# On the Councils of Ariminum and Seleucia - Author: [Athanasius of Alexandria](https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/authors/athanasius/) - Latin title: *De synodis* - Date: 359 (additions 361) (probable) - Source: J.-P. Migne, ed., Patrologiae cursus completus, Series Graeca 26 (Paris: Migne, 1857), De synodis (reprinting the Benedictine edition of B. de Montfaucon, Paris, 1698) - Translation: Claude, from the original text, unless a passage says otherwise; each passage below gives the translator - Editions and translations: Hans-Georg Opitz et al., eds., Athanasius Werke, vol. 2 (Berlin: de Gruyter, 1935–) - Work page: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/athanasius-synodis/ - Passages: 49 ## On the Councils of Ariminum and Seleucia 1 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/athanasius-synodis/1/#p-1 - Source: PG 26:681a–684a - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-10-09 Summary: Athanasius reports that the council summoned for Nicaea was split into Ariminum in the West and Seleucia in the East at the instigation of an Arian party. ### Greek text Ἔφθασε μὲν ἴσως καὶ παρʼ ὑμᾶς ἡ ἀκοή περὶ τῆς λ καὶ νῦν θρυλουμένης συνόδου· καὶ γὰρ βασιλέως καὶ τῶν ἐπάρχων ἐφοίτησε πανταχῆ γράμματα καλοῦντα τοὺ( είς ταύτην συνερχομένους ἐπειδὴ δὲ καὶ φιλομαθεῖς ὄντες ζητεῖτε γνῶναι τὰ πεπραγμένα, ἀκόλουθον εἶναι νενόμικα, ἅπερ ἑώρακα καὶ ἔγνων ἀκριβῶς, ταῦτα καὶ ὑμῖν δηλῶσαι· ’ίνα μὴ, παρʼ ἑτέρων ἀκούοντες, ἀμφίβολον ἔχητε τήν διάνοιανο μάλιστα ὅτι τινὲς εἰώθασιν ἒτὲρως ἀπαγγέλλειν τὰ πραττόμενα, ἢ ὡς γέγονεν. Ἐν μὲν οὖν τῇ Νικαίᾳ, ὥσπερ ἦν ὁρισθὲν, οὐκετι γέγονε τὸ συνέδριον, ἀλλά δεύτερον πρόσταγμα πεφοίτηκεν· ὥστε τοὺς μὲν ἒν τοῖς δυτικοῖς μέρεσιν ἐπισκόπους ὲν Ἀριμίνῳ τῇς Ἰταλίας συνελθεῖν, τοὺς δὲ ὲν τοῖς ἀνατολικοῖς μέρεσιν ἐν τῆ λεγομένῃ Τραχεῖᾳ Σελευκείᾳ τῆς Ἰσαυρίας συγκροτηθῆναι. Ἦ δὲ πρόφασις Β τῆς τοιαύνης συνελεύσεως ἐθρυλεῖτο περὶ πίστεως τῆς είς τὸν Κύριον ἡμῶν Ἰησοῦν τὸν Χριστόν. Οἱ δὲ ταύτην παρασχόντες εῗσὶν ἀπὸ μὲν τῆς Παννονίας Οὖρσάκιος, καὶ Οὐάλης, καὶ Γερμίνιός τις· ἀπὸ δὲ τῆς Συρίας Ἀκάκιος, Εὖδόξιος, καὶ Πατρόφιλος ὁ ἀπὸ τῆς ἐπωνύμου τῶν Σκυθῶν πόλεως τυγχάνων. ι Οὗτοι γὰρ, ἀεὶ τῆς Ἀρείου μερίδος ὄντες, καὶ μὴ νοοῦντες μήτε πῶς πιστεύουσι, μήτε περὶ τίνων διαβεβαιοῦνται, ἀπατῶντες δὲ ἕκαστον ἡρέμα, καὶ σπέρματα τῆς αἱρέσεως ἑαυτῶν ἰπισπείροντες, ὑφήρπασάν τινας τῶν δοκούντων εἶναί τι, καὶ αὐτὸν τὸν βασιλέα Κωνστάντιον αἱρετικὸν ὄντα, σχηματισάμι- ### English translation (Claude) Perhaps news has reached you too of the council that is now so much talked about; for letters of the emperor and of the prefects went everywhere, summoning those who were to come to it. But since you, being eager to learn, seek to know what was done, I thought it right to inform you too of what I have seen and accurately learned, so that you may not be left in doubt by hearing it from others, especially since some are accustomed to report what happens otherwise than it happened. The assembly, then, did not take place at Nicaea, as had been decided; instead a second order went out, that the bishops in the western parts should meet at Ariminum in Italy, and those in the eastern parts should be convened at Seleucia in Isauria, called Rough Seleucia. The pretext put about for such a gathering was the faith in our Lord Jesus Christ. Those who furnished it were, from Pannonia, Ursacius and Valens and one Germinius; and from Syria, Acacius, Eudoxius, and Patrophilus, who is from the city named after the Scythians. For these men, being always of Arius’s party, and understanding neither how they believe nor about what they make assertions, but deceiving each person quietly and sowing the seeds of their heresy besides, carried off some of those who seemed to be something, and the emperor Constantius himself, who was a heretic, pretending … ### Scripture references - Gal 2:6: echo, low confidence - 1 Tim 1:7: allusion, high confidence ### Translation notes - Ariminum is Rimini; Seleucia “the Rough” is in Isauria (southern Asia Minor); the councils met in 359. Patrophilus was bishop of Scythopolis (“the city named after the Scythians”). - The chapter breaks off in the scan in mid-word (σχηματισάμι-); the rest is lost and is marked “…”. - 1 Tim 1:7 (understanding neither what they say nor what they affirm); Gal 2:6 (those who seemed to be something). ### Citation (SBL) Athanasius, Syn. 1 (PG 26:681a–684a; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/athanasius-synodis/1/#p-1). ## On the Councils of Ariminum and Seleucia 2 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/athanasius-synodis/1/#p-2 - Source: PG 26:684a–684d - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-10-09 Summary: The sudden splitting of the council and the bishops’ search for a faith scandalized catechumens and made pagans laugh. ### Greek text Πρῶτον μὲν οὖν ἔγωγε Θαυμάζω (ἠγοῦμαι ’δὲ καὶ πάντα ὁντιναοῦν φρόνιμον τοῦτο συνορᾷν), ὅτι, καθολικῆς ὁρισθείσης συνόδου, καὶ ταύτην πάντων προσδοκώντων, ἐξαίφνης διῃρέθη ο καί οἱ μὶν ἐκεῖ συνῆλθον, οἱ δὲ ὧδε συνεκρότησαν ἑαυτούς. Ἠν δὶ ἄρα τοῦτο τῆς Προνοίας ἔργον, ’ίνα ὲν ὲκάωῃ, τῶν μὲν τὸ ἄδολον καὶ καθαρὸν τῆς πίστεως δειχθῆ φρόνημα,τῶν δὲ τὸ ὕποπτον καὶ ἀμφίβολον ἦθος ἐλεγχθῇ. Ἔπειτα κάκεῖνο διενοούμην μετὰ τῶν ἐνταῦθα γνησίων ἀδελφῶν, καὶ καθʼ δαυτοὺς ἠσχάλλομεν, θεωροῦντες τὸ άπριπὲς τῆς τοσαύτης συνδρομῆς. Τί γὰρ τοσοῦτον ἤπειξεν, ὥστε τὴν οἰκουμένην διαταραχθῆναι, καὶ τοὺς λεγομένους ἐν τῷ καιρῷ τούτῳ κληρικοὺς διατρὲχειν ἅνω καὶ κάτω, καὶ ζητεῖν πῶς ἄρα μάθωσι πιστεύειν είς τὸν Κύριον ἡμῶν Ἰησοῦν Χριστόν; Ei γάρ ἐπίστευον, ούκ ἂν ὡς μὴ ἔχοντες ἐζήτουν. Τοῦτο δὲ τοῖς μὶν κατηχουμένοις ούκ ὀλίγον σκάνδαλονʼ τοῖς δὲ Ἕλλησιν οὐ τὸ τυχὸν, ἀλλὰ καὶ πλατὺν γέλωτα παρέσχεν, εἰ Χριστιανοὶ, ὥσπερ ἐξ ὕπνου νῦν ἐγερθέντες, ζητοῦσι, πῶς δεῖ περὶ Χριστοῦ πιστεύειν. Οἱ δὲ λεγόμενοι κληρικοὶ τούτων, καίτοι τά πρεσβεῖα παρὰ τῶν λαῶν ἃκδικοῦντες, ὡς διδάσκαλοι, νῦν ἤλεγξαν ἑαυτοὺς ἀπίστους, ζητοῦντες ὅπερ οὐκ ἔχουσι. Καὶ ἠγνόησαν οἱ περὶ Ούρσάκιον, τούτων αἴτιοι γενόμενοι, ὅσην ἑαυτοῖς ἑθησαύρισαν ὀργὴν, λὲγοντος τοῦ Κυρίου διὰ μὲν τῶν ἁγίων· ‹‹ Ούαὶ, διʼ οὓς τὸ ὄνομά μου βλασφημεῖται ἐν τοῖς ἔθνεσι· ›› διὰ δὲ ἑαυτοῦ ἐν τοῖς Εύαγγελίοις· ‹‹ος οὖν ἐὰν σκανδαλίσῃ ἕνα τῶν μισ κρῶν τούτων, συμφέρει αὐτῷ *ἱνα μύλος ὀνικὸς κρεμασθῇ εἰς τὸν τράχηλον αὐτοῦ, καὶ καταποντισθῇ ἐν τῷ πελάγει τῆς θαλάσσης-ἢ ἵνα, ‹‹ ὡς ὁ Λουκᾶς προσέθηκε, (ι σκανδαλίσῃ τῶν μικρῶν τούτων ἕνα. ›› ### English translation (Claude) First, then, I marvel (and I think every sensible person sees this too) that, when a general council had been appointed and everyone was expecting it, it was suddenly divided, and some met there while others assembled here. This was, as it turned out, the work of Providence, so that in each place the guileless and pure mind of the faith of the one party might be shown, and the suspicious and equivocal character of the other might be exposed. Next, I reflected on this too with the genuine brothers here, and we were vexed among ourselves, seeing the unseemliness of so great a concourse. For what was so urgent that the whole world should be thrown into confusion, and those who in these times are called clergy should run up and down and seek how, after all, they may learn to believe in our Lord Jesus Christ? For if they believed, they would not be seeking as though they did not have it. This gave no small scandal to the catechumens, and to the Greeks it gave not ordinary but loud laughter, that Christians, as if just now awakened from sleep, are seeking how they ought to believe about Christ. And the so-called clergy among them, though claiming precedence over the people as teachers, have now proved themselves unbelievers, seeking what they do not have. And Ursacius and his party, who caused these things, did not know how much wrath they stored up for themselves, since the Lord says through the saints, “Woe to those through whom my name is blasphemed among the nations,” and himself in the Gospels, “Whoever causes one of these little ones to stumble, it would be better for him that a great millstone were hung around his neck and he were drowned in the depth of the sea,” or, as Luke added, “than that he should cause one of these little ones to stumble.” ### Scripture references - Isa 52:5: quotation, medium confidence - Rom 2:24: allusion, medium confidence - Matt 18:6: quotation, high confidence - Luke 17:2: quotation, high confidence - Rom 2:5: allusion, medium confidence ### Translation notes - Isa 52:5 (cf. Rom 2:24), in the form “Woe to those through whom”; Matt 18:6; Luke 17:2. ### Citation (SBL) Athanasius, Syn. 2 (PG 26:684a–684d; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/athanasius-synodis/1/#p-2). ## On the Councils of Ariminum and Seleucia 3 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/athanasius-synodis/1/#p-3 - Source: PG 26:684d–685b - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-10-09 Summary: The authors of the dated Sirmian creed prefixed the consulship and called Constantius eternal, as if the faith began in their own time; the prophets’ dates mark their ministry, not the start of faith. ### Greek text Τί γὰρ ἔλειπε διδασκαλίας είς εὐσέβειαν τῇ καθολικῇ Ἐκκλησία, ’ίνα νῦν περὶ πίστεως ζητῶσι, καὶ τὴν ὑπατείαν τῶν παρόντων χρόνων προτάσσωσι τῶν παρʼ αὐτῶν ἐκτιθεμένων ῥημάτων δῆοιν περὶ πίστεως ; Ούρτάκιος γὰρ καὶ Οὐάλης, καὶ ινιι, 2. Γερμίνιος (id), καὶ οἱ σὺν αὐτοῖς πεποιήκασιν, ’ὁ μήτε γέγονε, μήτε ἠκούσθη πώποτε παρὰ Χριστιανοῖς. Γράψαντες γάρ, ὡς ἤθελον αὐτοὶ πιστεύειν, προέταξαν τήν ὑπατείαν, καὶ τὸν μῆνα, καὶ τὴν ἠμέραν τοῦ παρόντος χρόνου· ’ίνα δείξωσι πᾶσι τοῖς φρονίμοις, δτι μὴ πρότερον, ἀλλὰ νῦν ἐπὶ Κωνσταντίου ἀρχὴν ἔχει τούτων ἠ πίστις. Πάντα γὰρ πρὸς τήν ἰδίαν αʼίρεσιν βλέποντες ἔγραψαν. Πρὸς τούτοις, περὶ τοῦ Κυρίου προσποιούμενοι γράφειν, ἄλλον δεσπότην ὀνομάζουσιν ἑαυτοῖς Κωνστάντιον· αὐτὸς γὰρ ἦν ὁτήν δυναστείαν τῆς ἀσεβείας αὐτοῖς παρέχων· καὶ αἰώνιον δὲ αὐτὸν βασιλέα εἰρήκασιν οἱ τὸν Υἱὸν ἀίδιον ἀρνούμενοι· οὕτως sic? πρὸς ἀσέβειαν Χριστομάχοι. Ἀλλʼ ἴσως αὐτοῖς ἐστι πρόφασις τῆς ὑπατείας ἠ τῶν ἁγίων προφητῶν χρονογραφία. Ἀλλὰ κᾶν τοῦτο τολμήσωσιν εἰπεῖν, πολὺ τὴν ἀμαθίαν Β ἑαυτῶν ἐξαγγέλλουσιν· αἱ μὲν γὰρ τῶν ἁγίων προφητεῖαι χρόνων ἔχουσι μνή μην. Καὶ Ἡσαΐας μὲν καὶ Ὠσηὶ ἐν ἡμέραις Ὀζίου, καὶ Ἰωάοαμ, καὶ ’Δχὰζ, καὶ Ἐζεκίου γεγόνασιν. Ἱερεμίας δὲ ἐν ἡμέραις Ἰωσίου, Ἰεζεκιὴλ δὲ καὶ Δανιὴλ ἐπὶ Κύρου καὶ Δαρείου, καὶ ἄλλοι ἐν ἄλλοις χρόνοις προεφήτευσαν, ού τῆς θεοσεβείας ἀρχὴν καταβαλλόμενοι· ἦν γὰρ καὶ πρὸ αὐτῶν, καὶ ἀεὶ ἧν, καὶ πρὸ καταβολῆς κόσμου ταύτην ἡμῖν ὁ Θεὸς ἐν Χριστῷ προητοίμασεν· ούδέ τῆς αὐτῶν δὴ πίστεως τοὺς χρόνους ἐσήμαινον· ἦσαν μὲν καὶ πρὸ τούτων τῶν χρόνων αύτοὶ πιστοί·. ἀλλὰ τῆς διʼ αὐτῶν ἀπαγγελίας ἦσαν οἱ χρόνοι. ,Ἦν δι ἡ ἀπαγγελία προηγουμένη μὶν περὶ τῆς ἐπιδημίας τοῦ Σωτῆρος, ἐπακολούθημα δὲ περὶ τῶν ἐσομένων τῷ Ἰσραὴλ καὶ τοῖς ἔθνεσι. Καὶ ἦσαν οἱ χρόνοι σημαινόμενοι οὐκ ἀρχῆς πίστεως, καθὰ προεἷπον, ἀλλʼ αὐτῶν τῶν προφητῶν, καθʼ οὓς οὗτοι γενόμενοι, τοιαῦτα προεφήτευον. Οὗτοι δὲ οἱ νῦν σοφοὶ, ούχ ίστορίας ἐξηγούμενοι, οὐδὲ τὰ μέλλοντα προλέγοντες, ἀλλὰ γράψαντες, «Ἐξετέθη ἡ πίστις ἡ καθολική, ι εὐθὺς προσέθηκαν καὶ τὴν ὑπατείαν, καί τὸν μῆνα, καὶ τὴν ἡμέραν· ’ίναʼ ὥσπερ οἱ ἅγιοι τῶν ἱστοριῶν καὶ τῆς ἑαυτῶν διακονίας τοὺς χρόνους ἔγραφον, οὕτως οὗτοι τῆς ἑαυτῶν πίστεως τὸν χρύνον σημανωσι. Καὶ εἴθε περὶ τῆς ἑαυτῶν ἔγραφον νῦν γὰρ ἤρξατο, καὶμὴ ὡς περὶ τῆς καθολιο κῆς ἐπεχείρουν· ού γὰρ ἔγραψαν, Οὕτω πιστεύομεν, ἀλλʼ ὅτι ι( Ἐξετέθη ἡ καθολικὴ πίστις, ›› ### English translation (Claude) For what teaching for piety was lacking to the catholic church, that they should now inquire about faith, and prefix the consulship of the present time to the words they set out, supposedly about faith? For Ursacius and Valens and Germinius and those with them have done what has never happened or been heard of among Christians. Having written as they themselves wished to believe, they prefixed the consulship and the month and the day of the present time, to show all sensible people that their faith had its beginning not earlier but now, under Constantius. For they wrote everything with an eye to their own heresy. Moreover, while pretending to write about the Lord, they name another master for themselves, Constantius; for it was he who supplied them with the power of their impiety; and those who deny that the Son is eternal have called him eternal emperor: such Christ-fighters are they in their impiety. But perhaps their pretext for the consulship is the dating found in the holy prophets. But even if they dare to say this, they proclaim their ignorance loudly. For the prophecies of the saints do record times: Isaiah and Hosea lived in the days of Uzziah and Jotham and Ahaz and Hezekiah; Jeremiah in the days of Josiah; Ezekiel and Daniel under Cyrus and Darius; and others prophesied at other times—not laying down the beginning of godliness; for it existed before them, and always existed, and God prepared it for us in Christ before the foundation of the world. Nor were they marking the times of their own faith; for they were believers even before those times. But the times were those of their proclamation. And the proclamation was primarily about the Savior’s coming, and secondarily about what would happen to Israel and to the nations. And the times signified were not those of a beginning of faith, as I said before, but of the prophets themselves, in whose times they lived and prophesied such things. But these wise men of today, neither narrating histories nor foretelling what is to come, but writing, “The catholic faith was set forth,” at once added the consulship and the month and the day, so that, as the saints wrote the times of their histories and of their own ministry, so these might signify the time of their own faith. And would that they had written about their own faith (for it began only now), and not attempted it as though writing about the catholic faith; for they did not write, “Thus we believe,” but, “The catholic faith was set forth.” ### Scripture references - Isa 1:1: allusion, high confidence - Hos 1:1: allusion, high confidence - Jer 1:2: allusion, high confidence - Eph 1:4: allusion, medium confidence ### Translation notes - Isa 1:1; Hos 1:1; Jer 1:2; Eph 1:4 (before the foundation of the world). The dating of Ezekiel and Daniel under Cyrus and Darius is as printed. - “The catholic faith was set forth” is the opening of the Dated Creed of Sirmium (22 May 359), quoted in ch. 8. ### Citation (SBL) Athanasius, Syn. 3 (PG 26:684d–685b; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/athanasius-synodis/1/#p-3). ## On the Councils of Ariminum and Seleucia 4 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/athanasius-synodis/1/#p-4 - Source: PG 26:685b–688b - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-10-09 Summary: Dating their creed shows that the faith of Ursacius’s party is new, like that of the Montanists, and would leave the fathers and martyrs outside it. ### Greek text Τὸ μὲν οὖν τολμηρὸν τῆς προαιρέσεως ἐλέγχει τήν ἀμαθίαν αὐτῶν· τὸ δὲ καινὸν ἐπινόημα τῆς γραφῆςίσον ἐστὶ τῆς Ἀρειανῆς αἱρέσεως. Οὕτω γὰρ γράψαντες ἔδειξαν, πότε μὶν ἤρξαντο πιστεύειν αύτοί* ἀπὸ δὲ τοῦ νῦν βούλονται τὴν πίστιν αύτῶν καταγγέλλεσθαι. Kal ὥσπερ, κατᾶ τὸν εὖαγγελιστήν Λουκᾶν, ‹‹,ἐτέθη δόγμα ›› περὶ τῆς ἀπογραφῆς, ml τοῦτο τὸ δόγμα πρότερον μὲν οὐκ ἦν, ἀπὸή δὲ τῶν ἡμερῶν ὲκείνων ἤρξατο, ἐν αἷς καὶ ἐτέθη παρὰ τοῦ γράψαντος· οὕτω καὶ οὗτοι γράψαντες, ι Ἐξετέοη νῦν ἡ πίστις, ›› ἔδειξαν, ὅτι νεώτερόν ἔστι τὸ τῆς al;ρὲσεως αὑτῶν φρόνημα, ml οὐκ ἦν πρότερον. El δὲ προστιθέασι, κ τῆς καθολικῆς, ›› ἔλαθον ἑαυτοὺς πεσόντες εἷς τήν παράνοιαν τῶν ἀπὸ Φρυγίας ὥστε ml αὐτοὺς κατʼ ἐκείνους εἰπεῖν· Ἦμῖν πρῶτον ἀπεκαλύφθη, καὶ ἀφʼ ἡμῶν ἡ πίστις ἄρχεται τῶν Χριστιανῶν. Καὶ ὥσπερ ἐκεῖνοι Μαξιμίλλαν καὶ Μοντανὸν, οὕτως οὗτοι ἀντὶ τοῦ Χριστοῦ Κωνστάντιον δεσπότην ἐπιγράφονται. Εἰ δὲ κατʼ αὐτοὺς ἀπὸ τῆς νῦν,ὑπατείας ἀρχὴν ἠ πίστις ἔχει, τί ποιήσούσιν οἱ Πατὲρες καὶ οἱ μακάριοι μάρτυρες; τί δὲ καὶ αὐτοὶ ποιήσουσι τοὺς παρʼ αὑτῶν διατηχηοη θένταςηιαι πρὸ τῆς ὑπατείας ταύτης κοιμηθένταςε ua); αὐτοὺς ἐγείρουσιν, ’ίνα ἆ μὲν ἔδοξαν δεδιέ oaxévatutootouc, ἀπαλείψωσιν, ἃ δὲ νῦν ὧς ἐφευρόντες ἔγραψαν, ἐπισπείρωσιν αὐτοῖς; Οὕτως εἰσὶν ἀμαθεῖς, μόνον εἰδότες πλάττειν προφάσεις, καὶ ’ἕῖύτας ἀπρεπεῖς καὶ ἀπιθάνους, ἐχούσας ἔγγὺς τὸν εγγον. εγχον. ### English translation (Claude) The daring of their purpose, then, convicts their ignorance; and the novel device of their writing is on a par with the Arian heresy. For by writing thus they showed when they themselves began to believe, and that they wish their faith to be proclaimed from now on. And just as, according to the evangelist Luke, “a decree went out” concerning the census, and this decree did not exist before but began from those days in which it was issued by the one who wrote it, so these men too, by writing, “The faith has now been set forth,” showed that the mind of their heresy is recent and did not exist before. And if they add “catholic,” they have fallen unawares into the folly of the Phrygians, so that they too say, like them: “To us first it was revealed, and from us the faith of Christians begins.” And as those men inscribed Maximilla and Montanus, so these inscribe Constantius as master instead of Christ. And if, according to them, the faith has its beginning from the present consulship, what will the fathers and the blessed martyrs do? And what will they themselves do with those whom they instructed and who fell asleep before this consulship? How will they raise them up, to wipe out what they seemed to have taught them and to sow in them what they have now written as their own discovery? So ignorant are they, knowing only how to fabricate pretexts—and these unseemly and unpersuasive, with their refutation close at hand. ### Scripture references - Luke 2:1: quotation, high confidence ### Translation notes - Luke 2:1. “The Phrygians” are the Montanists, followers of Montanus and the prophetess Maximilla; the saying attributed to them is Athanasius’s characterization, not a quoted oracle. - Several words in this chapter are garbled in the scan; translated by sense. ### Citation (SBL) Athanasius, Syn. 4 (PG 26:685b–688b; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/athanasius-synodis/1/#p-4). ## On the Councils of Ariminum and Seleucia 5 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/athanasius-synodis/1/#p-5 - Source: PG 26:688b–692b - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-10-09 Summary: Nicaea met for real reasons and confessed the apostolic faith without a date; at Ariminum the Arian party produced the Dated Creed of Sirmium. ### Greek text ἹΙ μὲν γὰρ ἰν Nimia σύνοδος, οὐχ ἁπλῶς γέχονεν, ἀλλʼ,εἶχε τὴν χρείαν κατεπείγουσαν, ml τήν αίτίαν εὔλογον. Ol μὶν γὰρ ἀπὸ τῆς Συρίας, καὶ Κιλικίας, καὶ, Μεσοποταμίας ἑχώλευον περὶ τήν ἑορτὴν, καὶ μετὰ τῶν,Ἰουδαίων ἐποίουν τὸ Πάσχαγ ἥ τε ’Λρειανή αἵρεσις ἐπαναστᾶσα ἦν κατὰ τῆς ναθολικῆς Ἐκκλησίας, ml προστάτας εἶχεν εἵς τήν ὑπὶρ ἑαυτῆς σπουδὴν καὶ εἷς τήν κατᾶ τῶν εὐσεβούντων ἐπιβουλὴν τοὺς περὶ Εὐσέβιον ’ καὶ αὕτη αἰτία γέγονεν οἶκουμενικήν συναχθῆναι σύνοδον, ’ίνα πανταχοῦ μία τῆς ὶᾳρτῆς ἡμέρα ἐπίτσελῆται: ml ἡ παραφυεῖσα αἵρεσις ἀναθεματισθῇ · γέγονε γοῦν καὶ οἱ μὶν ἀπὸ τῆς Συρίας ἐπείσθησαν· τὴν δὲ ’Δρειανὴν αʼίρεσιν ἀπεφήναντο πρόδρομον τοῦ Ἀντιχρίστου, καὶ κατʼ αὐτῆς γράψαντες ἐκδεδώδιασι καλῶς. Καὶ ὅμως γράψαντες καὶ τοσοῦτοι ὄντες, ούδὶν τοιοῦτον τετολμήκασιν, οἷον οἳ τρεῖς ἢ τέσσαρες οὗτοι. Οὐ γὰρ προέταξαν ὑπατείαν, καὶ μῆνα, ml ἡμέραν ἀλλὰ περί μὲν τοῦ Πάσχαο ι Ε”δοξε τὰ ὑποτεταγμένα ’ ›› τότε γὰρ ἔδοξε πάντας πεί- Θεσθαι· περὶ δὲ τῆς πίστεως ἔγραψαν οὐκ Ἐδο- Ξεν, ἀλλʼ, ι( Οὕτως πιστεύει ἡ καθολική Ἐκκλησία· » ml εὐθὺς ὡμολόγησαν, πῶς πιστεύουσιν, l'va δείξωσιν, δτι μή νεώτερον, ἀλλʼ ἀποστολικόν ἐστιν αὐτῶν τὸ φρόνημα, καὶ ἃ ἔγραψαν, οὐκ ἐξ αὐτῶν εὑρέθη, ἀλλὰ ταῦτʼ ἐστὶν, ἅπερ ἐδίδαξαν οἳ ἀπόστολοι. Ἀρείου λέγοντας γνησίως ἐδέχοντο. Μέγα μὶν οὖν ιάὶ τοῦτο τεκμηριον, ὅτι μή διʼ ἀλήθειαν, ἀλλʼ ἐπʼ ἱναιρὲσει τῶν ἐν Nimia πραχθέντων ὴ ἐπίνοια τῶν ρῦν συνόδων ἦνʼ ’ἆ δὲ καὶ ἓν αὐταῖς ταῖς συνόδοις παρʼ ιῦτῶν καὶ τῶν ὁμοίων πέπρακται, δείκνυσιν οὐδὲν ἧττον εἶναι ταῦτα ἀληθῆ. Λοιπὸν γὰρ ἀναγηῖον ὡς ἔκαπα γέγονε δηλῶσαι. Πάντων προσδοκώντων εἷς ’ὲν συνέρχεσθαι, οὖς ἱκάλει τὰ παρὰ βασιλέως γράμματα, καὶ μίαδ γίνεσθαι τὴν σόνοδον, ἐπειδή διῃρὲθησαν, καὶ οἱ μὲν εἰς Σελεύκειαν τήν λεγομένην Τραχεῖαν κατῆλθον, οἱ δὲ ὲν τῇ Ἀριμίνῳ συνῆλθον· ἦσαν δὶ οἱ ἐν αὐτῇ ἐπίσκοποι υ καὶ πλέον ’ είς ταύτην ἀνῆλθον καὶ Γερμίνιος, καὶ Αὐξὲντιος, καὶ Οὐάλης, καὶ Οὐρσάκιος, Δημόφιλος τε καὶ Γάϊος. Ἀλλὰ, τῶν ἐπισκόπων πάντων διαλεγομένων ἀπὸ τῶν θείων Γραφῶν, οὗτοι χάρτην ἐπεδείκνυον καὶ τήν ὑπατείαν ἀναγινώσκοντες, ἠξίουν ταῦτὰ προκρίνεσθαι πάσης συνόδου, καὶ τούτων μηδὲν πλέον ζητεῖν παρᾶ τῶν αἱρετικῶν, μηδὲ ἐρευνᾶσθαι τὴν tusiva διάνοιανο ἀλλʼ ἀρκεῖσθαι τούτοις p.6νοις. Καὶ ἔστι τὰ γραφέντα παρʼ αὐτῶν ταῦτα· Ἐ-ξετέθγη ἡ πίστις ἡ κρθοᾼλική- ἰπὶ παρουσίᾳ τόὖ δἐσπότουίὴμῶν τοῖῖ εὐσεβεστάτου ’καῖ καλὲ λινίνιου βασιλέως ξίωνσταντίου Aufidii-300L305 αἰωνίου, σεβαστοῦ, ὑπατείᾳ Φλαυΐων Εὐσεβίου καὶ Υπατίου τῷν λαμπροτάτων ν Σιρμίῳ τῇ πρὸ ιαʼ καλνδῶν Ἰουνίων Πιστεύομεν εἷς ἕνα τὸν μόνον καὶ ἀληθινὸν Θεὸν Πατὲρα παντοκράτορα, κτίστην καὶ δημιουρὸν τῶν πάντων καὶ εἰς ἱνα μονογενῆ ιʼἱὸν τοῦ Θεοῦ, τὸν πρὸ πάντων τῶν αἲώνων, καὶ πρὸ πάσης ἀρχῆς. καὶ πρὸ παντὸς ἑπινοονμὲνου χρόνου, καὶ πρὸ πάσσς καταληπτῆς οὐσίας γεγεννημένον ἀπαθῶς τίκ τοῦ Θεοῦ · διʼ οὗ οἳ τε αἰῶνγς κατηρτίσθησαν, καὶ τὰ πάντα ἐγέ ### English translation (Claude) For the council at Nicaea was not held casually; it had a pressing need and a reasonable cause. Those from Syria, Cilicia, and Mesopotamia were out of step about the feast and kept the Passover with the Jews; and the Arian heresy had risen up against the catholic church and had Eusebius’s party as champions, both in their zeal on its behalf and in their plotting against the pious. And this was the reason an ecumenical council was assembled, so that the day of the feast might be kept everywhere as one, and the heresy that had sprung up might be anathematized. And so it came about: those from Syria were persuaded, and the fathers declared the Arian heresy a forerunner of the Antichrist and rightly published what they wrote against it. Yet though they wrote, and were so many, they dared nothing like what these three or four have dared. For they did not prefix consulship, month, and day; but concerning the Passover they wrote, “The following was decided,” for it was then decided that all should comply; while concerning the faith they did not write “It was decided,” but “Thus the catholic church believes”; and at once they confessed how they believe, to show that their mind is not recent but apostolic, and that what they wrote was not devised by them, but is what the apostles taught. … [7] … received those who spoke Arius’s views as genuine. This too, then, is a great proof that the design of the present councils was not for the sake of the truth, but for the overthrow of what was done at Nicaea; and what was done by them and their like in these very councils shows no less that this is true. For it is now necessary to relate how each thing happened. [8] When all were expecting that those whom the emperor’s letters summoned would come together into one place, and that the council would be one, they were divided; and some went down to Seleucia called the Rough, while others met at Ariminum. There were in the latter some four hundred bishops and more; and there went up to it also Germinius, Auxentius, Valens, Ursacius, Demophilus, and Gaius. But while all the bishops were discussing from the divine Scriptures, these men produced a paper, and, reading out the consulship, demanded that it be preferred to every council, and that nothing more be sought from the heretics than this, nor their meaning be examined, but that this alone should suffice. And what they wrote is this: “The catholic faith was set forth in the presence of our master, the most pious and victorious emperor Constantius Augustus, eternal, in the consulship of the most illustrious Flavius Eusebius and Hypatius, at Sirmium, on the eleventh day before the Kalends of June. We believe in one only and true God, the Father Almighty, creator and maker of all things; and in one only-begotten Son of God, begotten impassibly from God before all ages, and before every beginning, and before every conceivable time, and before every comprehensible essence; through whom the ages were framed and all things came … ### Scripture references - Heb 11:3: allusion, medium confidence - John 1:3: allusion, medium confidence ### Translation notes - The scan has lost the end of chapter 5, all of chapter 6, and most of chapter 7 (marked “…”); chapters 7 and 8 begin at “[7]” and “[8]” inside this staged ref. A second copy of the end of chapter 7, repeated by the scan, is removed by a logged correction. - The Dated Creed of Sirmium (22 May 359, “the eleventh day before the Kalends of June”) is quoted from here; it continues in staged ref 8. The scan’s wording of the emperor’s titles is partly garbled and translated by sense. - Heb 11:3 (“through whom the ages were framed”). ### Citation (SBL) Athanasius, Syn. 5 (PG 26:688b–692b; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/athanasius-synodis/1/#p-5). ## On the Councils of Ariminum and Seleucia 8 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/athanasius-synodis/1/#p-8 - Source: PG 26:692b–693b - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-10-09 Summary: The rest of the Dated Creed of Sirmium calls the Son “like the Father according to the Scriptures” and bans the word “essence.” ### Greek text νετοʼ γεγεννημένον δὶ μονογενῆ, μόνον ἐκ μόνου τοῦ Πατρὸς, Θεὸν ἐκ Θεοῦ, ὅμοιον τῷ γεννήσαντι αὐτὸν Πατρί, κατὰ τὰς Γραφάς· οὗ τὴν γένεσιν οὐδεὶς ἐπίσταται, εἰ μὴ μόνος ὁ γεννήσας αὐτὸν Πατήρ. Τοῦτον ἴσμεν τοῦ Θεοῦ μονογενῆ Υἰὸν, νεύματι πατρικῷ παραγενόμενον έκ τῶν οὐρανῶν εἰς ἀθέτησιν ἁμαρτίας, καὶ γεννηθέντα ἐκ Μαρίας τῆς Παρθένου, καὶ ἀναστραφέντα μετὰ τῶν μαθητῶν, καὶ , πὸῒσαν τήν οἰκονομίαν πληρώσαντα κατά τὴν πατρικὴν βούλησιν, σταυρωθέντα καὶ ἀποθανόντα, καὶ εἰς τὰ καταχθόνια κατελθόντα, καὶ τὰ ἐκεῖσε οἰκονομήσαντα, ’ὸν πυλωροὶ ᾅδου ἰδόντες ἕφριξαν, καὶ ἀναστάντα ἐκ νεκρῶν τῇ τρίτῃ ἡμέρᾳ, καὶ ἀναστραφέντα μετὰ τῶν μαθητῶν, καὶ πᾶσαν τὴν οἰκονομίαν πληρώσαντα, καὶ τεσσαράκοντα ἡμερῶν πληρουμένων ἀναληφθέντα εἰς τοὺς οὐρανοὺς, καὶ καθεζόμενον έκ δεξιῶν τοῦ Πατρὸς, καὶ ἐλευσόμενον έν τῇ ἐσχάτῃ ἡμέρᾳ τῆς ἀναστάσεως τῇ δόξη τῇ πατρικῇ, ἀποδιδόντα ἑκάστῳ κατά τὰ ἔργα αὐτοῦ· καὶ είς τὸ ἅγιον Πνεῦμα, ὃ αὐτὸς ὁ μονογενὴς τοῦ Θεοῦ Ἰησοῦς Χριστὸς ἐπηγγείλατο πέμψαι τῷ γένει τῶν ἀνθρώπων, τὸν Παράκλητον, κατὰ τὸ γεγραμμένον· ‹‹ Ἀπέρχομαι πρὸς τὸν Πατέρα μου, καὶ παρακαλέσω τὸν Πατέρα, καὶ ἄλλον Παράκλητον πέμψει ὑμῖν. Τὸ πνεῦμα τῆς ἀληθείας ἐκεῖνος ἐκ τοῦ ἐμοῦ λήψεται, καὶ διδάξει, καὶ ὑπομνήσει ὑμᾶς πάντα. ι Τὸ δὲ ὄνομα τῆς οὐσίας διὰ τὸ ἁπλούστεροτ ὑπὸ- τῶν Πατέρων τεθεῖσθαι, ἀγνοούμενον δὲ ὑπὸ τῶν λαῶν σκάνδαλον φέρειν, διὰ τὸ μήτε τὰς Γραφὰς τοῦτο περιέχειν, ἤρεσε τοῦτο περιαιρεθῆναι, καὶ παντελῶς μηδεμίαν μνήμην οὐσίας ἐπὶ Θεοῦ εἶναι τοῦ λοιποῦ· διὰ τὸ τὰς θείας Γραφὰς μηδαμοῦ περὶ Πατρὸς καὶ Υἰοῦ καὶ διδάσκουσιν. ### English translation (Claude) … to be; begotten as only-begotten, alone from the Father alone, God from God, like the Father who begot him, according to the Scriptures; whose generation no one knows except the Father alone who begot him. We know that this only-begotten Son of God, at the Father’s bidding, came from the heavens for the putting away of sin, and was born of the Virgin Mary, and went about with the disciples, and fulfilled the whole dispensation according to the Father’s will; was crucified and died, and descended to the regions under the earth and ordered things there, whom the gatekeepers of Hades saw and shuddered; and rose from the dead on the third day, and went about with the disciples, and fulfilled the whole dispensation, and when forty days were fulfilled was taken up into the heavens, and sits at the right hand of the Father, and will come on the last day of the resurrection in the Father’s glory, rendering to each according to his works. And in the Holy Spirit, whom the only-begotten of God himself, Jesus Christ, promised to send to the human race, the Paraclete, as it is written: “I go away to my Father, and I will ask the Father, and he will send you another Paraclete, the Spirit of truth; he will take of what is mine, and will teach and remind you of all things.” But as for the name “essence,” since it was set down by the fathers in simplicity, but, being