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action, from power and the power, from essence and in essence. Therefore, these three things are, as they say, connected to one another: that which has power, power, the possible. And that which has power, they say, is the essence; and power is that by which we have the movement of being able; and the possible is that which is by nature able to come into being from us according to power. But if that which is by nature able to come into being from us, we have according to a natural power. But deification is not among those things that are by nature able to come into being from us according to our power, not being among those things that are up to us; for there is no principle of things beyond nature within nature. Therefore deification is not an action of our power, of which we do not have the power by nature; but of divine power alone, not being a recompense for righteous works to the saints, but a demonstration of the abundance of the one who made them; having made by adoption these lovers of good things that which He Himself will be shown to be by nature, according to the principles He Himself knows; so that He might be both perfectly known, and remain completely incomprehensible. Therefore, I have not abolished the natural energy of those who will experience this, which has ceased to produce what it is by nature to produce, and have revealed only the passive enjoyment of good things; but I have pointed out (36) that only the super-essential power is productive of deification, having come to be for the deified by grace.

And let no one suppose by these things that one energy of Christ is being proclaimed. For we do not proclaim Christ as a deified man, but as God perfectly become man, and having made manifest the infinite, infinitely and in infinite ways super-infinite power of His own ineffable divinity, through flesh that is by nature active and intelligently ensouled; the same one, whole God, and truly man; the same one, perfect and most complete in both natures; and having without deficiency everything that is natural to both, except sin, of which there is no principle. For of those natures of which He was the hypostasis, of these He also naturally accepted the essential principles. And if He accepted the essential principles of those things of which He was the hypostasis, He also reasonably had the natural ensouled energy of the flesh, whose essential principle is sown in the nature. And if as man He had a natural energy, of which the principle of the nature was constitutive, He also clearly as God had a natural energy, of which the principle of the super-essential divinity was revelatory. For being perfect God and perfect man, the same one, He acted naturally according to each of those things of which He was the hypostasis, without being divided. And if He acted naturally according to each of those things of which He was the hypostasis, without being divided, it is clear that along with the natures, of which He was the hypostasis, He also had their essential and constitutive energies, of which He Himself was the union; acting in a way proper to Himself, and confirming by the things He did the truth of the things from which, in which, and which He was.

Christ is therefore one out of two natures: divinity and humanity; the only-begotten Word and Son and Lord of glory; in which He is known, and in which He is believed to truly exist; having two natural and generic movements, that is, energies, which are constitutive of the things from which He was, of which the particular actions were the results; both proceeding from Him, and being perfected by Him, without division of the things from which He existed, and without any confusion whatsoever. For He does not undergo division or confusion, who is never subject to change, and who provides to all beings both their being and how they are to be, their permanence and their constitution.

(37) Let these things be said concisely, O sanctified Father, for the sake of your command; so that you might have, if they bring anything useful, how to refute the idle chatter of the talkative, who have taken license from the difficulty of the times. And do not overlook your servant who is poor; but enrich him with the divine Spirit, giving in return for his obedience your powerful prayers; and do not cease commending him to Christ the great God and creator of all, who by

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πρᾶξις, ἀπό δυνάμεως καί ἡ δύναμις, ἀπό τῆς οὐσίας καί ἐν τῇ οὐσίᾳ. Τρία οὖν ταῦτά ἐστιν, ὡς φασιν, ἀλλήλων ἐχόμενα· δυνάμενον, δύναμις, δυνατόν. Καί δυνάμενον μέν λέγουσι, τήν οὐσίαν· δύναμιν δέ, καθ᾿ ἥν ἔχομεν τήν τοῦ δύνασθαι κίνησιν· καί δυνατόν, τό παρ᾿ ἡμῖν κατά δύναμιν γενέσθαι πεφυκός. Εἰ δέ τό παρ᾿ ἡμῖν γίνεσθαι πεφυκός, κατά δύναμον ἔχομεν φυσικήν. Οὐκ ἔστι δέ τῶν παρ᾿ ἡμῶν κατά δύναμιν γίνεσθαι πεφυκότων ἡ θέωσις, οὐκ οὖσα τῶν ἐφ᾿ ἡμῖν· οὐδείς γάρ ἐν τῇ φύσει, τῶν ὑπέρ φύσιν λόγος. Ἄρα τῆς ἡμῶν οὐκ ἔστι δυνάμεως πρᾶξις ἡ θέωσις, ἧς οὐκ ἔχομεν κατά φύσιν τήν δύναμιν· ἀλλά μόνης τῆς θείας δυνάμεως, οὐκ ἔργων ὑπάρχουσα δικαίων τοῖς ἁγίοις ἀντίδοσις· ἀλλά τῆς τοῦ πεποιηκότος ἀφθονίας ἀπόδειξις· τοῦτο θέσει ποιήσαντος τούς ἐραστάς τῶν καλῶν, ὅπερ αὐτός ὑπάρχων φύσει δειχθήσεται, καθ' οὕς αὐτός ἐπίσταται λόγους· ἵνα καί τελείως γνωσθῇ, καί μείνῃ παντελῶς ἀκατάληπτος. Οὐκ ἀνεῖλον οὖν τήν φυσικήν τῶν τοῦτο πεισομένων ἐνεργείαν, ὧν ἀποτελεῖν πέφυκε πεπαυμένην, καί μόνην ἐμφήνας τῶν ἀγαθῶν τήν ἀπόλαυσιν πάσχουσαν· ἀλλά μόνην ὑπέδειξα (36) θεώσεως ἀπεργαστικήν τήν ὑπερούσιον δύναμιν, κατά χάριν τῶν θεωθέντων γεγενημένην.

