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a cause might arise against the one who set it forth, for those who try improperly to exploit everything according to their own opinion.

BY THE SAME

From the letter written in Rome. For these are the ends of the inhabited world, and those who sincerely and orthodoxly

confess throughout the earth, as if to a sun of eternal light look intently to the most holy Church of the Romans and its confession and faith, receiving from it the flashing radiance of the patristic and holy dogmas, just as the six holy councils, inspired by God and divinely speaking, set them forth sincerely and with all piety, most manifestly affirming the symbol of the faith. For from the beginning of the descent to us of the incarnate God (140) the Word, all the Churches of the Christians everywhere have possessed and hold the greatest Church there as their only rampart and foundation; since, according to the very promise of the Savior, it is in no way overcome by the gates of Hades; but has the keys of the orthodox faith in Him and confession; and opening to those who approach piously the piety that is truly by nature and alone; but closing and stopping every heretical mouth that speaks injustice against the Most High. For what the very Creator and Master of all, our Lord Jesus Christ, and His disciples and apostles, and the succeeding holy Fathers and teachers and martyrs, having consecrated with their own works and words, with struggles and sweats, and with labors and blood, and finally with extraordinary deaths, for the Catholic and Apostolic Church of us who believe in Him, founded and built, through two words, without labor and without death (toil), O the long-suffering and forbearance of God! they are eager to destroy, and to annul the great and all-luminous and all-praised mystery of the orthodox religion of the Christians.

OF SAINT MAXIMUS

Concerning the two natures of Christ. 1. Arius confesses the three hypostases; but he denies the Monad; and he does not

say the holy Trinity is consubstantial. But Sabellius confesses the Monad; but he denies the Trinity; for he says the same one is Father and Son and Holy Spirit; but the Church of God both confesses the Monad and proclaims the Trinity. Macedonius holds similar views to Arius; for he supposes the Holy Spirit is a creature; but the Church proclaims the Holy Spirit consubstantial with the Father and the Son, and affirms it to be God. Likewise also concerning the one of the holy Trinity, Nestorius speaks of the natural difference; but does not confess the union, for he does not say that this came to be according to hypostasis. But Eutyches confesses the union; but denies the difference in essence, and introduces a confusion of the natures. But the Church holds to both the union according to hypostasis, on account of the indivisibility, and the difference in essence, on account of the lack of confusion.

2. How does the ultimate union have both identity and otherness? Or identity of essences and otherness of persons, and the reverse. For example, in the case of the holy Trinity, there is identity

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αἰτία γένηται κατά τοῦ ἐκθεμένου, τοῖς πάντα κατά τό δοκοῦν μεταλλεύειν οὐ καλῶς πειρωμένοις.

ΤΟΥ ΑΥΤΟΥ

Ἐκ τῆς ἐπιστολῆς τῆς ἐνῬώμῃ γραφείσης. Ταῦτα γάρ τά πέρατα τῆς οἰκουμένης, καί οἱ τόν Κύριον εἰλικρινῶς καί ὀρθοδόξως

