Gelasius of Cyzicus

GELASIUS CYZICENUS.

^A GELASIUS CYZICENUS. NOTITIA.

(FABRIC., Bibl. Græc., ed. Harles, IX, 291.)

Gelasius, son of a presbyter of Cyzicus, who testifies that the Acts of the Synod of Nicaea had reached him ^A *in codice antiquissimo scripta in membranis* (written in a most ancient codex on parchment), which formerly belonged to Dalmatius, archbishop of Cyzicus. Nevertheless, he confesses that he did not publish these acts as he found them in that codex, entire and alone, but that he composed them—collecting them also from the writings of Eusebius and Rufinus (whom, however, he falsely writes as having been present at the Council of Nicaea), and of others—into three books, or "treatises" (*syntagmata*). He states on page 2: "As for all the acts of this synod, as I have said above, although I had previously known and searched for them, I could scarcely find those things which were treated and written in them, expressed as clearly among many men, scholars, as I did with one John, a presbyter, an old man and very skilled in writing, in very ancient quaternions. Yet I did not obtain everything from there, but also from other various writers, such as Eusebius of Caesarea and Rufinus, a Roman presbyter, who were also present at that holy synod, and from many others. For I did not find the sequence of the whole harmony in that sacred codex which I had previously happened upon. Only the admirable Eusebius, constantly following the public way of truth from the advent of the Lord up to the times of the great Constantine, remained on the highway of truth. But although I could not find everything, I judged it necessary to collect and compile into this book those things which were known to me and consistent with the truth from both sources, for the common benefit and the confirmation of those who might happen upon these things."

The third book does not seem to have reached us intact; for it is shorter than the others, and concludes with one or two letters of Constantine, and contains nothing about the baptism of Constantine the Great—though Photius professes that he read this in it (Cod. LXXXIX, where he refers this work, as also in Cod. LXXXVIII, to Gelasius of Caesarea, testifying that he found two or three bishops of Caesarea named Gelasius: for in codex XV of the same library it is praised under the simple name of Gelasius: "Acts of the First Synod in three volumes." The book also carried the title of Gelasius). The author himself testifies ^B that he wrote this not at Caesarea or Cyzicus, but in Bithynia, in his Preface with these words: "Not long after, when I had arrived here—to the province of Bithynia, I mean—by the will of God, and much commotion and investigation was occurring under the tyranny of the impious Basiliscus against the Catholic and Apostolic Church of God, and the apostolic faith established in it, with the faction of those who consented to the heretic Eutyches—a faction that particularly incited and inflamed the emperor’s court—subtly proposing to us that we should retain the faith of the Fathers, namely, the Nicene: yet the enemies of that faith were refuted by us," etc.

This work was first published with the translation of Robert Balfour the Scot (Paris, 1599, 8vo), having appended to it the book of Theodore, a presbyter in the Rhaitian monastery, which Beza had published in both languages before Balfour. Hence, with the Acts of the Synod of Ephesus and the *Synopsis of Oecumenical Synods*, it was issued by Commelin (1604, fol.). Afterwards, in the Roman edition of the general councils, which Sirmond directed,

1608, folio, and in the councils of Binius, Cologne 1618; Labbé, Paris 1672, II, p. 105; and Hardouin 1716, folio, p. 345, 423 [also Mansi Coll. ampl. tom. II, and Excerpta from it in Fuchs, Bibl. conc. tom. I, p. 416 sq.]. Vossius promised, in his page 264 *De hist. Græcis*, that he would publish these books of Gelasius and other certain materials pertaining to the Nicene synod and the cause of Arius, along with a translation by his father-in-law, Francis Junius, and his own notes. But that Gelasius of Junius and Vossius never saw the light of day, nor is it certain what became of it, since no mention of it is made in the catalog of the manuscripts of Isaac Vossius, which have now been added to the public library of Leiden. J. Launoy follows the errors of Gelasius in his *epist. VIII, 1*, p. 697. Yet, learned men, Balthasar Bebel in his *Antiquitates sæculi iv*, part 1, p. 65 sq., and J. Georgius Dorscheus in his *Διατυπώσεις concilii Nicæni*, p. 85 sq., show that he is not so much to be despised.

INDEX OF WRITERS, BISHOPS, HERETICS, ETC., WHO ARE MENTIONED IN THE ACTS OF THE NICENE SYNOD BY GELASIUS OF CYZICUS

Acesius, bishop of the Novatians, lib. II, cap. 29. Achillas, bishop of Alexandria, lib. II, cap. 1; another, a presbyter of Mareotis, II, 3. Agathus, presbyter of Alexandria, II, 3; another of Mareotis, ibid. Alexander of Alexandria, lib. II, cap. 1, 2, 11, 33. On the deposition of Arius by the bishops, lib. II, c. 5. Alexandrians, two presbyters of Alexandria, II, 3. Tertius, deacon of Mareotis, ibid. Alexander, bishop of Thessalonica, subscribed to the Nicene Council, II, 27, 36. Alexander, presbyter of Constantinople, adversary of Arius, II, 7; subscribed to the Nicene Council, II, 27, 36. Ammonas, two presbyters of Mareotis, II, 3. Ammonius, deacon of Alexandria, II, 3; another of Mareotis, ibid. Amphion, given as successor to Eusebius of Nicomedia, II, 32. Amyntianus, deacon of Alexandria, II, 3. Aphthonius, deacon of Alexandria, II, 3. Apis, presbyter of Alexandria, II, 3. Apollo, presbyter of Mareotis, II, 3. Apollonius, deacon of Alexandria, II, 3. Arians, I, 32, etc. Blasphemies of Arius, lib. I, cap. 9; lib. II, cap. 211. Condemnation, II, 25. Ariomanitae,

μισθωτῶν Ἀρείου τῶν φιλοσόφων πρὸς τοὺς ἐπισκόπους ἀντιῤῥήσεις

Τὸν Δεσπότην Θεὸν

Μανθάνω ἐκεῖθεν ὑπῆρχθαι

Τοὺς πονηροὺς καὶ ἀσεβεῖς

Τελείαν παρὰ τῆς θείας προνοίας

Πέτραν λαβών

Κακὸς ἑρμηνεύς

Ὄψει τῆς θείας ὀργῆς

τούτῳ νίκα

^A Didymi, two deacons of Mareotis, II, 3. Tertius, presbyter of Mareotis, id. Dionysius, presbyter of Alexandria, II, 3. Dioscorus, Alexandrian presbyter, lib. II, cap. 3. Dioscorus, presbyter of Mareotis, II, 5. Eumenes, deacon of Alexandria, II, 3. Eupsychius, bishop of Tyana, II, 17. Eusebius, bishop of Nicomedia, lib. I, cap. 10. Acting with Arius, II, 7, 12, 26, 32. Eusebius Pamphili, bishop of Caesarea, pref. lib. I. "Eusebius alone, the wonderful man of Pamphilus, trod the straight path of truth from the coming of the Lord until the times of the great Constantine," ibid. These things the all-excellent Eusebius compiled in the ninth volume of his Ecclesiastical History, lib. I, cap. 9: "Eusebius, the most truth-loving, of the most celebrated Pamphilus," c. 10. "The finest plowman of ecclesiastical cultivation," lib. II, cap. 1. That he did not agree with Arius, ibid. and lib. II, cap. 18, 19. He subscribed to the Nicene Synod, II, 26. In the third book of the life of Constantine, II, 5, 28, 36. His encyclical letter and faith, I, 34. Cited lib. I, cap. 1, 6, 9, 10; lib. II, cap. 1, 36. "Most worthy of belief," lib. II, cap. 1. Eustathius, bishop of Antioch, II, 14, 15, 26. Subscribed to the Nicene Council, II, 27, 36. Eutyches, favoring the court of Basiliscus, pref. lib. I. Mention of the Franks, lib. I, c. 3. Gelasius (of Caesarea) is cited, lib. I, cap. 7 (Greek version of Ecclesiastical History of Rufinus). Harpocration, presbyter of Alexandria, II, 3. Books of the Hebrews, lib. I, cap. 4. Hercules, presbyter of Mareotis, II, 3. Hierax, deacon of Mareotis, II, 3. Ingenius, presbyter of Mareotis, II, 3. John the presbyter, "an ancient man, very skilled in writing upon very ancient notebooks." Gelasius testifies that he followed this man in the Acts of the Nicene Council, pref. lib. I. John the Persian, set over the churches in all of Persia and Great India, subscribed to the Nicene Council, II, 27, 56. Justus, deacon of Mareotis, II, 3. Leontius, bishop of Caesarea in Cappadocia, II, 17, 20, 21, 22, 33. Subscribed to the ^B Nicene Council, II, 27, 36. Longus, presbyter of Alexandria, II, 3. Macarii, two Alexandrian deacons, II, 5. Macarius, bishop of Jerusalem, II, 25. Subscribed to the Nicene Council, II, 27, 36. Manichaeus is rejected, II, 26. Marci, two deacons of Mareotis, II, 5. Marcion is rejected, II, 26. Maris of Chalcedon, acting with Arius, II, 7. Maurus, deacon of Mareotis, II, 3. Meletius, bishop, II, 33. Menophantus, bishop of Ephesus, acting with Arius, II, 7. Narcissus of Neronias (who was later of Irenopolis), ^C bishop of the Second Cilicia, acting with Arius, II, 7. Nemesius, presbyter of Alexandria, II, 3. Nicene symbol, II, 26 and 85. Dogmatic and ecclesiastical determinations (Diatyposes), II, 30. Twenty canons, II, 31. Subscribers of the Council, II, 27. Synodal letter to the Churches of Egypt and others, II, 33. Beginning: "Since by the grace of Christ." Nunechius, bishop of Laodicea, subscribed to the Nicene Council, II, 27, 36. Olympius, deacon of Alexandria, II, 3. Oracles, the oracle-mongers, persuading Alexander to cross the Granicus, lib. I, cap. 4. Orion, presbyter of Mareotis, II, 3. Osius of Corduba, "holding the place of the bishop of the Romans," II, 12, 16. Subscribed to the Nicene Council, II, 27, 36. Paphnutius (St.), II, 9, 31, 32. Patrophilus, bishop of Scythopolis, acting with Arius, II, 7. Paulus, presbyter of Alexandria, II, 3. Paulus, deacon of Alexandria, II, 3. Paul of Samosata is rejected, II, 26. Petrus, bishop of Alexandria, martyr, lib. II, cap. 1 and 33. Petrus, deacon of Alexandria, II, 3. Phaedo the philosopher, defending Arius, II, 14. See above, Arius. Photinus is rejected, II, 26. Pistus, bishop of Marcianopolis, subscribed to the Nicene Council, II, 27, 36. Pirous, presbyter of Alexandria, II, 3. Pistus, deacon of Alexandria, II, 5. Proterius, presbyter of Alexandria, II, 3. Protogenes, bishop of Sardica, II, 20. Subscribed to the Nicene Council, II, 27, 36. Ptolarion, deacon of Mareotis, II, 3. Regarding Pythagoras the Samian, "compiled by his disciples," lib. I, cap. 4. Rufinus the presbyter is handed down as having been present at the Nicene Council, pref. lib. I. Cited lib. I, c. 1 and 7, 10. Sabellius is rejected, II, 26. Secundus, bishop ^D of Ptolemais in Egypt, acting with Arius, II, 7. Serapion, deacon of Mareotis, II, 3. Seras, deacon of Mareotis, II, 5. Serenus, presbyter of Mareotis, II, 3. Silas, presbyter of Alexandria, II, 3. Silvanus, presbyter of Alexandria, II, 5. Socra is a demon, lib. I, c. 4. Sostras, presbyter of Mareotis, II, 3. Spyridon of Cyprus, II, 10, 11. Theodoret’s Ecclesiastical History, II, 32. Theodorus, bishop of Heraclea in Thrace, acting with Arius, II, 7. Theodotus (of Laodicea), to whom Constantine the Great writes, III, 5. Theognius, lib. I, cap. 10.

Theognis of Nicaea, an adherent of Arius, 11, 7, 12, 32. Theon, presbyter of Mareotis, 11, 3. Theonas, bishop of Marmarica, an adherent of Arius, 11, 7. Theonas, bishop of Cyzicus, subscribed to the Nicene Council, 1, 27, 36. Tryphon, deacon of Mareotis, 11, 3. Tyrannus, presbyter of Mareotis, 11, 3. Valentinus the heretic is rejected, 11, 26.

GELASIUS OF CYZICUS: A COMPENDIUM OF THE ACTS OF THE NICENE COUNCIL

ADMONITION TO THE READER FROM THE ROMAN EDITION

It had almost been our intention to omit this History of the Nicene Council utterly (which, otherwise, ought to have been placed in its proper location among other collections of the same synod), for although various copies of it were not lacking in the City—such as the Vatican copy, from which Alphonsus Pisanus excerpted a great part of his Nicene Council, and the Sforza copy, which was once owned by Cardinal Bessarion, as well as others in various libraries—nevertheless, they all lacked the name of the author, and it was not deemed appropriate to bring to light the work of an uncertain author. Another factor was that not a few things are read in this History that appear to contradict the opinions of better writers and to convict it of falsehood. For at the beginning of the work, the author asserts that the Arians, at the time of the Nicene Council, blasphemed not only against the Son of God but also against the Holy Spirit; and in the second book, he introduces disputes held in the same council against philosophers concerning the divinity of the Holy Spirit. But this seems ^C to conflict with the words of Epiphanius in the seventy-fourth heresy, which concerns the Pneumatomachians, who says in the end: "There was not then" (that is, at the time of the Nicene Council) "a question concerning the Holy Spirit." Likewise, it conflicts with the words of Saint Basil in his seventy-eighth epistle, which contains the Nicene confession of faith: "The subject of the Holy Spirit," he says, "was mentioned in passing, and was not judged worthy of great diligence, because this question had not yet been raised, nor had the opinion concerning Him sustained any snares from the minds of the believers as yet." Furthermore, the same author of this History, in the second book, first chapter, strives to diligently clear Eusebius of Caesarea from the suspicion of Arianism, even though Saint Athanasius wrote an entire book on the decrees of the Nicene Synod against the Arian Eusebius of Caesarea, and Saint Jerome, in the second book of his Apology against Rufinus, called this same Eusebius now a non-Catholic, now an Arian, and sometimes even the leader of the Arians. Finally (to pass over other, lighter matters), this same author, in the thirty-second chapter of the second book, writes that the Nicene Council wished to forbid bishops, presbyters, deacons, and subdeacons from being able to maintain conjugal relations with wives they had married while they were still laymen.

But that this is a manifest figment, and entirely alien to the truth, is easily detected from holy Epiphanius, who, writing a little after the celebration of the Nicene Council, affirmed in express words in his fifty-ninth heresy—which is that of the Cathari—that it is contrary to the sacred canons for a bishop, presbyter, or deacon to beget children from a wife. Saint Ambrose, too, and Saint Jerome, contemporaries of Epiphanius (the former in the last chapter of the first book of *De Officiis*, the latter in the book *Against Vigilantius*), write that it is not permitted in the West, nor in the East, for anyone to be assumed into the sacred ministry unless they are virgins, or continent, or those who, if they have wives, cease to be husbands. This same thing we read confirmed in councils celebrated not long after Nicaea, such as the second canon of the second Council of Arles, and the second canon of the second Council of Carthage. What is more, in the Nicene Council itself there exists the third canon, by which it is provided that it is not permitted for any bishop, presbyter, or deacon to keep any woman in his house, except a mother, a sister, or an aunt; by which canon a wife is quite openly excluded, who ought to have been mentioned in the first place if what is said in this book were true. But, doubtless, the author did not find this history in the Acts of the council, but took it from Socrates (book I, chapter VIII) or Sozomen (book I, chapter XXII), who were the first to record it, and inserted it into this collection of his. But just as we read in it some things alien to the Nicene Council, if we believe the ancient Fathers, so too many things are missing from it which, by the judgment of those same Fathers, ought to appear in the acts of that same council. For Saint Athanasius testifies in his first *Oration Against the Arians*, and Theodoret in the eighth chapter of the first book of his *Ecclesiastical History*, that the writings of Arius and the letter of Eusebius of Nicomedia were read at the Nicene Council. Pope Julius of Rome also testifies, in the letter that exists in Athanasius's second *Apology*, that the acts of the Alexandrian synod were examined at the Nicene Council. But there is no mention of any of these in this *History*. Nevertheless, since from the testimony of Photius, whose *Bibliotheca* was published a short while ago, it is sufficiently certain that the author of this work was ^D Gelasius of Cyzicus, and it has already been edited under his name in Greek and Latin [(b)], and since it contains some things that may be useful for many matters, and furthermore, ancient writers (whose words will be set forth shortly) make mention of it as being the acts of the Nicene Council; lest it should perhaps be missed by anyone, we have deemed it fitting to add it in this volume [(c)].

Testimonies of certain ancient writers concerning these books and their author

^A Photius the Patriarch of Constantinople in his *Bibliotheca*: "The acts of the first synod were read, comprised in three books. The work bears the title of Gelasius; and they are not so much acts as history. The speech is simple and humble; otherwise, it narrates as minutely as possible everything that was done in the synod." ^B

Nicetas Choniates in his *Dogmatic Panoply*

Eusebius Pamphili, in the third book of his works addressed to the Emperor Constantine, says that the bishop of Constantinople was absent due to old age; but he does not declare his name; only that a presbyter was present in his place. ^C But the acts of the synod contain that Metrophanes was the bishop of Constantinople, but that he did not sit with the synod due to extreme old age, but that Alexander filled his place—who, being a presbyter, also served the synodal letters at that time to the parts of Europe.

HISTORY OF THE NICENE COUNCIL — NOTICE

^A Nicetas Choniates, *On the Orthodox Faith*, lib. v, c. 6, who, against the faith of all his predecessors or equals, erroneously demotes him [the Roman pontiff] to the pontificate of Julius, against the objections [of others]. Photius, in order to reconcile both parties and bring Sozomen into harmony with Gelasius of Cyzicus, determined that it began under Sylvester and was concluded under Julius. The heretics of our century (whose desire in all things is to injure the Roman Church, which maintains the older and therefore sounder viewpoint) seize upon the corrupt passage in Sozomen and importunately contend that it was celebrated under Julius. That this rests upon a false foundation and that there is a manifest error in Sozomen’s writing is demonstrated from Sozomen himself, either from the marginal annotation which has crept into the text, or from the word *polios*, that is, an old, hoary, venerable man, which through a scribe's error escaped as *Ioulios*.

First, the reason which provided the excuse for Sozomen—why the Roman pontiff was present at the Nicene Council, namely decrepit old age—can in no way apply to Julius, who, according to Socrates and Sozomen himself, lived for almost thirty years after the Nicene Council. For Socrates reports, and Sozomen following him, that Constantius, after the tyrants Magnentius, Silvanus, and Gallus had been slain, set out from Sirmium to Rome to celebrate a triumph, and that at the same time he convened a council in Italy, and that while the bishops were preparing to travel to it, Julius, the Roman bishop, departed from this life. Now Magnentius was slain, according to Sozomen, under the sixth consulship of Constantius and the second of Gallus, which year is numbered as the 28th from the Nicene Council; and Gallus, according to the same Sozomen, under the seventh consulship of Constantius and the third of himself, which year is the 29th from the council; and [then] Silvanus, according to Ammianus Marcellinus, after Gallus. How then could it happen that he who, according to Sozomen, was guiding the Roman Church about the thirtieth year after the Nicene Council, could not have been present at the Nicene Council because of his advanced age? Moreover, Sozomen writes that the pontificate of Julius lasted twenty-five years, and that too, erroneously, ^B by changing the *x*, as is evident from Socrates, from whom Sozomen extracted all these things almost word for word, who attributes only fifteen years to Julius. But let us concede that Julius presided over the Church for twenty-five years: how could he who lived in the see for twenty-five years, and died about the thirtieth year after the Nicene Council, have held the pontificate at the time of the Nicene Council? Add to this the *apoche* of Sozomen, who in the prolegomena of the Nicene Council, in order to mark the beginning of his history ^C as a point in time, stated it thus: "When Crispus and Constantine were Caesars and consuls, Sylvester was bishop of the Roman Church." That the consulship of Crispus and Constantine was then the third, Sozomen himself attests in the Preface of his work: "I began my history from the consulship of Crispus and Constantine."

John Cyparissiota, *Decades* 3, cap. 4. "In the first and ecumenical synod, from the response of the Fathers to the philosopher, they say: 'It must be understood, then, that this is the Lord, who created "the reasoning wisdom" as the beginning of His ways, which He prepared for man according to His own image.'"

The same, *Decades* 10, cap. 2. "From the discourse against the philosopher Phaedon, which is in the first synod: The Catholic faith knows one divinity alone, and it worships this—of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit; besides this, no other shall be reckoned." ^D

with the third consulship of Crispus and Constantine, which was the year of Christ 321, immediately preceded the consulship of Paulinus and Julianus, that is, the year of Christ 323, under which the Council of Nicaea was celebrated, as attested by Socrates and by Sozomen himself, who asserts that the conclusion of the council fell at the beginning of Constantine’s Vicennalia. How, then, can it be said that legates of the Roman Church were sent to the Nicene synod by Julius, who ought to have been dispatched long before the council on account of the distance between places, when the end of the consulship of Crispus and Constantine barely preceded the Nicene council, celebrated in the month of May of the following year, by four months, and Marcus—the Roman pontiff, as the same Sozomen will soon be seen to testify—intervened between Sylvester and Julius? There is also the complaint of Julius, as Sozomen himself reports, to the Eastern bishops, that they had not invited him to the Antiochene synod. But how can this stand with the excuse of old age, on account of which he was not present at the Nicene Council, which was sixteen years older than that Antiochene council? Nay, if Sozomen offered the excuse of old age for why Julius was absent from the Nicene Council, why did he not bring it forward much more as the reason why he did not set out for the Council of Sardica, which took place twenty-two years after the Nicene, but only attended it through legates? But what need is there for arguments, when there exists in Sozomen himself an explicit passage which at one stroke evacuates this difficulty and declares with clear words that Julius was elected Roman pontiff a long time after the Nicene Council and around the time of the Antiochene gathering celebrated against Eustathius (who had been bishop of Antioch at the Nicene Council), and that therefore it could never have occurred to Sozomen ^B to place the Nicene Council under Julius? For Sozomen himself, who in book 1, chapter 16, asserts that the Roman pontiff was not present at the Nicene Council due to the weight of his age, and who in the last chapter of that same first book concludes wholly the entire history of the Nicene Council, having prefixed to the front of the second book this clause: "Hitherto have reached the things which were done at Nicaea"; and then throughout the entire second book descends to narrating things which occurred under the remainder of the reign of Constantine—he, I say, this same Sozomen, after he put an end to the matters of the Nicene Council, traverses through the first seventeen whole chapters of the second book the things which occurred between the Nicene Council and the one celebrated at Antioch in the cause of Eustathius; and finally in chapter 18, he described the celebration of the Antiochene council, the abdication of Eustathius, and the substitution of Euphronius; then, arriving at the 19th chapter of the second book, he affirms that at that time, after Sylvester had died and, in his place for a short time—that is, according to Jerome, eight months—Marcus had been substituted, Julius was elevated to the Roman See. His words are: "During that time, when Marcus, after Sylvester, had held the Roman episcopate for a short time, Julius succeeded to that see: and to the Jerusalemite see, after Macarius, Maximus." That Bede and the other Latin writers, who had almost followed in the footsteps of Cassiodorus, did not notice these things is a lesser fault: for there did not exist among them an integral copy of Sozomen, where this place is held, but only certain small squares inserted into that worm-eaten work, the *Historia Tripartita*. But as for these new censors, who rely on an integral copy of Sozomen and are so sharp-sighted that they seem to themselves to see everything—who could excuse them? But enough on these matters.

BOOK FIRST

The things which were done in the holy, great, and universal synod of bishops from all, so to speak, the provinces of the Roman world, and from Persis, by the grace of God and the decree of our pious and God-beloved Emperor Constantine, gathered at Nicaea for the apostolic and orthodox faith, against the perverse and impious dogmas of the impious Arius: all these things, I say, which [occurred] in that illustrious and holy synod...

