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from thence it has been imparted to us, as the divine apostle says: “For this reason I bow my knees to the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named”. But if we say the Father is the beginning of the Son and greater, we do not suggest that he precedes the Son in time or in nature, “for through him he made the ages”, nor in any other respect, except according to cause, that is, that the Son was begotten of the Father and not the Father of the Son, and that the Father is the cause of the Son by nature, just as we do not say that fire comes from light, but rather light from fire. Therefore, when we hear that the Father is the beginning and greater than the Son, let us understand it in terms of cause. And just as we do not say that fire is of one substance and light of another, so it is not possible to say that the Father is of one substance and the Son of another, but of one and the same. And just as we say that fire shines by means of the light that proceeds from it, and we do not posit the light from it to be a subservient instrument of the fire, but rather a natural power, so we say that the Father does all that He does through His only-begotten Son, not as through a ministerial instrument, but a natural and hypostatic power. And just as we say the fire gives light and again we say the light of the fire gives light, so all things that the Father does, the Son also does likewise. But the light does not possess its own hypostasis apart from the fire, whereas the Son is a perfect hypostasis, inseparable from the Father's hypostasis, as we have shown above. For it is impossible to find in creation an image that perfectly demonstrates in itself the mode of the Holy Trinity. For how can that which is created and composite and fluid and changeable and circumscribed and has form and is corruptible clearly declare the divine, super-essential substance which is free from all these things? But it is clear that all creation is subject to most of these, and all according to its own nature is subject to corruption. Likewise we believe also in one Holy Spirit, the Lord and Giver of Life, who proceeds from the Father and rests in the Son, who with the Father and the Son is worshipped and glorified, as consubstantial and co-eternal, the Spirit of God, upright, sovereign, the fount of life and of sanctification, being and being called God with the Father and the Son, uncreated, complete, creator, all-ruling, all-effecting, all-powerful, infinite in power, ruling over all creation, not being ruled, filling, not being filled, participated in, not participating, sanctifying, not being sanctified, Comforter, as receiving the supplications of all, in all things like the Father and the Son, proceeding