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they have added. For the union of the Son with the Father is timeless and without interval. And the preceding words also show that this is the mind of these men. For having said that the Son was begotten, Light from Light, and from the substance of the Father, and not made, they added to this the `homoousion`, showing that whatever account of light one might assign to the Father, this will also apply to the Son. For true light to true light, according to the very concept of light, will have no variation. Since, therefore, the Father is unoriginate light, and the Son is begotten light, and each is light and light, they rightly said `homoousion`, in order to show the equality of nature. For things that are brothers are not said to be `homoousios` with one another, as some have supposed, but when both the cause and that which has its existence from the cause are of the same nature, they are said to be `homoousios`. 52.3 But this term also corrects the evil of Sabellius; for it does away with the identity of the hypostasis and introduces the perfect concept of the persons; for something is not `homoousios` with itself, but one thing with another; so that it is well and piously stated, both defining the particularity of the hypostases and showing the unchangeableness of the nature. But when we are taught that the Son is from the substance of the Father and begotten, but not made, let us not descend to the bodily conceptions of passions. For the substance was not divided from the Father into the Son, nor did it beget by flowing, nor by projection, as plants their fruits, but the manner of the divine generation is ineffable and inconceivable to human reasonings. For it is truly of a base and carnal mind to liken the eternal things to corruptible and temporal ones and to think that, as are corporeal things, so too God begets in a similar way, when it is necessary to take starting points for piety from their opposites, that, since mortal things are so, the Immortal is not so. Therefore, one must neither deny the divine generation, nor pollute one's own mind with bodily conceptions. 52.4 But the Holy Spirit is numbered with the Father and the Son, for which reason He is also above creation, and is ranked as we have been taught in the Gospel by the Lord who said: "Go and baptize in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit." But he who places Him before the Son or says He is older than the Father, this one opposes the ordinance of God and is alien to the sound faith, not keeping the manner of doxology which he received, but devising for himself a new terminology for the pleasure of men. For if He is superior to God, He is not from God. For it is written: "But the Spirit is from God." But if He is from God, how is He older than the one from whom He is? And what madness is it, when there is one unbegotten, to say something else is superior to the unbegotten? But neither is He before the Only-begotten; for there is nothing between the Son and the Father. But if He is not from God, but is through Christ, He does not exist at all. Therefore, innovation concerning the order involves a rejection of His very existence and is a denial of the whole faith. Therefore, it is equally impious both to rank Him with creation and to place Him above the Son or the Father, either in time or in order. These, then, are the things which I heard are being investigated by your piety; but if the Lord grants that we may also come together with one another, perhaps we might say something more about these things, and we ourselves might find from you some full assurance concerning the things we are investigating.

53. To the Chorepiscopi

53.1 The absurdity of the matter about which I write, because it was suspected at all and

spoken of, filled my soul with pain, but for the time being it seemed incredible to me. Therefore, the letter concerning it, let him who is conscious of it in himself receive it as a remedy, and he who is not conscious of it as a preventative, and he who is indifferent, which I pray may not be found among you, as

