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79

of faith; the one who for this reason became man, in order that he might gather the nature of men to himself, and stop it from being badly disposed towards itself, or rather, from rebelling against itself and being divided, and having no stability, on account of the unstable movement of each person's will. Therefore, most honored, all of us giving thanks to God for you, make unceasing prayers, even if we happen to be sinners, to keep you unshaken and 0581 unmoved for all time in the saving confession of the faith; believing that the Son and Word of God the Father, from men, for men, according to men, without sin, truly became man, was not changed from being God even when he became man; nor indeed was he diminished from being truly man, having remained what he was, and is, and always will be, God by nature; but (15Β_336> being God in essence and nature for his own sake, unchangeably, according to the economy, for our sake he truly became man, that is, by the assumption of flesh having an intellectual and rational soul. Therefore also the same one is by nature and truly God, as he is unremittingly the same one, both this and that, in truth; since, indeed, in the mystery of his incarnation, that is, his perfect becoming man, for the hypostatic union of the natures brought together, neither in any way denied itself on account of the union, but preserved its own essential definition and boundary, that is, its natural property, unconfused and unchanged with respect to the other after the union. For the union does not destroy the difference of those things brought together into one hypostasis; but it completely rejects their division into parts.

Since, therefore, the things from which Christ is are preserved undiminished in Christ by nature even after the union; how is it not just to confess the things from which Christ is, even after the union, according to some who do not see how precarious and dangerous it is, and having loss for every soul, to fight against what is manifest, and to deny the truth that is clearly present; and that this is characteristic only of those who do not expect a resurrection and judgment at all. Since to whom is the word of truth not manifest and evident, as being simple and plain, and having nothing at all puzzling? For if Christ is God and man in reality and in truth after the union, and not only by title and appellation would be said to be God and man; it is clear that the one who says and thinks that Christ is both God and man together after the union, has truly confessed with the names the natures of which they are the names; unless he thinks that the appellations applied to Christ are bare, and completely devoid of realities. What then has the holy catholic Church of God done that is out of place, if it says that the things from which Christ is are preserved in Christ according to an indivisible union, by nature, unconfusedly and indivisibly, even after the union? (15Β_338> And what has it thought that is foreign to the teaching of the holy Fathers, if neither that the divine nature of the Word has been changed into the nature of the flesh; nor that the nature of the flesh itself has passed over into the nature of the Word, it holds on account of the union, teaching the faithful to think and say after the union? And what does it not rather confirm of the patristic tradition by teaching to think thus, and confessing one Lord and one Christ, and one and the same Son, and one incarnate nature of God the 0584 Word having become incarnate, with flesh having a rational and intellectual soul, taking the phrase according to the interpretation of our holy and blessed Father Cyril; understanding that through the saying 'having become incarnate,' the signification of the essence that is ours is introduced, and not denying the nature of the flesh of the Word on account of the union? For the things preserved by nature unconfusedly and unchangeably and indivisibly according to an inseparable union in Christ even after the union without any diminution whatsoever, it is altogether most fitting and most just to be confessed also after the

79

πίστεως· τόν διά τοῦτο γενόμενον ἄνθρωπον, ἵνα τήν φύσιν τῶν ἀνθρώπων πρός ἑαυτόν συναγάγῃ, καί στήσῃ τοῦ φέρεσθαι κακῶς πρός ἑαυτήν, μᾶλλον δέ καθ᾿ ἑαυτῆς στασιάζουσάν τε καί μεμερισμένην, καί μηδεμίαν ἔχουσαν στάσιν, διά τήν περί ἕκαστον τῆς γνώμης ἀστάθμητον κίνησιν. ∆ιό πάντες εὐχαριστοῦντες ἐφ᾿ ὑμῖν τῷ Θεῷ, τιμιώτατοι, δεήσεις ἀπαύστως ποιούμεθα, κἄν ἁμαρτωλοί τυγχάνωμεν, συντηρῆσαι ὑμᾶς ἀκλονήτως τε 0581 καί ἀσείστως εἰς τόν ἅπαντα χρόνον τήν σωτήριον τῆς πίστεως ὁμολογίαν· πιστεύοντας ὅτιπερ ὁ τοῦ Θεοῦ καί Πατρός Υἱός καί Λόγος ἐξ ἀνθρώπων, ὑπέρ ἀνθρώπων, κατά ἀνθρώπους χωρίς ἁμαρτίας ἀληθῶς γενόμενος ἄνθρωπος, οὐκ ἐτράπη τοῦ Θεός εἶναι καί γενόμενος ἄνθρωπος· οὔτε μήν τοῦ ἄνθρωπος ἀληθῶς εἶναι μεμείωται, μεμενηκώς ὅπερ ἦν, καί ἔστι, καί ἀεί ἔσται κατά φύσιν Θεός· ἀλλά (15Β_336> Θεός ὑπάρχων κατ᾿ οὐσίαν καί φύσιν δι᾿ ἑαυτόν, ἀτρέπτως κατ᾿ οἰκονομίαν δι᾿ ἡμᾶς ἀληθῶς γέγονεν ἄνθρωπος, κατά πρόσληψιν δηλονότι σαρκός, νοεράν τε καί λογικήν ἐχούσης ψυχήν. ∆ιό καί Θεός φύσει καί ἀληθῶς ὁ αὐτός ὡς τοῦτο κἀκεῖνο κατ᾿ ἀλήθειαν ἀνελλιπῶς ὁ αὐτός ὑπάρχων· ἅτε δή τινος τῶν ἐπί τῷ μυστηρίῳ τῆς αὐτοῦ σαρκώσεως, ἤγουν τελείας ἐνανθρωπήσεως πρός ἕνωσιν τήν καθ᾿ ὑπόστασιν συνενηνεγμένων φύσεων, μηδαμῶς ἑαυτήν ἠρνημένης διά τήν ἕνωσιν, ἀλλά φυλαττούσης τόν ἑαυτῆς οὐσιώδη λόγον τε καί ὅρον, ἤτοι τήν φυσικήν ἰδιότητα πρός τήν ἑτέραν ἀσύγχυτον καί ἀμετάβλητον μετά τήν ἕνωσιν. Οὔτε γάρ ἀναιρεῖ τήν διαφοράν τῶν εἰς μίαν ὑπόστασιν συνενηνεγμένων ἡ ἕνωσις· ἀλλά τήν εἰς ἀναμέρος αὐτῶν παντελῶς ἐξωθεῖται διαίρεσιν.

