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But that, when the divine Evangelist was on Patmos, where he also saw the Revelation, the holy Dionysius knew, and you will learn this below from the 10th epistle, which he wrote to the holy Evangelist and theologian John himself.

Of prophets: David says this. The being which is from the Father: Consider how he states this usage; for it is not used thus now. The Thearchy: In others, thearchic life. Of the God-begetting divinity. Note that he calls the Father the God-begetting divinity, and the Only-begotten the filial divinity. Expansively: Instead of more broadly. All things through him: Note, when he says that all things are from God, he signifies the whole divinity comprehensively, that is, the Holy Trinity; but when he says, "all things were created through him and for him," he signifies expansively concerning the hypostases; for all have accepted this as referring to the creative Logos.

And of him: Of the Logos, clearly. Communally and unitedly: Note that the things of the Holy Trinity are united communally.

The divine works: Such as, "I by the Spirit of God cast out demons"; the

reverence, as in, "he who blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven"; and that of gifts, that is, of charisms, in the saying, "you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you". 14S_058 The fontal: It is said in the Psalms, "for with you is the fount of life," and in Jeremiah, "They have forsaken me, the fount of living water." God, therefore, is called a fount, as a certain womb and origin and cause of all things that have appeared and come forth into being; for what some are accustomed to call universals, that is, genera or wholes or containers, as being comprehensive of the particular processions from them, these the divine Scriptures call a 'fontal cause'; therefore, because of the creative and inexhaustible nature of the things that subsist through the Spirit, and because the Holy Spirit is itself also the cause of all beings, as is also said in Wisdom, he rightly theologizes it also as a fontal cause; but understand the inexhaustible nature of creating from this: "my Father is working until now, and I am working." Likewise, the Holy Spirit, with the Father and the Son, also works always inexhaustibly; for it is said: "you will send forth your Spirit, and they will be created."

§ 2. With undistorted notions: He well said 'undistorted'; since the heretics also read the Scriptures and are nourished by them, and yet they distort themselves.

Of a God-befitting division: He called a God-befitting division in the case of the Holy Trinity the unconfused knowledge concerning the hypostases, and that one must not be concerned to persuade those who do not accept the divine Scripture. For to theologize commonly regarding the Holy Trinity is not to introduce a confusion of the hypostases.

To the theological: Theological knowledge: when discoursing above concerning God, he did not say it was knowledge, but here he says the things concerning theology are knowledge. And knowledge is 14S_060 a right opinion bound by reasoning, or a true account upon an unchangeable intellect, and the precise awareness of the matter and declaration, of which it is also called knowledge, putting forth a true account and right opinion, not needing confirmation from comparison with a similar thing.

The divine manifestations: He calls manifestations the teachings that reveal the mysteries.

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Ὅτι δέ, ὅτε ἦν ἐν Πάτμῳ ὁ θεῖος Εὐαγγελιστής, ὅπου καί τήν Ἀποκάλυψιν εἶδεν, ἐγίνωσκεν ὁ ἅγιος ∆ιονύσιος, καί τοῦτο μαθήσῃ κάτω ἐκ τῆς ι' ἐπιστολῆς, ἧς ἔγραψε πρός αὐτόν τόν ἅγιον Εὐαγγελιστήν καί θεολόγον Ἰωάννην.

Προφητῶν: Ὁ ∆αυίδ τοῦτο λέγει. Τό ὄν, ὅ παρά τοῦ Πατρός: Ἐπίσκεψαι, πῶς φησι τήν χρῆσιν ταύτην· οὐ γάρ

φέρεται νῦν οὕτως. Τήν θεαρχίαν: Ἐν ἄλλοις θεαρχικήν ζωήν. Θεογόνου θεότητος. Σημείωσαι, ὅτι θεογόνον θεότητά φησι τόν Πατέρα, καί

υἱικήν θεότητα τόν Μονογενῆ. ∆ιεξοδικῶς: Ἀντί τοῦ πλατυτέρως. Τά πάντα δι' αὐτοῦ: Σημείωσαι, ὅταν λέγῃ, ὅτι τά πάντα ἐκ τοῦ Θεοῦ ἐστι,

περιληπτικῶς τήν ὅλην θεότητα σημαίνει, τουτέστι τήν ἁγίαν Τριάδα· ὅταν δέ φῇ, «τά πάντα δι' αὐτοῦ καί εἰς αὐτόν ἔκτισται», διεξοδικῶς περί τῶν ὑποστάσεων σημαίνει· τοῦτο γάρ εἰς τόν δημιουργικόν Λόγον ἐδέξαντο πάντες.

