John of Damascus, On Holy Trinity

De sancta trinitate

OF OUR FATHER AMONG THE SAINTS JOHN OF DAMASCUS CONCERNING THE HOLY TRINITY.

1. Concerning the holy Trinity, consubstantial and life-giving, one nature is confessed, one will, one energy, one power and authority, and lordship, because there is also one Godhead, three hypostases, that is, three persons, the property of each person being preserved. And concerning the incarnate economy of the one of the holy Trinity, that is, of our Lord Jesus Christ, two natures, both of Godhead and of manhood, likewise two wills and energies, one hypostasis, that is, one person, because He is one and the same, who before the ages was begotten without flux and without body, and in the last times was conceived of the holy ever-virgin Mary the Theotokos ineffably and without stain; wholly man, the same also God, known in one hypostasis, impassible in His Godhead, and passible in what was assumed; preserving intact after birth, that is, the signs of virginity, that is the 95.12 seals. Question. Why was the Son incarnate, and not the Father, nor the Spirit? and what did He accomplish by becoming man? Answer. The Father is Father, and not Son. The Son is Son, and not Father; the Holy Spirit is Spirit, and not Father, nor Son; for the property is immutable. Or how could it be a property, if it moved or changed? For this reason the Son of God also becomes Son of man, being incarnate of the holy Virgin, and did not depart from His filial property. And the Son of God became man, so that He might again bestow upon man, whom He had made, immortality, and eternal life for the enjoyment of eternal good things. Amen; so be it, so be it. 2. Father and Son, not two without beginning, but unmediated; mixture works corruption, and thus it is mixed, as water and wine; union, when a certain conjunction takes place, with neither being diminished nor corrupted, but remaining in what it is; as the soul and the body; so also Christ, the perfect God the Word, and perfect man, is united indeed, but not confused. One God, Father of the living Word, of subsistent wisdom and power and eternal character, perfect begetter of the perfect, Father of the only-begotten Son, and one Lord, only from only, God from God, character and image of the Godhead, active Word, wisdom encompassing the constitution of all things, and power creative of the whole creation, true Son of the true Father, invisible of invisible, and incorruptible of incorruptible, and immortal of immortal, and eternal of eternal; and one Holy Spirit, having existence from God, and manifested through the Son, that is, to men. A perfect image of the Son and life, cause of living things, holy fount, holiness, bestower of sanctification, in whom is revealed God the Father, who is over all and in all; and God the Son, who is through all; a perfect Trinity, in glory and eternity and kingship, not divided, nor estranged. Therefore, there is nothing created or servile in the Trinity, nor introduced, as 95.13 though not existing before, but having entered in later. For neither was the Son ever lacking to the Father, nor the Spirit to the Son; but the same Trinity is ever unchangeable and unalterable. For thus we believe in the blessed and life-giving and undivided holy Trinity. Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, three persons, one image; three characters, one impression; three hypostases, one Godhead; three properties, one essence; three energies, one grace; three existences, one equality; three acknowledgments, one glory; three names, one confession; three confessions, one faith. God is an eternal and unchangeable essence, the creator of beings. God is a most high and unapproachable light, neither

De sancta trinitate

ΤΟΥ ΕΝ ΑΓΙΟΙΣ ΠΑΤΡΟΣ ΗΜΩΝ ΙΩΑΝΝΟΥ ΤΟΥ ∆ΑΜΑΣΚΗΝΟΥ ΠΕΡΙ ΤΗΣ ΑΓΙΑΣ ΤΡΙΑ∆ΟΣ.

