EPISTLE ONE

 1. Your sacred Kindness’s letter was delivered to me in the desert. Though the persecution directed against us was indeed bitter, and a great search m

 2. To the Arians indeed this way of thinking is not strange. Having once denied the Word of God, they naturally say the same evil things against his S

 3. Where then do you find excuse for such audacity, so that you do not fear that which was spoken by the Lord, ‘Whosoever shall blaspheme against the

 4. Tell us, then, is there any passage in the divine Scripture where the Holy Spirit is found simply referred to as ‘spirit’ without the addition of ‘

 5. But do you answer the question which has been put to you whether anywhere in the divine Scripture you have found the Holy Spirit called simply ‘spi

 6. But inquire also about the contents of the Gospels and the writings of the Apostles, and you will hear how there also, inasmuch as there is a great

 7. See how the Holy Spirit is denoted in all divine Scripture ! Did you, then, notice anything of this kind in the prophet? The ‘spirit’ of which the

 8. Read the sacred Scriptures, and you will find ‘spirit’ used of the meaning which is in the divine words, as Paul writes: ‘Who also made us sufficie

 9. ‘But’, say they, ‘since the text makes mention of Christ, to be consistent we must take the spirit it speaks of to be none other than the Holy Spir

 10. Accordingly, if created spirit bears this meaning, we can appropriately take the thunder which is established to be the sure word and unshakable l

 11. What is this mighty folly of theirs? Once again, where in the Scriptures have they found the Spirit referred to as an angel? I am obliged to repea

 12. Moses too knew that the angels are creatures and that the Holy Spirit is united with the Son and the Father. For when God said to him, ‘Depart, go

 13. ‘But granting this,’ they say, ‘why did the Apostle after Christ make mention not of the Holy Spirit but of the elect angels?’ In like manner we m

 14. What will they say if they hear also the Lord saying: ‘There was in a certain place a judge who feared not God and regarded not man’? Because, aft

 15. Such, it seems to me, is the meaning of the divine oracles and it refutes the evil which these irrational men speak against the Spirit. But they,

 16. We ought therefore, as I said before, to be silent on these matters and to disregard these people. But lest our silence should furnish an excuse f

 17. For this reason too, it is madness to call him a creature. If he were a creature, he would not be ranked with the Triad. For the whole Triad is on

 18. Let them presume to tell us, as they have a glib answer to everything, how the heavens were formed, and from what material, and what is their comp

 19. Since, therefore, such an attempt is futile madness, nay, more than madness !, let no one ask such questions any more, or else let him learn only

 20. But if there is such co-ordination and unity within the holy Triad, who can separate either the Son from the Father, or the Spirit from the Son or

 21. But if, in regard to order and nature, the Spirit bears the same relation to the Son as the Son to the Father, will not he who calls the Spirit a

 22. The creatures came from nothing, having a beginning from which they came into being. For, ‘In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth’

 23. He, therefore, who is not sanctified by another, nor a partaker of sanctification, but who is himself partaken, and in whom all the creatures are

 24. Further it is through the Spirit that we are all said to be partakers of God. For it says: ‘Know ye not that ye are a temple of God and that the S

 25. The Spirit, therefore, is distinct from the creatures, and is shown rather to be proper to the Son and not alien from God. As for that wise questi

 26. That the Spirit is above the creation, distinct in nature from things originated, and proper to the Godhead, can be seen from the following consid

 27. From what follows, also, we may see how the Holy Spirit is partaken and does not partake. (We must not mind repeating ourselves.) For, ‘It is impo

 28. But, beyond these sayings, let us look at the very tradition, teaching, and faith of the Catholic Church from the beginning, which the Lord gave,

 29. Since then the Church has this foundation of faith, let these men tell us once again and let them make answer, Is God triad or dyad? If he is dyad

 30. Such absurdities meet you if you say God is dyad. But if he is triad, as indeed he is and if the Triad has been shown to be indivisible and consi

 31. This consideration also shows that the activity of the Triad is one. The Apostle does not mean that the things which are given are given different

 32. The divine Scriptures, then, consistently show that the Holy Spirit is not a creature, but is proper to the Word and to the Godhead of the Father.

