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Ad Graecos ex communibus notionibus

OF GREGORY BISHOP OF NYSSA How, when we speak of three persons in the divinity, we do not say three gods; to the Greeks, from common notions If the name 'God' were indicative of a person, then in speaking of three persons we would of necessity say three gods; but if the name 'God' is significant of substance, then, confessing one substance of the Holy Trinity, we reasonably maintain one God, since 'God' is the one name of the one substance. Therefore, consistent with both the substance and the name, God is one and not three. For we do not say 'God and God and God', as we say 'Father and Son and Holy Spirit', since with the names that are significant of the persons we include the conjunction 'and' because the persons are not the same, but rather are distinct and different from one another according to the very meaning of the names, but to the name 'God', which is indicative of the substance from some property belonging to it, we do not attach the conjunction 'and' so as to say 'God and God and God', since it is the same substance to which the persons belong and which the name 'God' signifies; therefore, also the same God. But with the same, and for the indication of the same, the conjunction 'and' is never included. 3,1.20

But if we say 'Father, God' and 'Son, God' and 'Holy Spirit, God' or 'God the Father' and 'God the Son' and 'God the Holy Spirit', we mentally attach the conjunction 'and' to the names of the persons, as in 'to the Father, to the Son, to the Holy Spirit', so that it is 'Father and Son and Holy Spirit', that is, 'person and person and person', and therefore three persons. But the name 'God' is predicated of each of the persons absolutely and in the same way, without the conjunction 'and', so that we cannot say 'God and God and God', but understand the name being said in speech a second and third time on account of the underlying persons, but being applied in its second and third use without the conjunction 'and' because God is not other and other. For the Father is not God insofar as he preserves his otherness in relation to the Son; for in that case the Son would not be God. For if, because the Father is Father, for this reason the Father is also God, then since the Son is not Father, the Son is not God. But if the Son is God, it is not because he is Son. Likewise, the Father is not God because he is Father, but because he is such-and-such a substance, to which belong the Father and the Son, and on account of which the Father is God and the Son is God and the Holy Spirit is God. But since the substance is not divided in each of the persons so that there would be three substances corresponding to the persons, it is clear that neither will the name that signifies the substance, that is, 'God', be divided so as to result in three gods. But just as the Father is substance, the Son is substance, the Holy Spirit is substance, and not three substances, so also the Father is God, the Son is God, the Holy Spirit is God, and not three gods. For God is one and the same, since the substance is also one and the same, even if 3,1.21 each of the persons is said to be both possessing substance and 'God'. For either it is necessary to speak of three substances of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, since each of the persons is substance, which is most unreasonable, since we do not even say that Peter and Paul and Barnabas are three substances; for the substance of such persons is one and the same; or, speaking of one substance, to which belong the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, although knowing that each of the persons possesses substance, we justly and consistently say one God, even if we believe each of the persons to be God, because of the community of substance.

\ For just as, because the Father differs from the Son and from the Holy Spirit, we speak of three persons of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, so, since the Father does not differ from the Son and from the Holy Spirit with respect to substance, we say that there is one

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Ad Graecos ex communibus notionibus

ΓΡΗΓΟΡΙΟΥ ΕΠΙΣΚΟΠΟΥ ΝΥΣΣΗΣ Πῶς τρία πρόσωπα λέγοντες ἐν τῇ θεότητι οὔ φαμεν τρεῖς θεούς πρὸς

τοὺς Ἕλληνας ἀπὸ τῶν κοινῶν ἐννοιῶν Εἰ τὸ θεὸς ὄνομα προσώπου δηλωτικὸν ὑπῆρχεν, τρία πρόσωπα λέγοντες ἐξ ἀνάγκης τρεῖς ἂν ἐλέγομεν θεούς· εἰ δὲ τὸ θεὸς ὄνομα οὐσίας σημαντικόν ἐστιν, μίαν οὐσίαν ὁμολογοῦντες τῆς ἁγίας τριάδος ἕνα θεὸν εἰκότως δογματί ζομεν, ἐπειδὴ μιᾶς οὐσίας ἓν ὄνομα τὸ θεός ἐστιν. διὸ καὶ ἀκολούθως τῇ τε οὐσίᾳ καὶ τῷ ὀνόματι εἷς ἐστι θεὸς καὶ οὐ τρεῖς. οὐδὲ γὰρ θεὸν καὶ θεὸν καὶ θεόν φαμεν, ὥσπερ λέγομεν πατέρα καὶ υἱὸν καὶ ἅγιον πνεῦμα, ἐπεὶ τοῖς ὀνόμασι τοῖς τῶν προσώπων σημαντικοῖς συμπλέκομεν τὸν καὶ σύνδεσμον διὰ τὸ μὴ ταὐτὰ εἶναι τὰ πρόσωπα, ἑτεροῖα δὲ μᾶλλον καὶ διαφέροντα ἀλλήλων κατ' αὐτὴν τὴν τῶν ὀνο μάτων σημασίαν, τῷ δὲ θεὸς ὀνόματι δηλωτικῷ τῆς οὐσίας ὄντι ἔκ τινος ἰδιώματος προσόντος αὐτῇ οὐ συνάπτομεν τὸν καὶ σύνδεσμον ὥστε λέγειν ἡμᾶς θεὸν καὶ θεὸν καὶ θεόν, ἐπείπερ ἡ αὐτή ἐστιν οὐσία, ἧς ἐστι τὰ πρόσωπα καὶ ἣν σημαίνει τὸ θεὸς ὄνομα· διὸ καὶ ὁ αὐτὸς θεός· τῷ δὲ αὐτῷ καὶ ἐπὶ δηλώσει τοῦ αὐτοῦ ὁ καὶ σύνδεσμος οὐ συμπλέκεταί 3,1.20 ποτε.