^A were read by me long ago, while I was still living in my father's house, when I had found them described in a most ancient book on perfectly intact parchment, which had belonged to the divine and celebrated Dalmatius, archbishop of the holy and catholic Church in the illustrious metropolis of the Cyzicenians; and which finally came into the possession of the master of our house, I mean my father according to the flesh, who was judged worthy to be co-opted into the order of presbyters of the same holy Church. Having chanced upon this sacred book, and having ^B spent much time in studying it, I was not able to retain everything in my memory—for no man among those on earth could hold in his memory and on his lips that boundless sea of matters contained therein—but I noted down a great many things: the dogmas of our holy Fathers and the bishops of the doctrine of the wholesome Word, their objections against the Ariomanites, and the written refutations directed against the blasphemy which the wicked Ariomanites uttered against the Son of God, and indeed also against the Holy Spirit; the contradictions of the mercenaries of Arius, those philosophers, against the bishops, and the clear solutions of our own [Fathers] against their sophistries by means of scriptural teachings; [I noted] the one godhead of His Son and of the Holy Spirit, which exists before the ages, which has no beginning, but always subsists with God and the Father; and the ineffable incarnation of the same Son of God, the Word, in the last times for our salvation, from the Theotokos Virgin Mary; and the apostolic constitutions of the Church. Having read ^C in that sacred book absolutely every discussion held there, and above all the divine and truly apostolic sentiments of the most faithful emperor Constantine, who sat in the synod, I was so delighted with the things contained in that sacred book that I immediately said to the Lord: "How sweet are thy words to my throat, more than honey to my mouth." Thus I was exceedingly delighted by what was written there concerning the pure, irreprehensible, orthodox, and apostolic faith. After some years, having arrived here—in the province of Bithynia, I mean—by the will of God, and there being much agitation and debate, which occurred during the rebellion of the impious Basiliscus against the apostolic and catholic Church of God and the apostolic faith practiced therein, while those of the faction of the heretic Eutyches were especially inflaming and stirring up ^D the imperial court, claiming unto us deceitfully that they held the faith of the Fathers—that is, the Nicene—they were yet convicted by us [as] the enemies of that faith. For they knew neither what they were saying nor whereof they affirmed. For when I would bring forward what had been explained in that sacred circle of orthodox priests of God concerning the Lord in the Holy Spirit, they would shrink back from us, the wretches, [having] a worse Arian blasphemy on their tongues...

against those things defined there, and hurling anathemas against those who think in this way. ^B Because of these things and other matters stirred up against the holy and orthodox faith of ours—which had been the custom in the Church of God, our mother, from the very beginning, from the holy apostles and our aforementioned holy Fathers gathered at Nicaea—I undertook a very great, painstaking investigation everywhere and in every way, or as the saying goes, "straining every nerve," to research those things transacted in that holy synod concerning the definition of the same holy and apostolic faith, which the Church of God received not from men, nor through men, but from the Savior of us all and God Himself, Jesus Christ, the Son of the living God. Who, after the economy of His advent in the flesh, [accomplished] "the great mystery of godliness, as it is written: manifested in the flesh, and seen by angels." For the Only-Begotten is not even visible to the angels according to the essence of His divinity, unless He had assumed flesh; having fulfilled all things that pertained to the economy of His incarnation—[having undergone] the voluntary passion for us, the burial, and the resurrection in that holy flesh of His, which is not subject to sin, through which He freed our race from death—departing from here and ascending into heaven, He established by Himself the divine and adorable form of this holy and blameless faith, and thundered mightily, as it is written: "The Lord ascended into the heavens, and thundered." And in another place: "The Lord thundered from heaven, and the Most High gave His voice." And what did He thunder? What voice did the Most High give? "Going," He says, speaking to the apostles, "teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit." For although because of His love for mankind, He assumed our flesh, ensouled and intellectual, from the all-venerable and holy Virgin Mary, yet by that assumption of flesh, no addition was made to the Trinity of the Father, and Son, and Holy Spirit, but the Trinity remains Trinity. "Going, therefore, teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, ^C and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit." The holy apostles, having received this holy and adorable rule of the right and blameless faith from the Lord Himself, preached it to the whole Church of God under heaven; so that the prophetic oracle might be fulfilled, which says: "Into all the earth their sound went out, and their words into the ends of the world." After this summation of faith, and this adorable gift bestowed upon us by the Son of God through the holy apostles, when the persecution of the Church had ceased for many years, the enemy of our salvation armed himself again through Arius against the holy and blameless faith, introducing certain unusual, blasphemous words against our Savior, by which he troubled the Church of God throughout the whole world. For which cause the most faithful emperor Constantine convened that numerous synod in the city of Nicaea.

^A Since I have, as I said above, become acquainted with all its acts, I made inquiries: yet I was scarcely able to find some of the things that were treated and inscribed therein, through many men studious of letters, such as a certain John, a presbyter, an ancient man and quite skilled in writing, in very old notebooks: but I did not obtain everything from there, but from other various writers as well, such as Eusebius Pamphili, bishop of Caesarea, and Rufinus, a Roman presbyter, who also attended that holy synod, and very many others. Nor did I find the sequence of the whole harmony, as in that sacred codex I had encountered earlier. For the admirable Eusebius Pamphili alone consistently trod the public path of truth from the advent of the Lord even to the times of the great Constantine. ^B But neither was I able to find everything, beyond what was known to me and proper to the truth from that book which I had read before. Since, however, I had collected some things from both, I deemed it necessary to transcribe them in this book for common utility, and for the confirmation of those who might happen upon these writings. We shall hereafter commence our discourse (with the ever-living God the Word going before and leading us) from the times of the reign of the most religious and Christ-bearing king Constantine, who ordered the synod of bishops to be gathered in the city of Nicaea. In another commentary, if it pleases God, I shall record the birth of Constantine himself, most dear to God, and the state of the times in which his father reigned.

CHAPTER FIRST.

^A He obtained a commendable and thrice-blessed end to his life, being the only one among the emperors, on account of his noble son, whom he left after him as successor to the empire, a prince most modest and most holy in all things, who departed from this life prosperously and gloriously. His son Constantine, immediately from the beginning, was emperor supreme and Augustus, declared so both by the armies and, much earlier, by God Himself, the supreme Emperor of all. He showed himself a zealot and imitator of his father’s piety toward our religion. ^B And after other things: «Since Constantine (whom we have called emperor born of an emperor, religious born of a most religious and in every way most modest father), endowed with prudence and piety, had been roused by the instigation of God, the Emperor of all and Savior, against the most impious tyrants: in Rome, indeed, with God bringing aid, Maxentius fell, defeated by him beyond the expectation of all. But the tyrant who was in the East, surviving him for no long time, met his end by a most shameful death at the hands of Licinius—who was not yet mad—having been sent against him by the most God-beloved emperor, Constantine. Truly, Constantine, being first in honor and in the rank of empire, having previously taken pity on those oppressed by tyranny at Rome, after he had invoked by prayers God who is in heaven, and His Word, Jesus Christ the Savior of all, as his helper, set out with all his forces to restore to the Romans the ancient liberty which they received from their ancestors.» These are the words of Eusebius. But Rufinus, although he did not follow the whole sequence of events and the harmony of truth in setting forth the history of the illustrious Eusebius Pamphili, nevertheless, whatever things I find allied to the Eusebian history, both in Rufinus and in other writers, collecting them, as I have said above, I shall insert into this work. He indeed says thus: ^C «After Diocletian and Maximian had laid down the insignia of the realm, and Constantius had departed from this life, the following were the remaining kings of the Roman empire who reigned at the same time. Constantine succeeded to the portion of his father; and this extended from what is called Europe, reaching as far as the Danube, and encompassing both Scythias, all the Celts, the Illyrians and Sarmatians, and the land of the Barbarians which stretches to the river Rhine, and Macedonia, and the sea adjacent to it, ^D Thessaly and Achaia, and whatever regions turn toward the setting sun, which the Ionian sea bounds. And Maximinus, the son of Diocletian, administered all the nations in the East, as Eusebius says; while Maxentius administered Rome and what extends from Italy to the Ocean.»

CHAPTER II

and having paid the customary honors, considered peace to be a loss to him in that calamity of the Romans. For he heard that the city of the Romans was suffering from the evils of Maxentius; for he had altered the nature of his rule into the cruelty of a tyranny. For he would hand over many men of high rank to death without trial, and would impose fines, exiles, and the redistribution of land, and grants of preference without investigation. Already, too, he was lusting after the wives of others, or forcing them by his commands, and eventually it was unsafe to have a beautiful wife, and for the preservation of chastity there was a great deal of slaughter throughout the city. Hearing these and many other things which do not belong to the present account, the most God-beloved Constantine was provoked. For the injustice of other men's affairs causes personal grief to piety-loving ^B men.

CHAPTER III

Concerning King Constantine, how he marched against the tyrant Maxentius.

It seemed good to him, therefore, from then on to take up arms and to defend the Romans who were suffering such things; for he said that to deliver them from their evils was equal to saving all mankind. He formed a plan, first to recall the cities that had revolted from the Roman empire, some by words, others by arms, and others by the kindness of his philanthropy. For he rendered their tributes lighter, and provided equality in the hearing of cases, and temperately dissolved the restless innovations and recklessness, doing so by silence more than by fear; knowing that the nations of the Sauromatae, the Franks, and the Germans were fond of novelty, and had a fickle inclination toward the rebellions of kings, and often made their own opinion the law. He also subdued the Spaniards, and the Britons, and the islands ^C that are there, and the rest of the tribes, and all those who are witnesses of the setting of the sun—those who boast that they know whether it truly plunges into the Ocean, or whether, having arrived at the water, it returns to us again by another way. And he captured the barbarian tribes there by the power of his arms, using them as an accessory to the work of the war. For some he subdued, to others he paid wages, and he made friends out of enemies, and acquaintances out of old foes, and he brought them all back as allies, having harmed no one, nor besieged them, and having hastened to the salvation of others. For where God is a co-ally, all things are directed, and it surpasses human reasoning. With such a God-loving purpose, the most faithful Constantine crossed the Rhine to the right, ^D and having crossed many mountains and many nameless rivers with a small army, and having subdued many barbarian tribes, and bringing to his side ten nations of the Gauls, the Franks, and the Spaniards, he brought his army at length to the mountains of Italy. When Maxentius heard these things, there was an unexpected turmoil. For he did not expect that anyone would ever cross such a land, mountains,

rivers, and regions enclosed by the arms of many barbarians, as well as other difficulties which arise of their own accord in desert places. For the greatest safeguard of kingdoms is generally ^A the very solitude of the places. In the meantime, it seemed best to lead the army out of Rome in secret and with great speed against the enemy, and to drive him back from Italy. But when the battle lines were drawn up against each other and the military standards were seen on both sides, they did not look as though they were going to fight with the same hope. For the Romans, having set out from Rome and spread out in phalanxes, resting after much cessation and quiet, appeared worthy to engage in battle with the enemy, bearing great spirits and worthy of the city itself. But those soldiers arrayed with Constantine, although they had occupied much land and gathered many spoils and plunder of war, made use of their success in their march rather than enjoying the fruits of what had been captured. ^B However, broken by long exhaustion and languishing from excessive labor, they were weary and slack.

CAP. IV. Concerning the cross that appeared to Constantine in the sky.

When they had decided to fight in this manner, and the forces stood arrayed on both sides, equal in strength, God armed Constantine from heaven, showing him the saving sign of the cross in the sky, fashioned with the splendor of light. The letters explained the power and meaning of the vision, in which was written: By this, conquer. This narrative seems to unbelievers to be a fable and a fabrication for the favor of our doctrine; but to those accustomed to believing the truth, it is a certain declaration of what occurred. For God, who painted that sign, later showed by the reality itself that the grace signified by the letters was by no means vain. But if we do not yet persuade those to whom we write—for we write history first, ^C because we are gathering useful things from his life from a little further back—yet one ought to believe in the things that follow, which, in our own age, those who served under Constantius, the son of Constantine, having seen with their own eyes, healed their old unbelief with fresh visions. For if the Hebrews contradict these things, many more incredible things can be brought forth from their books which are nevertheless believed to be true: that seas were traversed on foot, that water stood solidified like walls, that a journey was made through the deep, that God spoke in a bush, that a flame gave laws, that a trumpet sounded without an instrument in the desert, that angels were arrayed for battle, that princes of the host of the Lord fought for the army, and that stones fell like hail, and fiery weapons were sent in place of the customary spears; nevertheless, all of us who have a right mind ^D give assent to these things without questioning. For when God wills, there is nothing that cannot come to pass. But if the Gentiles do not accept this miracle, we have many things to say which we now think should be omitted. How great were the things which the soothsayers prophesied to Alexander, when he wished to lead his forces across the river Granicus, and concerning the battle against Darius; and yet…

^A these inventions of theirs have no clear demonstration of their own. How did the daemon of the philosopher Socrates foretell to him by voice the outcome of things not to be done? And what of the things written about Pythagoras of Samos by his disciples? I pass over in silence the fictions of the poets, and how certain of those esteemed among them write that some of those whom they consider to be gods actually waged war and fought alongside them—lest anyone think to compare these fabulous things with the true ones, and things that never happened with those that did. For as for the all-powerful grace of God [Christ], from the time it blossomed among men—in heaven, and on earth, and in the sea, and in plants, and in wood, and in garments, and in sickness, and in health, and in food, and in drink—those who have experienced it know that it became, is becoming, and will be a remedy and a most secure refuge from evils both present and future; and we too shall set this forth in its own time in the progress of the history.

Chapter V. Concerning the standard which King Constantine made, a copy of the cross seen by him in the sky.

Constantine, therefore, transforming the vision of the miracle into the form of a trophy, and fitting it with stones fixed in gold, and fashioning it into the likeness of a very tall spear, gave it to the vanguard to carry, wishing from then on to test the promise of the letters by the reality of deeds. Nor was he disappointed in his hope; for as he had quickly believed in what he had seen, so too did he the more quickly receive the victory.

Chapter VI. Concerning the victory of the pious King Constantine over the impious Maxentius.

Constantine, then, cutting short the great labor of the war through faith, and not fearing the army from Rome, drew up his own forces bravely against it. But Maxentius, ^B fearing the strength of Constantine, and also suspecting the hatred of the Romans—for he was detested by most on account of his wickedness—devised a scheme to carry out the treachery by deceit; and this deceit was a bridge, constructed from such things in the manner of a machine. For that which appeared on the surface was a crossing intended to receive Constantine; but that which lay hidden was a snare of deceit, set for his feet. For it was only necessary for the enemy to advance a little way upon it, and the machine would be dismantled, and the foe would be captured, taking the place as an unexpected tomb of his destruction. But he indeed prepared the snares of the crossing in this way; yet divine grace ensnares the artificer of evils with his own sophistries. For before Constantine could be caught, the tyrant himself, having advanced first, falls into his own devices; and there becoming his own tyrannicide, and having fashioned a clever trap against himself before Rome, at the bridge called the Milvian, Maxentius himself, having plunged into the river and choked, perished; as deservedly (as Eusebius Pamphili says) the whole Roman people exclaimed: "Let us sing"

^A to the Lord, for he has been gloriously magnified; the horse and its rider he has thrown into the sea. He has become my helper and protector for salvation." And: "Who is like to you among the gods, O Lord? Who is like to you, glorified in the saints, wonderful in praises, doing wonders?" To which the same writer adds these things, and as many others akin and similar to them: Constantine, having celebrated in deeds the leader of all and the author of victory, God, and his only-begotten Son Jesus Christ, entered Rome with triumphal and celebrated pomp, bestowing gifts upon all, as well upon those who were of the senatorial order as upon those who were illustrious with other ornaments of dignity, while the whole people of the Romans, together with infants and women, with joyful gaze and willing hearts, as if receiving a liberator, savior, and benefactor, welcomed him with auspicious acclamations and insatiable joy. But he, imbued with piety toward God, not in the least puffed up by that applause and popular clamor, but well aware of the help brought to him by God, immediately commanded a trophy of the salutary passion to be placed in the hand of his own statue. And when they had set up the statue holding ^B the sign of the cross in its right hand in the place of Rome most frequented by the people, he ordered this inscription to be engraved upon it in the very words of the Latin tongue: "By this salutary sign, the true evidence of bravery, I liberated your city from the yoke of the tyrants, and in setting free the Roman Senate and People, I restored it to its former amplitude and splendor." Thus far Eusebius.

CAP. VII. Concerning Licinius being sent by the pious Constantine against the tyrant who was in the East.

Rufinus (or rather Gelasius) speaks thus: After these things, the Senate asked for Licinius, the husband of Constantia, the sister of the pious Constantine, to reign together with Constantine; he immediately sent him into the East against the tyrant who was there, providing for the salvation of the Christians who were there. For the pious Emperor, ^C being affected by such great benefits from God, strove with every endeavor to render good thanks to his Benefactor. That was to relieve the affliction of the Christians with some quiet and remission, to recall some from exile, to release others from prison and chains, to restore to their original state some who had been proscribed with their goods, and to rebuild their churches; and he did all things with the greatest alacrity of mind, being wise in all things for Christ. Since he was a Christian, he did all things as a Christian, indeed building the churches of God and adorning them with precious gifts; but commanding the temples of the Gentiles to be torn down and burned with fire.

CAP. VIII. Concerning the madness of Maximinus, the tyrant of the East.

But the tyrant of the East in the meantime ^D began to harass the Churches of God.

^A A cause of this kind beguiled him: he could not bear or sustain the magnitude of the empire which had fallen to him beyond his merit; but, being devoid of an honest and kingly disposition, he managed affairs foolishly and perversely. At length, carried away by a grave and intolerable arrogance, he was induced to dare and attempt anything, even against his partners in the empire, and especially against Constantine (who far excelled him in all respects—in lineage, education, training, dignity, and prudence; and above all, which is the head of all things, he was preeminent in moderation of soul and true piety toward God), and he also presumed to claim the first place for himself in public honors and petitions. Soon, turning his folly into madness, he broke the treaties which he had made with Licinius, and stirred up a cruel war. After he had in a short time thrown everything into confusion and disturbed all the cities, and had gathered a multitude of ten thousand soldiers, he went out to battle against Licinius, and against him who had sent him, Constantine. ^B And indeed, when he joined battle, he was rendered destitute of the guardianship from God, the victory having been provided by the one God of all, who holds sway over all things, to Constantine, who was then ruler. The wicked man first lost the host of armed soldiers in whom he trusted; then, stripped of the protection of his guards and deserted by all others who abandoned him to flee to the victor, the wretch departed secretly; and casting aside, timidly and wrathfully and effeminately, the royal attire which indeed suited him but little, he mingled himself with the throng. Then having escaped by flight and hiding in the fields and villages, he scarcely avoided the hands of his enemies, concerned for his own safety. But by then it is truly possible to demonstrate that the divine oracles are most certain and true, in which it is said: «The king is not saved by much power, and the giant shall not be saved in the multitude of his strength. A horse is a deceitful thing for safety; neither shall he be saved in the abundance of his power. Behold, the eyes of the Lord are upon them that fear him, upon them that wait for his mercy; to deliver their souls from death.» ^C But that impious man, struck by the sudden scourge of God, ended his life in the second engagement of the war. His destruction was not such as what it is the lot of military commanders, who often play the man in war for the sake of virtue and friends, to undergo with a brave spirit, meeting a glorious death. But for that impious man and enemy of God, while his army still stood in arms, he himself remained at home, hiding within his walls, and paid the due penalties, stricken by the sudden scourge of God: so that, agitated by severe pain and bitter sense of torment, before he died, he was wasted by a dire famine; his very flesh also melted away by an invisible fire sent by the wrath of God, so that his appearance was entirely destroyed and vanished from its former shape, and he was reduced to dry bones alone, like some phantom consumed and thinned by the length of time, ^D so that those who were present thought his body to be nothing else than the sepulchre of a soul that was already dead and completely putrid, buried

^A more violently still, the heat consuming him from the depths of his marrow, his eyes started out and, falling from their sockets, left him blind. Breathing with difficulty even in this state, he confessed to the Lord and called upon death; and having finally and justly acknowledged that he suffered these things because of the madness he had shown against Christ, he gave up his soul.

CHAPTER IX. Concerning the restoration of the churches.

Thus indeed was Maximinus removed from the midst, who had appeared the worst of all the remaining enemies of piety, while the affairs of the restoration of the Churches were raised from their very foundations by the grace of God Almighty ^B; and the word of Christ, shining forth for the glory of the God of all things, received greater freedom of speech than before. Eusebius Pamphili, the best of all men, has recorded these things in the ninth book of his Ecclesiastical History; for, as I said above, gathering the summary points from his labors and those of others, I weave together this present little book with as much brevity as I can, hastening with the greatest zeal to lead the discourse to that highest, most illustrious, holy, and divine mountain of the apostolic and praiseworthy ^C synod of God’s priests which took place at Nicaea, especially when I see the prophet taking me by the hand and urging me on: "Come," he says, "let us ascend to the mountain of the Lord, and to the house of the God of Jacob; and he will announce to us His way, and we shall walk in it. For out of Sion shall go forth the law, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem." For truly, Sion and Jerusalem, and the most high mountain of the Lord, and the house of the God of Jacob is that divine company ^D of the orthodox priests of God, who, having searched through the prophetic, evangelical, and apostolic Scriptures, taught regarding the Word of Life—that is, the Son of God—that He is truly uncreated according to the nature of divinity, and not a creature, just as that enemy of God and most impious Arius blasphemed against Him; and that He is of the same nature and substance as the Father who begat Him before all ages; and they most clearly showed that the Holy Spirit likewise is of the same divinity and essence as the Father and the Son. And truly that high mountain of God, which is from the beginning—as the discourse previously declared—that venerable and holy rule of faith delivered to us by the Lord Himself through the apostles, and now clarified by His priests at Nicaea through testimonies of Scripture, that holy mountain of the immaculate faith, concerning which the discourse, advancing further with the help of God's grace, will speak more clearly. But let us return to the subject of ecclesiastical history which lies before us, resuming the account of those things by which God helped His people and removed the tyrants through His beloved servant, the Emperor Constantine, and of the peace which He secured through him for His churches throughout the whole world. "For the Lord is great alone, who does great wonders alone 17 and inscrutable, whose

number is not: who changes the occasions and times, who deposes kings and sets them up; raising the needy from the earth, and lifting the poor from the dung-heap; He has cast down the powerful from their thrones, and exalted the humble; He has filled the hungry with good things, and sent the rich away empty, and broke the arms of the proud. The wonder-worker, the doer of great things, the Lord of all, the creator of the whole world, the Almighty, the all-good, the one and only God: to whom we send up a new song, acknowledging him who alone does great wonders, for His mercy is to the age; to Him who smote great kings, and slew mighty kings: for His mercy is to the age; for in our humility the Lord remembered us." ^B Let us, therefore, never cease chanting hymns to the God of all for all these things, and to His only-begotten Son, Jesus Christ our Lord, who with the Father is the cause of all good things for us, the author of our knowledge of God, the teacher of true piety toward Him, the destroyer of the impious, the slayer of tyrants, the corrector of life, the Savior of those who were in despair, Jesus, whom let us all glorify with one mouth and one heart. For He alone, as the only good Son of an all-good Father, in the counsel of the Father's, His own, and the Holy Spirit's philanthropy, providing for the salvation of us who were lying below in corruption, most eagerly took upon Himself our nature; and, like an excellent physician, having taken upon Himself our weaknesses and bearing our diseases, He then and ever secured salvation and life for the human race. And He, being the King of kings, and ever caring for His own people, having armed His own friend and servant, Constantine, with the weapons of piety and faith toward Him, roused him against the impious tyrants: both against Maxentius in Rome, and after that against Maximin in the East. Having removed these by his hand, He restored clear and deep peace to His own people. ^C

CHAPTER X.

Concerning the depravity of Licinius.

For it was not, says Eusebius of Pamphilus, tolerable to that enemy of goodness, envy, nor to the evil-loving devil who promotes all impiety, to look upon the things that were being seen; just as, likewise, the things that had befallen the previous tyrants did not turn out to be sufficient for Licinius, even when he had changed, to adopt a prudent mindset. For he, enjoying power prosperously, and second in honor after the great Emperor Constantine, and having been deemed worthy of marriage and kinship with him, whereas he had abandoned the imitation of the good, he emulated instead the depravity of the impious tyrants; and the destruction of the life of those ^D whose end he had seen with his own eyes, he chose to follow in purpose rather than the...

