ORATION OF THE MOST WISE ARCHBISHOP OF NICAEA, IN WHICH HE HONORS THE SYNOD WITH PRAISES AND ACCUMULATES HONORS UPON ITS PRESIDENTS, AS MUCH AS THE WORK REQUIRED.
Not only do the outcomes of great matters, when they turn out according to one's desires, delight those who contribute their effort to them, A but their beginnings, when they arrive, hearten them no less. For it is necessary that the beginning, in all other matters perhaps, possesses great power, since it is commonly called by all the wise the half of the whole; and it is easier to reach the end by having begun than to avoid the very act of beginning by yielding to sloth. B But in this divine work which is set before us, we must hope and believe that it will have the greatest power and promises a prosperous end; since, relying on the divine promise, we trust that God will be present in our assembly—in whose presence there is nothing at all to despair of—and we may form a great conjecture of future things from those that have already occurred. For the fact that the members of the Church, for such a long time separated from one another, that they would not even in any way consent to meet, but would even endure with difficulty the very mention of meeting, and would gladly persist in that which was harmful to them—yet now, with such eagerness of spirit on both sides, setting aside the many things that were an obstacle, they strive for that one thing which tends toward the reconciliation of peace: by what reasoning could anyone not attribute this to divine power, and consequently consider it the most certain sign of all good things? This day, therefore, is a day of joy, and there is reason for us to rejoice, gladdened in spirit. Illustrious outcomes have illustrious beginnings, and rich fruits have rich first-fruits. The machinations of the enemy,
A by which friends and brothers—or rather, the members and parts of the one same head, and the flock of the one same shepherd—had come to harbor enmity, are beginning to flow away, to slip asunder, and to dissolve. For things that were separated are hastening to join together, and things that were broken apart are hastening to be bound up again; and it is most desired by them, and sought by all their prayers, to be joined and contained within the same corner. For both sides have come together with the same purpose and the same zeal, leaving no room at all for that will which strives to win or be won; for this would not be the way of the disciples of Christ or of moderate men, but of the contentious and those who indulge themselves and their own desires completely. Rather, they are moved solely by the desire to discover truth, with which they even desire to be won, and without which they would not wish even to conquer. For it is already necessary that the truth be revealed openly and prevail over all things, having overcome those who vainly rail against it, and that it be implanted in the souls of all. As for falsehood, may it be driven far away, to take the place that belongs to it with the children of falsehood; and may it reign among those who value more highly the father of lies, doing and saying everything under his leadership in life. Who could speak anything worthy of the present business? What could one compare from things done in the past to these present things? All prior things are overshadowed by the present; all things yield, all things are inferior to what is now coming to pass. Let us all applaud, let us all be gladdened in the spirit; let the hymn of the Savior be a concern for all, for one thing to offer him thanks for the benefits thus far bestowed, and for another to pray that the end may come to match the beginnings. B Indeed, let each of us also contribute everything in his power, whatever may contribute to the end and to the sacred union of Christians, a matter so honorable and useful. All things must be attempted, all things must be experienced; no zeal, no diligence, no struggles, no labors must be spared; we must remember that we ought not only to pour out prayers, but also to offer our own service to God. For one should not hope for all things from God while we ourselves toil at nothing; for it would be contrary to our prayers to implore the help of God while offering nothing worthy of ourselves to which God might show Himself a helper. For in this way He will help us the more, and we shall arrive at the end more easily and more swiftly. May this come to pass, O God and Savior, that we may see that day when we sing to You a hymn of victory and joy, singing in one and the same spirit, so that one single harmony is created, and coming together into one harmony, we may live, move, and breathe under You as our one and only head, thinking the same, saying the same, being the same. C Christ our King, we want and pray for You to be our one and only King, by whose precious blood we have been redeemed, who gave Yourself as the price of redemption for us who were sold under sin, and who snatched us from the tyrant who held us captive. Make both parties, D then, one sheepfold for You, and do not suffer Your own to dissent among themselves, nor cast them away while they burn against each other in war; but
