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"the Son to be of God, so that creatures, because they are not from themselves "without a cause but have a beginning of their coming into being, might be said to be from "God, but the Son alone is proper to the Father's substance. For this is "proper to the only-begotten and true Word of the Father. And concerning the "writing of 'from the substance,' this is the reason. 36 "Again when the bishops asked the seeming few if "they would say the Son is not a creature, but the power and wisdom alone of the "Father, and his eternal and exact image in all things of the "Father and true God, Eusebius's party were caught "nodding to one another that: 'And these things apply to us too; for we "too are called "image and glory of God," and of us it is said ""for we who live are always"; and there are many powers, and ""all the power of the Lord went out from the land of Egypt," and ""the caterpillar and the locust" is called "a great power," and ""the Lord of powers is with us, the God of Jacob is our helper." But we also have it that we are God's own, not "simply, but because He also called us brothers. And if they call the Son "true God, it does not trouble us; for having been made, he is "true'". "This was the corrupt mind of the Arians. But here "too the bishops, seeing their craftiness, collected "from the Scriptures 'radiance,' and 'fountain' and 'river' and "'character in relation to the hypostasis,' and 'in your light "we shall see light,' and 'I and the Father are one.' And more "clearly then and concisely they wrote that the Son is consubstantial with the Father. "For all the aforementioned have this meaning. "And their complaint, that the words are unscriptural, is proven "by them to be empty; for having committed impiety with unscriptural phrases (and unscriptural are 37 "'from things that are not' and 'there was a time when he was not'), they complain because from "unscriptural words conceived with piety they were condemned. For they "themselves, having found them as if from a dunghill, truly spoke from the earth, but the "bishops, not having invented the words for themselves but having "the testimony from the fathers, wrote thus. For ancient bishops, about "one hundred and thirty years ago, both of great Rome and of "our own city, accused those who said the Son was a creature and not "consubstantial with the Father. And Eusebius, who became "bishop of Caesarea, knew this, at first concurring with the Arian "heresy, but afterwards subscribing to the synod in Nicaea; and he wrote "to his own people, affirming that 'we have known some learned "and illustrious bishops