^A friendship and intention of the superior man. Inflamed with envy against Constantine, from whom he had received very many benefits, he brought a pestilential and cruel war upon him, respecting neither the laws of nature, nor an oath, nor blood, nor the memory of treaties. For Constantine, as an excellent prince, in order to show him clear signs of true benevolence, did not begrudge him his own family connection and did not deny him the illustrious marriage of his sister. And after a few words: But the impious Licinius began to admit the opposite of these things, to devise daily every machine against the superior man, and to investigate all paths of treachery, so that he might repay benefits with evils. To these he adds: But God was a friend, guardian, and protector to this (Constantine) man, he says, who brought to light and exposed the plots devised in secret and darkness by the tyrant against him. So much do the holy weapons of piety have power for the warding off of enemies and for the defense of our salvation; ^B protected by which, our most holy emperor, Constantine, escaped the manifold and cunning snares of the execrable enemy through divine aid. Then, when Licinius saw that his clandestine efforts were in no way succeeding according to his desire (for God had revealed every trick and deceit to the pious emperor), and could no longer hide his deed, he moved for open war. And while he decided to undertake a war with Constantine, he was already arraying himself against the God of all, the guardian of Constantine, whom he knew Constantine worshiped; and from that time he miserably vexed the pious men subject to his empire. And after other things: ^C The manner and method of the slaughter by which he determined to destroy them was strange and had never before been heard of in the memory of the ages. For he surpassed every excess of cruelty in the evils with which he ordered Amaseia and the remaining cities of Pontus to be afflicted. There he cast down some of the churches of God from their height to the ground, and ordered others to be locked up, so that no one of those who were accustomed to frequent them might go there, nor render to God the due worship and prayers. For he did not believe that these things were being done for him—for how could he think otherwise, the one who hates God, reflecting on that with a depraved conscience?—but he was persuaded that we were doing everything for the pious Emperor Constantine and to appease God. ^D Being thus provoked by this opinion, he decided to turn the whole impetus of his fury against us. And a little later: And so many of the bishops were dragged away to punishment, and were punished like cutthroats, those who had committed no evil; they underwent a new kind of death: their bodies were first cut up into many parts with the sword, and after that cruel and most horrendous spectacle, they were cast into the depths of the sea to be devoured by the fishes. On top of these, there were again flights of all the pious, men as well as women and even children; and some of the servants of God sought refuge in the fields, others again in the deserts, in glens and on mountains, after the enemy of God had instigated the war against all.

^A And after a few words: Unless God, the protector of His servants, had most speedily forestalled what was to come, and had suddenly shown His servant Constantine as a certain splendid beam of light in the obscure darkness and gloomy night, and had raised him up as a liberator for all, and had led him with an uplifted arm and a most generous hand: to whom, indeed, He granted from heaven trophies of victory against the impious, as a fruit properly due to his piety, while He prostrated that sacrilegious man together with all his counselors and friends beneath the feet of Constantine—the God of Constantine and of us all. For when his insanity had progressed to extreme madness, the Emperor, dear to God, thought it was no longer to be tolerated; but, considering the matter with the innate and modest reasoning of his soul and with pious intent, and tempering the severe rule of law with humanity and clemency, he decided that those who were oppressed by the yoke of tyranny should be helped, and he hastened to save the greatest part of mankind by removing a few wicked men from the midst. For whereas before the most humane emperor had used only clemency, and had shown pity where no pity was deserved, to that impious man who was in no wise departing from his depravity but was rather ^B increasing his rage against the nations subject to him, that clemency availed nothing at all; but for those who were afflicted and harassed by that monstrous beast, there was left no hope of salvation. For this reason, then, that dispenser of good things, Constantine, tempering a hatred of wickedness with humanity, together with his son Crispus, a most humane prince, set out from the greatest city of the West, Rome, into the East against the tyrant, extending a saving right hand to all who were perishing; acting as father and son, with God the Father, the ruler of all things, and Christ the Son, the Savior of all, as their guide and helper, and having the battle line drawn up and arranged on all sides against the impious, they brought back an easy victory, since in that conflict everything was smoothed out for them according to their desire by God, the Emperor of all, as Eusebius, the most truth-loving follower of the most famous Pamphilus, testifies. But Rufinus, he says, although he has recorded no part of the events performed by Licinius, yet I will collect his own little words as if into one body and insert them into this commentary. He says, therefore: Licinius, ^C who was reigning together with the Emperor Constantine, being imbued with the opinions of the Gentiles, began to hate the Christians: but, fearing the Emperor Constantine, while he did not dare to vex them openly, he destroyed many by secret snares: then, as time went on, he openly persecuted all in the parts of the East, so that many martyrs of Christ appeared in various places. From that time he aroused against himself the greatest hatred of Constantine, and they became enemies hostile to one another. So much for him. But those who prefer to adhere to the truth of Eusebius, ^D say that both emperors, the father Constantine and the son Crispus, having divided the army, set out against the impious tyrant, Crispus indeed the son with the forces

regions of Asia with his army; but the father, Constantine, made his way through Europe with the guards who were with him. But that hater of God, filled with every impiety and bloodthirstiness, leading a vast army from the East against them, and breathing out great threats, came to Nicomedia; and since he well knew that the pious prince Constantine revered the priests of God with great observance, and held in highest honor Eusebius, the bishop of Nicomedia, who had already formerly adhered to his side, he hired him ^B against the religious emperor, thinking that by means of him and his associates he could remove from the midst Constantine, who was fortified by the unassailable weapons of God. Therefore that admirable Eusebius entered into an alliance with Licinius, persuaded by many promises from that associate of impiety. That these things are so can be understood from the very letter of the Christ-loving emperor, which he sent to the Nicomedians, saying thus at the end of the letter:

"Who taught this innocent multitude these things? Eusebius, clearly, the associate of tyrannical cruelty. For that he was everywhere ^C on watch for the tyrant can easily be understood from many of his actions. Indeed, the massacres of bishops—and those truly bishops—testify to this; this the most cruel persecution of Christians proclaims openly. Nor shall I indeed speak in this place of the things he did against me, by which the attacks of adversaries against me were managed as much as possible, for he watched me with eyes like a scout: he even performed service almost military, in order to bring aid to the tyrant. And let no one think that I am unprepared and lacking instruction even for these things, if there were need to confirm them by most certain arguments; for it can be most truthfully demonstrated ^D that priests and deacons were clearly caught by me, who assiduously surrounded Eusebius. But these things are not said by me because I myself bear them with vexation and an unkind mind, but so that they may be ashamed of their own madness. That alone I fear, that alone I ponder, that I see you being called into the partnership of this crime: for by the instruction and companionship of Eusebius, your conscience has turned away from the truth. But there is a prompt and easy cure for this matter, if only, having now obtained a faithful and upright bishop, you turn your eyes again to God. Which indeed is at present in your power, and which would have long ago been subject to your own judgment, had not the aforementioned Eusebius, by the corrupt counsel of those who aided him, come here present and impudently confounded the right order of choosing. But since a few things must be said before you concerning this same Eusebius, I ask you to listen willingly. Your forbearance remembers that a council of bishops was held in the city of Nicaea, at which I myself also, as the duty of my own conscience demanded, was present, with no other intention..."

than to establish concord among all; and above all, to refute and cast off that matter which, having taken its beginning from the madness of Arius the Alexandrian, was immediately strengthened by the absurd and pernicious zeal of Eusebius. But this same Eusebius, most beloved and honorable brethren, with what eagerness—you may judge for yourselves, as he was convicted by his own conscience—with what shame, when his falsehoods were detected on all sides, did he not first attempt to suborn certain men to intercede for him, and then seek help from me, lest, being condemned for such a great crime, he should be cast down from his rank of honor? God ^A is my witness in these matters, who may He be ever gracious to me and to you, that even me that same Eusebius attempted to pervert, and basely led astray; but Divine Providence restored me to the right way. This you know, and will know yet more fully. For all things were then done according to the opinion of that impious man, I mean Eusebius, who kept all his destructive designs hidden and secret within his own mind. But first, to pass over the rest of the deeds of his wickedness, hear, I pray you, what he perpetrated with Theognius, whom he held as an associate of his impious plan. I had ordered that certain Alexandrians who had departed from our faith should be sent here, seeing that through their activity the flame of discord had been kindled. But these noble and good bishops, whom the true judgment of the council ^B had reserved for the purpose of performing penance, not only received them and safely harbored them with themselves, but even associated themselves with their depraved morals. On account of this, I judged that these ungrateful men should be punished in some way, and I ordered them to be snatched from their places and relegated as far away as possible. Now it is our duty to fix the eye of our mind upon God with that faith in which it is established that we have always remained, and in which it behoves us to remain even now, and to pass our whole life in such a way that we may rightfully rejoice in having bishops excelling in integrity of life, purity of doctrine, and also in kindness toward all. If, however, anyone should rashly dare to celebrate those pests either in memory or with praises, he will immediately pay the penalty for his audacity through the work of the servant of God—I mean myself. May God keep you safe, most beloved brethren. These and other such things the epistle of the God-fearing Emperor Constantine showed ^D most clearly concerning that impious Eusebius of Nicomedia, who had been not only the associate of the God-hated Licinius, but also the accomplice and minister of his tyranny and impiety. Henceforth I return to the argument of ecclesiastical history.

CHAPTER XI. Concerning the victory which the religious Emperor Constantine won over the impious Licinius.

Licinius, therefore, having set out from the region of the Nicomedians with the army that was with him, proceeds toward Byzantium against the God-fearing Emperor Constantine, who was staying there at that time. But when both military hosts—that which championed the Christ-bearing [emperor]...

The flagitious man, seeing the Christ-bearing emperor having them in a circle around him, and beholding himself abandoned by his own soldiers, who had fled for refuge to the shield of his superiors, first ^A thought to hide himself in the Bithynian town of Chrysopolis (which is the naval station of Chalcedon). But when he could not do this, and saw himself already lying prone under the feet of Constantine the emperor, he gave himself up. The most equitable and most pious emperor, having taken him alive, treated him with great humanity; he did not kill him, but ordered him to dwell quietly and in idleness at Thessalonica. ^B He seemed to contain himself for a short time; but not long after, he began to call together certain Barbarians and, conspiring with them, meditated on avenging his defeat. The most faithful emperor, having learned of this, ordered the man who was hateful to God to be taken away; and thus the tyrant was removed by the work of Christ and his servant.

BOOK SECOND

CHAPTER FIRST

On the events after the removal of Licinius, and the reign of the Emperor Constantine, and the peace of the Churches of God.

Constantine, therefore, having become master of all things, through the wisdom given to him ^C by God, and being proclaimed supreme emperor, strove with all zeal to increase the affairs of the Christians more and more. He accomplished this in various ways, having an ardent faith and an innate, most faithful piety toward the God of the universe. And the whole Church under heaven enjoyed profound peace. Let us hear, then, what the excellent ploughman of the ecclesiastical husbandry, that most truth-loving Eusebius, the illustrious follower of Pamphilus, says here. Licinius, he says, having pursued the same path of impiety as the impious tyrants, ^D not without cause rushed to the same precipice of calamity as them. But while that man fell thus struck down and defeated, Constantine the Great, the victor, Augustus, adorned with every kind of piety, together with his son Crispus, an emperor most dear to God and in all things most like his father, brought the East under his own power, and restored the Roman empire, as it once was, into one, and held the entire kingdom in tranquil peace from the rising sun on every side to the farthest shores of the west, and to both other regions of the world, both North and South, bringing them under their peaceful rule; consequently, the fear of the evils by which they were previously oppressed was utterly removed from the life of men. Then

^A frequent assemblies were held, and feast days were celebrated; then all things abounded with joy. Those who before had been downcast and grim-faced now looked upon one another with cheerful countenances and bright eyes. (For He was present among them.) Then everywhere, in the cities and in the fields, they praised with hymns, first of all, the King of all, God, and His true Son, Jesus Christ (for in this they had been instructed), and afterward they lauded the pious emperor together with his God-beloved children. There was then an amnesty for past evils, and a forgetting of every impiety; there was enjoyment of the goods present, and, furthermore, an expectation of those to come. There were spread abroad, then, in every place, decrees full of the philanthropy of the victorious emperor, as well as laws containing the hallmarks of great generosity and true piety. Thus, indeed, with the entire stain of tyranny wiped clean, the helm of the empire, belonging by right to them, was securely preserved, free from envy and fear, for Constantine and his children alone.

So much has the most trustworthy of the ancient ecclesiastical writers, Eusebius of Caesarea, son of Pamphilus, left us in ten full volumes, accurately documenting our ecclesiastical history; having labored with great effort and investigation, and having constructed the proportions from those things that were told in simple terms. He began from the coming of the Lord and concluded in these present times, and this not without labor. For how could it be otherwise, with one who had undertaken such great care to preserve for us the harmony of such a collection; or rather, as I said a little while ago, one who had applied the utmost zeal and an unspeakable amount of toil to the task? Let no one, however, judge this man from the rumors spread about him, as if he had at any time agreed with the blasphemy of Arius. Rather, let him be convinced that if he did say or write anything that seemed to hint at the dogma of Arius, he did not do so out of the impious mind of that man, but out of an uncritical simplicity, as he himself fully proved in the apologetic work which he sent to the collective body of orthodox bishops. And anyone who is sensible might assume that the man was telling the truth, provided he considers the time in which he lived, and from that concludes that the things of Arius had not yet been heard of anywhere at that time. Moreover, his own struggles in the Council of Nicaea against the impiety of Arius on behalf of the apostolic and orthodox faith will demonstrate the same.

But let us return to the order of ecclesiastical history. When, therefore, the Church of Christ our Savior enjoyed a profound peace throughout the inhabited world, which the King of the universe, God, had prepared for Her through His servant Constantine and his children; after the martyrdom of the divine Peter, who had been bishop of the Church of the Alexandrians, and who was perfected in that very martyrdom, having bound about himself the incorruptible crown of his struggle, that Church remained widowed for one year. But after the year had passed, Achillas was ordained to the throne of that holy martyr Peter, a man robust and of great spirit, holy-minded, well-

-endowed with religion and great wisdom, as the ancient and unerring records tell us. ^A Having been much entreated, he received Arius into the order of deacons. But after surviving for only five months, Alexander received the primacy of the priesthood there in the Alexandrian Church—a man held in the highest honor by all the clergy and people of the Church, magnificent, liberal, eloquent, just, a lover of God, a lover of men, devoted to the poor, good and gentle toward all, if anyone ever was. He himself also appointed Arius as the presbyter closest to him. Under him, as the peace of the Churches shone forth daily more and more, and all conspired in one concord, and everywhere in the world men gloried in the rewards of the holy martyrs, the devil, unable to bear such growth ^B of the most faithful people of the Church in their heavenly worship toward God, again stirred up disturbances through a certain contention of ecclesiastical persons.

CAP. II. On the heresy invented by Arius, the enemy of God.

That presbyter, whom we said was deemed worthy of such honor by Alexander, the bishop of Alexandria, by name Arius—a man, indeed, more pious in appearance, but otherwise a cunning lover of vanity and glory—began to bring forward certain strange notions concerning the faith in Christ, which no one in previous times had ever sought or introduced. By attempting to separate our only-begotten Lord Jesus Christ from the ineffable and eternal divinity of ^C the Father, he became the author of great disturbance in the Church. But while Alexander, by the innate kindness of his nature, wished to change Arius for the better with fitting admonitions, and had not yet decided to use a formal sentence, meanwhile it happened because of this that many were consumed by the pestilential calamity of the heresy, and as if from a small spark, a great fire was kindled. The evil, beginning from the Church of the Alexandrians, ran through many other cities and provinces. Finally, when Alexander saw the evil progressing to the worse, having convened a synod of the bishops subject to him, and deposing Arius from the priesthood, he gave an account to his colleagues. ^D And setting forth more fully the things against Arius, and instilling in them a zeal for the extirpation of the heresy, so that they might prepare for judgment, he exhorts them, writing to them in this manner:

CAP. III. The deposition of Arius and his associates, sent by Bishop Alexander to all bishops.

To our most beloved and most honored fellow-ministers, who are joined with us in the ministry of the Church throughout the nations, Alexander sends greeting in the Lord.

CAP. IV.

CAP. V.

^A Yet those men lacked this, that not all who came there were from the number of the ministers of God; but in this present choir there was a multitude of bishops to the number of three hundred and more. As for presbyters, deacons, acolytes, and others who accompanied them, the crowd could scarcely be numbered. And among these priests of God, some became distinguished by speaking prudently and eloquently; others by the gravity of their life and their constant endurance of difficult matters; and some, who lived in a sort of middle way of life among them, attained notable praise. There were also among them not a few who, on account of the long space of time they had lived, gathered much honor and glory; others in the very flower of their age, on account of the sharpness of their intellects, obtained great splendor; while some had recently entered the course of the priesthood. For all of these, the emperor ordered that food be supplied daily, generously and liberally. Thus did Eusebius Pamphili discourse concerning those who had gathered there.

CAP. VI. How the king sat with the bishops.

When the emperor had completed the festival for the victory won against Licinius, he himself also came to Nicaea. The next day, all the bishops met together in one place, and the emperor also arrived after them. When he arrived, he stood in the midst and did not choose to sit until the bishops had signaled him to do so; so great was the piety and reverence that filled the emperor toward those men. To them, the most praiseworthy emperor delivered an exhortatory and learned address for the praise and glory and thanksgiving of the God of the universe, who had granted him such grace, speaking thus:

CAP. VII. An address of Constantine Augustus to the holy synod.

Many illustrious paths for the redemption of the human race has the justice of the almighty God prepared, but among others, there is that one which is more notable and most shining, and as it were the sum of His most holy law, by which He has gathered us all into the holy Catholic Church, as if into a certain dwelling of the Lord’s faith: which is greater than any miracle. We see the summit of this dwelling reach even to the radiance of the stars; yet we know that, at the very beginning of the work by divine nod, its foundations took root so deeply and faithfully that the entire orb of the earth was able to perceive it with its senses. From the aforementioned summit, therefore, which lies above all the rest, even to the end of its life's exit, the whole path is seen to be level and smooth, steeped as though in the color of the brilliance of light, whose frontispiece is adorned with a sidereal seal. Twelve in number are the columns, whiter than snow and immovable, and they sustain the constitution of the faith eternally through the power of the divinity of our Savior. Therefore, since no art of ours could attain to such a great work...

^A, God has instilled into our minds the sanctity of His immortal law; through whose gates, with no one leading save by a chaste and pious desire, whoever wills it enters with the faith of a pure mind. To this structure, a wholesome reflection has brought a certain wondrous splendor of adornment—I speak of the internal faith of men, which, adorned with flowering crowns throughout the entire circuit of the Lord’s house, gathers the fruit of immortality, and, bringing the chaste brightness of human life into the open, makes it manifest. Again, from this, the heavenly glory from above, crowned, delineates the rewards of the age that is always being born, or rather, has already been born; and, fostered with becoming praise, it ornaments the entire perfection of the building, supporting it. ^B This same house of the Lord is guarded by only two sentinels: for divine fear chastises the reflection of some, while divine favor is always present to those who are wise, as a reward for their prudence. When these two sit at the gates of the most holy place, they receive justice when the doors are opened, and it, dwelling within, remains incorrupt; but it is not lawful for iniquity to approach the gates, but being repelled by those sentinels, it is excluded from that place. These things, most honorable and praiseworthy brothers, being so clear, have led me to the brightness of the eternal and immortal light, so that if it were further from me, a doubtful faith of the mind might perhaps render the truth incongruous.

But what shall I first confirm? Whether the form of happiness that lies conceived within my breast, or the divine benefits toward me which have already been manifested by the omnipotent God—the number of which we assert to be sufficient for many works—so that the same God of ours, the Father of all things, has deservedly brought my mediocrity into His service? Believe, most honorable brothers, and apply an upright faith to these words: for although my spirit, filled with God’s benefits, seems most happy, and for that reason apparently able to pay Him immense praises, yet, as the faith of truth clearly shows, neither voice nor tongue suffices to serve the command of the mind; and this with very good reason. ^C For since the magnitude of the benefits is immense, my mind, being higher, occupies the loftier parts of the body; but the path of the tongue, closed into a very narrow space, when it is deemed to be speaking, falls silent altogether. ^D For who among us is so headlong in thought as to reject every consideration of this opinion and therefore dare to affirm that it is quite easy to speak glorious and worthy praises to the omnipotent God, the creator of all the most beautiful things? Since, if anyone were to weigh the majesty of Him who ordained that he be born, he would understand that nothing can be found that is worthy to be spoken of God. What, therefore, was it fitting for my mediocrity to say in its justification, other than what the divine word of truth might demonstrate? This is the magnitude, this the greatest veneration. Let it be considered openly whether it can fall into, or slip by any error in, those things which are said concerning Him. And would that

there were granted to me, in union of service with you, an abundant flow of speech, that I might celebrate with fitting praise those things which our divine Saviour, the guardian of all things, in the preambles of His advent—when, for the sake of our salvation, He deigned to take from the Virgin a dwelling-place for His pure body—showed forth to all men as an example of His mercy, by the tranquil nod of His divinity! ^A From whence, therefore, shall I begin? From His doctrine and majesty? Or rather from those proofs which He, Himself the sole Master, declared without any teacher? And yet, how many peoples—so many that they cannot be comprehended by number—were revived by His providence through a small amount of food and the most meager rations, and solely by two fish, through His divine industry! He also brought about the resurrection of Lazarus after death by a brief utterance, and led him back again to the splendor of this light. And how shall I speak of His pure divinity, through which, having beheld a certain woman in an ineffable manner, and having deigned to grant her His conversation, He showed her to be restored to health and free from every disease? And who could worthily proclaim His immortal deed, by which one who was held by a continuous and long-wasting disease, lying with all his limbs loosened and torn apart, was suddenly healed by divine medicine, placed the bed upon which he lay upon his shoulders, and pouring forth praises of thanksgiving, ran through his country and its borders? ^B And his divine and stable entry, by which, walking and treading upon the raging sea, He traversed it, and by His divine footsteps He solidified the wetness of the deepest sea, and made His way through the middle of the ocean, which is defined by no measure of depth, as if it were dry land; and His simple patience, by which, victorious in all things, He tamed the contumacy of foolish peoples, and, having tamed their ferocity, by dwelling far from them, subjected them to the law; and those divine and greatest works of His divinity by which we live, by which we are approved, whosoever of us do not only expect the hope of future beatitude, but in a certain manner already hold it? I, indeed, with the meager equipment of my speech, dare say nothing more than this alone, that my soul must needs move in sincerity and purity. What, therefore, is the omnipotent God who inhabits heaven, towards the entire human race, and most of all and especially towards that most beautiful justice, which is greater than any praise, ^D seeing that He deemed it worthy for His own most holy divine Spirit to inhabit His own body, and thus to be salutary to all human bodies? Since indeed the immense insanity of the enemies, blinded as if by a certain darkness of a pernicious shadow, does not hesitate to misinterpret the most holy and salutary dispensation of the omnipotent God: I shall attempt to narrate this briefly, insofar as faith and the justification of the soul shall grant the power of speech. Indeed, the perverse opinions of these nations introduce such a kind of impudence that they do not dread to say with an impious mouth that the omnipotent God [would judge] all things which are noted by the divine law...

as neither having created them, nor having willed to create them. ^A O, voice both impious and such as worthily demands in itself every redundancy of punishment! Does he therefore desire to render vainly, insanely and audaciously, the glory of this divine benefit, which no man can comprehend? For what is more worthy of God than purity? which from his most holy conversation has flowed forth with the fountain of justice, and has inundated the entire circuit of the world, and has demonstrated to men the faculties of the most holy virtues, which they had previously esteemed hostile to themselves through the affection of the Assyrians: the evil example of whom, going before, persuaded the remaining nations to adapt themselves to them. Among whom, as we ourselves test by our own theory, we see the divine clemency of our Savior God ^B cooperating; since he ordered the fury of them, daily and for many years fervently incited, to arrive at the tolerance of a saving remedy. Nor yet can the magnitude of his benefit reach the rest into favor, so that they might be able with every speech to exalt purity and divine power among men, and to confirm it when exalted on high; but rather it happened that they would again cast it down and dissolve it; although that was plainly adverse to human affairs. For although God omnipotent proposed to do all things by the silent nod of his divinity; yet the insanity of men became more frequent: and although his infinite humanity corrected all souls, yet many other things, which serve in the conversation of the world in their own order, could not emerge: but all things ^C perished quickly after the ignorance of divinity, and the iniquity of envy and ingratitude was shortly excited. But no one was found alien from malignity, with the kinds of superstitions diffused far and wide into the souls of men to such a degree that the light of this our splendor was surrounded by darkness, and they themselves were always deprived of the light. Therefore no reason will be able to tear my faith in the aforementioned things from my soul. For perfect power follows it, with no evil hindering, and the living Word of truth, one omnipotent, the guardian of all things, and the procurator of our salvation. Thus therefore the abundance of the most holy Word seems in a certain way to guard the conversation of him whom it frees, and to furnish to us the splendor of light. For what cause therefore do the peoples of all nations even now, ^D not beholding the celestial light and despising most noble piety, inquire after that which is of the earth, which has no foundation of truth, nor the clarity of pure splendor, nor the power of celestial divinity? O unworthy crime! Still, even now, when they omit nothing impious, nor look toward God, and fall into miserable error, they do not see, and they do not cease to contaminate the splendor of the world with these sordid works. For they propose wood, stone, bronze, silver, and gold, and other things of this kind taken from the earth, that they may be adored, and referring the hope of life to them publicly, they build temples for them with distinguished ornament, and afterward glory in the additions of their own adoration: if indeed the magnitude of the structures