Εἰ δὲ λέγομεν πατέρα θεὸν καὶ υἱὸν θεὸν καὶ πνεῦμα ἅγιον θεὸν ἢ θεὸν πατέρα καὶ θεὸν υἱὸν καὶ θεὸν πνεῦμα ἅγιον, τὸν καὶ σύνδεσμον κατ' ἔννοιαν τοῖς τῶν προσώπων ὀνόμασι συνάπτομεν, οἷον πατρί, υἱῷ, ἁγίῳ πνεύματι, ἵνα ᾖ πατὴρ καὶ υἱὸς καὶ ἅγιον πνεῦμα, τουτέστι πρόσωπον καὶ πρόσωπον καὶ πρόσωπον, διὸ καὶ τρία πρόσωπα. τὸ δὲ θεὸς ὄνομα ἀπολύτως καὶ ὡσαύτως κατηγορεῖται ἑκάστου τῶν προσώπων ἄνευ τοῦ καὶ συνδέσμου, ὥστε μὴ δύνασθαι ἡμᾶς λέγειν θεὸν καὶ θεὸν καὶ θεόν, ἀλλὰ νοεῖν τὸ ὄνομα <δεύτερον καὶ> τρίτον μὲν λεγόμενον τῇ φωνῇ διὰ τὰ ὑποκείμενα πρόσωπα, προσβαλλόμενον δὲ τῇ δευτερώσει καὶ τῇ τριτώσει ἄνευ τοῦ καὶ συνδέσμου διὰ τὸ μὴ ἕτερον καὶ ἕτερον εἶναι θεόν. οὐ γάρ, καθὸ τὴν ἑτερότητα σῴζει πατὴρ πρὸς υἱόν, κατὰ τοῦτο θεὸς ὁ πατήρ· οὕτω γὰρ οὐκ ἂν θεὸς ὁ υἱός· εἰ γάρ, ἐπειδὴ πατὴρ ὁ πατήρ, διὰ τοῦτο καὶ θεὸς ὁ πατήρ, ἐπειδὴ μὴ πατὴρ ὁ υἱός, οὐ θεὸς ὁ υἱός· εἰ δὲ θεὸς ὁ υἱός, οὐκ, ἐπειδὴ υἱός. ὁμοίως καὶ ὁ πατὴρ οὐκ, ἐπειδὴ πατήρ, θεός, ἀλλ' ἐπειδὴ οὐσία τοιάδε, ἧς ἐστι πατὴρ καὶ υἱὸς καὶ δι' ἣν πατὴρ θεὸς καὶ υἱὸς θεὸς καὶ πνεῦμα ἅγιον θεός. μὴ διαιρουμένης δὲ τῆς οὐσίας ἐν ἑκάστῳ τῶν προσώπων ὥστε καὶ τρεῖς εἶναι οὐσίας κατὰ τὰ πρόσωπα, δῆλον ὅτι οὐδὲ τὸ ὄνομα διαιρεθήσεται, ὅπερ σημαίνει τὴν οὐσίαν, τουτέστι τὸ θεός, εἰς τὸ εἶναι τρεῖς θεούς. ἀλλ' ὥσπερ οὐσία ὁ πατήρ, οὐσία ὁ υἱός, οὐσία τὸ ἅγιον πνεῦμα καὶ οὐ τρεῖς οὐσίαι, οὕτω καὶ θεὸς ὁ πατήρ, θεὸς ὁ υἱός, θεὸς τὸ πνεῦμα τὸ ἅγιον καὶ οὐ τρεῖς θεοί. εἷς γὰρ θεὸς καὶ ὁ αὐτός, ἐπεὶ καὶ μία οὐσία καὶ ἡ αὐτή, εἰ 3,1.21 καὶ λέγεται ἕκαστον τῶν προσώπων καὶ ἐνούσιον καὶ θεός. ἢ γὰρ ἀνάγκη τρεῖς λέγειν οὐσίας πατρὸς καὶ υἱοῦ καὶ ἁγίου πνεύματος, ἐπειδὴ οὐσία τῶν προσώπων ἕκαστον, ὅπερ ἐστὶν ἀλογώτατον, ἐπείπερ οὐδὲ Πέτρον καὶ Παῦλον καὶ Βαρνάβαν φαμὲν τρεῖς οὐσίας· μία γὰρ καὶ ἡ αὐτὴ τῶν τοιούτων προσώπων ἡ οὐσία· ἢ μίαν λέγοντες οὐσίαν, ἧς ἐστι πατὴρ καὶ υἱὸς καὶ ἅγιον πνεῦμα, καίπερ ἐνούσιον εἰδότες τῶν προσώπων ἕκαστον, ἕνα δικαίως καὶ ἀκολούθως φαμὲν θεόν, εἰ καὶ τῶν προσώπων ἕκαστον θεὸν εἶναι πιστεύομεν, διὰ τὸ κοινὸν τῆς οὐσίας.

\ Ωσπερ γὰρ διὰ τὸ διαφέρειν τὸν πατέρα τοῦ τε υἱοῦ καὶ τοῦ ἁγίου πνεύματος τρία φαμὲν πρόσωπα πατρὸς καὶ υἱοῦ καὶ ἁγίου πνεύματος, οὕτως, ἐπειδὴ μὴ διαφέρει πατὴρ υἱοῦ τε καὶ ἁγίου πνεύ ματος κατὰ τὴν οὐσίαν, μίαν εἶναι λέγομεν