unknown to the people, gives offense because the Scriptures do not contain it, it seemed good that it be removed, and that henceforth there be no mention at all of essence with regard to God, because the divine Scriptures nowhere … teach.” ### Scripture references - Job 38:17: allusion, high confidence - Acts 1:3: allusion, high confidence - Matt 16:27: allusion, high confidence - John 14:16: quotation, high confidence - John 14:17: quotation, high confidence - John 16:14: quotation, high confidence - John 14:26: quotation, high confidence ### Translation notes - Continuation of the Dated Creed of Sirmium (359), begun in staged ref 5. A second copy of the opening of chapter 8, repeated by the scan, is removed by a logged correction, so this ref begins in the middle of the creed (“… to be”). - Job 38:17 LXX (gatekeepers of Hades shuddered); Matt 16:27 (render to each); John 14:16–17, 26; John 16:14. The end of the creed is lost in the scan before “teach” (“…”). ### Citation (SBL) Athanasius, Syn. 8 (PG 26:692b–693b; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/athanasius-synodis/1/#p-8). ## On the Councils of Ariminum and Seleucia 9 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/athanasius-synodis/1/#p-9 - Source: PG 26:693b–700c - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-10-09 Summary: The bishops at Ariminum refused the Dated Creed, upheld Nicaea, deposed Ursacius, Valens and their allies, and wrote to Constantius asking that nothing be changed. ### Greek text Τούτων ἀναγνωσθέντων, οὐ μακρὰν ἐγνώσθη τῶν γραψάντων ἡ πανουργία. Τῶν γὰρ ἐπισκόπων πρότεινάντων ἀναθεματισθῆναι τήν Ἀρειανὴν αʼίρεσιν μετᾶ καὶ τῶν ἄλλων αἱρέσεων, πάντων τε ἐπὶ τούτῳ συνθεμένων, Οὐρσάκιος καὶ Οὐάλης, καί οἱ σῦν αὐτοῖς ἀνένευον. καὶ λοιπὸν κατεγνώσθησαν, ὡς οὐ γνησίως, ἀλλʼ ἐπʼ ἀναιρέσει τῶν ἐν Νικαίᾳ πραχθέντων γράψαντες ταῦτα, ’ίνα τήν δυσώνυμον αʼίρεσιν ἀντεισάξωσι. Θαυμάσαντες γοῦν ἐπὶ τοῖς δολίοις αὐτῶν ῥήμασι καὶ πανούργῳ προαιρέσει, ἔλεγονο ‹‹ Ἡμεῖς οὐ δεόμενοι πίστεως συνήλθομεν (ἔχομεν γὰρ έν ἑαυτοῖς ὑγιαίνουσαν τὴν πίστιν), ἀλλ”ίνα τοὺς ἀντιλέγοντας τῇ ἀληθείᾳ καὶ καινοτομεῖν ἐπιχειροῦντας ἐντρέψωμεν. Εἴ μὲν οῦν ὑμεῖς ὡς νῦν ἀρχόμενοι πιστεύειν τράψατε ταῧτα, οὔπω ἐπὶ κληρικοὶ, ἇρχὴν ἔχοντες τοῦ κατηχεῖσθαυ εἰ δὶ τῇ γνώμῃ συνήλθομεν ἡμεῖς, πότην καὶ ὕμεῇ ἔχοντες ἁπηντήσατε, ἔστω πάντων μοφροσᾶνη, καὶ τὰς μὶν αἱρέσεις ἂναθέματι ἀναθεματίσωμεν, τά δὲ τῶν Πατέρων φυλάξωμεν, ὑπὲρ τοῦ μηκέτι διατρέχειν προφάσεις συνόδων, ἅπαξ προλαο 6όντων τῶν ἐν Νικαίᾳ συνελθόντων, καὶ πάντα πραο ξάντων ὑπὲρ τῆς καθολικῆς Ἐκκλησίας. ιο Ἀλλᾶ καὶ οὕτω τῶν ἐπισκόπων πάλιν πάντων συνθεμένων, ἀνένευσαν οἱ προειρημένον καὶ λοιπόν καταγνόντες αὐτῶν, ὡς ἀμαθῶν δολίων τε καὶ μᾶλλον αἱρετικῶν, τῇ μὲν έν Nini; γενομένῃ συνόδῳ συνεψηφίσαντο πάντες, καὶ ταῦτῃ πάντες ἔκριναν ἀρκεῖσθαι · τοὺς δὲ προειρημένους Οὖρσάκιον καὶ Οὐάλεντα, Γερμίνιον, Αὐξέντιον, Γάϊον, Δημόφιλον, αἱρετικῶς άπέφηναν, καὶ καθελόντες αὐτοὺς, ὡς μή ὄντας ἀληθῶς Χριστιανοὺς, ἀλλʼ Ἀρειανους, ἔγραψαν κατʼ αὐτῶν Ῥωμαϊστὶ μὲν, έρμηνευθέντα δὲ Ἑλληνιστί κατᾶ δῦναμιν, ταῦταʼ Ἀντίγραφον ἐπιστολῆς παρὰ τῇξὶ συνόδου πρὸς τὸν Αὔγουστον Κωνπάντίον. Ἕκ τε τῆς τοῦ Θεοῦ κελεῦσεως καὶ τοῦ τῆς σῆς εὐσεβείας προστάγματος τά πάλαι δογματισθέντα γεγενῆσθαι πιστεύομεν. El: γὰρ Ἀρίμινον ἐκ πασῶν τῶν πρὸς δύσιν πόλεων είς τὸ αὐτὸ πάντες οἱ ἐπίσκοποι συνήλθομεν, ’ἶνα καὶ ἡ πίστις τῆς καθολικῆς Ἐκκλησίας γνωρισθῇ, καί οἱ τάναντία φρονοῦντες ἔκδηλοι γένωνται. Ὧς γὰρ ἐπὶ πλεῖστον διασκοποῦντες εὑρήκαμεν, ἀρεστὸν ἐφάνη τήν πίστιν τὴν ἐκ παλαιοῦ διαμένουσαν, ἦν καὶ οἱ προφῆται καὶ τά Εὐαγγέλια, καὶ όὶ ἆπόστολοί διὰ τοῦ έυρίου ἡμῶν ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ ἐκήρυξαν, τοῦ καὶ τῆς σῆς βασιλείας φρουροῦ, καὶ τῆς σῆς ῥώσεως προστάτου· ’ἱνα ταύτην κατασχόντες φυλάξωμεν, καὶ φυλάττοντες μέχρι τέλους διατηρήσωμεν. ’Ἄτοπον γὰρ καὶ ἀθέμιτον ἐφάνη τῶν ὀρθῶς καί δικαίως ὡρισμένων τι μεταλλάσσειν, καὶ τῶν έν Νικαίᾳ κοινῇ μετᾶ τοῦ ἰνδοξοτάτου Κωνσταντίνου τοῦ σοῦ πατρὸς καὶ βασιλέως έσκεμμένων, ὧν ἡ διδασκαλία καὶ τὸ φρόνημα ’Όθεν Οὖρσάκιός τε καὶ Οὐάλης, ἐπειδὴ ἔκπαλαι μέτοχοί τε καί συμφωνοι τοῦ Ἀρειανοῦ δόγματος ἧσαν καθεστηκότες, καὶ τῆς ἡμετέρας κοινωνίας χωρισθέντες ἀπεφάνθησαν ἧς ἵνα μετάσχωσιν ἐφʼ οἷς ἑαυτοῖς συνεγνώκεισαν πλημμελήσαντες, μετανοίας τε καὶ συγγνώμης ἠξίουν τυχεῖν, ὠς καὶ τά ἔγγραφοι τὰ ὑπʼ ἐκείνων γεγενημένα μαρτυρεῖ· διʼ ὧν ἁπάντων φειδὼ γεγένηται, καὶ τῶν ἐγκλημάτων συγγνώμη. Ἦν δὲ ὁ καιρὸς, καθʼ ’ὸν ταῦτα ἐπράττετο, ὅτε ἐν Μεδιολάνῳ τὸ συνέδριον τῆς συνόδου συνεκροτεῖτο, συμπαρόντων δὲ καὶ τῶν πρεσβυτέρων τῆς τῶν Ῥωμαίων Ἐκκλησίας· ἐγνωκότες δὲ ἅμα καὶ τὸν μετά τελευτὴν ἄξιον μνήμης Κωνσταντῖνον, μετά πάσης ἀκριβείας καὶ ἐξετάσεως τὴν συγγραφεῖσαν πίστιν ἐκτεθεικότα. Ἐπειδή δὲ, ὡς ἐξ ἀνθρώπων ἐγένετο βαπτισθεις, καὶ πρὸς τήν ὀφειλομενην εῗρήνην ἀνεχώρησεν, ἄτοπον εῖνποι μετʼ ἐκεῖνό τι καινοτομεῖν, καὶ τοσούτους ἁγίους ὁμολογητὰς, μάρτυρας, τοὺς καὶ τοῦδε τοῦ δόγματος συγγραφεῖς τε καὶ εὑρετάς ὑπεριδεῖν οἵτινες κατά τὸν παλαιὸν τῆς Ἐκκλησίας θεσμὸν ἅπαντα φρονοῦντες διαμεμενήκασινʼ ὧν ὁ Θεὸς τὴν πίστιν, καὶ εἰς τοὺς σοὺς χρόνους τῆς βασιλείαν μετέδωκε διὰ τοῦ Δεσπότου ἡμῶν Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ, διʼ οὗ σοι καὶτὸ βασιλεύειν οὕτως ὑπῆρξεν, ὠς καὶ τῆς καθʼ ἡμᾶς οἰκουμένης κρατεῖν. Πάλιν γοῦν οἱ ἐλεεινοὶ καὶ οΐκκροί τῷ φρονήματι, ἀθεμίτῳ τολμήματι τῆς δυσσεβοῦς φρονήσεως κήρυκας ἑαυτοὺς ἀνήγγειλαν) καὶ ἐπιχειροῦσιν ἀνατρέπειν πᾶν ἀληθείας σύνταγμα. Ὧς γὰρ κατα τὸ σὸν πρόσταγμα τὸ συνέδριον τῆς συνόδου συνεκροτεῖτο, κάκεῖνοι τῆς ἰδίας ἀπάτης ἐγύμνουν τήν σκέψιν. Ἐπειρῶντο γὰρ πανουργίᾳ τινὶ καὶ ταραχῇ προσφέροντες τι καινοτομεῖν, τῆς τοιαύτης ἑταιρίας συναλισκομένους εὑρόντες Γερμίνιον, Αὗξέντιον καὶ Γάϊον, τοὺς τὴν ἔριν καὶ διχοστασίαν ἐμποιοῦντας ὧν ἡ διδασκαλία, μία μὲν οῦσα, πᾶν πλῆθος βλασφημιῶν ὑπερβέ- Διὸ δὴ ἱκετεύομεν τήν σὴν ἐπιείκειαν, ἵνα προσηνέσιν ἀκοαῖς καὶ γαληναίῳ βλέμματι τοὺς ἡμετέρους πρέσβεις ἀθρήσειας, μήτε πρὸς ὕβριν τῶν τετελευτηκότων καινόν τι μεταλλάττειν ἐπιτρέψειας· ἀλλʼ ἐάσῃς ἐμμένειν ἡμᾶς τοῖς παρὰ τῶν προγόνων ὀρισθεῖσί τε καὶ νενομοθετημένοις· οὕς ἅπαντα μετά ἀγχινοίας τε καὶ φρονήσεως καὶ Πνεύματος ἁγίου πεποιηκέναι φήσαιμεν ἂν. Τὰ γὰρ νῦν παρʼ ἐκείνων καινοτομούμενα τοῖς μὶν πιστεύσασιν ἀπιστίαν έμποιεῖ τοῖς δὲ ἀπιστοῦσιν ὠμότητα. Ἰκετεὺομεν δὲ ἔτι, ἵνα κελεύσῃς ἂπισκόπους τοὺς έν ταῖς ἀλλοδαπαῖς διατρίβοντας, οὕς καὶ τὸ τῆς ἡλικίας ἐπίπονον καὶ τὸ τῆς πενίας ἐνδεὲς τρύχει, τήν εἲς τὰ οἰκεῖα ἀνακομιδὴν ῥᾳδίαν ποιήσασθαι ’ίνα μή ἔρημοι, τῶν ἐπισκόπων ἀφωρισμένων αἱ Ἐκκλησίαι διας μένωσιν. Ἔτι ὃὶ πρὸς ἅπασι καὶ τοῦτο δεόμεθα, ’ίνα μηδὶν μήτε ἐλλείπῃ τῶν προϋπαρξάντων, μητε πλεονάζοι· ἀλλὰ πάντα ὂίρρηκτα διαμείνῃ, έκ τῆς τοῦ acii πατρὸς εὐσεβείας καὶ εἰς τὸν νῦν χρόνον διαφυλαττόμενα· μήτε λοιπὸν ἡμᾶς μοχθεῖν, καί τῶν οἰκείων παροικήσεων ἀλλοτρίους ἐπιτρέψειας γίνεσθαι ἀλλʼ ἵνα οἱ ἐπίσκοποι σὺν τοῖς ἰδίοις λαοῖς μετʼ εἰρήνης εἰς εὐχάς τε καὶ λατρείας σγολὴν ἄγοιεν, ἱκετεύοντες ὑπὲρ τῆς σῆς βασιλείας, καὶ σωτηρίας, καὶ εἰρήνης, ἣν ἡ Θειότης σοι εἰς τὸ διηνεκὶς χαριεῖται. Oi. δὲ ἡμέτεροι πρέσβεις τάς τι ὑπογραο ### English translation (Claude) When these words had been read, the craftiness of their authors was soon recognized. For when the bishops proposed that the Arian heresy be anathematized along with the other heresies, and all agreed to this, Ursacius and Valens and those with them refused; and so they were condemned, as having written these things not sincerely but to overthrow what was done at Nicaea, so as to bring in the ill-named heresy in its place. Marveling, then, at their deceitful words and crafty purpose, the bishops said: “We did not come together because we needed a faith (for we have the faith sound within ourselves), but to put to shame those who contradict the truth and attempt innovations. If, then, you wrote these things as people only now beginning to believe, you are not yet clergy, but are only at the beginning of catechesis; but if you came here with the same mind with which we came together, let there be unanimity among all; let us anathematize the heresies and keep what the fathers taught, so that pretexts for councils may no longer run about, since those who met at Nicaea anticipated it once for all and did everything for the catholic church.” But even so, when all the bishops again agreed, the aforesaid refused. And then, condemning them as ignorant and deceitful, or rather as heretics, all voted with the council held at Nicaea, and all decided to be content with it; and the aforesaid Ursacius and Valens, Germinius, Auxentius, Gaius, and Demophilus they declared heretics, and deposed them as being not truly Christians but Arians; and they wrote against them in Latin what has been translated into Greek as well as possible, as follows. [10] Copy of a letter from the council to Constantius Augustus. “By the command of God and the order of your piety, we believe that what was decreed long ago has come about. For we, all the bishops from all the cities of the West, came together at Ariminum, so that both the faith of the catholic church might be made known and those who think the contrary might be exposed. For, as we found after considering it at very great length, it seemed good to hold fast the faith that has remained from of old, which the prophets and the Gospels and the apostles proclaimed through our Lord Jesus Christ, who is also the guardian of your empire and the protector of your strength, so that, holding it fast, we may guard it, and guarding it, preserve it to the end. For it appeared absurd and unlawful to alter anything of what was rightly and justly defined, and of what was considered in common at Nicaea with the most glorious Constantine, your father and emperor, whose teaching and mind … Hence Ursacius and Valens, since they had long been partakers and supporters of the Arian doctrine, were declared separated from our communion; and in order to share in it, they asked to obtain repentance and pardon for the faults of which they were conscious, as the documents written by them bear witness; by which they were all spared and pardoned for their offenses. The time when these things were done was when the assembly of the council was convened at Milan, the presbyters of the church of the Romans also being present; and knowing at the same time that Constantine, worthy of memory after his death, set out with all accuracy and examination the faith that had been composed. And since, having been baptized, he departed from among men to the peace that was his due, it is absurd after him to make any innovation, and to disregard so many holy confessors and martyrs, who were also the writers and discoverers of this doctrine, and who have continued holding everything according to the ancient law of the church; whose faith God has handed on also into the times of your reign through our Master Jesus Christ, through whom it has been given to you so to reign that you rule our world. Yet again these wretched men, pitiable in mind, with lawless daring have proclaimed themselves heralds of the impious way of thinking, and are attempting to overthrow every structure of the truth. For when, according to your order, the assembly of the council was convened, they too laid bare the design of their own deceit. For they tried, with a kind of craft and confusion, to bring forward some innovation, having found Germinius, Auxentius, and Gaius caught up in such a faction, who cause the strife and dissension, whose teaching, though single, exceeds every multitude of blasphemies … Therefore we beseech your clemency to look upon our envoys with gentle ears and a calm gaze, and not to permit anything new to be altered to the insult of the dead, but to allow us to remain in what was defined and enacted by our forebears, who, we would say, did everything with sagacity and wisdom and the Holy Spirit. For the innovations they are now making produce unbelief in those who have believed and cruelty in those who do not believe. We beseech you further to order that the bishops staying in foreign lands, whom the hardships of age and the want of poverty wear down, be given an easy return home, so that the churches may not remain bereft, their bishops separated from them. And above all we ask this too: that nothing be either taken away from what existed before or added to it, but that everything remain unbroken, preserved from the piety of your father until the present time; and that you not permit us to toil any longer and be made strangers to our own dioceses, but that the bishops with their own peoples may have leisure in peace for prayers and worship, supplicating for your empire and safety and peace, which the Godhead will grant you forever. Our envoys … the signatures … ### Translation notes - Chapter 10 begins at “[10]” with the heading of the letter; its numeral is removed by a logged correction. - The letter of the Council of Ariminum (359) to Constantius, written in Latin and quoted in a Greek translation. Two passages are lost in the scan (after “whose teaching and mind” and after “exceeds every multitude of blasphemies”), and the letter breaks off at “the signatures” (all marked “…”). Not supplied. - The heading “Decision of the council”, which the scan prints at the end of this ref, belongs to the document that begins staged ref 11; it is removed here by a logged correction. ### Citation (SBL) Athanasius, Syn. 9 (PG 26:693b–700c; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/athanasius-synodis/1/#p-9). ## On the Councils of Ariminum and Seleucia 11 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/athanasius-synodis/1/#p-11 - Source: PG 26:700c–701a - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-10-09 Summary: The decree of Ariminum condemned and deposed Ursacius, Valens, and their allies, and the bishops unanimously upheld the Nicene faith. ### Greek text Ἕως προσῃκον ἦν καὶ δυνατὸν, ἀδελφοὶ τιμιώτατοι, ἡ καθολική σύνοδος, καὶ ἡ ἅγια Ἐκκλησία τῇ ἰδίᾳ ὑπομονῇ καὶ ἀνεξικακίᾳ ἤνεγκεν ούκ ἀγεννῶς Οὗρσάκιον, καὶ Οὖάλην καὶ Γάϊον, καὶ Γερμίνιον, καὶ Αύξὲντιον οἵτινες ἄλλοτε ἄλλο φρονοῦντες πάσας τὰς Ἐκκλησίας συνετάραξαν, οʼί καὶ νῦν ἐπιχειρῆσαι τετολμήκασι τὸν αἱρετικὸν λογισμὸν τῇ τῶν ὀρθοδόξων πίστει συνάψαι, καὶ διαλῦσαι τήν έν Νικαίᾳ σύνοδον, ἣτις ἀντίμαχος ὑπάρχει τῇ τῶν ’Δρειανῶν αἱρέσει· ἔξωθεν ἰδίαν τινὰ καὶ ἀλλοτριωτάτην τῆς ἁγιωτάτης Ἐκκλησίας συγγραφεῖσαν πίστιν προσφέροντες· ἥντινα ἡμᾶς δέξασθαι ἀθέμιτον ἡγησάμεθα. ἔκπαλαι γὰρ οὗτοι αἰρετικοὶ ὅντες καὶ τάναντία φρονοῦντες καὶ νῦν ἀπεδείχθησαν · οὒς πρὸς τὴν ἡμετέραν κοινωνίαν συνελθεῖν οὐκ ἐπιτρέπομεν, τῇ ἰδίᾳ φωνῇ παρόντας αὐτοὺς κατακρίναντες, καὶ καθαιροῦντες. Νῦν τοίνυν, ὅπερ δοκεῖ, ἀποφήνασθε ’ἵνα ὲνός ἑκάστου ἡ γνῶσις ἐκ τῆς ὑπογραφῆς εἴη βέβαιος. Ὁμοθυμαδὸν οἱ ἐπίσκοποι φὰσκομεν Οἱ προειρημένοι ἐχθροὶ καθαιρεθῶσιν,ίνα ἡ καθολικὴ πίστις ἐν εἷρτίνῃ διαμείνῃ. Καὶ τὰ μὲν ἓν τῇ Ἀριμίνῳ πραχθέντα ταχεῖαν καὶ τοιαύτην ἔσχε τήν διάλυσιν. Οὐδεὶς γὰρ ἐκεῖ διεφώνησεν, ἀλλὰ πάντες συμφώνως ὡς ἔγραψαν τὰ δόξαντα, καὶ τοὺς Ἀρειανοὺς καθῄρη σαν. ### English translation (Claude) As long as it was fitting and possible, most honored brothers, the catholic council and the holy church, in their own patience and forbearance, bore not ignobly with Ursacius and Valens and Gaius and Germinius and Auxentius, who, thinking now one thing and now another, have thrown all the churches into confusion, and who now too have dared to attempt to join their heretical reasoning to the faith of the orthodox and to dissolve the council at Nicaea, which stands opposed to the heresy of the Arians, bringing forward from outside a faith of their own composition, utterly foreign to the most holy church, which we have judged it unlawful to accept. For these men, having long been heretics and holding contrary views, have now too been shown to be such; and we do not permit them to come into our communion, having condemned and deposed them, in their presence, by our own voice. Now, then, declare what you think, so that each one’s judgment may be confirmed by his signature. The bishops with one accord said: “Let the aforesaid enemies be deposed, so that the catholic faith may remain in peace.” And so the proceedings at Ariminum came to a speedy conclusion of this kind. For no one there disagreed, but all with one voice wrote what was decided and deposed the Arians. ### Translation notes - The Decree of the Council of Ariminum (359), quoted in a Greek translation; its heading is misplaced in the scan at the end of staged ref 9. - A block of Migne’s Latin apparatus notes (on readings of the preceding letter in Theodoret, Sozomen, and a Paris manuscript) leaked into the scan after “unlawful to accept”; it is removed by a logged correction. ### Citation (SBL) Athanasius, Syn. 11 (PG 26:700c–701a; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/athanasius-synodis/1/#p-11). ## On the Councils of Ariminum and Seleucia 12 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/athanasius-synodis/1/#p-12 - Source: PG 26:701b–704a - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-10-09 Summary: At Seleucia the majority accepted Nicaea except for “of the same essence,” while Acacius’s small party rejected it; the majority deposed and excommunicated the Acacians. ### Greek text Td δὲ ἦν Σελευκείᾳ τῇ Τραχείᾳ γενόμενα ταῦτά ἔστι. Μὴν μὶν ἦν ὁ κατά Ῥωμαίους καλούμενος Σεπτέμῦριος, κατὰ δὲ τοὺς Αἷγυπτίους Θὼθ, καὶ κατὰ ι. ἢ Ι κ s \ ο 1 υ \ ο ι 1 Μακεδόνας Γορπιαῖος, καὶ ἡμέρα τοῦ μηνὸς κατʼ Αίγυπτίους ἓκκαιδεκάτη, είς ἣν συνέδραμον πάντες οἱ κληθέντες συνελθεῖν· ἦσαν δὲ κάκεῖ που ρξʼ · πολλῶν δὲ ὄντων τῶν ἐν αὐτοῖς κατηγορουμένων, καὶ τῶν κατηγορούτων βοώντων κατʼ αὐτῶν, Ἀκάκιος καὶ Πατρόφιλος, καὶ Ούράνιος ὁ ἀπὸ Τύρου, καὶ Εὐδόξιος ὁ ἐπεισπηδήσας τῇ Ἀντιοχέων Ἐκκλησιᾳ, Λεόντιός τε καὶ Θεόδοτος, καὶ Εὐάγριος, καὶ Θεόδουλος, καὶ Γεώργιος ὁ διωχθεὶς ἀπὸ τῆς οἰκουμένης, πράττουσί τι πανοῦργον. Φοβηθίντες γὰρ τοῦς κατʼ αὐτῶν παρᾶ τῶν κατηγόρων ἐλέγχους, προσελάβοντο τοὺς ἄλλους τῆς Ἀρείου μερίδος, τοὺς εἷς αύτὸ τοῦτο μισθωτοὺς εἷς ἀσέβειαν γιοομένους, καὶ κατὰσταθέντας παρὰ Σεκούνδου τυῦ καθαιρεθέντος παρὰ τῆς μεγάλης συνόδου* ἀπὸ μὲν τῆς Λιβύης Στέφανον καὶ Σερᾶτ, καὶ Πολυδεύκην, κατηγορουμένους ἐπὶ διαφόροις ἐγκλήμασι· καὶ λοιπὸν Ηαγκράτιον, καὶ Ητολεμαῖον, Μελιτιανόν τινα, καὶ σχηματισάμενοι δῆθεν περὶ πίστεως ζητεῖν, οὐκ ἐλάνθανον τοὺς κατηγόρους δεδιότες καὶ τὴν αἵρεσιν ἐζεδίκουν, καὶ λοιπὸν ἐσχίσθησαν · καὶ οἱ μὲν μετὰ τῶν περὶ Ἀκάκιον ἦσαν ὕποπτοι, καὶ ὀλίγιστοι παντελὼςο οἱ δὲ ἄλλοι τὸ πλῆθος ἦσαν. υἱ μὲν οὖν περὶ Ἀκάκιον ἀποχρησάμενοι τῷ τῆς ἀπονοίας θράσει, τέλεον ἠρνοῦντο τὰ ἐν Νικαίᾳ γραφέντα, καὶ τήν σύνοδον διέβαλλον o't δὲ ἄλλοι (τὸ πλῆθος δὲ ἦσαν ουτοι) τὰ μὶν ἄλλα πάντα τῆς συνόδου ἀπεδέχοντο · μόνην δὲτὴν τοῦ ὁμοουσίου Αέξιν, ὡς ἐκ τῆς ἀσαφείας ὕποπτον, ἐπροφασίζυντο. Ἐγχρονιζόντων τοίνυν ἐν τῷ τόπῳ, καὶ τῶν μὶν κατηγόρων ἐπικειμένων τῶν δὲ κατηγορουμένων φευγόντων, καὶ διὰ τοῦτο πλέον ἐξ ἀσεβείας ἐξαγοὲ μένων, καὶ βλασφημούντων εἷς τὸν Κύριον, ἠγανάκτησε τὸ πλῆθος τῶν ἐπισκόπων, καὶ καθῄρησαν μὲν Ἀκάκιον, Πατρόφιλον, Οὐράνιον, Εύδόξιον, καὶ τόν ἀπὸ ὑποδεκτῶν Γεώργιον, καὶ ἄλλους ἀπὸ τῆς Ἀσίας, Λεόντιον καὶ Θεοδόσιον, Εὖάγριον καὶ Θεόδουλον ο ἀκοινωνήτους δὶ πεποιήκασιν Ἀστέριον, Εὖσέὄιον, Λῦγαρον, καὶ Βασιλικὸν, καὶ Φοῖβον, καὶ Φιδήλιον, καὶ Εὐτύχιον, καὶ Εὗστᾶθιον, καὶ Μάγνον. Τοῦτο δὲ πεποιήκασιν, ἐπειδὴ, κληθέντες ἀπολογήσασθαι ἐφʼ eis αὐτῶν πλεῖστοι κατηγόρουν, οὐκ ἀπήντησαν ο καὶ ὥρισαν οὕτω μενειν αὐτοὺς, ἆως ἂν, ἀπολογησάμενοι, δείξωσιν ἑαυτοὺς καθαρους ἀπὸ τῶν ἐπιφερομένων αὐτοῖς ἐγκλημάτων. Γράψατές τε είς τήν έκάστου παροικίαν τήν κατʼ αὐτῶν γενομένην κρίσιν, ἀνῆλ- ### English translation (Claude) What happened at Seleucia the Rough was this. The month was the one called September by the Romans, Thoth by the Egyptians, and Gorpiaeus by the Macedonians, and the day of the month, by the Egyptian reckoning, the sixteenth, on which all who had been summoned assembled. There were about a hundred and sixty there too. And since many among them were under accusation, and their accusers were crying out against them, Acacius and Patrophilus, and Uranius of Tyre, and Eudoxius, who forced his way into the church of Antioch, and Leontius and Theodotus and Evagrius and Theodulus, and George, who has been driven out by the whole world, do something crafty. Fearing the proofs their accusers had against them, they took up with the others of Arius’s party, who had been hired for this very purpose in the service of impiety and appointed by Secundus, who had been deposed by the great council: from Libya, Stephen and Seras and Polydeuces, who were accused on various charges; and then Pancratius and Ptolemaeus, a Melitian. And pretending to inquire about the faith, they did not escape the notice of their accusers that they were afraid; and they championed the heresy, and so they were split. Those with Acacius were suspect and altogether very few; the others were the majority. Acacius’s party, making use of the boldness of desperation, wholly denied what was written at Nicaea and slandered the council; but the others (and they were the majority) accepted everything else of the council, and only made objection to the term “of the same essence,” as suspect for its obscurity. As they stayed on in the place, with the accusers pressing and the accused evading them, and on that account being carried further into impiety and blaspheming against the Lord, the majority of the bishops grew indignant, and deposed Acacius, Patrophilus, Uranius, Eudoxius, and George, the former contractor, and others from Asia, Leontius and Theodosius, Evagrius and Theodulus; and they excommunicated Asterius, Eusebius, Augarus, Basilicus, Phoebus, Fidelius, Eutychius, Eustathius, and Magnus. This they did because, when summoned to defend themselves on charges brought against them by a great many, they did not appear; and they decreed that they should remain so until they had defended themselves and shown themselves clean of the charges brought against them. And having written to each diocese the judgment given against them, they went up … ### Translation notes - The Council of Seleucia met in September 359. George is George of Cappadocia, Arian bishop of Alexandria; “former contractor” renders ἀπὸ ὑποδεκτῶν (he had been a supplier to the army). Secundus of Ptolemais was deposed at Nicaea. - The chapter breaks off in the scan in mid-word (ἀνῆλ-); the rest is lost (“…”). ### Citation (SBL) Athanasius, Syn. 12 (PG 26:701b–704a; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/athanasius-synodis/1/#p-12). ## On the Councils of Ariminum and Seleucia 13 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/athanasius-synodis/1/#p-13 - Source: PG 26:704a–704d - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-10-09 Summary: The bishops at Ariminum rightly kept the fathers’ definitions; the Acacians, by rejecting Nicaea, condemn their own teachers, such as Eusebius of Caesarea, who signed it. ### Greek text Τίς τοίνυν οὐκ ἃν ἀποδέξαιτο μὲν τήν εὐλάβειαν τῶν ἐν τῇ Ἀριμίνῳ συνόδῳ συνελθόντων ἐπισκόπων ; οἷʼ τοσοῦτον κάματον ὁδοῦ, καὶ θαλάττης κινδύνους ὑπέμειναν, ’ίνα τοὺς μὲν φρονοῦντας τὰ Ἀρείου καθέλωσι. τοὺς δὶ τῶν Πατέρων ὅρους ἀκεραίους φυλάξωσιν,ὁσίως καὶ κανονικῶς τοῦτο βουλευσάμενοι. Ἥγεῖτο γὰρ ἕκαστος αὐτῶν, εἶʼ λόσιεν τά τῶν πρό αὐτῶν, πρόφασιν διδοναι τοῖς μετὰ ταῦτα, ὥστε λῦσαι τὰ παρʼ αὐτῶν νῦν γιγνόμενα. Τίς δὲ οὐκ ἂν καταγνοίη τῆς εὐχερείας τῶν περὶ Εὐδόειον καὶ Ἀκάκιον, οί τὴν τῶν ἑαυτῶν Πατέρων τιμήν προπίνουσι τῇ πρὸς τοὺς Ἀρειομανίτας σπουδῇ καὶ χάριτι; Ποία γὰρ πίστις τοῖς παρʼ αὐτῶν γινομένοις, εί τὰ τῶν προτέρων καταλύεταις ἢ πῶς Πατέρας ὀνομάζουσιν, οὓς διεδέξαντο, ὧν αὐτοὶ τῆς γνώμης κατήγοροι γίνονταις Μάλιστα δὲ Ἀκάκιος τί ἂν εἴποι πρὸς Εὐσέβιον τὸν ἑαυτοῦ διδάσκαλον, ὅς οὐ μόνον ὑπέγραψεν ἐν κατὰ Νίκαιαν συνόδῳ ἀλλὰ γάρ καὶ διʼ ἐπιπολῆς ἐδήλωσε τοῖς ὁδʼ αὐτὸν λαοῖς ταῦτην εἶναι πίστιν ἀληθῆ, τὴν ὁμολογηθεῖσαν ἐν τῇ κατὰ Νίκαιαν συν. όδῳ ; εί γὰρ καὶ ὡς ἠθέλησεν ἀπελογησατο διὰ τῆς ἐπιπολῆς, ἀλλά γε τὰς λέξεις οὐκ ἠρνήσατο, ἀλλὰ καὶ κατηγόρησε τῶν ’Δρειανῶν, ὅτι λέγοντες, Οὐκ ἦν πρὶν γεννηθῇ ὁ Υἱὸς οὐδὲ πρὸ Μαρίας αὐτὸν ἤθελον εἶναι. Τί ἄρα καὶ διδάξουσι τοὺς λαοὺς, τοὺς παρʼ ἐκείνων διδαχθέντας ; ὅτι ἐσφάλησαν οἱ Πατέρες; καὶ πῶς αὐτοὶ πιστευθήσονται παρʼ αὐτοῖς, οὕς διδάσκουσι παρακούειν τῶν διδασκάλων ; Ποίοις δὲ ὄμμασι ἐμβλέψονται καὶ τοῖς μνήμασι τῶν Πατέρων, οὓς ὀνο· μάζουσι νῦν αἱρετικούςς Τί δὲ τοὺς ἀπὸ Οὐαλεντίνου, καὶ Φρυγίας, καὶ Μανιχαίους διασύρουσι, τοὺς δὲ τὰ ὅμοια φθεγξαμένους,ὡς ὑπονοοῦσιν αὐτοὶ, ἁγίους ὀνομάζουσιν; ’Ἡ πῶς ἔτι δύνανται αὐτοὶ εῖνα ἐπίσκοποι, εί παρʼ αἱρετικῶν, ὡς αὐτοὶ διαβάλλουσι, κατεστάθησαν ; El δὲ καὶ κακῶς ξφρόνησαν. καὶ γράψαντες ἐπλάνησαν τήν οἰκουμένην, παυθήτω τέλεον καὶ ἡ περὶ τούτων μνήμη ο καὶ εί τὰ γράμματα αὖ· ### English translation (Claude) Who, then, would not approve the piety of the bishops who assembled at the council of Ariminum? They endured so much toil of travel and the dangers of the sea, in order to depose those who hold the views of Arius and to keep the definitions of the fathers intact, resolving this in a holy and canonical manner. For each of them held that, if they undid what those before them had done, they would give a pretext to those after them for undoing what they themselves were now doing. And who would not condemn the levity of Eudoxius’s and Acacius’s party, who sign away the honor of their own fathers out of zeal and favor toward the Ariomaniacs? For what trust can be placed in what they do, if what their predecessors did is undone? Or how can they call fathers those whom they succeeded, when they themselves become accusers of their judgment? And above all, what would Acacius say to Eusebius, his own teacher, who not only subscribed at the council of Nicaea, but also made known by letter to the people under him that the faith confessed at the council of Nicaea was the true faith? For though he defended himself in the letter as he wished, he did not deny the terms, but even accused the Arians, because, in saying, “The Son was not before he was begotten,” they would not have him exist even before Mary. What, then, will they teach the people who were taught by those men? That the fathers erred? And how will they themselves be believed by those whom they teach to disobey their teachers? With what eyes will they look on the tombs of the fathers whom they now call heretics? And why do they disparage the followers of Valentinus and of the Phrygians and the Manichees, while calling saints those who, as they suppose, uttered similar things? Or how can they still be bishops, if they were appointed, as they slander them, by heretics? But if those men thought wrongly and by their writings led the world astray, let even the memory of them cease completely; and if … the writings … ### Translation notes - Eusebius of Caesarea was Acacius’s predecessor and teacher; his letter to his church is mentioned also in De decretis 3. - The chapter breaks off in the scan (εἰ τὰ γράμματα αὐ-); the rest is lost (“…”). ### Citation (SBL) Athanasius, Syn. 13 (PG 26:704a–704d; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/athanasius-synodis/1/#p-13). ## On the Councils of Ariminum and Seleucia 14 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/athanasius-synodis/1/#p-14 - Source: PG 26:704d–705c - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-10-09 Summary: By rejecting their fathers the Acacians reverse Paul’s praise of tradition; Athanasius appends the writings of Arius and the creeds of their councils to show their inconsistency. ### Greek text Ὁ μὲν οῦν ματάριος ’Δπόστολος ἀποδέχεται τοὺς Κορινθίους λέγων· ιι ’Ότι πάντα μου μέμνησθε, καὶ καθὼς παρέδωκα ὑμῖν τὰς παραδόσεις, οὕτω κατέχετε· ι οὗτοι δὲ, τοιαῦτα περὶ τῶν πρὸ αὐτῶν ἐνθυμούμενοι, τάναντία πάντως τοῖς λαοῖς καὶ εἰπεῖν τολμήσουσινο Ούκ ἐπαινοῦμεν ὑμᾶς μνημμονεύοντας τῶν ΙΙατέρων, ἀλλʼ ἀποδεχόμεθα μᾶλλον ὑμᾶς, ὅταν τὰς παραδόσεις αὐτῶν μὴ κατέχητε· καὶ λοιπὸν διαβαλλέτωσαν τήν ἑαυτῶν δυσγένειαν, καὶ λεγέτωσαν· Ἡμεῖς οὐκ εὐσεβῶν, ἀλλʼ ἐξ αἱρετικῶν γεγόναμεν. Τοιαῦτα γὰρ ἁρμόζει λέγειν τοῖς, ὡς προεῖπον, προπίνουσι τήν τῶν ΙΙατέρων τιμὴν, καὶ τήν ἑαυτῶν σωτηρίαν τῇ Ἀρειανῶν αἱρέσει, καὶ μή φοβουμένοις ἆκοῦσαι τὸ έν τῇ θείᾳ Παροιμίᾳ γεγραμμένον, ‹‹ Ἕκγονον κακὸν πατέρα καταρᾶται, ›› καὶ τὴν έν τῷ νόμῳ κατὰ τῶν τοιούτων κειμένην ἀπειλήν. Ἐκεῖνοι μὲν οὖν διὰ τὴν ὑπὲρ τῆς αἱρέσεως σπουδὴν τοιοῦτον φιλόνεικον ἐσχήκασι καὶ τὸ φρόνημα· ὑμεῖς δὲ μή διὰ τοῦτο ταραχθῆτε, μηδὲ τὴν ἐκείνων τόλμαν ἀλήθειαν ἡγήσησθεῌΟ). Καὶ γὰρ καὶ πρὸς ἑαυτοὺς ἀνθίστανται, καὶ τῶν Πατέρων ἀποστάντες, μίαν οὒκ ἔχουσι τήν γνώμην, ἀλλὰ ποικίλαις καὶ διαφόροις νήχονται μεταβολαῖς· καὶ πρὸς τὴν ἐν Νικαίᾳ σύνοδον ἐρίζοντες, πολλὰς μὶν συνόδους πεποιήκασι καῖ αύτοῖ, καθʼ ἑκάστην δὲ πίστιν ἐκτιθέμενοι, έν οὐδεμιᾷ μεμενήκασιν ἀλλά καὶ οὐ παύσονταί γε ἀεὶ τοῦτο ποιοῦντες, ὅτι, κακῶς ζητοῦντες, οὐχ εὑρήσουσιν ἦν ἐμίσησαν σοφίαν. Ὑπέταξα τοίνυν ἀναγκαίως ἀπὸ μέρους τὰ τε παρᾶ Ἀρείου γραφέντα, καί ὅσα συναγαγεῖν ἠδυνήθην, ὧν ἐν διαφόροις οὗτοι συνόδοις ἐξέθεντο· ίνα γνῶτε καὶ θαυμάσητε, τίνος ἕνεκα, πρὸς οἰκουμενικὴν σύνοδον, καὶ πρὸς τοὺς ἑαυτῶν ΙΙατέρας φιλονεικοῦντες, ού καταδύονται. ’Ἄρειος καὶ οἱ σὺν αύτῷ φρονήσαντες, καὶ λέγοντες, ‹‹ Ἐξ οὐκ ὄντων πεποίηκε τὸν Υἳὸν 6 Θεὸς, καὶ κέκληκεν ἑαυτῷ Υἳόνο ’ἐν τῶν κτισμάτων ἐστὶν 6 τοῦ Θεοῦ Λόγος, ›› καὶ. ‹‹ Ἦν ποτε, ὅτε ούκ ἦνʼ τρεπτὸς δέ ἐστι, δυνάμενος, ὅτε βούλεται, τραπῆναι, ›› ἐξεβλήθησαν τῆς Έκκλησίας παρὰ τοῦ μακαρίτου Ἀλεξάνδρου. ### English translation (Claude) The blessed apostle praises the Corinthians, saying, “that you remember me in everything and hold fast the traditions just as I delivered them to you”; but these men, thinking such things about those before them, will surely dare to say the opposite to the people: “We do not praise you for remembering the fathers; rather we approve of you when you do not hold fast their traditions.” And then let them slander their own low birth and say: “We are born not of pious men but of heretics.” For such things are fitting, as I said before, for those who sign away the honor of their fathers and their own salvation to the Arian heresy, and do not fear to hear what is written in the divine Proverb, “A wicked offspring curses his father,” and the threat laid down in the law against such people. They, then, because of their zeal for the heresy, have such a contentious mind; but as for you, do not be troubled on this account, nor take their daring for truth. For they are at odds even with one another, and, having departed from the fathers, they do not have one mind, but drift about in various and different changes; and, quarreling with the council of Nicaea, they have held many councils themselves, and have set out a faith at each, and have stood by none; and they will never stop doing this, because, seeking wrongly, they will not find the wisdom they have hated. I have therefore of necessity appended in part both what Arius wrote and as much as I could collect of what these men set out in various councils, so that you may know, and marvel, why they are not ashamed of quarreling with an ecumenical council and with their own fathers. Arius and those who thought with him, saying, “God made the Son from nothing and called him his Son; the Word of God is one of the creatures,” and “There was once when he was not; he is changeable, able to change when he wills,” were cast out of the church by the blessed Alexander. ### Scripture references - 1 Cor 11:2: quotation, high confidence - Prov 30:11: quotation, high confidence - Exod 21:17: allusion, medium confidence - Prov 1:28: allusion, medium confidence ### Translation notes - 1 Cor 11:2; Prov 30:11 LXX; Exod 21:17 (the threat in the law); Prov 1:28–29 (seeking wisdom and not finding it). ### Citation (SBL) Athanasius, Syn. 14 (PG 26:704d–705c; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/athanasius-synodis/1/#p-14). ## On the Councils of Ariminum and Seleucia 15 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/athanasius-synodis/15/#p-15 - Source: PG 26:705c–708d - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-10-09 Summary: Athanasius quotes extracts from Arius’s Thalia, which teach that the Son came to exist by the Father’s will, is foreign to his essence, and cannot know him. ### Greek text Ἀλλʼ ἐκβληθεὶς καὶ έπιτριβεὶς ’Ἄρειος παρὰ τῶν περὶ Εύσέβιον, συνέθηκεν ἑαυτοῦ τὴν αἵρεσιν ἐν χάρτῃ, καὶ ὡς ἰν Θαλία ζηλώσας ούδένα τῶν φρονίμων, ἀλλά τὸν Αἰγύπτιον Σωσάτην έν τῷ ἤθει καὶ τῇ έκβύσει τοῦ μέλους, γράφει μὲν πολλὰ, ἀπὸ μέρους δέ ἐστιν αὐτοῦ ταῦταʼ ΒΛΑΣΦΗΜΙΑΙ ΤΟΥ ΛΡΕΙΟΥ. Αὐτὸς γοῦν 6 Θεὸς καθό ἐστιν, ἅρῥητος ἅπασιν ὑπάρχει. Ἴσον, οὐδὲ ὅμοιον, οὐχ ὁμόδοξον ἔχει μόνος οὗτος. ’Δγέννήτον δὲ αὐτόν φαμεν διὰ τὸν τήν φύσιν γεννητόν · τοῦτον ἄναρχον ἀνυμνοῦμεν διὰ τὸν έν χρόνῳ γεγαότα. ’Λρχὴν τὸν ι”ιὸν ἔθηκε τῶν γε· νητῶν ὁ ἄναρχος, καὶ ἤνεγκεν εἴς Υἱὸν ἑαυτῷ τόνδε τεκνοποιήσας. ’Ἱδιον οὐδὲν ἔχει τοῦ Θεοῦ καθʼ ὑπόστασιν ἴδιότητοςο οὐδὲ γάρ ἐστιν ἴσος, ἀλλʼ οὔδε ὁμοούσιος αὐτῷ. Σοφὸς δέ ἐστιν 6 Θεὸς, ὅτι τῆς σοφίας διδάσκαλος αὐτός. Ἱκανή δὲ ἀπόδειξις, ὅτι 6 Θεὸς ἀόρατος ἅπασι, τοῖς τε διὰ Υἲοῦ καὶ αὐτῷ τῷ Υἱῷ ἀόρατος 6 αὐτός. Ῥητῶς δὲ λέξω. πῶς τῷ Υἱῷ ὁρᾶται 6 ἀόρατοςο Τῇ δυνάμει ἧ δύναται 6 Θεὸς tam ἰδίοις τε μέτροις ὑπομένει 6 Υἱὸς ἰδεῖν τὸν Πατέρα, ὡς θέμις ἐστίν. Ἥγουν Τριάς ἐστι δόξαις οὐχ ὁμοίαις· ἀνεπίμικτοι ἑαυταῖς εἰσιν αἱ ὑποστάσεις αὐτῶν· μία τῆς μιᾶς ἐνδοξοτέρα δόξαις ἐπʼ ἄπειρον. Ξὲνος τοῦ Υἱοῦ κατʼ οὐσίαν 6 Πατὴρ, ὅτι ἄναρχος ὑπάρχει. Σῦνες, ὅτι ἡ μονὰς ἦνʼ ἡ δυὰς δὲ οὐκ ἦν, πρὶν ὑπάρξῃ. Αὐτίκα γοῦν, Υίοῦ μή ὄντος. 6 Πατήρ Θεός ἔστι. Λοιπὸν ὸΥἱὸς οὐκ ὢν (ὑπῆρξε δὲ θελήσει πατρῴᾳ), μονογενής Θεός ἐστι, καὶ ἑκατέρων ἀλλότριος οὗτος. ’Π Σοφία σοφία ὑπῆρξε σοφοῦ Θεοῦ θελήσει. Ἐπινοεῖται γοῦν μυρίαις ὅσαις ἐπινοίαις Πνεῦμα, δύναμις, σοφία, δόξα Θεοῦ, ἀλήθειά τε καὶ εἰκὼν, καὶ Λόγος, οὗτος. Σύνες, ὅτι καὶ ἀπαύγασμα καὶ φῶς ἐπινοεῖται. Ἴσον μὶν τοῦ Υἱοῦ γεννᾷν δυνατός ἔστιν 6 κρείττων. διαφορώτερον δὲ, ἢ κρείττονα, ἢ μείζονα, οὐχί. Θεοῦ θελήσει 6 Υἱὸς ἡλίκος καὶ ὅσος ἐστὶν, ἐξ ὅτε καὶ ἀφʼ οῦ, καὶ ἀπὸ τότε ὲκ τοῦ Θεοῦ ὑπέστη, ἰσχυορὸς Θεὸς ὣν, τὸν κρείττονα ἐκ μέρους ὑμνεῖ. Συνελόντι εἰπεῖν, τῷ Υἱῷ 6 Θεὸς ἄρῥητος ὑπάρχειο ἔστι γὰρʼ ἑαυτῷ 6' ἐστι, τοῦτʼ ἔστιν ἄλεκτος* ὥστε οὐδὲν τῶν λεγομένων κατά τε κατάληψιν συνίει ἐξειπεῖν 6 Υἱός. Ἀδύνατα γὰρ αὗτῷ τὸν Πατέρα τε ἐξιχνιάσαι, ὃς ἐστιν ἐφʼ ἑαυτοῦ. Αὐτὸς γὰρ 6 Υἱὸς τὴν ἑαυτοῦ οὐσίαν οὐκ οἶδεν· Υἱὸς γὰρ ὢν θελήσει Πατρός ὑπῆρξεν άληθῶς. Τίς γοῦν λόγος συγχωρεῖτὸν ἐκ ἱῐατρὸς ὅντα αὐτὸν τὸν γεννήσαντα γνῶναι ἐν καταλήψει; δῆλον γὰρ, ὅτι τὸ ἀρχὴν ἔχον, τὸν ἄναρχον, ὡς ἔστιν, ἐμπερινοῆσαι, ἢ ἐμπεριδράξασθαι, οὐχ οἷόν τὶ ἐστιν. ### English translation (Claude) But after he was cast out, Arius, encouraged by Eusebius’s party, composed his heresy on paper; and as in a Thalia, emulating none of the wise but the Egyptian Sotades in the character and the looseness of his meter, he writes a great deal, and parts of it are these. Blasphemies of Arius. “God himself, as he is, is ineffable to all. He alone has none equal to him, none like him, none of like glory. We call him unbegotten because of the one who is begotten by nature; we praise him as without beginning because of the one who has come to be in time. The one without beginning set the Son as a beginning of originated things, and brought him forth as a Son for himself, making him his child. He has nothing proper to God in proper subsistence; for he is not equal to him, nor yet of the same essence with him. God is wise, since he himself is the teacher of wisdom. Sufficient proof that God is invisible to all: he is invisible both to those who are through the Son and to the Son himself. I will say expressly how the Invisible is seen by the Son: by the power by which God is able to see; and in his own measures the Son endures to see the Father, as is lawful. That is, there is a Triad with glories not alike; their hypostases are unmixed with one another; one is more glorious than the other in glories, to infinity. The Father is foreign to the Son in essence, because he exists without beginning. Understand that the Monad was, but the Dyad was not, before it came to exist. Accordingly, when the Son did not exist, the Father was God. Then the Son, not existing (but he came to exist by the Father’s will), is only-begotten God, and he is alien from both. Wisdom came to exist as wisdom by the will of the wise God. He is conceived in countless conceptions: Spirit, Power, Wisdom, Glory of God, Truth, and Image, and Word, he. Understand that he is conceived also as Radiance and Light. The Superior is able to beget one equal to the Son, but one more excellent, or superior, or greater, no. By God’s will the Son is of such age and such greatness as he is; from when, and from whom, and from that time he subsisted from God; being mighty God, he praises the Superior in part. To put it briefly, God is ineffable to the Son; for he is to himself what he is, that is, unspeakable; so that the Son does not comprehend how to express any of the things that are said. For it is impossible for him to search out the Father, who is by himself. For the Son himself does not know his own essence; for, being Son, he truly came to exist by the Father’s will. What reason, then, allows that he who is from the Father should know by comprehension the one who begot him? For it is plain that what has a beginning cannot conceive or grasp the one without beginning as he is.” ### Translation notes - Extracts from Arius’s Thalia, the fullest surviving portion, quoted as printed. Their meaning is Arius’s own; Athanasius quotes them as evidence against him. - The scan’s ἐπιτριβείς (“encouraged”, literally “worn down” or “egged on”) is uncertain. In the line about praising God “without beginning”, the scan seems to have lost words (it joins “without beginning” directly to “the one who has come to be in time”); translated as printed. τεκνοποιήσας is rendered “making him his child”. - Sotades: see De sententia Dionysii 6. ### Citation (SBL) Athanasius, Syn. 15 (PG 26:705c–708d; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/athanasius-synodis/15/#p-15). ## On the Councils of Ariminum and Seleucia 16 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/athanasius-synodis/15/#p-16 - Source: PG 26:708d–712a - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-10-09 Summary: Arius and his followers’ letter to Bishop Alexander calls the Son a perfect creature created by God’s will before the ages, not eternal and not of the Father’s essence. ### Greek text “Λ δὲ καὶ διʼ ἐπιπολῆς ἔγραψαν πρὸς τὸν μακαρίτην Ἀλέξανδρον τὸν ἐπίσκοπον, ἔστι ταῦταʼ τὴν, διοικητὴν, οἰκονόμον, ἄτρεπτον, καὶ ἀναλλοίωτον, δίκαιον καὶ ἀγαθὸν, νόμου καί προφητῶν καὶ Καινῆς Διαθήκης τοῦτον Θεόν· γεννήσαντα Υἱὸν μονογενῆ πρὸ χρόνων αἰωνίων, διʼ οὗ καὶ τοὺς αἰῶνας καὶτὰ ὅλα πεποίηκε· γεννήσαντα δὲ οὐ δοκήσει, ἀλλὰ ἀληθείᾳ ° ὑποστήσαντα ἱδίῳ θελήματι ἄτρεπτον καὶ ἀναλλοίωτον κτίσμα τοῦ Θεοῦ τέλειον, ἀλλʼ οὐχ ὡς ἓν τῶν κτισμάτων· γέννημα, ἀλλʼ οὐχ ὡς ἓν τῶν γεγεννημένων, οὐδʼ ὡς Οὖαλεντῖνος προβολὴν τὸ γέννημα τοῦ Πατρὸς ἐδογμάτισεν” οὐδʼ ὡς 6 Μανιχαῖος μέρος ὁμοούσιον τοῦ Πατρὸς τὸ γὲννημα εἷσηγήσατοʼ οὐδʼ ὡς Σαβὲλλιος τὴν μονάδα διαιρῶν, υίοπάτορα εἶπεν· οὑδ ὡς Ἱέρακας λύχνον ἀπὸγλύχνου, ἢ ὠς λαμπάδα εἴς δύο· οὐδὲ τὸν ὄντα πρότερον, ὕστερον γεννηθέντα, ἢ ὲπικτισθὲντα εἷς Υἱόψ ὡς καὶ σὺ αὐτὸς, μακάριε πάπα, κατᾶ μὲσην τὴν Ἐκκλησίαν καί ἐν συνεδρίῳ πλειστάκις τοὺς ταῦτα εἰσηγησαμένους άπηγόρευσας, ἀλλʼ, ὥς φαμεν, θελήματι τοῦ Θεοῦ πρὸ χρόνων καὶ πρὸ αἰώνων κτισθέντα, καὶ τὸ ζῇν καὶ τὸ εἶναι παρὰ τοῦ Πατρὸς εἰληφότα, καὶ τὰς δόξας συνυποστήσαντος αὐτῷ τοῦ Πατρός. Οὐ γὰρ ὁ Πατὴρ, δοὺς αὐτῷ πάντων τήν κληρονομίαν, ὑστέρησεν ἑαυτὸν, ὧν ἀγεννήτως ἔχει ἐν ἑαυτῷ· πηγή γάρ ἐστι πάντων. ’Ὼστε τρεῖς εἰσιν ὑποστάσεις. Καὶ 6 μὲν Θεὸς, αἶʼτιος τῶν πάντων τυγχάνων, ἔστιν ἄναρχος μονώτατος Ὀ δὲ Υἱὸς, ἀχρόνως γεννηθεὶς ὑπὸ τοῦ Πατρὸς, καὶ πρὸ αἰώνων κτισθεὶς καὶ θεμελιωθεὶς, οὑκ ἦν πρὸ τοῦ γεννηθῆναι, ἀλλʼ ἀχρόνως πρό πάντων γεννηθεὶς, μόνος ὑπὸ τοῦ ΙΙατρὸς ὑπέστη. Οὐδὲ γὰρ ἐστι) ἀΐδιος, συναΐδιος, ἢ συναγὲνητος τῷ Πατρίʼ οὐδὲ ἅμα τῷ [la1pi 16 εἶναι ἔχει, ὥς τινες λέγουσι τὰ πρός τι, δύο ἀγεννήτους ἀρχὰς εἰσηγούμενον ἀλλʼ ὡς μονὰς καὶ ἀρχὴ πάντων, οὕτως ὁ Θεὸς πρὸ πάντων ἐστί. Διὸ καὶ πρὸ τοῦ Υὶοῦ ἔστινʼ ὡς καὶ παρὰ σοῦ μεμαθήκαμεν κατὰ μέσην τήν Ἐκκλησίαν κηρύξαντος. Καθὸ οὖν παρὰ τοῦ Θεοῦ τὸ εἶναι ἔχει, καὶ τὰς δόξας καὶ τὸ ζῇν, καὶ τὰ πάντα αὐτῷ παρεδόθη, κατὰ τοῦτο ἀρχὴ αὑτοῦ ἐστιν 6 Θεός. ’Λρχει γὰρ αὐτοῦ, ὡς Θεὸς αὑτοῦ καὶ πρὸ αὐτοῦ ὥν. Εῗ δὲ τὸ, ‹‹ ἐξ αὐτοῦ, ›› καὶ τὸ, ι ἑκ γαστρός, ι» καὶ τὸ, ε ἂκ τοῦ Πατρὸς ἐξῆλθον; καὶ ἥκω, ›ι ὡς μέρος αὐτοῦ ὑμοουσίου, καὶ ὠς προβολή ὑπό τινων νοεῖται, σύνθετος ἔσται 6 Πατὴρ καὶ διαιρετὸς, καὶ τριπτὸς, καὶ σῶμα κατʼ αὐτοὺς, καὶ τὸ ὅσον ἐπʼ αὐτοῖς, τὰ ἀκόλουθα σώματι πάσχων, 6 ἀσώματος Θεός. Ταῦτα ἀπὸ μέρους ὧν ἤμεσαθ ἐκ τῆς ἑαυτῶν αἱρετικῆς καρδίας οἱ περὶ Ἀρειον, ἐστίν. ### English translation (Claude) And what they wrote by letter to the blessed bishop Alexander is this: “… judge, governor, steward, unchangeable and unalterable, just and good, God of the Law and the Prophets and the New Testament; who begot an only-begotten Son before eternal times, through whom he made both the ages and all things; who begot him not in appearance but in truth, causing him to subsist by his own will, unchangeable and unalterable, a perfect creature of God, but not as one of the creatures; an offspring, but not as one of the things begotten; not, as Valentinus taught, that the offspring of the Father is an emanation; nor, as the Manichee introduced, that the offspring is a part of the Father of the same essence; nor, as Sabellius, dividing the Monad, spoke of a Son-Father; nor, as Hieracas, a lamp from a lamp, or as a torch divided into two; nor that he who existed before was afterwards begotten or created anew as Son—as you yourself too, blessed pope, have very often forbidden in the midst of the church and in council those who introduced these things—but, as we say, created by the will of God before times and before ages, and having received life and being from the Father, the Father giving subsistence to his glories together with him. For the Father, in giving him the inheritance of all things, did not deprive himself of what he has unbegottenly in himself; for he is the source of all things. So there are three hypostases. And God, being the cause of all things, is without beginning, most utterly alone; but the Son, begotten timelessly by the Father, and created and founded before ages, was not before he was begotten, but, begotten timelessly before all things, he alone was caused to subsist by the Father. For he is not eternal, nor co-eternal, nor co-unoriginate with the Father; nor does he have his being together with the Father, as some speak of relatives, introducing two unbegotten principles; but as Monad and principle of all things, so God is before all things. Therefore he is also before the Son, as we have learned from you too, preaching in the midst of the church. Inasmuch, then, as he has being from God, and glories, and life, and all things have been delivered to him, in this respect God is his principle. For he rules over him, as being his God and before him. But if ‘from him,’ and ‘from the womb,’ and ‘I came forth from the Father and have come,’ are understood by some as a part of him of the same essence and as an emanation, the Father will be, according to them, composite and divisible and mutable and a body, and, so far as lies with them, the incorporeal God will suffer what follows on a body.” These are some parts of what Arius’s party vomited out of their heretical heart. ### Scripture references - Rom 11:36: quotation, high confidence - Ps 110:3 (109:3 LXX): quotation, high confidence - John 16:28: quotation, high confidence - Heb 1:2: allusion, medium confidence ### Extrabiblical texts - Arius, Ep. Alex. (Arius, Letter to Alexander of Alexandria): quotation, high confidence ### Translation notes - Letter of Arius and his followers to Alexander of Alexandria (ca. 320). The opening of the letter (its greeting and the first part of the creed) is lost in the scan and marked “…”; not supplied. - Rom 11:36 (“from him”); Ps 110:3 (109:3 LXX, “from the womb”); John 16:28. Hieracas was a third-century Egyptian ascetic writer. ### Citation (SBL) Athanasius, Syn. 16 (PG 26:708d–712a; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/athanasius-synodis/15/#p-16). ## On the Councils of Ariminum and Seleucia 17 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/athanasius-synodis/15/#p-17 - Source: PG 26:712a–713a - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-10-09 Summary: Before Nicaea, Eusebius of Nicomedia, Eusebius of Caesarea, Athanasius of Nazarba, and George wrote in support of Arius’s views. ### Greek text Πρὸ δὲ τοῦ γενέσθαι τήν ἐν Nutan σύνοδον, ἔγραψαν καὶ οἱ περὶ Εὖσὲβιον, Νάρκισσόν τε καὶ Πατρόφιλον, καὶ Μάριν, Παυλῖνόν τε, καὶ θεόδοτον, καὶ ’Δθανάσιον τὸν ἀπὸ Ναζαρβῶν τὰ ὅμοια αὐτοῖς. Καὶ 6 μὲν ἀπὸ τῆς Νικομηδείας Εὐσέβιος κατὰ περιττὸν ἔγραφεν Ἀρείῳ, δτιο ι( Καλῶς φρονῶν, εὔχου πάντας οὕτως φρονεῖν· παντὶ γὰρ δῆλόν ἔστιν, ὅτι τὸ πεποιημένον οὐκ ἦν πρὶν γενέσθαι. Τὸ γενόμενον δὲ ἀρχὴν ἔχει τοῦ εἶναι. ι '0 δὶ ἀπὸ Καισαρείας τῆς Παλαιστίνης Εὐσέβιος, γράφων πρὸς Εὐφρατίωνα τὸν ἐπίσκοπον, οὐκ ἐφοβήθη φανερῶς εῒπεῖν, ὅτι 6 Χριστὸς οὐκ ἔστιν ἀληθινὸς Θεός. Καὶ Ἀθανάσιος ὂέὁ ἀπὸ Ναζαρβὦν ἔτι γυμνότερον ἀπεκάλυπτε τὴν αʼίρεσιν, ’ἕνα τῶν ἑκατὸν προβάτων Αὲγων εἶναι τὸν Υὶὸν τοῦ Θεοῦ. Γράφων γὰρ πρὸς Ἀλέξανδρονητὸν ἐπίσκοπον, ἀπετόλμησεν οὕτως εἰπεῖν ο ι( Τί μέμφῃ τοῖς περὶ Ἀρειον, εἰ λέγουσινʼ Ἐξ οὐκ ὄντων κτίσμα πεποίηται 6 Υἱὸς τοῦ Θεοῦ, καὶ ἓν τῶν πάντων ἐστίν; ἐν ἑκατὸν γὰρ προβάτοις παραβαλλομὲνων πάντων τῶν πεποιημένων, εὲς ἐστι καὶ 6 Υἱὸς ἐξ αὐτῶν. Ei’ μὲν οὖν τὰ ἑκατὸν οὐκ ἔστι κτίσματα καὶ γενητὰ, ἢ ἔνι πλέον τι τῶν ἑκατὸν, δηλονότι μηδὲ-ὁ Υἱὸς ἔστω κτίσμα, καὶ εἷς τῶν πάντων. Ei δὶ τὰ ἑκατὸν πάντα γενητὰ, καὶ οὐδὲν ἐστιν ἐκτὸς τῶν ρʼ πλὴν μόνου τοῦ Θεοῦ, τί ἄτοπον λέγουσιν οἱ περὶ Ἄρειον, εί, ἓν ἐν τοῖς ἑκατὸν πεθιλαβόντες καὶ ἀριθμοῦντες τὸν Χριστὸν, ἕνα τῶν πάντων αὐτὸν εἰρήκασι ; n Γεώργιος δὲ 6 νῦν ἐν Λαοδικείᾳ, πρεσβύτερος ὢν τότε τῆς Ἀλεξανδρείας, καὶ ἐν Ἀντιοχείᾳ διατρίβων, πρὸς μὲν Ἀλέξανδρον τὸν ἐπίσκοπον ’ἔγραψεν, ὅτις ι( Μὴ μέμφου τοῖς περὶ Ἄρειον, εἴ λέγουσινʼ Ἦν ποτε, ὅτε οὐκ ἧν 6 Υἱὸς τοῦ Θεοῦʼ καὶ γὰρ 6 Ἠσαίας υἱὸς γέγονεν ’Δμὼς, καὶ ὅμως 6 μὲν Ἀμὼς ἦν πρὸ τοῦ γενέσθαι τὸν Ἡσαΐαν· 6 δὲ Ἡσαΐας οὐκ ἧν πρότερον, ἀλλὰ μετὰ ταῦτα γέγονε. ›› Πρὸς δὲ τοὺς Ἀρειανοός ἔγραφεσ ι Τί μεμφεσθε Ἀλεξάνδρῳ τῷ πὰπᾳ λέγοντι ἐκ τοῦ Ιιατρὸς τὸν Υἱὸν ; καὶ γὰρ καὶ ὑμεῖς μὴʼ φοβηθῆτε εἰπεῖν καὶ ἐκ τοῦ Θεοῦ τὸν Υἱόν. Ei γὰρ 6 Ἀπόστολος ἔγραψεʼ Τὰ δὲ πάντα ἐκ τοῦ θεοῦ, ιιαὶ ἔστι δῆλον ἐξ οὐκ ὄντων πεποιῆσθαι τὰ πάντα, ἕστι δὲ καὶ ὁ Υἱὸς κτίσμα, καὶ τῶν πεποιημένων εἶςʼ ei λεχθείη ἃν καὶ ὁ Υἱὸς ἐκ τοῦ Θεοῦ, οὕτως ὥσπερ καὶ τὰ πάντα λέγεται ἐκ τοῦ Θεοῦ. ›› Ἐξ ἐκείνου γοῦν ἔμαθον οἱ τὰ Ἀρείου φρονοῦντες ὑποκρίνεσθαι τὴν λέξιν, τήν ἐκ τοῦ Θεοῦ, καὶ λέγειν μὶν τὴν λὲξιν, μὴ φρονεῖν δὲ καλῶς. Αὐτὸς δὲ ὁ Γεώργιος καθῃρέθη ὑπὸ Ἀλεξάνδρου διʼ ἄλλα μὲν, ὅτι δὶ καὶ ἀσει βἠς ἐφάνη· πρεσβύτερος γὰρ ἦν αὐτὸς, καθά προείρηται. ### English translation (Claude) And before the council of Nicaea took place, Eusebius’s party too—Narcissus and Patrophilus and Maris, Paulinus and Theodotus, and Athanasius of Nazarba—wrote things like theirs. And Eusebius of Nicomedia wrote to Arius, to make the point even more strongly: “Since you think rightly, pray that all may think so; for it is plain to everyone that what has been made did not exist before it came to be; and what has come to be has a beginning of being.” And Eusebius of Caesarea in Palestine, writing to Euphration the bishop, did not fear to say openly that Christ is not true God. And Athanasius of Nazarba revealed the heresy still more nakedly, saying that the Son of God is one of the hundred sheep. For writing to Alexander the bishop, he dared to say this: “Why do you blame Arius’s party for saying, ‘The Son of God was made a creature from nothing, and is one of all things’? For since all things that have been made are compared to a hundred sheep, the Son too is one of them. If, then, the hundred are not creatures and originated, or there is something more than the hundred, then clearly let the Son not be a creature and one of all things either; but if the hundred are all originated, and there is nothing outside the hundred except God alone, what absurdity do Arius’s party utter if, including and counting Christ among the hundred, they have said that he is one of all things?” And George, who is now at Laodicea, and was then a presbyter of Alexandria staying at Antioch, wrote to Alexander the bishop: “Do not blame Arius’s party for saying, ‘There was once when the Son of God was not’; for Isaiah too became son of Amoz, and yet Amoz existed before Isaiah came to be, but Isaiah did not exist before, but came to be afterwards.” And to the Arians he wrote: “Why do you blame Alexander the pope for saying that the Son is from the Father? For you too need not fear to say that the Son is from God. For if the apostle wrote, ‘But all things are from God,’ and it is plain that all things were made from nothing, and the Son too is a creature and one of the things made, the Son too might be said to be from God, in the way that all things are said to be from God.” From him, then, those who hold the views of Arius learned to use the phrase “from God” hypocritically, and to say the phrase but not mean it rightly. George himself was deposed by Alexander for other reasons, and also because he was shown to be impious; for he was a presbyter, as has been said before. ### Scripture references - Luke 15:4: allusion, high confidence - Isa 1:1: allusion, medium confidence - 1 Cor 11:12: quotation, high confidence ### Translation notes - Letters of Eusebius of Nicomedia to Arius, Athanasius of Nazarba (Anazarbus) to Alexander, and George (later of Laodicea) to Alexander and to the Arians, quoted in part. Eusebius of Caesarea’s letter to Euphration of Balanea is reported, not quoted. - Luke 15:4 (the hundred sheep); Isa 1:1 (Isaiah son of Amoz); 1 Cor 11:12. - A list of names (apparently of Arian clergy) leaked into the scan inside George’s letter and is removed by a logged correction. ### Citation (SBL) Athanasius, Syn. 17 (PG 26:712a–713a; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/athanasius-synodis/15/#p-17). ## On the Councils of Ariminum and Seleucia 18 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/athanasius-synodis/15/#p-18 - Source: PG 26:713a–716b - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-10-09 Summary: Asterius the Sophist, who had sacrificed in the persecution, toured the churches teaching that the Son is one of God’s many created powers, distinct from God’s own eternal Power and Wisdom. ### Greek text Καὶ ὅλως ἔγραφον οὗτοι τοιαῦτα, ὡς ’ἑκαστον ἐρίζειν καὶ φιλοτιμεῖσθαι, τίς πλὲον αὐξήσει τὴν ὀισὲβειαν τῆς αἱρὲσεως, καὶ μᾶλλον αὐτὴν δείξει γυμνότερον. Καὶ τὰς μὲν ἐπιστολὰς αὐτῶν οὐκ ἔσχον ἐν ἐτοίμω, ὥστε καὶ ἀποστεῖλαι· εί δʼ οὖν, καὶ ἀντίγραφα καὶ αὐτῶν ὑμῖν ἔπεμψα τοῦ δὲ Κυρίου θέλοντος, ἐὰν εὐπορήσω καὶ τοῦτο ποιήσω. Καὶ ’Λστὲριος δι τις ἀπὸ Καππαδοκίας, πολυκὲφαλος σοφιστὴς, εἷς ὣν τῶν περὶ Εὐσέβιον, ἐπειδή θύσας ὲν τῷ προτὲρῳ διωγμῷ, τῷ κατά τὸν πάππον Κωνσταντίου, οὐκ ἠδύνατο παρʼ αὐτῶν είς κλῆρον προαχθῆναι, ποιεῖ μετά γνώμης τῶν περὶ Εὐσέβιον συνταγμάτων, ὁποῖον μὲν ἤθελον αὐτοί· ἴσον δὲ τῷ τῆς θυσίας αὐτοῦ τολμήματι· ἐν γὰρ τούτῳ τήν ἀκρίδα καὶ νην κάμπην τῷ Χριστῷ συγκρίνας, μᾶλλον δὲ προτιμήσας αὐτοῦ, καὶ λὲγων ἄλλην εἶναιπαρὰ τὸν Χριστὸν ἐν τῳ Θεῴ σοφίαν, τὴν τοῦ Χριστοῦ καὶ τοῦ κόσμου δημιουργικὴν, περιήρχετο τὰς ἐν τῇ Συρίᾳ καὶτὰς ἄλλας Ἐκκλησίας, κατά σύστασιν τῶν περὶ Εὗσὲβιον·’ίνα ’ἅπαξ ἀρνεῖσθαι μελετήσας, οὕτω καὶ νῦν θρασύνηται κατὰ τῆς ἀληθείας. Ἐπέβαινεν οῦν είς τοὺς μή ἰξὸν αὐτῷ τό· πους ὁ πάντα τολμηρὸς, καὶ είς τὸν τοῦ κληρικῶν τόπον καθεζόμενος, ἀνεγιίνωσκᾳε δημοσίᾳ τὸ συνταγμάτων, καίτοι τῶν ἄλλων δυσανασχετούντων ἐπʼ αύτῷ. Καὶ τὸ μὲν συνταγμάτιον διὰ πολλῶν ἔστι γεγραμμένον. Μὲρη δὲ αὐτοῦ ἐστι ταῦταʼ « Οὐ γὰρ εἶπεν ὁ μακάριος Παῦλος Χριστὸν κηρύσσειν τήν ίδίαν αὐτοῦ δύναμιν, ἢ τὴν σοφίαν αὐτοῦ, τουτέστι τοῦ Θεοῦ, ἀλλὰ δίχα τῆς προσθήκης, δύναμιν Θεοῦ καὶ Θεοῦ σοφίαν· ἄλλην μὶν εἶναι τήν ἰδίαν αὐτοῦ τοῦ Θεοῦ δύναμιν, τὴν ἔμφυτον αὐτῷ καὶ συνυπάρχουσαν αὒτῷ ἀγενήτως, κηρύσσων· γεννητικὴν μὶν οὗσαν, δηλονότι τοῦ Χριστοῦ, δημιουργικὴν δὶ τοῦ παντὸς κόσμου· περὶ ἧς ἐν τῇ πρὸς Ῥωμαίους Ἐπιστολῇ διδάσκων ἔλεγε· ‹‹ Τὰ γὰρ ἀόρατα αὑτοῦ ἀπ « κτίσεως κόσμου τοῖς ποιήμαςι νοούμενα καθορᾶται ‹‹ ἥ τε ἀίδιος αὐτοῦ δύναμις καὶ θειότης. n ’Ὠσπερ γά τὴν εἰρημένην ἐνταυθοῖ θεότητα οὐκ ἄν τις φαί· Χριστὸν εἶναι, ἀλλʼ αὐτὸν ὑπάρχειν τὸν Πατέρα· οῦ τως,οἶμαι,καὶ ἠἆ“ίδιος αὐτοῦ δύναμις οὐχ ὁ μον( γενὴς Θεὸς, ἀλλʼ ὁ γεννήσας ὑπάρχει Πατήρ. ’Ἄλλη δὲ δύναμιν καὶ σοφίαν διδάσκει Θεοῦ, τήν διὰ το Χριστοῦ δεικνυμίνην δηλονότι, καί διὰ τῶν ἔργων αὐτῶν τῆς διακονίας αὐτοῦ γνωριζομένην. » Καὶ πάλιν· ‹‹ Καίτοιγε ἡ μὲν ἀίδιος αὑτοῦ δύναμις καὶ σοφία, ἢν ἄναρχόν τε καὶ ἀγέννητον oi τῆς ἀληθείας ἀποο φαίνονται λογισμοὶ, μία ἂν εἷή δήπουθεν καὶ ἡ αὐτήπολλαὶ δὲ αἱ καθʼ ἕκαστον ὑπʼ αὐτοῦ κτισθεῖσαι, ῶν πρωτότοκος καὶ μονογενὴς 6 Χριστός· πᾶσαί γε μὴν ὁμοίως, εἷς τὸν κεκτημένον ἀνήρτηνται, καὶ πᾶσαι αἱ δυνάμεις αὐτοῦ τοῦ κτίσαντος καὶ χρωμένου καλοῦνται δικαίως· οἷον 6 μὶν προφήτης τὴν ἀκρίδα δίκην τῶν ἀνθρωπίνων ἁμαρτημάτων θεήλατον γινομένην οὐ δύναμιν μόνον Θεοῦ, ἀλλά καὶ μεγάλην φησὶν ὑπʼ αὐτοῦ προσαγορεύεσθαι τοῦ Θεοῦ* 6 δέ γε μακάριος Δαβὶδ ἰν πλείοσι τῶν ψαλμῶν οὐκ ἀγγέ- ### English translation (Claude) And in general these men wrote such things as though each were striving and vying to see who would increase the impiety of the heresy more and display it more nakedly. Their letters I did not have at hand, so as to send them; otherwise I would have sent you copies of them too; but, the Lord willing, if I am able, I will do this as well. And one Asterius from Cappadocia, a many-headed sophist, one of Eusebius’s party, since he had sacrificed in the former persecution, under Constantius’s grandfather, and so could not be advanced by them to the clergy, composes, with the approval of Eusebius’s party, a little treatise, such as they themselves wanted, and equal to the daring of his sacrifice. For in it he compares the locust and the caterpillar with Christ, or rather prefers them to him, and says that there is another wisdom in God besides Christ, which created both Christ and the world; and with it he went round the churches in Syria and the others, with the commendation of Eusebius’s party, so that, having once practiced denial, he might now too be bold against the truth. The all-daring man went into places not permitted to him, and, sitting in the place of the clergy, read out his treatise publicly, though the others were indignant at him. The treatise is written at length; parts of it are these: “For the blessed Paul did not say that he preached Christ as his own power or his wisdom, that is, God’s, but, without the article, ‘power of God and wisdom of God’; preaching that the power proper to God himself, innate in him and coexisting with him unoriginately, is another—generative, plainly, of Christ, and creative of the whole world—concerning which he taught in the letter to the Romans, saying: ‘For his invisible things since the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, both his eternal power and divinity.’ For as no one would say that the divinity spoken of there is Christ, but that it is the Father himself, so, I think, his eternal power too is not the only-begotten God, but the Father who begot him. But he teaches another power and wisdom of God, namely the one shown through Christ and made known through the very works of his ministry.” And again: “And yet his eternal power and wisdom, which the reasonings of truth show to be without beginning and unbegotten, would surely be one and the same; but many are the powers created by him one by one, of which Christ is firstborn and only-begotten; all, however, depend alike on their possessor, and all are rightly called powers of him who created and uses them. So the prophet says that the locust, sent by God as punishment for human sins, is called by God himself not only a power of God, but a great one; and the blessed David in several of the psalms … not angels …” ### Scripture references - 1 Cor 1:24: quotation, high confidence - Rom 1:20: quotation, high confidence - Joel 2:25: allusion, high confidence - Ps 103:20 (102:20 LXX): allusion, low confidence ### Translation notes - Fragments of Asterius the Sophist’s treatise (the Syntagmation), quoted by Athanasius. “Constantius’s grandfather” is Maximian; the persecution is that of 303–311. - 1 Cor 1:24; Rom 1:20; Joel 2:25 (the locust as “great power”); Ps 103:20–21 and 148:2 are in view at the end. The chapter breaks off in the scan in mid-word (ἀγγέ-); the rest is lost (“…”). ### Citation (SBL) Athanasius, Syn. 18 (PG 26:713a–716b; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/athanasius-synodis/15/#p-18). ## On the Councils of Ariminum and Seleucia 19 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/athanasius-synodis/15/#p-19 - Source: PG 26:716b - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-10-09 Summary: Asterius further taught that the Son is one of the intellectual creatures, made by God’s will and power. ### Greek text Τοιαῦτα τολμήσας κατὰ τοῦ Σωτῆρος οὐκ ἠρκέσθη, ἀλλά καὶ πλέον ἐπεκτείνει τὰς βλασφημίας αὐτοῦ, λέγων, ὅτι εἷς τῶν πάντων ἐστὶν 6 Υἱός «Πρῶτον γὰρ ἐστι τῶν γενητῶν, καὶ εἷς τῶν νοητῶν φύσεών ἐστι· καὶ ὥσπερ ἥλιος έν τοῖς βλεπομένοις εἷς μὲν ἔστι τῶν φαινομένων, λάμπει δὲ παντὶ τῷ κόσμῳ κατὰ πρόσταξιν τοῦ πεποιηκότος οὕτως 6 Υἱὸς, εἷς ὣν τῶν νοητῶν φύσεων, φωτίζει καὶ λάμπει καὶ αὐτὸς πᾶσι τοῖς ἐν τῷ νοητῷ κόσμῳ. )› Πάλιν τέ φησινʼ α Ἦν ποτε, ὅτε οὐκ ἧν, ι οὕτω γράμωνʼ ‹‹ Καὶ πρὶν τῆς γενέσεως τοῦ Υίοῦ 6 Πατὴρ προϋπάρχουσαν εἶχε τὴν τοῦ γεννᾷν ἐπιστήμην ἐπεὶ καὶ ἰατρὸς, πρὸ τοῦ ἰατρεύειν εἶχε τὴν τοῦ ἰατρεύειν ἐπιστήμην. ›› Καὶ πάλιν φησίνο ιι Εὖεργετικῇ φιλοτιμίᾳ ἐκτίσθη 6 Υἱὸς, καὶ περιουσίᾳ δυνάμεως ἐποίησεν αὐτὸν 6 Πατήρ· ›› καὶ πάλιν, ι Εἰ τὸ θέλειν τοῦ Θεοῦ διὰ πάντων ἐφεξῆς τῶν ποιημάτων διελήλυθε, δηλονότι, καὶὸ Υἱὸς, ποίημα ὣν, βουλήσει γέγονε καὶ πεποίηται. ›› Ταῦτα δὲ Ἀστέριος ἔγραψε μόνος· oi δὲ περὶ Εὐσέβιον ἐφρόνουν αὐτά κοινῇ μετʼ αὐτοῦ. ### English translation (Claude) Having dared such things against the Savior, he was not content, but extends his blasphemies further, saying that the Son is one of all things: “For he is the first of originated things, and one of the intellectual natures; and as the sun among visible things is one of the things that appear, yet shines on the whole world at the command of its maker, so the Son, being one of the intellectual natures, also himself illumines and shines on all who are in the intellectual world.” And again he says, “There was once when he was not,” writing thus: “And before the generation of the Son, the Father had pre-existing knowledge of how to beget; since a physician too, before healing, had the knowledge of healing.” And again he says: “By beneficent zeal the Son was created, and by superabundance of power the Father made him”; and again: “If the will of God has passed through all the works in turn, then plainly the Son too, being a work, came to be and was made by will.” These things Asterius alone wrote; but Eusebius’s party held them in common with him. ### Translation notes - Further fragments of Asterius the Sophist. ### Citation (SBL) Athanasius, Syn. 19 (PG 26:716b; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/athanasius-synodis/15/#p-19). ## On the Councils of Ariminum and Seleucia 20 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/athanasius-synodis/15/#p-20 - Source: PG 26:716b–717a - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-10-09 Summary: The Arian party fights Nicaea because it condemned their heresy, which was hateful before Nicaea, from Artemas back to Caiaphas. ### Greek text Ταῦτά ἐστιν, ὑπὲρ ὦν ἀγωνίζονται, διὰ ταῦτα μάχονται πρὸς τήν ἀρχαίαν σύνοδον· ὅτι μὴ τὰ ὅμοια αὐτῶν ἔγραψαν οἱ συνελθόντες ἐν αὐτῇ, ἀλλά μᾶλλον ἀνεθεμάτισαν τήν Ἀρειανὴν αʼίρεσιν, ἣν ἐσπούδαζον οὗτοι συστῆσαι. Διά τοῦτο καὶ Ἀστέριον τὸν θύσαντα σοφιστήν ὄντα, συνήγορον τῆς ἀσεβείας αὐτῶν, προύβάλλοντο, ’ίνα μὴ φείδηται μήτε κατά τοῦ Kuρίου φθέγγεσθαι, μήτε τοὺς ἀκεραίους τῇ πιθανολογίᾳ πλανᾷν. Καῖ ἠγνόησάν γε οἱ ἀμαθεῖς, ὅτι καθʼ ἑαυτῶν εἰργάζοντο τοῦτο. Ἡ γὰρ δυσωδία τῆς εἰς τὰ εἴδωλα θυσίας τοῦ συνηγόρου ἔτι πλέον τήν αʼίρεσιν χριστομάχον ἐδείκνυε. Διά τοῦτο καὶ νῦν πάντα κινοῦσι καὶ θορυβοῦσι, νομίζοντες, ὅτι κᾶν πλείονας ἀποκτείνωσι, καὶ συνόδους κατὰ μῆνα συγκροτή σωσι, παύσεταί ποτε ἡ κατᾶ τῆς Ἀρειανῆς αἱ ρέσιως ἀπόφασις. Ἐοίκασι δὶ πάλιν ἀγνοεῖν, ἢκ εἶδέ ναι μὶν, ἀποπροσποιεῖσθαι δὲ, ὅτι καὶ πρὸ τῆς Νι καίας ἡ αἵρεσις ἦν βδελυκτὴ, ὅτε ταύτην Ἀρτεμᾶ κατεβάλλετο, καὶ πρὸ αὐτοῦ τὸ τοῦ Καϊάφα, καὶ τ τῶν τότε Φαρισαίων συνέδριον. Καὶ ἀεὶ δὲ τὸ χριστο μάχον ἐργαστήριον βδελυκτόν ἐστι, καὶ οὐ παύσεται τοῦ εἶναι μισητὸν, ἐρασμίου ὄντος τοῦ Κυριακοῦ ὀνέ ματος, καὶ καμπτούσης πάσης τῆς κτίσεως τὰ γέ νατα, καὶ έξομολεγουμένης, ‹‹ ὅτι Κύριος Ἰησοῦ Χριστὸς εἷς δόξαν Θεοῦ Πατρός. ›› ### English translation (Claude) These are the things for which they contend; for these they fight against the ancient council, because those who met at it did not write things like theirs, but rather anathematized the Arian heresy, which these men were eager to establish. That is why they put forward Asterius, the one who sacrificed, being a sophist, as advocate of their impiety, so that he might not spare either to speak against the Lord or to mislead the simple by plausible talk. And the ignorant men did not know that they were working this against themselves. For the stench of their advocate’s sacrifice to idols showed all the more that the heresy fights against Christ. That is why now too they stir everything up and make disturbances, thinking that if they kill more people and convene councils every month, the sentence against the Arian heresy will at last be done away with. But again they seem not to know—or, knowing, to pretend not to know—that even before Nicaea the heresy was abominable, when Artemas laid its foundation, and before him the council of Caiaphas and of the Pharisees of that time. And the Christ-fighting workshop is always abominable and will never cease to be hateful, since the Lord’s name is beloved, and all creation bends the knee and confesses “that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” ### Scripture references - Phil 2:10: allusion, high confidence - Phil 2:11: quotation, high confidence ### Translation notes - Artemas (Artemon), a Roman adoptionist teacher of the early third century. Phil 2:10–11. ### Citation (SBL) Athanasius, Syn. 20 (PG 26:716b–717a; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/athanasius-synodis/15/#p-20). ## On the Councils of Ariminum and Seleucia 21 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/athanasius-synodis/15/#p-21 - Source: PG 26:717b–720b - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-10-09 Summary: After Nicaea the Eusebian party filled sees with their own men; at Jerusalem in 335 their council wrote to Alexandria asking that Arius be received back. ### Greek text Πλὴν ὅτι συνόδους συνεχεῖς κατᾶ τῆς οἰκουμένικῆς ποιοῦντες οὐδέπω κεκμήκασι. Μετὰ γὰρ τὴ έν Νικαίᾳ σύνοδον οἱᾼπερὶ Εὐσέβιον κατῃρέθησαν ἀλλὰ μετὰ χρόνον ἐπιβάντες ἀναισχύντως ταῖ Ἐκκλησίαις ἤρξαντο τοῖς μὶν ἀντιλέγουσιν αὐτοῖ έπισκόποις ἐπιβουλεύειν, ἀντὶ δὲ τούτων τοὺς τῆ αἱρέσεως αὐτῶν καθιστάνειν εἷς τὰς Ἐκκλησίαι ’ίνί ὅτε βούλονται ποιήσωσι τὰς συνόδους, ἔχοντε τοὺς συντρέχοντας αὐτοῖς, οὒς ἐπίτηδες εἷς αὐτὸ τοῦτ προεχειρίσαντο. Συνέρχονται τοίνυν ἐν Ἰερουσα λήμ, καὶ γράφουσι ταῦτα. Ἦ ἁγία σύνοδοςζὴ--έν ςιιροσολόμζοις ΔΘεοῦ χάριῖ ouv'axeeiea, τῇ ίἙκκλησίαώτοῦ ’Θεοῦ έν ’Δλεξέινδρείᾴ,_ kainte‘ici aui-td πᾶσαν-τήν Λῖγυῖπτον, ’καὶ Θηβαΐδα, καῖ Aude-qv, ’καὶ [levτάτὶολιν, ’καὶ τοῖςΔ κατᾶ τήν ὀἰκουμένην ἐπισκόποις ’ καὶ πρεσβυτέροις,,καὶ διακόνοις, ἐν Κυρίῳ χαίρειν. nam μὲν ἡμῖν τοῖς ἐπὶ τὸ αὐτὸ συνελθοῦσιν QE‘ ἐπαρχιῶν διαφόρων ποὸς τῇ μεγάλῃ πανηγύρει, ἢν ετ τῇ ἀφιερώσει τοῦ σωτηρίου Μαρτυρίου, σπουδῇ τε θεοφιλεστάτου βασιλέως Κωνσταντίνου, τῷ πάν των,βασιλεῖ Θεῷ καὶ τῷ Χριστῷ αὐτοῦ κατι σκευασθέντος έπετελέσαμεν, πλείονα θυμηδίαν ἡ το Χριστοῦ χάρις παρέσχεν, ἦν ἐποίησεν αὐτός αι ὁ θεοφιλέστατος βασιλεὺς διὰ γραμμάτων οἰκείωπ τοῦθʼ ὅπερ ἐχρῆν παρορμήσας πάντα μὲν έξορίσι τῆς Ἐκκλησίας τοῦ Θεοῦ φθόνον, καὶ πᾶσαν μακρᾶ ἀπελάσας βασκανίαν, διʼ ἧς τὰ τοῦ Χριστοῦ μέλ πάλαι πρότερον διεστήκειʼ ἡπλωμένῃ δὲ καὶ sip-qva! ψυχῇ δέξασθαι τοὺς περὶ Ἀρειον, οὓς πρός τιι καιρὸν ὁ μισόκαλος φθόνος ἔξω γενέσθαι τῆς Ἐκκλι σίας εἰργάσατο. Ἐμαρτύρει δὲ τοῖς ἀνδράσιν ὁ θει φιλέστατος βασιλεὺς διὰ τῆς ἐπιπολῆς πίστεως ὀρθ( τομίαν, ἢν παρʼ αὐτῶν πυθόμενος, αὐτός τε διʼ seu τοῦ παρᾶ ζώσης φωνῆς αὐτῶν ἀκούσας ἀπεδέξατ ἡμῖν τε φανερὰν κατεστήσατο, ὑποτάξας τοῖς έαυτι γράμμασιν ἔγγραφον τὴν τῶν ἀνδρῶν ὀρθοδοείαν, ἣν ἐπέγνωμεν οἱ πάντες ὑγιῆ τε οὖσαν καὶ ἔκκλησιαστικήν. Καὶ εἰκότως παρεκάλει τοὺς ἄνδρας ὑποδεχθῆναι καὶ ἑνωθῆναι τῇ Ἐκκλησία τοῦ Θεοῦ, ὥσπερ οὖν καὶ αὐτοὶ ἐκ τῶν ΐσοτύπων εἴσεσθε τῆς αὐτῆς ἐπιστολῆς, ἧς πρὸς τὴν ὑμετέραν εὐλάβειαν διεπεμψάμεθα. Πιστεύομεν, ὅτι καὶ ὑμῖν αὐτοῖς ὡς ἂν τὰ οἲκεῖα μὲλη τοῦ ὑμετέρου σώματο> ἀπολαμβάνουσι, μεγάλη χαρὰ καὶ εὐφροσύνη γενήσεται, τὰ ἑαυτῶν σπλάγχνα καὶ τοὺς ἑαυτῶν ἀδελφούς τε καὶ πατὲρας γνωρίζουσι τε καὶ ἀπολαμβάνοιῖσιν· ού μόνον τῶν πρεσβυτέρων τῶν περὶ Ἀρειον ἀποδοθένο των ὑμῖν, ἀλλὰκαὶ παντὸς τοῦ λαοῦ καὶ τῆς πληθύος ἀπάσης, ἢ προφάσει τῶν εἰρημένων ἀνδρῶν μακρῷ χρόνῳ παρʼ ὑμῖν διειστήκει. Καὶ πρέπει γε ἀληθῶς γνόντας ὑμᾶς τὰ πεπραγμένα, καὶ ὡς ἐκοινώνησαν οἱ ἄνδρες, παρεδέχθησάν τε ὑπὸ τῆς τοσαύτης ἁγίας συνόδου, προθυμότατα καὶ αὐτοὺς ἀσπάσασθαι τὴν πρὸς τὰ οἰκεῖα μέλη συνάφειάν τε καὶ εἷʼρήνην ὅτι μάλιστα τὰ τῆς ἐκτεθείσης ὑπʼ αύ- ### English translation (Claude) Yet they have still not grown tired of holding council after council against the ecumenical one. For after the council of Nicaea Eusebius’s party were deposed; but after a time, shamelessly invading the churches, they began to plot against the bishops who opposed them and to install in the churches in their place men of their own heresy, so that they might hold councils whenever they wished, having those who would run along with them, whom they had chosen for this very purpose. They meet, then, in Jerusalem, and write this: “The holy council assembled in Jerusalem by the grace of God, to the church of God in Alexandria and to those throughout all Egypt and the Thebaid and Libya and the Pentapolis, and to the bishops and presbyters and deacons throughout the world: greeting in the Lord. When we who had come together from different provinces for the great festival which we celebrated at the dedication of the Savior’s Martyrium, built by the zeal of the most God-beloved emperor Constantine for God the King of all and for his Christ, the grace of Christ provided us with greater joy, which the most God-beloved emperor himself brought about by his own letters, urging us to do what was right: to banish all envy from the church of God and to drive all malice far away, by which the members of Christ had long been divided, and to receive with a single-hearted and peaceful soul Arius and those with him, whom envy, the hater of good, had for a time caused to be outside the church. And the most God-beloved emperor bore witness in his letter to the men’s correctness of faith, which he learned from them and accepted, having himself heard it from them by living voice, and which he made plain to us by appending to his own letter the men’s orthodoxy in writing; and we all recognized it as sound and ecclesiastical. And rightly he urged that the men be received and united to the church of God, as you yourselves will learn from the copies of that same letter, which we have sent on to your reverence. We believe that to you too it will be great joy and gladness, as you receive back the members of your own body and recognize and receive your own heart, and your own brothers and fathers—not only the presbyters with Arius being restored to you, but also all the people and the whole multitude that had for a long time been divided among you on account of the said men. And it is truly fitting, now that you know what has been done, and that the men have been admitted to communion and received by so great a holy council, that you too should most readily embrace union and peace with your own members, especially since the … of the faith set forth by them …” ### Translation notes - Synodal letter of the Council of Jerusalem (335), held at the dedication of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre (the “Martyrium”). The heading of the letter is badly garbled in the scan and is translated by sense. The letter breaks off in the scan in mid-word (ὑπʼ αὐ-); the rest is lost (“…”). ### Citation (SBL) Athanasius, Syn. 21 (PG 26:717b–720b; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/athanasius-synodis/15/#p-21). ## On the Councils of Ariminum and Seleucia 22 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/athanasius-synodis/15/#p-22 - Source: PG 26:720b–724c - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-10-09 Summary: At the Dedication Council of Antioch (341) the Eusebians issued a creed disclaiming Arius as their master, and then a second, fuller creed with anathemas. ### Greek text Αὕτη τῶν συνόδων αὐτῶν ἡ ἀρχὴ γέγονεν, ἐν ᾖ καὶ τὴν προαίρεσιν ἑαυτῶν ταχέως ἐξήγγειλαν, καὶ οὐκ ἠδυνήθησαν κρύψαι. Εἰρηκότες γὰρ ἐξηλᾶσθαι πάντα φθόνον, καὶ μετὰ τὸ ἐξορισθῆναι τὸν ἐπίσκοπον τῆς ’Δλεξανδρείας Ἀθανάσιον, γράφοντες δεῖν δεχθῆναι Ἀρειον καὶ τοὺς σὺν αὐτῷ, ἔδειξαν, ὅτι διὰ τοῦτο αύτῷ τε τῷ Ἀθανασίῳ ἐπεβούλευον, καὶ τοῖς ἄλλοις πᾶσιν ἐπισκόποις τοῖς ἀντιλεγουσιν αὐτοῖς ἐπεβούλευσαν, ὑπὲρ τοῦ τοὺς περὶ Ἀρειον δέξασθαι, καὶ τήν αʼίρεσιν εἷς τὴν Ἐκκλησίαν εἰσαγαγεῖν· καὶ εί καὶ πᾶσαν τὴν ’Λρείου κακοφροσύνην ἐπῄνεσαν ἐν ταύτῃ, καὶ εἰς κοινωνίαν προσέταξαν αὐτοὺς δεχθῆναι, αὐτοὶ πρότερον τοῦτο ποιήσαντεςο ὅμως ἡγούμενοι λείπειν αὐτοῖς ἔτι,.πρὸς ’ὸ βούλονται, συγκροτοῦσιν ἐν Ἀντιοχείᾳ σύνοδον προφάσει τῶν λεγομὲνων Ἐγκαινίων” καὶ ἐπειδή ἀεὶ ὑπὸ πάντων κατηγοροῦντο περὶ τῆς αἱρέσεως, γράφουσι διαφόρως, τὰ μὶν οὕτως, τὰ δὲ ἐκείνως. Καὶ τὰ μὶν ἐν μιᾷ ἐπιστολῇ γραφίντα παρʼ αὐτῶν ἐστι ταυταʼ α Ἡμεῖς οὔτε ἀκόλουθοι Ἀρείου γεγόναμενʼ πῶς γὰρ ἐπίσκοποι ὄντες ἀκολουθοῦμεν πρεσβυτέρῳ; οὔτε ἄλλην τινὰ πίστιν παρὰ τήν ἐξ ἀρχῆς παραδοθεῖσαν ἐδεξάμεθα. Ἀλλὰ καὶ ἐξετασταὶ καὶ δοκιμασταὶ τῆς πίστεως αὐτοῦ γενόμενοι, μᾶλλον αὸτὸν προσηκάμεθα, ἤπερ ἠκολουθήσαμεν γνώσεσθε δὲ ἀπὸ τῶν λεγομένων. Μεμαθήκαμεν γὸ ἐξ ἀρχῆς, εἰς ἕνα Θεὸν τὸν τῶν ὅλων Θεὸν στεύειν, τὸν πάντων νοητῶν τε καὶ αἰσθητῶν δτ μιουργόν τε καὶ προνοητήν· καὶ εἷς ἕνα Υἱὸν τοῦ Θεο μονογενῆ, πρὸ πάντων αἰώνων ὑπάρχοντα, καὶ συ· όντα τῷ γεγεννηκότι αὐτὸν Ιίατρὶ, διʼ οὗ ’τ πάντα ἐγένετο, τά τε ὁρατά καὶ τὰ ἀόρατα, τὸν κς ἐπʼ ἐσχάτων ἡμερῶν κατʼ εὐδοκίαν τοῦ ΙΙατρὸς κατ ελθόντα, καὶ σάρκα ἐκ τῆς Παρθένου-ἀνειλτ φότα, καὶ πᾶσαν τὴν πατρικὴν αὐτοῦ βούλησιν om εκπεπληρωκότα, πεπονθέναι, καὶ ἐγηγέρθαι, κε εἱς οὐρανοὺς ἀνεληλυθέναι, καὶ ἐν δεξιᾷἾτοῦ Πατρ< καθέζεσθαι, καὶ *πάλιν έρχόμενοκ κρῖναι ζῶντα καὶ νεκροὺς, καὶ διαμένοντα βασιλέα καὶ Θεὸν ε τοὺς αἰῶνας. ΙΙιστεύομεν δὲκαὶ εἷς τὸ ἅγιον ΙΙνεῦμε εἶ δὲ δεῖ προσθεῖναι, πιστεύομεν καὶ περὶ σαρκὸς ἀναστάσεως καὶ ζωῆς αἰωνίου. ›› Ἃ δὲ καὶ ἐν ἑτέρᾳ ἐπιστολῇ δεύτερον έν τοῖς αὐτοῖς Ἐγκαινίοις ἐκτίθενται, μεταγνόντες μὶν ἐτ τοῖς προτέροις, ἑπινοήσαντες δὲ καινότερα τινα κε πλείονα, ἔστι ταῦτα· ‹‹ Πιστεύομεν ἀκολούθως τῇ εὐαγγελικῇ καὶ ἀποστολικῇ παραδύσει εἰς ἕνα Θεὸν. Πατέρα παντο κράτορα, τὸν τῶν ὅλων δημιουργόν τε καὶ ποιητῧ καὶ προνοητὴν, ἐξ οὗ τὰ πάντα· καὶ εἷς ἕνα Kx ριον Ἰησοῦν Χριστὸν, τὸν Υἰὸν αὐτοῦ, τὸν μονογεν· Θεὸν, διʼ οὗ τὰ πάντα, τὸν γεννηθέντα πρὸ τῶν αἰώνων ὲκ τοῦ Πατρὸς, Θεὸν ἐκ Θεοῦ, ὅλον ἐξ ὅλου, ’μόνον ἐκ μόνου, τέλειον ὲκ τελείου, βασιλέα ὲκ βασιλέως, Κύριον ἀπὸ Κυρίου, Λόγον ζῶντα σοφίαν ζῶσαν, ἀληθινὸν, ὁδὸν, ἀλήθειαν, ἆν-ἀστα σιν, ποιμένα, θύραν, ἅτρεπτόν τε καὶ ἀναλλοίωτον τῆς θεότητοκς, οὐσίας τε καὶ βουλῆς καὶ δυνο μεως, καὶοδόεης ’τοῦ Πατρὸς ἀπαράλλακτον εἰκόνα τὸν πρωτότοκον πάσης κτίσεως, τὸν ὄντα ἑ ἀρχῇ Ϊρὸς τὸν Θεὸν, Δόγον Θεὸν-κατά τὸ εἰρημένα ἐν τῆς Εὐαγγελίῳ· ι( Καὶ Θεὸς ἦν ὁ Λόγος· ›; διʼ c τὰ πάντα ἐγένετο, καὶ ἐν ᾦ τὰ πάντα συνέστηκε· τὲ ἰπʼ ἐσχάτων τῶν ἡμερῶν κατελθόντα ἄνωθεν, κο γεννηθέντα ἐκ Παρθένου κατά τὰς Γραφάς, καὶ ἄν qpmnov‘vcvdpsvov· μεσίτην Θεοῦ-καὶ ἀνθρώπωκ ἀπόστολόν τι τῆς πίστεως ἡμῶν, καὶ ἀρχηγὸν τῆ ζωῆς, ὥς φησιν, ὅτι ‹‹ Καταβέβηκα ἐκ τὸτʼ νόύρανοέ οὐχ τίνα ποιῶ τὸ θέλημα τὸ ὶμὸν, ἀλλὰ τὸ θέλημα το τέμψαντός με· »τὸν παθόντα ὑπὲρ ἡμῶν, καὶ ἀναστάντα τῇ τρίτῃ ἡμέρᾳ· καὶ ἀνελθόντα εἰς ούρανοὺς, καὶ καθεσθέντα έν δεξιᾷ τοῦ Πατρός ο καὶ πάλιν ἐρχόμενον μετά δόξης καὶ δυνάμεως, κρῖναι ζῶντας καὶ νεκρούςʼ καὶ εἷς τὸ Πνεῦμα τὸ ἅγιον, τὸ εἷς παράκλησιν, καὶ ἁγιασμὸν, καὶ τελείωσιν τοῖς πιστεύουσι διδόμενον, καθὼς καὶ 6 Κύριος ἡμῶν Ἰησοῦς Χριστὸς διετάξατο τοῖς μαθηταῖς λέγων ι( Πορευθέντες, μαθητεύσατε πάντα τὰ ἔθνη, βαπτίζοντες αὐτοὺς εἷς τὸ ὄνομα τοῦ Πατρὸς, καὶ τοῦ Υἱοῦ, καὶ τοῦ ἁγίου Πνεύματος· ›› δηλονότι Πατρὸς, ἀληθῶς Πατρός ὄντος, Υὶοῦ δὲ ἀληθῶς Υἱοῦ ὅντος, τοῦ δὲ ἁγίου Ιίνεύματος ἀληθῶς ἁγίου Πνεύματος ὄντος, τῶν ὀνομάτων οὐχ ἁπλῶς οὐδὲ ἀργῶς κειμένων, ἀλλά σημαινόντων ’ἀκριβῶς τήν οἰκείαν έκάστου τῶν ὀνομαζομένων ὑπόστασίν τε καὶ τάξιν καὶ δόξαν· ὡς εἶναι τῇ μὲν ὑποστάσει τρία, τῇ δὲ συμφωνίᾳ ἓν. Ταύτην οὗν ἔχοντες τήν πίστιν, καὶ ἐξ ἀρχῆς καὶ μέχρι τέλους ἔχοντες ἐνώπιον τοῦ Θεοῦ καὶ τοῦ Χριστοῦ, πᾶσαν αἱρετικήν κακοδοξίαν ἀναθεματίζομεν. Καὶ εἷʼ τις παρά τὴν ὑγιῇ τῶν Γραφῶν ὀρθὴν πίστιν διδάσκει, λέγων ἢ χρόνον, ἢ καιρὸν, ἢ αἰῶνα, ἢ εἶναι, ἢ γεγονέναι, πρὸ τοῦ γεννηθῆναι τὸν Υἱὸν, ἀνάθεμα ἔστω. Καὶ εἲ τις λέγει τὸν ιʼἱὸν κτίσμα, ὡς ’ὲν τῶν κτισμάτων, ἢ γέννημα ὡς ἓν τῶν γεννημάτων, ἢ ποίη μα, ὡς ἓν τῶν ποιημάτων, καὶ μὴ ὡς αἱ θεῖαι Γραφαὶ παραδέδωκαν, τῶν προειρημένων ἕκαστον ἀφʼ ἑκάστου· ἢ εἴτι ἄλλο διδάσκει, ἢ εὐαγγελίζεται, παρʼ ὃ παρελάβομεν, ἀνάθεμα ἔστω. Ἡμεῖς γάρ πᾶσι τοῖς ἐκ τῶν θείων Γρα- ### English translation (Claude) This was the beginning of their councils, and in it they quickly made known their purpose and could not conceal it. For having said that all envy had been driven out, and, after Athanasius the bishop of Alexandria had been exiled, writing that Arius and those with him ought to be received, they showed that it was for this reason that they had plotted against Athanasius himself, and had plotted against all the other bishops who opposed them—in order to receive Arius’s party and bring the heresy into the church. And though in this council they praised all Arius’s perversity and ordered that they be received into communion, having first done this themselves, they nevertheless thought that something was still lacking for what they wanted, and so they convene a council at Antioch on the pretext of the so-called Dedication; and since they were always being accused by everyone concerning the heresy, they write in various ways, some things one way and others another. And what they wrote in one letter is this: “We have not become followers of Arius—for how should we, who are bishops, follow a presbyter?—nor have we received any other faith besides the one handed down from the beginning. Rather, having become examiners and testers of his faith, we admitted him rather than followed him; you will know this from what we say. For we have learned from the beginning to believe in one God, the God of all, the maker and provider of all things, both intellectual and sensible; and in one only-begotten Son of God, existing before all ages and coexisting with the Father who begot him, through whom all things came to be, both visible and invisible; who in the last days, by the good pleasure of the Father, came down and took flesh from the Virgin, and having fulfilled all his Father’s will, suffered and was raised and ascended into heaven and sits at the right hand of the Father and is coming again to judge living and dead, and remains King and God to the ages. And we believe also in the Holy Spirit; … and if it is necessary to add it, we believe also concerning the resurrection of the flesh and eternal life.” [23] And what they set out in another letter, a second time at the same Dedication, having changed their minds about the former and devised some newer and fuller things, is this: “We believe, in accordance with the evangelical and apostolic tradition, in one God, the Father Almighty, the maker and creator and provider of all things, from whom are all things; and in one Lord Jesus Christ, his Son, the only-begotten God, through whom are all things, who was begotten before the ages from the Father, God from God, whole from whole, only from only, perfect from perfect, King from King, Lord from Lord, living Word, living Wisdom, true Light, Way, Truth, Resurrection, Shepherd, Door, unchangeable and unalterable, exact image of the Godhead and of the essence and will and power and glory of the Father, the firstborn of all creation, who was in the beginning with God, God the Word, as it is said in the Gospel, ‘and the Word was God,’ through whom all things came to be and in whom all things hold together; who in the last days came down from above and was born of a Virgin according to the Scriptures, and became man, mediator between God and men, and apostle of our faith, and author of life, as he says, ‘I have come down from heaven, not to do my own will, but the will of him who sent me’; who suffered for us and rose on the third day, and ascended into heaven and sat down at the right hand of the Father, and is coming again with glory and power to judge living and dead. And in the Holy Spirit, who is given to those who believe for consolation and sanctification and perfection, as our Lord Jesus Christ also commanded the disciples, saying, ‘Go, make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them into the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit’—that is, of a Father who is truly Father, and a Son who is truly Son, and a Holy Spirit who is truly Holy Spirit, the names not being given simply or idly, but signifying exactly the proper hypostasis and order and glory of each of those named, so that they are three in hypostasis but one in agreement. Holding this faith, then, and holding it from the beginning to the end before God and Christ, we anathematize every heretical false doctrine. And if anyone teaches contrary to the sound and right faith of the Scriptures, saying that there either is or has been time or season or age before the Son was begotten, let him be anathema. And if anyone says that the Son is a creature as one of the creatures, or an offspring as one of the offspring, or a thing made as one of the things made, and not as the divine Scriptures have handed down each of the aforesaid; or if he teaches or preaches anything else than what we have received, let him be anathema. For we … all things from the divine Scrip…” ### Scripture references - Col 1:15: quotation, high confidence - John 1:1: quotation, high confidence - John 1:3: allusion, high confidence - Col 1:17: allusion, high confidence - 1 Tim 2:5: allusion, high confidence - Heb 3:1: allusion, high confidence - Acts 3:15: allusion, high confidence - John 6:38: quotation, high confidence - Matt 28:19: quotation, high confidence - Gal 1:9: allusion, high confidence - John 14:6: allusion, medium confidence - John 10:11: allusion, medium confidence - John 10:9: allusion, medium confidence - John 11:25: allusion, medium confidence ### Translation notes - Chapter 23 begins at “[23]”; its numeral is removed by a logged correction. - The first and second creeds of the Dedication Council of Antioch (341), quoted. A few words after “in the Holy Spirit” in the first creed are lost in the scan (“…”). The second creed breaks off in the scan in mid-word (Γρα-), and the rest is lost. - Col 1:15; John 1:1–3; Col 1:17; 1 Tim 2:5; Heb 3:1; Acts 3:15; John 6:38; Matt 28:19; Gal 1:9. “Three in hypostasis but one in agreement” (τῇ μὲν ὑποστάσει τρία, τῇ δὲ συμφωνίᾳ ἕν) is the creed’s own wording. ### Citation (SBL) Athanasius, Syn. 22 (PG 26:720b–724c; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/athanasius-synodis/15/#p-22). ## On the Councils of Ariminum and Seleucia 24 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/athanasius-synodis/15/#p-24 - Source: PG 26:724c–725a - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-10-09 Summary: Theophronius of Tyana’s creed, accepted by all at Antioch, condemned Marcellus, Sabellius, and Paul of Samosata. ### Greek text Καὶ Θεοφρόνιος δέ τις ἐπίσκοπος Τυάνων συνθεὶς καὶ αὐτὸς ἐξέθετο τὴν πίστιν ταύτην ἵμπροσθεν τῶν πάντων, καὶ πάντες ὑπέγραψαν, ἀποδεξάμενοι τήν τοῦ ἀνθρώπου πίστινʼ ‹‹ Οἶδεν 6 Θεὸς, ὃν μάρτυρα καλῶ ἐπὶ τὴν ἐμήν ψυχὴν, ὅτι οὕτως πιστεύω· εἷς Θεὸν ΙΙατέρα παντοκράτορα, τὸν τῶν ὅλων κτίστην καὶ ποιητὴν, ἐξ οῦ τὰ πάνταʼ καὶ είς τὸν Γὶὸν αὐτοῦ τὸν μονογενῆ, Θεὸν, Λόγον, δύναμιν καὶ σοφίαν, τὸν Κύριον ἡμῶν Ἰησοῦν Χριστὸν, διʼ οὗ τὰ πάντα, τὸν γεννηθέντα έκ τοῦ Ῑῐατρὸς πρὸ τῶν αἰώνων, Θεὸν τέλειον ἐκ Θεοῦ τελείου, καὶ ὅντα πρὸς τὸν Θεὸν ἐν ὑποστάσει* ἐπʼ ἐσχάτων δὲ τῶν ἡμερῶν κατελθόντα, καὶ γεννηθέντα ἐκ τῆς Παρθένου κατὰ τὰς Γραφάς, ἐνανθρωπήσαντα, παθόντα, καὶ ἀναστάντα ἀπὸ τῶν νεκρῶν, καὶ ἀνελθόντα εἷς τοὺς οὐρανοὺς, καὶ καθεσθέντα ἐκ δεξιῶν τοῦ ΙΙατρὸς αὐτοῦ· καὶ πάλιν ἐρχόμενον μετὰ δόξης καὶ δυνάμεως κοῖναι ζῶντας καὶ νεκροὺς, καὶ μένοντα εἷς τοὺς αἰῶνας* καὶ εἲς τε Πνεῦμα ἅγιον, τὸν Παράκλητον, τὸ πνεῦμα τῆς ἀληθείας, ὃ καὶ διὰ τοῦ προφήτου ἐπηγγείλατο ὁ Θεὸς ἰκχέειν ἐπὶ τοὺς ἑαυτοῦ δούλους, καὶ ὁ Κύριος ἐπηγγείλατο πέμψαι τοῖς ἑαυτοῦ μαθηταῖς, ’ὀ καὶ ἔπεμψεν, ὡς αἱ Πράξεις τῶν ἀποστόλων μαρτυροῦσιν, Εἰ δέ τις παρὰ ταύτην τὴν πίστιν διδάσκει, ἢ ἔχει ἐν ἑαυτῷ, ἀνάθεμα ἔστω· καὶ Μαρκέλλου τοῦ Ἀγκύρας, ἢ) Σαβελλίου, ἢ Παύλου τοῦ Σαμοσατέως, ἀνάθεμα ἔστω καὶ αὐτὸς, καὶ πάντες οἱ κοινωνοῦντες αὐτῷ. ### English translation (Claude) And one Theophronius, bishop of Tyana, also composed and set out this faith before them all, and all subscribed, accepting the man’s faith: “God knows, whom I call as witness upon my soul, that I believe thus: in God the Father Almighty, the creator and maker of all things, from whom are all things; and in his only-begotten Son, God, Word, Power and Wisdom, our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom are all things, who was begotten from the Father before the ages, perfect God from perfect God, and who is with God in hypostasis; and in the last days came down and was born of the Virgin according to the Scriptures, became man, suffered, and rose from the dead, and ascended into the heavens, and sat down at the right hand of his Father, and is coming again with glory and power to judge living and dead, and remains to the ages. And in the Holy Spirit, the Paraclete, the Spirit of truth, whom God also promised through the prophet to pour out on his servants, and whom the Lord promised to send to his disciples, and sent, as the Acts of the Apostles bear witness. And if anyone teaches, or holds in himself, anything contrary to this faith, let him be anathema; and if anyone holds the views of Marcellus of Ancyra, or Sabellius, or Paul of Samosata, let him be anathema, both he and all who are in communion with him.” ### Scripture references - Joel 2:28: allusion, high confidence - John 14:16: allusion, high confidence - John 14:17: allusion, high confidence - Acts 2:17: allusion, medium confidence ### Translation notes - Creed of Theophronius of Tyana (Antioch, 341). Joel 2:28–29 (pouring out the Spirit); John 14:16–17, 26; Acts 2. - A note of Migne’s apparatus (“τοῦ τὸν Υἱόν. omisso γεννηθῆναι”), which leaked into the creed in the scan, is removed by a logged correction. The words “if anyone holds the views” are lost in the scan before “of Marcellus” and are supplied by sense. ### Citation (SBL) Athanasius, Syn. 24 (PG 26:724c–725a; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/athanasius-synodis/15/#p-24). ## On the Councils of Ariminum and Seleucia 25 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/athanasius-synodis/15/#p-25 - Source: PG 26:725a–728a - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-10-09 Summary: The Dedication Council numbered ninety bishops; a few months later a fourth creed was sent to the emperor Constans in Gaul. ### Greek text Ἦσαν δὲ οἱ συνελθόντες ἐν τοῖς Ἐγκαινίοις ἐπίσκοποι ἰνενήκυντα, ὑπατείᾳ Μαρκελλίνου καὶ Προβίνου, ῗνδικτιῶνος ιδʼ, ἐκεῖ ὄντος Κωνσταντίου τοῦ ἆσεβεστάτου. Ταῦτα πράξαντες ἐν Ἀντιοχείᾳ τοῖς Ἐγκαινίοις, νομίσαντες δὲ μὴ τελείως γεγραφέναι, ῥεμβομένην δὲ τήν διάνοιαν ἔχοντες, αὖθις πάλιν συντιθέασιν ἄλλο γράμμα δῆθεν περὶ πίστεως μετὰ μῆνας ὀλίγους, καὶ ἀποστέλλουσιν εἰς τὰς Γαλλίας Νάρκισσον, Μάριν, Θεόδωρον καὶ Μάρκον. Κάκεῖνοι ὡς ἀπὸ συνόδου πεμφθέντες ἐπιδεδώκασι τῷ τῆς μακαρίας μνήμης Κώνσταντι τῷ Αὐγούστῳ, καὶ τοῖς ἇκεῖ πᾶσι, ταῦταʼ ‹‹ Πιστεύομεν είς ἕνα Θεὸν, Πατέρα παντοκράτορα, κτίστην καὶ ποιητὴν τῶν πάντων, ἐξ οὗ πᾶσα πατριὰ ἐν οὐρανοῖς καὶ ἐπὶ γῆς ὀνομάζεταιο καὶ εἷς τὸν μονογενῆ αὐτοῦ Υἱὸν τὸν Κύριον ἡμῶν Ἰησοῦν Χριστὸν, τὸν πρὸ πάντων τῶν αίώνων ἐκ τοῦ Πατρὸς γεννηθένταο Θεὸν ἐκ Θεοῦ, φῶς ὲκ φωτός· διʼ οὗ ἰγένετο τὰ πάντα ἐν τοῖς οὐρανοῖς καὶ ἰπὶ τῆς γῆςʼ, τα δρατὰ καί τὰ ἀόρατα· Λόγον ὄντα, καὶ σοφίαν, καί δύναμιν, καὶ ζωὴν, καὶ φῶς ἀληθινόν· τὸν ἧστʼ ἐσχάτων τῶν ἦμερῶν διʼ ἡμᾶς ἐνανθρωπήσαντα, καὶ γεννηθέντα ἐκ τῆς ἁγίας Παρθένου, τὸν σταυρωθέντα, καὶ ἀποθανόντα, καὶ ταφένταδ καὶ ἀναστάντα ἐκ νεκρῶν τῇ τρίτῃ ἡμέρᾳ, καὶ ἀναληφθέντα εἰς οὐρανὸν, καὶ καθεσθέντα έν δεξιᾷ τοῦ Πατρόςʼ καὶ ἐρχόμενον ἐπὶ συντελείᾳ τοῦ αἷῶνος κρῖναι ζῶντας καὶ νεκροὺς, καὶ ἀποδοῦναι ἑκάστῳ κατὰτὰ ἔργα αὐτοῦ· οὗ ἡ βασιλεία ἀκατάλυτος οὖσα διαμένει εἵς τοὺς ἀπείρους αἰῶνας. Ἔσται γὰρ καθεζόμενος ἐν δεξιᾷ τοῦ Πατρὸς, οὐ μόνον ἐν τῷ αἶʼῶνι τούτῳ, ἀλλὰ καὶ ἐν τῷ μέλλοντι· καὶ εἷς τὸ ἅγιον Πνεῦμα, τουτέστι, τὸν Παράκλητον· ὅπερ ἐπαγγειλάμενος τοῖς ἀποστόλοις, μετὰ τὴν εἷς οὐρανοὺς αὐτοῦ ἄνοδον ἀπέστειλε, διδάξαι αὐτοὺς καὶ ὑπομνῆσαι πάνταο διʼ οὗ καὶ ἁγιασθήσονται αἱ τῶν εἰλικριθῶς εἰς αὐτὸν πεπιστευκότων ψυχαί. Τοὺς δὲ λέγοντας ἐξ οὐκ ὄντων τὸν Υἷὸν, ἢ ἐξ ἐτέρας ὑποστάσεως, καὶ μὴ ἐκ τοῦ Θεοῦʼ καὶ, Ἢν ποτε χρόνος, ὅτε οὐκ ἦν, ἀλλοτρίους οἶδεν ἡ καθολική Ἐκκλησία. » ### English translation (Claude) The bishops assembled at the Dedication were ninety, in the consulship of Marcellinus and Probinus, in the fourteenth indiction, Constantius, the most impious, being present there. Having done these things at Antioch at the Dedication, and thinking that they had not written completely, and having a wandering mind, they again compose, a few months later, another paper, supposedly about faith, and send Narcissus, Maris, Theodore, and Mark to Gaul. And these, as men sent from a council, delivered to Constans Augustus of blessed memory and to all there the following: “We believe in one God, the Father Almighty, creator and maker of all things, from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named; and in his only-begotten Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, who was begotten from the Father before all the ages, God from God, Light from Light, through whom all things came to be in the heavens and on the earth, visible and invisible; who is Word and Wisdom and Power and Life and true Light; who in the last days became man for us and was born of the holy Virgin; who was crucified and died and was buried, and rose from the dead on the third day, and was taken up into heaven, and sat down at the right hand of the Father, and is coming at the consummation of the age to judge living and dead and to render to each according to his works; whose kingdom, being indissoluble, remains to the infinite ages. For he will be sitting at the right hand of the Father not only in this age but also in the age to come. And in the Holy Spirit, that is, the Paraclete, whom, having promised him to the apostles, he sent after his ascent into heaven to teach them and to remind them of all things; through whom also the souls of those who have sincerely believed in him will be sanctified. But those who say that the Son is from nothing, or from another hypostasis and not from God, and that there was a time when he was not, the catholic church knows as aliens.” ### Scripture references - Eph 3:15: quotation, high confidence - Matt 16:27: allusion, high confidence - Luke 1:33: allusion, medium confidence - John 14:26: allusion, high confidence ### Translation notes - The Dedication Council met in 341 (consulship of Marcellinus and Probinus). The “fourth creed of Antioch” (342) was delivered to Constans at Trier. - Eph 3:15; Matt 16:27; Luke 1:33 (the kingdom without end); John 14:26. ### Citation (SBL) Athanasius, Syn. 25 (PG 26:725a–728a; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/athanasius-synodis/15/#p-25). ## On the Councils of Ariminum and Seleucia 26 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/athanasius-synodis/26/#p-26 - Source: PG 26:728a–736a - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-10-09 Summary: The Long-Lined Creed (Macrostich) of 344, sent to Italy, rejects Arius’s slogans, Marcellus and Photinus, and Sabellius, while subordinating the Son to the Father. ### Greek text Ἐπὶ τούτοις ὥσπερ μεταγνόντες, συλλέγουσι πάλιν τὸ συνέδριον ἑαυτῶν μετᾶ ἔτη τρία, καὶ ἀποστέλλουσιν Εὐδόξιον, Μαρτόριον, καὶ Μακεδόνιον τὸν ἀπὸ Κιλικίας, καὶ σὺν αὐτοῖς ἑτέρους τινὰς εἷς τά μέρη τῆς Ἰταλίας, ἇποφέροντας πίστιν διὰ πολλῶν γραφεῖσαν, προσθήκας τε ἕχουόαν πλείστας παρᾶ τάς προτέρας· ὡς γάρ καινότερά τινα ἐπινοήσαντες, ἀπεδήμησαν ἔχοντες ταῦτα. 