and writers of old who used the name "of consubstantial in regard to the divinity of the Father and of the Son.'" These men, therefore, concealing their disease (for they feared the multitude of the bishops) agreed to what had been set forth, drawing upon themselves the prophetic accusation. For the God of all cries out also against them: " This people honors me with their lips, but their heart is far from me ". But Theonas and Secundus, not willing to do this, were unanimously excommunicated by all, as having preferred the 38 blasphemy of Arius to the evangelical teaching. And again coming together in the council, they wrote twenty canons concerning ecclesiastical polity. And since Meletius, who had been deemed worthy of episcopal ordination not long before the madness of Arius, and then was convicted of certain transgressions by the most divine Peter, the bishop of Alexandria, who also was crowned with martyrdom, was indeed deposed, but did not accept the vote of deposition and filled both the Thebaid and the neighboring part of Egypt with disturbance and storm, using tyranny against the presidency of Alexander, they wrote to the church of Alexandria what they enacted concerning his innovation. And this is it: "Synodical Epistle. To the holy and great church of Alex" "andria, by the grace of God, and to the beloved brethren throughout Egypt, Libya, and "Pentapolis, the bishops assembled in Nicaea and who have constituted "the great and holy synod, in the Lord "greeting. "Since

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"θεοῦ εἶναι τὸν υἱόν, ἵνα τὰ μὲν κτίσματα, διὰ τὸ μὴ ἀφ' ἑαυτῶν "χωρὶς αἰτίου εἶναι ἀλλ' ἀρχὴν ἔχειν τοῦ γίνεσθαι, λέγηται ἐκ τοῦ "θεοῦ, ὁ δὲ υἱὸς μόνος ἴδιος ἐκ τῆς τοῦ πατρὸς οὐσίας. τοῦτο γὰρ "ἴδιον μονογενοῦς καὶ ἀληθινοῦ λόγου τοῦ πατρός. καὶ περὶ μὲν τοῦ "γεγράφθαι ἐκ τῆς οὐσίας ἡ πρόφασις αὕτη. 36 "Πάλιν δὲ τῶν ἐπισκόπων ἐρωτώντων τοὺς δοκοῦντας ὀλίγους εἰ "λέγοιεν τὸν υἱὸν οὐ κτίσμα, ἀλλὰ δύναμιν σοφίαν τε μόνην τοῦ "πατρὸς καὶ εἰκόνα ἀΐδιόν τε καὶ ἀπαράλλακτον κατὰ πάντα τοῦ "πατρὸς καὶ θεὸν ἀληθινόν , κατελήφθησαν οἱ περὶ Εὐσέβιον δια "νεύοντες ἀλλήλοις ὅτι· "καὶ ταῦτα φθάνει καὶ εἰς ἡμᾶς· καὶ γὰρ καὶ "ἡμεῖς " εἰκὼν καὶ δόξα θεοῦ " λεγόμεθα, καὶ περὶ ἡμῶν εἴρηται "" ἀεὶ γὰρ ἡμεῖς οἱ ζῶντες "· καὶ δυνάμεις πολλαί εἰσιν, καὶ "" ἐξῆλθε μὲν πᾶσα ἡ δύναμις τοῦ θεοῦ ἐκ γῆς Αἰγύπτου ", ""ἡ δὲ κάμπη καὶ ἡ ἀκρὶς " λέγεται " δύναμις μεγάλη ", καὶ "" κύριος τῶν δυνάμεων μεθ' ἡμῶν, ἀντιλήπτωρ ἡμῶν ὁ "θεὸς Ἰακώβ ". ἀλλὰ καὶ τὸ ἰδίους ἡμᾶς εἶναι τοῦ θεοῦ ἔχομεν οὐχ "ἁπλῶς, ἀλλ' ὅτι καὶ ἀδελφοὺς ἡμᾶς ἐκάλεσεν. εἰ δὲ καὶ θεὸν "ἀληθινὸν λέγουσι τὸν υἱόν, οὐ λυπεῖ ἡμᾶς· γενόμενος γὰρ ἀληθινός "ἐστιν". "Αὕτη