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15Γ_042 And at this, they all stood up with joy and tears, and made prostration, and a prayer was made, and each of them kissed the holy Gospels and the precious cross and the icon of our God and Savior Jesus Christ and of our Lady, the all-holy Theotokos who bore him, having also placed their own hands for the confirmation of what had been said.

19. Then after speaking a little with one another about the life according to God and the

keeping of the divine commandments, Theodosius the bishop, turning to Abba Maximus, said:

THEOD. Behold, all the scandals are resolved, and peace has come about through God and will come about; but for the Lord's sake, do not hide from me; do you not say in any way whatsoever one will and one energy in Christ?

MAX. It is not possible for me ever to say this. And I will state the reason: because this expression is foreign to the holy Fathers, to speak of one will and energy for two natures. Then, in every way, the one who says this finds absurdity directly confronting him. For if I say it is natural, I fear confusion; if I say it is hypostatic, I divide the Son from the Father and the Spirit, and I shall appear to be introducing three wills, not coinciding with one another, just as the hypostases; if I say one will and energy as of one person, I am forced to speak also of the will and energy as of one person of the Father, and as of one person of the Spirit, even if I do not wish, and the argument will be found to fall into polytheism; if I say it is relative, I introduce the personal division of Nestorius; if I say it is contrary to nature, I destroy the existence of the one who wills; for what is contrary to nature is a corruption for the nature, as the Fathers have said.

20. THEOD. We ought in every way and altogether to speak of one will because of the union of our Savior,

just as Sergius and Pyrrhus, having understood well, I think, have written.

MAX. If you command, master, receive from me two 15Γ_044 words concerning this. If because of the union one will came to be in our God and Savior, just as Sergius and Pyrrhus and Paul have written, then according to them the Son will have a different will from the Father, who has one will according to nature, but not because of union, in the Son, since union and nature are not the same thing. If because of the union one will came to be in our Savior, according to them, its cause will certainly be the union, but neither of the natures from which he is, and so the will, according to them, will clearly be of relation, but not of nature; for the word of truth understands the union as a relation, but not as a nature. If because of the union, as they said, one will came to be in our Savior, by what will do they say that the union itself came to be? For surely they would not say, if they cared for the truth and were fleeing the irrational, that it came about by the will that came to be because of it. If because of the union one will came to be in the Savior, it is clear that before the union he either had many wills or was completely without a will. And if he had many wills, he underwent a reduction of the many, being sent to one will, and he obviously received the passion of change, the reduction of the many wills naturally present in him. But if he was completely without a will, he has declared the union to be stronger than nature, from which he obtained a will that nature lacked, and again he has shown himself to be mutable, having acquired by relation what was not his by nature. If because of the union one will of our Savior came to be according to one of the [natures] from which he is, God became recent in will, he who through the union remains eternal in nature and

10

15Γ_042 Καί ἐπί τούτῳ ἀνέστησαν πάντες μετά χαρᾶς καί δακρύων, καί ἔβαλον μετάνοιαν, καί εὐχή ἐγένετο, καί ἕκαστος αὐτῶν τά ἅγια Εὐαγγέλια καί τόν τίμιον σταυρόν καί τήν εἰκόνα τοῦ Θεοῦ καί Σωτῆρος ἡμῶν Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ καί τῆς ∆εσποίνης ἡμῶν, τῆς αὐτόν τεκούσης παναγίας Θεοτόκου ἠσπάσαντο, τεθεικότες καί τάς ἰδίας χείρας ἐπί βεβαιώσει τῶν λαληθέντων.

ΙΘ'. Εἶτα μικρόν ὁμιλήσαντες πρός ἀλλήλους περί τοῦ κατά Θεόν βίου καί τῆς

θείων ἐντολῶν τηρήσεως, στραφείς Θεοδόσιος ὁ ἐπίσκοπος πρός τόν ἀββᾶν Μάξιμον, εἶπεν·

ΘΕΟ∆. Ἰδού πάντα διαλέλυται τά σκάνδαλα, καί γέγονεν εἰρήνη διά τοῦ Θεοῦ καί γενήσεται· ἀλλά διά τόν Κύριον, μή κρύψῃς με· οὐ λέγεις καθ' οἱονδήποτε τρόπον μίαν θέλησιν καί μίαν ἐνέργειαν ἐπί Χριστοῦ;