1. ‹‹ Πιστεόομεν εἰς ἕνα Θεὸν, Πατέρα παντοκράτορα, κτίστην καὶ ποιητὴν τῶν πάντων, ἐξ οὗ πᾶσα πατριὰ ὲν οὐρανῷ καὶ ἐπὶ γῆς ὀνομάζεται· καί εἷς τὸν μονογενῆ αὐτοῦ Υἱὸν τὸν Κύριον ἡμῶν Ἰησοῦν Χριστὸν, τὸν πρὸ πάντων τῶν αἰώνων ἐκ τοῦ Ιῐατρὸς γεννηθέντα, Θεὸν ἐκ Θεοῦ, φῶς ἐκ φωτὸς, διʼ οὗ ἐγένετο τὰ πάντα ἐν οὐρανοῖς καὶ τὰ ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς, τὰ ὁρατᾶ καὶ τὰ ἀόρατα* Λόγον ὄντα καὶ σοφίαν, καὶ δύναμιν, καὶ ζωὴν, καὶ φῶς ἀληθινόν· τὸν ἀπʼ ἐσχάτων τῶν ἡμερῶν διʼ ἢμᾶςένανθρωπήσαντα, καῖ γεννηθέντα ἐκ τῆς άγίας Παρθένου, σταυρωθέντα, καὶ ἀποθανόντα, καὶ ταφέντα, καὶ ἀναστάντα ἐκ τῶν νεκρῶν τῇ τρίτῃ ἡμέρα, καὶ ἀναληφθέντα εἷς οὐρανὸν, καὶ καθεσθέντα ἐκ δεξιῶν τοῦ Πατρός· καί ἐρχόμενον ἐπὶ συντελείᾳ τοῦ αἰῶνος κρῖναι ζῶντας καὶ νεκροὺς, καὶ ἀποδοῦναι ἑκάστῳ κατᾶ τά ἔργα αὐτοῦ· οῦ ἡ βασιλεία ἆκατάπαυστος οὖσα διαμένει εἷς τοῦς ἀπείρους αἰῶνας. Καθέζεται γάρ έν δεξιᾷ τοῦ Ιιατρὸς, οὐ μόνον ἐν τῷ αἰῶνι τοῦ· τῳ, ἀλλὰ καὶ έν τῷ μέλλοντι. Πιστεόομεν καὶ εἷς τὸ Πνεῦμα τὸ ἅγιον, τουτέστι, τὸν Παράκλητον, ὅπερ ἐπαγγειλάμενος τοῖς ἀποστόλοις μετὰ τήν εἷς οὖρανὸν ἄνοδον, ἀπέστειλε διδάξαι αὐτοὺς καὶ ὑπομνῆσαι πάντα, διʼ οὗ καὶ ἀγιασθήσονται αἱ τῶν εἰλικρινῶς εἷς αὐτὸν πεπιστευκότων ψυχαί. ΙΙ. ι( Τοὺς δὲ λέγοντας ἐξ οὐκ ὄντων τὸν Υἱὸν, ἢ ἐξ ἑτέρας ὑποστάσεως, καὶ μὴ ἐκ τοῦ Θεοῦ, καὶ ὅτι ἦν χρόνος ποτὶ, ἢ αἶʼὼν, ὅτε μὴ ἦν, ἀλλοτρίους οἶδεν ἡ καθολικὴ καὶ ἦγία Ἐκκλησία. Ὁμοίως καὶτοὺς λέγοντας τρεῖς εἶναι Θεοὺς, ἢ τὸν Χριστὸν μή εἶναι Θεὸν, ἢ πρὸ τῶν αἰώνων μήτε Χριστὸν μήτε Υἱὸν αὐτὸν εἶναι Θεοῦ, ἢ τὸν αὐτὸν εἶναι Πατέρα καὶ ιʼἱὸν, ἢ ἅγιον Πνεῦμα ἢ ἀγέννητον ιʼἱὸν, ἢ ὅτι οὗ βουλήσει ούδὶ θελήσει ἐγέννησε 6 Πατὴρ τὸν Υἱὸν, ἀναθεματίζει ἡ ἁγία καὶ καθολικὴ Ἐκρ κλησία. ’ ΙΙΙ. ‹‹ Οὔτε γὰρ ἐξ οὐκ ὄντων τὸν Υἱὸν λέγειν ἀσφαλὲς, ἐπεὶ μηδαμοῦ τοῦτο τῶν θεοπνεύστων Γραφῶν φέρεται περὶ αύτοῦ,οὕτε μὴν ἐξ ἑτέρας τινὸς ῦποστάσεως παρὰ τὸν Πατέρα προϋποκειμένης· ἀλλʼ ἐκ μόνου τοῦ Θεοῦ γνησίως αὐτὸν γεγεννῆσθαι διοριζόμεθαʼ Ἒν γὰρ τὸ ἀγέννητον καὶ ἄναρχον τὸν Χριστοῦ Πατέρα 6 θεῖος διδάσκει λόγος. Ἀλλʼ οὐδὲ τὸ, ἦν ποτε, ὅτε οὐκ ἦν, ἐξ ἀγράφων ἐπισφαλῶς λέγοντας, χρονικόν τι διάστημα προενθυμητέον αὐτοῦ, ἀλλʼ ἢ μόνον τὸν ἆχρόνως αὐτὸν γεγεννηκότα Θεόνʼ καὶ χρόνοι γὰρ καὶ αἰῶνες γεγόνασι διʼ αὐτοῦ. Οῦτε μὴν συνάναρχον καὶ συναγέννητον τῷ Πατρὶ τὸν Υἱὸν εἶναι νομιστέον συνανάρχῖουΔγάρ καὶ. συναγεννήτου οὐδεὶς κυρίως πατὴρ ἢ υἱὸς λεχθήσεται. Ἀλλά τὸν μὲν Πατέρα μόνον ἄναρχον ὄντα καὶ ἀγέννητον γεγεννηκέναι ἀνεφίκτως, καὶ πᾶσιν ἀκαταλήπτως οἴδαμεν τὸν δὲ Υἱὸν γεγεννῆσθαι πρὸ αἰώνων, καὶ μηκέτι ὁμοίως τῷ Πατρὶ ἀγέννητον εἶναι καὶ αὐτὸν, ἀλλʼ ἀρχὴν ἔχειν τὸν γεννήσαντα Πατέρα κεφαλή γὰρ Χριστοῦ 6 Θεός. IV. « Οὔτε μὴν τρία ὁμολογοῦντες πράγματα καὶ τρία πρόσωπα, τοῦ Πατρὸς, καὶ τοῦ Υἱοῦ,καὶ τοῦ ἁγίου Πνεύματος κατά τὰς Γραφὰς, τρεῖς διὰ τοῦτο τοὺς Θεοὺς ποιοῦμενο ἐπειδή τὸν αὐτοτελῆ καὶ ἀγέννητον ἅναρχόν τε καὶ ἀόρατον Θεὸν ἕνα μόνον οἴδαμεν τὸν Θεὸν καὶ Πατέρα τοῦ Μονογενοῦς, τὸν μόνον μὶν ἐξ »ἑαυτοῦ τὸ εἶναι ἔχοντα, μόνον ’δὲ (Id) τοῖς ἀλλοις πᾶσιν ἀφθόνως τοῦτο χαριζόμενον. Οὔτε μὴν, ἕνα Θεὸν μόνον λέγοντες εἶναι τὸν τοῦ Κυρίου ἡμῶν Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ Πατέρα, τὸν μόνον ἀγέννητον, διὰ τοῦτο ἀρνούμεθα καὶ τὸν Χριστὸν Θεὸν εἶναι πρὸ αἰώνων ὁποῖοί εἶσιν οἱ ἀπὸ Παύλου τοῦ Σαμοσατέως, ὕστερον αὐτὸν μετά τὴν ένανθρώπησιν ἐκ προκοπῆς τεθεοποιῆσθαι λέγοντες, τῷ τὴν φύσιν ψιλὸν ἄνθρωπον γεγονέναι. Οἴδαμεν γὰρ καὶ αὐτὸν, εἰ καὶ ὑποτέτακται τῷ Πατρί καὶ τῷ Θεῷ, ἀλλʼ ὅμως πρὸ αἰώνων γεννηθέντα ἐκ τοῦ Θεοῦ, Θεὸν κατὰ φύσιν τέλειον εἶναι καὶ ἀληθῆ, καὶ μή ἐξ ἀνθρώπων μετά ταῦτα Θεὸν, ἀλλʼ ἐκ Θεοῦ ένανθρωπῆσαι διʼ ἡμᾶς, καὶ μηδέποτε ἀπολωλεκότα τὸ εἶναι. V. « Βδελυσσόμεθα δὶ πρὸς τούτοις καὶ ἀναθεματίζομεν καὶ τοὺς ’Λόγον μὶν μόνον αὐτὸν ψιλὸν τοῦ Θεοῦ καὶ ἀνύηαρκτον ἐπιπλάστως καλοῦντας, έν ἑτέρῳ τὸ εἶναι ἔχοντα, νῦν μὲν ὡς τὸν προφορικὸν λεγόμενον ὑπό τινων, νῦν δὲ ὡς τὸν ἐνδιάθετον* Χριστὸν 5t αὐτὸν, καὶ Υἳὸν τοῦ Θεοῦ, καὶ μεσίτην, καί εἰ· κόνα τοῦ Θεοῦ μή εἰναι πρὸ αἰώνων θέλοντας ἀλλʼ ἐκ τότε Χριστὸν αὐτὸν γεγονεναι καὶ Υῖὸν τοῦ Θεοῦ, ἐξ οὗ τὴν ἡμετέραν lx τῆς Ηαρθὲνου σάρκα ἀνείληφε, πρὸ τετρακοσίων οὐχ ὅλων ἐτῶν. Ἐκ τότε γὰρ τὸν Χριστὸν ἀρχὴν βασιλείας ἰσχηκὲναι ἐθέλουσι ’ καὶ τέλος ἕξειν αὐτὴν μετὰ τὴν συντέλειαν καὶ τὴν κρίσιν. VI. « Τοιοῦτοι δὲ εἰσιν οἱ ἀπὸ Μαρκέλλου καὶ Σκοτεινοῦ τῶν Ἀγκυρογαλατῶν, οἳ τήν προαιώνιον ὕπαρξιν τοῦ Χριστοῦ, καὶ τὴν θεότητα, καὶ τὴν ἀτελεύτητον αὐτοῦ βασιλείαν ἠμοίως Ἰουδαίοις ἀθετοῦσιν, ἐπὶ προφάσει τοῦ συνίστασθαι δοκεῖν τῇ μοναρχίᾳ Ἴσμεν γὰρ αὐτὸν ἡμεῖς, οὐχ ἁπλῶςΔόγον προφορικὸν, ἢ ἐνδιάθετον τοῦ Θεοῦ, ἀλλὰ ζῶντα Θεὸν θόγον καθ. ἑαυτὸν ὑπάρχοντα, καὶ Υἱὸν Θεοῦ καὶ Χριστὸν, καὶ ού προγνωστικιῖκ συνόντα καὶ συνδιατρίβοντα πρὸ αἰώνων τῷ ἑαυτοῦ Πατρὶ, καὶ πρὸς πᾶσαν διακονησάμενον αύτῷ τήν δημιουργίαν, εἴτε τῶν ὁρατῶν εἷʼτε τῶν ἀοράτων. Οὗτος γάρ ἐστι, πρὸς ’ὸν εἶπεν ὁ Ilaτηρ, ὅτι, ‹‹ Ποιήσωμεν ἄνθρωπον κατʼ εἰκόνα ἡμετὲραν καὶ καθʼ ὁμοίωσιν· ι) ὁ καὶ τοῖς πατριάρχαις αύτοπροσώπως ὀφθεὶς, δεδωκὼς τον νόμον, καὶ λαλήσας διὰ τῶν προφητῶν, καὶ τὰ τελευταῖα ἔνανθρωπήσας, καὶ τὸν ἑαυτοῦ Πατὲρα πᾶσιν ἀνθρώποις φανερώσας, καὶ βασιλεύων εἲς τοὺς ἁτελευτήτους αἰῶνας. Ούὸὶν γὰρ πρόσφατον ὁ Χριστὸς προσείληφεν ἀξίωμα, ἀλλʼ ἄνωθεν τέλειον αὐτὸν, καὶ τῷ Πατρὶ κατὰ πάντα ὅμοιον εἶναι πεπιστεύκαμεν. VII. α Καὶ τοὺς λέγοντας δὲ τὸν αὐτὸν εἶναι Πατέρα καὶ Υἱὸν καὶ ἅγίον Πνεῦμα, καθʼ ἑνὸς καὶ τοῦ αὐτοῦ πράγματός τε καὶ προσώπου τὰ τρία ὀνόματα ἀσεβῶς ἐκλαμβάνοντας, εἰκότως ἀποκηρύσσομεν τῆς Ἐκκλησίαςο ὅτι τὸν ἀχώρητον καὶ ἅπαθῆ Πατέρα χωρητὸν ἅμα καὶ παθητὸν διὰ τῆς ἐνανθρωπήσεως ὑποτίθενται· τοιοῦτοι γὸρ εἰσιν οἱ Πατροπασσιανοὶ μὲν παρᾶ Ῥωμαίοις, Σαβελλιανοὶ δὲ καλούμενοι παρʼ ἡμῖν. Οἴδαμεν γὰρ ἡμεῖς τὸν μὶν ἀποστείλαντα Πατέρα ἐν τῷ οἰκείῳ τῆς ἀναλλοιώτου θεότητος ἤθει μεμενηκέναι, τὸν δὲ ἀποσταλέντα Χριστὸν τὴν τῆς ἐνανθρωπήσεως οἰκονομίαν πεπληρωκέναι. VIII. « ’Ὁμως δὶ καὶ τοὺς οὐ βουλήσει ούδέ θελήσει γεγεννῆσθαι τὸν Υἳὸν εἰρηκότας ἀνευλαόὦς, ἀνάγκην δὲ δηλονότι ἀβούλητον καὶ ἀπροαίρετον περιτεθεικότας τῷ Θεῷ,ίνα ἂὶκων γεννήσῃ τὸν Υἱὸν, Βυσσεβεστάτους καὶ τῆς Ἐκκλησίας ξένους ἐπιγινώσκομεν ὅτι τε παρᾶ τὰς κοινὰς περὶ Θεοῦ ἕνα νοίας, καὶ δὴ καί παρὰ τὸ βούλημα τῆς θεοπνεύστου Γραφῆς, τοιαῦτα τετολμήκασι περὶ αὐτοῦ διορίσασθαι. Αύτοκράτορα γὰρ ἡμεῖς τὸν Θεὸν καὶ Κύριον αὐτὸν ἑαυτοῦ εἰδότες, ἑκουσίως αὐτὸν καὶ ἐθελοντὴν τὸν Υίὸν γεγεννηκέναι εὐσεβῶς ὑπειλήφαμεν. Πιστεύοντες δὲ ἐμφόβως xui τῷ περὶ ἑαυτοῦ λέγοντι· α Κύριος ἔκτισέ με ἀρχὴν ὁδῶν αὑτοῦ εἰς ἔργα αὐτοῦ, ›› ούχ ὁμοίως αὑτὸν τοῖς διʼ αὑτοῦ γενομένοις κτίσμασιν ἢ ποιήμασι γεγενῆσθαι νοοῦμεν. Ἀσεβὲς γὰρ καὶ τῆς έκκλησιαστικῆς πίστεως ἀλλότριον τὸ τὸν κτίστην τοῖς διʼ αὑτοῦ κεκτισμένοις δημιουργήμασι παραβάλλειν, καὶ τὸν αὑτὸν τῆς γε· νέσεως τοῖς ἄλλοις τρόπον ἔχειν καὶ αὑτὸν νομίζειν. Μόνον γὰρ καὶ μόνως τὸν μονογενῆ Υίὸν γεγεννῆσθαι γνησίως τε καὶ ἀληθῶς διδάσκουσιν ἡμᾶς u't θεῖαι Γραφαί. IX. ιι Ἀλλʼ οὐδὲ τὸν Υίὸν καθʼ ἑαυτὸν εἶναι, ζῇν τε καὶ ὑπάρχειν ὁμοίως τῷ ΙΙατρὶ λέγοντες, διὰ τοῦτο χωρίζομεν αὐτὸν τοῦ Πατρὸς, τόπους καὶ διαστήματα τινα μεταξὺ τῆς συναφείας αὐτῶν σωματικῶς ἐπινοοῦντες. Πεπιστεύκαμεν γὰρ ἀμεσιτεύτως αὑτοὺς καὶ ἇδιαστάτως ἀλλήλοις ἐπισυνῆφθαι, καὶ ἀχωρίστου ὑπάρχειν ἑαυτῶν· ὅλου μὲν τοὺ Πατρὸς ἐνστερνισμένου τὸν Υἱὸν, ὅλου δὲ τοῦ Υἷοῢ ἐξηρτημένου καὶ προσπεφυκότος τῷ Πατρὶ, καὶ μόνου τοῖς πατρῴοις κόΑποις ἀναπαυομένου διηνεκῶς Πιστεύοντες οὖν εἰς τήν παντέλειον Τριάδα τήν ἁγιωτάτην, τουτέστιν είς τὸν Πατέρα, καὶ είς τὸν Υἱόν, καὶ εἷς τὸ Πνεῦμα τὸ ἅγιον, καὶ Θεὸν μὶν τὸν Πατέρα λέγοντας, Θεὸν δὲ καὶ τὰν Υἱὸν, οὑ δύο τούτους Θεοὺς, ἀλλʼ ’ἐν ὁμολογοῦμεν τῆς Θεότητος ἀξίωμα, καὶ μίαν ἀκριβῆ τῆς βασιλείας τὴν συμφωνίαν πανταρχοῦντος μὲν καθόλου πάντων, καὶ αὐτοῦ τοῦ Υἱοῦ, μόνου τοῦ Πατρός· τοῦ δὶ Υἱοῧ ὑποτεταγμένου τῷ Ιιατρί· ἐκτὸς δὲ αὑτοῦ πάντων μετʼ αὑτὸν βασιλεύοντος τῶν διʼ αὑτοῦ γενομένων, καὶ τήν τοῦ ἁγίου ῙῙνεύματος χάριν ἀφθόνως τοῖς ἁγίοις δωρουμένου πατρικῷ βουλήματι. Οὕτω γὰρ τὸν περί τῆς είς Χριστὸν μοναρχίας συνίστασθαι λόγον παρέδοσαν ἡμῖν οἱ ἱεροὶ λόγοι. Χ. α Ταῦτα ἠναγκάσθημεν μετὰ τὴν ἐν ἐπιτομῇ προεκτςθεῖσαν πίστιν πλατύτερον έπεξεργάσασθαι οὐ κατὰ περιττὴν φιλοτιμίαν, ἀλλʼ ’ίνα πᾶσαν τήν τῆς ἡμετέρας ὑπολήψεως ἀλλοτρίαν ἀνακαθάρὶυμεν ὑποψίαν παρὰ τοῖς τὰ καθʼ ἡμᾶς ἀγνοοῦσι, καὶ γνῶ. σιν οἱ κατᾶ τήν δύσιν πάντες, ὁμοῦ μὶν τῆς συκοφαντίας τῶν ἑτεροδόξων τὴν ἀναίδειαν, ὁμοῦ δὲ τῶν ἀνατολικῶν τθ ἐκκλησιαστικὸν ἐν Κυριῳ φρόνημαι, μαρτυρούμενον ἀβιάστως ὑπὸ τῶν θεοπνεύο στων Γραφῶν, παρὰ τοῖς ἀδιαστρόφοις. ›› ### English translation (Claude) After this, as though they had changed their minds, they gather their assembly again three years later, and send Eudoxius, Martyrius, and Macedonius of Cilicia, and some others with them, to the parts of Italy, carrying a faith written at length and having very many additions beyond the former ones; for they set off carrying these things as though they had devised something newer. I. “We believe in one God, the Father Almighty, creator and maker of all things, from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named; and in his only-begotten Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, who was begotten from the Father before all the ages, God from God, Light from Light, through whom all things came to be in the heavens and on the earth, visible and invisible; who is Word and Wisdom and Power and Life and true Light; who in the last days became man for us and was born of the holy Virgin, was crucified and died and was buried, and rose from the dead on the third day, and was taken up into heaven, and sat down at the right hand of the Father, and is coming at the consummation of the age to judge living and dead and to render to each according to his works; whose kingdom, being unceasing, remains to the infinite ages; for he sits at the right hand of the Father not only in this age but also in the one to come. We believe also in the Holy Spirit, that is, the Paraclete, whom, having promised him to the apostles, he sent after his ascent into heaven to teach them and to remind them of all things, through whom also the souls of those who have sincerely believed in him will be sanctified. II. But those who say that the Son is from nothing, or from another hypostasis and not from God, and that there was ever a time or an age when he was not, the catholic and holy church knows as aliens. Likewise those who say that there are three Gods, or that Christ is not God, or that before the ages he was neither Christ nor Son of God, or that the same is Father and Son and Holy Spirit, or that the Son is unbegotten, or that the Father begot the Son not by choice nor by will, the holy and catholic church anathematizes. III. For neither is it safe to say that the Son is from nothing, since this is nowhere said of him in the divinely inspired Scriptures; nor from some other hypostasis existing beforehand besides the Father; but we define that he was genuinely begotten from God alone; for the divine word teaches that the Father of Christ is one, unbegotten and without beginning. Nor, saying ‘there was once when he was not’ on unscriptural grounds, which is unsafe, must one conceive of any interval of time before him, but only God, who begot him timelessly; for times and ages came to be through him. Nor must the Son be thought to be co-unoriginate and co-unbegotten with the Father; for no one would properly be called father or son of one who is co-unoriginate and co-unbegotten. But we know that the Father alone, being without beginning and unbegotten, begot in a way unattainable and incomprehensible to all; and that the Son was begotten before the ages, and is not, like the Father, himself unbegotten too, but has as his beginning the Father who begot him; for ‘the head of Christ is God.’ IV. Nor, though we confess three realities and three persons, of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, according to the Scriptures, do we therefore make the Gods three; since we know the self-complete and unbegotten, without beginning and invisible God to be one only, the God and Father of the Only-begotten, who alone has being from himself and alone grants it ungrudgingly to all others. Nor, though we say that the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ is the only God, the only unbegotten, do we therefore deny that Christ too is God before the ages, as do the followers of Paul of Samosata, who say that he was later, after the incarnation, made God by advancement, having by nature become a mere man. For we know that he, though he is subject to the Father and God, yet, begotten from God before the ages, is by nature perfect and true God, and did not afterwards become God from being a man, but from being God became man for us, and never lost his being. V. Besides these we abhor and anathematize also those who falsely call him only a mere word of God, without real existence, having its being in another—now as what some call the uttered word, now as the inward word—and who will not have him be Christ and Son of God and mediator and image of God before the ages, but say that he became Christ and Son of God from the time he took our flesh from the Virgin, not quite four hundred years ago. For they will have it that Christ had a beginning of his reign from that time, and that it will have an end after the consummation and the judgment. VI. Such are the followers of Marcellus and of Scotinus, the Ancyro-Galatians, who, like the Jews, set aside the pre-eternal existence of Christ and his divinity and his endless reign, on the pretext of appearing to uphold the monarchy. For we know him not simply as God’s uttered or inward word, but as living God, the Word subsisting by himself, and Son of God and Christ; not as being with his Father before the ages and abiding with him by foreknowledge only, but as having ministered to him for the whole creation, of things visible and invisible. For he it is to whom the Father said, ‘Let us make man in our image and likeness’; who also appeared in his own person to the patriarchs, gave the law, spoke through the prophets, and at last became man, and manifested his own Father to all men, and reigns to the endless ages. For Christ has taken on no new dignity; but we have believed him to be perfect from the beginning and like the Father in all things. VII. And those who say that Father and Son and Holy Spirit are the same, impiously taking the three names of one and the same reality and person, we rightly expel from the church, because they suppose that the uncontainable and impassible Father becomes contained and at the same time passible through the incarnation; for such are those called Patripassians among the Romans and Sabellians among us. For we know that the Father who sent remained in the proper state of his unchangeable divinity, while Christ who was sent fulfilled the dispensation of the incarnation. VIII. Likewise those who have irreverently said that the Son was begotten not by choice nor by will—thus plainly encompassing God with a necessity he did not will or choose, so that he begot the Son unwillingly—we recognize as most impious and strangers to the church, because they have dared to define such things about him contrary to the common notions about God, and indeed contrary to the intention of the divinely inspired Scripture. For knowing God to be absolute and Lord of himself, we have piously held that he begot the Son voluntarily and willingly. And believing with reverence him who says of himself, ‘The Lord created me as the beginning of his ways for his works,’ we do not understand that he came to be in the same way as the creatures or works made through him. For it is impious and alien to the church’s faith to compare the Creator with the works created through him, and to think that he has the same manner of generation as the others. For the divine Scriptures teach us that the only-begotten Son alone, and alone in this manner, was genuinely and truly begotten. IX. But neither, though we say that the Son exists and lives and subsists by himself like the Father, do we therefore separate him from the Father, conceiving places and intervals between their union in a bodily way. For we have believed that they are joined to one another without mediation or interval and exist inseparable from each other—the whole Father embracing the Son, and the whole Son hanging upon and adhering to the Father, and alone resting continually in the Father’s bosom. Believing, then, in the all-perfect and most holy Triad, that is, in the Father and in the Son and in the Holy Spirit, and calling the Father God and the Son God, we confess not these two Gods, but one dignity of the Godhead and one exact concord of the kingdom—the Father alone ruling over all things universally, including the Son himself, while the Son is subject to the Father, but, apart from him, reigns after him over all things that came to be through him, and bestows the grace of the Holy Spirit ungrudgingly on the saints by the Father’s will. For so the sacred words have handed down to us the account of the monarchy with respect to Christ. X. We have been compelled, after the faith set forth above in summary, to work out these things more fully, not from excessive ambition, but to clear away every suspicion foreign to our view among those who do not know our affairs, and so that all in the West may know both the shamelessness of the slander of the heterodox and the ecclesiastical mind in the Lord of the Easterners, borne witness to without constraint by the divinely inspired Scriptures among those who are not perverse.” ### Scripture references - Eph 3:15: quotation, high confidence - Matt 16:27: allusion, high confidence - Luke 1:33: allusion, medium confidence - John 14:26: allusion, high confidence - 1 Cor 11:3: quotation, high confidence - Gen 1:26: quotation, high confidence - Prov 8:22: quotation, high confidence - John 1:18: allusion, high confidence - 1 Tim 2:5: allusion, medium confidence ### Translation notes - The Ekthesis Makrostichos (“Long-Lined Creed”) of Antioch (344), quoted in full, with its section numbers I–X as printed. - “Scotinus” (Σκοτεινός, “dark one”) is a pun on Photinus (“enlightened”), Marcellus’s disciple, bishop of Sirmium. - Eph 3:15; Matt 16:27; Luke 1:33; John 14:26; 1 Cor 11:3; Gen 1:26; Prov 8:22; John 1:18 (in the Father’s bosom). ### Citation (SBL) Athanasius, Syn. 26 (PG 26:728a–736a; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/athanasius-synodis/26/#p-26). ## On the Councils of Ariminum and Seleucia 27 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/athanasius-synodis/26/#p-27 - Source: PG 26:736a–740b - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-10-09 Summary: The First Creed of Sirmium (351), drawn up against Photinus, repeats the Antiochene creed and adds twenty-seven anathemas. ### Greek text Ἀλλʼ οὐδὲ τούτοις ἐνέμειναν πάλιν γὰρ ἐν Σιρμίῳ συνελθόντες κατᾶ Φωτεινοῦ, τότε συνέθηκαν αὖθις πίστιν, οὐκέτι μὲν οὕτω σχοινοτενῆξούδὲ τοσαύτην τοῖς ῥήμασιν ο ἀφελόντες δὲ τὰ πλεῖστα καὶ προσθέντες ἄλλα, ὥσπερ ἐξ ὑποβολῆς παρά τινων ἀκούσαντες, ἔγραψαν ταῦτα. ‹‹ Πιστεύομεν είς ἕνα Θεὸν, Πατέρα παντοκράτορα, τὸν κτίστην καὶ ποιητὴν τῶν πάντων, έξ οὗ πᾶσα πατριὰ ἐν οὐρανῷ καὶ ἐπὶ γῆς ὀνομάζεται· καὶ εἰς τὸν μονογενῆ αὑτοῦ Υἶὸν τὸν Κύριον ἡμῶν Ἰησοῦν τὸν Χριστὸν, τὸν πρὸ πάντων τῶν αἶʼώνων έκ τοῦ Πατρὸς γεννηθένταʼ Θεὸν έκ Θεοῦ, ρῶς ἐκ φωτὸς, διʼ οὗ ἐγένετο τὰ πάντα, τά γε ἰν τοῖς οὐρανοῖς καὶ τὰ ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς, τὰ ὁρατὰ καὶ τὰ ἀόραταʼ Λόγον ὄντα καὶ σοφίαν, καὶ φῶς ἀληθινὸν, καὶ ζωήν · τὸν ἔπʼ έσχατων τῶν ἡμερῶν διʼ ἡμᾶς ἐνανθρωπήσανταε καὶ γεννηθέντα έκ τῆς ἁγίας Παρθένου, καὶ οταυρωθέντα, καὶ ἀποθανόντα, καὶ ταφένταο καὶ ἀναστάντα έκ νεκρῶν τῇ τρίτῃ ἡμέρᾳ, καὶ ἀναληφθέντα είς οὐρανὸν, καὶ καθεσθέντα έν δεξιᾷ τοῦ Πατρός· καὶ ἐρχόμενον ἐπὶ συντελείᾳ τοῦ αίῶνος κρῖναι ζῶντας καὶ νεκροὺς, καὶ ἀποδοῦναι ἑκάστῳ κατα τὰ ἔργα αὐτοῦ ο οὗ ἡ βασιλεία, ἀκατάπαυστος οὖσα, διαμένει εἷς τοὺς ἀπείρους αἶʼὧνας· ἔσται γὰρ καθεζόμενος ἐν δεξιᾷ τοῦ Πατρὸς, οὑ μόνον έν τῷ αἰῶνι τούτῳ, ἀλλᾶ καὶ έν τῷ μέλλοντι· καὶ εἴς τὸ Πνεῦμα τὸ ἅγιον, τουτέστι τὸν Παράκλητον, ὅπερ ἐπαγγει- Αάμενος τοῖς ἀποστόλοις, μετὰ τήν είς οὐρανοὺς I. « Τοὺς δὲ λέγοντας ἐξ οὑκ ὄντων τὸν Υἱὸν, ἢ ἐξ ἑτέρας ὑποστάσεως, καὶ μὴ lx τοῦ Θεοῦ, καὶ ὅτι ἦν χρόνος ἢ αίὼν, ὅτε οὐκ ἦν, ἀλλοτρίους οἶδεν ἡ ἁγία καὶ καθολικὴ Ἐκκλησία. ll. ιι Πάλιν οὖν ἐροῦμεν Ei' τις τὸν Πατέρα καὶ τὸν Γίὸν δύο λέγει Θεοὺς, ἀνάθεμα ἔστω. ΙΙΙ. ‹‹ Καὶ εἷʼ τις, λέγων Θεὸν τὸν Χριστὸν πρὸ αἰώνων Υἱὸν τοῦ Θεοῦ, ὑπουργηκότα τῷ Πατρὶ εἷς τὴν τῶν ὅλων δημιουργίαν μὴ ὁμολογοίη, ἀνάθεμα ἔστω. IV. α Εἴ τις τὸν ἀγέννητον. ἢ μέρος αὐτοῦ ἐκ Μαρίας λέγειν γεγενῆσθαι τολμᾷ, ἀνάθεμα ἔστω. ν. ‹‹ E’L‘ τις κατὰ πρόγνωσιν πρὸ Μαρίας λέγει τὸν Υἱὸν εἶναι, καὶ μὴ πρὸ αῗώνων lx τοῦ Πατρὸς γεγεν νημένον πρὸς τὸν Θεὸν εἶναι, καὶ διʼ αὑτοῦ γεγενῆσθσ τά πάντα, ἀνάθεμα ἔστω. VI. ‹‹ Ei' τις τὴν οὐσίαν τοῦ Θεοῦ πλατύνεσθαι. ἢ συστέλλεσθαι φάσκοι, ἀνάθεμα ἔστω. VIII. ε Ei‘ τις πλατυνομένην τὴν οὐσίαν τοῦ Θεοῦ τὸν Υἱὸν λέγοι ποιεῖν, ἢ τὸν πλατυσμὸν τῆς οὐσία αύτοῦ Υἱὸν ὀνομάζοι, ἀνάθεμα ἔστω. VIII. ‹‹ Εἷʼτις ἐνδιάθετον ἢ προφορικὸν λόγον λέγει τὸν me» τοῦ Θεοῦ ἀνάθεμα ἔστω. IX. « Ei’ τις ἄνθρωπον μόνον λέγει τὸν ἐκ Μαρίας Υἱὸν, ἀνάθεμα ἔστω. τ Χ. ‹‹ Ei' τις Θεὸν καὶ ἄνθρωπον τὸν ἐκ Μαρίας λέγων, Θεὸν τὸν ἀγέννητον οὕτω νοεῖ, ἀνάθεμ ἔστω. XI. « Ei’ τις τὸ, ‹‹ Ἐγὼ Θεὸς πρῶτος, καὶ ἐγὼ] μετά ταῦτα, καὶ πλὴν ἐμοῦ οὐκ ἔστι Θεὸς, ιι ἐπʼ ἀναι ρέσει εἰδώλων καὶ τῶν μὴ ὅντων θεῶν εἰρημένον, έτ ἀναιρέσει τοῦ Μονογενοῦς πρὸ αἰώνων Θεοῦ Ἰουδαϊκῶ ἒκλαμβάνοι, ἀνάθεμα ἔστω. XII. ‹‹ Ei’ τις τὸ, α Ὁ Λόγος σὰρξ ἐγένετο, » ἀκούων, τὸν Λόγον εἷς σάρκα μεταβεβλῆσθαι νομίζοι, ι τροπὴν ὑπομεμενηκότα ἀνειΛηφέναι τὴν σάρκα λέγε I ), ἀνάθεμα ἔστω. ΧΠΙ. ‹‹ Εἷίτις, τὸν μονογενῆ Υἱὸν τοῦ Θεοῦ ἐσταυρωμένων ἀκούων, τὴν θεότητα αὐτοῦ φθορὰν, · πάθος, ἢ τροπὴν, ἢ μείωσιν, ἢ ἀναίρεσιν ὑπομεμεντ κέναι λέγοι, ἀνάθεμα ἔστω. XIV. « Εἱʼτις τὸ, ‹‹ Ποιήσωμεν ἄνθρωπον, ›› μὴ τὸν Πατέρα πρὸς τὸν Υἱὸν λέγειν, ἀλλʼ αὐτὸν πρε ὶαυτὸν λέγοι τὸν Θεὸν εἰρηκέναι, ἀνάθεμα ἔστω. XV. ‹‹ Εἴ τις μὴ τὸν Υἳὸν λέγοι τὸν ’Δῦραάμ έωρᾶσθαι, ἀλλὰ τὸν ἀγέννητον Θεὸν, ἢ μέρος αῦτοί ἀνάθεμα ἔστω. XVI. « Δῖ τις τῷ Ἰακὼβ μὴ τὸν ιʼῖὸν ὡς ἄνθρωπον πεπαλαικένα, ἀλλά τὸν ἀγέννητον Θεὸν, ἢ μέρος αὖ τοῦ λέγοι, ἀνάθεμα ἔστω. XVII. « Ei’ τις τὸ, ‹‹ Ἐβρεξε Κύριος πῦρ παρά Κυ- « ρίου, » μὴ ἐπὶ τοῦ ΙΙατρὸς καὶ τοῦ Υὶοῦ ἐκλαμβά νοι, ἀλλʼ αὐτὸν παρʼ ἑαυτοῦ λέγει Βεβρεχέναι, ἀνά θεμα ἔστωο ἔβρεξε γὰρ Κύριος ὁ Υἱὸς παρά Κυρίο τοῦ Πατρός. XVIII. « Ei’ τις, ἀκοόων Κύριον τὸν Πατέρα, καὶ τὸν Υἱὸν Κύριον, καὶ Κύριον τὸν Πατέρα καὶ τε Υἱὸν, ἐπεὶ Κύριος ἐκ Κυρίου, δύο λέγει Θεοῦ‹ ἀνάθεμα ἔστω. Οὐ γὰρ συντάσσομεν Υἱὸν τῷ ΙΙατρ ἀλλʼ ὑποτεταγμένον-τῷ Πατρί. Oli-cs γὰρ κατῆλθε ἐπὶ Σόδομα ἄνευ βουλῆς τοῦ ΙΙατρὸς, οὕτε ἔβρεξε ἀφʼ ἑαυτοῦ, ἀλλά παρά Κυρίου, αύθεντοῦντος δηλαδ τοῦ Πατρός· οὔτε κάθηται έκ δεξιῶν ἀφʼ ἑαυτοῦ, ἀλλʼ ἀκούει λέγοντος τοῦ Πατρός ‹‹ Κάθου ἑκ ‹‹ δεξιῶν μου. ›› XIX. σι Εἴ τις τὸν Πατέρα, καὶ τὸν Υἱὸν, καὶ τὸ ἅγιον Πνεῦμα ἓν πρόσωπον λέγει, άνάθεμα ἔστω. XX. ι Ei’ τις, τὸ Πνεῦμα τὸ ἇίγιον Παράκλητον λέγων, τὸν ἀγέννητον λέγοι Θεὸν ἀνάθεμα ἔστω. XXI. « Εἴ τις, ὡς ἐδίδαξεν ἡμᾶς ὁ Κύριος, μὴ ἄλο λον λέγοι τὸν Παράκλητον παρὰ τὸν Υἱόν· εἴρηκε γάρ· « Καὶ ἄλλον Παράκλητον πέμψει ὑμῖν ὁ Πατὴρ, ὃν ‹‹ ἐρωτήσω ἐγὼ, ›› ἀνάθεμα ἔστω. ’ΧΧΙΙ. η Εἴ τις τὸ Πνεῦμα τὸ ἅγιον μέρος λέγοι τοῦ Πατρὸς, ἢ τοῦ Υἱοῦ, ἀνάθεμα ἔστω. XXIII. « Ei’ τις τὸν Πατέρα, καὶ τὸν Υἱὸν, καὶ τὸ Ξίγιον Πνεῦμα τρεῖς λέγοι Θεοὺς, ἀνάθεμα εστω. XXIV. ‹‹ Εἴ τις βυυλήσει τοῦ Θεοῦ ὡς ὃ τῶν ποιηο μάτων γεγονέναι λέγοι τὸν Υἱὸν τοῦ Θεοῦ, ἀνάθεμα εστω. XXV. ‹‹ Εἷ τις μή θελήσαντος τοῦ Πατρὸς γεγεννῆσθαι λέγοι τὸν Υἳὸν, ἀνάθεμα ἔστω. Οὔ γὰρ βιασθεὶς ὁ Πατὴρ ὑπὸ ἀνάγκης φυσικῆς ἀχθεὶς, ὡς οὐκ ἤθελεν, ἐγέννησε τὸν Υἱὸν, ἀλλʼ ἅμα τε ἠβουλήθη, καὶ ἀχρόνως καὶ ἀπαθῶς ἐξ ἑαυτοῦ αὐτὸν γεννήσας ἐπέδειξεν. XXVI. ε E’c' τις ἀγέννητον καὶ ἄναρχον λέγοι τὸν Υἲὸν, ὡς δύο ἅναρχα καὶ δύο ἀγέννητα λέγων, καὶ δύο ποιῶν Θεοὺς, ἀνάθεμα ἔστω. Κεφαλή γὰρ, ὅ ἆστιν άρχή πάντων, ὁ Υἱόςοκεφαλὴ δὲ, ὃ ἔστιν ἀρχὴ οῦ Χριστοῦὸ Θεός· οὕτω γὰρ εἷς μίαν ἄναρ- [ον των ὅλων ἀρχὴν διʼ Ῠὶοῦ εὖσεθιῖίς τὰ ’πάντα ἂν· άγο μεν. XXVII. ιι Καὶ πάλιν συνδιακριβοῦντες τοῦ Χριστιανισμοῦ τήν ἔννοιαν λέγομεν, ὅτι, Εἴ τις Χριο τὸν Θεὸν Ϊὶὸν τοῦ Θεοῦ προαιώνιον ὄντα, καὶ ὑπουργηκότα τῷ Πατρί εἵς τήν τῶν ὅλων δημιουργίαν μὴ λέγοι· ἀλλʼ ἐξ οὗ ἐκ Μαρίας ἐγεννήθη, έκ τότε καὶ Χριστὸν καὶ Υἱον κεκλῆσθαι, καὶ ἀρχὴν εἰληφέναι τοῦ Θεὸν εἴιαι, ἀνάθεμα ἔστω. ›› ### English translation (Claude) But they did not abide by these either; for, meeting again at Sirmium against Photinus, they then composed a faith once more, no longer so long-drawn-out nor so wordy, but, taking away most things and adding others, as though they had heard them at someone’s prompting, they wrote this: “We believe in one God, the Father Almighty, the creator and maker of all things, from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named; and in his only-begotten Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, who was begotten from the Father before all the ages, God from God, Light from Light, through whom all things came to be, those in the heavens and those on the earth, visible and invisible; who is Word and Wisdom and true Light and Life; who in the last days became man for us and was born of the holy Virgin, and was crucified and died and was buried, and rose from the dead on the third day, and was taken up into heaven, and sat down at the right hand of the Father, and is coming at the consummation of the age to judge living and dead and to render to each according to his works; whose kingdom, being unceasing, remains to the infinite ages; for he will be sitting at the right hand of the Father not only in this age but also in the one to come; and in the Holy Spirit, that is, the Paraclete, whom, having promised him to the apostles, after his … into heaven … I. But those who say that the Son is from nothing, or from another hypostasis and not from God, and that there was a time or an age when he was not, the holy and catholic church knows as aliens. II. Again, then, we will say: If anyone says that the Father and the Son are two Gods, let him be anathema. III. And if anyone, while saying that Christ is God, Son of God before the ages, does not confess that he ministered to the Father in the creation of all things, let him be anathema. IV. If anyone dares to say that the Unbegotten, or a part of him, was born of Mary, let him be anathema. V. If anyone says that the Son existed before Mary only by foreknowledge, and not that he was begotten from the Father before the ages and was with God, and that all things came to be through him, let him be anathema. VI. If anyone asserts that the essence of God is expanded or contracted, let him be anathema. VII. If anyone says that the essence of God, being expanded, makes the Son, or calls the expansion of his essence the Son, let him be anathema. VIII. If anyone says that the Son of God is the inward or the uttered word, let him be anathema. IX. If anyone says that the Son who is from Mary is man only, let him be anathema. X. If anyone, while saying that he who is from Mary is God and man, means by this the unbegotten God, let him be anathema. XI. If anyone takes ‘I am God, the first, and I am after these things, and besides me there is no God,’ which was said for the overthrow of idols and of gods that are not, in the Jewish manner, for the overthrow of the only-begotten God before the ages, let him be anathema. XII. If anyone, hearing ‘The Word became flesh,’ thinks that the Word was changed into flesh, or says that he took flesh by undergoing a change, let him be anathema. XIII. If anyone, hearing that the only-begotten Son of God was crucified, says that his divinity underwent corruption, or suffering, or change, or diminution, or destruction, let him be anathema. XIV. If anyone says that ‘Let us make man’ was said not by the Father to the Son, but that God said it to himself, let him be anathema. XV. If anyone says that it was not the Son who was seen by Abraham, but the unbegotten God or a part of him, let him be anathema. XVI. If anyone says that it was not the Son who wrestled with Jacob as a man, but the unbegotten God or a part of him, let him be anathema. XVII. If anyone does not take ‘The Lord rained fire from the Lord’ of the Father and the Son, but says that he rained from himself, let him be anathema; for the Lord, the Son, rained from the Lord, the Father. XVIII. If anyone, hearing that the Father is Lord and the Son is Lord, and the Father and the Son are Lord, since he is Lord from Lord, says that there are two Gods, let him be anathema. For we do not rank the Son with the Father, but as subject to the Father. For he did not come down upon Sodom without the counsel of the Father, nor did he rain from himself, but from the Lord, the Father evidently having the authority; nor does he sit at the right hand of himself, but he hears the Father saying, ‘Sit at my right hand.’ XIX. If anyone says that the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit are one person, let him be anathema. XX. If anyone, while saying that the Holy Spirit is the Paraclete, means the unbegotten God, let him be anathema. XXI. If anyone does not say, as the Lord taught us, that the Paraclete is other than the Son—for he said, ‘And the Father will send you another Paraclete, whom I will ask’—let him be anathema. XXII. If anyone says that the Holy Spirit is a part of the Father or of the Son, let him be anathema. XXIII. If anyone says that the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit are three Gods, let him be anathema. XXIV. If anyone says that the Son of God came to be by the will of God as one of the works, let him be anathema. XXV. If anyone says that the Son was begotten without the Father’s willing it, let him be anathema. For the Father did not beget the Son under compulsion, led by natural necessity, as though he did not will it; but as soon as he willed, he begot him from himself timelessly and impassibly and displayed him. XXVI. If anyone says that the Son is unbegotten and without beginning, as though speaking of two without beginning and two unbegotten, and making two Gods, let him be anathema. For the head, which is the beginning of all things, is the Son; and the head, which is the beginning of Christ, is God; for so we piously refer all things through the Son to the one beginning of all things, which is without beginning. XXVII. And again, defining exactly the idea of Christianity, we say: If anyone does not say that Christ is God, the Son of God, existing before the ages and having ministered to the Father in the creation of all things, but says that only from the time he was born of Mary was he called Christ and Son, and received the beginning of being God, let him be anathema.” ### Scripture references - Eph 3:15: quotation, high confidence - Isa 44:6: quotation, high confidence - John 1:14: quotation, high confidence - Gen 1:26: quotation, high confidence - Gen 18:1: allusion, high confidence - Gen 32:24: allusion, high confidence - Gen 19:24: quotation, high confidence - Ps 110:1 (109:1 LXX): quotation, high confidence - John 14:16: quotation, high confidence - 1 Cor 11:3: allusion, high confidence ### Translation notes - First Creed of Sirmium (351), quoted. The end of the creed’s article on the Spirit is lost in the scan (“…”) before the anathemas begin. The scan numbers the seventh anathema “VIII” twice; the correct sequence is given. Several anathema numerals are garbled in the scan and restored by logged corrections. - Eph 3:15; Isa 44:6; John 1:14; Gen 1:26; Gen 18:1 (Abraham); Gen 32:24 (Jacob); Gen 19:24; Ps 110:1 (109:1 LXX); John 14:16; 1 Cor 11:3. ### Citation (SBL) Athanasius, Syn. 27 (PG 26:736a–740b; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/athanasius-synodis/26/#p-27). ## On the Councils of Ariminum and Seleucia 28 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/athanasius-synodis/26/#p-28 - Source: PG 26:740b–744a - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-10-09 Summary: The Second Creed of Sirmium (357), written in Latin, bans “essence,” “of the same essence,” and “of like essence,” and declares the Father greater than the Son. ### Greek text Ταῦτα πάντα παρωσάμενοι· καὶ ὥσπερ βελο τίονα ἐπινοήσαντες, δογματίζουσιν ἄλλην πίστιν, καὶ γράφουσι ταῦτα ἓν Σιρμίῳ Ῥωμαῖστὶ μὶν, έρμηνευ-, θέντα δὲ Ἑλληνιστί. ‹‹ Ἐπειδὴ περὶ πίστεως ἓδοξέ τινα διάσκεψιν γενέσθαι, πάντα ἆσφαλῶς ἐζητήθῃ καὶ διηρευνήθη ὲν τῷ Σιρμίῳ ἐπὶ παρουσίᾳ Ούάλεντος, καὶ Οὐρσακίου, καὶ Γερμινίου, καὶ τῶν λοιπῶν. Συνέστηκεν ἕνα Θεὸν εἶναι Πατέρα παντοκράτορα, καθὼς καὶ έν πάσῃ τῇ οἰκουμένῃ καταγγέλλεται* καὶ ἕνα μονογενῆ Υἱὸν αὐτοῦ, τὸν Κύριον ἠ μῶν Ἰησοῦν Χριστὸν, ἐξ αὐτοῦ πρὸ τῶν αἰώνων γε ινηθέντα. Δύο Θεοὺς μὴ χρῆναι λέγεινʼ ἐπειδὴ αὐτὸς ὁ Κύριος εἴρηκε· ‹‹ Πορεύομαι πρὸς τὸν Πατέρα μου καὶ Πατέρα ὑμῶν, ‹‹ καὶ Θεόν μου καὶ Θεὸν ὓμῶν. ›› Διὰ τοῦτο καὶ πάντων Θεός ἐστι, καθὼς καὶ ὁ Ἀπόστολος ἐδίδαξεν· ‹‹ Ἦ ‹‹ Ἰουδαίων μὸνων ὁ Θεὸς, οὐχὶ καὶ έθνῶν ; Ναὶ καὶ ‹‹ ἐθνῶν· ἐπείπερ εἴς ὁ Θεὸς, ’ὸς δικαιώσει περιτομὴν (ιέκ πίστεως, καὶ ἀκροβυστίαν διὸ. πίστεωςʼ ι καὶ τὰ μὲν λοιπᾶ πάντα συμφωνεῖ, καὶ οὐδεμίαν ἔχει ἀμφιβολίαν. Ἐπειδή δὲ πολλούς τινας κινεῖ περῖ τῆς λεγομένης Ῥωμαϊστὶ μὲν σουβσταντίας, Ἑλληνιστὶ δὲ λεγομένης οὐσίας, τουτέστιν, ’ἕνα ἀκριβέσ-τερον γνωσθῇ, τὸ ὁμοούσιον, ἢ τὸ λεγόμενον ὁμοιοούσιον* οὐ χρή τινα τούτων παντελῶς μνήμην γίνεσθαι, οὐδὲ περί τούτων ἐξηγεῖσθαι ἐν τῇ Ἐκκλησίᾳ διὰ ταύτην τήν αἰτίαν, καὶ διὰ τοῦτον τὸν λογισμὸν, ὅτι ἐν ταῖς θείαις Γραφαῖς ού γέγραπται περὶ τούτων · καὶ ὅτι ταῦτα ὑπὲρ τὴν ἀνθρώπων γνῶσιν καὶ τὸν ἀνθρώπων νοῦν ἐστιʼ καὶ ὅτι οὐδεὶς δύναται τήν γενεὰν τοῦ Υἱοῦ διηγήσασθαι, καθὼς γέγραπται· ‹‹ Τὴν γενεὰν αὐτοῦ τίς διηγήσεται ; ›› Μόνον γὰρ εἰδέναι τὸν Πατέρα φανερόν ἐστι, πῶς τὸν Υἱὸν ἐγέννησε, καὶ πάλιν τὸν Υὶὸν, πῶς αὐτὸς γεγέννηται παρὰ τοῦ Πατρός. Ούδενὶ δὲ ἀμφίβολόν ἔστι, μείζονα εἶναι τὸν Πατέρα· οὐδὲ γὰρ διστάσειεν ἅν. τιςτὸν Πατέρα, τιμῇ, καῖʼἆξίᾳ, καὶ θεότητι, καὶ αὐτῷ τῷ ὀνόματι τῷ πατρικῷ μείζονα εἶναι, διαμαρτυρουμένου αὐτοῦ τοῦ Υἱοῦ· ‹‹ Ὁ ἐμὲ (ι πέμψας Ι ιατήρ μείζων μού ἐστι. ›› Καὶ τοῦτο δὲ καθολικὸν εἶναι οὐδεὶς ἀγνοεῖ, δύο πρόσωπα εῖναι llaτρὸς καὶ Υἱοῦ· καὶ τὸν μὲν ΙΙατέρα μείζονα, τὸν δὲ Υἱὸν ὑποτεταγμένον τῷ llatth μετὰ πάντων, ὧν αὐτῷ ὁ Πατὴρ ὑπέταξε. Τὸν δὶ Πατέρα ἀρχὴν μή ’ ἔχειν, καὶ ἀόρατον εἶναι, δῖ ἀθάνατον εἶναι, καί ἀπαθῆ εἶναιʼ τὸν δὲ Υἱὸν γεγεννῆσθαι ἐκ τοῦ [Izτρὸς, Θεὸν ἐκ Θεοῦ, φῶς ἐκ φωτός. Καὶ τούτου τὴν γένεσιν, καθὼς προείρηται, μηδένα γινώσκειν, εὶ μὴ μόνον τὸν Πατέρα. Αὐτὸν δὲ τὸν Υἱὸν καὶ Κύριον καὶ Θεὸν ἡμῶν σάρκα ἤτοι σῶμα, τουτέστιν ἄνθρωπον, εἰληφέναι διπὸ Μαρίας τῆς Παρθένου, καθάπερ καὶ 6 ἄγγελος προευηγγελίσατο· καθὼς δὲ πᾶσαι αἱ Γραφαὶ διδάσκουσι, καὶ μάλιστα αὐτὸς 6 Ἀπόστολος 6 διδάσκαλος τῶν ἐθνῶν, ἄνθρωπον ἀνέλαβεν 6 Χριστὸς ἀπὸ Μαρίας τῆς Παρθένου, διʼ οὗ πέπονθε. Τὸ δὲ κεφάλαιον πάσης τῆς πίστεως, καὶ ή βεβαιότης ἐστὶν, ’ίναᾼΤριᾶς ἀεὶ φυλάττηται, καθὼς ἀνέγνωμεν ἐν τῷ Εὖαγγελίῳ* ‹‹ Πορευθέντες, βαπτί- ### English translation (Claude) Thrusting all this aside, and as though they had devised something better, they decree another faith, and write the following at Sirmium in Latin, translated into Greek: “Since it was decided that there should be some deliberation about the faith, everything was carefully investigated and examined at Sirmium in the presence of Valens and Ursacius and Germinius and the rest. It is established that there is one God, the Father Almighty, as is proclaimed in all the world, and his one only-begotten Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, begotten from him before the ages. That one must not speak of two Gods, since the Lord himself said, ‘I go to my Father and your Father, and my God and your God.’ Therefore he is God of all, as the apostle also taught: ‘Or is he God of the Jews only? Is he not of the Gentiles also? Yes, of the Gentiles also, since God is one, who will justify the circumcision by faith and the uncircumcision through faith.’ And everything else is in agreement and has no ambiguity. But since some, indeed many, are disturbed about what is called in Latin substantia and in Greek ousia—that is, to make it known more exactly, ‘of the same essence’ or what is called ‘of like essence’—there ought to be no mention of any of these at all, nor should they be expounded in the church, for this reason and on this account: that they are not written of in the divine Scriptures, and that these things are beyond human knowledge and human understanding, and that no one can declare the generation of the Son, as it is written, ‘Who shall declare his generation?’ For it is plain that only the Father knows how he begot the Son, and in turn the Son how he was begotten by the Father. And it is doubtful to no one that the Father is greater; for no one could hesitate to say that the Father is greater in honor and dignity and divinity and in the very name of Father, the Son himself bearing witness: ‘The Father who sent me is greater than I.’ And no one is ignorant that this too is catholic: that there are two persons, of Father and Son, and that the Father is greater, while the Son is subject to the Father together with all the things that the Father subjected to him; that the Father has no beginning, and is invisible, and is immortal, and is impassible; but that the Son was begotten from the Father, God from God, Light from Light, and that no one knows his generation, as was said before, except the Father alone. And that the Son himself, our Lord and God, took flesh or a body, that is, a man, from Mary the Virgin, as the angel announced beforehand. And as all the Scriptures teach, and above all the apostle himself, the teacher of the Gentiles, Christ took a man from Mary the Virgin, through whom he suffered. And the sum of the whole faith and its security is that the Triad should always be kept, as we read in the Gospel: ‘Go, bap…’” ### Scripture references - John 20:17: quotation, high confidence - Rom 3:29: quotation, high confidence - Rom 3:30: quotation, high confidence - Isa 53:8: quotation, high confidence - John 14:28: quotation, high confidence - Luke 1:31: allusion, medium confidence - Matt 28:19: quotation, high confidence ### Translation notes - Second Creed of Sirmium (357), called by its opponents “the Blasphemy”, quoted in a Greek translation. It breaks off in the scan in mid-word (βαπτί-); the rest is lost. - John 20:17; Rom 3:29–30; Isa 53:8; John 14:28; Luke 1:31 (the angel’s announcement); Matt 28:19. ### Citation (SBL) Athanasius, Syn. 28 (PG 26:740b–744a; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/athanasius-synodis/26/#p-28). ## On the Councils of Ariminum and Seleucia 29 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/athanasius-synodis/26/#p-29 - Source: PG 26:744b–745d - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-10-09 Summary: After suppressing the Dated Creed, the Acacians issued a new creed at Seleucia rejecting both “of the same essence” and “of like essence” and condemning “unlike.” ### Greek text Ταῦτα γράψαντες καὶ μεταγνόντες, συνέθηκαν μὲν ἐκείνην, ἣν μετᾶ τῆς ὑπατείας ἐπιδείξαντες ἠρυθρίασαν. Συνήθως δὲ, ὥσπερ καταγνόντες καὶ ταύτης, ἐποίησαν μὶν αὐτὴν ἁρπασθῆναι ἀπὸ τῶν ἐχόντων ἀντίγραφα διὰ Μαρτινιανοῦ νοταρίου. Καὶ ποιήσαντες τὸν βασιλέα Κωνστάντιον κατʼ αὐτῆς προθεῖναι διάταγμα, δογματίζουσι πάλιν ἄλλην, καὶ προσθέντες, ὡς εῗώθασι, λέξεις τινὰς, γράφουσι ταῦτα ἐν τῇ ἰσαυρίᾳʼ ‹‹ Οὐ φεύγομεν τήν έκτεθεῖσαν αὐθεντικήν πίο στιν ἐν τοῖς Ἐγκαινίοις τοῖς κατὰ Ἀντιόχειαν, προκομίζοντες αὐτήν εἶ καὶτά μάλιστα οἱ πατέρες ἡμῶν κατʼ έκεῖνο καιροῦ πρὸς τὸ ὑποκείμενον τῆς ζητήσεως συνέδραμον. Ἐπειδή δὶ πολλοὺς ἐθορύβησε 16 ὁμοούσιον καὶ 1d ὁμοιοοῦσιον έν τοῖς παρεληλυθόσι χρόνοις καὶ μέχρι νῦν· ἀλλὰ καὶ ἀρτίως λέγεται καινοτομεῖσοαι ὑπό τινων τὸ ἀνόμοιον Υἳοῦ πρὸς lluτέρα τούτου χάριν τὸ μὶν όμοούσιον καὶ τὸ ὁμοιοούσιον ὶκβάλλομεν, ὡς ἀλλότριον τῶν Γραφῶν· τὸ δὲ ἀνόμοιον ἀναθεματίζομεν, γαὶ πάντας, ὅσοι τοιοῦτοι τυγχάνουσιν, ἀλλοτρίους ἡγούμεθα τῆς Ἐκκλησίας. Τὸ δὲ ὅμοιον τοῦ Υὶοῦ πρὸς τὸν Πατέρα σαφῶς ὁμο· λογοῦμεν κατὰ τὸν Ἀπόστολον, τὸν λέγοντα περὶ τοῦ Υῖοῦ· ‹‹ος ἐστιν εἱκὼν τοῦ Θεοῦ τοῦ ἀοράτου. ›› Ὁμολογοῦμεν δὲ καὶ πιστεύομεν είς ἕνα Θεὸν Πατέρα ἰ παντοκράτορα, τὸν ποιητὴν ούρανοῦ καὶ γῆς, ὁρατῶν πάντων καὶ ἀοράτων. Πιστεύομεν δὲ καὶ είς τὸν Κύριον ἡμῶν Ἰησοῦν Χριστὸν, τὸν Υἱὸν αὐτοῦ, τὸν ἐξ αὐτοῦ γεννηθέντα ἀπαθῶς πρὸ πάντων τῶν αἰώνων, Θεὸν Λόγον, Θεὸν ἐκ Θεοῦ Μονογενῆ, φῶς, ζωὴν, ἀλήθειαν, σοφίαν, δύναμιν, διʼ οὗ τὰ πάντα ἐγένετο, τὰ έν τοῖς οῦρανοῖς καὶ τὰ ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς, εἰίεε ὁρατὰ, εἷʼτε ἀόρατα. Τοῦτον πιστεύομεν έπὶ συντελείᾳ τῶν αἰώνων εἷς ἀθέτησιν τῆς ἁμαρτίας σάρκα ἀνειληφέναι ἐκ τῆς ἁγίας Παρθένου καί ἐνανθρωπήσαντα· παθόντα ὑπὲρ τῶν ἁμαρτιῶν ἡμῶν, καὶ ἀναστάντα, καὶ ἀναληφθέντα είς οὐρανοὺς, καθέζεσθαι έν δεξιᾷ τοῦ Πατρός· πάλιν έρχόμενον έν δόξῃ, κρῖναι ζῶντας καί νεκρούς. Ηιστεύομεν καὶ εἷς τὸ ἅγιον Πνεῦμα, ’ὁκαὶ Παράκλητον ὠνόμασεν ὁ Σωτὴρ καὶ Κύριος ἡμῶν, ἐπαγγειλάμενος μετὰ τὸ ἀπελθεῖν αύτὸν πέμψαι τοῖς μαθηταῖς τοῦτο, ’ὁ καὶ ἀπέστειλε· διʼ οὗ καὶ ἁγιάζει τοὺς έν τῇ Ἐκκλησία πιστεύοντας, καὶ βαπτιζομένους έν ὀνόματι ΙΙατρὸς, καὶ Υἱοῦ, καὶ ἁγίου Πνεύματος. Τοὺς δὲ παρὰ ταύτην τὴν πίστιν ἅλλο τι κηρύττοντας ἀλλοτριους οἶδεν ἡ καθολική Ἐκκλησία. Ὅτι δὲ ταύτῃ τῇ πίστει ἰσοδυναμεῖ καὶ ἡ ἐκ Σιρμίῳ πρώην ἐκτεθεῖσα πίστις ἐπὶ τῆς εὐσεβείας τοῦ βασιλέως ἡμῶν, γνωρίζουσιν οἱ ἐντυγχένοντες. ›› ### English translation (Claude) Having written this and changed their minds, they put together that one which they had produced with the consulship and then blushed for. And, as usual, as if they had condemned this one too, they had it snatched away from those who had copies, through Martinian the notary. And having made the emperor Constantius issue an edict against it, they decree another again, and, adding some words as they usually do, they write the following in Isauria: “We do not shun the authentic faith set forth at the Dedication at Antioch, but bring it forward, even though our fathers at that time met together chiefly on the subject then under inquiry. But since ‘of the same essence’ and ‘of like essence’ have troubled many in times past and up to the present, and since recently the ‘unlike’ of the Son with respect to the Father is said to have been newly introduced by some, for this reason we reject ‘of the same essence’ and ‘of like essence’ as alien to the Scriptures, and we anathematize ‘unlike,’ and regard all who are such as aliens from the church. But we clearly confess the likeness of the Son to the Father, according to the apostle, who says of the Son, ‘who is the image of the invisible God.’ And we confess and believe in one God, the Father Almighty, the maker of heaven and earth, of all things visible and invisible. And we believe also in our Lord Jesus Christ, his Son, who was begotten from him impassibly before all the ages, God the Word, only-begotten God from God, light, life, truth, wisdom, power, through whom all things came to be, those in the heavens and those on the earth, whether visible or invisible. We believe that he, at the consummation of the ages, for the putting away of sin, took flesh from the holy Virgin and became man; that he suffered for our sins, and rose, and was taken up into the heavens, and sits at the right hand of the Father; and that he is coming again in glory to judge living and dead. We believe also in the Holy Spirit, whom our Savior and Lord also named Paraclete, promising to send him to the disciples after he had departed, and whom he did send; through whom he also sanctifies those in the church who believe and are baptized in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Those who preach anything else contrary to this faith, the catholic church knows as aliens. That the faith lately set forth at Sirmium in the presence of our emperor’s piety is equivalent to this faith, those who read it know.” ### Scripture references - Col 1:15: quotation, high confidence - Heb 9:26: allusion, high confidence - John 16:7: allusion, high confidence - Matt 28:19: allusion, high confidence ### Translation notes - The Acacian creed presented at Seleucia in Isauria (359). Col 1:15; Heb 9:26 (consummation of the ages, putting away sin); John 16:7; Matt 28:19. - ὁμοιούσιος is rendered “of like essence”; ἀνόμοιος “unlike” (the slogan of Aetius and Eunomius). A repeated line in the scan is removed by a logged correction. ### Citation (SBL) Athanasius, Syn. 29 (PG 26:744b–745d; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/athanasius-synodis/26/#p-29). ## On the Councils of Ariminum and Seleucia 30 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/athanasius-synodis/26/#p-30 - Source: PG 26:745d–748b - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-10-09 Summary: At Constantinople (360) the Acacians revised the creed again, banning “hypostasis” as well as “essence,” and forced it on the bishops of Ariminum. ### Greek text Ταῦτα γράψαντες ἐν τῇ Ἰσαυρίᾳ, ἀνελθόντες εἷς τὴν Κωνσταντινούπολιν, ὥσπερ μεταγνόντες, ἤλλας ξαν συνήθως ταῦτα, καὶ προσθέντες λεξείδιά τινα ὥστε μηδὲ ὑπόστασιν λέγειν ἐπὶ Ματρὸς, καὶ Υὶοῦ, καὶ ἁγίου Πνεύματος, διεπέμψαντο αύτὰ τοῖς ἐν Ἀριμήνῳ, καὶ ἠνάγκαζον καὶτοὺς έν τοῖς μέρεσι τούτοις ὑπογράφειν · τοὺς δὲ ἀντιλέγοντας αὐτοῖς ἐποίουν ἐξορίζεσθαι παρά Κωνσταντίου. Ἔστιν οῦν ταῦτα. ιρατά καὶ τὰ ἀόρατα, γεννηθέντα δὶ Μονογενῆ, μόνον ἐκ μόνου τοῦ Ματρὸς, Θεὸν ἐκ Θεοῦ, ὅμοιον τῷ γεννήσαντι αὐτὸν Πατρὶ κατᾶ τὰς Γραφάς οὗ τήν γένεσιν οὐδεὶς γινώσκει εἰ μὴ μόνος ὁ γεννήσας αὐτὸν Πατήρ. Τοῦτον οἴδαμεν μονογενῆ Θεοῦ Υἱὸν, πέμποντος τοῦ Πατρὸς, παραγεγενῆσθαι έκ τῶν οὐρανῶν, ὡς γέγραπται, ἐπὶ καταλύσει τῆς ἀμαρτίας καὶ τοῦ θανάτου, καὶ γεννηθέντα ἐκ Πνεύματος ἁγίου, ἐκ Μαρίας τῆς Παρθένου τὸ κατά σάρκα, ὡς γέγραπται, καὶ ἀναστραφέντα μετά τῶν μαθητῶν, καὶ πάσης τῆς οἰκονομίας πληρωθείσης κατά τήν πατρικὴν βούλησιν, σταυρωθέντα, καὶ ἀποθανόντα, καὶ ταφέντα, καὶ εἰς τὰ καταχθόνια κατεληλυθότα· ὅντινα καὶ αὐτὸς ὁ ᾅδης ἔπτηξεν· ὅστις καὶ ἀνέστη ἀπὸ τῶν νεκρῶν τῇ τρίτη ἡμέρᾳ, καὶ διέτριψε μετά τῶν μαθητῶν καὶ πληρωθεισῶν τεσσαράκοντα ἡμερῶν, ἀνελήφθη εἷς τοὺς οὐρανοὺς, καὶ καθέζεται ἐν δεξιᾷ τοῦ Ματρὸς, ἐλευσό μενος ἐν τῇ ἐσχάτῃ ἡμέρᾳ τῆς ἀναστάσεως ἐν τῇ πατρικῇ ὃόξῃ,ίνα ἀποδῷ ἑκάστῳ κατά τὰ ἔργα αὐτοῦʼ καὶ εἰς τὸ ἅγιον Πνεῦμα, ὅπερ αὐτὸς ’ὀ μονογενὴς τοῦ Θεοῦ Υἱὸς ὁ Χριστὸς, ὁ Κύριος καὶ Θεὸς ἡμῶν, ἐπηγγείλατο πέμπειν τῷ γένει τῶν ἀνθρώπων παράκλητον, καθάπερ γέγραπται· Τὸ Πνεῦμα τῆς ἀΛτιθείας, ὅπερ αὐτοῖς ἔπεμψεν, ὅτε ἀνῆλθεν εἷς τοὺς οὐρανούς. Τὸ δὲ ὄνομα τῆς οὐσίας, ὅπερ ἁπλούστερον ὑπὸ τῶν Ιίατέρων ἐτέθη, ἀγνοούμενον δὲ τοῖς λαοῖς, σκάνδαλον ἔφερε, διότι μηδὲ αἱ Γραφαὶ τοῦτο περιέχουσιν, ἤρεσε περιαιρεθῆναι, καὶ παντελῶς μηδεμίαν μνήμην τοῦ λοιποῦ γίνεσθαισ ἐπειδήπερ καὶ αἱ θεῖαι Γραφαί οὐδαμῶς ἐμνημόνευσαν περὶ οὐσίας Πατρὸς καὶ Υἱοῦ. Καὶ γάρ οὐδὲ ὀφείλει ὑπόστασις περὶ ὑατρὸς καί ἽΥῨίῨοῦ καὶ ἁγίου Πνεύματος ὀνομάζεσθαι. ’Όμοιον δὲ Λέγομεν τῷ Πατρὶ τὸν Υἱὸν, ὡς λέγουσιν αἱ θεῖαι Γραφαί ### English translation (Claude) Having written this in Isauria, they went up to Constantinople, and, as though they had changed their minds, they altered it as usual, and, adding some little phrases, so that not even “hypostasis” should be said of Father and Son and Holy Spirit, they sent it to those at Ariminum, and compelled those in these parts too to subscribe; and those who contradicted them they had exiled by Constantius. It is as follows: “… visible and invisible; begotten as only-begotten, alone from the Father alone, God from God, like the Father who begot him, according to the Scriptures; whose generation no one knows except the Father alone who begot him. We know that this only-begotten Son of God, the Father sending him, came from the heavens, as it is written, for the destruction of sin and death, and was born of the Holy Spirit, from Mary the Virgin according to the flesh, as it is written; and went about with the disciples; and, the whole dispensation having been fulfilled according to the Father’s will, was crucified and died and was buried and descended to the regions under the earth, before whom Hades itself cowered; who also rose from the dead on the third day, and stayed with the disciples, and, when forty days were fulfilled, was taken up into the heavens, and sits at the right hand of the Father, and will come on the last day of the resurrection in the Father’s glory, to render to each according to his works. And in the Holy Spirit, whom the only-begotten Son of God himself, Christ, our Lord and God, promised to send to the human race as Paraclete, as it is written, ‘the Spirit of truth,’ whom he sent to them when he ascended into the heavens. But as for the name ‘essence,’ which was set down by the fathers in simplicity, but, being unknown to the people, caused offense because the Scriptures do not contain it either, it seemed good that it be removed, and that no mention at all be made of it henceforth, since the divine Scriptures have nowhere mentioned the essence of Father and Son. For neither ought ‘hypostasis’ to be named concerning Father and Son and Holy Spirit. But we say that the Son is like the Father, as the divine Scriptures say …” ### Scripture references - John 14:16: allusion, high confidence - John 14:17: quotation, high confidence - Job 38:17: allusion, medium confidence - Acts 1:3: allusion, high confidence - Matt 16:27: allusion, high confidence ### Translation notes - Creed of Constantinople (360), quoted. Its opening is lost in the scan, which begins “… visible and invisible”, and its end is lost after “as the divine Scriptures say” (both marked “…”). - Heb 9:26; John 14:16–17; Job 38:17 LXX (Hades cowered); Matt 16:27; Acts 1:3. ### Citation (SBL) Athanasius, Syn. 30 (PG 26:745d–748b; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/athanasius-synodis/26/#p-30). ## On the Councils of Ariminum and Seleucia 31 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/athanasius-synodis/26/#p-31 - Source: PG 26:748b–749a - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-10-09 Summary: At Antioch they went back to saying the Son is wholly unlike the Father, earning the names Anomoeans and Exukontians; Constantius was baptized on his deathbed by the Arian Euzoius. ### Greek text Ἀλλʼ οὐδὲ τούτοις ἐνέμειναν· κατελθόντες γὰρ ἀπὸ Κωνσταντινουπόλεως εἷς τήν ’Δντιόχειαν, μετέγνωσαν, ὅτι ὅλως ἔγραψαν ὅμοιον τῷ Πατρὶ τὸν Υίὸν, ὡς λέγουσιν αἱ Γραφαί · καὶ συνθέντες ἅπερ ἐπενόησαν, ἤρξαντο πάλιν ἀνατρέχειν είς τά πρῶτα ἑαυτῶν, καὶ λέγειν, ὅτι παντελῶς ἀνόμοιός ἐστὶν ὁ Υἱὸς τῷ Ιῐατρί, καῖ κατʼ οὐδένα τόπον ὅμοιός ἐστιν arta; τῷ Hirpi, τοσοῦτον μετεβάλοντο, ῶς καὶ τοὺς τὰ Ἀρείου γυμνότερον λέγοντας προσδέχεσθα καὶ τὰς Ἐκκλησίας αὐτοῖς παραδιδόναι, ἵνα ἐπʼ ἀδείας τὰ τῆς βλασφημίας προσφέρωσι. Διὰ γοῦν τήν πολλὴν ἀναίδειαν τῆς βλασφημίας αὐτῶν Ἀνόμοιοι παρὰ πᾶσιν ἐκλήθησαν, ἔχοντες καὶ τὴν ἐξουκόντιον ἐπωνυμίαν, καὶ τὸν αἱρετικὸν Κωνστάντιον προστάτην τῆς ἀσεβείας αὐτῶν ὃς, μέχρι τέλους διαμείνας ἐν ἀσεβεᾳί, καὶ λοιπὸν ἀποθνήσκων, ἔδοξε βαπτίζεσθαι, ού παρά εὐσεβῶν ἀνδρῶν, ἀλλὰ ὑπὸ Εὐζωίου τοῦ διὰ τὴν Ἀρειανήν αʼίρεσιν οὐχ ἅπαξ, ἀλλὰ καὶ πολλάκις καθαιρεθέντος, καὶ ὅτε διάκονος ἦν, καὶ ὅτε ἐν Ἀντιοχείᾳ ἐκαθέσθη. ### English translation (Claude) But they did not abide by these either; for, going down from Constantinople to Antioch, they regretted having written at all that the Son is like the Father “as the Scriptures say”; and, putting together what they had devised, they began again to run back to their first views, and to say that the Son is altogether unlike the Father and is in no respect like the Father; and they changed so far as to receive those who speak Arius’s views more nakedly and to hand the churches over to them, so that they might put forward their blasphemy freely. Because of the great shamelessness of their blasphemy, then, they were called Anomoeans by everyone, and they also have the name Exukontians, and the heretic Constantius as patron of their impiety; who, having continued in impiety to the end, and then, when dying, thought fit to be baptized, not by pious men, but by Euzoius, who had been deposed on account of the Arian heresy not once but many times, both when he was a deacon and when he was installed at Antioch. ### Translation notes - “Anomoeans” means “the Unlike party”; “Exukontians” comes from ἐξ οὐκ ὄντων, “from nothing”. Constantius died in 361. - This chapter was probably added after Constantius’s death (361), later than the rest of the work. ### Citation (SBL) Athanasius, Syn. 31 (PG 26:748b–749a; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/athanasius-synodis/26/#p-31). ## On the Councils of Ariminum and Seleucia 32 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/athanasius-synodis/26/#p-32 - Source: PG 26:749a–749d - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-10-09 Summary: The endless succession of Arian councils and creeds shows that each was deficient and that their authors were fighting Nicaea and the truth. ### Greek text Τέως μὲν οῦν ἄχρι τούτου φθάσαντες, ἔστησαν καὶ καθῃρέθησαν οἱ προειρημένοι. Ἀλλὰ οὐδὲ οὕτως, εὗ οἶδα ὅτι στήσονται ὅσοι καὶ νῦν ὑπεκρίναντο, ἀεὶ δὲ συστάσεις ποιήσουσι κατά τῆς ἀληθείας, ἕως ἂν εἰς ἑαυτοὺς ἐλθόντες εἴπωσι καὶ οὗτοιʼ Ἀναστάντες πορευσώμεθα πρὸς τοὺς Ιῐατέρας ἰαυτῶν, καὶ ἐροῦμεν αὐτοῖς· ’Δναθεματίζομεν μὲν τήν Ἀρειανὴν αἵρεσιν, ἐπιγινώσκομεν δὶ τήν ἐν Νικαίᾳ σύνοδον· πρὸς ταύτην γὰρ ἔχουσι τὴν ἔριν. Τίς οὖν ἔτι, κᾶν ὀλίγην αʼίσθησιν ἔχων, ἀνέξεται τούτων; Τίς