^B produced by them offers a miracle worthy of their own sight. When, therefore, they seem to do these things, it is clearly understood—even if they themselves do not perceive it, nor see it—that they are caught boasting arrogantly about their own works. How great and how mighty is God the Almighty who is not seen, who is the absolute Master and Judge of all, even if some, through this very confidence in what they mistakenly deem to be their own virtue, are unaware! For by his arrangement ^C our body’s form received its due shape, and so that we might possess the vigor of harmony, he himself bound together the connection of all our limbs with the strongest sinews, that in every action of our endeavor we might have the unwearying vigor of our own harmony. These things having been perfected by a salutary arrangement, he inspired in us a spirit so that all these things might be able to move and flourish, and he granted sight to our eyes, and in addition bestowed understanding upon our head, and enclosed the reason of all our thought within the region of this mind. Therefore, if anyone who is wise considers the reason for this arrangement, ^D and lets go of other things which can be comprehended neither by word nor by number, he will be able—with swift attention—to see and understand the salutary and eternal power of the immortal God; and he will not be able to be rashly entangled by any error, but it will be permitted to him to contemplate clearly and see that all things were made by the power of God, just as he himself willed all these things to exist. And that it might be visible that some illicit conduct in the world wrought the ignorance of God among men—the first sin of reason having been born from the deception of the enemy in the wretched souls of perverse men—it is possible for us to receive a clear demonstration of this matter from the divine law. For from that time when the divine and holy commandment was not kept with proper diligence by those two who were established in the beginning, the flower of this designation—namely, of ignorance—was born henceforth; and it became continuous and increased all the more, from the time when the aforementioned two were cast out by divine nod. And until such an extent has that very matter progressed with perversity

that it has passed judgment ^A upon the eastern and western lands alike; and this very excess of the opposing power seized hold of and darkened the minds of men. In this ordinance, however, there is for the God who is almighty, a holy and immortal and tireless house. For in all the days and in the times that have passed by, God has freed countless multitudes of the people from this burden through me, His same servant, and will lead them out to the full brilliance of eternal light. Therefore, from these things, my most beloved brothers, through a more intimate providence and the glorious benefactions of my immortal God, I trust that I shall henceforth be more distinguished in the most pure faith toward Him. Let the most holy synod of your holiness therefore receive me, and do not suffer that the most temperate Church, and the gates of the pure, common mother of us all, be shut against me. Even if, above all, the reasoning of my soul even now seeks perfect purity of the catholic faith, it does not deem this itself worthy to be, yet it urges and reminds me; and treading the brow of its own modesty, it has brought forth the seal of the finest virtues, and has begun to touch the gates of immortality and to knock at them; so that you too, seeing the thoughtlessness of my fraternity, may straightway pardon it and look to the peace of the catholic faith. For this is fitting for God, and appropriate to the faith of the catholic Church, and beneficial to the common good of our affairs; that we may all together offer a worthy return of gratitude for this most honorable peace granted to us from God, to Him who bestowed it upon us. For it would be truly terrible, and excessively so, now that our enemies have been overthrown and no one dares to stand against us anymore, for us to strike at one another, and to offer pleasure and laughter to the ill-disposed, especially when we are discoursing upon divine matters and possess the teaching of the all-holy Spirit recorded in writing. For the books of the Gospels and the Apostles, and the oracles of the ancient prophets, clearly instruct us in what we ought to believe concerning the Divinity. Having, therefore, driven away the strife that engenders war, let us take the solution to our questions from the divinely inspired words. ^B Such things and other matters similar to these, the all-wise emperor, as a son who loves his father, laid before the priests as fathers, striving for the agreement of the apostolic dogmas. And of the bishops who had met together for the same purpose—there were three hundred and eighteen—the three hundred and more were persuaded by what was said, and they embraced both the concord among themselves and the soundness of the dogmas. The rest, however, as we have said before, fought against the apostolic dogmas; these were they who were eager to grandly support the opinion of Arius, being seventeen in number: Eusebius of Nicomedia, as has been mentioned before; Theognis of Nicaea, Maris of Chalcedon, Theodorus of Heraclea in Thrace, Menophantus of Ephesus, Patrophilus of Scythopolis, Narcissus of Neroniades in the second Cilicia—which we now call Irenopolis—Theonas of Marmarica, Secundus of Ptolemais in Egypt, and together with them eight others, who, mingling themselves with the choir of the three hundred holy ones as though they were orthodox, fought against the apostolic dogmas, conspiring with Arius. Against these, our holy Fathers struggled nobly: Alexander, who was then a presbyter of Constantinople, and Athanasius, archidiaconus of the Church of the Alexandrians. Wherefore, in envy did...

^A arm itself against them, as we shall say later. Our holy bishops, however, summoned Arius to the synod, permitting him to set forth his own dogmas at the nod of the emperor, who was victorious in all things; for, as we have just said, he himself sat with the synod.

CAP. VIII. How the emperor received the libelli of the bishops.

Truly, that admirable deed which was performed in the synod by the emperor, who was victorious in all things, ought not to be passed over in silence. For when all the bishops had gathered together, and—as usually happens in contentious debate—questions and controversies had arisen among them, and some accused others, and they offered up libelli and presented written charges to the pious emperor: he, having received the libelli and sealed them with his own ring, ordered them to be kept. Observing the mutual contention of such bishops, he said that it was necessary for all to gather together on a certain day to discuss these matters. When the appointed day arrived, the emperor sat in the midst, and, silence having been made as was appropriate for the time, ^B he ordered the libelli of all to be brought. Having received them and placed them in his own bosom, and not wishing to look into these accusations, he speaks thus to the bishops: "Since God has appointed you priests and judges to discuss and adjudicate the controversies of the people, and has deemed you worthy to be called gods, as being far superior to other men—for it is written: 'I said, You are gods, and all of you are children of the Most High' (Ps. LXXXI, 6), and also: 'God stood in the congregation of the gods' (ibid. 1)—you ought certainly to neglect such common matters and apply all care and zeal to divine things." And having ordered fire to be brought, he commanded the libelli all to be burned. For he made an effort that none of those outside might know of the disorderly attempts of such bishops: so great was the emperor's reverence toward the priests ^C of God, which all who think correctly ought to admire.

I do not consider it right to pass over in silence another deed of his similar to this one. For certain forward men and laymen, who took pleasure in insults and quarrels, accused certain bishops and handed over written accusations to the emperor, and this before the matter could be brought to concord. He received these too, but, having bound them and sealed them with his ring, ordered them to be kept. Then, when he had brought about the harmony of peace, he ordered them all to be brought forward at once; and with all the bishops present, he burned these also in the fire, after first having sworn solemnly that he had read nothing of what had been written in them. For he said that the failings of priests ought to be unknown to the many, ^D lest they take the occasion for scandal from this and sin with less fear. They say that he also added this: that if he himself were to see with his own eyes an episcopus committing adultery with another man’s wife, he would throw his own imperial purple

^A over the deed being committed illegally, so that the sight might not harm the eyes of those looking upon what was being done. Such was the emperor’s God-fearing and truly admirable prudence. For many days, and indeed even for many months thereafter, the emperor continued to assemble with the episcopi, discussing with them matters concerning the faith and weighing their various opinions. For there were, as we have often said, some among them who favored the impious dogmas of Arius and who diligently opposed the multitude of holy episcopi, the defenders of the truth. But our finest and in every way most holy Fathers, armed with the weapons of truth, preached the glorious and blameless faith with great boldness; with them was a great number of confessors who offered strenuous resistance to those who wished to maintain the depraved dogmas of Arius. ^B

CAP. IX. Concerning Saint Paphnutius.

There was among them the great and holy Paphnutius, who brought no small ornament to the choir of confessors and episcopi. He was an Egyptian by race, a man of God, from that assembly whose right eye the emperor Maximinus had gouged out, and whose left knee-sinew he had cut, having delivered him to be held in the mines. Yet in him the grace of God shone forth so brightly that miracles were wrought through him no less than those performed of old by the apostles. For by word alone he put the demons to flight, and he healed many who were sick through prayer; to the blind he granted sight by beseeching God; and he restored natural strength to the paralyzed, causing their healthy limbs to function in their offices. The emperor held him in the highest honor, and often invited him into the palace and embraced him, and kissed his gouged-out eye—so great was the authority and grace of holy men in the sight of the pious emperor. ^C

CAP. X. Concerning Saint Spyridon.

Spyridon, the Cypriot, was also a man distinguished in the Lord, who from his boyhood devoted the rudiments of his pastoral life to the flock of Christ, and was known to lead a prophetic life; and even while administering the episcopate, he did not cease to shepherd his own sheep. He was so good and long-suffering that when certain robbers broke into his fold by night and were held fast by certain invisible and unseen bonds, so that they could not move from there until the dawn, the blessed man, coming upon them, obtained through his prayers that they should be released from their bonds; nay, he even gave them a ram, the most excellent of the flock, as they were departing, saying: "Take this, young men, for your need, so that departing without result, you may not blame me for being the cause of your want this night." Many other miracles besides have we heard concerning this saint, but we shall set forth one out of many. ^D

CAP. XI. How he raised his dead daughter for the sake of a merchant.

^A That blessed and celebrated man of God had a daughter named Irene, who, ministering helpfully to the old man, lived her whole life with the utmost chastity as a virgin. After her death, a certain merchant who was returning from abroad asked the old man for a deposit which he had long ago entrusted to his virgin daughter. The blessed Spyridon was utterly unaware of the matter; but as the man kept pressing him insistently, the old man searched his house high and low, and finding nothing anywhere, he was deeply troubled in spirit. He informed the man that he knew nothing of any deposit, nor did it exist in the house. The merchant then began to cry out even more loudly, weeping and lamenting, and demanded the deposit, shouting also that he would lay violent hands upon himself ^B if he did not receive what he had entrusted. For he said that he had deposited with the virgin the only means of support and comfort he had saved for his old age. Thus compelled, that holy old man made haste with the merchant to his daughter's tomb to inquire about the matter. He called her by name, saying, "Daughter, Irene." She, answering from the tomb, said, "What do you want, father?" The old man said to her, "Where have you laid the deposit of this man, daughter?" And she replied to him, "In such-and-such a place it lies, father," clearly designating the place to her father. He said to her, "Go in peace, my daughter Irene." The old man then returned home, and finding the deposit in the very place the maiden had indicated, he delivered it to the man. ^C He performed many other stupendous and admirable deeds, which are celebrated by the mouths of all, and which even now are shown by the local inhabitants for the full persuasion of faith in Jesus Christ, to those who apply their minds and attention to the matter.

With such men, therefore, the Church flourished until those times, many of whom attended the Nicene synod. Moreover, all acknowledge that Athanasius, whom I mentioned earlier, then a deacon, was by no means absent from that sacred circle of saints. He was with Alexander, bishop of the Church of Alexandria, whom he assisted in many matters with faithful labor and counsel. Thus our holy bishops would communicate with each other daily for a long time regarding the faith, considering that nothing should be decided hastily or rashly concerning such a great matter. ^D They frequently summoned Arius, and by frequent questioning refuted his propositions; and with every care and thought they sought how to overthrow his nefarious dogmas, and what ought to be established and decreed against them, always using keen consideration and managing these matters with prayers poured forth to God. Wherefore, very wisely and fittingly, they opposed their condemnations against the impious dogmas of Arius and his followers, rooting out and utterly destroying their impure blasphemies against the Son of God. And to that which they asserted, that the Son of God is not from God, our men opposed the doctrine of "God from God." But against what they said, that he is not the true God, our men defined him to be the true God.

^A And against their calling him a creature, our men decreed he was begotten, not made. And against the "different substance" proposed by them, our bishops opposed that the Son is consubstantial with the Father; that is to say, begotten from the substance of the Father; and they proclaimed him to be the Creator and Maker of all things, both visible and invisible, according to the apostolic faith handed down to his Church from of old, providing proofs from Scriptural testimonies, as the discourse will show as it proceeds. By this antidote, having overturned the deadly poisons, they henceforth and from that time forward draw up the apostolic faith in agreement.

CHAP. XII.

The holy and great and general synod of the holy Fathers gathered at Nicaea, ^B through the blessed and holy Hosius, bishop of the city of Corduba in Spain, who held the place of the Bishop of Rome, together with the aforementioned priests of the same see, with another interpreting for him, said: The divinity is not one person, as the Jews imagine, but three persons truly subsisting, not in name only; and this is proclaimed by many testimonies in the Old and New Testament. For the Old, discoursing still in a more corporeal manner, presented the Word as one speaking. The New, however, demonstrated the Word to be God, according to that: "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God." ^C And perfect person from perfect. For the Son is God, not a part, but perfect just as the Father; being of the same substance as the Father who begot him in an ineffable manner. And the Holy Spirit likewise coexists with the Father and the Son, being of the same substance and the same reality. Therefore, one must confess a single will, one kingdom, one authority, one dominion over all created things, both those perceived by sight and those by mind and understanding; one divinity and the same substance, of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Not preaching confusion or division of the persons of that ineffable ^D and blessed Trinity, but that we always truly have a Father as the Father of a true Son, always existing and subsisting; and a Son as the true Son of a true Father, always existing and subsisting; and a Holy Spirit as truly a Holy Spirit, always existing and subsisting: a Trinity indivisible, ineffable, and truly incomprehensible and inexpressible; one divinity, and the same substance of this we believe and confess according to that holy faith long ago [delivered] by the Lord through his holy apostles and the ancient holy Fathers.

We were prepared, by the arbitrament of the Holy Spirit, to demonstrate through very many testimonies from the divine Scriptures that these things are so. When these things were being proclaimed by them, or rather by the Holy Spirit through them, those who supported the impiety of Arius (among whom were Eusebius of Nicomedia and Theognis of Nicaea, whom we have already indicated before) were likewise looking to certain exceedingly eloquent philosophers ^B hired by Arius, whom, having engaged as patrons of his own malice, he brought with him to that holy and general synod. For there were present very many philosophers, in whom the adversaries of the truth, as we just said, were hoping, and were deservedly condemned along with the master of their blasphemy; for in him and in them the holy Scripture was fulfilled which says: "Cursed is the man who trusts in man, and whose heart has departed from the Lord." For the blasphemous heart of the God-fighting Arius and of those who communicate in his impiety truly departed from the Lord, for they dared to call the Son of God a creature and a work, when ^C he is the creator and maker of all created natures, both invisible and visible.

CHAPTER XIII.

How very many things were brought forth by the philosophers of Arius against that holy synod of the apostolic priests of God.

One of those mercenary philosophers of Arius, who won more admiration than all the others, argued very many things at great length on behalf of Arius against our bishops for many days; so that daily, because of the conflict of the disputation, there was a huge gathering of many people hastening to listen. Meanwhile, the philosopher was pouring forth many things against what was being said by the holy synod, and was casting up the impious blasphemies of Arius concerning the Son of God, saying that "there was a time when he was not," and that he is a creature and a work [made] out of nothing, and that he is of a different essence and substance than the Father. ^D And for these wicked dogmas of Arius he fought with great contention of soul and a river of speech. While he was raging with this madness against the Son of God and was sharply assailing the crown of holy Fathers—the enemy of human salvation speaking in him and through him—the defenders of the truth, our bishops, offered against the philosopher, without any tumult or clamor, the fitting and proper arguments for the apostolic dogmas, imitating that great prophet and king David, who says: "I was prepared and was not troubled." For they consumed all the devious and tangled arguments of the philosopher with the flame of the divine word, like tow with fire. But he, relying on the diabolical art of words, did not cease to harass the truth proclaimed by the bishops, easily, as he thought, when

^A he encountered the questions posed to him, endeavoring to resolve the arguments brought against him, even the stronger ones by which he seemed to be constrained, by slipping away like an eel. Although he raged in this manner and brought himself into the peaceful synod with much arrogant pride, thinking that he could overcome the invincible power of the uncreated Spirit of Christ which was in them, he was finally vanquished, having been convicted by his own words: so that God, who "catches the wise in their own craftiness," 38 might show that His kingdom is not in speech but in power, by ordering that evil demon speaking in the philosopher not only to be silenced imperiously, but also to be cast out by one of His servants who was present there.

For a certain man of the holy confessors who were present at the synod, a man simple by nature and open, if ever any other from that assembly was, who knew nothing else except Jesus Christ, and Him crucified in the flesh, according to the Scriptures, being with the bishops, and seeing the philosopher insulting our pious bishops and boasting in the cunning of his disputations, requested from the bishops, the priests of God, permission to speak and converse with the philosopher. Then indeed our holy bishops, seeing the man’s simplicity and his lack of learning, urged him not to come forward into the midst, lest he should perhaps be mocked by the wicked and by enemies of the truth. But, being unable to contain himself, he approached the philosopher and said to him: "In the name of Jesus Christ, the Word of God who always exists with the Father, hear the dogmas of the truth, O philosopher." He replied to him: "If you speak them." Then the saint said: "There is one God," he says, "who, after He had fashioned the heaven, and the earth, and the sea, and all things contained in them, and had formed man from the earth, sustained all things by His Word and by the Holy Spirit. We, O philosopher, acknowledging this Word to be the Son of God, worship Him, believing that for our redemption He took flesh from a Virgin, was born, became man, and by the passion of His flesh upon the cross and by His death, delivered us from eternal condemnation, and through His resurrection bestowed upon us eternal life; whom we hope will return, having ascended into the heavens, as a judge of all that we have accomplished in life. Do you believe these things, O philosopher?"

The philosopher, as if he had never had experience of arguments for the sake of contradiction, was struck dumb, and became silent as if deaf or mute, ^B having said this alone in a voice softened to a piteous tone, that: "To me these things seem to be so, and I believe that nothing else is truer than what you have said." Then the old man said: "If you believe that these things are so, O philosopher, arise, follow me, and let us hasten to the church, in which you may receive the seal of this faith." And the philosopher, having turned his mind toward true piety toward God, arose and followed the old man. ^C Turning indeed to his disciples and to those who had flocked there for the sake of hearing: "Listen," he said, "O men: as long as with words

of the faith. But the philosopher, having turned his whole self toward the true piety toward the God of all, arose and followed the elder; and turning to his disciples and to all who had come together for the hearing, he says: "Listen, O men; as long as I was intent upon arguments, I countered with arguments, and I overturned what was presented by the art of rhetoric; but when, instead of arguments, a certain divine power came forth from the mouth of the one seeking, the arguments were no longer able to array themselves against the power; for man is not able to stand against God. For this reason, if any of you can understand, as I have thought I have, let him believe in Christ and follow this elder, in whom God has spoken." In this manner the philosopher, having been enlightened and become a Christian, rejoiced that he had been vanquished by the elder; and when this philosopher was baptized, and joined to the Church of God, and rested and exulted at the great works of God, the synod itself rejoiced.

CHAPTER XIV.

Proposal of the philosopher to the holy synod concerning the words: "Let us make man."

"And God said: Let us make man according to our image and likeness." If, therefore, as the voice indicates, the mind also existed separately, one might say that God has the form of a man; but we know God to be simple and without figure. What, then, do the meanings of these appellations signify? Tell me, does the Divine have a human form?

Answer of the holy Fathers through Eustathius, Bishop of Antioch.

Not so, O philosopher, but that which God said: "Let them have dominion over the whole earth, and let them rule over it and all things that are in it," this is the principal thing, to make man according to the image of God, and for him to rule over the whole earth. For just as God rules over the whole earth and all things that are in it, so also did He establish man as a second ruler of the whole earth and of the things that are in it. I say that this is for man to have been made according to the image and likeness of God.

CHAPTER XV.

"And God said: Let us make man according to our image and likeness." But to whom did He speak, let us inquire, philosopher. For in the passage where it is said: "And God said: Let us make man," He added, saying: "And God made man: according to the image of God He made him; male and female He made them." ^D The signification of the word "Let us make," therefore, indicates a co-creating person, and introduces an equal appellation. For as the Father is God who said: "Let us make man," so also is He God to whom He said, let us make, while being

^A of one and the same divinity of both persons, both of Him who said: "Let us make man according to our image and likeness," and of Him who made man. For the voice "Let us make" portrays the all-good and unchanging divinity of the Father and the Son. For the image of God is simple and without composition, being fire by nature.

Consonant response of the holy Fathers.

Light inaccessible and nature incomprehensible is the essence of the holy Trinity. This is the meaning of the word, "Let us make."

CHAPTER XVI.

I will say again that God is simple, and without form, and without composition. How then must this be understood, "According to our image and likeness," and that he who said it did not pre-exist him to whom he spoke, "Let us make man," and what follows? Tell us clear proof of these things, if you can.

The holy bishops, through Hosius, bishop of the city of Córdoba, with another interpreting for him, said:

^B If, as you say, the Father existed before the Son, and the Son was created after some time by God, and was declared to be His Son by the Father after that, as you impiously blaspheme saying, that He was created by Him before the creation of created natures; then the uncreated God, according to your impiety, would have said to the created Son, according to you: "Make man for me according to my image and likeness." But since God is always Father, as we have ^C previously demonstrated, and the Son always co-exists with the Father, not later in time, not lesser in power, not circumscribed by place, but always and in the same way eternally co-existing with the Father, begotten of Him incomprehensibly and ineffably, as we have said before, being true God always, from the true God and Father who is always, co-unbegotten with the Father, co-eternal with the Father, reigning always with the Father, consubstantial with the Father, equal in power with the Father, co-creator with the Father. For if the divine voice of the Gospels says that all things ^D were made through the Son, and that "without him was not anything made that was made," yet He did not create apart from the Father. But since there is one divinity, and one will of the Father, and of the Son, and of the holy Spirit, with the Father always inseparably with the Son, and the Son with the Father; understand then, O philosopher, that the Father and the Son are one according to the substance of the divinity, just as the Son himself cries out in the Gospels: "I and the Father are one"; to whom He was saying: "Let us make man according to our image and likeness."

^A

Contradiction of the philosopher.

Response of the holy synod through the same bishop, Hosius of the city of Cordova.

CHAP. XVII.

Contradiction of the philosopher.

^A

Mutual response of the holy Fathers through Leontius, Bishop of Caesarea in Cappadocia, and Eupsychius, Bishop of Tyana.

If, therefore, as you say, the Son was created by the Father as an instrument for the production of created natures, you fall from your own arguments, O philosopher. For the voice of the Gospel says, as you yourself remembered just now: "All things were made by him." And it adds: "And without him was not any thing made that was made." If, therefore, everything created was made by him, and without him not one thing was made, and the Son is also a creature, as you say, then he created himself, and not the Father.

Contradiction of the philosopher.

I have said once that God made all things by an instrument, through him, having made him for this very thing before all creation, and having prepared him as an instrument for the production of created natures.

Response of the holy Fathers through the same bishops, Leontius and Eupsychius.

Tell me, O best of men, where has anyone proclaimed to you that the Son and His holy Spirit are instruments? Provide us with the testimonies for these hypotheses. Whose, among those led by the Spirit, do you have subscriptions [attesting] that he delivered the Son of God—the creator of all the ages and of all the heavenly hosts, and of all things on earth—to be an instrument? Hear, therefore, O philosopher, the testimonies from the divine Scriptures, which establish that the Son is coeternal with the Father, and that he is the creator and maker of all created natures. ^B In the book of Genesis, you have Moses the prophet, who handed down that the Son was a co-creator with God the Father, saying, as we said to you before, O best of men: "God said, Let us make man in our image and according to our likeness." It is characteristic to summon a co-creating person, but not instruments. For the saying: "And God made man; in the image of God he made him; male and female he made them," signifies the authority of a person. For in the saying "Let us make man," he removes the thought of instruments. Receive a clearer authentic testimony, set forth for the person of the Son alone, showing him to be the author of all created natures, as it is written in the book of Baruch, from the mouth of Jeremiah the prophet, who says: "He who prepared the earth for eternal time, filled it with four-footed beasts. He who sends the light, and it goes; he called it, and it obeyed him with trembling. And the stars shone in their watches, and were glad; he called them, and they said: Here we are; they shone with joy to him who made them. ^C This is our God, and no other shall be reckoned against him. He found out all the way of knowledge, and gave it to Jacob his servant, and to Israel whom he loved." ^D

^A And after these things he was seen upon the earth, and conversed with men. And Isaiah says to Israel: "And now hast thou not known, or hast thou not heard? The everlasting God, the Lord who created the ends of the earth." Who then is this everlasting God, O philosopher, who created the ends of the earth, who was also seen upon the earth, and conversed with men? Are you saying that it was the Son who conversed with men, or the Father?

*Response of the philosopher.* I say that it was the Son who conversed, as the divine Scriptures have testified, and I, being persuaded by them, have accepted it. But I still have a most grave and irrefutable objection regarding him: that God created him before every creature, so that through him he might create all things. And I will demonstrate this in the coming arguments.

