563

OF THE SAME THALASSIUS

PETITION TO THE EMPEROR THEODOSIUS

To the most pious, and honored, and being honored by God and men, Christian emperors, Flavius Theodosius and Valentinian, a petition, or rather an appeal, from Basil, deacon and archimandrite, and Thalassius, reader and monk, and the other Christian monks.

1. The love of God for mankind, which has granted and grants to the human race a share in innumerable good things among men, is in all things and over all things. And in these gifts from God there is true knowledge, and hatred of knowledge falsely so called; so that we know the faith handed down from above and from the beginning by the apostles, and martyrs, and confessors, and holy bishops, with the cooperation also of the most pious emperors, to the catholic Church; first by Peter the apostle, the chief, who said, according to revelation and knowledge and confession and tradition to those after him, that *You are the Christ, the Son of the living God*; by James the apostle and archbishop, John the apostle and evangelist, and the other evangelists, martyrs, confessors, bishops, and all who have believed and do believe in the consubstantial Trinity; by Irenaeus, by Gregory the Great, bishop of Neocaesarea; by the holy synod of 180 bishops gathered in Antioch against Paul of Samosata, which deposed him for his impiety, because he did not confess Christ to be God by nature, and the Son of God the Father; by the great and holy synod of 318 bishops in Nicaea, which confirmed the definition of those in Antioch; by Basil and Gregory, brother bishops, Athanasius, bishop of Alexandria, Ephrem the Syrian, Gregory the bishop, Ammon the bishop, Vitalius the bishop, Amphilochius, Paul, Antiochus, Eustathius, Methodius, Optimus, Leporius, Ambrose of Milan; by the whole synod in Africa; by John, Severian, Atticus the bishop, Cyril, the bishop of Alexandria, who is now living, and who follows the law of our piety. No man, therefore, can enumerate all the faithful, those who have believed and do believe in Christ the Son of God, that He is truly true God. For not, because for our sake He became man, remaining what He was, God, as your Piety has also learned, shall we now also deny that He *was*. But we believe, and confess and preach, that He who before the ages is God the Word, being the only-begotten Son of God, through His great love for mankind towards us, became a perfect man, as one of us in all things without sin, remaining what He was, God, for the salvation of our race, born of the holy Virgin Mary, as He Himself knows.

2. On account of this true dogma, which is accurately preached in the most holy Church, and of the heretic Paul being justly cast out, there arose schisms of peoples, disorders of priests, disturbance of shepherds. Whence also now in the person of Nestorius, who has been entrusted with the episcopal throne; if one must call him a bishop; in the

563

EJUSDEM THALASSII

LIBELUS AD THEODOSIUM IMPERATOREM

Τοῖς εὐσεβεστάτοις, καί τιμηθεῖσι, καί τιμωμένοις παρά Θεῷ καί ἀνθρώποις, Χριστιανοῖς βασιλεῦσι, Φλαυΐοις Θεοδοσίῳ καί Οὐαλεντινιανῷ, δέησις, εἴτουν παράκλησις παρά Βασιλείου διακόνου καί ἀρχιμανδρίτου, καί Θαλασσίου ἀναγνώστου καί μονάζοντος, καί λοιπῶν Χριστιανῶν μοναχῶν.