Σωζομένων οὖν ἀμειώτως ἐν Χριστῷ κατά φύσιν τῶν ἐξ ὧν ὁ Χριστός καί μετά τήν ἕνωσιν· πῶς οὐκ ἔστι δίκαιον ὁμολογεῖσθαι τά ἐξ ὧν ὁ Χριστός καί μετά τήν ἕνωσιν, κατά τινας μή συνορῶντας ὡς ἐπισφαλές ἐστι καί ἐπικίνδυνον, καί εἰς ψυχήν πᾶσαν ἔχον ζημίαν, τό πρός τά δῆλα μάχεσθαι, καί τήν οὖσαν ἀρνεῖσθαι προδήλως ἀλήθειαν· καί μόνων ἐκείνων ἴδιον εἶναι τῶν ἀνάστασιν καί κρίσιν τό παράπαν μή προσδοκώντων. ἐπεί τίνι καταφανής οὐκ ἔστι καί ἐπίδηλος ὁ τῆς ἀληθείας λόγος, ὡς ἁπλοῦς καί ἀπέριττος, καί μηδέν ἔχων γριφῶδες τό σύνολον; Εἰ γάρ Θεός καί ἄνθρωπός ἐστιν ὁ Χριστός πράγματι καί ἀληθείᾳ μετά τήν ἕνωσιν, καί οὐχί μόνον κλήσει καί προσηγορίᾳ Θεός λέγοιτο εἶναι καί ἄνθρωπος· δῆλον ἐστιν ὡς ὁ λέγων τε καί φρονῶν τόν Χριστόν Θεόν τε ὁμοῦ καί ἄνθρωπον μετά τήν ἕνωσιν, ἀληθῶς εἶναι συνομολόγησε τοῖς ὀνόμασι τάς φύσεις ὧν εἰσί τά ὀνόματα· εἴπερ μή ψιλάς ἐπί Χριστοῦ τάς προσηγορίας κεῖσθαι φρονεῖ, καί παντελῶς πραγμάτων ἐρήμους. Τί μέν οὖν ἁγία τοῦ Θεοῦ καθολική Ἐκκλησία τῶν ἀτόπων πέπραχεν, εἰ τά ἐξ ὧν ὁ Χριστός ἐν Χριστῷ καθ᾿ ἕνωσιν ἀδιάσπαστον σώζεσθαι λέγοι κατά φύσιν ἀσυγχύτως τε καί ἀδιαιρέτως καί μετά τήν ἕνωσιν; (15Β_338> Τί δέ τῆς τῶν ἁγίων Πατέρων διδασκαλίας ἀλλότριον πεφρόνηκεν, εἰ μήτε τήν θείαν τοῦ Λόγου φύσιν εἰς τήν τῆς σαρκός τετράφθαι φύσιν· μήτε τήν αὐτῆς τῆς σαρκός φύσιν εἰς τήν τοῦ Λόγου φύσιν μεταπεφοιτηκέναι δοξάζει διά τήν ἕνωσιν, φρονεῖν τε καί λέγειν διδάσκει τούς πιστούς μετά τήν ἕνωσιν; Τί δέ μᾶλλον οὐ βεβαιοῖ τῆς πατρικῆς παραδόσεως οὕτω φρονεῖν ἐκδιδάσκουσα, καί ἕνα Κύριον ὁμολογοῦσα καί ἕνα Χριστόν, καί ἕνα Υἱόν τόν αὐτόν, καί μίαν αὐτοῦ τοῦ σαρκωθέντος Θεοῦ 0584 Λόγου φύσιν σεσαρκωμένην, σαρκί ψυχήν ἐχούσῃ τήν λογικήν τε καί νοεράν, κατά τήν ἑρμηνείαν τοῦ ἁγίου καί μακαρίου Πατρός ἡμῶν Κυρίλλου τήν φωνήν ἐκλαμβάνουσα· διά τοῦ σεσαρκωμένην λέγειν, τῆς καθ᾿ ἡμᾶς οὐσίας εἰσκομίζεσθαι νοοῦσα τήν δήλωσιν, καί μή ἀρνουμένη τῆς σαρκός τοῦ Λόγου τήν φύσιν διά τήν ἕνωσιν; τά γάρ σωζόμενα κατά φύσιν ἀσυγχύτως τε καί ἀτρέπτως καί ἀδιαιρέτως καθ᾿ ἕνωσιν ἀδιάσπαστον ἐν Χριστῷ καί μετά τήν ἕνωσιν χωρίς τῆς οἱασοῦν μειώσεως, πάντως καί ὁμολογεῖσθαι πρεπωδέστατόν ἐστι καί δικαιότατον μετά τήν