*Response of the holy Fathers through the same most pious bishops Leontius and Eupsychius.* Not so, philosopher; you cannot demonstrate what you have said. For he is the offspring of God, and not a work, as we have demonstrated at length. And who, O philosopher, among men abounding in piety and intelligence, is not astonished at such works of his, of the natures created by him, as being from God, that is, as created by him, when the Scripture cries out: "God made man"; and, "God saw all things that he had made, and behold, they were very good." But John the evangelist more clearly demonstrates that he always exists with the Father, ^B and is coeternal and co-beginningless with the Father: "For in the beginning," he says, "was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. This was in the beginning with God. All things were made through him, and without him was made nothing that has been made." It is most clearly demonstrated, O philosopher, that the Son is the Creator of every generated nature. If, therefore, he is the Creator of all creatures, as indeed he is, both of those seen and those understood, it is clear that he is truly God by nature, and not an instrument, as you say, nor a creature, nor a work, nor posterior to the Father. For that "was," spoken four times by the evangelist, does not admit of anything existing before him. But that you may know most perfectly that he is not sub-servient, but acts with his own authority, as does the Father, receive another most express testimony. Hear, then, the divine Isaiah crying out: "And they shall wish to be burned with fire," announcing to the Jews: "For a child is born to us, a Son is given to us, ^C whose government is upon his shoulder, and his name is called the Messenger of great counsel, Wonderful Counsellor, Mighty God, Potentate, Prince of Peace, Father of the age to come." Hear, philosopher, that he is proclaimed as master, and not as a minister, as you say. In one of his own benefits, the same only-begotten Son of God himself exhibited himself as master and creator of man, in the supplement, namely, what

the Son of God himself made in the man born blind. For he is the co-eternal radiance of the Father, and the unchangeable likeness of his whole substance, as Paul the apostle, the chosen vessel, says. Behold, O philosopher, so many have demonstrated that the Son of God is without beginning, indeed uncreated as the Father, and creator of all created natures, as we have often said, of both things seen and things understood. But where are the witnesses of the tools, tell me if you have any? Perhaps then, having believed in the tools, you were baptized, if, as you say, you exist as one faithful to God.

CHAPTER XVIII.

Contradiction of the philosopher concerning the text: "The Lord created me the beginning of his ways for his works," from the proverbs of Solomon.

Response of the holy Fathers, the bishops, by Eusebius of Pamphilus, bishop of Caesarea in Palestine.

understanding; but the way of wisdom they have not known, nor have they remembered her paths." ^A And after a little: "But He who knows all things knows her, and has discovered her with His own understanding." Speaking of Him who discovered wisdom by His own understanding, he adds His works, saying: "Who prepared the earth for all time; He filled it with four-footed beasts. He who sends forth the light, and it goes." We must not blink, O philosopher, at repeating these same things again for an evident demonstration of the proposed hypothesis. "He who sends," he says, "the light, and it goes; He called it, and it obeyed Him with fear; and the stars gave light in their watches, and were glad; He called them, and they said: Here we are; and they gave light with gladness to Him who made them. This is our God; no other shall be accounted against Him. He discovered every way of knowledge, and gave it to Jacob His servant, and to Israel whom He loved. After these things He was seen upon the earth, and conversed with men."

By adding the two natures to the property of Him who made the regions and the uninhabited places, which Solomon and Baruch, or rather Jeremiah, spoke of. For having said: "He created me," he subjoined His works, saying: "The Lord made the regions and the uninhabited places." Let us reason, O excellent man, as to who that Lord is who makes the regions and the uninhabited places: we shall understand that it is not another, but altogether He who prepared the earth for all time (for in the preparation of the earth consists the making of regions and uninhabited places), who filled it with four-footed beasts, who called the light, and it obeyed Him with fear, and the things that follow. ^B Concerning whom he says that "He was seen upon the earth, and conversed with men." It must be understood, therefore, that this is the Lord who created rational wisdom as the beginning of His ways, which He bestowed upon man according to His own image, He who made the regions and the uninhabited places, who prepared the earth for all time.

But let us look again at the beginning of the statement: "If I shall tell you the things that happen daily;" he did not say: "The things that are to be." And again he says: "I will remember to recount the things from of old;" but not: "Before the age." It is known to you that it is the Son of God who created rational wisdom, who prepared the earth for all time, who made the regions and the uninhabited places, who also said to Job: "When the stars were made, all My angels praised Me." Moses says concerning Him who made the light: "And God said, Let there be light;" and he subjoined, saying: "And God made the two great lights and the stars," and the things that follow. ^C It seems to me, O philosopher, that the things said are sufficient, and the demonstrations have set forth that it is indeed the Son of God who created the rational wisdom in Solomon, and all created things, and not an instrument. But that we may exhibit to you a clearer demonstration of the reality of things, let us hasten to the sense of the matter, and its ^D

contemplation, which we have proclaimed from Scripture. As Moses the prophet was about to depart from this life, as it is written in the book of the *Assumption of Moses*, he called Josue the son of Nave to him, and speaking to him, said: “God foresaw before the foundation of the world that I would be the mediator of His testament.” And in the book of the mystical discourses of Moses, Moses himself foretold concerning David and Solomon. Concerning Solomon he foretold thus: “And God will pour into him wisdom and justice, and full knowledge. He shall build the house of God,” and what follows. But that what I say may be clearer, let us examine the sense in this way. Is man for the sake of the world, or the world for the sake of man? The philosopher: “Entirely the world for the sake of man.” ^B Our holy bishops, through the same bishop Eusebius Pamphili, said: If the world is for the sake of man, then since man is prior in the thought of God, and the world is secondary to man and to rational wisdom in the thought of God, man is therefore prior to the world; he also pre-exists the natures of the world, such as the heaven and the earth, day, night, clouds, winds, abysses, fountains, mountains, and hills. Wisdom is prior to all these, and man, in the thought of God, already pre-exists the world. But while this one, having been created later, was brought forth in the transmission of creation, he who was later than man in the thought of God was brought forth later in the transmission of creation. But because the wisdom also which the Son of God found by His own insight, and which He gave to man who is in His image, also pre-existed the world and its natures in the thought of God—Solomon, therefore, being in himself knowledgeable of this, having been taught by the wisdom given to him by God, that man and wisdom pre-existed the world and its natures in the thought of God, having examined what already pre-existed the world, and that which, in the thought of God before the foundation of the world, the Lord found by His own insight—this the same Lord already created later than the world and its natures. Solomon therefore speaks, as from the person of the wisdom within man which pre-existed the world in the thought of God: “The Lord created me the beginning of His ways for His works”; ^C he introduced this as asserting the wisdom within man, the rational faculty prepared for the man who was made in the image of God. Therefore, the phrase “The Lord created” refers to him who pre-existed the world in the thought of God. But the phrase “He begets me,” speaking again of Him who was brought forth for the subsequent creation of the earth, he said: “He begets me.” Understand therefore, philosopher, up to perfection, that nature itself was made ancient, and renewed. That therefore, “The Lord created me the beginning of His ways for His works,” is to be explained concerning the reason and wisdom granted to men. But that phrase, “He begets me,” [is to be explained] concerning that same nature according to

God’s foreknowledge, which, from its own images, like a wheel revolving and returning to the hub itself, [goes back] from the beginning of the first-created man, who was created in the image of God, in whom God deposited rational and created wisdom, and in whom God impressed His own sincere love. The Savior, working his own re-creation within himself, spoke to the Father in accordance with his dispensation: “For you loved me,” he says, “before the foundation of the world.” Furthermore, the words, “Before the age, in the beginning, he founded me,” ^B Solomon perceived, considering that the ages in this world possess their constitution from the cycle of day and night; and that to exist before day and night is to exist before this age. Solomon, contemplating these reflections, adapted them fittingly to man and to wisdom. Wherefore, speaking from her person, he says: “The Lord created me the beginning of his ways for his works; before the age he founded me; in the beginning.” Reasoning with himself again, that since God was about to bring forth these worldly natures, [and that they were] prior to man and wisdom in existence, and that it is necessary for those things which are prior to be present, and that when natures come into being, one must recount those natures in order as they come into being, and that man and wisdom were set to lead the works: the rational and judging wisdom, therefore, granted ^C to man by God, which came down to Solomon, as the great Moses says, speaks in Solomon: “The Lord created me the beginning of his ways for his works,” and the rest. Of this wisdom, [who was] with man prior to the world, and who recounts the works of God as He brings the natures into the world, he himself says: “The Lord made regions and uninhabited places, and the summits of those that are under heaven. When he prepared the heaven, I was present with him, and when he separated his throne upon the winds; when he established the ether above, and balanced the fountains of waters: when he set for the sea its bound, and gave a law to the waters that they should not pass his borders: when he weighed the foundations of the earth, I was with him, composing all things; I was that in which he took delight.” These things are from the person of wisdom. ^D And it shows securely that [it] which pre-existed the world was in the thought of God—wherefore the world was also prepared—and was evidently prior also to the natures of the world. Therefore, having become a witness of the course of the natures, who was prior to them, it numbers their order through the wisdom which it found by its own prudence, and which it prepared for man. Who, then, prepared this wisdom and gave it to man, which recounted his works? None other, absolutely, than He who prepared the earth for eternal time, and who filled it with four-footed beasts, who sends the light and it goes: He called it, and it obeyed Him with fear: He who was seen on earth, and conversed among men; this one inherited wisdom. Therefore, that saying, “The Lord created me,” is not the Son of God’s, but that of the rational wisdom which the Lord Himself gave and prepared for man, for whose sake the world was made. It has been most clearly demonstrated through all things that this was said in the person of rational wisdom. It confirms

the aforementioned points, with the Lord saying in the Gospel: ^A “The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath 1”; having attributed to the world the person or figure of the Sabbath, in its place; for the world was made for man, not man for the world.

Another contradiction of the philosopher.

But, he says, the wisdom which is in Solomon is the Son of God, that is, the wisdom of God, which said: “The Lord created me,” and what follows.

The response of the holy bishops to the philosopher through Bishop Eusebius Pamphili.

Tell me, O philosopher, is the wisdom that was in Solomon, as you say, the wisdom of God? The philosopher: Truly, he says, it is so. The bishop: Tell me, does the wisdom of God have foreknowledge, or not? The philosopher: Certainly it has. The bishop: Is the wisdom of God the Son of God, whom you say was in Solomon? The philosopher: Truly, he says. The bishop: How does a judge judge, according to foreknowledge, or not? The philosopher: Certainly, he says. The bishop: But how? The bishop: Therefore, the one who judges, judges according to foreknowledge, and according to the works which he knew beforehand, as one who has foreknowledge? The philosopher: Certainly, I said so. The bishop: How then does the wisdom of Solomon say: ^B “Three things I cannot understand, and the fourth I ignore?” And having spoken of three things, the wisdom in Solomon says it cannot understand them, and of the fourth it said it was ignorant, namely the way of a man in his youth. If therefore the wisdom of God is the wisdom of Solomon, how does it judge the world while knowing not the way of a man in his youth? And how is this true, that He who made man in the image of God—that is, the Son of God (as Moses the prophet says, and of whom John the evangelist says: “All things were made through him 2”),—does not know the way of a man in his youth? “He who fashioned their hearts individually, who understands all their works,” 3 who searches the hearts and reins, 4 according to the prophet who said: ^C “You have known my sitting down and my rising up; Thou hast understood my thoughts from afar, you have tracked my path and my line, and you have foreseen all my ways.” 5 And again in another place: “He who instructs nations, shall he not rebuke, He who teaches man knowledge? The Lord knows the thoughts of men, that they are vain.” 6 Does He therefore who knows these things, and knows all things beforehand, not know the way of a man in his youth? And it is possible to find many things from the Scriptures that refute the folly of those who interpret this saying poorly. For how does He who teaches man knowledge not know the way of a man in his youth? Know well, therefore, O philosopher, that Solomon received a judging wisdom, which the Son of God found by His ^D prudence, which He prepared for man

^A after His own image, that is, rational [wisdom]. And the Lord confirms these things said in the Gospels, saying: “And behold, a greater than Solomon is here.” He overthrew those who say that He is the wisdom which was in Solomon. For if, by the vote [or noise] of the voice, He is one called by the same name as wisdom—for the wisdom of God is the Son of God—He is God who knows beforehand, and judges according to foreknowledge, and according to works, as the maker and creator of all things, just as also Paul, the vessel of election, says, writing to the Hebrews; he speaks thus concerning Him: “For the word of God is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword, and piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart; and there is no creature hidden from His sight, but all things are naked and open to His eyes, concerning whom our word is.” And to the Romans ^B the same man writes, saying: “Whose are the fathers, and from whom is Christ according to the flesh, who is over all, God blessed for ever. Amen.” Thus, moreover, he demonstrates that the wisdom of God and the Father is God, truly from God Himself, eternal from the eternal, true from the true, since He is by nature always the Son of the ever-existing God and Father.

CHAPTER XIX.

*Response of the holy bishops through the same bishop, Eusebius Pamphili.* ^C Very often, O philosopher, when considering the words of wisdom, you have marveled at the power of wisdom, because it is possible to find the greatest truth of concepts within it in the briefest expressions. And perhaps one might justly compare the words of Scripture to the evangelical parable which declares: “The kingdom of heaven is like a grain of mustard seed, which, though it is the least of all seeds on earth, when it has grown and is perfected, provides suitable shelter for the birds.” Thus, we see the power of the divine words sown in brief expressions; but when the meanings are fulfilled, and, like branches, are extended toward the ^D contemplation of the birds, that is, of men, so great a power is found that it provides sufficient shelter not only for the tillers of the earth, but also for the birds standing near. Whence, therefore, was I moved to this consideration, if not from the word of the holy Scripture of the sacred singer David, for the demonstration and establishment not of a rational wisdom, as you yourself had supposed, but of the incomprehensible, uncreated, and beginningless wisdom that created both it and all created things, that is, Christ: since Christ is the power of God and the wisdom of God, according to the mode of His ineffable divinity, being from God true God the Word. For by the word of the Lord

^A the heavens were established, and by the spirit of his mouth all their power (Ps. XXXII, 6). You have heard the word of the Lord, you have heard the spirit of His mouth; now hear again concerning the constitution of the true faith, which is piously understood and preached by the pious, since I suppose that you have not received the sense of any of those things previously proclaimed to you by so great a choir of holy hierarchs. Hear therefore piously, and do not attempt to investigate the ineffable things with human reasonings. The perfect is neither diminished nor increased. One is the unbegotten God and Father. One also is the only-begotten Son born of Him, God the Word. Just as therefore there is no other God co-unbegotten with God and the Father, so also there is no other son of God co-begotten, or begotten before, or begotten after, than the only-begotten Son of God, God the Word. One is truly God and Father, and one is truly the Son, God the Word, begotten of Him ineffably. Just as therefore God is not Father by word alone, so also is He not Son by word alone, but is truly Son; true is the Father, true is the Son; God is the Father, God is also the Son begotten of Him; perfect is the Father, perfect also is His Son; incorporeal is the Father, incorporeal is also the Son, for He is the character ^B of the incorporeal, and He is clearly the incorporeal image. Do you believe this, O philosopher, that His only-begotten Son has been begotten from the substance of the Father, just as we have demonstrated from the beginning of these discussions through very many Scriptural testimonies, or not?

Interrogation of the Philosopher.

How and in what manner? Tell us.

The holy bishops said through the same Eusebius Pamphili:

Do not seek "how," O philosopher; otherwise, as has already been told you many times, and as we testified from the beginning of the discussion, you are eager to cast yourself down, attempting to investigate the inscrutable things. For if it is ^C permissible to seek how the unbegotten is, it is permitted also to seek how the begotten is. But if you do not abandon the inquiry into how He is begotten, do not seek the inscrutable, for you will not find it. Seek those things which can be found, and you will find them. For if you were to seek, from whom could you learn? From the earth? It did not exist. From the sea? The liquid element had not yet been created. From the heaven? It had not been made. From the sun and moon and stars? They had not yet been fashioned. From the angels and archangels? They were not yet, since the Son is their Creator also. But from the ages? The Only-begotten is before the ages. Do not therefore examine things that are not eternal ^D concerning Him who is eternally. Ineffable and unbegotten is the Father; ineffable and ineffably begotten of Him is the Son. Be silent concerning the "how," and concede this to Him who begat and to Him who was begotten. For the Father alone knows who the Son is, and the Son the Father, and whomsoever the Son may wish to reveal (Matth. 11, 27), as His own Gospel says. But if you do not wish to cease from the "how," but contend

^A in examining the unsearchable things, we deride your audacity; or rather, we even mourn for you, that you do not wish to understand by faith God as ever the Father of His Son, and His only-begotten Son, as His Son always co-existing with the Father, and not later, as you wickedly say. But understand by faith, and confess the Son perfect from the perfect, as you have often heard; eternal light from eternal light; true God from true God and Father; uncreated from uncreated; simple from simple, always being with the Father: "For in the beginning was the Word," as John the Evangelist says, "and the Word was with God, and the Word was God." That "was," O philosopher, has nothing preceding it; that "was," O philosopher, removes that which "was not," as we have previously demonstrated; and that "God" excludes that which is not God. Believe the written things; do not ponder or inquire about those things which are not written. Believe that the Son Himself created all things that have been made by the Father’s will, not by the glance of His eyes (for God is simple, as we have said before), but by His will, as He alone knows; which ^B we, understanding by faith, preach, according to the teaching of the holy Scriptures, that by the counsel of the Father and His own, He created all creation, both the heavenly and the earthly, both that which is seen and that which is understood, not by instruments or machines, nor by the assistance of any other, but by the will of the Father, as we have just said, who spoke to Him and the Holy Spirit: "Let us make man in our image and likeness" (Gen. 1, 26). He did not say, "Make" or "Make (plural)," but "Let us make," showing the consubstantial and equal-honored nature in that blessed and ineffable Trinity. And do not murmur, O philosopher, and shift your eyes, but see with the gaze of your mind ^C the integrity of the apostolic dogmas, and receive it faithfully, no longer being faithless, but faithful. Hear, then, and understand. The Word of God, His Son before the ages, to whom He said: "Let us make man," and the rest; He Himself, again in the last days, by the Father’s will and His own, became man, having been incarnate from the Virgin for the sake of the man who fell, Adam; the incorporeal, when He had emptied Himself in a body, as the apostle Paul said (Phil. 2, 7), for the sake of the body, the Word of God took the body as a cloud, so that He might not burn up the created natures in the world; "For no one has ever seen God" (John 1, 18). He was contained in flesh, so that also the flesh, through the impassable union with Him, might be freed from death; invisible in the visible, so that He might sustain the things that are seen as man under time, but in truth is both, God and man, man and the same God; for Christ is one from both, when the difference of the substances is understood and acknowledged, that of His divinity and of the flesh; He was and is God; He became man for the sake of the dispensation. For His sake were the prophets, for His sake the apostles, for His sake the martyrs; the prophets for the sake of Him who was prophesied, the apostles for the sake of Him who was sent ^D economically, the martyrs for the sake of the protomartyr. God came

to earth, the Son hid in flesh, as He willed, the greatness of His own divinity, not deserting those things that are in the heavens; for the world was not deserted by Him before the incarnation. God was and is, and became also man for the sake of the dispensation, having been incarnate and born of a Virgin for His own love for mankind. The Father begat a Son worthy of Himself and equal, in the manner which He knows, the God and Father who begat Him, and the Son who was begotten from Him, O philosopher.

Contradiction of the Philosopher

Do not persist for too long in doing violence to the truth, and do not attempt to overshadow with the artifice of words, as if with a cloud, the clear utterance of Scripture; but come to the manifest Scripture which is set before you, and do not avoid: "The Lord created me as the beginning of His ways for His works," and that, "The Lord made regions and uninhabited places, and the summits of the habitable places under heaven." These have one and the same meaning concerning the one Lord. These are of God, who also created [Him as] the first-created for the beginning of His ways for His works, whom indeed He called Son; who also, being God, through Him—as if through an instrument—made regions and uninhabited places. ^B For even if the created wisdom of God—that is, the Son—works, yet it is God who, through Him as if through an instrument, creates those things which were not.

Response of the holy bishops through the same bishop, Eusebius Pamphili

Since you have for so long remained on the public and royal way, that is, on the apostolic faith, how do you bear to be carried outside of it? Thinking to cast yourself down headlong at once, and having barely emerged from the abyss of impiety that surrounds you. When you heard from this holy synod the prophecy of the great Jeremiah, pointing as with a finger, if one may so speak, and saying: "This is our God; no other shall be reckoned in comparison with Him," and what follows, ^C to which he adds: "After this He was seen on the earth, and conversed with men." And you know, O philosopher, that [when you were] questioned by the holy bishops as to who it was that was seen on the earth and conversed with men, the Father or the Son? You confessed that it was the Son, as the divine Scriptures testify. Have you not said these things? How do you again cast yourself, or rather drown yourself, in the deep abyss of the wickedness of Arius? For you did not move your camp away from him, in order that you might entangle yourself. You prefer, O wretch, to the apostolic dogmas the blasphemous words of Arius, calling the Son of God a creature and an instrument. ^D Hear, therefore, from us, O philosopher—if indeed you are a philosopher—and believe that the Son of God Himself is not that created, rational wisdom given to man by the Son of God Himself, who made the earth and the uninhabited places. Turn your mind, looking not toward hatred, but toward truth, and the truth itself will lead you: and you shall acknowledge, the Son...

^A that the only-begotten Son of God is not a creature, but is himself the Creator and Maker of all created natures, just as you yourself, having looked a little closely, have understood, and you will understand, as I have believed, if you desire to be saved.

CAP. XX. The philosopher’s contradiction regarding the Holy Spirit.

Let these things be, he says, credible and altogether indubitable regarding the Son, as you say, that he created, or that he co-created with God and the Father, as the testimonies indicate, and that he is not a work, but the offspring of God, being born by nature from him, and behold, we accept them. But do you not have anything to say ^B regarding the Spirit? For who would dare to assert that the Holy Spirit is the creator of any created natures? And where do testimonies regarding him declare that he has created any of the visible or invisible creatures? And who has written about him at all, as they have concerning the Son? Let one of you proclaim it, if he can.

Response of the Fathers through Protogenes, Bishop of Sardica.

It is not difficult, O philosopher, to demonstrate to you the testimonies of the works of the Holy Spirit, which our Fathers have set forth concerning him, that he did create. We shall again propose what was said regarding the creation. “And God said, Let us make man ^C according to our image and likeness”; and he added, saying: “And God made man: according to the image of God he made him, male and female he made them.” As, therefore, God is the Father who said to the Son, “Let us make,” and the Son is God, who made man. If, therefore, we assert that he who spoke, and who made Adam and Eve, is God, then listen regarding the Holy Spirit. Was he who made Adam God, or not? Philosopher: He is indeed God. Bishop:In the book of Job, Elihu the Buzite says to Job: “The divine Spirit ^D who hath made me.” If, therefore, he who made Adam is God, what do you say of him who made Elihu? Or does Elihu seem to you to be of a different essence than Adam? For from the equal skill of the craftsmen, it is natural that an equal conclusion should be drawn for the person of man. What, therefore, will you say, philosopher, of him who made Elihu? Will you not also affirm that he is God, and the creator of man? For as it is said of him who made Adam, “And God made man,” so it is right for us to say of him who made Elihu, that the Holy Spirit is God; and since the work of their creation is equal, the designation of their creators should also be equal. Since the divinity of the Holy Trinity is one, which is considered in three perfect and equal subsistences, according to that saying: “And God made man”; and that saying: “The divine Spirit made me.” In the book of the Assumption of Moses, Michael the archangel disputing with the devil says: “By the Holy Spirit were we all created.” And

And again he says: “From the face of God went forth His Spirit, and the world was made.” For inseparable always is the divine and ineffable Trinity—the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit—having created all creation together, both that which is perceived by the intellect and that which is perceived by the senses. For he says in the 32nd Psalm: “By the word of the Lord were the heavens established, and by the Spirit of His mouth all their power.” Hear, then, God saying in Isaiah: “I am the Lord thy God; I will hear thee, O God of Israel.” And having spoken about the benefits which pertain to the people, he adds, saying: “That they may see, and understand, and know together that the hand of the Lord has made all these things, and the Holy One of Israel has manifested them,” calling the Holy Spirit of God the “hand,” but the Son of God the “Holy One of Israel.” ^B And again to Jacob He said: “My hand has founded the earth, and my right hand has established the heaven”; just as Ezekiel also says: “The hand of the Lord was upon me.” The Scripture, O philosopher, is accustomed to call the Holy Spirit of God the “hand” or “arm,” but the Son His “right hand.”

