Gregory of Nyssa, Letters

that the souls of the many be turned aside to the point that, even if something is accomplished through the commandments, it is no gain, since the great and first hope is not present for those 24.4 deceived in the error concerning doctrine. For this reason we advise those who lay claim to their own salvation not to depart from the simplicity of the first words of the faith, but receiving in the soul Father and Son and Holy Spirit, not to think it is one hypostasis with many names; for it is not possible for the Father to be called Father of himself, if the Son does not truly from himself confirm the title for the Father, nor to think the Spirit is one of the aforementioned, so that the hearer is led to the concept of Father or Son through the designation of the Spirit; but particularly and distinctly in each of the names, the hypostasis signified by the designations is understood, and having heard 'the Father' we have heard the cause of all things, and having learned of the Son we were taught of the power that shone forth from the first cause for the constitution of all things, and having known the Spirit we have understood the perfecting power of those things brought into being through creation from the 24.5 Father through the Son. The hypostases, therefore, in the aforesaid manner are unconfusedly distinguished from one another, I mean of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit; but their essence, whatever it may be—for it is ineffable in word and incomprehensible in thought—is not divided into any otherness of nature; because the incomprehensible and inconceivable and that which cannot be grasped by reasoning is equal in each of the 24.6 persons believed in the Trinity. For one who is asked what the Father is according to essence will honestly and truly confess that what is sought is beyond knowledge; likewise also concerning the only-begotten Son he will agree that it is not possible for the essence to be comprehended by any word; For 'his generation,' it says, 'who will declare?' And similarly also concerning the Holy Spirit, the word of the Lord demonstrates the same impossibility of comprehension, saying that 'you hear its voice, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes.' 24.7 Since, therefore, we perceive no difference in the incomprehensibility of the three persons (for it is not that one is more incomprehensible and another less so, but the account of incomprehensibility is one for the Trinity), for this reason we say, being guided by this very incomprehensibility and inconceivability, that we find no difference of essence in the holy Trinity except for the order of the persons and the confession