Καί μηδείς ὑπονοήσει τούτοις μίαν καταγγέλλεσθαι Χριστοῦ τήν ἐνέργειαν. Οὐ γάρ ἄνθρωπον ἀποθεωθέντα τόν Χριστόν καταγγέλλομεν, ἀλλά Θεόν τελείως ἐνανθρωπήσαντα, καί τῆς οἰκείας ἀφράστου θεότητος τήν ἄπειρον, ἀπειράκις ἀπείρως ὑπεράπειρον δι᾿ ἐνεργοῦς φύσει σαρκός νοερῶς ἐψυχωμένης ἐμφανῆ ποιησάμενον δύναμιν· ὅλον Θεόν τόν αὐτόν, καί ἄνθρωπος ἀληθῶς· ἄμφω τε φύσει τέλειον τόν αὐτόν καί πληρέστατον· καί πᾶν εἴ τι κατ' ἄμφω πεφυκός ἀνελλιπῶς ἔχοντα πλήν ἁμαρτίας, ἧς λόγος οὐδείς. Ὧν γάρ αὐτός φύσεων ὑπόστασις ἦν, τούτων καί τούς οὐσιώδεις φυσικῶς ἐπεδέχετο λόγους. Εἰ δέ τούς οὐσιώδεις ὧν αὐτός ὑπόστασις ἦν, ἐπεδέχετο λόγους, καί φυσικήν ἔμψυχον σαρκός εἰκότως εἶχεν ἐνέργειαν, ἧς οὐσιώδεις τῇ φύσει κατέσπαρται λόγος. Εἰ δέ φυσικήν ὡς ἄνθρωπος ἐνέργειαν εἶχεν, ἧς ὁ λόγος τῆς φύσεως ὑπῆρχε συστατικός, καί ὡς Θεός δηλονότι φυσικήν εἶχεν ἐνέργειαν, ἧς ὁ λόγος τῆς ὑπερουσίου θεότητος ὑπῆρχεν ἐκφαντικός. Θεός γάρ ὑπάρχων τέλειος, καί ἄνθρωπος τέλειος ὁ αὐτός, καθ᾿ ἑκάτερον ὧν ὑπῆρχεν ὑπόστασις, φυσικῶς ἐνήργει μή διαιρούμενος. Εἰ δέ καθ᾿ ἑκάτερον ὧν ὑπῆρχεν ὑπόστασις φυσικῶς ἐνήργει μή διαιρούμενος, δῆλον ὅτι μετά τῶν φύσεων, ὧν ὑπόστασις ἦν, καί τάς οὐσιώδεις αὐτῶν καί συστατικάς ἐνεργείας εἶχεν, ὧν αὐτός ἕνωσις ἦν· ἑαυτῷ προσφυῶς ἐνεργῶν, καί οἷς ἐνήργει πιστούμενος, τήν τῶν ἐξ ὧν, ἐν οἷς τε καί ἅπερ ὑπῆρχεν, ἀλήθειαν.

Εἷς οὖν ἐκ δύο φύσεων ὁ Χριστός· θεότητός τε καί ἀνθρωπότητος· μονογενής Λόγος καί Υἰός καί Κύριος τῆς δόξης· ἐν αἷς γνωρίζεται, καί αἷς ἀληθῶς ὑπάρχων πιστεύεται· δύο τε φυσικάς καί γενικάς, καί τῶν ἐξ ὧν ἦν συστατικάς κινήσεις, ἤγουν ἐνεργείας ἔχων, ὧν ἀποτελέσματα τά κατά μέρος ἦν ἐνεργήματα· ἐξ αὐτοῦ τε προβαλλόμενα, καί ὑπ᾿ αὐτοῦ τελειούμενα, χωρίς τομῆς τῶν ἐξ ὧν ὑπῆρχε, καί τῆς οἰασοῦν δίχα συγχύσεως. Οὐ γάρ ὑπομένει τομήν ἤ σύγχυσιν, ὁ μηδέποτε τροπαῖς ὑποκείμενος, καί πᾶσι τοῖς οὖσι τήν τε τοῦ εἶναι, καί πῶς εἶναι διαμονήν τε καί σύστασιν παρεχόμενος.

(37) Ταῦτα τῆς σῆς χάριν ἐπιτόμως, ἡγιασμένε Πάτερ, εἰρήσθω κελεύσεως· ἵνα ἔχοις εἴπερ τι χρήσιμον φέροιεν, πῶς διακρούσασθαι τήν τῶν φιλολάλων ἀδολεσχίαν, ἄδειαν λαβοῦσαν τήν τῶν καιρῶν δυσκολίαν. Καί μή παρίδῃς τόν σόν δοῦλον πενόμενον· ἀλλά θείῳ πλούτισον Πνεύματι, τῆς εὐπειθείας ἀντιδούς τάς εὐσθενεῖς σου δεήσεις· καί παρατιθέμενος Χριστῷ τῷ μεγάλῳ Θεῷ καί ποιητῇ τῶν ὅλων μή διαλείποις, τῷ παρά