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προσειρήκασιν. Ἄχρονος γὰρ καὶ ἀδιάστατος ἡ τοῦ Υἱοῦ πρὸς τὸν Πατέρα συνάφεια. ∆ηλοῖ δὲ καὶ τὰ προλαβόντα ῥήματα ταύτην εἶναι τῶν ἀνδρῶν τὴν διάνοιαν. Εἰπόντες γὰρ Φῶς ἐκ Φωτὸς καὶ ἐκ τῆς οὐσίας τοῦ Πατρὸς τὸν Υἱὸν γεγενῆσθαι, οὐχὶ δὲ πεποιῆσθαι, ἐπήγαγον τούτοις τὸ ὁμοούσιον, παραδει κνύντες ὅτι ὅνπερ ἄν τις ἀποδῷ φωτὸς λόγον ἐπὶ Πατρός, οὗτος ἁρμόσει καὶ ἐπὶ Υἱοῦ. Φῶς γὰρ ἀληθινὸν πρὸς φῶς ἀληθινόν, κατ' αὐτὴν τοῦ φωτὸς τὴν ἔννοιαν, οὐδεμίαν ἕξει παραλλαγήν. Ἐπεὶ οὖν ἐστιν ἄναρχον φῶς ὁ Πατήρ, γεννητὸν δὲ φῶς ὁ Υἱός, φῶς δὲ καὶ φῶς ἑκάτερος, ὁμοούσιον εἶπαν δικαίως, ἵνα τὸ τῆς φύσεως ὁμότιμον παραστήσωσιν. Οὐ γὰρ τὰ ἀδελφὰ ἀλλήλοις ὁμοούσια λέγεται, ὅπερ τινὲς ὑπειλήφασιν, ἀλλ' ὅταν καὶ τὸ αἴτιον καὶ τὸ ἐκ τοῦ αἰτίου τὴν ὕπαρξιν ἔχον τῆς αὐτῆς ὑπάρχῃ φύσεως, ὁμοούσια λέγεται. 52.3 Αὕτη δὲ ἡ φωνὴ καὶ τὸ τοῦ Σαβελλίου κακὸν ἐπανορθοῦ ται· ἀναιρεῖ γὰρ τὴν ταυτότητα τῆς ὑποστάσεως καὶ εἰσάγει τελείαν τῶν προσώπων τὴν ἔννοιαν· οὐ γὰρ αὐτὸ τί ἐστιν ἑαυτῷ ὁμοούσιον, ἀλλ' ἕτερον ἑτέρῳ· ὥστε καλῶς ἔχει καὶ εὐσεβῶς, τῶν τε ὑποστάσεων τὴν ἰδιότητα διο ρίζουσα καὶ τῆς φύσεως τὸ ἀπαράλλακτον παριστῶσα. Ὅταν δὲ ἐκ τῆς οὐσίας τοῦ Πατρὸς τὸν Υἱὸν εἶναι διδα σκώμεθα καὶ γεννηθέντα, ἀλλ' οὐχὶ ποιηθέντα, μὴ κατα πίπτωμεν ἐπὶ τὰς σωματικὰς τῶν παθῶν ἐννοίας. Οὐ γὰρ ἐμερίσθη ἡ οὐσία ἀπὸ Πατρὸς εἰς Υἱόν, οὐδὲ ῥυεῖσα ἐγέννησεν, οὐδὲ προβαλοῦσα, ὡς τὰ φυτὰ τοὺς καρπούς, ἀλλ' ἄρρητος καὶ ἀνεπινόητος λογισμοῖς ἀνθρώπων τῆς θείας γεννήσεως ὁ τρόπος. Ταπεινῆς γὰρ τῷ ὄντι καὶ σαρκίνης ἐστὶ διανοίας τοῖς φθαρτοῖς καὶ προσκαίροις ἀφομοιοῦν τὰ ἀΐδια καὶ οἴεσθαι ὅτι, ὡς τὰ σωματικά, οὕτω γεννᾷ καὶ ὁ Θεὸς ὁμοίως, δέον ἐκ τῶν ἐναντίων λαμβάνειν τὰς ἀφορμὰς πρὸς τὴν εὐσέβειαν, ὅτι, ἐπειδὴ τὰ θνητὰ οὕτως, ὁ Ἀθάνατος οὐχ οὕτως. Οὔτε οὖν ἀρνεῖσθαι δεῖ τὴν θείαν γέννησιν, οὔτε σωματικαῖς ἐννοίαις καταρρυ ποῦν ἑαυτοῦ τὴν διάνοιαν. 