1

Epistula ad Jovianum

OF OUR FATHER AMONG THE SAINTS ATHANASIUS, ARCHBISHOP OF ALEXANDRIA, TO JOVIAN, CONCERNING THE FAITH.

A disposition fond of learning and a desire for heavenly things is fitting for a God-loving emperor; for thus truly you will also have your heart in the hand of God. Since, then, your Piety has desired to learn from us the faith of the Catholic Church, having given thanks for this to the Lord, we resolved above all to remind your Piety of the faith confessed by the Fathers at Nicaea. For certain persons, having rejected this, have plotted against us in various ways, because we would not obey the Arian here 26.816 sy; and they have become the cause of heresy and schisms for the Catholic Church. For the true and pious faith in the Lord has been made manifest to all, being known and read from the divine Scriptures. For in this faith the saints too, having been perfected, bore witness, and now having departed are in the Lord; and the faith would have remained unharmed always, if the wickedness of certain heretics had not dared to corrupt it. For a certain Arius and those with him attempted to corrupt this faith, and to introduce impiety against it, saying that the Son of God is from non-existence and a creature and a thing made and changeable. And they deceived many with these words, so that even those who seemed to be something were carried away with their blasphemy; and yet our holy Fathers, having already come together, as we said before, at the synod of Nicaea, anathematized it; but they confessed the faith of the Catholic Church in writing, so that, this being preached everywhere, the heresy kindled by the heretics might be extinguished. This faith, therefore, was everywhere in every Church known and preached without guile; but since now, certain persons wishing to renew the Arian heresy have dared to reject this faith confessed by the Fathers at Nicaea, and pretend to confess it, but in truth deny it, misinterpreting the 'homoousion,' and they themselves blaspheming against the Holy Spirit, by saying that it is a creature, and a thing made through the Son; necessarily, seeing the harm done to the people by such blasphemy, we have been eager to present to your Piety the faith confessed at Nicaea, so that your Godliness may know what has been written with all accuracy, and how greatly they err who teach contrary to it. For know, most God-loving Augustus, that these things have been preached from eternity, and this faith the Fathers who assembled at Nicaea confessed, and in agreement with this are all the Churches in every place, those in Spain, and Britain, and the Gauls, and all of Italy, and Dalmatia, Dacia and Mysia, Macedonia, and all of Greece, and all of Afri 26.817 ca, and Sardinia, and Cyprus, and Crete, Pamphylia, and Lycia, and Isauria, and those in Egypt and the Libyas and Pontus and Cappadocia, and those near us, and the Churches in the east, except for a few who hold the opinions of Arius. For of all the aforementioned we know the mind by experience, and we have letters. And you know, most God-loving Augustus, that, even if a few speak against this faith, they cannot create a prejudice, since the whole inhabited world holds the apostolic faith. For they, having been harmed for a long time by the Arian heresy, now resist piety more contentiously. And so that your Piety might know, though you already know, nevertheless we have been eager the faith of Nicaea

1

Epistula ad Jovianum

ΤΟΥ ΕΝ ΑΓΙΟΙΣ ΠΑΤΡΟΣ ΗΜΩΝ ΑΘΑΝΑ ΣΙΟΥ ΑΡΧΙΕΠΙΣΚΟΠΟΥ ΑΛΕΞΑΝ∆ΡΕΙΑΣ ΠΡΟΣ ΙΩΒΙΑΝΟΝ ΠΕΡΙ ΠΙΣΤΕΩΣ.