Still further, the holy Fathers said through Leontius, bishop of Caesarea in Cappadocia:

Suffice it to say that what has been said regarding the operations of the Holy Spirit ^C is enough, O philosopher, to persuade you that He is a co-creator with the Father and the Son of all created natures, and that He is of the same divinity and substance as the Father and the Son. Applying your mind, therefore, to the things previously said to you, hear now still clearer proofs from the Holy Scriptures. The prophet David says in the ninety-seventh Psalm: “Sing to the Lord a new song.” Why? “Because the Lord has done marvelous things; His right hand has saved Him”—that is, His Son—“and His holy arm”—meaning the Holy Spirit. And in the Catholic [Epistles], John the Evangelist cries out, and he himself—like all the others—divinely discoursing concerning the Holy Spirit: “It is the Spirit that beareth witness, because the Spirit is truth.” And after a few words: “He that believeth,” he says, “in the Son of God hath the witness of God in himself”—that is, the Spirit of God—“and he that believeth not the Son, hath made Him a liar.” And the great ^D champion of the apostles, divine Peter, says to Ananias: “Why has Satan filled your heart, for you to lie to the Holy Spirit?” And after a few words: “You have not lied to men, but to God.” And in the Old [Testament], of old: “I fill heaven and earth, says the Lord.” And Solomon, showing who it is that fills them, says: “The Spirit of the Lord has filled the world.” Be persuaded, then, also concerning the lordship of the Holy Spirit, and receive also the testimonies concerning Him, believing that He is of the same divinity and substance, and of the same authority as the Father and the Son, and that He exists always with the Father and the Son. Hear, philosopher.

[...], the Holy Spirit, of whom the Father and the Son are, and who always coexists with the Father and the Son. You hear this, O philosopher. ^A

*Response of the philosopher to our holy Fathers.*

Therefore, as you say, and as the testimonies of the Scriptures which you bring forward indicate, it is necessary to affirm that the Holy Spirit is God: but it seems to me that this opinion is forced, unless other Scriptures are presented to us. Unless it be that the demonstration concerning Eliu the Buzite is manifest. But as for the aforementioned assumption of Moses, of which you spoke a little while ago, I have never heard it until now: wherefore I ask of you that you present to my eyes a clearer consistency of the things that have been said. For a most perfect certainty concerning the Holy Spirit, the things which have already been said by you do not suffice for me, but this hypothesis has need of a more candid and more vehement discourse. For the question is not about things that occur casually.

*Response of our holy Fathers through the same bishop Leontius to the philosopher.* ^B

Since the demonstration of those things which have been narrated to you is copious, and the testimonies from the divine Scriptures are most evident, which are able to persuade you of the proposed hypothesis, O philosopher, we wonder how you, who appear to possess such intelligence, still doubt. Yet in truth, especially since we wish you to look upon the truth, and we pray and exhort your prudence to begin to understand that uncreated and immutable nature by faith, and not by human reasonings, as we have often said, which surpass the intellect, do not dare to inquire curiously, nor continue for so long to lend assistance to the depraved and impious opinions of Arius, especially since you are a philosopher, as you say, O philosopher; but receive faithfully, as we have just warned you, both the things which have been said to you, and the things which are to be said. Admit the one divinity of the Father, ^C who ineffably begets the Son, and of the Son, who is begotten from Him, and of the Holy Spirit, who proceeds from the same Father, and who is also the Spirit of the Son, as the divine apostle Paul says: "If anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he is not His"; and he says elsewhere: "Now the Lord is the Spirit"; and again: "There are divisions of graces, but the same Spirit; and there are divisions of ministries, but the same Lord; and there are divisions of operations, but the same God, who works all in all." And after a few words: "But all these things one and the same Spirit works, dividing to each one as He wills." Behold for you, O philosopher, a most manifest demonstration, which declares the Holy Spirit to be God, and which shows His power from His own nature. ^D See, therefore, how it thus says: "And there are divisions of operations, but the same God, who works all in all." And that: "But all these things one and the same Spirit works, who divides to each one as He wills." And the Lord in the Gospels, as you know, speaking more clearly to the Samaritan woman, says: "God is spirit." If, therefore, Spirit...

God is altogether Spirit, not one thing and another; but there is one divinity of both persons, according to the consideration of the hypostases. But when we hear "person," let us not suppose that the divine has a human form. For it is devoid of composition and figure, as you yourself confessed at the beginning of our discussions, just as we did. Indeed, both heaven and earth are testified to have a "person" (or face), just as the Lord Himself, speaking to the Scribes and Pharisees in the Gospels, said: "Hypocrites, you know how to discern the face of the heaven and the earth," and what follows. For whatever subsists by itself, in as much as it subsists by itself, is said to have the person, or face, or figure of its own nature. But the heaven and the earth are created, as is the whole nature of generated things; the divine and ineffable substance, however, is uncreated, since it is simple, and without composition, and without figure, and eternal, and immortal. But let us return to the matter at hand. We have demonstrated through many testimonies from the divine Scriptures that the Holy Spirit, together with the Father and the Son, is the co-creator of every creature, both visible and intelligible; since He is also always inseparable from the Father and the Son, just as the Son is of the Father, and the Father of the Son. Come now, if you please, accept good teachings through analogies, however weak: your word, like that of any other man, is uttered, but it is begotten indivisibly from your mind, just as your spirit proceeds from you; and you would not say that either your word or your spirit is alien to you. And this you do not disdain to consider in human beings; but in the case of that ineffable, ^B and inconceivable, and incomprehensible substance of God, do you dare to say that His Word—which is not uttered, but is always living and active, and sharper than any two-edged sword, and the judge of all things, since He is also the Creator, to whom no creature is hidden from His sight, but all things are naked and opened to His eyes—is alien? And do you dare to say that His Holy Spirit, who searches the deep things of God, is alien, or say the same of the Word or the Spirit of God? Or do you admit those who say these things? Truly, O philosopher.

CHAPTER XXI.

Since you have led me to a higher understanding, asserting that one divinity ought to be conceived and believed of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit; ^C and I remember what was said before by you, that the Father is God, and the Son is God, and the Holy Spirit is God; but now you say there is one divinity of the three perfect hypostases, of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit; I beg you, explain these notions to me more clearly.

The response of the holy Fathers to the philosopher, through the same Bishop Leontius.

It is inexplicable, since it is also ^D inconceivable in mind and thought,

^A that divine and ineffable substance which is above all things and contains all things. But listen to us: we have not proposed to you one God and another, as the impious Arius blasphemed when he pronounced one God uncreated and another created, and similarly proclaimed the Spirit of God as created (far be it!), but we have asserted that one Godhead is to be perceived and believed, one substance, one sovereignty, and one will of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Furthermore, you must know that the hypostases of the holy Trinity are not separated, nor local; rather, by faith alone is one Godhead to be perceived and believed, as we have often said, the holy, consubstantial, and adorable Trinity. Behold, through everything the true faith has demonstrated that one must not perceive difference in the holy Trinity. Now, turn your mind to us a little, and you will be more fully convinced, receiving through us from the Holy Spirit saving instructions, so that you may know the one Godhead of the holy Trinity, always existing and subsisting; the Trinity is truly a Trinity, and nothing in it ever existed before, but it is always and in the same manner an indivisible and consubstantial Trinity.

*Response of the philosopher.* Do not think that I am trying to overturn the dogmas of the truth; for I have not from the very beginning of the discussions rejected your words, but I am for this reason searching into the meanings of your ideas, so that the hypothesis you put forward may be made more manifest ^C and clear to me.

*Hypothetical response of the holy Fathers to the philosopher concerning fire, brightness, and light, through the same Bishop Leontius.* Hear, then, even now, hear, O philosopher. We have already ^D set before your mind, at great length and from the divine Scriptures, that the Godhead is something simple and devoid of composition, as you yourself confessed at the beginning of your propositions; and that, being by nature an immortal, eternal, and uncreated fire, a light unapproachable and incomprehensible, it is not to be understood in one person according to the opinion of the Jews, but is believed and preached by all Christians in a Trinity of persons that can never be separated from one another, the inseparable Trinity of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, as has already been demonstrated. But learn now, O philosopher—even if we act with boldness, may the divine majesty be propitious to us, for it is for your salvation and that of others that this labor is being performed by us—learn, then, from the sensible things about the intelligible, and from those things subject to the intellect about those that transcend the intellect, and from those things that are spoken about those that are above speech. Although all things that are seen and all things that are understood, whether they be the heavenly, earthly, or subterranean creatures, cannot be compared with that uncreated, incomprehensible, and immortal substance of God; nevertheless, we shall propose an example that presents itself, not as an equal one, but as one that provides a sufficient image of piety for those who faithfully receive it and for those who wish to understand piously.

^A For this sensible fire, being one nature, or rather one substance, is a trinity in the same: fire, brightness, and light. And none of these is found to exist before another, but the three are inseparable from one another: the fire, the brightness that comes from it, and the light. Separate these three, then, if you can, O philosopher, and show us one existing before the other, or the fire existing before the brightness by itself, and the brightness coming into being after some time has passed from the fire, or the light coming into being later or after a passage of time from the fire and the brightness, or before time. Show us, if you can, by separating these three from one another, and not having the fire, brightness, and light coexist, since the nature of the fire is one. Having taken these sensible and created things—even if they are incomparable, as we have just said, to the eternal and uncreated substance of God—into your mind, take from them saving opportunities; and having winged the eye of your mind with faith, ascend to the high knowledge of God. And there will meet you, as we pray and believe, the grace of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, shining upon you, showing you one Godhead that is an immortal fire, and brightness, and light, a simple and uncompounded, inseparable, indivisible, incomprehensible, and ineffable Trinity, truly consubstantial, of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.

Where the philosopher believes in the holy Trinity.

^C Having heard these things, the philosopher, as if becoming entranced, was stupefied to a great degree, and his thoughts troubled him, and great fear fell upon him. Then, having come to himself, he cried out loudly, saying: "Glory to you, O God, who inspired these holy ones of yours with the mystery, which surpasses all understanding, of the immaculate, immense, and uncreated Godhead. But I beseech you, Christ, as the all-good Son of an all-good Father, forgive what I, seduced by the impious opinions of Arius, have sinned, and may I not pay the penalty before you, the just Judge, for those impious words which I, wretch that I am, uttered against you. Woe to Arius and his impious company, blaspheming against the Son of God, saying: 'There was when He was not,' and that the Son of God and the Holy Spirit are a creature and a work and from another substance, and saying that the Son of God and the Holy Spirit are not of the same substance as the Father. I anathematize now and always ^D Arius and his impious opinions, and all who think as he does, and those who blaspheme against the Father, and against the Son, and against the Holy Spirit. For he who does not have the Son, does not have the Father either; and he who has blasphemed against the Son and the Holy Spirit, has blasphemed against the Father. I supplicate your holy senate, help me by your prayers for me to Christ the Son of God, especially since I now consent to those things which have been set forth and defined by you concerning the Holy Spirit; and I confess these things to be true and firm, believing this, which the sacred writer Paul said: 'My—

'The mystery which has been hidden from the ages and from generations, but is now revealed,' as it has been said to 'his holy apostles and prophets,' ^A and to you in the Spirit, that the Son of his and his Holy Spirit are eternally existing, and co-existing, and co-abiding with God and Father.

CHAPTER XXII.

That too must be understood, O friend, philosopher of the truth that remains. Let us conceive of a spring that generates a river ^B of water; for every river, as you know, has a generative spring; then the river of water proceeds forth. But no one calls the river a spring, nor the spring a river; but the spring is called a spring, and the river is called a river; and both are one water. When, however, anyone wishes to draw water from the spring or the river, he changes the nomenclature; for he does not say: "Go, proceed, and draw, and bring me the spring or the river," but "water." And while one is the nature, we must speak of three persons: spring, river, and water. But the divine Scripture further demonstrates these things, declaring them; for we do not speak to you anything alien to it, O legitimate son of grace hereafter, even though we have set forth the word of truth in similitudes, types, and images. For the divine Scripture says concerning the Son: ^C 'I incline towards them like a river of peace,' [a footnote omitted] proceeding, that is to say, from the true spring of life, the divinity of the Father, as I say, the Lord himself cries out in the Gospels: 'I came forth from the Father, and I come.' And that which he said most clearly: 'I and the Father are one,' and that: 'I in the Father, and the Father in me.' And that we all, the faithful, receive the Holy Spirit from him, being of the same substance as the Father and the Son, proceeding from the Father, but proper to the Son, as we demonstrated above. That it is poured out upon us from him, the Lord himself taught most clearly in the Gospels, saying: 'If anyone thirsts, let him come to me, and drink: he who believes in me, as the Scripture says, rivers of living water shall flow ^D from his belly.' [a footnote omitted] To which the evangelist, inspired by God, interpreting the saying, adds: 'But this he said concerning the Spirit, which those believing in him were to receive.' [a footnote omitted] And see what the prophet David cries out concerning this spring of life, the holy Trinity: 'With you is the spring of life, and in your light we shall see light,' [a footnote omitted] calling God and Father the spring of life. And speaking to the Son, since the Father is in the Son, and the Son is in the Father—he names the Son himself 'light,' in which light he testifies that the 'light,' the Holy Spirit, is to be seen. 'In your light,' he says, 'we shall see light.' For the Father is truly the spring of life and light; the Son is also light from the Father who is light; and the Holy Spirit is also light from the same light. Since, as must often be said to us, one is the di—

divinity of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, as He ^A Himself cries out through the prophetic words: "I am God, and there is no other; and I am God the first, and I am after these things, and unto the age I am." And again: "I am, and I have not changed, and unto the age I am," and what follows. And according to what was demonstrated before—for it is necessary for me to repeat the utterances, even if not all of them because of their number, yet the clearer ones, so that what has been said may have a firmer foundation—we shall set forth those from the mouth of the prophet Jeremiah: "He who prepared," he says, "the earth for the eternal time, and filled it with four-footed beasts. He who sends the light and it goes; He called it, and it obeyed Him with fear; and the stars shone in their watches, and were glad; He called them, and they said: 'Here we are'; they shone with gladness to Him who made them. This is our God, and no other shall be accounted besides Him," and the rest. It is necessary therefore, O most God-beloved philosopher, to apply the mind here and to unfold the meaning of the Scripture. For He showed, as you yourself also confessed, that these things were spoken concerning the Son. "For after these things," he says, "He appeared on earth, and conversed with men." If, therefore, according to the impious depravity of Arius, there is some other created substance of the Son, and [if] the Son is a God later than the Father; but the Scripture says concerning Him: "This is our God, and no other shall be accounted besides Him," it follows from the impiety of Arius that the Father is not God, since [the Scripture] ^B says concerning the Son: "And no other shall be accounted besides Him." And the impious Ariomanites, along with the author of their blasphemy, are convicted, before their denial of the Son, of casting the Father Himself out of divinity; and the enemies of the truth are found to be atheists entirely. "For he who does not have the Son," as He says in the Catholic epistles, "does not have the Father either." But the Catholic faith knows and worships one Divinity—of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit—besides which none other shall be accounted. But this mystery of the holy and adorable and consubstantial Trinity surpasses all intellect and speech ^C and is entirely incomprehensible, capable of being perceived by faith alone.

CHAPTER XXIII.

Truly divine and full of light are the things which have been explained by you through the Holy Spirit. But I pray you (for I love the sacred words of your teaching), grant me your pious and religious ears, and teach me concerning the things I still inquire about, so that you may receive the fullest recompense from God for my salvation.

The response of the holy Fathers to the philosopher through the same Leontius the bishop.

Say what you wish, for we desire you most fully to know ^D

all things, especially since, with the Holy Spirit illuminating you, you can easily perceive the demonstration of the things said.

Thanksgiving of the philosopher, and inquiry concerning the divine incarnation.

Thanks be to your sacred head. But tell me, O most holy ones, how is it to be understood that God the Word, the Son of God, was seen on earth and conversed among men, seeing that He is invisible to every created nature, both that which is seen and that which is perceived by the intellect? ^B And what is the cause for which these things were brought about? Teach me, I pray.

Response of the holy Fathers to the philosopher through Bishop Leontius.

The cause of His presence was ordained by Him on account of the fall of the first human beings, Adam and Eve, in paradise, which invaded their entire race. Since, therefore, having transgressed the commandment, they were deprived of divine grace, the Creator wished to restore this to the human race. And it must be considered here that, just as God said: "Let us make man in our image and likeness; and God made man," according to the demonstrations previously stated; the same again said: "Let us save the lost man, whom we made in our image and likeness." And just as God the Father said, "Let us make," and the Son, being God from God, created; the same again by the Father’s counsel wished to restore man in Himself.

Inquiry of the philosopher concerning the same.

And how was He seen on earth, and did He converse as a man among men, when He is God, immutable?

Response of the holy Fathers through Macarius, bishop of Jerusalem.

According to the voice of the divine Paul, "Great is the mystery of godliness which was manifested in the flesh," this is the Son of God. At the same time, He appeared to the angels. For the Only-Begotten is not visible to angels or archangels, or to any of the heavenly powers, since "no one has seen God at any time." Hearing of His descent from the heavens, do not in any way suspect a local migration of His uncircumscribed divinity, ^D but consider it the dispensation of this whole mystery of godliness, truly great, in which we were renewed. For renewal was the resumption of newness. For through this, He who gave us His own likeness, God the Word, descended to our likeness. But it was impossible for God to be assimilated to us without being incarnate; for an incorporeal species of incorporeal substance—which He Himself was—did not approach, but a corporeal one; and corporeal substance did not exist without assumption: therefore He truly assumed a body, so that those who had fallen from the primordial brotherhood, that is, from the grace of the Holy Spirit, which through the first

parents Adam and Eve we lost, might be brought back to brotherhood through the assumption of a body, and might again receive the incorporeal, divine form. ^A And He assumes flesh from a woman. For thus he is made kin to us, so that as kin He might make us partakers of His own glory, and that He might save the woman through His own birth. “For she shall be saved,” he says, “through childbearing.” But the flesh that was assumed possessed what is vital by nature; for no flesh is devoid of that which is vital, which Scripture properly calls the soul.

*The Philosopher.* Who would not marvel at these great works of God, as you have stated? But how does He assume flesh from a woman, as you have just asserted?

*Response of the holy Fathers, through the same Macarius, Bishop of Jerusalem.* We have already admonished you, most excellent sir, in no way to ask “how” regarding the mysteries of God; for they are ineffable and incomprehensible. But as we have been taught from the sacred Scriptures, we shall speak as much as speech is able to attain. For the total understanding of that mystery—how the dispensation of the Lord in the flesh took place—no one among men or angels knows, not even Gabriel himself, ^B who ministered to that mystery, nor will the all-pure and holy Virgin Mary herself be able to attain the entire understanding of this incarnation of the Word of God. For the only-begotten Son of God Himself alone knows the exact nature of His becoming man for our sake. For although those who from the beginning were eyewitnesses and ministers of the word have handed down to us, as Luke says, concerning His dispensation in the flesh: that He was from the seed of David and Abraham according to the flesh, and the saying, “Of whom was born Jesus,” that is, from the Virgin, “who is called Christ”; and that “whose are the fathers, and from whom is Christ according to the flesh”; and that “He did not take hold of angels, but of the seed of Abraham”; and that “He was in all things made like unto us, apart from sin” ^C—these things we know. But the manner, how these things have come to pass, transcends the thought of every rational creature. For the prophet Jeremiah also says concerning this: “He is man, and who shall know him?” And as the philosopher and the whole crowd gathered to listen were marveling, the holy Fathers, adding through Macarius the Bishop of Jerusalem, said:

We have already demonstrated by many proofs that the only-begotten Son of God was made man out of His love for mankind, having been incarnated and born of the Virgin Mary by an ineffable birth. For since He willed, as the discourse previously showed, to restore what had been undone by the fall of the first human beings, ^D He was born among our own, so that He might us in His own—

condescending as an excellent physician to our infirmity. Again, we shall say that this condescension, and the descending, and the being sent, must be understood according to the mode of His incarnation, as we have demonstrated before; for in His divinity He always fills all things with the Father, according to the insights already provided. Listen, therefore. We are born of a woman: He came for this for the sake of His love for humanity. But we come to be from the pleasure of sleep and the seed of man. He, however, was born alone from the Holy Spirit and the Virgin Mary. We are suckled: He came into this state, too, in the flesh—He who by His divinity provides nourishment to all flesh. We grow and increase in age: He did not deign to avoid undergoing this bodily, as it is written that "Jesus increased in wisdom and stature and grace before God and men"; and having spent time unto His thirtieth year, so that He might bless every age, He then came to baptism, while John the son of Zechariah was preaching to the people a baptism of repentance, not granting the gift of the forgiveness of sins, nor yet of adoption; for it was not for John to give these things, nor for an angel, but for the Word of God Himself, who had been incarnated and had become man. And He submits to the baptism on our behalf, and being God without sin, He was baptized bodily as a man, not needing baptism Himself, but so that He might glorify our baptism: so that we might believe that just as the Holy Spirit descended upon Him, so too ^B does He upon us who are baptized into Him. Then, having conversed among men, having delivered the accounts of His divine commandments, and having performed the wonders of His signs for three years, and with the fourth already beginning, He thus arrived at His voluntary bodily passion on our behalf. For the punishment of the cross was owed to us; but even if we had all been crucified, we would not have had the power to snatch ourselves from death. "For death reigned from Adam until Moses, even over those who had not sinned." There were many saints, many prophets, many righteous men, and none of them was able to redeem himself from the power of death. But the Savior of all came, and the punishments owed by us He took upon His own flesh, which was without sin, on our behalf, from us, and in our name. We were carried down after death to Hades: He accepted this, too, and descended voluntarily to them—yet not restrained ^C as we are, but He descended as one having authority; for He was not subject to death, but was the master of death. And when He descended alone, He returned with many. For He was the spiritual grain of wheat, which falling into the earth for our sake, and dying in the flesh, through the power of His divinity raised up His own bodily temple, according to the Scriptures, bearing as fruit the resurrection of the whole human race; and appearing to the disciples after the three-day burial and the return from the dead to life, He showed them the sufferings of His body which He had endured on the cross, saying: "Touch me, and see, for I am He," ^D who does marvelous things, who also for your race in the flesh...

accepted those sufferings. Then, having spent forty days with them and given them the pledges of saving commandments, He ascended into heaven while they were looking on, and the holy scriptures teach that He is seated at the right hand of the Father. We look for Him to come at the end of the age to judge the living and the dead, eternally, as one who reigns forever with the Father for infinite ages. This is the apostolic and blameless faith of the Church, which, having been handed down from above by the Lord Himself through the apostles from forefathers to descendants, the Church cherishes, and now and forever maintains, as the Lord said to His disciples: "Go, teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit."

Chapter XXIV. Regarding the consensus of the Fathers concerning the consubstantial.

These things having been thus proclaimed by the Holy Spirit through our holy Fathers, who were gathered together in that holy synod, the entire multitude that had come together for that audience magnified God. The most God-beloved king himself ^B also listened, being present at the synod for the most part; and being exceedingly struck with admiration, he glorified God, having heard such divine dogmas; and rejoicing in the concord of our bishops, he exulted in the spirit: for he was anxious that no one, neither great nor small, should dissent from this saving confession. Therefore, after this long and protracted completion of the most holy deliberation, it seemed good to all our people together that the "consubstantial" ought to be defined in the ecclesiastical faith, in the same manner as our holy Fathers after the apostles had handed down this faith—that is, to confess the Son and the Holy Spirit as being of the same substance as the Father. This faith all the holy bishops gathered at Nicaea confirmed, as did the entire multitude of the clergy and confessors, and the most celebrated and God-beloved king himself, and the whole multitude of the faithful who had ^C gathered there, all receiving the confession of faith with joy, except for the number of seventeen bishops, of whom we have also spoken above. Arius, appearing to take pleasure in those whose views coincided with his own, was convicted along with them; for they asserted with him that the Son was made externally by God out of non-existent substances, and that He was not begotten from the very divinity of the Father. ^D

Chapter XXV. How the impious Arius and those with him were excommunicated by the universal synod.