αʹ. Περὶ μὲν τῆς ἁγίας Τριάδος τῆς ὁμοουσίου, ζωοποιοῦ, μίαν φύσιν ὁμολόγει, μίαν θέλησιν, μίαν ἐνέργειαν, μίαν δύναμίν τε καὶ ἐξουσίαν, καὶ κυριότητα, ὅτι καὶ μία θεότης τρεῖς ὑποστάσεις, ἤτοι τρία πρόσωπα, φυλασσομένης ἑκάστῳ προσώπῳ τῆς ἰδιότητος. Ἐπὶ δὲ τῆς ἐνσάρκου οἰκονομίας τοῦ ἑνὸς τῆς ἁγίας Τριάδος, ἤτοι τοῦ Κυρίου ἡμῶν Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ δύο φύσεις, θεότητός τε καὶ ἀνθρωπότητος, δύο θελήσεις ὡσαύτως καὶ ἐνεργείας, μίαν ὑπόστασιν, ἤγουν ἓν πρόσωπον, ὅτι εἷς καὶ αὐτός ἐστιν, ὁ πρὸ τῶν αἰώνων γεννηθεὶς ἀῤῥεύστως καὶ ἀσωμάτως, καὶ ἐπ' ἐσχάτων τῶν χρόνων ἐκ τῆς ἁγίας ἀειπαρθένου Μαρίας τῆς Θεοτόκου κυηθεὶς ἀῤῥήτως καὶ ἀῤῥυπώτως· ὅλος ἄνθρωπος ὁ αὐτὸς καὶ Θεὸς, ἐν μιᾷ ὑποστάσει γνωριζόμενος ἀπαθὴς θεότητι, καὶ παθητὸς τῷ προσλήμματι· σῶα μετὰ τόκον φυλάξας δηλαδὴ τῆς παρθενίας τὰ σήμαντρα, τουτέστι τὰς 95.12 σφραγίδας. Ἐρώτ. ∆ιὰ τί ὁ Υἱὸς ἐνηνθρώπησε, καὶ οὐχ ὁ Πατὴρ, οὐδὲ τὸ Πνεῦμα; καὶ τί ἐνανθρωπήσας κατώρθωσε; Ἀπόκρ. Πατὴρ ὁ Πατὴρ, καὶ οὐχ Υἱός. Υἱὸς ὁ Υἱὸς, καὶ οὐ Πατήρ· Πνεῦμα ἅγιον τὸ Πνεῦμα, καὶ οὐ Πατὴρ, οὐδὲ Υἱός· ἡ γὰρ ἰδιότης ἀκίνητος. Ἢ πῶς ἂν ἰδιότης, κινουμένη, ἢ μεταπίπτουσα; ∆ιὰ τοῦτο ὁ Υἱὸς τοῦ Θεοῦ, καὶ Υἱὸς γίνεται ἀνθρώπου, ὁ σαρκωθεὶς ἐκ τῆς ἁγίας Παρθένου, καὶ οὐκ ἐξέστη τῆς ὑϊκῆς ἰδιότητος. Ἐνηνθρώπησε δὲ ὁ Υἱὸς τοῦ Θεοῦ, ἵν' ἐφ' ᾧπερ ἐποίησεν τὸν ἄνθρωπον, πάλιν αὐτῷ χαρίσηται ἀθανασίαν, καὶ αἰώνιον ζωὴν εἰς ἀπόλαυσιν τῶν αἰωνίων ἀγαθῶν. Ἀμήν· γένοιτο, γένοιτο. βʹ. Πατὴρ καὶ Υἱὸς, οὐ δύο ἄναρχα, ἀλλὰ ἀμεσίτευτα· μίξις φθορὰν ἐργάζεται, καὶ οὕτω μίγνυται, ὡς τὸ ὕδωρ καὶ ὁ οἶνος· ἕνωσις, ὅταν συνάφειά τις γένηται, μὴ ἐλαττουμένου ἑτέρου, μηδὲ φθειρομένου, ἀλλὰ μένοντος ἐν ᾧ ἐστιν· ὡς ἡ ψυχὴ καὶ τὸ σῶμα· οὕτω καὶ ὁ Χριστὸς, ὁ Θεὸς Λόγος τέλειος, καὶ ἄνθρωπος τέλειος, ἥνωται μὲν, οὐ συγκέχυται δέ. Εἷς Θεὸς, Πατὴρ Λόγου ζῶντος, σοφίας ὑφεστώσης καὶ δυνάμεως καὶ χαρακτῆρος ἀϊδίου, τέλειος τελείου γεννήτωρ, Πατὴρ Υἱοῦ μονογενοῦς, καὶ εἷς Κύριος, μόνος ἐκ μόνου, Θεὸς ἐκ Θεοῦ, χαρακτὴρ καὶ εἰκὼν τῆς θεότητος, Λόγος ἐνεργὸς, σοφία τῆς τῶν ὅλων στάσεως περιεκτικὴ, καὶ δύναμις τῆς ὅλης κτίσεως ποιητικὴ, Υἱὸς ἀληθινὸς ἀληθινοῦ Πατρὸς, ἀόρατος ἀοράτου, καὶ ἄφθαρτος ἀφθάρτου, καὶ ἀθάνατος ἀθανάτου, καὶ ἀΐδιος ἀϊδίου· καὶ ἓν Πνεῦμα ἅγιον, ἐκ Θεοῦ τὴν ὕπαρξιν ἔχον, καὶ διὰ Υἱοῦ πεφηνὸς, δηλαδὴ τοῖς ἀνθρώποις. Εἰκὼν τοῦ Υἱοῦ τελεία καὶ ζωὴ, ζώντων αἰτία, πηγὴ ἁγία, ἁγιότης, ἁγιασμοῦ χορηγὸς, ἐν ᾧ φανεροῦται Θεὸς ὁ Πατὴρ, ὁ ἐπὶ πάντων καὶ ἐν πᾶσι· καὶ Θεὸς ὁ Υἱὸς, ὁ διὰ πάντων· Τριὰς τελεία, δόξῃ καὶ ἀϊδιότητι καὶ βασιλείᾳ, μὴ μεριζομένη, μηδὲ ἀπαλλοτριουμένη. Οὔτε οὖν κτιστόν τι, ἢ δοῦλον ἐν Τριάδι, οὔτε ἐπείσακτον, ὡς 95.13 πρότερον μὲν οὐχ ὑπάρχον, ὕστερον δ' ἐπεισελθόν. Οὔτε γὰρ ἐνέλιπέ ποτε Υἱὸς Πατρὶ, οὔτε Υἱῷ Πνεῦμα· ἀλλ' ἄτρεπτος καὶ ἀναλλοίωτος ἡ αὐτὴ Τριὰς ἀεί. Οὕτως γὰρ ἡμεῖς πιστεύομεν τὴν μακαρίαν καὶ ζωοποιὸν καὶ ἀδιαίρετον ἁγίαν Τριάδα. Πατὴρ, Υἱὸς, καὶ Πνεῦμα ἅγιον, τρία πρόσωπα, μία εἰκών· τρεῖς χαρακτῆρες, μία ἐκτύπωσις· τρεῖς ὑποστάσεις, μία θεότης· τρία ἰδιώματα, μία οὐσία· τρεῖς ἐνέργειαι, μία χάρις· τρεῖς ὑπάρξεις, μία ἰσότης· τρεῖς ἐπιγνώσεις, μία δόξα· τρία ὀνόματα, μία ὁμολογία· τρεῖς ὁμολογίαι, μία πίστις. Θεός ἐστιν, ἀΐδιος οὐσία καὶ ἀπαράλλακτος, δημιουργικὴ τῶν ὄντων. Θεός ἐστι φῶς ἀκρότατον καὶ ἀπρόσιτον, οὔτε