from the Father and imparted through the Son and partaken of by all creation, and through himself creating and giving substance to all things and sanctifying and sustaining, hypostatic, that is, existing in his own hypostasis, inseparable and never departing from Father and Son and having all things that the Father and the Son have, except for unbegottenness and begottenness. For the Father is without cause and unbegotten (for he is not from anyone; nor does he have his being from himself, nor any of the things he has), but he himself is rather the beginning and cause of being and of the mode of being by nature for all things. But the Son is from the Father by way of generation; and the Holy Spirit is also from the Father, but not by way of generation but by way of procession. And that there is a difference between generation and procession, we have learned; but what the manner of the difference is, in no way. At the same time is both the generation of the Son from the Father, and the procession of the Holy Spirit. Therefore, all that the Son has, the Spirit also has from the Father, including being itself. And if the Father is not, neither is the Son nor the Spirit. And if the Father does not have something, neither does the Son have it, nor the Spirit. And on account of the Father, that is, on account of the Father's being, the Son and the Spirit are. And on account of the Father, the Son and the Spirit have all that they have, that is, on account of the Father's having them, except for unbegottenness and generation and procession; for only in these hypostatic properties do the three holy hypostases differ from one another, not in substance, but in the characteristic mark of their own

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ἐκεῖθεν ἡμῖν μεταδέδοται, ὥς φησιν ὁ θεῖος ἀπόστολος· «∆ιὰ τοῦτο κάμπτω τὰ γόνατά μου πρὸς τὸν πατέρα, ἐξ οὗ πᾶσα πατριὰ ἐν οὐρανῷ καὶ ἐπὶ γῆς». Εἰ δὲ λέγομεν τὸν πατέρα ἀρχὴν εἶναι τοῦ υἱοῦ καὶ μείζονα, οὐ προτερεύειν αὐτὸν τοῦ υἱοῦ χρόνῳ ἢ φύσει ὑποφαίνομεν, «δι' αὐτοῦ γὰρ τοὺς αἰῶνας ἐποίησεν», οὐδὲ καθ' ἕτερόν τι, εἰ μὴ κατὰ τὸ αἴτιον, τουτέστιν ὅτι ὁ υἱὸς ἐκ τοῦ πατρὸς ἐγεννήθη καὶ οὐχ ὁ πατὴρ ἐκ τοῦ υἱοῦ καὶ ὅτι ὁ πατὴρ αἴτιός ἐστι τοῦ υἱοῦ φυσικῶς, ὥσπερ οὐκ ἐκ τοῦ φωτὸς τὸ πῦρ φαμεν προέρχεσθαι, ἀλλὰ τὸ φῶς μᾶλλον ἐκ τοῦ πυρός. Ὅτε οὖν ἀκούσωμεν ἀρχὴν καὶ μείζονα τοῦ υἱοῦ τὸν πατέρα, τῷ αἰτίῳ νοήσωμεν. Καὶ ὥσπερ οὐ λέγομεν ἑτέρας οὐσίας τὸ πῦρ καὶ ἑτέρας τὸ φῶς, οὕτως οὐχ οἷόν τε φάναι ἑτέρας οὐσίας τὸν πατέρα καὶ τὸν υἱὸν ἑτέρας, ἀλλὰ μιᾶς καὶ τῆς αὐτῆς. Καὶ καθάπερ φαμὲν διὰ τοῦ ἐξ αὐτοῦ προερχομένου φωτὸς φαίνειν τὸ πῦρ καὶ οὐ τιθέμεθα ὄργανον ὑπουργικὸν εἶναι τοῦ πυρὸς τὸ ἐξ αὐτοῦ φῶς, δύναμιν δὲ μᾶλλον φυσικήν, οὕτω λέγομεν τὸν πατέρα πάντα, ὅσα ποιεῖ, διὰ τοῦ μονογενοῦς αὐτοῦ υἱοῦ ποιεῖν οὐχ ὡς δι' ὀργάνου λειτουργικοῦ, ἀλλὰ φυσικῆς καὶ ἐνυποστάτου δυνάμεως. Καὶ ὥσπερ λέγομεν τὸ πῦρ φωτίζειν καὶ πάλιν φαμὲν τὸ φῶς τοῦ πυρὸς φωτίζειν, οὕτω πάντα, ὅσα ποιεῖ ὁ πατήρ, ὁμοίως καὶ ὁ υἱὸς ποιεῖ. Ἀλλὰ τὸ μὲν φῶς οὐκ ἰδίαν ὑπόστασιν παρὰ τὸ πῦρ κέκτηται, ὁ δὲ υἱὸς τελεία ὑπόστασίς ἐστι τῆς πατρικῆς ἀχώριστος ὑποστάσεως, ὡς ἀνωτέρω παρεστήσαμεν. Ἀδύνατον γὰρ εὑρεθῆναι ἐν τῇ κτίσει εἰκόνα ἀπαραλλάκτως ἐν ἑαυτῇ τὸν τρόπον τῆς ἁγίας τριάδος παραδεικνύουσαν. Τὸ γὰρ κτιστὸν καὶ σύνθετον καὶ ῥευστὸν καὶ τρεπτὸν καὶ περιγραπτὸν καὶ σχῆμα ἔχον καὶ φθαρτόν, πῶς σαφῶς δηλώσει τὴν πάντων τούτων ἀπηλλαγμένην ὑπερούσιον θείαν οὐσίαν; Πᾶσα δὲ ἡ κτίσις δῆλον ὡς τοῖς πλείοσι τούτων ἐνέχεται καὶ πᾶσα κατὰ τὴν ἑαυτῆς φύσιν τῇ φθορᾷ ὑπόκειται. Ὁμοίως πιστεύομεν καὶ εἰς ἓν πνεῦμα τὸ ἅγιον, τὸ κύριον καὶ ζωοποιόν, τὸ ἐκ τοῦ πατρὸς ἐκπορευόμενον καὶ ἐν υἱῷ ἀναπαυόμενον, τὸ τῷ πατρὶ καὶ υἱῷ συμπροσκυνούμενον καὶ συνδοξαζόμενον ὡς ὁμοούσιόν τε καὶ συναΐδιον, τὸ τοῦ θεοῦ πνεῦμα, τὸ εὐθές, τὸ ἡγεμονικόν, τὴν πηγὴν τῆς ζωῆς καὶ τοῦ ἁγιασμοῦ, θεὸν σὺν πατρὶ καὶ υἱῷ ὑπάρχον καὶ προσαγορευόμενον, ἄκτιστον, πλῆρες, δημιουργόν, παντοκρατορικόν, παντουργόν, παντοδύναμον, ἀπειροδύναμον, δεσπόζον πάσης τῆς κτίσεως οὐ δεσποζόμενον, πληροῦν οὐ πληρούμενον, μετεχόμενον οὐ μετέχον, ἁγιάζον οὐχ ἁγιαζόμενον, παράκλητον ὡς τὰς τῶν ὅλων παρακλήσεις δεχόμενον, κατὰ πάντα ὅμοιον τῷ πατρὶ καὶ τῷ υἱῷ, ἐκ τοῦ πατρὸς ἐκπορευόμενον καὶ δι' υἱοῦ μεταδιδόμενον καὶ μεταλαμβανόμενον ὑπὸ πάσης τῆς κτίσεως καὶ δι' ἑαυτοῦ κτίζον καὶ οὐσιοῦν τὰ σύμπαντα καὶ ἁγιάζον καὶ συνέχον, ἐνυπόστατον ἤτοι ἐν ἰδίᾳ ὑποστάσει ὑπάρχον, ἀχώριστον καὶ ἀνεκφοίτητον πατρὸς καὶ υἱοῦ καὶ πάντα ἔχον, ὅσα ἔχει ὁ πατὴρ καὶ ὁ υἱός, πλὴν τῆς ἀγεννησίας καὶ τῆς γεννήσεως. Ὁ μὲν γὰρ πατὴρ ἀναίτιος καὶ ἀγέννητος (οὐ γὰρ ἔκ τινος· οὐδὲ ἐξ αὐτοῦ τὸ εἶναι ἔχει οὐδέ τι τῶν ὅσα ἔχει), αὐτὸς δὲ μᾶλλόν ἐστιν ἀρχὴ καὶ αἰτία τοῦ εἶναι καὶ τοῦ πῶς εἶναι φυσικῶς τοῖς πᾶσιν. Ὁ δὲ υἱὸς ἐκ τοῦ πατρὸς γεννητῶς· τὸ δὲ πνεῦμα τὸ ἅγιον καὶ αὐτὸ μὲν ἐκ τοῦ πατρός, ἀλλ' οὐ γεννητῶς ἀλλ' ἐκπορευτῶς. Καὶ ὅτι μὲν ἔστι διαφορὰ γεννήσεως καὶ ἐκπορεύσεως, μεμαθήκαμεν· τίς δὲ ὁ τρόπος τῆς διαφορᾶς, οὐδαμῶς. Ἅμα δὲ καὶ ἡ υἱοῦ ἐκ τοῦ πατρὸς γέννησις, καὶ ἡ τοῦ ἁγίου πνεύματος ἐκπόρευσις. Πάντα οὖν, ὅσα ἔχει ὁ υἱός, καὶ τὸ πνεῦμα ἐκ τοῦ πατρὸς ἔχει καὶ αὐτὸ τὸ εἶναι. Καὶ εἰ μὴ ὁ πατήρ ἐστιν, οὐδὲ ὁ υἱός ἐστιν οὐδὲ τὸ πνεῦμα. Καὶ εἰ μὴ ὁ πατὴρ ἔχει τι, οὐδὲ ὁ υἱὸς ἔχει, οὐδὲ τὸ πνεῦμα. Καὶ διὰ τὸν πατέρα, τουτέστιν διὰ τὸ εἶναι τὸν πατέρα, ἔστιν ὁ υἱὸς καὶ τὸ πνεῦμα. Καὶ διὰ τὸν πατέρα ἔχει ὁ υἱὸς καὶ τὸ πνεῦμα πάντα, ἃ ἔχει, τουτέστι διὰ τὸ τὸν πατέρα ἔχειν αὐτά, πλὴν τῆς ἀγεννησίας καὶ τῆς γεννήσεως καὶ τῆς ἐκπορεύσεως· ἐν ταύταις γὰρ μόναις ταῖς ὑποστατικαῖς ἰδιότησι διαφέρουσιν ἀλλήλων αἱ ἅγιαι τρεῖς ὑποστάσεις οὐκ οὐσίᾳ, τῷ δὲ χαρακτηριστικῷ τῆς οἰκείας