βλέπων καθʼ ἑκάστην σύνοδον τὰ μὲν ἀφαιρούμενα, τά δὲ προστιθέμενα, ού συνορά τούτους ὕποπτον καὶ ὕπουλον ἔχοντας κατὰ Χριστοῦ τήν διάνοιαν; Τίς, ὁρῶν αὐτοὺς ’διᾶ μακρῶν ἐκτείνοντας ἑαυτῶν τήν τε τῆς πίστεως σύνθεσιν καὶ τὴν ἀπολογίαν, περὶ ὧν ἐγκαλοῦνται, οὐχ ὁρᾷ τούτους καταγινώσκοντας ἑαυτῶν, καὶ πολλὰ γράφοντας ἐπίτηδες, ’ίνα δόξωσι διὰ τῆς ἀκαίρου φιλοτιμίας, καὶ τῆς τοσαύτης πολυλογίας, ὑφαρπάζειν τοὺς ἀκεραίους, καὶ λανθάνειν οἷοι τὴν αῗρεσιν τυγχάνουσιν ὄντεςς Ἀλλʼ ὥσπερ οἱ ἐθνικοὶ, ᾡς εἶπεν ὁ Κύριος, βαττολογοῦντες ἐν ταῖς εὐχαῖς ούδέν ὠφελοῦσιν, οὕτως οὗτοι τοσαῦτα καταντλήσαντες, ούκ ἠδυνήθησαν σβέσαι τήν κατά τῆς Ἀρειανῆς αῖρέσεως κρίσιν, ἀλλᾶ καὶ μᾶλλον ἐλεγχθέντες καθῃρέθησαν, καὶ εῗκότως γε· ποίαν γὰρ αὐτῶν ὁ ἀκούων ἀποδέξεται συγγραφήν; ’Ἠ ποῖα θαρρήσαντες αὐτοὶ κατηχήσου σι τοὺς ἐρχομένους πρὸς αύτούς; Εἰ μὲν γὰρ αἱ πᾶσαι μίαν καὶ την αὐτὴν ἔχουσι συμφωνίαν, τίς ἡ χρεία τῶν πολλῶν; Ei δὲ τοσούτων χρεία γέγονε. δῆλόν ἐστιν ἑκάστην ἐνδεῆ καὶ μὴ πλήρη* τυγχάνειν, καὶ τοῦτο μᾶλλον ἡμῶν αὑτοὶ διελέγχουσιν ἐν τῷ πάσας ἐναλλάττειν καί μεταποιεῖν. Τὸ δὲ πλῆθος τῶν συνόδων, καὶ ἠ διαφορᾶ τῶν γραφομένων δείκνυσι τοὺς ἐν αὐταῖς συνελθόντας μαχομένους μὲν πρὸς τὴν ἐν Ν ικαίᾳ σύνοδον, ἀσθενοῦντας δὲ πρὸς τὴν ἀλήθειαν. ### English translation (Claude) So far, then, they had come, when they stopped, and the aforesaid were deposed. But not even so, I know well, will those who have now played the hypocrite stop; they will always form factions against the truth, until, coming to themselves, these too say: “Let us arise and go to our fathers and say to them: We anathematize the Arian heresy, and acknowledge the council of Nicaea”; for it is with this that they have their quarrel. Who, then, having even a little sense, will put up with them any longer? Who, seeing that at each council some things are taken away and others added, does not perceive that they have a suspicious and treacherous mind against Christ? Who, seeing them stretch out at length both the composition of their faith and their defense on the charges against them, does not see that they are condemning themselves and writing much on purpose, so that by their untimely ambition and so much verbosity they may seem to carry off the simple and escape notice for what they are in their heresy? But as the Gentiles, as the Lord said, gain nothing by babbling in their prayers, so these, having poured out so much, could not quench the judgment against the Arian heresy, but were rather refuted and deposed, and rightly so. For what writing of theirs will the hearer accept? Or with what confidence will they catechize those who come to them? For if all their creeds have one and the same agreement, what need is there of many? But if so many were needed, it is plain that each is deficient and incomplete, and they themselves prove this better than we, by changing and remaking them all. And the multitude of the councils and the differences in what was written show that those who met at them are fighting against the council of Nicaea and are weak against the truth. ### Scripture references - Luke 15:17: allusion, high confidence - Luke 15:18: allusion, high confidence - Matt 6:7: allusion, high confidence ### Translation notes - Luke 15:17–18 (the prodigal son); Matt 6:7. ### Citation (SBL) Athanasius, Syn. 32 (PG 26:749a–749d; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/athanasius-synodis/26/#p-32). ## On the Councils of Ariminum and Seleucia 33 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/athanasius-synodis/33/#p-33 - Source: PG 26:749d–752c - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-10-09 Summary: The offense taken at “from the essence” and “of the same essence” comes not from the words, which most accept, but from those who misinterpret them. ### Greek text Ἐπειδὴ δὲ οὕτως αὐτοὶ πρὸς τε ἕαυτοὺς, καὶ πρὸς τοὺς πρὸ ἑαυτῶν διετέθησαν, φέρε λοιπὸν ἡμεῖς, ἐξετάσαντες, μάθωμεν παρʼ αὐτῶν, ποῖον ἄτοπον θεωρήσαντες, ἢ τίνα λέξιν αἰτιώμενοι τῶν ἐγγεγραμμένων, ἀπειθεῖς μὲν γονεῦσι γεγόνάσι, διαμάχονται δὲ πρὸς οἷκουμενικήν σύνοδον ; Τὸ ‹‹ ἐκ τῆς οὐσίας, ι φησὶ, καὶ τὸ ‹‹ ὁμοούσιον )› οὐκ ἤρεσεν ἡμῖν. Ταῦτα γάρ τινας ἐσκανδάλισε καὶ πολλοὺς ἐθορύβησεν. Ἐκεῖνοι μὲν οὖν οὕτω γράφοντες εἰρήκασιν· ἀπαννήσειε διʼ ἃν τις αὐτοῖς εὐλόγως οὕτως · Εἰ μὲν οὗν αὐτά τὰ ῥήματα καθʼ ἑαυτά τυγχάνει ὄντα αἴτια τούτοις εἷς σκάνδαλον, ἔδει μή τινας σκανδαλίζεσθαι, μηδὲ πολλοὺς θορυβεῖσθαι, ἀλλά καὶ ἡμᾶς καὶ τοὺς ἄλλους πάντας ταυτὸν ἐκείνοις πάσχειν ἐξ αὐτῶν· εἰ δὲ οἱ μὲν πάντες ἀγαπῶσι τά ῥήματα, οἱ δὲ ταῦτα γράψαντες οὐχ οἱ τυχόντες, ἀλλʼ οἱ ἐκ πάσης τῆς οἷʼκουμὲνης συνελθόντες εἶσὶ, καὶ τούτοις ἐπιμαρτυροῦσιν οἱ νῦν ἂν τῷ Ἀριμήνῳ συνελθόντες ἐπίσκοποι υʼ καὶ πλείους· πῶς οὐκ ἄν· τικρυς ἐλέγχει τοῦτο τοὺς κατά τῆς συνόδου λέγοντας, ὡς οὐ τά ῥήματά ἐστιν αʼίτια, ἀλλʼ ἡ κακόνοια τῶν παρεξηγουμὲνων τά τοιαῦτας Πόσοι, κακῶς ἐν· τυγχάνοντες ταῖς θείαις Γραφαῖς καὶ παρανοοῦντες ταύτας, κατηγοροῦσι τῶν ἁγίων l οἶοι γεγόγασιν οἱ μὲν τότε Ἰουδαῖοι, μὴ δεξάμενοι τὸν Κύριον, οἱ δὲ νῦν Μαιδιχαῖοι βλασφημοῦντες τὸν νόμον· καὶ οὐχ αἱ Γραιφαὶ γεγόνασιν αὐτοῖς αἴτιαι, ἀλλʼ ὴ σφῶν αὐτῶν κακοφροσύνη. Εἰ μὲν οὖν ἀποδεῖξαι δύνασθε τὰ ῥήματα φαῦλα, τοῦτο ποιεῖτε, καὶ λόγος ἡγείσθω τῆς ἀποδείξεως· καὶ μὴ προφασίζεσθε τοὺς σκανδαλιζομὲνους, ’ίνα μὴ ταυτὸν πάθητε τοῖς τότε Φαρισαίοις. Καὶ γάρ κάκείνων προφασιζομένων σκανδαλίζεσθαι, ἐπὶ ταῖς τοῦ Κυρίου διδαχαῖς, ἔλεγεν αὐτοῖς 6 Κύριος· ‹‹ Πᾶσα φυτεία, ἣν ούκ ἐφύτευσεν 6 Πατὴρ μου 6 οὐράνιος, ἐκριζωθήσεται. ε Τοῦτο δὲ λέγων ἐδείκνυεν, ὡς οὐ τά τοῦ Πατρὸς διʼ αὐτοῦ ‹‹ φυτευό· μενα ε ῥήματα σκάνδαλον ἦσαν αὐτοῖς, ἀλλʼ αὐτοὶ κακῶς ἐκδεχόμενοι τὰ καλῶς λεγόμενα ἓσκανδάλιζον ### English translation (Claude) But since they are so disposed both toward one another and toward those before them, come now, let us examine them and learn from them what absurdity they saw, or which term of those written they blame, that they have become disobedient to their parents and fight against an ecumenical council. “The ‘from the essence,’” they say, “and the ‘of the same essence’ did not please us; for these gave offense to some and troubled many.” So they wrote and said; and one might reasonably answer them thus: If the words in themselves were a cause of offense to these men, then it ought not to be that some were offended and many troubled, but we and all the others should have suffered the same from them as they did. But if all love the words, and those who wrote them were not ordinary men but those who assembled from the whole world, and the bishops now assembled at Ariminum, four hundred and more, bear witness to them, how does this not plainly refute those who speak against the council, showing that it is not the words that are the cause, but the malice of those who misinterpret such things? How many, reading the divine Scriptures badly and misunderstanding them, accuse the saints! Such were the Jews of that time, who did not receive the Lord, and such are the Manichees now, who blaspheme the law; and the Scriptures were not the cause for them, but their own perversity. If, then, you can show that the words are bad, do so, and let reason lead the proof; and do not make a pretext of those who are offended, lest you suffer the same as the Pharisees of that time. For when they too made a pretext of being offended at the Lord’s teachings, the Lord said to them, “Every plant that my heavenly Father has not planted will be rooted up.” By saying this he showed that it was not the words of the Father, “planted” through him, that were an offense to them, but that they themselves, misinterpreting what was well said, were offended. ### Scripture references - Matt 15:13: quotation, high confidence - Matt 15:12: allusion, high confidence ### Translation notes - Matt 15:13 (with 15:12, the Pharisees offended). ### Citation (SBL) Athanasius, Syn. 33 (PG 26:749d–752c; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/athanasius-synodis/33/#p-33). ## On the Councils of Ariminum and Seleucia 34 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/athanasius-synodis/33/#p-34 - Source: PG 26:752c–753b - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-10-09 Summary: Only the Arians are offended at the Nicene terms; and if “Father” does not mean God’s essence, the Son could not truly be from the Father. ### Greek text Ἐπεὶ (καλὸν γὰρ αὐτοὺς ἐρέσθαι τοῦτο,) εʼίπατε, τίνες εἰσὶν, οὕς προφασίζεσθε σκανδαλίζεσθαι καὶ θορυβεῖσθαι ἐπὶ τούτοις; Τῶν μὲν γὰρ εὐσεβούντων εἷς τὸν Χριστὸν οὐδεὶς, αύτά γὰρ πρεσβεύουσι καὶ ὲκδικοῦσιν. El δὶ τῶν ’Δρειανῶν εἰσιν οἱ τοῦτο πάσχοντες, τί θαυμαστὸν, εἷʼ ἐπὶ τοῖς ἀναιροῦσιν αὐτῶν τήν αʼίρεσιν ἄχθονταις Οὐ γάρ ἐστιν αὐτοῖς σκάνδαλον τὰ ῥήματα· ἀλλά λύπη, ὅτι στηλογραφία κατά τῆς ἀσεβείας αὐτῶν ἐστιν. Οὐκοὖν παύσασθε γογγύζοντες κατά τῶν Πατέρων, καὶ τοιαῦτα προφασιζόμενοι· ἐπεὶ ὥρα ὑμᾶς καταμὲμφεσθαι καὶ τῷ κυριακῷ σταυρῷ, ὅτι Ἰουδαίοις ὲν σκάνδαλόν ἐστιν, ἔθνεσι δὲ μωρία, ὡς εἶπεν 6 ’Δπόστολος. Ἀλλʼ ὥσπερ οὗ φαῦλος 6 σταυρός· ἡμῖν γὰρ τοῖς πιστεύουσιν έςτι ‹‹ Χριστὸς Θεοῦ δύναμις καὶ Θεοῦ σοφία, ›› κᾶν Ἰουδαῖοι μαίνωνται* οὕτως οὐ φαῦλα τὰ τῶν Πατέρων ῥήματα, ἀλλʼ ὠφέλιμα τοῖς γνησίως ἐντυγχάνουσι, καὶ ἀναιρετικὰ πάσης ἀσεβείας ἐστὶ, κᾶν οἱ Ἀρειανοί πολλάκις ὃιαρῥηγνύωνται, κατακρινόμενοι παρʼ αὐτῶν. Ὅτε τοίνυν ἡ περὶ τῶν σκανδαλιζομένων ἀπίθανος δέδεικται πρόφασις, εἷʼπατε λοιπὸν ὑμεῖς, πῶς οὐκ ἀρέσκεσθε τῷ, ‹‹ ἐκ τῆς οὐσίας, » ὀνόματι ; Τοῦτο γὰρ πρῶτον ἀναγκαῖον ἄνακρῖναι ' καίτοι καὶ ὑμεῖς ἐγράψατε ἐκ τοῦ Πατρὸς γεγεννῆσθαι τὸν Υἱόν; Εἰ μὲν οῦν τὸν Πατέρα ὀνομάζοντες, ἤ τὸ, ‹‹ Θεὸς. ι ὄνομα λέγοντες, ούκ οὐσίαν σημαίνετε, οὐδὲ αὐτὸν τὸν ὄντα ὅπερ ἐστἰ κατ ουσιαν νοειτε, ετερον τι περι αυτὸν, η το γοῦν χεῖρον, ’ίνα μῆ παρʼ ἐμοῦ λέγηται, διὰ τούτων σημαίνετε,ἔδει μὴ γράφειν ὑμᾶς ἐκ τοῦ Πατρὸς τὸι Υἱὸν, ἀλλʼ ἐκ τῶν περὶ αὑτὸν ἤ τῶν ἐν αύτῷ · ’ίνα φεύγοντες λέγειν ἀληθῶς Πατέρα τὸν Θεὸν, σύνθετον δὲ τὸν ἁπλοῦν, καὶ σωματικῶς αὑτὸν ἐπινοοῦντες, καινοτέρας βλασφημίας ἐφευρεταὶ γένησθε. Οὕτων δὲ νοοῦντες, ἐξ ἀνάγκης καὶ τὸν Λόγον, καὶ τὸ Υἱὸς, οὐκ οὐσίαν ἀλλʼ ὄνομα μόνον νομίζετε, καὶ λοιπὸν ἄχρις ἀνομάτων ἔχετε τήν ἑαυτῶν φαντασίαν · καὶ ἅ λέγετε, οὐκ εἶναι πιστεύετε, ἀλλὰ μή εἶναι φρονειτε. ### English translation (Claude) For—and it is well to ask them this—tell us, who are those whom you allege to be offended and troubled at these words? Of those who are pious toward Christ, none; for they honor and defend them. But if it is the Arians who suffer this, what wonder if they are vexed at what destroys their heresy? For the words are not an offense to them but a grief, because they stand inscribed like a pillar against their impiety. Stop, then, murmuring against the fathers and making such pretexts; otherwise it is time for you to find fault with the Lord’s cross too, because it is to Jews an offense and to Gentiles foolishness, as the apostle said. But as the cross is not bad—for to us who believe it is “Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God,” even if Jews rage—so the words of the fathers are not bad, but profitable to those who read them sincerely, and destructive of all impiety, even if the Arians burst with rage again and again at being condemned by them. Since, then, the pretext about those who are offended has been shown to be unpersuasive, tell us next why you are not pleased with the expression “from the essence.” This must be examined first—though you yourselves wrote that the Son was begotten from the Father. If, then, when you name the Father or say the name “God,” you do not signify essence, nor understand him who is to be what he is in essence, but signify by these words something else around him, or (not to say it myself) something worse, then you should not have written that the Son is from the Father, but from what is around him or in him; so that, shrinking from saying that God is truly Father, and making the simple composite and conceiving of him in a bodily way, you might become inventors of a newer blasphemy. And thinking in this way, you necessarily consider the Word, and the term “Son,” to be not an essence but only a name; and so your notion goes no further than names; and what you say, you do not believe to exist, but think does not exist. ### Scripture references - 1 Cor 1:23: allusion, high confidence - 1 Cor 1:24: quotation, high confidence ### Translation notes - 1 Cor 1:23–24. ### Citation (SBL) Athanasius, Syn. 34 (PG 26:752c–753b; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/athanasius-synodis/33/#p-34). ## On the Councils of Ariminum and Seleucia 35 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/athanasius-synodis/33/#p-35 - Source: PG 26:753c–756c - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-10-09 Summary: Since “God” and “Father” signify God’s very essence, to say the Son is “from God” is to say he is “from the essence,” while creatures are works made by God’s will. ### Greek text Τοῦτο δὲ Σαδδουκαίων μᾶλλον καὶ τῶν παρʼ Ἕλλησι λεχθέντων ἀθέων ἐστὶ τὸ τύλμημα. Διὸ οὐδὲ τήν κτίσιν αὐτοῦ τοῦ ὄντος Θεοῦ δημιούργημα εἶναι φήσετε · εἷʼ γε τὸ Πατὴρ καὶ τὸ Θεὸς οὐκ αὐτὴν τὴν τοῦ ὄντος οὐσίαν σημαίνουσιν, ἀλλʼ ἕτερόν τι, ὅπερ ὑμεῖς ἆναπλάττετε. Ἀλλὰ τοῦτο δυσσεβὲς καὶ λίαν ἀπρεπές ἐστικαὶ μόνον ἐνθυμεῖσθαι. Εἰ δὲ ὅταν ἀκούομεν· ‹‹ Ἐγώ εἶμι 6 ὤνʼ ›› καὶ, ‹‹ Ἐνάρχῇ ἐποίησεν ὁ Θεὸς τὸν οὐρανὸν καὶ τήν γῆνʼ ›› καὶ, ‹‹ Ἄκουε, Ἰσραὴλ, Κύριος 6 Θεός σου Κύριος εἷς ἐστιʼ ›› καὶ, ‹‹ Τάδε λέγει Κύριος παντοκράτωρ· ι οὐχ ἕτερόν τι ἀλλʼ αὐτὴν τῆν ἁπλῆν καὶ μακαρίαν καὶ ἀκατάκηπτον τοῦ ὄντος οὐσίαν νοοῦμεν κᾶν λὰρ ἀδυνάτως ἔχωμεν καταλαβεῖν, 6' τι ποτέ ἐστιν, ἀλλʼ ἀκούοντες τὸ, Πατὴρ, καὶ τὸ, Θεὸς, καὶ τὸ, Παντοκράτωρ, οὐχ ’ἐτερόν τι, ἀλλʼ αὐτὴν τήν τοῦ ὄντος οὐ· σίαν σημαινομένην νοοῦμεν. Εἴρήκατε δὲ καὶ ὑμεῖς ἐκ τοῦ Θεοῦ τὸν Υἱὸν, δηλονότι έκ τῆς οὐσίας τοῦ Πατρὸς αὐτὸν εἰρήκατε. Ἐπειδή καὶ πρὸ ὑμῶν λέγουσιν αἱ Γραφαὶ τὸν Κύριον Υἱὸν τοῦ Πατρὸς, καὶ πρὸ αὐτῶν, αὐτὸς 6 Πατὴρ εἴρηκεν· ‹‹ Οὗτός ἐστιν 6 Υἱός μου 6 ἀγαπητός · ι Υἱὸς δὲ οὐδὲν ἓτερόν ἐστιν ἤ τὸ ἐκ τοῦ ΙΙατρὸς γέννημα ’ πῶς ού φαίνονται καλῶς εἰρηκότες οἱ Πατὲρες ἐκ τῆς οὐσίας τοῦ Ηατρὸς τὸν Υἱὸν, λογισάμενοι ταυτὸν εἶναι τὸ εἰπεῖν ὀρθῶς, ἐκ τοῦ Θεοῦ, καὶ τὸ εἰπεῖν, ὲκ τῆς οὐσίας ; Τὰ μὲν γὰρ κτίσματα πάντα, κᾶν ἐκ τοῦ Θεοῦ λέγηται γεγενῇσθαι, ἀλλʼ οὐχ ὡς 6 Υἱός εἰσιν ἐκ τοῦ Θεοῦ ο οὐ γὰρ γεννήματα. ἀλλὰ ποιήματά εἰσι τὴν φύσιν. ι( Ἐν ἀρχῇ γοῦν 6 Θεὸς ›› οὐκ ἐγέννησεν, ἀλλʼ ‹‹ ἐποίησε τὸν οὐρανὸν καὶ τὴν γῆν, καὶ πάντα τὰ ἐν αὐτοῖς, ιι εἶρηται. Καὶ οὐχ 6 γεννῶν, ἀλλʼ ιι ὁ ποιῶν τοὺς ὶγγὲλους αὐτοῦ πνεύματα, παὶ τούς λειτουργοὺς αὐτοῦ πυρὸς φλὺγα. ›› Ei’ δὶ 6 Ἀπόστολος εἷʼρηκεν, ι Εἷς Θεὸς, ἐξ οὗ τὰ πάντα, ι ἀλλʼ οὐ τὸν Υἱὸν συναριθμῶν τοῖς πᾶσι, τοῦτό φησιν· ἀλλʼ ἐπειδὴ τῶν Ἐλλήνῶν 0i μὶν νομίζουσι κατὰ τύχην καὶ ἐξ ἀτόμων συμπλοκῆς, καὶ ἃμοιομερῶς ἐκ ταύτομάτου συνεστάναι τὴν κτίσιν, καὶ μή ἔκειν τὸν αἶʼτιον ' οἱ δὲ ἐξ αἷτίου μὲν αὐτὴν γεγονεναι, οὐ μήν καὶ- διὰ τοῦ Λόγου · τῶν δὲ αἱρετικῶν ἕκαστος. ὡς ἠθέλησεν ἆνεπλάσατο, καὶ περὶ τῆς κτίσεως μυθολογεῖ· τούτου χάριν 6 ’Λπόστολος ἀναγκαίως συνείρηκε τὸ, α ἑκ τοῦ Θεοῦ ο ›› ’ίνα καὶ τὸν ποιητὴν γνωρίσῃ. καὶ τὴν ἐκ τοῦ βουλήματος αὐτοῦ τῶν πάντων δημιουργίαν ἀποδείξῃ ’ εὐθὺς γοῦν ἐπιφέρει, ε Καὶ εἷς Κύριος Ἰησοῦς Χριστὸς, διʼ οὗ τὰ πάντα, ›› ἵνα τῶν πάντων ἐξάρῃ τὸν Υἱὸν · τὰ γὰρ τοῦ Θεοῦ λεγόμενα, πάντα ταῦτα διʼ Υἳοῦ γέγονε καὶ οὐχ οἷόν τε μίαν ἔχειν τὰ δημιουργούμενα τῷ δημιουργοῦντι τήν γένεσιν · καὶ ’ίνα τὸ, ι( ἐκ τοῦ Θεοῦ, ›› λὲγόμενον ὧδε, ἄλλως ἰπὶ τῶν ποιημάτων αὐτὸ σημαίνεσθαι διδὰξῃ, ἢ ὡς ἐπὶ ι”ιοῦ λεγόμενον νοεῖται. Ὀ μὶν γὰρ γέννημα, τὰ δὶ ποιήματά ἐστι. Διὸ καὶ ὁ μὲν Υἱὸς ἴδιον τῆς οὐσίας γέννημα, τὰ δὶ βουλήματος δημιουργήματα. ### English translation (Claude) This is rather the daring of the Sadducees and of those among the Greeks who are called atheists. So you will not even say that creation is the work of God himself who is, if indeed “Father” and “God” signify not the very essence of him who is, but something else, which you fabricate. But this is impious and very unseemly even to think. But if, when we hear “I am He who is,” and “In the beginning God made the heaven and the earth,” and “Hear, O Israel, the Lord your God is one Lord,” and “Thus says the Lord Almighty,” we understand nothing other than the very simple and blessed and incomprehensible essence of him who is—for even if we are unable to comprehend what it is, yet when we hear “Father” and “God” and “Almighty,” we understand nothing else than the very essence of him who is to be signified—and if you too have said that the Son is from God, then plainly you have said that he is from the essence of the Father. And since before you the Scriptures call the Lord Son of the Father, and before them the Father himself said, “This is my beloved Son,” and a son is nothing else than the offspring from the father, how do the fathers not appear to have spoken well in saying that the Son is from the essence of the Father, reckoning that to say rightly “from God” and to say “from the essence” are the same? For all creatures, even if they are said to have come to be from God, are not from God as the Son is; for they are not offspring but things made, by nature. At any rate, it is said that “in the beginning God” did not beget but “made the heaven and the earth and all that is in them”; and not “he who begets” but “he who makes his angels spirits and his ministers a flame of fire.” And if the apostle has said, “One God, from whom are all things,” he does not say this numbering the Son with all things; but since among the Greeks some think that creation came together by chance and from a concourse of atoms and spontaneously from like parts, and has no cause, while others think that it came to be from a cause, but not through the Word, and each of the heretics fashioned what he wished and tells fables about creation, for this reason the apostle necessarily included “from God,” to make known the Maker and to show that the creation of all things is from his will. And so he at once adds, “and one Lord Jesus Christ, through whom are all things,” to set the Son apart from “all things”; for the things that are said to be God’s all came to be through the Son, and it is not possible for the things created to have one origin with their creator; and to teach that “from God,” said here, signifies something different when used of the works from what is understood when it is said of the Son. For he is offspring, they are works. Therefore the Son is the proper offspring of the essence, while they are the works of will. ### Scripture references - Exod 3:14: quotation, high confidence - Gen 1:1: quotation, high confidence - Deut 6:4: quotation, high confidence - Matt 3:17: quotation, high confidence - Ps 104:4 (103:4 LXX): quotation, high confidence - 1 Cor 8:6: quotation, high confidence ### Translation notes - Exod 3:14; Gen 1:1; Deut 6:4; Matt 3:17; Exod 20:11 (all that is in them); Ps 104:4 (103:4 LXX); 1 Cor 8:6. - The atomists (Epicureans), Anaxagoras’s “like parts”, and philosophers who granted a cause but not the Word; identifications by context. ### Citation (SBL) Athanasius, Syn. 35 (PG 26:753c–756c; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/athanasius-synodis/33/#p-35). ## On the Councils of Ariminum and Seleucia 36 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/athanasius-synodis/33/#p-36 - Source: PG 26:756c–757c - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-10-09 Summary: The council wrote “from the essence” to distinguish the Son from creatures; the Arians, who object to unscriptural terms, themselves invented many and used “essence” at Antioch. ### Greek text Ταῦτα καὶ ἡ σύνοδος συνορῶσα, καὶ εἰδυῖα τὴν ἐκ,τῆς ὁμωνυμίας διαφορίαν, ὅπὶρ τοῦ μή τινας ὑπονοεῖν κατᾶ τὴν κτίσιν οὕτω λέγεσθαι καὶ τὸν Υἱὸν ἐκ τοῦ Θεοῦ, λευκότερον ἔγραψαν ἐκ τῆς οὐσίας τὸν Υἱὸν. Ἐκ μὲν γὰρ τούτου τὸ γνήσιον ἀληθῶς Υἱοῦ πρὸς τὸν ΙΙατὲρα γνωρίζεται· ὲκ δὲ τοῦ λέγεσθαι ἁπλῶς ιι ἐκ τοῦ Θεοῦ, ι τὸ βούλη μα τῆς δη μιουρ γίας τοῦ κτίζοντος σημαίνεται. Εἴ μὲν οῦν καὶ αὐτοὶ τοιαύτην ἔχοντες διάνοιαν, ἔγραψαν ἐκ τοῦ ηατρὸς τὸν Λόγον, μή μεμφέσθωσαν τὴν σύνοδον ’ εί δὶ ὡς ἐπὶ τῆς κτίσεώς ἐστι γεγραμμὲνον, οὕτω καὶ ἐπὶ τοῦ Υἱοῦ φρονοῦσι ‹‹ τὸ, ἐκ τοῦ Θεοῦ ››, ἔδει, τὰ ἐπὶ τῆς κτίσεως λαμβάνοντας αὐτοὺς, μὴ λέγειν Υἱὸν, 'iva μή δοκῶσι φύρειν βλασφημίαυ τῃ εὐσεβείᾳ, καὶ ἢ 16v Κύριον μὴ συναριθμεῖν τοῖς κτίσμασιν, ἢ μή ἀνάξια καὶ μή ἁρμόζοντα περὶ τοῦ Υἱοῦ γράφειν Ei γὰρ Υἱός ἐστιν, οὐκ ἔστι κτίσμα εἴ δὲ κτίσμα ἐστὶν, οὐκ ἔστιν Υἱός. Τοιαῦτα δὲ διανοούμενοι, ἀρνήσονταί που καὶ τὸ ἅγιον λουτρὸν, ὅτι εἷς Πατέρα καὶ εἰς Υἱόν, καὶ οὐκ εἷς Κτίστην καὶ κτίσμα δίδοται, ὡς αὐτοὶ νομίζουσιν. Ἀλλʼ οὐ γέγραπται ταῦτα, φασὶν, καί ὡς ἀγράφους τάς φωνὰς ἐκβάλλομεν. Ἀλλὰ καὶ τοῦτο πάλιν πρόφασίς ἐστιν αὐτοῖς ἀναίσχυντος. Εἶγάρ ἐκβλητέα νομίζουσι τὰ μή γεγραμμένα, διὰ τί τῶν περὶ ’Ἀρειον ἐξ ἀγράφων ἐπινοησάντων τοσοῦτον ῥηματίων συρφετὸν, τὸ, ἐξ οὑκ ὅντων, καὶ τὸ, οὑκ ἦν 6 Υἱὸς πρὶν γεννηθῇ· καὶ, ἦν ποτε, ὅτε οὐκ ἦνʼ καὶ, τρεπτός ἐστιʼ καὶ, ἄρῥητος καὶ ἀόρατος 6 Πατὴρ τῷ Υἱῷο καὶ, ὁ Υἱὸς οὐκ οἶδεν οὐδὲ τήν ἑαυτοῦ οὐσίαν · καὶ ὅσα ἐν τῇ γελοίῳ καὶ ὰσεο βεἴ Θαλία ἑαυτοῦ φρονῶν ἐξήμεσεν ’Ἄρειος οὐκ άντειρήκασιν, ἀλλὰ καὶ μᾶλλον ὑπὲρ αὐτῶν ἀγωνίζονται, καὶ διὰ ταῦτα πρὸς τοὺς Πατέρας ὲαυτῶν διαμάχονται. Ἐκ ποίας δὲ Γραφῆς καὶ αὐτοὶ εὑρόντες τὸ ἀγένητον, καὶ τὸ οὐσίας ὄνομα, καὶ, τρεῖς εἰσιν ὑποστάσεις, καὶ, οὐκ ἔστιν ἀληθινὸς Θεὸς 6 Χριστὸς, καὶ, εἷς ἐστι τῶν ἑκατὸν προβάτων, καὶ, ἡ μὶν σοφία τοῦ Θεοῦ ἀγέννητος καὶ ἅναρχός ἐστι, πολλαὶ δέ εἶσιν αἱ κτισθεῖσαι δυνάμεις, ὦν μία ἐστὶν ὁ Χριστός; Ἦ πῶς ἐν τοῖς λεγομένοις Ἒγκαινίοις, ἀγράφοις χρησάμενοι λέξεσιν οἳ περὶ ’Δκάκιον καὶ Εὑσέβιον, καὶ εἰπόντες οὐσίας τε καὶ δυνάμεως, καὶ βουλῆς, καὶ δόξης ἀπαράλλακτον εἰκόνα τὸν πρωτότοκον τῆς κτίσεως, γογγύζουσι κατὰ τῶν Πατέρων, ὡς ἀγράφων αὐτῶν μνημονευσάντων λέξεων, καὶ οὐσίας μνημονευσάντων; Ἔδει γὰρ αὐτοὺς ἢ καθʼ ἑαυτῶν γογγύζειν, ἢ μηδὲν τοὺς Πατέρας αἰτιᾶσθαι. ### English translation (Claude) The council, seeing this and knowing the difference that arises from the ambiguity, wrote more clearly that the Son is “from the essence,” lest anyone suppose that the Son too is said to be “from God” in the way creation is. For from this the true genuineness of the Son in relation to the Father is made known; while from saying simply “from God” the will of the Creator in his work of creation is signified. If, then, they too wrote that the Word is from the Father with such a meaning, let them not blame the council; but if they think of “from God,” said of the Son, in the way it is written of creation, then, since they take what is said of creation, they should not say “Son,” lest they seem to mix blasphemy with piety; and they should either not number the Lord with the creatures, or not write things unworthy and unfitting of the Son. For if he is Son, he is not a creature; and if he is a creature, he is not Son. Thinking such things, they will doubtless deny the holy washing too, since it is given into Father and Son, and not into Creator and creature, as they think. “But these are not written,” they say, “and we reject the terms as unscriptural.” But this again is a shameless pretext of theirs. For if they think that what is not written must be rejected, why, when Arius’s party invented on unscriptural grounds such a heap of little phrases—“from nothing,” and “the Son was not before he was begotten,” and “there was once when he was not,” and “he is changeable,” and “the Father is ineffable and invisible to the Son,” and “the Son does not know even his own essence,” and all that Arius vomited out in his ridiculous and impious Thalia—have they not contradicted them, but rather fight for them, and for their sake fight against their own fathers? And from what Scripture did they themselves find “unoriginate,” and the name “essence,” and “there are three hypostases,” and “Christ is not true God,” and “he is one of the hundred sheep,” and “the wisdom of God is unbegotten and without beginning, but there are many created powers, of which Christ is one”? Or how is it that at the so-called Dedication, Acacius’s and Eusebius’s party, using unscriptural terms and calling the firstborn of creation the exact image of the essence and power and will and glory, murmur against the fathers for having used unscriptural terms and mentioned essence? They ought either to murmur against themselves, or to blame the fathers for nothing. ### Scripture references - Matt 28:19: allusion, high confidence - Col 1:15: allusion, medium confidence ### Translation notes - “The holy washing” is baptism (Matt 28:19). The Arian phrases are those quoted in chs. 15–18 (Arius, Athanasius of Nazarba, Asterius) and the Dedication Creed of Antioch (ch. 23). ### Citation (SBL) Athanasius, Syn. 36 (PG 26:756c–757c; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/athanasius-synodis/33/#p-36). ## On the Councils of Ariminum and Seleucia 37 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/athanasius-synodis/33/#p-37 - Source: PG 26:757c–761a - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-10-09 Summary: Acacius and Eudoxius contradict themselves, having called the Son the exact image of the Father’s essence at Antioch and then rejected “essence” in Isauria; such men cannot be trusted. ### Greek text Εῑμὲν οὗν ἄλλοι τινες ἐπροφασίζοντο τὰς τῆς συνόδου λέξεις, ήδόναντό πως ἢ ἀγνοίας ἢ εὐλαβείας ὑπόνοιαν ἔχεινʼ καὶ περὶ μὲν Γεωργίου τοῦ Καππάδοκος τοῦ ἐκβληθέντος ἀπὸ τῆς Ἀλεξανδρείας λόγος οὐδείς· ανθρώπου μήτε ἐκ προάγοντος μίου τήν μαρτυρίαν ἔχοντος, μήτε ὅλως Χριστιανοῦ τυγχάνοντος, ἀλλᾶ μόνον ὑποκριναμένου διὰ τὸν καιρὸν τὸ ὄνομα, καὶ πορισμὸν ἡγησαμένου τήν εὐσέβειαν διὸ εὑδὲ μέμψαιτο ἄν τις αὐτὸν εἰκότως, πταίοντα περὶ τήν πίστιν, ἄνθρωπον μήτε εἰδότα περὶ ὧν λέγει, μήτε περὶ ὧν διαβεβαιοῦται, ἀλλὰ πᾶσι, κατα τὸ γεγραμμένον, ὡς κέπφον ἐπακολου - Θοῦντα· Ἀκάκιος δὲ καὶ Εὑδόξιος, καὶ Πατρόφιλος, ταῦτα λέγοντες, πῶς οὑκ ἄξιοι πάσης εἰσὶ καταγνώτεως ; Γράφοντες γὰρ ἄγραφα καὶ αὐτοὶ, καὶ ἀποδεξάμενοι πολλάκις ὡς καλὸν τὸ τῆς οὐσίας ὄνομα, μάλιστα καὶ διὰ τήν ἐπιστολὴν Εὐσεβίου, αἰτιῶνται νῦν τοὺς πρὸ αὐτῶν, ὡς τοιαύταις χρησαμένους λέξεσιν. Ἀλλά καὶ εἰπόντες αὐτοὶ Θεὸν ἐκ Θεοῦ, καὶ Λόγον ζῶντα, τῆς οὐσίας τοῦ Πατρὸς ἀπαράλλακτον εῗκόνα τὸν Υἱὸν, κατηγοροῦσι τῶν ἐν Ν ικαίᾳ εἷʼπόντων, ἐκ τῆς οὐσίας, καὶ ὁμοούσιον τὸν γεννηθέντα τῷ γεγεννηκότι. Τί δὶ θαυμαστὸν εἰ τοῖς πρὸ αὐτῶν καὶ τοῖς ἶδίοις πατράσι διαμάχονται, ὅπου γε καὶ αὐτοί ἑαυτοῖς ἐναντιούμενοι, τοῖς ἑαυτῶν προσκόπτουσιν; Ἐκθὲμενοι γὰρ ἐν τοῖς λεγομένοις Ἐγκαινίοις ἐν ’Δντιοχείᾳ τῆς οὐσίας τοῦ Πατρὸς ἀπαράλλακτον εἰκόνα εἶναι τὸν ιʼἱὸν, ὸμόσαντὲς τε οὕτω ’ φρονεῖν, καὶ ἀναθεματίσαντες τοῦς ἄλλως φρονοῦντας, ἄλλά γὰρ καὶ ἐν τῇ ἰσαυρίᾳ γράψαντες· Οὐ φεύγομεν τήν ἐκτεθεῖσαν αὐθεντικήν πίστιν ἐν τοῖς ’Ῑὲἶγκιιι νίοις τοῖς κατὰ Ἀντιόχειαν (ἐν αὐτοῖς δὲ ἐγράφη τὸ τῆς οὐσίας ὄνομα), ὥσπερ ἐπιλαθόμενοι τούτων, μετʼ ὀλίγον ἐν τῇ αὐτῇ Ἰσαυρίᾳ τάναντία ἔγραψαν, λέγοντες· Τὸ ὁμοούσιον καὶτὸ ὁμοιοούσιον ἐκβάλλομεν, ὡς ἀλλότριον τῶν Γραφῶν· καὶ τὸ τῆς οὐσίας ὄνομα περιαιροῦμεν, ὡς μὴ κείμενον ἂν ταῖς Γραφαῖς. Τίς οῦν ἔτι τοὺς τοιούτους Χριστιανοὺς ἡγήσεται ; ’Ἡ ποία πίστις παρὰ τούτοις, παρʼ οἷς οὐ λόγος, οὐ γράμμα βέβαιον, ἀλλᾶ πάντα κατὰ καιρὸν ἀλλάσσεται καὶ μεταβάλλεται ; Ei γὰρ, ὦ Ἀκάκιε καὶ Εὐδόξιε, οὐ φεύγετε τήν ἐκτεθείσαν ἐντοῖς Ἐγκαινίοις πίστιν, ἐν αὐτῇ δὲ γέγραπται, Οὐσίας ἀπαράλλακτος εἰκὼν 6 Υἱός· πῶς ἐν τῇ Ἰσαυρίᾳ γράφετε, Ἐκβάλλομεν τὸ ὁμοούσιον; Εί γὰρ οὐκ ἔστι κατʼ οὐσίαν ὅμοιος 6 Υἱὸς τῷ Πατρὶ, πῶς ἀπαράλλακτος τῆς οὐσίας εἰκών ἐστιν; Ei δὶ μετέγνωτε, γράψαντες τὸ, τῆς οὐσίας ἀπαράλλακτος εἷʼκών· πῶς ἀναθεματίζετε τοὺς ἀνόμοιον εἶναι λέγοντας τὸν Υἱόν ; Εἰ γὰρ οὐχ ὅμοιος κατʼ οὐσίαν, πάντες ἀνόμοιός ἐστι. Τὸ δὶ ἀνόμοιον οὐκ ἂν εἴη εἰκών. El δὲ οὕτω καθʼ ὐμᾶς ἐστιν, οὐκ ἄρα ὸτὸν Υἱὸν ἑωρακὼς ἑώρακε τὸν Πατέρα, πλείστης ὅσης οὔσης διαφορᾶς· μᾶλλον δὲ τὸ ὅλον ὄντος τούτου πρὸς ἐκεῖνον ἀνομοίου. Τὸ δὲ ἀνόμοιον οὐχ οἷόν τε ὅμοιον λέγεσθαι. ιΙοίᾳ τοίνυν μηχανῇ τὸ ἀνόμοιον ὅμοιον λίγετε, καὶ τὸ ὅμοιον ἀνόμοιον φρονεῖτε, καὶ ὐποκρίνεσθε λέγοντες εἷʼκόνα εἶναι τοῦ ΙΙατρὸς τὸν Υἱόν ; Ei γὰρ οὐκ ἔστι κατʼ οὐσίαν ὅμοιος 6 Υἱὸς τοῦ ΙῙατρὸς, λείπει τι τῇ εἷκόνι, καὶ οὐκ ἔστι πλήρης εἰκὼν, οὐδὲ τέλειον ἀπαύγασμα. ΙΙῶς οῦν ἀναγινώσκετε τὸ, ι‹ Ἐν αὐτῷ κατοικεῖ πᾶν τὸ πλήρωμα τῆς θεὸτητος σωματικῶς· ›› καὶ, α Ἐκ τοῦ πληρώματος αὐτοῦ ἡμεῖς πάντες ἐλάβομεν ; ›› Πῶς τὸν Ἀρειανὸν Ἀέτιον ὡς αἱρετικὸν ἐκ· βάλλετε, καίτοι τὰ αὐτὰ ἐκείνῳ λέγοντες; Καὶ γὰρ σοῦ μὲν, ὦ Ἀκάκιε, ἑταῖρός ἐστιν, Εὐδοείου δὲ διδάσκαλος εἷς τήν τοιαύτην ἀσέβειαν γέγονεν, ἧς ἕνεκα καὶ Λεόντιος αὐτὸν 6 ἐπίσκοπος διάκονον κατέστησενο ἵνα, ὡς ἑνδύματι προβάτον τῷ ὀνόματι τῆς διακονίας χρώμενος, ἐπʼ ἀδείας ἐξεμεῖν δύνηται τὰ τῆς βλασφημίας ῥήματα. ### English translation (Claude) If