Thesaurus de sancta et consubstantiali trinitate SANCTUS CYRILLUS ALEXANDRINUS. Ex Thesauro de sancta et

consubstantiali Trinitate.

Chapter 27. On the text: "That they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent." Another. If the Father has made all things through his own Word, and the blessed evangelist speaks truly when he says: "All things were made through him, and without him was not anything made that was made;" and again, if all things spoken through the prophets have been spoken through the Word, and not through any other, how is it not absurd to think that the Word of God would utter such sayings against himself? Therefore, does not God the Father say such things through the Son for the refutation of falsely named gods?

Another, for the refutation of the Arian dogma, overturning the power of the creature. When the Father says that he himself is the one and only true God, he does not overthrow the fact that the Son has been begotten from 39 him, and is true God, just as he is, but rather he casts out from divinity that one whom you might invent for yourselves as a God or a son from outside his substance; for this one is truly not real, but an invention of the ignorance present in you. Another. If the Father is called true and only God, the Son will not reasonably be estranged from likeness to him, nor will he be cast out from being true God. For if he does not lie when he says, "I am the truth," and he is intelligibly that which he says he is, how will he not necessarily be ranked with the true Father? and he himself being truth, is it not therefore for the refutation of those who are not by nature, nor in truth, gods or are called gods; that it was said, "that they may know you, the only true God?"

Another. If the Father alone is true God, and the Word from him does not have such a nature as the one who begot him, but is of a created substance, even if he is accepted by us as being above all other creations, how, being of a different substance and not true, as you say, does he join himself to the God who is true in reality and wish to be known with him, saying: "That they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent?" For what reason does the creature, which according to you is to be known with the uncreated, and the made thing, to be numbered with that which was not made nor has come into being? For if you should grant this to hold, and to be able to be so, 40 what will prevent also another of the rational creatures from using such a saying? But if no such thing is reported of any other, but the saying belongs to the Son alone, it is clear that, knowing himself not to be one of all things, but the very own of the Father's substance, he both ranked himself with the one who begot him, and being understood with him, has also given us to know that he is the true offspring of the true Father; for that the Son is true, hear John saying: "And we are in his true Son, Jesus Christ." Chapter 32. Selections of sayings with reasonings from the New Testament, that the Son is God by nature, and if this is so, he is not a product, nor a creature.

Another. "For from his fullness we have all received." if absolute perfection is reserved for the divine nature alone, seeing that it is in need of nothing from another, but rather has the power and strength to fill all things that are receptive of it; and this is in Christ, how could he be alien to the divine substance, who performs its actions, and is this very thing which we would define that nature to be, at least according to the principle of perfection? How then would one accept that the Son's nature, being such, is created, for he will hear along with us: "For what do you have that you did not receive!" which is most impious.

Thesaurus de sancta et consubstantiali trinitate SANCTUS CYRILLUS ALEXANDRINUS. Ex Thesauro de sancta et

consubstantiali Trinitate.

Κεφάλαιον ΚΖʹ. Εἰς τό· Ἵνα γιγνώσκωσί σε τὸν μόνον ἀληθινὸν Θεὸν, καὶ ὃν ἀπέστειλας Ἰησοῦν Χριστόν; Ἄλλο. Εἰ πάντα διὰ τοῦ ἰδίου Λόγου πεποίηκεν ὁ Πατὴρ, καὶ ἀληθεύει λέγων ὁ μακάριος εὐαγγελιστής· Πάντα δι' αὐτοῦ ἐγένετο, καὶ χωρὶς αὐτοῦ ἐγένετο οὐδέν· καὶ πάλιν εἰ πάντα διὰ τῶν προφητῶν εἰρημένα διὰ τοῦ Λόγου λέλεκται, καὶ οὐ δι' ἑτέρου τινὸς, πῶς οὐκ ἄτοπον ἐννοεῖν αὐτὸν καθ' ἑαυτοῦ τὸν τοῦ Θεοῦ Λόγον τοιαύτας ἀφεῖναι φωνάς; Οὐκοῦν πρὸς ἀναίρεσιν τῶν ψευδωνύμων θεῶν τὰ τοιαῦτά φησιν ὁ Θεὸς καὶ Πατὴρ δι' Υἱοῦ;

Ἄλλο εἰς ἀναίρεσιν τοῦ τῶν Ἀρειανῶν δόγματος, περιτρέπον τοῦ ποιήματος τὴν δύναμιν. Λέγων ἑαυτὸν ὁ Πατὴρ ἕνα καὶ μόνον ἀληθινὸν εἶναι Θεὸν, οὐκ ἀνατρέπει τὸ ἐξ 39 αὐτοῦ γεγενῆσθαι τὸν Υἱὸν, καὶ εἶναι Θεὸν ἀληθινὸν, ὥσπερ καὶ αὐτὸς, ἀλλὰ μᾶλλον ἐκεῖνον τῆς θεότητος ἐκβάλλει ὃν ἂν ὑμεῖς ἔξωθεν τῆς οὐσίας αὐτοῦ Θεὸν ἢ υἱὸν ἑαυτοῖς ἐπινοήσητε· οὗτος γὰρ ὄντως οὐκ ἔστιν ἀληθινὸς, ἀλλὰ τῆς προσούσης ὑμῖν ἀμαθίας εὕρημα. Ἄλλο Ἐὰν ἀληθινὸς καὶ μόνος λέγεται Θεὸς ὁ Πατὴρ, οὐκ εὐλόγως ὁ Υἱὸς τῆς πρὸς αὐτὸν ὁμοιότητος ἐξοικισθήσεται, οὐδὲ τοῦ εἶναι Θεὸς ἀληθινὸς ἐκβληθήσεται. Εἰ γὰρ οὐ ψεύδεται λέγων· Ἐγώ εἰμι ἡ ἀλήθεια, καὶ ἐστὶ νοητῶς τοῦτο ὅπερ ἑαυτὸν εἶναί φησι, πῶς οὐκ ἀναγκαίως τῷ ἀληθινῷ Πατρὶ συγκαταταχθήσεται; καὶ αὐτὸς ὢν ἀλήθεια, οὐκοῦν εἰς ἀναίρεσιν τῶν μὴ κατὰ φύσιν, μηδὲ κατὰ ἀλήθειαν ὄντων ἢ καλουμένων θεῶν· εἴρηται, ἵνα γιγνώσκωσί σε τὸν μόνον ἀληθινὸν Θεόν;

Ἄλλο. Εἰ μόνος ἐστιν ἀληθινὸς Θεὸς ὁ Πατὴρ, ὁ δὲ ἐξ αὐτοῦ Λόγος οὐ τοιαύτην ἔχει τὴν φύσιν ὁποίαν ὁ γεννήσας αὐτὸν, ἀλλ' ἔστι γενητῆς οὐσίας, κἂν τὸ ὑπερκεῖσθαι τὰ ἄλλα πάντα ποιήματα δέχηται παρ' ἡμῶν, πῶς ἑτερούσιος ὢν, καὶ οὐκ ἀληθινὸς, ὡς ὑμεῖς φατὲ, ἑαυτὸν συνάπτει τῷ κατὰ ἀλήθειαν ὄντι Θεῷ καὶ σὺν αὐτῷ γνωρίζεσθαι θέλει λέγων· Ἵνα γινώσκωσί σε τὸν μόνον ἀληθινὸν Θεὸν, καὶ ὃν ἀπέστειλας Ἰησοῦν Χριστόν; ποῖον γὰρ ἔχει λόγον τὸ κτίσμα, ὃν καθ' ὑμᾶς σὺν τῷ ἀκτίστῳ γνωρίζεσθαι, καὶ τὸ πεποιημένον, τῷ μὴ ποιηθέντι, μηδὲ γεγονότι συγκαταριθμεῖσθαι; Εἰ γὰρ δοίητε τοῦτο κρατεῖν, καὶ οὕτως ἔχειν δύνασθαι, 40 τί κωλύσει καὶ ἕτερόν τι τῶν λογικῶν κτισμάτων τῇ τοιαύτῃ χρήσασθαι φωνῇ; εἰ δὲ οὐδενὸς ἑτέρου φέρεταί τι τοιοῦτον, μόνον δέ ἐστιν Υἱοῦ τὸ ῥῆμα, δῆλόν ἐστιν ὅτι περ οὐχ ἕνα τῶν πάντων ἑαυτὸν εἰδὼς, ἀλλ' αὐτὸ τῆς τοῦ Πατρὸς οὐσίας τὸ ἴδιον καὶ τῷ γεννήσαντι συγκατέταξε, καὶ σὺν αὐτῷ νοούμενος, καὶ ἡμῖν δέδωκεν εἰδέναι, ὅτι περ εἴη Πατρὸς ἀληθινοῦ γέννημα ἀληθινόν· ὅτι γὰρ ἀληθινός ἐστιν ὁ Υἱὸς, ἄκουε λέγοντος Ἰωάννου· Καὶ ἐσμὲν ἐν τῷ ἀληθινῷ Υἱῷ αὐτοῦ Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ. Κεφάλαιον ΛΒ. Ἐκλογαὶ ῥητῶν μετὰ συλλογισμῶν ἐκ τῆς καινῆς διαθήκης, ὅτι Θεὸς κατὰ φύσιν ὁ Υἱὸς, εἰ δὲ τοῦτο, οὐ ποίημα, οὐδὲ κτίσμα.

Ἄλλο. Ὅτι ἐκ τοῦ πληρώματος αὐτοῦ πάντες ἡμεῖς ἐλάβομεν εἰ μόνῃ τὸ παντέλειον τῇ θείᾳ τετήρηται φύσει, ἅτε δὴ καὶ δεομένῃ τῶν παρ' ἑτέρου μηδενὸς, πληροῦν δὲ μᾶλλον ἐχούσῃ τε καὶ ἰσχυούσῃ, τὰ ὅσα περ ἂν αὐτῆς ὑπάρχοι δεκτικά· τοῦτο δέ ἐστιν ἐν Χριστῷ, πῶς ἂν εἴη τῆς θείας οὐσίας ἀλλότριος, ὁ τὰ ἐκείνης ἐνεργῶν, καὶ τοῦτο ὕπαρχον, ὅπερ ἂν ἐκείνην ὁρισαίμεθα, κατά γε τὸν τῆς τελειότητος λόγον; πῶς ἂν οὖν δέχοιτο τὴν οὕτως ἔχουσαν τοῦ Υἱοῦ φύσιν εἶναι γενητὴν, ἀκούσεται γὰρ μεθ' ἡμῶν· Τί γὰρ ἔχεις ὃ οὐκ ἔλαβες! ὅπερ ἐστιν ἀσεβέστατον.