of the hypostases; for there is an order delivered in the gospel, according to which faith, beginning from the Father, through the Son, ends in the Holy Spirit; but the difference of the persons, appearing <in> this very order of the tradition of the hypostases, produces no confusion for those able to follow the significations of the word, as the designation of the Father reveals its own concept, and again that of the Son and that of the Holy Spirit its own, the things signified in no way being confused with one another. 24.8 We are baptized, therefore, as we have received, into the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit; and we believe as we are baptized—for it is fitting for faith to be in harmony with the confession. And we glorify as we believe—for it is not in the nature of glory to contend with faith, but the things in which we believe, these we also glorify. 24.9 Since, therefore, faith is in the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, and faith, glory, and baptism follow one another, for this reason also the glory is not distinguished, of the Father 24.10 and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. And this glory which we send up to its own nature, is nothing other than the confession of the good things belonging to the majesty of the divine nature; for we do not add honor from our own power to the priceless nature, but by confessing the things belonging to it, we have fulfilled the 24.11 honor. Since, therefore, incorruptibility, eternity, immortality, goodness, power, holiness, wisdom, every magnificent and sublime concept, belongs to each of the persons believed in the holy Trinity, in speaking of the good things belonging

παρατραπῆναι τῶν πολλῶν τὰς ψυχὰς εἰς τό, μηδὲ εἴ τι διὰ τῶν ἐντολῶν κατορθωθῇ, κέρδος εἶναι, τῆς μεγάλης καὶ πρώτης ἐλπίδος ἐν τῇ περὶ τὸ δόγμα πλάνῃ τοῖς 24.4 ἀπατηθεῖσι μὴ συμπαρούσης. διὰ τοῦτο συμβουλεύομεν τῆς ἁπλότητος τῶν πρώτων ῥημάτων τῆς πίστεως μὴ ἀποχωρεῖν τοὺς ἀντιποιουμένους τῆς ἑαυτῶν σωτηρίας, ἀλλὰ παραδεχομένους ἐν τῇ ψυχῇ πατέρα καὶ υἱὸν καὶ πνεῦμα ἅγιον, μὴ μίαν ὑπόστασιν πολυώνυμον εἶναι νομίζειν· οὔτε γὰρ δυνατόν ἐστι τὸν πατέρα ἑαυτοῦ πατέρα λέγεσθαι, μὴ ἀληθῶς ἐξ αὑτοῦ τοῦ υἱοῦ τῷ πατρὶ τὴν κλῆσιν ἐπαληθεύοντος, οὔτε τὸ πνεῦμα ἓν τῶν εἰρημένων εἶναι νομίζειν, ὥστε εἰς πατρὸς ἢ υἱοῦ ἔννοιαν διὰ τῆς τοῦ πνεύματος προσηγορίας ἐνάγεσθαι τὸν ἀκούοντα· ἀλλ' ἰδίως καὶ ἀποτεταγμένως ἐν ἑκάστῳ τῶν ὀνομάτων συνυπακούεται ἡ ἐνσημαινομένη ταῖς προσηγορίαις ὑπόστασις, καὶ τὸν πατέρα ἀκούσαντες τὴν τοῦ παντὸς αἰτίαν ἠκούσαμεν, τὸν δὲ υἱὸν μαθόντες τὴν ἐκ τῆς πρώτης αἰτίας ἀναλάμψασαν δύναμιν εἰς τὴν τοῦ παντὸς σύστασιν ἐδιδάχθημεν, τὸ δὲ πνεῦμα γνόντες τὴν τελειωτικὴν δύναμιν