Wherefore, our holy Fathers, by a unanimous vote, decreed that they and Arius be cast out again from the communion of the Catholic Church, anathematizing them and their impious opinion, and the words

^A of blasphemy which they used against the Son of God, saying that He was from non-existence, and that there was a time when He was not, and that by His own free will the Son of God was capable of vice and virtue, calling Him a creature and a work. The holy synod anathematized all these things and those who held them, not even enduring to hear their impious opinion, and their folly, and their blasphemous words. Moreover, they immediately tore to shreds the document of their impiety which they had dared to present. And thus, those men met such an end from the holy synod. But as for the things concerning the orthodox faith, all the bishops, being in agreement, embraced the whole in a few words, on account of the simplicity of the faithful multitude of the people, and set forth the symbol of the Catholic faith in writing as follows:

CHAPTER XXVI

We believe in one God, ^B the Father Almighty, maker of all things visible and invisible: And in one Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God, begotten of the Father, only-begotten, that is, of the substance of the Father, God of God, light of light, true God of true God, begotten not made, consubstantial with the Father, through whom all things were made, those in heaven and those on earth. Who for us men and for our salvation descended, and was incarnate, and was made man, suffered, was buried, ^C and rose again on the third day, and ascended into the heavens, and sits at the right hand of the Father, and is coming again to judge the living and the dead. And in the Holy Spirit. But as to those who say: "There was a time when He was not," and "before He was begotten He was not," and that He came to be from things that were not, or from another hypostasis or substance, or that the Son of God is a creature, or mutable, or changeable; the Catholic and Apostolic Church declares such as these ^D anathema. This is the faith which the holy [Fathers] set forth at Nicaea.

^A by the orthodox bishops: first, against Arius, who blasphemed and said that the Son of God is a creature, and against Sabellius and Photinus, and Paul of Samosata, and Manichaeus, and Valentinus, and Marcion, and against every heresy which has risen up against the Catholic and Apostolic Church. These were condemned by the synod of the holy orthodox Fathers gathered in the city of Nicaea, whose names, and the names of the provinces over which they presided, are set forth below. Everything judged by the synod was then referred to the pious and most illustrious emperor, both the sentence against the enemies of God and the exposition of the orthodox faith. This [exposition], as if divinely delivered, he received with pleasure and the greatest reverence; but regarding the enemies of it, he decreed that they, as those opposing God, should be punished with exile. ^B Six of the Arian bishops, furthermore, endured exile along with Arius himself and those who were with him. For eleven, who feared the presence of the most religious emperor and the multitude of the bishops of the synod, were not banished; for they dissembled, subscribing to the consubstantial [doctrine] with their hand, but not with their intention. The leader of this simulation was Eusebius of Nicomedia, who is shown to have used an ambiguous opinion even to the end, as Eustathius of Antioch, and Eusebius of Pamphilus, and the great Athanasius, and all others who subscribed to the synod, report. Because of this simulation, [the partisans of Arius] thought that this man was of their opinion, as they defended the assembly of the adversaries most courageously. ^C

CAP. XXVII. Subscriptions of the bishops approving the faith.

Osius, bishop of Corduba, to the holy Churches of God which are in Rome, and in all Italy and Spain, and in the remaining nations beyond, residing as far as the Ocean, through those who were with him, the Roman presbyters Viton and Vincentius.

Alexander of Alexandria, with Athanasius, who was then archdeacon, to the Churches throughout all Egypt, Libya, and Pentapolis, and the regions bordering on these, as far as the provinces of India.

Eustathius, bishop of great Antioch, to the churches in Coelesyria and all Mesopotamia, and both Cilicias.

Joannes the Persian, to the Churches in all Persia and great India.

Leontius of Caesarea in Cappadocia, the ornament of the Church of the Lord, to the Churches in the same Cappadocia, Galatia, Pontus Diospontus, Paphlagonia, ^D Pontus Polemoniacus, Armenia the greater and lesser.

Theonas of Cyzicus, to the Churches in Asia and the Hellespon

Hellespont, Lydia and Caria, through the bishops who were under him, Eutychius of Smyrna and Marinus of Troas.

Macarius of Jerusalem, with Eusebius, bishop of Caesarea in Palestine, to the Churches in Palestine, Arabia, and Phoenicia.

Alexander of Thessalonica, through those who are under him, to the Churches in Macedonia Prima and Secunda, along with Greece, all of Europe, both Scythias, and finally all in Illyricum, Thessaly, and Achaia.

Nunechius of Laodicea, to the Churches in Phrygia Prima and Secunda.

Protogenes, that admirable man of the city of Serdica, to the holy Churches of God in Dacia, Calauria, Dardania, and the neighboring provinces. ^B

Caecilian of Carthage, to the holy Churches of God in the provinces of Africa, Numidia, and both Mauritanias.

Pistus of Marcianopolis, to the Churches in Mysia, the nations of Athens and Gaul, and the cities neighboring them.

Alexander of Constantinople, who was at that time still a presbyter, but later obtained the bishopric of the church there, with Paul, who was at that time still a reader and his notary, to the Churches of all the Cyclades islands.

All these holy and apostolic men transmitted everywhere and delivered to all ^C the holy Churches of God under heaven those things which were decreed in the holy, great, and ecumenical synod of Nicaea.

CHAPTER XXVIII.

How the emperor, rising from his throne, offered thanks to God.

The Emperor Constantine, after the exposition of the right and apostolic faith, which had been proclaimed by the Holy Spirit through our three hundred holy Fathers as if by one mouth and confirmed by all who had gathered for that holy discussion of the faith, ^D stretched out his hands and lifted up his eyes to heaven toward God, and in clear words praised the Lord and benefactor of us all, our Savior, because He had granted him the desired concord of the bishops and their agreement concerning the right and saving faith. Such was the care with which that most excellent and God-beloved emperor concerned himself for the Churches of God and the most peaceful concord of the pastors. I do not consider it absurd to insert into this commentary what Eusebius Pamphili wrote beautifully about the life of Constantine, the God-beloved emperor, when he began to speak of the deeds transacted in the synod. These are the words: "Since, therefore, many things had been proposed from both sides, and great controversy had arisen at the very beginning of the disputation by certain

individuals, the most illustrious emperor would listen to everyone, and with the most intense application would take up the proposals of either party. By turns, he would take notice of what was said by each group, ^A gently reconciling those who were wrangling contentiously, and dealing with each discussion with great mildness. He also spoke in Greek, for he was not ignorant of this language. He was sweet and charming, while he strove to persuade some, to bring a sense of shame to others through his words, and to praise others who had spoken well, finally driving all toward concord until he had made them like-minded and of the same opinion regarding ^B himself; so that they might unanimously hold to the pious doxology, and that the saving faith, truly proclaimed by the Holy Spirit through all our aforementioned holy Fathers, might be strengthened. At the same time, he also legislated that one time should be accepted by all for the festival of the saving Pascha. At that time, he also ordered that everything decreed in common should be confirmed in writing through the subscription of each one; and he urged the bishops to set forth in writing the ecclesiastical constitutions and canons concerning each matter.

CHAPTER XXIX. Concerning Acesius, bishop of the Novatians, and those with him.

The faith of the emperor also moves us to mention another matter, as he exerted such zeal and forethought for ecclesiastical peace that he would not neglect even the smallest thing. For he had invited Acesius, ^C bishop of the sect of the Novatians, and those with him, to the synod, just as he had those who celebrated the consubstantial and the Trinity. Therefore, after the definition of faith had been set forth and had been signed by both the synod and the emperor, Constantine the emperor asked Acesius if he also agreed with the faith and the decree concerning the celebration of the Pascha. But Acesius said to him, "The synod has ordained nothing new, O emperor; for thus from of old have we all received the definition of the faith and the time of the Paschal festival from the apostolic sees." And the emperor said to him, "Why, then, do you separate yourself from our communion?" But Acesius began to recount the events during the reign of Decius, when the persecution was raging, ^D concerning those who were unable to struggle in the martyrdom but denied Christ, and he brought forward the strict observation of a certain severe canon, saying: "That it is not right to receive those who have sinned after baptism, even if they are penitent, or to deem them worthy of the communion of the mysteries." When Acesius had said these things, the emperor said to him: "Set up a ladder for yourself, Acesius, and climb up to heaven alone." After this, all the bishops set forth various ecclesiastical constitutions.

Chapter 30. Of Gelasius of Cyzicus. Dogmatic sermon on ecclesiastical arrangements.

^A Let us live with the Light, which is Christ, as those who are standing near to Him, and as those looking upon Him; thus let us live in our sanctifying prayers. For prayers sanctify, if we pray with the divine Word; and the divine Word is present where the heart and a pure conduct of life are preserved in humility. Israel labored while performing sacrifices; the prophets cried out to God: "Send forth Your light and Your truth." They cried out, and we received: "Others have labored," ^B as the Lord said, "and we have entered into their labor." For the Lord Himself came to us, saying: "I am the light, I am the truth." Without labor we have received grace, but with labor we must preserve the grace.

De his qui dicunt non oportere Christianos laborare.

Since some, not wishing to labor, but to be meddlesome, interpret the sacred words of the Lord wrongly, He who said: "Do not be anxious for your soul, what you shall eat," as if they were saying it is not fitting for Christians, following this word, to work the land; it must be demonstrated to us that the Lord did not speak so. For it is possible both to work and to be secure, knowing and believing that it is the Lord Himself who gives the increase and fruits of our works, ^C having said: "So is the kingdom of God, as if a man should cast seed into the earth, and sleep, and rise night and day: and the seed springs up and grows, and he does not know it himself."

On the clergy of the sacred order.

Clerics of the sacred order ought to be types and images of celestial things. For the bishop ought to hold the place of the Lord, as the head under Him of the Church which he has received; the presbyter ought to hold the seat and place of the seraphim; the deacon, that of the cherubim; and the minister ought to serve these.

Quod non oportet laicos in suggestum ascendere.

^D It is not permitted for laymen to ascend the pulpit, except those who are appointed to read or sing from the books.

De sancto baptismate.

Our baptism is not to be considered by the eyes of the body, but by those of the mind. You see water, consider the power of God hidden in the waters. For the Gospel teaches us to be baptized in the Holy Spirit and in fire. For in the faith of the baptizer, and in the faith of the baptized, through the sacred invocation, consider the waters full of the sanctification of the Spirit and

^A of the divine fire. For "He," He says, "shall baptize you in the Holy Spirit and fire." So he who is baptized descends as one liable to sins and bound by the servitude of corruption; but he ascends having been freed from such servitude and from sin, having become a son of God and an heir by His grace, and a co-heir of Christ, having put on Christ Himself, as it is written: "As many of you as have been baptized into Christ, have put on Christ."

Of the divine table, and of the mystery of the body and blood of Christ that is upon it.

Again, even here at the divine table, let us not attend humbly to the bread and cup set before us; but lifting up our mind, let us believe by faith that the Lamb of God is laid upon that sacred table, He who takes away the sin of the world, sacrificed without bloodshed by the priests. And as we truly receive His precious body and blood, let us believe that these are the symbols of our resurrection. For this reason we do not receive much, but a little, that we may know that we receive it not for satiety, but for sanctification.

Of the resurrection from the dead.

The Lord did not simply deliver His own flesh to passion and death for our sake, but that He might accomplish our salvation, although He was free from death, as the discourse demonstrated above. The Prophet cries out as if from His own person, ^B foretelling the future mystery of His dispensation in the flesh: "I was made," he says, "as a man without help, free among the dead." But who is free from death, if not God? Yet, according to the previously shown demonstrations, having become incarnate for the love of humankind, He became as a man without help, humbling His own flesh even to death, and that the death of the cross, but it is also proclaimed that He has risen, so that having made us immortal, He might dispense to us who had despaired, through this very first-fruit of ours, the hope of our resurrection; so that we might no longer be slaves to eternal death, but free, just as our first-fruit Christ is, as the blessed apostle Paul says: "Christ the first-fruits, ^C afterwards they that are Christ's at His coming." And that we should await this very Savior, our Lord Jesus Christ, the only-begotten Son of God and the Father, from the heavens, to raise our bodies from the graves, is witnessed to by the word that says: "Our citizenship, he says, exists in the heavens, from whence also we look for the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, who shall change the body of our humiliation, that it may be fashioned like unto the body of His glory." For in this way our body must be glorified, just as the body of the Master is, incapable of malice and of all the passions that now are, free from death and sin, holy, so that in the newness of life we may be able to walk with Him in the light, ^D always reigning with Christ Himself. For in this

in our hope, and we have received holy baptism, and we accept the saving participation of his holy members. These are the dogmas of the catholic Church. ^A

That there is one Church of God.

There is one Church in heaven, and it is the same on earth; in it the Holy Spirit rests. The heresies outside of this, which men possess, are not the teachings of our Savior or of the apostles, but of Satan and of their father the devil. For the ways of the Jews and of the Greeks teach in another form, that they may take away from men the true life.

Concerning the providence of God, and the world.

The lesser world was made through providence; for God foreknew that man would sin. Therefore we look for new heavens and a new earth, according to the sacred Scriptures, when the presence and kingdom of the great God and our Savior Jesus Christ shall appear to us: ^B "And then," as Daniel says, "the holy ones of the Most High shall receive the kingdom," and the earth shall be pure, a holy land of the living and not of the dead; which David, foreseeing with the eye of faith, proclaims: "I believe to see the good things of the Lord in the land of the living," the land of the meek and the humble. "Blessed," he says, "are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth." And the prophet says: "And the feet of the meek and humble shall tread upon it." These things, from the ecclesiastical constitutions elaborated by our holy Fathers, we have written down in this commentary, a few out of many. Moreover, they set forth twenty ecclesiastical canons at the same synod of Nicaea, which I also thought necessary to include in this writing. ^C

Ecclesiastical canons of the holy and great [(24)] synod of Nicaea. The following things have been defined:

CHAPTER XXXI.

I.

Concerning those who have castrated themselves.

If anyone in sickness ^D has been operated on by physicians, or has been castrated by barbarians, let him remain in the clergy.

But if anyone while healthy has castrated himself, it is fitting that this man, even if he is in the clergy, cease his function; and from this time forward, ^A no such person ought to be ordained. Since, however, it is clear that what was said refers to those who have deliberately sought to do this and have dared to castrate themselves, so, if any have been made eunuchs by barbarians or by their masters, and are otherwise found worthy, the canon receives such persons into the clergy.

II. ^B Concerning those who are ordained from among the heathens. Since many things have been done, either through necessity or by the pressure of others, ^C contrary to ecclesiastical order, so that men who have recently come to the faith from a pagan life, once they have been instructed for a short time, are immediately brought to the spiritual font and, as soon as they are baptized, are promoted to the office of bishop or presbyter; it has seemed good that nothing of the sort should happen henceforth. For there is need of time for the catechumen, and after baptism there is need of more probation. For the apostolic command is evident, saying: «Not a neophyte, lest, being puffed up, he fall into judgment and the snare of the devil». But if as time goes on any sin of the soul be found1 in that person, and it be proved by two or three witnesses, such a one shall cease from the clergy. But if anyone acts contrary to these things, as one who dares something against the great council, he shall be in danger regarding his clerical status.

III. ^D Concerning those who have brought in women (subintroductas). The great synod has most fully forbidden 1 Tim. III, 6.

^C It is not permitted for any of those who are in the clergy to have a woman brought in, unless perhaps it be a mother, or a sister, or an aunt; or those persons only who are accustomed to be free from all suspicion. He who acts otherwise than these, shall be in danger regarding his own standing.

IV. Concerning the ordination of a bishop.

^A It is fitting that a bishop should be ordained primarily by all the bishops who are in the province. But if this be difficult, whether because of some urgent necessity or because of the length of the journey, certainly three must by all means be gathered into one place, provided that those who are absent also consent and signified their approval by letter, and then the ordination should be performed. The authority, however, for the confirmation of those things which are done in each province, must be given to the metropolitan bishop.

V. Concerning those who are excommunicated.

Concerning those who are excommunicated by their bishops in their own respective provinces, let the following sentence be observed according to the canon, that those who are cast out by some should not be admitted by others. Yet it must be inquired whether they were excommunicated because of some small-mindedness, or contentiousness, or any other such displeasure of the bishop. In order, therefore, that this may receive the proper examination, it has seemed right that synods should be held twice a year in each province, so that all the bishops of the province gathering together into one place, might examine such questions; and so at last those who have manifestly offended their bishop may be deemed rightfully excommunicated by all, until it shall seem good to the common assembly of bishops, or to the bishop himself, to pass a more humane sentence concerning them. And let the synods be held, one indeed before Lent, so that all animosity being laid aside, the gift may be offered pure

to God: the second [to be held] about the time of autumn. ^B

VI. On the principal honors which were decreed for a major bishop in ecclesiastical government.

Let the ancient custom prevail which is in Egypt, Libya, and Pentapolis, so that the bishop of Alexandria may have power over all these, since this is customary for the bishop of the city of Rome as well. Likewise, both in Antioch and in the other provinces, let to each one his honor be preserved. This [rule] is absolutely manifest: that if anyone should have been made a bishop without the opinion of the metropolitan, the great synod has judged that such an one ought not to be a bishop; but if, by the common suffrage of all, being reasonable and proved according to the ecclesiastical canon, two or three have contradicted [it] led by their own stubbornness, let the opinion of the majority prevail.

^C

VII. On the bishop of Aelia.

Since custom has prevailed and ancient tradition, that the bishop of Aelia, that is, of Jerusalem, should be honored, let him have the next degree of honor, with the proper dignity preserved to the metropolis.

VIII. On those who are called Cathari, that is, the pure.

Regarding those who sometimes called themselves Cathari, when they come to the holy catholic and apostolic Church, it has pleased the holy and great council that hands be laid upon them, and thus they remain in the clergy. Before all things, it behooves them to profess in writing that they will observe and follow the dogmas of the catholic and apostolic Church, that is, [by] communicating...

with those who have contracted second marriages, and with those who have lapsed in the time of persecution, for whom a time and day have been set, so that they may follow in all things the decrees of the catholic Church. Wherever, therefore, they are found to have been ordained, whether in villages or in cities, those who are discovered in the clergy shall remain in the same order. But whoever comes to a place where there is already a bishop or presbyter of the catholic Church, it is clear that the bishop of the Church shall hold the authority of a bishop; he who is called a bishop by the Cathari shall hold the honor of a presbyter, unless it should please the bishop to grant him the honor of the episcopal name. If this does not please him, let him provide him a place as a chorepiscopus or a presbyter, so that he may by all means appear to be in the clergy, and that there may not be two bishops in one city. ^B

IX. Concerning those who are ordained without examination.

If any have been advanced to be presbyters without examination, and after being examined have confessed their sins, and [if], when they had confessed, men moved [by impulse] laid hands upon them contrary to the canon, the ecclesiastical order does not admit them. For the catholic Church maintains that which is beyond reproach.

X. Of those who have lapsed, and are ordained through ignorance.

Whoever among those who have lapsed are ordained through ignorance, or through the contempt of those who ordained them, this does not prejudice the ecclesiastical canon. For when they are discovered, they are deposed.

XI. Of those who prevaricated without necessity.

Of those who have prevaricated without necessity. ^C

Without necessity, or without the loss of property, or without danger, or anything of that sort, which happened under the recent tyranny of Licinius: it has pleased the holy council, although they are unworthy of mercy, yet to show some kindness towards them. Whosoever therefore sincerely repents, let them spend three years among the hearers, and seven years shall they be prostrated as suppliants; and for two years, without the offering, they shall share in the prayers with the people.

XII. Of those who have separated themselves and returned to the world.

Those who were called by grace and showed their first zeal, and laid aside the belt of military service, but afterwards returned to their own vomit like dogs, in such a way that some even paid money and sought to return again to military service: let these be prostrated as suppliants for ten years, even after the three years of hearing. In all these cases, however, it is necessary to weigh their intent and the nature of their repentance. For whosoever with every fear, and with tears, and with perseverance, and with good works demonstrate their repentance by actual deeds and not just in outward appearance, these, after they have completed the appointed time of hearing, shall share in the prayers; and afterwards it shall be lawful for the bishop to decide something more kindly concerning them. But those who have borne it indifferently, and deemed the mere act of entering the church sufficient for them for a change of life, let them by all means fulfill the whole time that has been appointed.

XIII. Of those who are at the point of death and seek communion.

Concerning those who are departing from this life, the old and canonical law shall be observed even now, so that if anyone is dying, he shall not be deprived of the final and necessary viaticum of his life. But if, being given up for lost and having received communion and partaken of the oblation, he should again...

recover, let him be among those who participate only in the prayers. In every case, moreover, to any dying person who requests the Eucharist, let the bishop, after investigation, grant the oblation.

XIV. On the catechumens who have lapsed.

XV. Quod non oporteat ex civitate in civitatem migrare.

XVI. De his qui non manent in ecclesiis in quibus ordinati sunt.

that cleric has departed, such an ordination shall be invalid.

[XVII] XVII.

Concerning usurious clerics.

Since many clerics, pursuing shameful gain for the sake of avarice, have been unmindful of the divine Scripture which says: “He who has not given his money upon usury [Ps. XIV, 5],” and in lending money demand the hundredths; the holy and great council has deemed it just that if any one be found, after this decree, taking interest from business, or otherwise managing the matter, or demanding the sescuple, or devising some other thing for the sake of shameful gain, he shall be expelled from the clergy, and shall be held an alien from the ecclesiastical order.

[XVIII] IH'.

Concerning presbyters receiving the Eucharist from deacons.

It has come to the knowledge of the holy and great council that in some places and cities, the Eucharist is given to presbyters by deacons; a practice which neither canon nor custom has handed down, that those who have not the power of offering shall present the body of Christ to those who do offer. And it has also become known that some of the deacons now touch the Eucharist even before the bishops. All these things shall be cut off: and the deacons shall remain within their own measure, knowing that they are ministers of the bishops, and that they are inferior to the presbyters. Let them receive the Eucharist in their order after the presbyters, either the bishop or the presbyter giving it. But if neither a bishop nor a presbyter be present, then let them distribute them themselves. But it shall not be lawful for deacons even to sit in the midst of the presbyters: for what is done is contrary to canon and order. But if any one will not be obedient even after these sanctions, let him cease to be a deacon.

XIX. Concerning those who have come or are coming over from Paul of Samosata to the Catholic Church.

^A Concerning the Paulianists who then take refuge in the Catholic Church, a ruling has been set forth that they must by all means be rebaptized. If any in the past were examined while in the clergy, and were found to be blameless and irreproachable, they should be rebaptized and ordained by the bishop of the Church; but if, upon examination, they are found to be unfit, it is fitting that they be deposed. The same form shall also be observed regarding deacons, and in general concerning all who are examined in the same canon. We have also made mention of the deaconesses who have been examined in this order: since they do not have any imposition of hands, they are in every respect to be reckoned among the laity.

XX. Regarding those who kneel on the Lord’s Day.

^B Since there are some who kneel on the Lord’s Day, and during the days of Pentecost; because of this, it has seemed good to the holy synod that, so that all things may be observed in unison in every parish, we should offer our prayers to the Lord while standing.

These twenty laws, the same holy council of theirs wrote down regarding ecclesiastical polity in the presence of the most God-beloved and most celebrated Emperor Constantine. But some of the bishops decided to introduce another law, which the divine Paphnutius prevented, concerning whom I have thought it necessary to relate a story worthy of the greatest admiration. It seemed good to some of the bishops in the council to introduce a new law into the Church, and to decree it just as they had done with the other ecclesiastical matters.

CHAPTER XXXII. That it is not fitting for members of the clergy to cast aside their own wife.

They were therefore of the opinion that it is not fitting for members of the clergy—whether bishops, or presbyters, or deacons, or subdeacons, or anyone else of that sacred order—

^A to sleep with the wives whom they had married while they were still laymen. As they were thus determining these matters, the divine Paphnutius rose up in the midst of the throng of bishops and cried out with a loud voice, saying, "Do not lay a heavy yoke upon the clergy; for, as it is written, marriage is honorable in all, and the bed is undefiled. Do not, by an excess of strictness, inflict harm upon the Church; for not everyone, he says, is able to bear the exercise of continence. No one, I think, will be kept in chastity if his wife is taken away from each man. By 'chastity' I mean the proper and lawful union of each man with his wife; and I mean that one should not be separated from her whom God has joined, and whom he had taken to wife when he was once a reader, or a cantor, or a layman." The great Paphnutius said these things, though he himself was a stranger to marriage, for he had been reared in monasteries from childhood. ^B Therefore, the whole assembly of bishops, persuaded by the man’s counsel, remained silent regarding this question, leaving it to the judgment of those who wished to abstain from their own wives by mutual consent.

These things were done at the holy and great and ecumenical council which was gathered in Nicaea of Bithynia. Eusebius and Theognius, and those Arians who were with them, not bearing the confirmation of the true faith which had prevailed, and moreover not enduring to anathematize Arius—having been caught in this again—fell under sentence of exile by the vote of the most pious emperor and the judgment of the holy council of bishops; and others were appointed in their places in their dioceses by the vote of the same council, and by the clergy and people of each diocese. ^C And Amphion took over the oversight of the Church of the Nicomedians, and Chrestus that of Nicaea, and others took those of their own fellow-thinkers. But Eusebius and Theognius, again employing their customary machinations and finding in the emperor’s humanity a vehicle for deceit, attempted to struggle again and recover their former power. But as for those most evil machinations of theirs, which were very numerous and full of all impiety, I would refer those desiring to learn of them to the ecclesiastical history written by Theodoret and the others. I, however, will hasten my narrative from this point to what followed, concerning which the council of bishops sent an epistle to the remaining bishops and to their own ^D dioceses; and furthermore, to what the victorious and most faithful emperor did for the establishment of the most holy faith that had been set forth, and of the holy feast of Easter, and for the refutation of the ringleaders of impiety. For after all these things had been magnificently enacted by the council, and the faith had been enunciated in a manner worthy of God, and all the holy Fathers had laid down the regulations concerning ecclesiastical good order, they were eager to make known all that had been determined by letters to all the holy Churches of God under heaven, appending also what pertained to Meletius.

