακλείσαντας ζωήν.

Ἀλλά γάρ οὐ μόνον τό τῆς ὀρθοδόξου πίστεως σύμβολον, δεῖ γάρ τῶν εὐγνωμόνως ἀκουσομένων ἕνεκα λέγειν˙μή μόνον οὖν τό τῆς πίστεως σύμβολον, ἀλλά καί πᾶσα σχεδόν γλῶσσα θεολόγος ἐκ Πατρός γεννηθέντα τόν Υἱόν κηρύττουσα καί παρά τοῦ αὐτοῦ Πατρός τό Πνεῦμα τό ἅγιον ἐκπορευόμενον, οὐ προστίθησι τό «μόνου»˙ ὡς κἄν μή προσκέηται, ἐξ ἀνάγκης συνυπακουόμενον, καί τοῦτ᾿ εἴσῃ ἀνελίττων καί διεξιών αὐτάς τάς θεολόγους βίβλους. Σήν δ᾿ ὅμως χάριν, καί ἡμεῖς ὀλίγ᾿ ἄττα προενέγκωμεν καί διά βραχέων γεγραμμένα. Ὁ γοῦν μέγας Ἀθανάσιος, «τί ἐστι», φησί, «Θεός; Ἡ πάντων ἀρχή κατά τόν Ἀπόστολον, λέγοντα, "εἷς Θεός ὁ Πατήρ, ἐξ οὗ τά πάντα", καί γάρ ὁ λόγος ἐξ αὐτοῦ γεννητῶς καί τό Πνεῦμα ἐξ αὐτοῦ ἐκπορευτῶς». Ὁρᾷς ὁμοίως ἐπ᾿ ἀμφοῖν τό ἐξ αὐτοῦ καί οὐδαμοῦ ρήματι προσκείμενον τό «μόνου»; Καί σύ τοίνυν ὁμοίως ἐπ᾿ ἀμφοῖν ἤ τήν σήν προσθήκην λήψῃ ἤ τό μόνου ἐξ ἀνάγκης συνυπακουόμενον νοήσεις.

Τί δέ ὁ μετ᾿ αὐτόν εὐθύς τῷ χρόνῳ καί οὐ μετ᾿ αὐτόν τῇ μεγαλειότητι παρά Θεῷ, τό φερωνύμως βασίλειον ἱεράτευμα, ἆρ᾿ οὐ συμφωνήσει τε καί συμφρονήσει; Ἀλλ᾿ ἄκουε καί μάνθανε˙ «κυρίως ὁ Υἱός ἐκ τοῦ Θεοῦ, ἐπειδή ὁ Υἱός ἐκ τοῦ Πατρός ἐξῆλθε καί τό Πνεῦμα ἐκ τοῦ Πατρός ἐκπορεύεται˙ ἀλλ᾿ ὁ μέν ἐκ τοῦ Πατρός γεννητῶς, τό δέ ἀρρήτως ἐκ τοῦ Θεοῦ». Ἰδού πολυπλασίως ὁμοίως ἐπ᾿ ἀμφοῖν τέθεικε τό ἐκ (σελ. 88) τοῦ Πατρός˙ ἔχεις οὖν ὅλως λέγειν ἔτι, ὡς οὐκ ἐκ μόνου τοῦ Πατρός τό Πνεῦμα τό ἅγιον, ὅτι μή πρόσκειται τό «μόνου»;

Βούλει δή καί τοῦ μεγάλου θεολόγου ἀκοῦσαι Γρηγορίου, ἐν βραχεῖ τό πᾶν συνάγοντος καί τήν σήν ὥσπερ τινί σμιλίῳ ἀποσμιλεύοντος προσθήκην καί ἀμφοτέροις τό ἐκ μόνου ἐφαρμόζοντος; καί τό θαυμασιώτερον, οὐχ ὅτι προστίθησιν, ἀλλ᾿ ὅτι μή προστήθησιν. «Ἡμῖν εἷς Θεός», φησίν, «ὅτι μία θεότης, καί πρός ἕν τά ἐξ αὐτοῦ τήν ἀναφοράν ἔχει, κἄν τρία πιστεύηται». Ἀκήκοας; Ἐξ αὐτοῦ εἶπεν ἄμφω. Ἆρ᾿ οὖν οὐ νοήσομεν καί προσθήσομεν, ὅτι ἐκ τοῦ Πατρός καί ἐξ ἑτέρου τινός προέρχεται ἀμφότερα, ὅτι μή πρόσκειται τό «μόνου», καί τοῦ μόνου Θεοῦ τῆς ἀνωτάτω Τριάδος διά