τῶν διὰ κτίσεως εἰς τὸ εἶναι παραγομένων ἐκ τοῦ 24.5 πατρὸς διὰ τοῦ υἱοῦ ἐνοήσαμεν. αἱ μὲν οὖν ὑποστάσεις κατὰ τὸν εἰρημένον τρόπον ἀσυγχύτως ἀπ' ἀλλήλων διακεχωρισμέναι εἰσί, πατρὸς λέγω καὶ υἱοῦ καὶ ἁγίου πνεύματος· ἡ δὲ οὐσία αὐτῶν, ἥτις ποτὲ αὕτη ἐστίνἄφραστος γάρ ἐστι λόγῳ καὶ νοήματι ἄληπτοςεἰς ἑτερότητά τινα φύσεως οὐ διαμερίζεται· διότι τὸ ἀκατάληπτον καὶ ἀπερινόητον καὶ λογισμοῖς ἀπερίδρακτον ἴσον ἐστὶν ἐφ' ἑκάστου τῶν ἐν τῇ 24.6 τριάδι πεπιστευμένων προσώπων. ὁ γὰρ ἐρωτηθεὶς τί κατ' οὐσίαν ἐστὶν ὁ πατήρ, εὐγνωμόνως καὶ ἀληθῶς ὁμολογήσει τὸ ὑπὲρ γνῶσιν εἶναι τὸ ζητούμενον· ὡσαύτως καὶ περὶ τοῦ μονογενοῦς υἱοῦ οὐδενὶ λόγῳ τὴν οὐσίαν καταληφθῆναι δυνατὸν εἶναι συνθήσεται· Τὴν γὰρ γενεὰν αὐτοῦ, φησί, τίς διηγήσεται; ὁμοίως δὲ καὶ περὶ τοῦ πνεύματος τοῦ ἁγίου τὸ ἴσον τῆς κατὰ τὴν κατάληψιν ἀμηχανίας ὁ τοῦ κυρίου λόγος ἐνδείκνυται λέγων ὅτι τῆς μὲν φωνῆς αὐτοῦ ἀκούεις, οὐκ οἶδας δὲ πόθεν ἔρχεται καὶ ποῦ ὑπάγει. 24.7 Ἐπειδὴ τοίνυν οὐδεμίαν ἐν τῷ ἀκαταλήπτῳ τῶν τριῶν προσώπων διαφορὰν ἐννοοῦμεν (οὐ γὰρ τὸ μὲν μᾶλλον ἀκατάληπτον τὸ δὲ ἧττον, ἀλλ' εἷς ἐπὶ τῆς τριάδος ὁ τῆς ἀκαταληψίας λόγος), διὰ τοῦτό φαμεν, αὐτῷ τῷ ἀλήπτῳ καὶ ἀκατανοήτῳ χειραγωγούμενοι, μηδεμίαν τῆς οὐσίας ἐπὶ τῆς ἁγίας τριάδος διαφορὰν ἐξευρίσκειν ἐκτὸς τῆς τάξεως τῶν προσώπων καὶ τῆς τῶν ὑποστάσεων ὁμολογίας· τάξις μὲν γάρ ἐστιν ἐν τῷ εὐαγγελίῳ παραδοθεῖσα, καθ' ἣν ἐκ πατρὸς ἡ πίστις ἀρχομένη διὰ μέσου τοῦ υἱοῦ εἰς τὸ πνεῦμα τὸ ἅγιον καταλήγει· ἡ δὲ διαφορὰ τῶν προσώπων <ἐν> αὐτῇ τῇ τάξει τῆς τῶν ὑποστάσεων παραδόσεως φαινομένη οὐδεμίαν σύγχυσιν ἐμποιεῖ τοῖς δυναμένοις ἐπακολουθεῖν ταῖς σημασίαις τοῦ λόγου, ἰδίαν ἔννοιαν τῆς τοῦ πατρὸς προσηγορίας ἐμφαινούσης καὶ τοῦ υἱοῦ πάλιν καὶ τοῦ ἁγίου πνεύματος ἰδίαν, κατ' οὐδένα τρόπον τῶν σημαινο24.8 μένων ἐν ἀλλήλοις συγχεομένων. βαπτιζόμεθα τοίνυν, ὡς παρελάβομεν, εἰς πατέρα καὶ υἱὸν καὶ πνεῦμα ἅγιον· πιστεύομεν δὲ ὡς βαπτιζόμεθασύμφωνον γὰρ εἶναι προσήκει τῇ ὁμολογίᾳ τὴν πίστιν. δοξάζομεν δὲ ὡς πιστεύομενοὐδὲ γὰρ ἔχει φύσιν μάχεσθαι τῇ πίστει τὴν δόξαν, ἀλλ' εἰς ἃ πιστεύομεν, ταῦτα καὶ δοξάζομεν. 24.9 Ἐπειδὴ τοίνυν εἰς πατέρα καὶ υἱὸν καὶ πνεῦμα ἅγιον ἡ πίστις ἐστίν, ἀκολουθεῖ δὲ ἀλλήλοις ἡ πίστις ἡ δόξα τὸ βάπτισμα, διὰ τοῦτο καὶ ἡ δόξα οὐ διακρίνεται ἡ πατρὸς 24.10 καὶ υἱοῦ καὶ ἁγίου πνεύματος. αὕτη δὲ ἡ δόξα ἣν ἀναπέμπομεν τῇ ἰδίᾳ φύσει, οὐδὲν ἄλλο ἐστὶν ἀλλ' ἡ τῶν προσόντων τῇ μεγαλειότητι τῆς θείας φύσεως ἀγαθῶν ὁμολογία· οὐ γὰρ ἐξ ἡμετέρας δυνάμεως τιμὴν προστίθεμεν τῇ ἀτιμήτῳ φύσει, ἀλλὰ τὰ προσόντα ὁμολογήσαντες τὴν 24.11 τιμὴν ἐπληρώσαμεν. ἐπεὶ οὖν πρόσεστιν ἑκάστῳ τῶν ἐν τῇ ἁγίᾳ τριάδι πιστευομένων προσώπων ἀφθαρσία ἀιδιότης ἀθανασία ἀγαθότης δύναμις ἁγιασμὸς σοφία, πᾶν νόημα μεγαλοπρεπές τε καὶ ὑψηλόν, ἐν τῷ λέγειν τὰ προσόντα ἀγαθὰ