ΜΑΞ. Οὐκ ἐνδέχεταί με τοῦτο εἰπεῖν ποτέ. Καί λέγω τήν αἰτίαν· ἐπειδή ξένη ἐστίν ἡ φωνή τοῖς ἁγίοις Πατράσι, δύο φύσεων μίαν λέγειν θέλησιν καί ἐνέργειαν. Εἶτα δε, διά παντός τρόπου ὁ τοῦτο λέγων, εὑρίσκει εὐθυβόλως ὑπαντῶσαν αὐτῷ τήν ἀτοπίαν. Ἐάν γάρ εἴπω φυσικήν, φοβοῦμαι τήν σύγχυσιν ἐάν εἴπω ὑποστατικήν, διαιρῶ τοῦ Πατρός καί τοῦ Πνεύματος τόν Υἱόν, καί τρεῖς θελήσεις εἰσάγων φανήσομαι, μή συμβαίνουσας ἀλλήλαις, ὥσπερ καί τάς ὑποστάσεις· ἐάν εἴπω τήν ὡς ἑνός μίαν θέλησιν καί ἐνέργειαν, ἀναγκάζομαι καί τήν ὡς ἑνός τοῦ Πατρός, καί τήν ὡς ἑνός τοῦ Πνεύματος εἰπεῖν, κἄν μή θέλω, θέλησιν καί ἐνέργειαν, καί εὑρεθήσεται εἰς πολυθεΐαν ἐκπίπτων ὁ λόγος· ἐάν εἴπω σχετικήν, τήν Νεστορίου εἰσάγω προσωπικήν διαίρεσιν ἐάν εἴπω παρά φύσιν, φθείρω τήν ὕπαρξιν τοῦ θέλοντος· φθορά γάρ τῇ φύσει, τό παρά φύσιν ἐστί, καθώς οἱ Πατέρες εἰρήκασι.

Κ'. ΘΕΟ∆. Μίαν διά τήν ἕνωσιν τοῦ Σωτῆρος ἡμῶν θέλησιν, πάντῃ τε καί πάντως

ὀφείλομεν λέγειν, καθάπερ Σέργιος καί Πύρρος, ὡς οἶμαι, καλῶς νενοηκότες γεγράφασι.

ΜΑΞ. Εἰ κελεύεις, δέσποτα, δέξαι μου περί τούτου δύο 15Γ_044 ρήματα. Εἰ διά τήν ἕνωσιν μία τοῦ Θεοῦ καί Σωτῆρος ἡμῶν, καθάπερ Σέργιος καί Πύρρος καί Παῦλος γεγράφασι, γέγονε θέλησις, ἑτεροθελής κατ' αὐτούς ἔσται ὁ Υἱός τῷ Πατρί, διά τήν φύσιν, ἀλλ' οὐ διά τήν ἕνωσιν, μίαν κατά τόν Υἱόν ἔχοντι θέλησιν, εἴπερ οὐ ταυτόν ἐστιν ἕνωσις καί φύσις. Εἰ διά τήν ἕνωσιν μία κατ' αὐτούς τοῦ Σωτῆρος ἡμῶν γέγονε θέλησις, αἰτίαν αὐτῆς ἕξει πάντως τήν ἕνωσιν, ἀλλ' οὐδετέραν τῶν ἐξ ὧν ἔστι φύσιν, καί σχέσεως κατ' αὐτούς ἔσται προδήλως ἡ θέλησις, ἀλλ' οὐ φύσεως· σχέσιν γάρ, ἀλλ' οὐ φύσιν ὁ τῆς ἀληθείας τήν ἕνωσιν ἐπίσταται λόγος. Εἰ διά τήν ἕνωσιν, ὡς ἔφασαν, μία τοῦ Σωτῆρος ἡμῶν γεγένηται θέλησις, ποίᾳ θελήσει φασίν αὐτήν γεγενήσθαι τήν ἕνωσιν; Οὐ γάρ δήπου τῇ δι' αὐτήν γενομένη φαῖεν ἄν ἀληθείας φροντίζοντες καί τό παράλογον φεύγοντες. Εἰ διά τήν ἕνωσιν μία τοῦ Σωτῆρος γεγένηται θέλησις, δῆλον ὅτι πρό τῆς ἑνώσεως ἤ πολυθελής ἦν ἤ παντελῶς ἀθελής. Καί εἰ μέν πολυθελής ἦν, μείωσιν τῶν πολλῶν, πρός μίαν σταλείς, ὑπέμεινε, θέλησιν, καί τροπῆς προφανῶς ἐδέξατο πάθος, τήν τῶν προσουσών αὐτῷ φυσικῶς πολλῶν θελήσεων μείωσιν. Εἰ δέ παντάπασιν ἦν ἀθελής, κρείττονα τῆς φύσεως ἀπέφηνεν οὖσαν τήν ἕνωσιν, ἐξ ἧς ἀπορίσατο θέλησιν, ἥν ἡ φύσις ἠπόρησε, καί πάλιν τρεπτός ἀπέφηνε [ἐπέφηνε], τό μή τῇ φύσει προσόν αὐτῷ σχέσει κτησάμενος. Εἰ διά τήν ἕνωσιν μία τοῦ Σωτῆρος ἡμῶν καθ' ἕτερον τῶν ἐξ ὧν ἐστι γέγονε θέλησις, πρόσφατος γέγονε θελήσει Θεός, ὁ αὐτός διά τήν ἕνωσιν τῇ φύσει μένων ἀΐδιος καί