Πρέπουσα θεοφιλεῖ βασιλεῖ φιλομαθὴς προαίρεσις καὶ πόθος τῶν οὐρανίων· οὕτω γὰρ ἀληθῶς καὶ τὴν καρδίαν ἕξις ἐν χειρὶ Θεοῦ. Θελησάσης τοίνυν τῆς σῆς εὐσεβείας μαθεῖν παρ' ἡμῶν τὴν τῆς καθολικῆς Ἐκκλησίας πίστιν, εὐχαριστήσαντες ἐπὶ τούτοις τῷ Κυρίῳ, ἐβουλευσάμεθα μᾶλλον πάντων τὴν παρὰ τῶν Πατέρων ἐν Νικαίᾳ ὁμολογηθεῖσαν πίστιν ὑπομνῆσαι τὴν σὴν εὐσέβειαν. Ταύτην γὰρ ἀθετήσαντές τινες, ἡμῖν μὲν ποικίλως ἐπεβούλευσαν, ὅτι μὴ ἐπειθόμεθα τῇ Ἀρειανῇ αἱρέ 26.816 σει· αἴτιοι δὲ γεγόνασιν αἱρέσεως καὶ σχισμάτων τῇ καθολικῇ Ἐκκλησίᾳ. Ἡ μὲν γὰρ ἀληθὴς καὶ εὐσεβὴς εἰς τὸν Κύριον πίστις φανερὰ πᾶσι καθέστηκεν, ἐκ τῶν θείων Γραφῶν γινωσκομένη τε καὶ ἀναγινωσκομένη. Ἐν ταύτῃ γὰρ καὶ οἱ ἅγιοι τελειωθέντες ἐμαρτύρησαν, καὶ νῦν ἀναλύσαντές εἰσιν ἐν Κυρίῳ· καὶ ἔμεινεν ἂν ἡ πίστις ἀβλαβὴς διὰ παντὸς, εἰ μὴ πονηρία τινῶν αἱρετικῶν παραποιῆσαι ταύτην ἐτόλμησεν. Ἄρειος γάρ τις καὶ οἱ σὺν αὐτῷ διαφθεῖραι ταύτην, καὶ ἀσέβειαν κατ' αὐτῆς ἐπεισαγαγεῖν ἐπεχείρησαν, φάσκοντες ἐξ οὐκ ὄντων καὶ κτίσμα καὶ ποίημα καὶ τρεπτὸν εἶναι τὸν Υἱὸν τοῦ Θεοῦ. Πολλοὺς δὲ τούτοις ἠπάτησαν τοῖς λόγοις, ὥστε καὶ τοὺς δοκοῦντας εἶναί τι συναπαχθῆναι αὐτῶν τῇ βλασφημίᾳ· καίτοι φθάσαντες μὲν οἱ ἅγιοι Πατέρες ἡμῶν συνελθόντες, ὡς προείπομεν, κατὰ τὴν ἐν Νικαίᾳ σύνοδον, ἀνεθεμάτισαν· τὴν δὲ τῆς καθολικῆς Ἐκκλησίας πίστιν ὡμολόγησαν ἐγγράφως, ὥστε, ταύτης πανταχοῦ κηρυττομένης, ἀποσβεσθῆναι τὴν ἀναφθεῖσαν αἵρεσιν παρὰ τῶν αἱρετικῶν. Ἦν μὲν οὖν αὕτη πανταχοῦ κατὰ πᾶσαν Ἐκκλησίαν ἀδόλως γινωσκομένη τε καὶ κηρυττομένη· ἀλλ' ἐπειδὴ νῦν, τὴν Ἀρειανὴν αἵρεσιν ἀνανεῶσαι βουλόμενοί τινες, ταύτην μὲν τὴν ἐν Νικαίᾳ παρὰ τῶν Πατέρων ὁμολογηθεῖσαν πίστιν ἐτόλμησαν ἀθετῆσαι, καὶ σχηματίζονται μὲν ὁμολογεῖν αὐτὴν, ταῖς δὲ ἀληθείαις ἀρνοῦνται, παρερμηνεύοντες τὸ ὁμοούσιον, καὶ αὐτοὶ βλασφημοῦντες εἰς τὸ Πνεῦμα τὸ ἅγιον, ἐν τῷ φάσκειν αὐτοὺς κτίσμα εἶναι αὐτὸ, καὶ ποίημα διὰ τοῦ Υἱοῦ γεγενῆσθαι· ἀναγκαίως, θεωρήσαντες τὴν τῆς ἐκ τοιαύτης βλασφημίας βλάβην γινομένην κατὰ τῶν λαῶν, ἐπιδοῦναι τῇ σῇ εὐλαβείᾳ τὴν ἐν Νικαίᾳ ὁμολογηθεῖσαν πίστιν ἐσπουδάσαμεν, ἵνα γνῷ σου ἡ θεοσέβεια ἃ μετὰ πάσης ἀκριβείας γέγραπται, καὶ ὅσον πλανῶνται οἱ παρὰ ταύτην διδάσκοντες. Γίνωσκε γὰρ, θεοφιλέστατε Αὔγουστε, ὅτι ταῦτα μὲν ἐξ αἰῶνός ἐστι κηρυττόμενα, ταύτην δὲ οἱ ἐν Νικαίᾳ συνελθόντες ὡμολόγησαν Πατέρες, καὶ ταύτῃ σύμψηφοι τυγχάνουσι πᾶσαι αἱ πανταχοῦ κατὰ τόπον Ἐκκλησίαι, αἵ τε κατὰ τὴν Σπανίαν, καὶ Βρετανίαν, καὶ Γαλλίας, καὶ τῆς Ἰταλίας πάσης, καὶ ∆αλματίας, ∆ακίας τε καὶ Μυσίας, Μακεδονίας, καὶ πάσης τῆς Ἑλλάδος, καὶ κατὰ τὴν Ἀφρι 26.817 κὴν πᾶσαν, καὶ Σαρδανίαν, καὶ Κύπρον, καὶ Κρήτην, Παμφυλίαν τε, καὶ Λυκίαν, καὶ Ἰσαυρίαν, καὶ αἱ κατ' Αἴγυπτον καὶ τὰς Λιβύας καὶ Πόντον καὶ Καππαδοκίαν, καὶ αἱ πλησίον ἡμῶν, καὶ αἱ κατὰ ἀνατολὰς Ἐκκλησίαι, παρὲξ ὀλίγων τῶν τὰ Ἀρείου φρονούντων. Ἁπάντων γὰρ τῶν προειρημένων καὶ πείρᾳ ἐγνώκαμεν τὴν γνώμην, καὶ γράμματα ἔχομεν. Καὶ οἶδας, ὦ θεοφιλέστατε Αὔγουστε, ὅτι, κἂν ὀλίγοι τινὲς ἀντιλέγωσι ταύτῃ τῇ πίστει, οὐ δύνανται πρόκριμα ποιεῖν, πάσης τῆς οἰκουμένης τὴν ἀποστολικὴν πίστιν κρατούσης. Ἐκεῖνοι γὰρ, πολλῷ χρόνῳ βλαβέντες ἀπὸ τῆς Ἀρειανῆς αἱρέσεως, φιλονεικότερον ἀνθίστανται νῦν τῇ εὐσεβείᾳ. Καὶ ὑπὲρ τοῦ γινώσκειν τὴν σὴν εὐσέβειαν, καίτοι γινώσκουσαν, ὅμως ἐσπουδάσαμεν τὴν ἐν Νικαίᾳ πίστιν