^A

Chapter 33. On the wicked Meletius.

For since a certain Meletius, having been deemed worthy of election to the episcopate not long before the madness of Arius, had been convicted by the most holy Peter, bishop of Alexandria—who was also later adorned with the crown of martyrdom—and had been deposed from his bishopric, the same Meletius did not acquiesce in the sentence of deposition. Instead, he filled the Thebaid and the neighboring Egypt with tumult and storms of contention, usurping a tyranny against the prerogative of the see of the Bishop of Alexandria. The synod wrote a letter to the Church of the Alexandrians, setting forth what they had decreed concerning his revolutionary activities.

Synodal letter written to those in Alexandria, Egypt, Pentapolis, and Libya, and to all the holy Churches of God under heaven, to the clergy and the people of the orthodox faith, from the holy synod of bishops at Nicaea.

CHAPTER XXXIV. Public letter written by Eusebius, Bishop of Caesarea in Palestine.

CHAPTER XXXV. Fidei formula in concilio edita.

CHAPTER XXXVI.

Victor Constantinus, maximus, augustus, episcopis et populis. (Vide hujusce Patrologiae tom. LXVII, col. 88, apud Socr. lib. 1, cap. 9.)

Letter of Emperor Constantine to the Alexandrians against Arius, and to all the orthodox.

Letters of Constantine, which he sent from Nicaea to the bishops who did not attend the council.

These things, then, he communicated by letter to those who were absent from the council; but those who had gathered, he received kindly with speeches and many ^D gifts. Having commanded many couches to be prepared, he entertained them all at the same time; the more distinguished he deemed worthy of his own table, while he dismissed the others to different tables. When he saw that some had their right eyes gouged out, and had learned that their steadfastness of piety and faith in Christ was the cause of their injury, he brought his lips to their wounds, believing that he would draw a blessing from them through his kiss. When the banquet was concluded, he once again brought them other gifts; and he even gave letters to the governors who were in charge of the nations, commanding that in every city annual grain provisions should be supplied to those who had vowed perpetual virginity, to widows, and to those who had been consecrated for the fulfillment of divine ministries, out of the imperial bounty rather than from the needs of the poor...

according to a measure that his own magnificence determined. Regarding these things, Eusebius Pamphili discourses in this manner: ^A “Thus, having at last allowed the holy bishops to rest with the greatest possible reverence, the most praiseworthy and faithful Emperor Constantine, having commanded them to return home, dismissed them all. And they returned with great joy. One opinion henceforth prevailed among all, upon which they had agreed in the presence of the emperor, those who had long been separated being united as if into one body. The emperor, therefore, rejoicing in the success of the matter, granted a fruitful harvest by letters to the bishops who had not attended the council; and he ordered abundant distributions of money to be made to all the people living both in the countryside and in the cities; in this way he graced the twentieth year of his reign. Indeed, in the sixteenth year and the sixth month of his reign, according to old accounts, as we have shown above, he gathered the holy council of bishops. But in the twentieth year, having dissolved the assembly of the council, he sent each one away to his own diocese, as has been set forth. ^B For my part, having arranged to the best of my ability, in this ecclesiastical History, the matters which were judged and defined in that same holy council concerning the Catholic and orthodox faith, the venerable feast of holy Easter, the regulations for divine ecclesiastical service, and the canons of discipline itself, for the most complete security of those who shall read this document, I shall here bring the discourse to a close; considering it best to relate the rest of the pious zeal for the faith of the altogether praiseworthy and faithful emperor in a third volume, for the glory of our common Savior Christ, and for the most evident proof of the piety of our most faithful emperor. I considered it necessary to add only this here, deeming it not irrelevant, but indeed highly appropriate: ^C the names of the bishops who, by the common consent of all the bishops, were sent into the provinces of the earth everywhere; through whom the matters judged by the council were sent, by means of synodical letters and the letters of the most praiseworthy emperor, to all the holy Churches of God under heaven, for the glory of God and of his Son our Lord Jesus Christ, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen. ^D A catalog of the holy bishops through whom the holy, great, and ecumenical synod, gathered at Nicaea, sent to the Churches of God throughout the whole world the things which were established therein by them through the Holy Spirit. Osius, bishop of Corduba, to the holy Churches of God which are in Rome, and Italy, and all Spain, and in the remaining nations beyond, dwelling as far as the Ocean, through those who were with him, the Roman presbyters Viton [Vitus, or Victor] and Vincentius. Alexander of Alexandria, with Athanasius, at that time ar-

archdeacon, to the Churches throughout all Egypt, Libya, and Pentapolis, and the regions adjacent thereto, as far as the provinces of India. Macarius of Jerusalem, together with Eusebius, son of Pamphilus, bishop of Caesarea, to the Churches in Palestine, Arabia, and Phoenicia. Eustathius, bishop of great Antioch, to all in Coelesyria, in all Mesopotamia, and in both Cilicias. John the Persian, to the Churches in all Persia and great India. Leontius of Caesarea in Cappadocia, the ornament of the Church of the Lord, to the Churches in that same Cappadocia, Galatia, Pontus of Diospontus, Paphlagonia, Pontus Polemaicus [Polemoniacus], and Armenia the Less and the Great. Theonas of Cyzicus, to the Churches in Asia and the Hellespont, and Lydia, and Caria, through the bishops who were under him: Eutychius of Smyrna and Marinus of Troas. Alexander of Thessalonica, through those serving ^B under him, to the Churches in Macedonia first and second, together with those in Greece and all Europe, throughout both Scythias, and finally to all in Illyricum, Thessaly, and Achaia. Nunechius of Laodicea, to the Churches in Phrygia first and second. Protogenes, that admirable bishop of the city of Sardica, in Dacia, Calabria, Dardania, and the provinces adjacent thereto. Caecilianus, bishop of Carthage, to the holy Churches of God in all the provinces of Africa, Numidia, and both Mauritanias. Pistus of Marcianopolis, to the Churches in Mysia, and the nations of the Athenians and the Gauls, and the cities adjacent to these. Alexander of Constantinople, at that time still but a presbyter—though he later obtained the episcopal dignity of the Church there ^C—together with Paul, at that time still a reader and his own notary, to the Churches of all the Cyclades islands. All these holy and apostolic men conveyed to all the holy Churches of God under heaven that which was decreed in the holy, great, and ecumenical synod of the Nicaenes, and transmitted it everywhere on earth, as the discourse has just now demonstrated. ^D

BOOK THREE

Constantine Augustus to Arius and the Arians. An evil interpreter is, in very truth, a likeness and image of the devil. For just as skilled craftsmen portray that one [the devil]...

^A as having the beauty of form and outward appearance, while he is by his very nature most foul, so that he may destroy miserable mortals by casting error before them, in the same way, I think, this man acts, to whom it seems that the only thing worthy of study is to scatter profusely upon all the noxious poisons of his impudence and audacity. For he introduces a new faith of infidelity, such as has never been seen since men were born. Wherefore that saying, long since explained by divine utterance, that "they are wise to do evil" [Jer. IV, 22], does not seem to depart from the truth. For what could anyone say of him who has lost the grace of taking counsel, and who no longer desires to find any help or relief? Why then, I say, Christ Christ, Lord Lord, why do the brigands wound us daily? ^B There stands opposite a certain hard and violent audacity, howling and gnashing its teeth, deformed by infamy and wounded by countless crimes. This [audacity], indeed, in the law and in the proclamation of your name, scattered as if by storms and the waves of evils, pours forth pernicious words, and committing these to writing, brings to light what you, who exist together with the eternal Father, the source of your own being, never defined in the knowledge of yourself. It gathers and piles up on the whole grave and lawless impieties; at one moment brandishing tongues, at another again lifted up by the enthusiasms of the wretched, whom, in their sense of security, she deceives and corrupts. But now I wish to examine the nature of its leader. For what, indeed, does he say? "Either let us keep," he says, "what we have already obtained, or let it be done as we ourselves wish." He has fallen, and he has fallen indeed killed: by a dagger, he says, or by some atrocious cunning, it matters not. ^C He considers it a great thing only that it has crept into him on account of his base thoughts. "We have," he says, "the multitude. I myself will proceed a little further, that I may be a spectator of this insane war: I myself, I say, will proceed, I who am accustomed to appease the wars of the mindless." Come then, Mars Arius, there is need of shields. Do not do this, I beseech you! May at least the intercourse of Venus detain you. But would that, just as you appear to be applauded by the crowds, so you would flourish in piety towards Christ. Behold now, I come as a suppliant again, and though powerful in the abundance of arms, I do not wish to fight; but armed with the faith of Christ, I wish to heal both you and others. Why then do you say that you do these things, which were not ^D fitting to your character? But with what quietness, tell me, tell me, I pray, or surrounded by what forces, or rather, to what [depths] of rashness have you been driven? Oh, an audacity worthy to be punished by thunderbolts! For hear what he recently indicated to me, writing while distilling poison with his pen: "Thus," he says, "we believe." Then, adding I know not what insolently and very accurately elaborated [notions], proceeding further, he omitted no bitterness, but opened, so to speak, the entire treasure of his madness: "We are expelled," he says, "and all security for our reception is taken away." But these things are of little relevance; attend to what follows: for I shall use his own words:

^A We request, he says, if the bishop of Alexandria persists in the same opinion, that henceforth, according to the ordinance of the law, we be granted the opportunity to perform the lawful and indispensable acts of worship to God. O dreadful insolence, which ought to have been rebuked by a zeal for the truth! For what occurred to him from the desire of his own mind, he expressed with a brevity of speech. What are you saying, O foolish man? Are you contriving to build up a plausible division for us to mask the rottenness of your savage mind toward me, and in your malice are you hastening to destroy those who have joined you? What then, you say, shall I do, if no one considers me worthy to be received? For this is what you often shout from your profane throat; but I, on the contrary, ask you: Where is the clear proof and testimony of your own mind that you have displayed? Which it was necessary for you to reveal and make clear to God and men, especially since venomous serpents are wont to become more savage when they feel that they are hidden in the innermost recesses of their dens. But that is indeed highly "refined" ^B of him, to pretend silence with such great effort, as if under the mask of modesty. By the art of your demeanor, you present yourself as tame and docile. But being full of countless evils and treacheries within, you have deceived many. But, oh, the misery! Just as the devil desired, he has established Arius for us as a workshop of iniquity.

Come now, disclose to me the proof of your faith, and do not be silent at all. O you who possess a distorted mouth and a nature prone to wickedness: do you say there is one God? You have me as a supporter; think so, therefore. Do you say that the Word of God is of the same essence, lacking beginning and end? I praise this too: believe it so. If you attach anything further, I reject it; if you construct anything toward an impious division, I confess that I neither see nor understand it. If you accept the hospitality of a body for the dispensation of divine operations, I do not rebuke it. If you say that the spirit of eternity was begotten in the pre-eminent Word, I accept it. Who knows the Father, except he who came from the Father? Whom does the Father know, except Him whom He has begotten from Himself eternally and without beginning? You think that you ought to substitute an alien ^C hypostasis, believing wrongly; but I recognize that the fullness of the pre-eminent power that pervades all things, of the Father and the Son, is one essence. If, therefore, you take away from Him, from whom even the thought of contentious men could never remove anything; and yet you promote the character of addition, and explain tokens of inquiries, to Him who gave eternity entire from Himself, and truly bestowed the understanding of immortality through Himself, and granted the faith of the Church. Cast away, therefore, cast away the disgrace of such a foolish opinion, O elegant and melodious Arius, chanting evils for the perfidy of the senseless. Justly has the devil subverted you with his malice, and to some perhaps this seems pleasant: for so you persuade yourself. But this evil is truly pestiferous. Come then, leave off that pursuit of absurd opinions, O wretched Arius, listen: for it is with you that I am arguing. Do you not realize that you are cast out from the Church of God? You have perished, know this for certain, unless, by looking at yourself, you condemn your own madness. But you will say that a vast multitude of men is helping you and lightening your cares. Listen, therefore, bending your ears a little, O impious Arius, and understand your...

own folly. And do You, O God, who hast the care of all, be propitious to those things which are said, if they be of faith. For I, your servant, relying on divine Providence, will openly demonstrate, from Greek and Roman books, and those most ancient, the madness of Arius, which was foretold and predicted by the Erythraean [Sibyl] nearly three thousand years ago. For she said: Woe to you, Libya, situated in the maritime regions: for the time will come when, together with the peoples and your daughters, you will be compelled to undergo a struggle, grave, harsh, and entirely difficult, from which the faith and piety of all shall be judged: but you are verging toward extreme ruin: for you have dared to tear up the receptacle of heavenly flowers, and to rend it with your bite, and furthermore have defiled it with iron teeth. What then, O crafty deceiver, where do you confess that you are? There, clearly: for I possess the letters which you wrote to me with the pen of your fury, in which you say that all the people of Libya are conspiring with you for salvation. But if you deny that these things are so, I call God to witness that I have a most ancient copy of the Erythraean [Sibyl] written in Greek, which I shall send to Alexandria, so that you may perish as quickly as possible. Are you then without sin, you villain? Have you not evidently perished, O wretch, surrounded by such great evil? We know what you are contriving: what care, what fear troubles you, does not escape us, O unhappy and calamitous man. O the stupor of your mind, you who do not repress the disease and poverty of your soul, O impious one! You who pierce the truth with various discourses, and, being such as you are, do not fear to vituperate us, and now reproving, as it seems to you, now truly warning as if you were superior in faith and doctrine—from whom, forsooth, the miserable desire help to be supplied to them; ^C although it is not right either to associate with such a man, or to address him at all, unless someone thinks that hope of living rightly lies hidden in his deceitful words and verses. But this is not true: it is very far from it. O your imprudence, you who associate with him! What madness, therefore, compelled you to tolerate his bitter tongue and countenance? Be it so: but now I turn my speech to you, O man thoughtless in mind, voluble in tongue, unfaithful in heart: grant me not, I say, a wide and broad field of disputation, but one rightly circumscribed by a circle: not rotten, but by nature firm and solid, O impious and worst of men and dissembler: for I am compelled to say these things, ^D nay rather, I will cast a snare upon you, and will bring you, entangled by the disputation, into the midst, that all the people may see your wickedness. But I will proceed to the matter itself. Our hands are indeed washed: let us proceed to invoke God with prayers, or rather let us restrain ourselves for a little while. Tell me, O most cunning man, what God will you implore for your help? But I cannot restrain myself. O Creator of all, Lord, O Father of singular virtue, because of this impious man the Church suffers reproaches, sorrows, nay rather wounds and griefs. Arius is already preparing a place for you, and that most excellently, in which, as I think, constituting for himself a synod, he may claim and hold your Son, that Christ begotten of you, that leader of our aid, by the law of adoption. Hear, I beseech you,

^B of this wondrous faith. He thinks, O Lord, that you are moved by the motion of a place; he dares to circumscribe you within the circle of a limited seat. For where is your presence not to be found? Or where do not all perceive your operation through the laws that set all things in order for you? For you yourself contain all things, and outside of you it is not permitted to conceive of a place or anything else. Thus your power, together with its operation, is infinite. But do you, O God, listen; and you, all the people, apply your minds. For this shameless and worthless man, who has advanced to the peak of wickedness and iniquity, feigns piety. "Away," he says, "I do not wish God to appear subject to the passion of insults; and for this reason I propose and fashion with a truly wondrous faith that, when God created the new and recently fashioned substance of Christ, he prepared help for himself, as it seems to me; for whatever," he says, "you take away from him, that you have made less." Then, O destroyer and bane, is this faith for you? Do you, under a hypothesis and fiction, take him who condemned the fictions of the Gentiles? Do you call him who is extraneous, and as it were a servant of duties—who, without thought or reasoning, achieved all things by existing always with the eternity of the Father—a minister? Apply now, if you dare, adapt I say to God, the notions that he takes precautions and fears, and hopes for a future event; that he thinks and reasons, and that he speaks after considering his judgment, and forms words; that he takes pleasure, laughs, and grieves. What then do you say, most miserable of all the miserable? You who are clearly skilled in malice, understand, if you can, that you are being consumed by your own treachery, you wicked man. "Christ," he says, "has suffered for us." But I have already said that he was sent in the form of a body. "Certainly," he says; "but one must fear lest we seem to diminish him in any respect." O interpreter of wild beasts, are you not insane while you say such things, and are you not clearly raving? For behold, the world itself is a form or figure, and the stars display their characters; and, altogether, the spirit of this spherical orb is a certain species of those things which exist, and as it were a configuration. Nevertheless, God is present everywhere. Where, then, are there insults in God? Or in what is God diminished? O parricide of justice! Consider, taking a conjecture from yourself, if you see sin to be, that God is present in Christ. He, indeed, perceived the shamefulness of the speech and did not delay in inflicting punishment. Furthermore, sins are committed daily in the world, and yet God is present, nor are punishments long delayed. In what, then, is the magnitude of his power diminished? Does he suffer everywhere? Nothing, I think; for the mind of the world is through God: through him is all stability, through him is all law. The faith of Christ is from him without beginning. Moreover, Christ is altogether the law of God, having through him immensity and infinity. But you seem to think of these things also out of your own wit. O signal madness! Turn now to your own destruction the sword of the devil. See, all of you, see how he utters lamentable cries, wounded by the bite of the viper, how his veins and flesh, tainted with poison, stir up bitter torments; how his body, wasted away by decay, and with squalor, filth, and lamentation, and pallor, and horror, and a thousand ^D

^A evils is full, and has terribly shrivelled; how the forest of his hair is hideous and filthy; how he is already half-dead, and his gaze waning; how his face is bloodless and worn away by anxiety; how everything at once—frenzy, madness, and vanity—converging upon him, because of the long duration of the affliction, has made him savage and bestial. Immediately, not even perceiving what kind of evil he is suffering, "I am carried away," he says, "by pleasure, and I leap, bounding with joy, and I am winged." And again, in a very youthful manner: "Alas," he says, "we have perished." This is indeed true: for to you alone has wickedness lavishly provided its own pursuits; and what it had bought at a great price, it has bestowed upon you most easily. ^B Come now, tell me, where are your solemn instructions? Wash yourself clean in the Nile, if it is possible, O man full of absurd senselessness; for you have diligently endeavored to disturb the entire world with your impieties. Do you not understand that I, who am a man of God, already know everything? But I am at a loss, whether I should remain or depart; for I can no longer look upon such things, and I am ashamed of the sin, O Arius! You have set us in the light, but you yourself have cast into the darkness, O miserable one; for this has turned out to be the end of your labors. But I shall return thither again. You say there is a multitude of those led astray around you. It is likely, I think; and receive them, I say, receive them; ^C for they have delivered themselves up to be devoured by wolves and lions. But in addition, each one of these, oppressed by the addition of ten heads and by the tax for these, will immediately sweat, if he does not run with all haste to the saving Church, to accept the peace of charity through the bond of concord. For they will no longer be deceived by you, those condemned by a bad conscience: nor will they endure to perish utterly, entangled in your wicked inquiries: for your sophistries will be manifest and known henceforth: and you yourself will achieve nothing, vainly feigning, simulating fairness and mildness of speech, and, so to speak, donning the mask of simplicity from the outside. Vain will be all your artifice: for the truth itself will soon surround you: the shower of divine power ^D will soon, so to speak, extinguish your flames. And yet those who are your associates and supporters, who have already made themselves liable to the court, will be taken charge of by the public ministries, unless, fleeing your company as quickly as possible, they have embraced the uncorrupted faith. But you, O iron man, give me some specimen of your purpose, if you trust in yourself, and are reliant on the firmness of your faith, and have an altogether pure conscience. Come to me, come, I say, to a man of God; believe that I will search the hidden depths of your heart with my questions: and if any madness appears to reside in you, imploring divine grace, I shall better cure you from the bite: if, however, you appear to be of sound mind, once the light of truth has been recognized in you, I shall give thanks to God, and I shall congratulate myself for the sake of piety. And in another hand: May God keep you, most beloved.

^A These things were carried by Syncletius and Gaudentius, the magistrians, when Paterius was prefect of Egypt, and they were read in the palace.

Against Eusebius and Theognius

Constantine Augustus to the Catholic Church of the Nicomedians.

(55) All of you know accurately, most beloved brethren, that the Lord God and Savior Christ is Father and Son. I say Father, without beginning, without end, the parent of his own aeon; and Son, that is to say, the will of the Father, which was neither assumed by any mental deliberation, nor grasped through any substance sought from without for the completion of his works. For whoever understands and will understand this, the same shall have unfailing patience for every kind of punishment. But indeed, the Son of God, Christ, the creator of all things and the donor of immortality itself, was begotten—insofar as pertains to the faith which we have believed; he was begotten, or rather, he proceeded forth, being always in the Father, for the ordering of those things which were made by him. He was begotten, therefore, by an indivisible progression. For the will is fixed ^B together with its dwelling-place, and it treats and manages those things which require diverse care according to the quality of each. What then is it? What is there between God the Father and the Son? Nothing, obviously; for this completion of things has received the command of the will by perception, nor has it, by being separated from the essence of the Father, separated the will. But as for what follows from these things, who is it that through reverence rather than foolishness fears for Christ, my Lord, the Son? Does God, therefore, suffer? After the habitation of the august body hastens to the knowledge of its own holiness, does that which is separated from the body fall under that touch? Has he, therefore, separated this which has been removed from the humility of the body? Do we not live, even if the glory of the soul has ^C assumed the body unto death? What, therefore, does this harmless and sincere faith find here worthy of doubt? Do you not see that God has chosen a more august body, by which he wished to show the proofs of faith and the documents of his own virtue?

(55) Another version of this Epistle, such as Justinian is said to have sent to Pope Vigilius in the title, is presented by Baronius at the year 329, number 12. HARD.

^A and to shake off the error already confounded by the devil, which was the destruction of the human race; to provide a new doctrine of religion as a remedy for ignorance; to purify the unworthy acts of the mind; and then, to loosen the torture of death, and to announce beforehand the rewards of immortality. But you, whom the communion of charity henceforth makes it fitting for me to address as brothers—you are not ignorant of me, your fellow servant; you are not ignorant of the bulwark of your salvation, the care of which I have genuinely taken up, and by which we have not only overcome our armed enemies, but have also compelled those yet living in soul to profess the true faith of humanity. I, for my part, rejoiced at these good things, especially on account of the renewal of the world. For it was indeed a thing truly worthy of admiration to have brought so many nations to concordance and consensus, who a little while before were said to be ignorant of God. But how were these nations to know those things which they cared not to understand with any zeal for contention? What then do you think, dearest brothers, that I should accuse us ourselves? We are Christians, and we dissent with a wretched disposition. Is this, then, our faith? Is this the doctrine of the most holy law? But what, pray, is the cause on account of which the ruin of the present evil has been stirred up? O, the absurdity! O, the greatest hatred, which exceeds the magnitude of any indignation! What, pray, has the atrocity of this action been shown to be? Does it deny that the Son of God proceeded from the indivisible substance of God? Is not God everywhere? And yet we feel that He is always present with us. Has not the adornment of the universe coalesced through His power, and is it not exempt from the dissension of separation? Therefore, that nothing may have been done by us, dearest brothers, attend, I pray, to the proof of the present pain. You promised to be confessors of Him whom you deny, since that destructive teacher persuaded you of this. ^C

(From this point Theodoret describes the remainder of the Epistle, Lib. I, Hist. Eccl., c. 20, of this Patrologia, tom. LXXXII, c. 961.)

Victor Constantine Augustus to Theodotus

^D How great is the force of divine wrath, even from those things which have happened to Eusebius and Theognius, it is easy for you to understand; who, raging against the most holy religion, polluted the name of God the Savior with the assembly of their own band of robbers even after having obtained pardon. For then, especially when after the concordant consensus of the synod it was necessary to correct the former error, they were caught adhering to those absurd opinions. For this reason, therefore, Divine Providence cast them out from the number of Its people; because It could not bear to see simple souls corrupted by that madness; and It now demands from them due punishment, and will exact even greater ones hereafter throughout all time. This, I thought, should be pointed out to your sagacity, so that if any perverse admonition of theirs (54) Said to have been present at the Antiochene synod, in which Eustathius was driven from his see. HARD.