Α´. Ἡ φιλανθρωπία τοῦ Θεοῦ, ἡ ἀναριθμήτων παρά ἀνθρώποις καλῶν μετουσίαν

δωρησαμένη τε καί δωρουμένη τῷ γένει τῶν ἀνθρώπων, ἐν πᾶσι, καί ἐπί πᾶσίν ἐστιν.Ἐν τούτοις δέ τοῖς ἀπό τοῦ Θεοῦ δώροις ἔνεστιν ἡ ἀληθινή γνῶσις, καί τό μῖσος τῆς ψευδωνύμου γνώσεως· ὥστε εἰδέναι ἡμᾶς τήν ἄνωθεν καί ἐξ ἀρχῆς ὑπό τῶν ἀποστόλων, καί μαρτύρων, καί ὁμολογητῶν, καί ἐπισκόπων ἁγίων, συνεργούντων καί τῶν εὐσεβεστάτων βασιλέων, παραδοθεῖσαν τῇ καθολικῇ Ἐκκλησίᾳ πίστιν· πρῶτον ὑπό Πέτρου τοῦ ἀποστόλου, τοῦ πρωτοστάτου, εἰπόντος, κατά ἀποκάλυψιν καί γνῶσιν καί ὁμολογίαν καί παράδοσιν τοῖς μετά ταῦτα, ὅτι Σύ εἶ ὁ Χριστός, ὁ υἱός τοῦ Θεοῦ τοῦ ζῶντος· Ἰακώβου ἀποστόλου καί ἀρχιεπισκόπου, Ἰωάννου ἀποστόλου καί εὐαγγελιστοῦ, καί λοιπῶν εὐαγγελιστῶν, μαρτύρων, ὁμολογητῶν, ἐπισκόπων, καί πάντων τῶν πιστευσάντων καί πιστευόντων τῇ ὁμοουσίῳ Τριάδι· Εἰρηναίου, Γρηγορίου τοῦ μεγάλου ἐπισκόπου Νεοκαισαρείας· τῆς ἁγίας συνόδου τῶν ρπ´ ἐπισκόπων, ἐν Ἀντιοχείᾳ συναθροισθείσης κατά Παύλου τοῦ Σαμοτέως, ἥτις καθεῖλεν αὐτόν διά τήν ἀσέβειαν αὐτοῦ, διά τό μή ὁμολογεῖν τόν Χριστόν φύσει Θεόν, καί Υἱόν Θεοῦ Πατρός· τῆς ἐν Νικαίᾳ μεγάλης καί ἁγίας συνόδου τῶν τιη´ ἐπισκόπων, τῆς βεβαιωσάσης τόν ὅρον τῶν ἐν Ἀντιοχείᾳ· Βασιλείου καί Γρηγορίου ἀδελφῶν ἐπισκόπων, Ἀθανασίου ἐπισκόπου Ἀλεξανδρείας, Ἐφραίμ τοῦ Σύρου, Γρηγορίου ἐπισκόπου,Ἄμμωνος ἐπισκόπου, Οὐϊταλίου ἐπισκόπου, Ἀμφιλοχίου, Παύλου, Ἀντιόχου, Ἐυσταθίου, Μεθοδίου, Ὀπτίμου, Λεπορίου, Ἀμβοσίου Μεδιολάνων· ὅλης τῆς ἐν τῇ Ἀφρικῇ συνόδου· Ἰωάννου, Σευηριανοῦ, Ἀττικοῦ ἐπισκόπου, Κυρίλλου, τοῦ ἐπισκόπου Ἀλεξανδρείας, τοῦ νῦν ζῶντος, καί τῷ νόμῳ τῆς ἡμετέρας εὐσεβείας ἐξακολοθοῦντος. Οὐδείς μέν οὖν ἀνθρώπων δύναται πάντας τούς πιστούς ἐξαριθμήσασθαι, τούς πιστεύσαντας καί πιστεύοντας εἰς Χριστόν τόν Υἱόν τοῦ Θεοῦ, ὅτι ὄντως ἀληθινός Θεός ἐστιν. Οὐ γάρ, ἐπειδή δι' ἡμᾶς ἐγένετο ἄνθρωπος, μείνας ὅ ἦν Θεός, ὡς καί ἡ ὑμετέρα εὐσέβεια διέμαθεν, ἥδη καί τό, ἦν, ἀρνησόμεθα. Ἀλλά ἡμεῖς πιστεύομεν, καί ὁμολογοῦμεν καί κηρύττομεν, ὅτι ὁ πρό τῶν αἰώνων Θεός Λόγος, ὁ μονογενής Υἱός τοῦ Θεοῦ ὑπάρχων, διά τήν πολλήν αὐτοῦ φιλανθρωπίαν τήν πρός ἡμᾶς οὖσαν, γέγονεν ἄνθρωπος τέλειος, ὡς εἷς ἐξ ἡμῶν κατά πάντα χωρίς ἁμαρτίας, μείνας ὅ ἦν, Θεός, διά τήν τοῦ γένους ἡμῶν σωτηρίαν γεννηθείς ἐκ τῆς ἁγίας Παρθένου Μαρίς, ὡς αὐτός οἶδε.

Β´. Τούτου ἕνεκα τοῦ ἀληθοῦς δόγματος, τοῦ ἐν τῇ ἁγιωτάτῃ Ἐκκλησίᾳ ἀκριβῶς κηρυττομένου, καί τοῦ αἱρετικοῦ Παύλου δικαίως ἐξωσθέντος, ἐγένοντο σχίσματα λαῶν, ἀκαταστασίαι ἱερέων, ταραχή ποιμένων. Ὅθεν καί νῦν κατά πρόσωπον τοῦ ἐγχειρισθέντος τόν τῆς ἐπισκοπῆς θρόνον Νεστορίου· εἰ δεῖ εἰπεῖν ἐπίσκοπον· ἐν τῷ