 33. Dwelling as I do in a desert place, yet, because of their effrontery who have turned away from the truth, I have not heeded those who will be glad

 EPISTLE TWO—THREE

 2. This opinion of the Arians is indeed mortal and corruptible. But the argument of truth, which even they ought to ponder, runs like this: If God is

 3. When these points are thus proved, he is impious who says that the Son is a creature. For he will be compelled also to give the name of creature to

 4. Again, all things originate were not and have come into being. For, ‘He made the earth as nothing’ and, ‘Who calleth the things that are not as th

 5. Since these things are true and are written in Scripture, who does not recognize that, inasmuch as the Son has no likeness to the creatures but has

 6. In this way too we can refute the impiety of those who say that the Word of God is a creature. Our faith is in Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, as the

 7. But as they plead the passage in Proverbs, ‘The Lord created me, a beginning of his ways, for his works’, adding, ‘See, “He created” He is a creatu

 8. This character [of our faith] is from the Apostles through the Fathers. It remains that he who reads Scripture should examine and judge when it spe

 9. Then too there is that other saying, which is indeed well said, but by them ill understood—I mean: ‘Of that day or that hour knoweth no one, not ev

 Letter III. 1. Perhaps you will wonder why, when I was charged to abridge and briefly to explain the letter I had written concerning the Holy Spirit,

 2. These considerations are sufficient to dissuade anyone, be he never so contentious, from continuing to call the Spirit of God a creature, who is in

 3. Again, the Holy Spirit is called, and is, unction and seal. For John writes: ‘And as for you, the unction which ye received of him abideth in you,

 4. This the Apostle knows when he says: ‘All these worketh the one and the same Spirit, dividing to each one severally, even as he will’ and a little

 5. As it is thus written, it is clear that the Spirit is not a creature, but takes part in the act of creation. The Father creates all things through

 6. Assuredly, when he prayed for the Corinthians, he prayed in the Triad, saying: ‘The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the comm

 7. In these terms the Catholic faith is expressed. But as for those who speak evil of the Spirit and call him a creature, if what we have said does no

 Epistle Four

 2. Who, when he hears these things, will still regard them as Christians, and not rather as pagans? For such things the pagans say against us in conve

 3. Once again, in the following way also, it is just for you to be questioned from the questions you ask. If the prophets speak in the Spirit of God,

 4. Thus the Spirit is not a creature but proper to the essence of the Word and proper to God in whom he is said to be. Once more, we must not shrink f

 5. These things being thus proved, he must be mad who asks, Is the Spirit also a son? But neither let any man, because this is not written, separate h

 6. For if you ask, Is the Spirit then a son?, since by our showing he is not a creature so must you ask, Is the Son then a father?, for you have

 7. These things are sufficient to refute your foolish speech. Mock no more at the Godhead. For it is the part of those who mock to ask the questions w

19. Since, therefore, such an attempt is futile madness, nay, more than madness !, let no one ask such questions any more, or else let him learn only that which is in the Scriptures. For the illustrations they contain which bear upon this subject are sufficient and suitable. The Father is called fountain and light: ‘They have forsaken me,’ it says, ‘the fountain of living water’; and again in Baruch, ‘Why, O Israel, art thou in the land of thine enemies? Thou hast forsaken the fountain of wisdom’; and, according to John: ‘Our God is light.’ But the Son, in contrast with the fountain, is called river: ‘The river of God is full of water.’ In contrast with the light, he is called radiance—as Paul says: ‘Who, being the radiance of his glory and the image of his essence.’ As then the Father is light and the Son is his radiance—we must not shrink from saying the same things about them many times—we may see in the Son the Spirit also by whom we are enlightened. ‘That he may give you’, it says, ‘the Spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of him, having the eyes of your heart enlightened’. But when we are enlightened by the Spirit, it is Christ who in him enlightens us. For it says: ‘There was the true light which lighteth every man coming into the world.’ Again, as the Father is fountain and the Son is called river, we are said to drink of the Spirit. For it is written: ‘We are all made to drink of one Spirit.’ But when we are made to drink of the Spirit, we drink of Christ. For ‘they drank of a spiritual rock that followed them, and the rock was Christ’. Again, as Christ is true Son, so we, when we receive the Spirit, are made sons. ‘For you have not received’, it says, ‘the spirit of bondage again to fear; but you have received the Spirit of adoption.’ But if by the Spirit we are made sons, it is clear that it is in Christ we are called children of God. For: ‘So many as received him, to them gave he the power to become children of God.’ Then, as the Father, in Paul’s words, is the ‘only wise’, the Son is his Wisdom: ‘Christ the Power of God and the Wisdom of God.’ But as the Son is Wisdom, so we, receiving the Spirit of Wisdom, have the Son and are made wise in him. For thus it is written in the one hundred and forty-fifth psalm: ‘The Lord looseth the prisoners, the Lord maketh wise the blind.’ When the Holy Spirit is given to us (‘Receive the Holy Spirit,’ said the Saviour), God is in us; for so John wrote: ‘If we love one another, God abideth in us; hereby know we that we abide in him and he in us, because he hath given us of his Spirit.’ But when God is in us, the Son also is in us. For the Son himself said: ‘The Father and I will come and make our abode with him.’ Furthermore, as the Son is life—for he says ‘I am the life’—we are said to be quickened by the Spirit. For it says: ‘He that raised up Christ Jesus from the dead shall quicken also your mortal bodies, through his Spirit that dwelleth in you.’ But when we are quickened by the Spirit, Christ himself is said to live in us; for it says: ‘I have been crucified with Christ. I live, and yet no longer I, but Christ liveth in me.’ Again, the Son declared that the Father worked the works that he did—for he says: ‘The Father abiding in me doeth his works. Believe me, that I am in the Father and the Father in me; or else believe me for his works’ sake.’ So Paul declared that the works he worked by the power of the Spirit were the works of Christ: ‘For I will not dare to speak of any things save those which Christ wrought through me, for the obedience of the Gentiles, by word and deed, in the power of signs and wonders, in the power of the Holy Spirit.’

