Athanasius of Alexandria, Letter to African Bishops

to the Father. For this reason also the Fathers, having said that the Son is consubstantial, immediately added: But those who say He is a creature, or a thing made, or from non-existence, or, There was a time when He was not, the Catholic Church anathematizes; so that through these words they might make known that this is what "consubstantial" signifies. And the power of "consubstantial" is known from the Son's not being a creature or a thing made; and that he who says "consubstantial" does not think the Word is a creature; and he who anathematizes the aforementioned things at the same time thinks the Son to be consubstantial with the Father; and he who says "consubstantial" says the Son of God is genuine and true. And he who says "Genuine" understands: "I and the Father are one," and, "He who has seen me has seen the Father." It was fitting, then, to write of such things at greater length; but since we are writing to you who know, for this reason we have dictated briefly; praying that among all the bond of peace may be preserved, and that all those of the Catholic Church may say the same thing, may think the same thing. And we are not as teachers, but as reminders. And we are not the only ones writing, but also all the ninety or so bishops in Egypt and the Libyas. For this is the one mind of all, and we always sign for each other, if it should happen that someone is not present. Being thus disposed, therefore, since we happened to come together, we wrote also to our beloved Damasus, the bishop of great Rome, concerning Auxentius who has intruded upon the church in Milan, recounting the matters concerning him; that not only is he a partaker of the Arian heresy, but he is also responsible for many evils, having done these things with Gregory, the partaker of his impiety; and wondering how until now he has not been deposed and cast out of the Church, and we gave thanks to the piety both of him and of those who gathered in great Rome, that in casting out those around Ursacius and Valens, and those who think the same things as them, they preserved the unanimity of the Catholic Church; which we pray 26.1048 may be preserved also among you, we beseech you not to tolerate, as we said before, the multitude of councils being put forward on the pretext of faith, the one in Ariminum, the one in Sirmium, the one in Isauria, the one in Thrace, the many and disorderly ones in Constantinople, the ones in Antioch. But let only the faith confessed by the Fathers at Nicaea prevail among you; at which all the Fathers, even of those now fighting against it, were present, as we said before, and subscribed; so that about us also the Apostle might say: "Now I praise you, that you remember me in everything, and hold fast the traditions, just as I delivered them to you." For this synod at Nicaea is truly an inscription on a pillar against every heresy. This also overthrows those who blaspheme against the Holy Spirit, and say it is a creature. For the Fathers, having spoken concerning the faith in the Son, immediately added: We believe also in the Holy Spirit, so that, having confessed a perfect and full faith in the Holy Trinity, they might in this make known the character of the faith in Christ and the teaching of the Catholic Church. For it has been made clear both among you and among all; and no Christian would have a doubtful mind on this, that our faith is not in the creation, but in one God, the Father Almighty, maker of all things visible and invisible; and in one Lord Jesus Christ, His only-begotten Son; and in one Holy Spirit; one God known in the holy and perfect Trinity; into which also being baptized, and in this being joined to the Godhead, we believe that we will also inherit the kingdom of heaven in Christ Jesus our Lord, through whom to the Father be the glory and the power for ever and ever. Amen.