rather, do not favor one side while claiming the others; for Your own sake You gave Yourself up, and Your precious blood which was shed became a laver for both. A Grant us, therefore, even now the grace from You, providing it as common to both, and drawing us both to Yourself, setting Yourself as one and the same end for us, and in the proportion and relationship that we have toward one another, do not allow us to be severed and divided, and from that to necessarily lose the end as well, in any way, for the others. The Holy Spirit, the fountain of gifts, the spirit of wisdom, the spirit of understanding, the spirit of the fear of God, for whom and with whom this struggle is set before the Churches, B cast off from us every proud thought, and implant the fear of God in the souls of us all, granting us understanding and wisdom, and descending together with us all into the struggle undertaken for You, make the truth manifest to all, as You are not only called the Spirit of Truth, but also take upon Yourself the task of announcing all the truth to us, according to the truthful and in no way deficient voice of truth. O God, the Trinity, who produced all things in ineffable ways, and contain all things, and provide for them, and govern them, man is Your work; produced, perhaps, after all other things, but before all visible things; and this, as I believe, C endowed with extraordinary and royal honor, so that he might enter into life with all things already prepared and at hand. For this you provide with Your providence, often, or rather always, so that those things which pertain to the body and the present life do not fail; but You provide with no less government that he should have those things which pertain to the condition of the soul, by which it becomes better: the own proper good of which is truth, and by no means to hallucinate in those things in which the sum of matters consists, since this is the best and most divine of all things that we have and are to have. Grant this now also to us, and bestow that we may have it among us, and may embrace it as a fellow-parent. And meanwhile, forgive us if in any part we wander from it, especially where it is a matter of You, who not only escape investigation and scrutiny Yourself, but also do so for most of those things which You have created, though they nevertheless convey Your divine image in a certain slight and shadowy way. D Assent to those who supplicate You, and make Yourself a guide of the way for us who follow, which leads to You, the only true God. And just as You Yourself are three in subsistences or persons, and have one and the same substance and nature, with the number of persons in no way obstructing this identity; so also, although we are many and of different nations, and already—alas!—with the enemy sowing discord, also of different opinion and faith, take away this difference, and make us all to be one and the same, believing the same things, thinking the same about You; and let nothing obstruct us from being one and thinking the same about You, not diversity of race, nor the number and the multitude of men.
A But let these things be our prayer. But what say you, who convene this sacred synod, you who lead in this matter, you who have struggled much and many times prayed to see this day, as if it were already a herald of future things to come, the very beginning of the deeds, and a clear herald of the end? Who could worthily call you blessed? Who could praise you as is fitting, now that you see the fruits of your labors blossoming? Most blessed Father, now you are truly blessed, and you shall be even more so when, under God’s guidance, we reach the end that He shall lead us to. Many rewards will be laid up for you by God for having unified His holy Church. You will have accomplished a great work if you persevere unto the end, removing all scandals from the midst, and introducing peace and concord. You have applied great zeal, great B solicitude, and have greatly watched and labored, bringing together from all sides the children of Christ, so that, having deliberated with one another in brotherly and spiritual affection, and having followed the victorious truth, they may come to one mind. No one denies this; it is known to all. I and all here are witnesses of this. But it is necessary also to look toward the end, and to plan and act in everything with that as the goal: so that the joy we perceive at present, gradually increasing and progressing, may be multiplied unto the end and reach its ultimate peak. If the beginnings are glorious, and the starting points are such, consider what the end will be which is consistent with such beginnings. And how much blessings and praises will he, how much acclaim and how many crowns will be his, who has already laid such foundations for these things, and will yet lay more? You have here one who will offer you his assistance and follow you in whatever work is needed: your son and emperor, most pious, most serene, and lover of Christ; who, while having adorned himself with many virtues, burns especially with zeal for God and integrity, and with C an ardor for struggling on behalf of piety. From his youth, having held this sacred desire for the holy unity of the Churches, he never ceased in his effort to seek an opportunity to accomplish this business; which, once wisely identified and discovered as soon as it appeared, he seized, and brought the matter to the state in which it is now seen; he, looking to this one good alone, and being wholly intent upon this desire, reckoned perils as nothing, despised luxuries and leisure, and looked down upon such a vast sea and waves swelling like mountains; he cast aside his life and wealth and his very fatherland, in order to become a co-worker with God and to bring peace to the Church, of which he not only seeks and has promised to be a nursling, but also a champion. There will not be lacking also the holy and venerable patriarch, who will be present with equal zeal for you; who is indeed worn down by old age and weakened in body, but who possesses a soul that is young in good things and is fervent in spirit, who burns with great desire and utters many prayers, worthy that it should be granted to him to give his labor to this work; and for this reason perhaps he takes delight in the present, and
is glad to be in the body, that he might bring this divine work to a good end, for without this he would be very heavily burdened by this tabernacle, as one who has already labored. A All will join you in the goal and the present struggle; no one desires anything more than this longed-for end. We all look toward this; a vehement love for that end inflames all our souls. For this reason we have all come together from afar; for this reason we dwell in a foreign land—men having sailed to this very Italy, some from the heart of Greece itself, others from the northernmost and easternmost regions of the inhabited world.
