500

God, one faith, one Lord, one gift, one church, one baptism. 12. For the Trinity is always the Trinity, as I have often said, and it never receives an addition, as it is sweet to confess and insatiably to say; for the prophet says, "Your words are sweet to my throat." And if the words are sweet, how much more so the holy name, the Trinity, the fount of all sweetness? The Trinity is thus numbered: Father and Son and Holy Spirit. But the Trinity is not a blending, not separated from its own monad, but in hypostasis of perfection, the Father is perfect, the Son is perfect, the Holy Spirit is perfect, Father and Son and Holy Spirit. But in reverse the Spirit is ranked in the gifts; "for there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit; and there are varieties of service, but the same Lord; and there are varieties of activities, but it is the same God who activates all of them in everyone." Since these things are so, let us make sure we do not fall from the truth, but let us confess the truth, not pleading on God's behalf, but thinking piously, so that we may not be destroyed. For it is impossible to say or to think that something in the Trinity is created or supervenient, but there was always Father and Son and Holy Spirit. The Son is neither co-brother with the Father nor a blending, and the Spirit is neither a blending nor a co-brother with the Father and the Son, nor is the Spirit a blending with the Father and the Son. But the Son is begotten from the Father and the Spirit proceeds from the Father, the Trinity being ineffably in identity of praise, and the Son incomprehensibly being with the Father, and the Holy Spirit likewise, and the Trinity of the same eternity never ceasing. Therefore, the Father is always unbegotten and uncreated and incomprehensible, but the Son is begotten, yet uncreated and incomprehensible, the Holy Spirit is always, not begotten, not created, not a co-brother, not a progenitor, not an offspring, but from the same substance of the Father and of the Son, the Holy Spirit; "for God is Spirit." 13. The testimonies for this our assured life are found in every scripture. But from the many I will set forth a few, as far as possible, so that I may not pass over the exposition concerning the Spirit without witness even in the present. For immediately the Father says concerning the Son's coming that "I will put my Spirit upon him, and he will proclaim justice to the Gentiles," so that his Holy Spirit might proclaim the genuine God to all the faithful for salvation. Then the only-begotten, adding