πανταχοῦ γῆς ὀμολογοῦντες, ὥσπερ εἰς ἥλιον φωτός ἀϊδίου εἰς τήνῬωμαίων ἁγιωτάτην Ἐκκλησίαν καί τήν αὐτῆς ὁμολογίαν καί πίστιν, ἰθυτενῶς ἀποβλέπουσιν, ἐξ αὐτῆς τήν ἀπαστράπτουσαν αἴγλην προσδεχόμενοι, τῶν πατρικῶν καί ἁγίων δογμάτων, καθώς αἱ θεόληπτοι καί θεσπέσιοι εἰλικρινῶς καί πανευσεβῶς ἐξέθεντο ἅγιαι ἕξ σύνοδοι, ἐκφαντερικώτατα φάσκοντες τό σύμβολον τῆς πίστεως. Ἀπαρχῆς γάρ τῆς πρός ἡμᾶς καταβάσεως τοῦ σαρκωθέντος Θεοῦ (140) Λόγου, μόνην κρηπῖδα καί θεμέλιον αἱ πᾶσαι πανταχοῦ τῶν Χριστιανῶν Ἐκκλησίαι, τήν αὐτόθι μεγίστην ἐκτήσαντό τε καί ἔχουσιν· ὡς οὐδαμῶς μέν κατισχυομένην κατά τήν αὐτήν τοῦ Σωτῆρος ἐπαγγελίαν, ὑπό ᾅδου πυλῶν· ἀλλ᾿ ἔχουσαν τάς κλεῖς τῆς εἰς αὐτόν ὀρθοδόξου πίστεως καί ὁμολογίας· καί τοῖς εὐσεβῶς προσερχομένοις ἀνοίγουσαν τήν ὄντως φύσει καί μόνην εὐσέβειαν· ἀποκλείουσαν δέ καί ἐμφράττουσαν πᾶν αἱρετικόν στόμα, λαλοῦν ἀδικίαν εἰς τό ὕψος. Καί γάρ ἅπερ αὐτός ὁ τῶν ὅλων δημιουργός καί ∆εσπότης Κύριος ἡμῶν Ἰησοῦς Χριστός, οἵ τε τούτου μαθηταί καί ἀπόστολοι, καί οἱ καθεξῆς ἅγιοι Πατέρες τε καί διδάσκαλοι καί μάρτυρες, ἱερουργηθέντες οἰκείοις ἔργοις τε καί λόγοις, ἀγῶσί τε καί ἱδρῶσι, καί πόνοις καί αἵμασι, καί τελευταῖον ἐξαισίοις θανάτοις διά τήν ἡμῶν τῶν εἰς αὐτόν πιστευόντων καθολικήν καί ἀποστολικήν Ἐκκλησίαν ἐθεμελίωσαν καί ᾠκοδόμησαν, διά δύο ῥημάτων ἀπονητί καί δίχα θανάτου (καμάτου), ὤ τῆς τοῦ Θεοῦ μακροθυμίας καί ἀνοχῆς! καταλῦσαι σπουδάζουσι, καί ἀκυρῶσαι τό μέγα καί πάμφωταν καί πανύμνητον τῆς Χριστιανῶν ὀρθοδόξου θρησκείας μυστήριον.

ΤΟΥ ΑΓΙΟΤ ΜΑΞΙΜΟΥ

Περί τῶν δύο τοῦ Χριστοῦ φύσεων. α´. Ὁ Ἄρειος τάς τρεῖς ὑποστάσεις ὁμολογεῖ· ἀλλά τήν Μονάδα ἀρνεῖται· καί οὐ

λέγει ὁμοούσιον τήν ἁγίαν Τριάδα. Ὁ δέ Σαβέλλιος, τήν Μονάδα ὁμολογεῖ· ἀλλά τήν Τριάδα ἀρνεῖται· τόν γάρ αὐτόν λέγει Πατέρα καί Υἱόν καί ἅγιον Πνεῦμα· ἡ δέ Ἐκκλησία τοῦ Θεοῦ, καί τήν Μονάδα ὁμολογεῖ, καί τήν Τριάδα κηρύττει. Ὁ Μακεδόνιος ὅμοια τῷ Ἀρείῳ πρεσβεύει· τό γάρ ἅγιον Πνεῦμα, κτίσμα ὑποτίθησιν· ἡ δέ Ἐκκλησία, ὁμοούσιον τῷ Πατρί καί τῷ Υἱῷ τό Πνεῦμα τό ἅγιον ἀνακηρύττει, καί Θεόν πῶς διαβεβαιοῖ. Ὁμοίως καί ἐπί τοῦ ἑνός τῆς ἁγίας Τριάδος, Νεστόριος τήν φυσικήν διαφοράν λέγει· ἀλλά τήν ἕνωσιν οὐχ ὁμολογεῖ, οὐ γάρ λέγει ταύτην καθ᾿ ὑπόστασιν γεγονέναι. Ὁ δέ Εὐτυχής, τήν μέν ἕνωσιν ὁμολογεῖ· τήν δέ κατ᾿ οὐσίαν διαφοράν ἀρνεῖται, καί σύγχυσιν τῶν φύσεων εἰσάγει. Ἡ δέ Ἐκκλησία, καί τήν καθ᾿ ὑπόστασιν ἕνωσιν διά τό ἀδιαίρετον, καί τήν κατ᾿ οὐσίαν διαφοράν διά τό ἀσύγχυτον πρεσβεύει.

β´. Πῶς ἡ ἄκρα ἕνωσις καί ταυτότητα ἔχει, καί ἑτερότητα; Ἤ ταυτότητα οὐσιῶν καί ἑτερότητα προσώπων, καί τό ἔμπαλιν. Οἷον ἐπί τῆς ἁγίας Τριάδος, ταυτότης μέν ἐστιν