Περιττῆς τοιγαροῦν καὶ πλέον μανίας οὔσης τῆς τοιαύτης ἐπιχειρήσεως, μηκέτι τοιαῦτά τις ἐρω τάτω, ἢ μόνον τὰ ἐν ταῖς Γραφαῖς μανθανέτω. Αὐτ άρκη γὰρ καὶ ἱκανὰ τὰ ἐν ταύταις κείμενα περὶ τούτου παραδείγματα. Πηγὴ τοίνυν καὶ φῶς λέγεται ὁ Πατήρ· «Ἐμὲ» γὰρ, φησὶν, «ἐγκατέλι πον πηγὴν ὕδατος ζῶντος.» Καὶ πάλιν ἐν τῷ Βα ρούχ· «Τί ἐστιν, Ἰσραὴλ, ὅτι ἐν τῇ γῇ τῶν ἐχθρῶν εἶ; ἐγκατέλιπες τὴν πηγὴν τῆς σοφίας·» καὶ κατὰ τὸν Ἰωάννην· «Ὁ Θεὸς ἡμῶν φῶς ἐστι.» Λέγεται δὲ καὶ ὁ Υἱὸς ὡς μὲν πρὸς τὴν πηγὴν ποτα μός· «Ὁ ποταμὸς» γὰρ «τοῦ Θεοῦ ἐπληρώθη ὑδά των·» πρὸς δὲ τὸ φῶς ἀπαύγασμα, λέγοντος τοῦ Παύλου· «Ὃς ὢν ἀπαύγασμα τῆς δόξης, καὶ χαρακτὴρ τῆς ὑποστάσεως αὐτοῦ.» Τοῦ τοίνυν Πατρὸς φωτὸς ὄντος, τοῦ δὲ Υἱοῦ ἀπαυγάσματος αὐτοῦ (τὰ αὐτὰ γὰρ περὶ τούτων μάλιστα οὐκ ὀκνητέον λέγειν πολλάκις), ἔξεστιν ὁρᾷν καὶ ἐν τῷ Υἱῷ τὸ Πνεῦμα, ἐν ᾧ φωτιζόμεθα· «Ἵνα» γὰρ, φησὶ, «δώῃ ὑμῖν Πνεῦμα σοφίας καὶ ἀποκαλύψεως ἐν ἐπιγνώ σει αὐτοῦ, πεφωτισμένους τοὺς ὀφθαλμοὺς τῆς καρδίας.» Τῷ δὲ Πνεύματι φωτιζομένων ἡμῶν, ὁ Χριστός ἐστιν ὁ ἐν αὐτῷ φωτίζων· «Ἦν» γὰρ, φησὶ, «τὸ φῶς τὸ ἀληθινὸν, ὃ φωτίζει πάντα ἄνθρωπον ἐρχόμενον εἰς τὸν κόσμον.» Πάλιν τε τοῦ Πατρὸς ὄντος πηγῆς, τοῦ δὲ Υἱοῦ ποταμοῦ λεγομέ νου, πίνειν λεγόμεθα τὸ Πνεῦμα· γέγραπται γὰρ, ὅτι «Ἡμεῖς πάντες ἓν Πνεῦμα ἐποτίσθημεν.» Τὸ δὲ Πνεῦμα ποτιζόμενοι, τὸν Χριστὸν πίνομεν· «Ἔπινον» γὰρ «ἐκ πνευματικῆς ἀκολουθούσης πέτρας· ἡ δὲ πέτρα ἦν ὁ Χριστός.» Καὶ πάλιν τοῦ Χριστοῦ ὄντος ἀληθινοῦ Υἱοῦ, ἡμεῖς τὸ Πνεῦμα λαμβάνοντες, υἱοποιούμεθα· «Οὐ γὰρ ἐλάβετε,» φησὶ, «Πνεῦμα δουλείας πάλιν εἰς φόβον· ἀλλ' ἐλάβετε Πνεῦμα υἱο θεσίας.» Υἱοποιούμενοι δὲ τῷ Πνεύματι, δῆλον, ὅτι ἐν τῷ Χριστῷ χρηματίζομεν τέκνα Θεοῦ· «Ὅσοι» γὰρ «ἔλαβον αὐτὸν, ἔδωκεν