to his own testimony, says, "The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me," so that his incarnate coming, assured by the Holy Spirit and proclaimed to the faithful, might be clearly confessed from the testimony of Christ, that the Spirit is not foreign to God. And again the Lord concerning the Spirit, that "it is the Spirit of my Father who speaks in you," and again, since the Spirit is not foreign to the divinity of God, "he breathed on the face of the disciples and said, 'Receive the Holy Spirit'," and again, that he might show his own equality and consubstantiality with his own and his Father's Holy Spirit, he says, "If you love me, you will keep my commandments. And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Counselor," as the Lord himself is a counselor and the Holy Spirit is likewise a co-counselor. And the apostles, showing that the Spirit is not a slave, but of the same divinity, indicating his authority, say, "And the Holy Spirit said, 'Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them'," and so forth. And the apostle clearly says concerning him, "Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom," and "You are the temple of God, and the Spirit of the Lord dwells in you." If, therefore, we are called the temple of God because of the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, who would dare to reject the Spirit and to alienate it from the substance of God, since the apostle clearly says that we become temples of God, because

500

θεός, μία πίστις, εἷς κύριος, ἓν χάρισμα, μία ἐκκλησία, ἓν βάπτισμα. 12. Ἀεὶ γὰρ ἡ τριὰς τριάς, ὡς πολλάκις ἔφην, καὶ οὐδέποτε προσθήκην λαμβάνει, ὡς γλυκίως ἔστιν ὁμολογεῖν καὶ ἀκορέστως λέγειν· «γλύκια» γάρ φησιν ὁ προφήτης «τῷ λάρυγγί μου τὰ λόγιά σου». καὶ εἰ τὰ λόγια γλύκια, πόσῳ γε μᾶλλον τὸ ὄνομα τὸ ἅγιον ἡ τριάς, ἡ πηγὴ πάσης γλυκύ3.330 τητος; τριὰς οὖν οὕτως ἀριθμουμένη· πατὴρ καὶ υἱὸς καὶ ἅγιον πνεῦμα. οὐ συναλοιφὴ δὲ ἡ τριάς, οὐ διεστῶσα τῆς ἑαυτῆς μονάδος, ἐν ὑποστάσει δὲ τελειότητος τέλειος ὁ πατήρ, τέλειος ὁ υἱός, τέλειον τὸ ἅγιον πνεῦμα, πατὴρ καὶ υἱὸς καὶ ἅγιον πνεῦμα. τὸ δὲ ἀνάπαλιν πνεῦμα ταττόμενον ἐν χαρίσμασι· «διαιρέσεις γὰρ χαρισμάτων εἰσί, τὸ δὲ αὐτὸ πνεῦμα, καὶ διαιρέσεις διακονιῶν εἰσιν, ὁ δὲ αὐτὸς κύριος, καὶ διαιρέσεις ἐνεργημάτων εἰσίν, ὁ δὲ αὐτὸς θεὸς ὁ ἐνεργῶν τὰ πάντα ἐν πᾶσι». Τούτων δὲ οὕτως ἐχόντων ἀσφαλισώμεθα μὴ ἐκπέσωμεν τῆς ἀληθείας, ἀλλ' ὁμολογήσωμεν τὴν ἀλήθειαν, οὐ συνηγοροῦντες ὑπὲρ θεοῦ, ἀλλ' εὐσεβῶς νοοῦντες, ἵνα μὴ ἀπολώμεθα. ἀνένδεκτον γὰρ κτιστόν τι ἐν τριάδι λέγειν ἢ διανοεῖσθαι ἢ ἐπιγένητον, ἀλλὰ ἦν ἀεὶ πατὴρ καὶ υἱὸς καὶ ἅγιον πνεῦμα. οὔτε συνάδελφος υἱὸς πατρὶ οὔτε συναλοιφή, καὶ τὸ πνεῦμα οὔτε συναλοιφὴ οὔτε συνάδελφον πατρὶ καὶ υἱῷ οὔτε συναλοιφὴ τὸ πνεῦμα πατρὶ καὶ υἱῷ. υἱὸς δὲ γεννητὸς ἐκ πατρὸς καὶ πνεῦμα προελθὸν ἐκ πατρός, ἀνεκδιηγήτως τῆς τριάδος οὔσης ἐν ταυτότητι δοξολογίας καὶ ἀκαταλήπτως υἱοῦ ὄντος σὺν πατρὶ καὶ πνεύματος ἁγίου ὡσαύτως, καὶ μηδέποτε διαλειπούσης τῆς τριάδος τῆς αὐτῆς ἀϊδιότητος. πατὴρ οὖν ἀεὶ ἀγέννητος καὶ ἄκτιστος καὶ ἀκατάληπτος, υἱὸς δὲ γεννητός, ἀλλ' ἄκτιστος καὶ ἀκατάληπτος, πνεῦμα ἅγιον ἀεί, οὐ γεννητόν, οὐ κτιστόν, οὐ συνάδελφον, οὐ προπάτορον, οὐκ ἔκγονον, ἀλλ' ἐκ τῆς αὐτῆς οὐσίας πατρὸς καὶ υἱοῦ πνεῦμα ἅγιον· «πνεῦμα γὰρ ὁ θεός». 13. Τῆς δὲ τοιαύτης ἠσφαλισμένης ἡμῶν ζωῆς αἱ μαρτυρίαι ἐν πάσῃ γραφῇ ἐμφέρονται. ἀπὸ δὲ τῶν πλειόνων ὀλίγα παραθήσομαι κατὰ τὸ δυνατόν, ἵνα μὴ ἀμάρτυρον περὶ πνεύματος καὶ ἐν τῷ παρόντι παρελεύσομαι τὴν ὑφήγησιν. εὐθὺς μὲν γὰρ ὁ πατήρ φησι περὶ τῆς τοῦ υἱοῦ παρουσίας ὅτι «θήσομαι τὸ πνεῦμά μου ἐπ' αὐτὸν καὶ κρίσιν τοῖς ἔθνεσιν ἀπαγγελεῖ», ἵνα γνήσιον κηρύξῃ θεὸν τὸ ἅγιον αὐτοῦ πνεῦμα, πᾶσι πιστοῖς εἰς σωτηρίαν. εἶτα δὲ ὁ μονογενὴς τῇ αὐτοῦ μαρτυρίᾳ προσθεὶς φάσκει «πνεῦμα κυρίου ἐπ' ἐμέ, οὗ εἵνεκεν ἔχρισέ με», ἵνα ἡ ἔνσαρκος αὐτοῦ παρουσία καὶ τῷ πνεύματι τῷ ἁγίῳ ἠσφαλισμένη καὶ πιστοῖς κηρυττομένη σαφῶς ὁμολογηθῇ ἀπὸ τῆς τοῦ Χριστοῦ μαρτυρίας, ὅτι 3.331 οὐκ ἀλλότριον τὸ πνεῦμά ἐστι τοῦ θεοῦ. πάλιν δὲ ὁ κύριος περὶ τοῦ πνεύματος, ὅτι «τὸ πνεῦμα τοῦ πατρός μού ἐστι τὸ λαλοῦν ἐν ὑμῖν», καὶ πάλιν ὡς οὐκ ἀλλοτρίου τοῦ πνεύματος τυγχάνοντος τῆς τοῦ θεοῦ θεότητος, «ἐνεφύσησεν εἰς τὸ πρόσωπον τῶν μαθητῶν, καὶ εἶπε· λάβετε πνεῦμα ἅγιον», καὶ πάλιν, ἵνα δείξῃ τὴν ἑαυτοῦ ἰσότητα καὶ ὁμοουσιότητα πρὸς τὸ πνεῦμα αὐτοῦ τε καὶ τοῦ πατρὸς αὐτοῦ τὸ ἅγιον, φησίν «ἐὰν ἀγαπᾶτέ με, τὰς ἐντολάς μου τηρήσετε. κἀγὼ ἐρωτήσω τὸν πατέρα, καὶ ἄλλον παράκλητον δώσει ὑμῖν», ὡς αὐτοῦ τοῦ κυρίου παρακλήτου ὄντος καὶ τοῦ πνεύματος τοῦ ἁγίου συμπαρακλήτου ὄντος ὁμοίως. οἱ δὲ ἀπόστολοι δεικνύοντες ὅτι οὐ δοῦλον τυγχάνει τὸ πνεῦμα, ἀλλὰ τῆς αὐτῆς θεότητος, τὴν αὐτοῦ αὐθεντίαν ὑποδεικνύντες φασὶ «καὶ εἶπε τὸ πνεῦμα τὸ ἅγιον· ἀφορίσατέ μοι Βαρνάβαν καὶ Σαῦλον εἰς τὸ ἔργον ὃ προσκέκλημαι αὐτούς», καὶ τὰ ἑξῆς. ὁ δὲ ἀπόστολος σαφῶς περὶ αὐτοῦ λέγει «ὁ δὲ κύριός ἐστι τὸ πνεῦμα, οὗ δὲ τὸ πνεῦμα κυρίου, ἐκεῖ ἐλευθερία», καὶ «ὑμεῖς ναὸς θεοῦ ἐστε, καὶ τὸ πνεῦμα κυρίου οἰκεῖ ἐν ὑμῖν». εἰ τοίνυν ναὸς θεοῦ καλούμεθα δι' ἐνοίκησιν ἁγίου πνεύματος, τίς τολμήσειε παραιτήσασθαι τὸ πνεῦμα καὶ ἀπαλλοτριῶσαι τῆς τοῦ θεοῦ οὐσίας, σαφῶς τοῦ ἀποστόλου λέγοντος ἡμᾶς ναοὺς θεοῦ γίνεσθαι, διὰ τὸ