τῶν Ἀρειανῶν ἡ διεφθαρμένη διάνοια. ἀλλὰ καὶ ἐν "ταῦθα οἱ ἐπίσκοποι, θεωρήσαντες ἐκείνων τὸ δόλιον, συνήγαγον "ἐκ τῶν γραφῶν τὸ ἀπαύγασμα τήν τε πηγὴν καὶ ποταμὸν καὶ " χαρακτῆρα πρὸς τὴν ὑπόστασιν , καὶ τὸ " ἐν τῷ φωτί σου "ὀψόμεθα φῶς ", καὶ τὸ " ἐγὼ καὶ ὁ πατὴρ ἕν ἐσμεν ". καὶ λευκό "τερον λοιπὸν καὶ συντόμως ἔγραψαν ὁμοούσιον τῷ πατρὶ τὸν υἱόν. "τὰ γὰρ προειρημένα πάντα ταύτην ἔχει τὴν σημασίαν. "Καὶ ὁ γογγυσμὸς δὲ αὐτῶν, ὅτι ἄγραφοί εἰσιν αἱ λέξεις, ἐλέγχεται "παρ' αὐτῶν μάταιος· ἐξ ἀγράφων γὰρ ἀσεβήσαντες (ἄγραφα δὲ τὸ 37 "ἐξ οὐκ ὄντων καὶ τὸ ἦν ποτε ὅτε οὐκ ἦν), αἰτιῶνται διότι ἐξ "ἀγράφων μετ' εὐσεβείας νοουμένων λέξεων κατεκρίθησαν. αὐτοὶ μὲν "γὰρ ὡς ἐκ κοπρίας εὑρόντες ἐλάλησαν ἀληθῶς ἀπὸ γῆς, οἱ δὲ ἐπί "σκοποι, οὐχ ἑαυτοῖς εὑρόντες τὰς λέξεις ἀλλ' ἐκ τῶν πατέρων ἔχον "τες τὴν μαρτυρίαν, οὕτως ἔγραψαν. ἐπίσκοποι γὰρ ἀρχαῖοι, πρὸ ἐτῶν "ἐγγύς που ἑκατὸν τριάκοντα, τῆς τε μεγάλης Ῥώμης καὶ τῆς "ἡμετέρας πόλεως, ᾐτιάσαντο τοὺς ποίημα λέγοντας τὸν υἱὸν καὶ μὴ "ὁμοούσιον τῷ πατρί. καὶ τοῦτο ἐγίνωσκεν Εὐσέβιος ὁ γενόμενος "ἐπίσκοπος τῆς Καισαρείας, πρότερον μὲν συντρέχων τῇ Ἀρειανῇ "αἱρέσει, ὕστερον δὲ ὑπογράψας τῇ ἐν Νικαίᾳ συνόδῳ· ἔγραψε καὶ "τοῖς ἰδίοις διαβεβαιούμενος ὅτι καὶ τῶν παλαιῶν τινας λογίους "καὶ ἐπιφανεῖς ἐπισκόπους καὶ συγγραφέας ἔγνωμεν ἐπὶ τῆς τοῦ "πατρὸς καὶ τοῦ υἱοῦ θεότητος τῷ τοῦ ὁμοουσίου χρησαμένους ὀνό "ματι." Οὗτοι μὲν οὖν κατακρύψαντες τὴν νόσον (ἔδεισαν γὰρ τῶν ἐπι σκόπων τὸ πλῆθος) τοῖς ἐκτεθεῖσι συνέθεντο, τὴν προφητικὴν κατη γορίαν ἐπισπασάμενοι. βοᾷ γὰρ καὶ πρὸς αὐτοὺς ὁ τῶν ὅλων θεός· " ὁ λαὸς οὗτος τοῖς χείλεσί με τιμᾷ, ἡ δὲ καρδία αὐτῶν πόρρω ἀπέχει ἀπ' ἐμοῦ ". Θεωνᾶς δὲ καὶ Σεκοῦνδος, τοῦτο δρᾶσαι μὴ βουληθέντες, παρὰ πάντων συμφώνως ἀπεκηρύχθησαν, ὡς τὴν 38 Ἀρείου βλασφημίαν τῆς εὐαγγελικῆς προτετιμηκότες διδασκαλίας. Αὖθις δὲ συνελθόντες εἰς τὸ συνέδριον περὶ τῆς ἐκκλησιαστικῆς πολι τείας νόμους ἔγραψαν εἴκοσι. Ἐπειδὴ δὲ καὶ Μελίτιος τῆς ἐπισκοπικῆς χειροτονίας ἠξιωμένος οὐ πρὸ πολλοῦ τῆς Ἀρείου μανίας, εἶτα ἐπί τισι παρανομίαις διε λεγχθεὶς ὑπὸ τοῦ θειοτάτου Πέτρου τοῦ τῆς Ἀλεξανδρέων ἐπισκόπου, ὃς καὶ τοῦ μαρτυρίου τὸν στέφανον ἀνεδήσατο, καθῃρέθη μέν, οὐκ ἔστερξε δὲ τὴν τῆς καθαιρέσεως ψῆφον τήν τε Θηβαΐδα καὶ τὴν πελάζουσαν Αἴγυπτον θορύβου καὶ ζάλης ἐνεπίμπλα, τυραννίδι κατὰ τῆς Ἀλεξάνδρου χρώμενος προεδρίας, ἔγραψαν πρὸς τὴν Ἀλεξανδρέων ἐκκλησίαν ἃ περὶ τῆς τούτου νεωτεροποιΐας ἐνομοθέτησαν. ἔστι δὲ ταῦτα· "Συνοδικὴ ἐπιστολή. τῇ ἁγίᾳ καὶ μεγάλῃ, χάριτι τοῦ θεοῦ, Ἀλε "ξανδρέων ἐκκλησίᾳ καὶ τοῖς κατὰ τὴν Αἴγυπτον καὶ Λιβύην καὶ "Πεντάπολιν ἀγαπητοῖς ἀδελφοῖς, οἱ ἐν Νικαίᾳ συναχθέντες καὶ τὴν "μεγάλην καὶ ἁγίαν σύνοδον συγκροτήσαντες ἐπίσκοποι ἐν κυρίῳ "χαίρειν. "Ἐπειδὴ