Πατρί. ∆ιὰ τοῦτο γὰρ καὶ οἱ Πατέρες, εἰρηκότες ὁμοούσιον εἶναι τὸν Υἱὸν, ἐπήγαγον εὐθύς· Τοὺς δὲ λέγοντας κτίσμα, ἢ ποίημα, ἢ ἐξ οὐκ ὄντων, ἢ, Ἦν ποτε, ὅτε οὐκ ἦν, ἀναθεματίζει ἡ Καθολικὴ Ἐκκλησία· ἵνα διὰ τούτων γνωρίσωσιν, ὅτι ταῦτα σημαίνει τὸ ὁμοούσιον. Καὶ ἡ τοῦ ὁμοουσίου δύναμις γινώσκεται ἐκ τοῦ μὴ εἶναι κτίσμα ἢ ποίημα τὸν Υἱόν· καὶ ὅτι ὁ λέγων ὁμοούσιον οὐ φρονεῖ κτίσμα εἶναι τὸν Λόγον· καὶ ὁ ἀναθεματίζων τὰ προειρημένα ὁμοούσιον ἅμα φρονεῖ εἶναι τὸν Υἱὸν τῷ Πατρί· καὶ ὁ ὁμοούσιον λέγων γνήσιον καὶ ἀληθινὸν λέγει τὸν Υἱὸν τοῦ Θεοῦ. Καὶ ὁ Γνήσιον λέγων νοεῖ τό· Ἐγὼ καὶ ὁ Πατὴρ ἕν ἐσμεν· καὶ, Ὁ ἑωρακὼς ἐμὲ ἑώρακε τὸν Πατέρα. Ἔπρεπε μὲν οὖν διὰ πλειόνων τὰ τοιαῦτα γράφειν· ἐπειδὴ δὲ πρὸς εἰδότας ὑμᾶς γράφομεν, διὰ τοῦτο συντόμως ὑπηγορεύσαμεν· εὐχόμενοι παρὰ πᾶσι σώζεσθαι τὸν σύνδεσμον τῆς εἰρήνης, καὶ πάντας τοὺς τῆς Καθολικῆς Ἐκκλησίας τὸ αὐτὸ λέγειν, τὸ αὐτὸ φρονεῖν. Καὶ οὐχ ὡς διδάσκοντες, ἀλλὰ ὡς ὑπομιμνήσκοντές ἐσμεν. Ἐσμὲν δὲ οὐχ ἡμεῖς οἱ γράφοντες μόνοι, ἀλλὰ καὶ πάντες οἱ ἐν τῇ Αἰγύπτῳ καὶ ταῖς Λιβύαις ἐνενήκοντά που ἐπίσκοποι. Πάντων γὰρ ἕν ἐστι τοῦτο φρόνημα, καὶ ὑπὲρ ἀλλήλων ἀεὶ ὑπογράφομεν, ἐὰν συμβῇ τινα μὴ παρεῖναι. Οὕτως οὖν διακείμενοι, ἐπειδὴ συνέβη συνελθεῖν ἡμᾶς, ἐγράψαμεν καὶ τῷ ἀγαπητῷ ἡμῶν ∆αμάσῳ τῷ ἐπισκόπῳ τῆς μεγάλης Ῥώμης περὶ τοῦ Αὐξεντίου τοῦ ἐπελθόντος τῇ ἐν Μεδιολάνῳ ἐκκλησίᾳ, διηγούμενοι τὰ κατ' αὐτόν· ὅτι τε οὐ μόνον τῆς Ἀρειανῆς αἱρέσεώς ἐστι κοινωνὸς, ἀλλὰ καὶ ὑπεύθυνός ἐστι πολλοῖς κακοῖς, πράξας ταῦτα μετὰ Γρηγορίου τοῦ κοινωνοῦ τῆς ἀσεβείας αὐτοῦ· καὶ θαυμάζοντες πῶς μέχρι νῦν οὐ καθῃρέθη καὶ ἐκβέβληται τῆς Ἐκκλησίας, καὶ χάριν ὡμολογήσαμεν τῇ θεοσεβείᾳ αὐτοῦ τε καὶ τῶν συνελθόντων ἐν τῇ μεγάλῃ Ῥώμῃ, ὅτι καὶ τοὺς περὶ Οὐρσάκιον καὶ Οὐάλεντα, καὶ τοὺς τὰ αὐτὰ αὐτοῖς φρονοῦντας ἐκβάλλοντες, ἔσωσαν τὴν ὁμοψυχίαν τῆς Καθολικῆς Ἐκκλησίας· ἣν καὶ παρ' ὑμῖν εὐχό 26.1048 μενοι σώζεσθαι, παρακαλοῦμεν μὴ ἀνέχεσθαι, καθὰ προείπομεν, τῶν προβαλλομένων ὄχλον συνόδων προφάσει πίστεως, τὴν ἐν Ἀριμήνῳ, τὴν ἐν Σιρμίῳ, τὴν ἐν τῇ Ἰσαυρίᾳ, τὴν ἐν τῇ Θρᾴκῃ, τὰς ἐν Κωνσταντινουπόλει, τὰς ἐν Ἀντιοχείᾳ πολλὰς καὶ ἀτάκτους. Ἀλλὰ μόνον κρατείτω ἐν ὑμῖν ἡ ἐν Νικαίᾳ παρὰ τῶν Πατέρων ὁμολογηθεῖσα πίστις· ἐν ᾗ καὶ πάντες καὶ τῶν νῦν μαχομένων πρὸς αὐτὴν παρῆσαν Πατέρες, καθὰ προείπομεν, καὶ ὑπέγραψαν· ἵνα καὶ περὶ ἡμῶν ὁ Ἀπόστολος εἴπῃ· Ἐπαινῶ δὲ ὑμᾶς, ὅτι πάντα μου μέμνησθε, καὶ καθὼς παρέδωκα ὑμῖν τὰς παραδόσεις, οὕτω κατέχετε. Αὕτη γὰρ ἡ ἐν Νικαίᾳ σύνοδος, ἀληθῶς στηλογραφία κατὰ πάσης αἱρέσεώς ἐστιν. Αὕτη καὶ τοὺς βλασφημοῦντας εἰς τὸ Πνεῦμα τὸ ἅγιον, καὶ λέγοντας αὐτὸ κτίσμα, ἀνατρέπει. Εἰρηκότες γὰρ οἱ Πατέρες περὶ τῆς εἰς τὸν Υἱὸν πίστεως, ἐπήγαγον εὐθύς· Πιστεύομεν καὶ εἰς τὸ Πνεῦμα τὸ ἅγιον, ἵνα, τελείαν καὶ πλήρη τὴν εἰς τὴν ἁγίαν Τριάδα πίστιν ὁμολογήσαντες, τὸν χαρακτῆρα τῆς ἐν Χριστῷ πίστεως, καὶ τὴν διδασκαλίαν τῆς Καθολικῆς Ἐκκλησίας ἐν τούτῳ γνωρίσωσι. ∆ῆλον γὰρ καὶ παρ' ὑμῖν καὶ παρὰ πᾶσι καθέστηκε· καὶ οὐδεὶς ἂν Χριστιανῶν ἀμφίβολον εἰς τοῦτο σχοίη τὴν διάνοιαν, ὡς οὐκ ἔστιν ἡμῶν ἡ πίστις εἰς τὴν κτίσιν, ἀλλ' εἰς ἕνα Θεὸν Πατέρα παντοκράτορα, πάντων ὁρατῶν τε καὶ ἀοράτων ποιητήν· καὶ εἰς ἕνα Κύριον Ἰησοῦν Χριστὸν, τὸν Υἱὸν αὐτοῦ τὸν μονογενῆ· καὶ εἰς ἓν Πνεῦμα ἅγιον· ἕνα Θεὸν τὸν ἐν τῇ ἁγίᾳ καὶ τελείᾳ Τριάδι γινωσκόμενον· εἰς ἣν καὶ βαπτιζόμενοι, καὶ ἐν ταύτῃ συναπτόμενοι τῇ θεότητι, πιστεύομεν καὶ κληρονομῆσαι βασιλείαν οὐρανῶν ἐν Χριστῷ Ἰησοῦ τῷ Κυρίῳ ἡμῶν, δι' οὗ τῷ Πατρὶ ἡ δόξα καὶ τὸ κράτος εἰς τοὺς αἰῶνας. Ἀμήν.