May the enemy not prevail over the zeal of so many; may this not happen, God our Savior. May you not frustrate such a great gathering of ours, so frequent, so long premeditated, considered for so many years, held with so many toils and much zeal, that it should be in vain through his work. This is not the way of wise and godly men, nor of those who know how to order their words with discernment. Let the enemy attack others, let him exult over others whom he has conquered, but let him not touch us. Let us arm ourselves with spiritual weapons to go out to meet the enemy; let us put on the breastplate of righteousness and the helmet of the Spirit, and with the word of God leading us, let us rush against the adversaries; let us stand wherever it leads us, destroying every height that exalts itself against the glory of God, every proud and vainglorious thought. Applying humility and the fear of God as a co-worker for the struggles, and having Him before our eyes, and striving to reach Him, desiring even at times to be well conquered B rather than to conquer poorly in all things; since the quality of good consists not only in one’s obtaining victory, when he has truth on his side, but nevertheless the same measure of good is also preserved in one who succumbs well, which is esteemed as equal to conquering. Although someone might perchance say that this is an even greater good than the former, since it is more profitable for everyone to receive a benefit than to bestow one upon another, and to hear rather than to speak to others, and to be freed from error rather than to free another.
Most invincible Emperor, the matter is now at a turning point, and the time you have long desired has come. Therefore, give glory to God and praise Him; this is His work, and He it is who cast this thought into you by instilling such love; and with His help also, the matter has been brought to this state. If, therefore, we have given Him great thanks for what has already been done, and poured out prayers with our whole soul for what is to come, we shall surely do something worthy both of ourselves and of the work proposed, and shall render Him more propitious to us, if we show ourselves worthy of our own vows, while we are not ungrateful for the past, and entrust ourselves and the whole business to Him, having placed all our hope and care in Him; for He is the one from whom we are to be nourished with heavenly and divine food, without which no man shall live. D And just as you have not ceased until now, both by praying to God for His help and of His...
A seeking assistance, and also by performing yourself what was appropriate, show yourself even more ready in the future, the more we approach the end. Invoke God for His part, and for your part, act, neither by night nor by day giving yourself over to rest, until you might arrive at a good end and find peace for your reasonings. Things that are carried by force, and all those that have received the impulse of motion from without, are moved more sluggishly as they approach the end; but those things that are moved by nature and from within, these move more quickly as they draw near to the goal. You also, concerning these good things, the chief of which is the present proposal, moved as if by nature and from within, do not suffer it to be otherwise, but rather desire, as quickly as possible, to attain your own proper goal (for the good end of a good thing is proper to that good); make both yourself and all of us more zealous, exhorting and urging everyone on. And as for our most blessed father, if he should at all grow weary through age, yielding to time and sickness, remind and rouse him, for your part with exhortatory speeches, and for the other part, by showing yourself active in deeds themselves. In any case, he will respect the Emperor who urges him, and by dealing with the matters more diligently together with our most divine and holy Patriarch, with the most reverend elders B of the holy Roman Church, and with all the others, they will, with God as their leader, bring a good end to this. Would that we might all see this, and having enjoyed a more perfect gladness and being filled with spiritual joy, may we be more purely roused to praise our most blessed father and your holy Empire, admiring and according the appropriate applause both to the most holy Patriarch and to this whole sacred and holy gathering, after the hymn owed to God, weaving also for you a common garland of words. Grant me, then, this final labor, to accord to you a common praise; honor me with this task; let me fulfill this last contest, having in all things brought it to completion under one and the same Lord, the Word of God, in one and the same speech to adorn you in common, distributing as much as is possible of what is owed to you in Christ our God, to Whom is due all glory unto the ages. C