52.4 Τὸ δὲ Πνεῦμα τὸ Ἅγιον Πατρὶ μὲν καὶ Υἱῷ συναριθμεῖ ται, διὸ καὶ ὑπὲρ τὴν κτίσιν ἐστί, τέτακται δὲ ὡς ἐν Εὐαγγελίῳ δεδιδάγμεθα παρὰ τοῦ Κυρίου εἰπόντος· «Πο ρευθέντες βαπτίζετε εἰς τὸ ὄνομα τοῦ Πατρὸς καὶ τοῦ Υἱοῦ καὶ τοῦ Ἁγίου Πνεύματος.» Ὁ δὲ προτιθεὶς Υἱοῦ ἢπρεσβύτερον λέγων Πατρός, οὗτος ἀνθίσταται μὲν τῇ τοῦ Θεοῦ διαταγῇ, ἀλλότριος δὲ τῆς ὑγιαινούσης πίστεως, μὴ ὃν παρέλαβε τρόπον δοξολογίας φυλάττων, ἀλλ' ἑαυτῷ καινοφωνίαν εἰς ἀρέσκειαν ἀνθρώπων ἐπινοῶν. Εἰ γὰρ ἀνώτερον Θεοῦ, οὐκ ἐκ τοῦ Θεοῦ. Γέγραπται γάρ· «Τὸ δὲ Πνεῦμα ἐκ τοῦ Θεοῦ.» Εἰ δὲ ἐκ τοῦ Θεοῦ, πῶς πρεσβύ τερόν ἐστι τοῦ ἐξ οὗ ἐστι; Τίς δὲ καὶ ἡ παράνοια, ἑνὸς ὄντος τοῦ ἀγεννήτου, ἄλλο τι λέγειν τοῦ ἀγεννήτου ἀνώ τερον; Ἀλλ' οὐδὲ τοῦ Μονογενοῦς πρότερον· οὐδὲν γὰρ μέσον Υἱοῦ καὶ Πατρός. Εἰ δὲ μή ἐστιν ἐκ Θεοῦ, διὰ Χριστοῦ δέ ἐστιν, οὐδέ ἐστι τὸ παράπαν. Ὥστε ἡ περὶ τὴν τάξιν καινοτομία αὐτῆς τῆς ὑπάρξεως ἀθέτησιν ἔχει καὶ ὅλης τῆς πίστεώς ἐστιν ἄρνησις. Ὁμοίως οὖν ἐστιν ἀσεβὲς καὶ ἐπὶ τὴν κτίσιν καταγαγεῖν καὶ ὑπερτιθέναι αὐτὸ Υἱοῦ ἢ Πατρός, ἢ κατὰ τὸν χρόνον, ἢ κατὰ τὴν τάξιν. Ἃ μὲν οὖν ἤκουσα ἐπιζητεῖσθαι παρὰ τῆς εὐλα βείας ὑμῶν, ταῦτά ἐστιν· ἐὰν δὲ δῷ ὁ Κύριος καὶ εἰς ταὐτὸν ἡμᾶς ἀλλήλοις γενέσθαι, τάχα ἄν τι καὶ περὶ τούτων πλέον εἴποιμεν καὶ αὐτοὶ δ' ἂν περὶ ὧν ἐπιζητοῦ μεν εὕροιμέν τινα παρ' ὑμῶν πληροφορίαν.

53.τ ΧΩΡΕΠΙΣΚΟΠΟΙΣ

53.1 Τὸ τοῦ πράγματος ἄτοπον περὶ οὗ γράφω, διότι μὲν ὅλως ὑπωπτεύθη καὶ

ἐλαλήθη, ὀδύνης ἐπλήρωσέ μου τὴν ψυχήν, τέως δὲ ἐφάνη μοι ἄπιστον. Τὸ οὖν περὶ αὐτοῦ γράμμα, ὁ μὲν συνεγνωκὼς ἑαυτῷ δεξάσθω ὡς ἴαμα, ὁ δὲ μὴ συνεγνωκὼς ὡς προφυλακτήριον, ὁ δὲ ἀδιάφορος, ὅπερ ἀπεύχομαι ἐφ' ὑμῖν εὑρεθῆναι, ὡς