αὐτοῖς ἐξουσίαν τέκνα Θεοῦ γενέσθαι.» Εἶτα τοῦ Πατρὸς, ὡς ὁ Παῦ λος εἶπε, μόνου σοφοῦ ὄντος, ὁ Υἱός ἐστιν ἡ σοφία αὐτοῦ. «Χριστὸς» γὰρ «Θεοῦ δύναμις καὶ Θεοῦ σοφία.» Τοῦ δὲ Υἱοῦ ὄντος τῆς σοφίας, ἡμεῖς Πνεῦμα σοφίας λαμβάνοντες, τὸν Υἱὸν ἔχομεν, καὶ ἐν αὐτῷ σοφοὶ γινόμεθα. Οὕτω γὰρ καὶ γέ γραπται ἐν τῷ ἑκατοστῷ τεσσαρακοστῷ πέμπτῳ ψαλμῷ· «Κύριος λύει πεπεδημένους· Κύριος σο φοῖ τυφλούς.» Καὶ τοῦ Πνεύματος δὲ διδομένου εἰς ἡμᾶς («Λάβετε γὰρ Πνεῦμα ἅγιον,» ἔλεγεν ὁ Σωτὴρ), ὁ Θεὸς ἐν ἡμῖν ἐστιν· οὕτω γὰρ ὁ Ἰωάννης ἔγραψεν· «Ἐὰν ἀγαπῶμεν ἀλλήλους, ὁ Θεὸς ἐν ἡμῖν μένει. Ἐν τούτῳ γινώσκομεν, ὅτι ἐν αὐτῷ μέ νομεν, καὶ αὐτὸς ἐν ἡμῖν, ὅτι ἐκ τοῦ Πνεύματος αὐ τοῦ ἔδωκεν ἡμῖν.» Τοῦ δὲ Θεοῦ ὄντος ἐν ἡμῖν, ἔστι καὶ ὁ Υἱὸς ἐν ἡμῖν, λέγοντος αὐτοῦ τοῦ Υἱοῦ· «Ἐλευ σόμεθα ἐγὼ καὶ ὁ Πατὴρ, καὶ μονὴν παρ' αὐτῷ ποιήσομεν.» Ἔπειτα ζωῆς οὔσης τοῦ Υἱοῦ, «Ἐγὼ» γὰρ, φησὶν, «εἰμὶ ἡ ζωὴ,» ζωοποιεῖσθαι λεγόμεθα ἐν τῷ Πνεύματι· «Ὁ» γὰρ «ἐγείρας,» φησὶ, «Χριστὸν Ἰησοῦν ἐκ νεκρῶν ζωοποιήσει καὶ τὰ θνητὰ σώματα ἡμῶν διὰ τοῦ ἐνοικοῦντος αὐτοῦ Πνεύματος ἐν ὑμῖν.» Ζωοποιουμένων δὲ ἡμῶν ἐν τῷ Πνεύματι, ζῇν αὐτὸς ὁ Χριστὸς ἐν ἡμῖν λέγεται. «Χριστῷ» γὰρ, φησὶ, «συνεσταύρωμαι. Ζῶ δὲ οὐκέτι ἐγώ· ζῇ δὲ ἐν ἐμοὶ Χριστός.» Καὶ πάλιν ὥσπερ ὁ Υἱὸς, ἅπερ ἐποίει ἔργα, ἔλεγε τὸν Πατέρα ἐργάζεσθαι· «Ὁ Πατὴρ» γὰρ, φησὶν, «ὁ μένων ἐν ἐμοὶ, αὐτὸς ποιεῖ τὰ ἔργα. Πιστεύετέ μοι, ὅτι ἐγὼ ἐν τῷ Πατρὶ, καὶ ὁ Πατὴρ ἐν ἐμοί. Εἰ δὲ μὴ, διὰ τὰ ἔργα αὐτὰ πιστεύετέ μοι.» Οὕτως, ἅπερ ἐν δυνάμει Πνεύματος εἰργάζετο ὁ Παῦλος, ἔλεγε τοῦ Χριστοῦ εἶναι τὰ ἔργα· «Οὐ γὰρ τολμήσω τι λαλεῖν, ὧν οὐ κατειργάσατο Χριστὸς δι' ἐμοῦ εἰς ὑπακοὴν ἐθνῶν ἐν λόγῳ καὶ ἔργῳ, ἐν δυνάμει σημείων καὶ τε ράτων, ἐν δυνάμει Πνεύματος ἁγίου.»