Καί αὐτοῦ: Τοῦ Λόγου δηλονότι. Κοινωνικῶς καί ἡνωμένως: Σημείωσαι, ὅτι κοινωνικῶς ἥνωται τά τῆς ἁγίας

Τριάδος. Τάς θεουργίας: Οἷον τό, «Ἐγώ ἐν Πνεύματι Θεοῦ ἐκβάλλω τά δαιμόνια»· τό

σέβας, ὡς τό· «εἰς τό ἅγιον Πνεῦμα βλασφημήσαντι οὐκ ἀφεθήσεται»· τό δέ τῶν δωρεῶν, ἤτοι τῶν χαρισμάτων, ἐν τῷ λέγειν· «λήψεσθε δύναμιν ἐπελθόντος τοῦ ἁγίου Πνεύματος ἐφ' ὑμᾶς». 14S_058 Τήν πηγαίαν: Εἴρηται ἐν τοῖς Ψαλμοῖς, «ὅτι παρά σοί πηγή ζωῆς», καί ἐν Ἰερεμίᾳ, «Ἐμέ ἐγκατέλιπον, πηγήν ὕδατος ζῶντος». Ὁ οὖν Θεός λέγεται πηγή, οἷά τις μήτρα καί ἀρχή καί αἰτία τῶν φανέντων καί προελθόντων εἰς οὐσίαν ἁπάντων· ἅ γάρ καλεῖν εἰώθασί τινες καθολικά, ἤτοι γένη ἤ ὅλα ἤ περιέχοντα, ἅτε περιληπτικά τῶν μερικῶν ἐξ αὐτῶν προόδων, ταῦτα αἱ θεῖαι Γραφαί 'πηγαίαν αἰτίαν' φασί· διά τό δημιουργικόν τοίνυν καί ἀνέκλειπτον τῶν διά τοῦ Πνεύματος ὑφισταμένων, καί ὅτι τό Πνεῦμα τό ἅγιον καί αὐτό πάντων τῶν ὄντων αἴτιον, ὡς καί ἐν τῇ Σοφίᾳ εἴρηται, εἰκότως καί πηγαίαν αὐτό αἰτίαν θεολογεῖ· τό δέ ἀνέκλειπτον τοῦ δημιουργεῖν ἐκεῖθεν νόησον εἰς τό· «ὁ Πατήρ μοι ἕως ἄρτι ἐργάζεταί, κἀγώ ἐργάζομαι». Ὡσαύτως καί τό Πνεῦμα τό ἅγιον, σύν τῷ Πατρί καί τῷ Υἱῷ ἀεί ἐργάζεται ἀνεκλείπτως· εἴρηται γάρ· «ἐξαποστελεῖς τό Πνεῦμά σου, καί κτισθήσονται».

§ 2. Ἀδιαστρόφοις ἐννοίαις: Καλῶς εἶπε τό 'ἀδιαστρόφοις'· ἐπειδή καί οἱ αἱρετικοί ἀναγινώσκουσι τάς Γραφάς καί ἐντρέφονται ἐν αὑταῖς, καί ὅμως διαστρέφουσιν ἑαυτούς.

Θεοπρεποῦς διαιρέσεως: Θεοπρεπῆ διαίρεσιν ἐπί τῆς ἁγίας Τριάδος τήν περί τῶν ὑποστάσεων ἀσύγχυτον ἔφη γνῶσιν, καί ὅτι οὐ χρή φροντίζειν πείθειν τούς μή δεχόμενους τήν θείαν Γραφήν. Τό γάρ κοινῶς ἐπί τῆς ἁγίας Τριάδος θεολογεῖν οὐκ ἔστι σύγχυσιν εἰσάγειν τῶν ὑποστάσεων.

Ἐπί τήν θεολογικήν: Θεολογικήν ἐπιστήμην ἀνωτέρω περί Θεοῦ διηγούμενος, οὐκ ἔφη αὐτήν ἐπιστήμην εἶναι, ἐνταῦθα δέ τά περί θεολογίας ἐπιστήμην φησίν. Ἐπιστήμη δέ ἐστι 14S_060 δόξα ὀρθή λογισμῷ δεθεῖσα, ἤ λόγος ἀληθής ἐπί διάνοιαν ἀμετάπτωτος, καί ἡ ἀκριβής εἴδησις τοῦ πράγματος καί ἀπόφανσις, οὗ καί λέγεται ἐπιστήμη, ἀληθείας λόγον καί δόξαν ὀρθήν προβαλλομένη, μή δεομένη τῆς ἐκ παραθέσεως τοῦ ὁμοίου βεβαιώσεως.

Τάς θείας ἐκφαντορίας: Ἐκφαντορίας φησί τάς τά μυστήρια ἐκφαινούσας διδασκαλίας.