others had made pretexts of the council’s terms, they might somehow have been suspected of ignorance or of scruple. About George the Cappadocian, who was driven out of Alexandria, there is nothing to say—a man without the testimony of a former life, and not a Christian at all, but merely assuming the name to suit the times and thinking godliness a means of gain. So no one could reasonably blame him for stumbling about the faith, a man who knows neither what he says nor what he asserts, but, as it is written, follows everyone like a gull. But Acacius and Eudoxius and Patrophilus, saying these things, how are they not worthy of every condemnation? For they themselves write unscriptural things, and have often accepted the name “essence” as good, especially because of the letter of Eusebius, yet now they accuse those before them of using such terms. And though they themselves have said that the Son is God from God, and living Word, and exact image of the Father’s essence, they accuse those at Nicaea who said that the one begotten is “from the essence” and “of the same essence” as the one who begot him. What wonder if they fight with those before them and with their own fathers, when, contradicting themselves, they stumble against their own words? For having set forth at the so-called Dedication at Antioch that the Son is the exact image of the Father’s essence, and having sworn that they thought so and anathematized those who thought otherwise, and moreover having written in Isauria, “We do not shun the authentic faith set forth at the Dedication at Antioch” (and in it the name “essence” was written), as if they had forgotten these things, a little later in the same Isauria they wrote the opposite, saying, “We reject ‘of the same essence’ and ‘of like essence’ as alien to the Scriptures,” and “we remove the name ‘essence,’ as not found in the Scriptures.” [38] Who, then, will any longer consider such men Christians? Or what faith is there among those who have no firm word, no firm writing, but change and alter everything to suit the times? For if, Acacius and Eudoxius, you do not shun the faith set forth at the Dedication, and in it is written, “The Son is the exact image of the essence,” how do you write in Isauria, “We reject ‘of the same essence’”? For if the Son is not like the Father in essence, how is he the exact image of the essence? But if you have changed your minds about having written “exact image of the essence,” how do you anathematize those who say that the Son is unlike? For if he is not like in essence, he is altogether unlike; and the unlike could not be an image. And if this is so according to you, then he who has seen the Son has not seen the Father, since there is so very great a difference, or rather, since the one is wholly unlike the other; and the unlike cannot be called like. By what device, then, do you call the unlike like, and think the like unlike, and pretend to say that the Son is the image of the Father? For if the Son is not like the Father in essence, something is lacking to the image, and it is not a full image, nor a perfect radiance. How then do you read, “In him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily,” and “From his fullness we have all received”? How do you cast out Aetius the Arian as a heretic, though you say the same as he? For he is your companion, Acacius, and he became Eudoxius’s teacher in such impiety; for which reason Leontius the bishop made him a deacon, so that, using the name of the diaconate like sheep’s clothing, he might vomit out the words of blasphemy freely. ### Scripture references - 1 Tim 6:5: allusion, high confidence - 1 Tim 1:7: allusion, high confidence - Prov 7:22: allusion, low confidence - John 14:9: allusion, high confidence - Col 2:9: quotation, high confidence - John 1:16: quotation, high confidence - Matt 7:15: allusion, high confidence ### Translation notes - Chapter 38 begins at “[38]”; its numeral is removed by a logged correction. - 1 Tim 6:5 (godliness as gain); 1 Tim 1:7; Prov 7:22 LXX (“like a gull”, κεπφωθείς); John 14:9; Col 2:9; John 1:16; Matt 7:15 (sheep’s clothing). - Aetius, leader of the Anomoeans, was made deacon by Leontius of Antioch. ### Citation (SBL) Athanasius, Syn. 37 (PG 26:757c–761a; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/athanasius-synodis/33/#p-37). ## On the Councils of Ariminum and Seleucia 39 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/athanasius-synodis/33/#p-39 - Source: PG 26:761a–764a - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-10-09 Summary: Unscriptural terms with a pious meaning are no fault, while heretics misuse even Scripture; the Arians object to Nicaea only because it condemned their heresy. ### Greek text Τί οὖν ὑμᾶς ἄρα τοιουτον ἔπεισεν, ὥστε καὶ ἑαυτοῖς εἰς τὸ ἐναντίον περιπεσεῖν, καὶ τοσαύτην αἷσχύνην ἀπενέγκασθαι; ἀλλʼ οὐδὲν εὔλογον ἂν εἷʼποιτε· τοῦτο δὲ μόνον περιλείπεται νοεῖν, ὅτι πάντα νῦν ὑποκρίνεσθε, καὶ πάντα προσποιούμενοι πλάττετε διὰ τὴν παρὰ Κωνσταντίου προστασίαν, καὶ τὸ παρὰ τοῦ τοιούτου κέρδος. Καὶ κατηγορεῖτε μὲν εὖχερῶς τῶν Πατέρων, προφασίζεσθε δὲ ἁπλῶς τὰς λέξεις, ὡς ἀγράφους· καὶ κατᾶ τὸ γεγραμμένον, ‹‹ διετείνατε τὰ σκέλη παντὶ παρόδῳο ›› ὥστε τοσαυτάκις ὑμᾶς μεταβάλλεσθαι, ὁσάκις ἃν ὑμᾶς οἱ μισθούμενοι καὶ χορηγοῦντες ὑμῖν βούλονται. Καίτοι κᾶν ἀγράφους τις λαλῇ λέξεις, οὐδὲν διαφέρει, ἕως εὐσεβῆ τὴν διάνοιαν ἔχει. Ὁ δὲ αἱρετικὸς ἀνὴρ, κᾶν τὰς ἀπὸ τῶν Γραφῶν χρήσηται λέξεις, οὐδὲν ἧττον ὕποπτος ὢν,καὶ τὸν νοῦν διεφθαρμένος, ἀκούσεται παρὰ τοῦ ΙΙνεύματος· (ι Ἵνα τί σὺ διηγῇ τὰ δικαιώματά μου, καὶ ἀναλαμβάνεις τὴν διυθήκην μου διὰ στόματός σου; ›› Οὕτως 6 μὲν διάβολος, καίτοι λαλῶν ἀπὸ τῶν Γραφῶν, πεφίμωται παρὰ τοῦ Σωτῆρος 6 δὲ μακάριος Παῦλος, κᾶν ὲκ τῶν ἔξωθεν λαλῇ· ‹‹ Κρῆτες ἀεὶ ψεῦσται· ›› καὶ, ‹‹ Τοῦ γὰρ καὶ γένος ἐσμέν· ›› καὶ, ‹‹ Φθείρουσιν ἤθη χρηστὰ ὁμιλίαι κακαιί· ›› ἀλλʼ δμως, ἅγιος ὢν, έχει διάνοιανεύσεβῆ· καὶ τοῦ Χριστοῦ νοῦν ἔχων, διδάσκαλός ἐστιν ἐθνῶν ιν πίστει καί ἇΛηθείᾳο καὶ ἃ λαλεῖ, μετʼ εὐσεβείας φθέγγεται. Ποία τοίνυν ἐν τοῖς Ἀρειανοῖς ῥηματίοις κᾶν πιθανότης ἐστὶν, ἰν οἷς προτιμᾶται τοῦ Σωτῆρος ἡ κάμπη καὶ ἠ άκρὶς, καὶ λοιδορεῖται παρʼ αὐτῶν. Οὐκ ἧς ποτε, καὶ ἐκτίσθης, ξένος τε κατʼ οὐσίαν τοῦ Θεοῦ τυγχάνειςʼ καὶ ὅλως οὐδὲν δυσφημίας ἐν αὐτοῖς παραλέλειπται (Ἠ); Τί δὲ πρὸς εὐφημίαν παρῆκαν οἱ Πατέρεςς Καὶ οὗ μᾶλλον ὑψηλή διάνοια, καὶ φιλόχριστος εὐσέβεια παρʼ αὐτοῖς ἐστι; Καὶ ὅμως ταῦτα μὲν ἔγραψαν, ὅτι Ἐκβάλλομεν· ἐκείνων δὲ τῶν κατὰ τοῦ Κυρίου λοιδοριῶν ἀνέχονται, καὶ φανεροὺς ἑαυτοὺς πᾶσι καθιστῶσιν, ὅτι διʼ οὐδὶν ἕτερον μάχονται πρὸς τὴν σύνοδον ἐκείνην τὴν μεγάλην, ἢ ὅτι τὴν ’Δρειανήν αʼίρεσιν κατέκρινε. Διὰ τοῦτο γὰρ καὶ τήν τοῦ ὁμοουσίου λέξιν διαβάλλουσι, κακῶς αὐτοὶ φρονοῦντες καὶ περὶ αὐτῆς. Ei γὰρ ἐπίrcauov ὀρθῶς, καὶ τὸν μὲν Πατέρα Πατέρα ἄλη· θῶς ὁμολόγουν, τὸν δὲ Υἱὸν γνήσιον Υἱὸν καὶ φύσει ἀληθινὸν Λόγον, καὶ Σοφίαν ἐπίστευον εἶναι τοῦ Πατρός· τὸ τε ἐκ τοῦ Θεοῦ λέγειν τὸν Υίὸν, εἰ μὴ, ὥσπερ λέγεται περί τῶν κτισμάτων, οὕτως ἔλεγον καὶ περὶ αὐτοῦ, ἀλλὰ τῆς οὐσίας τοῦ Πατρὸς ἴδιον αὐτὸν ἐνόουν εἶναι γὲννημα, ὡς ἔστι τὸ ἀπαύγασμα ἐκ τοῦ φωτός· ούκ ἃν ἕκαστος αὐτῶν κατηγόρει τῶν Πατὲρωνο ἀλλʼ ἐθάρῥουν, ὅτι καλῶς ἔγραψεν ἡ σύνοδος· καὶ οὕτως ἐστὶνὴ ὀρθὴ περὶ τοῦ Κυρίου ἡμῶν Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ πίστις. ### English translation (Claude) What, then, has persuaded you to fall into contradiction with yourselves and bring such shame upon yourselves? You could give no reasonable answer; this alone is left to think, that you now play the hypocrite in everything and fabricate everything by pretense, for the sake of Constantius’s patronage and the gain to be had from such a man. And you readily accuse the fathers, and simply make a pretext of the terms as unscriptural; and, as it is written, “you have spread your legs to every passer-by,” so that you change as often as those who hire you and pay you wish. Yet even if someone speaks unscriptural terms, it makes no difference, so long as he has a pious meaning. But the heretical man, even if he uses the terms of the Scriptures, being no less suspect and corrupt in mind, will hear from the Spirit: “Why do you recount my statutes and take my covenant in your mouth?” So the devil, though speaking from the Scriptures, was silenced by the Savior; while the blessed Paul, even when he speaks from outside sources—“Cretans are always liars,” and “For we are also his offspring,” and “Bad company corrupts good morals”—nevertheless, being a saint, has a pious meaning; and, having the mind of Christ, he is a teacher of the Gentiles in faith and truth, and what he says he utters with piety. What plausibility, then, is there even in the Arian little phrases, in which the caterpillar and the locust are preferred to the Savior, and he is reviled by them: “You once were not,” and “You were created,” and “You are foreign to God in essence”—and in general nothing of slander is left out in them? And what did the fathers leave out in reverent speech? Is not a lofty meaning and Christ-loving piety rather to be found with them? And yet of these they wrote, “We reject,” while they tolerate those insults against the Lord, and make it plain to all that they fight against that great council for no other reason than that it condemned the Arian heresy. For this is why they slander the term “of the same essence,” thinking wrongly about it as well. For if they believed rightly, and truly confessed the Father as Father, and believed the Son to be genuine Son and by nature the true Word and Wisdom of the Father; and if, in saying that the Son is from God, they did not say it of him as it is said of the creatures, but understood him to be the proper offspring of the Father’s essence, as the radiance is from the light, then none of them would accuse the fathers; but they would be confident that the council wrote well, and that this is the right faith concerning our Lord Jesus Christ. ### Scripture references - Ezek 16:25: quotation, high confidence - Ps 50:16 (49:16 LXX): quotation, high confidence - Matt 4:10: allusion, medium confidence - Titus 1:12: quotation, high confidence - Acts 17:28: quotation, high confidence - 1 Cor 15:33: quotation, high confidence - 1 Cor 2:16: allusion, high confidence - 1 Tim 2:7: allusion, high confidence ### Extrabiblical texts - Epimenides (Epimenides (fragments)): echo, medium confidence - Aratus, Phaen. 5 (Aratus, Phaenomena): echo, medium confidence - Menander (Menander (fragments)): echo, medium confidence ### Translation notes - Ezek 16:25; Ps 50:16 (49:16 LXX); Matt 4:1–11 (the devil quoting Scripture); Titus 1:12 (Epimenides); Acts 17:28 (Aratus, Phaenomena 5); 1 Cor 15:33 (Menander, Thais); 1 Cor 2:16; 1 Tim 2:7. ### Citation (SBL) Athanasius, Syn. 39 (PG 26:761a–764a; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/athanasius-synodis/33/#p-39). ## On the Councils of Ariminum and Seleucia 40 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/athanasius-synodis/33/#p-40 - Source: PG 26:764a–764d - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-10-09 Summary: Those who find the terms obscure should ask to learn rather than reject them, and should at least accept the council’s anathemas, which state their meaning. ### Greek text Ἀλλʼ ἀσαφης, φασὶν ἐστὶν ἡμῖν τῶν τοιούτων λέξεων ἡ διάνοια. Καὶ τοῦτο γάρ προεφασίσαντο, λέγοντες, ὅτι, μὴ δυνάμενοι καταλαβεῖν τήν ἑρμηνείαν αὐτῶν, ἐκβάλλομεν ταύτας τὰς λέξεις. Εἰ δὲ ἀληθῶς ἔλεγον, οὐκ ἔδει λέγειν αυτους, Ἐκβάλλομεν ταύταςʼ ἀλλʼ ἠξίουν μαθεῖν παρὰ τῶν ἐπισταμένων, ἐπεὶ ὀφείλουσί γε, καὶ ἅπερ ἂν ἐν ταῖς θείαις Γραφαῖς μή νοήσωσιν ἐκβάλλειν, καὶ κατηγορεῖν τοὺς γράψαντας αὒτά. Ἀλλά τοῦτο μᾶλλον αἱρετικῶν, καὶ οὐχ ἡμῶν τῶν Χριστιανῶν τὸ τόλμημα. *Α γὰρ ἀγνοοῦμεν ἐν τοῖς λογίοις, οὐκ ἐκ· βάλλομεν, ἀλλὰ ζητοῦμεν οὒς ἀπεκάλυψεν ὁ Κύριος, καὶ παρʼ αὐτῶν μανθάνειν ἀξιοῦμεν. Ἐπειδή δὲ καὶ οὕτω προφασίζονται τὴν ἀσάφειαν τῶν τοιούτων λὲξεων, ὁμολογείτωσαν γοῦν τὰ εὐθὺς ἐπιφερόμενα, καὶ ἆναθεματιζὲτωσαν τοὺς φρονοῦντας, ἐξ οὐκ ὄντων εἶναι τὸν Υὶὸν, καὶ, Οὐκ ἦν πρὶν γεννηθῇ, καὶ ὅτι κτίσμα καὶ ποίημά ἐστιν ὁ τοῦ ὃεοῦ Λόγος· καὶ, Τρεπτός ἐστι τῇ φύσει· καὶ, Ἐξ ἑτέρας ὑποστάσεωςο καὶ ὅλως ἀναθεματιζὲτωσαν την Ἀρειανήν αἳρεσιν, τὴν ἐφευροῦσαν τήν τοιαύτην ἀσέβειαν. Καὶ λοιπὸν μὴ λεγέτωσαν, Ἐκβάλλομεν τὰς λέξεις, ἀλλʼ ὅτι Οὔπω νοοῦμεν αὐτάς· ἵνα ουτω πιθανήν τινα πρόφασιν ἔχωσι τοῦ παραιτεῖσθαι ταύτας. Εὖ δὲ οἶδα καὶ πέπεισμαι, καὶ αὐτοὶ δὲ τοῦτο γινώσκουσιν, ὅτι ταῦτα ἐὰν ὁμολογήσωσι, καὶ ἀναθεματίσωσι τήν Ἀρειανήν αʼίρεσιν, οὐκ ἀρνήσονται κάκείνας τὰς τῆς συνόδου λέξεις, Διὰ τοῦτο γάρ καὶ οἱ Ηατέρες, εἰρηκότες ἐκ τῆς οὐσίας γεννητὸν τὸν Υὶὸν ὁτιοούσιον τῷ Πατρί, εὐθὺς ἐπήγαγονο τοὺς δὲ λέγοντας τὰ προειρημένα, ἅπερ ἐστὶ τῆς Ἀρειανῆς αἱρέσεως, ἀναθεματίζομενʼ ’ίνα δείξωσιν, ὅτι ὡς ἐκ παραλλήλου λέλεκται παρʼ αὐτῶν, καὶ αἱ λέξεις ἐκεῖναι ταῦτα σημαίνουσιν·καὶ ὅς ἂν ὲκείνας ὁμολογήσῃ, πάντως καὶ ταῦτα διανοηθήσεται· οἱ δὲ μήτε ταῦτα φρονοῦντες, ἀλλὰ κάκεῖνα διαβάλλοντες, οἱ τοιοῦτοι πανταχόθεν ἐλέγχονται χριστο μάχοι. ### English translation (Claude) “But the meaning of such terms,” they say, “is unclear to us.” For they made this a pretext too, saying, “Since we cannot understand their interpretation, we reject these terms.” But if they were speaking the truth, they should not have said, “We reject them,” but should have asked to learn from those who understand; since otherwise they ought to reject whatever they do not understand in the divine Scriptures as well, and to accuse those who wrote them. But this is the daring of heretics rather than of us Christians. For what we do not understand in the oracles we do not reject; we seek out those to whom the Lord has revealed it and ask to learn from them. But since even so they make a pretext of the obscurity of such terms, let them at least confess what immediately follows, and anathematize those who hold that the Son is from nothing, and “he was not before he was begotten,” and that the Word of God is a creature and a thing made, and “he is changeable by nature,” and “from another hypostasis”; and, in short, let them anathematize the Arian heresy, which invented such impiety. And then let them not say, “We reject the terms,” but, “We do not yet understand them,” so that they may have some plausible pretext for declining them. But I know well and am persuaded—and they themselves know this—that if they confess these things and anathematize the Arian heresy, they will not deny those terms of the council either. For this is why the fathers too, having said that the Son was begotten from the essence and is of the same essence as the Father, at once added, “But those who say” the things mentioned above, which belong to the Arian heresy, “we anathematize”: to show that it was said by them as an equivalent, and that those terms signify these things; and whoever confesses the former will certainly understand the latter; while those who neither hold the latter and also slander the former are convicted on every side as Christ-fighters. ### Translation notes - The anathemas are those appended to the Creed of Nicaea (325). ### Citation (SBL) Athanasius, Syn. 40 (PG 26:764a–764d; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/athanasius-synodis/33/#p-40). ## On the Councils of Ariminum and Seleucia 41 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/athanasius-synodis/33/#p-41 - Source: PG 26:764d–768a - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-10-09 Summary: Those who accept all of Nicaea but “of the same essence,” such as Basil of Ancyra, are brothers; “from the essence” and “of like essence” together amount to “of the same essence.” ### Greek text Καὶ περὶ μὶν τῶν ἐξ ὅλου τὴν σύνοδον ἀρνουμένων ἀρκεῖ πρὸς ἔλεγχον τὰ ὀλίγα ταῦτα· πρός δὶ τοὺς ἀποδεχομένους τὰ μὲν ἅλλα πάντα τῶν ὲν Νικαίᾳ γραφέντων, περὶ δὲ μόνον τὸ ὁμοούσιον ἀμφιβάλλοντας, χρὴ μὴ ὡς πρὸς ἐχθροὺς διακεῖσθαι - καὶ γὰρ καὶ ἡμεῖς οὐχ ὡς πρὸς Ἀρειομανίτας, οὐδʼ ὡς μαχομένους πρὸς τοὺς Πατέρας ἐνιστάμεοα, ἀλλʼ ὡς ἀδελφοὶ πρὸς ἀδελφοὺς διαλεγόμεθα, τὴν αὐτὴν μὲν ἡμῖν διάνοιαν ἔχοντας, περὶ δὲτὸ ὄνομα μόνον διστάζοντας. Καὶ γὰρ ὁμολογοῦντες ἐκ τῆς οὐσίας τοῦ [Ιατρὶις εἶναι, καὶ μὴ ἐξ ἑτέρας ὑποστάσεως τὸν Υἱὸν, κτίσμα τε μὴ εἶναι, μηδὲ ποίημα αὑτὸν, ἀλλά γνήσιον καὶ φύσει γέννημα ἁῖδίως τε αὐτὸν συνεῖναι τῷ Ila-cpi. Λόγον ὂντα καὶ Σοφίαν, οὐ μακράν εἰσιν ἀποδέξασθαι καὶ τὴν τοῦ ὁμοουσίου λέξιν. Τοιοῦτος δέ ἐστι Βασίλειος ὁ ἀπὸ Ἀγκύρας, γράψας περὶ πίστεως. Τὸ μὲν γὰρ ὅμοιον μόνον λέγειν κατʼ οὐσίαν οὺ πάντως σημαίνει καὶτὸ ὲκ τῆς οὐσίας, ἐξ οὗ μᾶλλον, ὡς καὶ αὐτοὶ εἰρήκασι, σημαίνεται τὸ γνήσιον τοῦ Tini} πρὸς τὸν Πατέρα. Καὶ γᾴρ κασσίτερος ὅμοιός ἐστι μόνον τῷ ἀργύρῳ, καὶ λύκος τῷ κυνὶ, καὶ χαλκὸς χρυσίζων τῷ ἀληθινῷ χρυσῷ, οὕτε δὲ κασσίτερος ἐκ τοῦ ἀργύρου τυγχάνει, οὔτε λύκος ὡς uis; τοῦ κυνὸς ἂν νομισθείη. Ἐπειδὴ δὲ καὶ ἐκ τῆς οὐσίας καὶ ὁμοιοούσιον αὐτὸν εἰρήκασι, τί ἓτερον σημαίνουσιν ὲκ τούτων ἦ τὸ όμοούσιον; Καὶ γὰρ ὥσπερ ὸ λέγων μόνον ὁμοιοούσιον οὐ πάντως καὶ τὸ ὲκ τῆς οὐσίας γνωρίζει, οὕτως ὁ λέγων όμοούσιον ἀμφοτέρων, τοῦ τε ὁμοιοουσίου καὶ τοῦ ἐκ τῆς οὐ· σίας, σημαίνει τὴν διάνοιαν. Καὶ αὐτοὶ γοῦν ἐνιστάμενοι πάλιν πρὸς τοὺς κτίσμα λέγοντας εἶναι τὸν Λόγον, καὶ μὴ θέλοντας αὐτὸν γνήσιον Υἱὸν εἶναι, ἐξ ἀνθρωπίνων παραδειγμάτων υἱοῦ καὶ πατρὸς εἰλήφασι τὰς κατʼ αὐτῶν, ἀποδείξεις, ὲξαιρουμένου τούτου,,ὃτι μὴ ὡς ἅνθρωπός ἐστιν ό Θεὸς, μηδὲ ὡς ἀνθρωπίνη γονὴ, οὕτως ἐστὶνὴ τοῦ Υἱοῦ γέννησις, ἀλλʼὡς ὴ Θεῷ πρέπουσα, καὶ ἡμᾶς ἁρμόζουσα νοεῖν. Καὶ γὰρ καὶ πηγὴν εἰρήκασι τὸν Πατέρα τῆς σοφίας καὶτῆς ζωῆς, τὸν δὲ Υἰὸν ἀπαύγασμα φωτὸς ἀϊδίου, καὶ αὐτὸν εἶναι τὸ ἐκ τῆς πηγῆς γέννημα λέγοντο. ι Ἐγώ είμι ὴ ζωὴ, ι καὶ, ‹ Ἐγὼ ηʼΣοφία κατεσκήνωσα βουλήν.» Τὸ δὲ ἐκ φωτὸς ἀπαύγασμα, καὶ ἐκ πηγῆς γέννημα, καὶ ἐκ Πατρὸς Υἱδν, πῶς ἄν τις ἁρμοζόντως ὀνομάσειεν ἢ ὁμοούσιον; 'Ap‘ οὖν μὴ, ἐπειδὴ τὰ ἐξ ἀνθρώπων γεννήματα όμοούσιά ἐστιν, εὐλαβεῖσθαι δεῖ μὴ καὶ ὁ Υίὸς, λεγόμενος ὁμοούσιος, νομισθείη καὶ αὐτὸς ὡς ἀνθρώπινον γέννημα; μὴ γένοιτοῐ οὐκ ἐστιν οὕτως. Ἀλλὰ καὶ ταχεῖαν εχει τὴν λύσιν τοῦτον Λόγος γάρ ἐστι καὶ Σοφία τοῦ Πατρος ὁ Υἱός ' ἐξ ὧν τὸ ἀπαθὲς καὶ τὸ ἀμέριστον τῆς ἑκ τοῦ Πατρὸς γεννήσεως γνωρίζεται. Λόγος γὰρ οὐδὲ 6 τῶν ἀνθρώπων μέρος ἐστὶν, οὐδὲ κατὰ πάθος ἐξ αὐτῶν προέρχεται, μήτι γε 6 τοῦ Θεοῦ, ὅν Υἱὸν εἶναι ἑαυτοῦ 6 Πατὴρ ἐδήλωσεν ’ίνα μὴ πάλιν τις, ἀκούων μόνον, Λόγον, νομίσῃ τοιοῦτον εἶναι, οἷός ἔστιν ὁ τῶν ἀνθρώπων, ἀνυπόστατος · ἀλλʼ ἀκούων, ὅτι Υἱός ἐστι, γινώοκῃ τοῦτον εἶναι ζῶντα Λόγον, καὶ ένούσιον Σοφίαν. ### English translation (Claude) Concerning those who deny the council altogether, these few words are enough for their refutation; but toward those who accept everything else written at Nicaea and doubt only about “of the same essence,” one must not be disposed as toward enemies. For we too do not oppose them as Ariomaniacs, nor as men fighting against the fathers, but we discuss with them as brothers with brothers, since they have the same meaning as we do and hesitate only about the name. For since they confess that the Son is from the essence of the Father and not from another hypostasis, and that he is not a creature or a thing made, but a genuine and natural offspring, and that he coexists eternally with the Father, being Word and Wisdom, they are not far from accepting the term “of the same essence” too. Such is Basil of Ancyra, who wrote about the faith. For to say only “like in essence” does not altogether signify “from the essence,” by which rather, as they themselves have said, the genuineness of the Son in relation to the Father is signified. For tin is only like silver, and a wolf like a dog, and gilded brass like true gold; but tin is not from silver, nor would a wolf be thought the offspring of a dog. But since they have said that he is both “from the essence” and “of like essence,” what else do they signify by these than “of the same essence”? For just as one who says only “of like essence” does not altogether make known “from the essence” as well, so one who says “of the same essence” signifies the meaning of both, of “of like essence” and of “from the essence.” And they themselves, opposing in turn those who say that the Word is a creature and will not have him be a genuine Son, have drawn their proofs against them from the human examples of son and father, with this exception, that God is not as man, nor is the generation of the Son as human generation, but as befits God and as it is fitting for us to think. For they have called the Father the fountain of wisdom and of life, and the Son the radiance of eternal light and the offspring from the fountain, as he says, “I am the life,” and “I, Wisdom, have made counsel my dwelling.” But the radiance from the light, and the offspring from the fountain, and the Son from the Father—how could one name these fittingly except as “of the same essence”? Must we, then, since the offspring of men are of the same essence as their parents, be cautious lest the Son too, being called “of the same essence,” be thought to be a human offspring? Far from it! It is not so. This too has a quick solution. For the Son is the Word and Wisdom of the Father, from which the impassibility and indivisibility of the generation from the Father is made known. For not even a human word is a part of men, nor does it proceed from them by passion, much less the Word of God, whom the Father declared to be his Son; so that, again, no one hearing only “Word” should think him to be such as the human word is, without subsistence; but hearing that he is Son, should know him to be living Word and essential Wisdom. ### Scripture references - John 14:6: quotation, high confidence - Prov 8:12: quotation, high confidence - Heb 1:3: allusion, medium confidence ### Extrabiblical texts - Wis 7:26 (Wisdom of Solomon): allusion, high confidence ### Translation notes - Basil of Ancyra, leader of the “like in essence” (Homoiousian) party in 358–359. - Wis 7:26 (radiance of eternal light); John 14:6; Prov 8:12 LXX (“I, Wisdom, have made counsel my dwelling”), restored by a logged correction from an OCR garble. - ἐνούσιος is rendered “essential” (having real being). ### Citation (SBL) Athanasius, Syn. 41 (PG 26:764d–768a; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/athanasius-synodis/33/#p-41). ## On the Councils of Ariminum and Seleucia 42 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/athanasius-synodis/33/#p-42 - Source: PG 26:768a–768c - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-10-09 Summary: As “offspring” and “Son” are understood of God without bodily notions, so must “of the same essence” be, since both are said of the same Son. ### Greek text Ἒπειτα, ὥσπερ τὸ γέννημα λέγοντες, οὐκ ἂν· Θρωπίνως νοοῦμεν, καὶ Πατέρα τὸν Θεὸν εἰδότες, οὐ σωματὶκήν τιια περὶ αὐτοῦ λαμβάνομεν ἔννοιαν ' ἀλλὰ τὰ μὲν παραδείγματα καὶ τὰς τοιαύτας λέξεις ἀκούομεν, ἁρμοζόντως δὲ περὶ Θεοῦ νοοῦμεν οὗ γὰρ ὡς ἄοθρωπος 6 Θεός · οὕτως ἄρα καὶ τὸ ὁμοούσιον ἀκούοντες, ὑπερβαίνειν ὀφείλομεν πᾶσαν αἴσθησιν, καὶ κατὰ τὴν Ιιαροιμίαν. νοητῶς νοεῖν τὰ παρατιθέμενα ἡμῖν · ὥστε μέντοι γινώσκειν, ὅτι μή θελησει, ἀλλὰ ἀληθῶς Υἱός ἐστιν ἐκ Πατρὸς γνήσιος, ὡς ἐκ πηγῆς ζωή, καὶ φωτὸς ἀπαύγασμα. Ἀ διὰ τί τὸ μὲν, γέννημα, καὶ τὸ, Υἱὸς, οὐ σωματικῶς, τὸ δὲ ὁμοούσιον, ὡς ἐπὶ σωμάτιον διανοούμεθα, καὶ μάλιστα, ὅτι οὐ περὶ ἄλλου καὶ ἄλλου ἐστὶ τὰ λεγόμενα, ἀλλᾶ περὶ οὗ τὸ γέννημα, περὶ τούτου καί τὸ ὁμοούσιον ἐλέχθη; Καὶ πρέπει τὴν αὐτὴν διάνοιαν ἀμφοτέρων τῶν λέξεων ἐπὶ τοῦ Σωτῆρος διασώζειν, καὶ μὴ τὸ μὶν γέννημα καλῶς ἐξηγεῖσθαι, τὸ δὲ ὁμοούσιον ἄλλως · ἐπεὶ ἀκόλουθόν ἐστιν, οὕτω διακειμένους ὑμᾶς καὶ λέγοντας Λόγον καὶ Σοφίαν τοῦ Πατρὸς τὸν Υἱὸν, διάφορον ἔχειν καὶ περὶ τούτων τὴν διάνοιαν, καὶ ἄλλως μὶν τὸν Λόγον νοεῖν, ἑτέρως δὲ τὴν Σοφίαν. Ἀλλʼ ὥσπερ ἄτοπον τοῦτο Λόγος γὰρ καὶ Σοφία τοῦ Πατρός ἐστιν 6 Υἱὸς, καὶ ἓν ἀστι τὸ ἐκ Πατρὸς γέννημα, καὶ ἴδιον τῆς οὐσίας αὐτοῦ ° οὕτως εἷς ἐστιν 6 νοῦς τοῦ γεννήματος καὶ τοῦ ὁμοουσίου · καὶ ὁ φρονῶν γέννημα τὸν Γὶὸν φρονεῖ τοῦτον ὀρθῶς καὶ ὁμοούσιον. ### English translation (Claude) Next, just as when we say “offspring” we do not understand it in a human way, and knowing God to be Father we form no bodily notion of him, but we hear the illustrations and such terms and think of God fittingly—for God is not as man—so too when we hear “of the same essence” we ought to rise above all sense and, according to the Proverb, understand intelligently what is set before us, so as to know that the Son is genuinely from the Father not by will but in truth, as life from a fountain and radiance from light. Or why do we understand “offspring” and “Son” not in a bodily way, but take “of the same essence” as said of bodies, especially when the things said are not about different subjects, but “of the same essence” was said of the very one of whom “offspring” was said? It is fitting to keep the same sense for both terms as applied to the Savior, and not to interpret “offspring” in a good sense and “of the same essence” otherwise; for it would follow that you, being so disposed, and calling the Son Word and Wisdom of the Father, should take these too in different senses, and understand the Word in one way and Wisdom in another. But as this is absurd—for the Son is the Word and Wisdom of the Father, and the offspring from the Father is one and proper to his essence—so the sense of “offspring” and of “of the same essence” is one; and whoever thinks of the Son as offspring rightly thinks of him also as of the same essence. ### Scripture references - Prov 23:1: allusion, high confidence ### Translation notes - Prov 23:1 LXX (“understand intelligently what is set before you”). ### Citation (SBL) Athanasius, Syn. 42 (PG 26:768a–768c; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/athanasius-synodis/33/#p-42). ## On the Councils of Ariminum and Seleucia 43 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/athanasius-synodis/33/#p-43 - Source: PG 26:768c–769b - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-10-09 Summary: Some hesitate over “of the same essence” because the council that condemned Paul of Samosata rejected it; but both councils are fathers, and Nicaea followed the earlier Dionysii. ### Greek text Αὖτάρκη μὲν οὖν ταῦτα δεῖξαι, τῶν ἀγαπητῶν τήν διάνοιαν μὴ ἀλλοτρίαν, μηδὲ μακρὰν οὖσαν τοῦ ὁμοουσίου, Ἐπειδή δὲ, ὡς αύτοὶ φασι (τὴν γὰρ ἐπιστολῆν οὐκ ἔσχον ἐγὼ), οἱ τὸν Σαμοσατέα κατακρίναντες ἐπίσκοποι γράφοντες εἰρήκασι μὴ εἶναι ὁμοούσιον τὸν Υἱὸν τῷ Πατρὶ, καὶ λοιπὸν αὐτοι, διὰ τήν πρὸς τοὺς εἶʼρηκότας εὐλάβειαν τε καὶ τιμὴν, οὕτω περὶ τὴν λέξιν διάκεινται· καλὸν μετʼ αὐτῶν μετʼ εὐλαβείας καὶ περὶ τούτου διασκέψασθαι. Συγκρούειν μὲν γὰρ τούτους πρὸς ἐκείνους ἀπρεπές πάντες γάρ εἱσι Πατέρες · διακρίνειν δὶ πάλιν, ὡς οὗτοι μὲν καλῶς, ἐκεῖτοι δὲ τούναντίον εἷρήκασιν, οὐχ ὅσιον ° οἱ πάντες γάρ ἐκοιμήθησαν ἐν Χριστῶ. Οὐ χρή δὲ φιλονεικεῖν, οὐδὲ τῶν συνελθόντων τὸν ἀριθμὸν συμβάλλειν, ’ίνα μὴ δοκῶσιν οἱ τριακόσιοι τοὺς ἐλάττονας ἐπικρύπτειν· ούὸἶ ἂν πάλιν τὸν χρόvov ἀναμετρεῖν, ’ίνα μὴ δοκῶσιν οἱ προλαβόντες ἀφανίζειν τοὺς μετά ταῦτα γενομένους. Οἱ πάντες γὰρ, καθά προείρηται, Πατέρες εἷσίʼ καὶ ὅμως οὐδὲ οἱ τʼ νεώτερόν τι φρονήσαντες ἔγραψαν, οὐδὲ ἑαυτοῖς καταθαρσῆσαντες, ἀγράφων προέστησαν λέξεων · ἀλλά ἐκ Πατέρων ὁρμώμενοι καὶ αὐτοὶ, τοῖς ἐκείνων ἐχρήσαντο ῥήμασι. Διονῦσιοι γὰρ δύο γεγόνασιν ἔμπροσθεν πολὺ τῶν ἐβδομήκοντα τῶν καθελόντων τὸν Σαμοσατέα· τούτων ὁ μὶν τῆς Ῥώμης, ὁ δὲ τῆς Ἀλεξανδρείας ἦν ἐπίσκοπος. Ἀλλά τινων αἰτιασαμένων παρὰ τῷ ἐπισκόπῳ Ῥώμης τὸν τῆς Ἀλεξανδρείας ἐπίσκοπον, ὡς λέγοντα ποίημα, καὶ μή ὁμοούσιον τὸν Υἱὸν τῷ Πατρὶ, ἠ μὲν κατὰ Ῥώμην σύνοδος ἠγανάκτησεν· ὅ δὲ τῆς Ῥώμης ἰπίσκοπος τήν πάντων γνώμην γράφει πρὸς τὸν ὁμώνυμον ἑαυτοῦ Κάκεῖνος λοιπὸν, ἀπολογούμενος, τὸ μὲν βιβλίον ἐπιγράφει Ἐλέγχου και Ἀπολογίας. Γράφει δὲ ταῦτα πρὸς ἐκεῖνον. ### English translation (Claude) These things are sufficient to show that the meaning of the beloved men is not foreign to “of the same essence” nor far from it. But since, as they themselves say (for I do not have the letter), the bishops who condemned the Samosatene said in writing that the Son is not of the same essence as the Father, and so they, out of reverence and honor toward those who said it, are disposed as they are toward the term, it is good to consider this too with them reverently. To set these fathers against those is unseemly, for all are fathers; and again to distinguish them, as if these spoke well and those the opposite, is not holy, for all fell asleep in Christ. One must not be contentious, nor compare the numbers of those who assembled, lest the three hundred seem to overshadow the fewer; nor again measure the dates, lest those who came first seem to eclipse those who came after. For all, as was said before, are fathers; and yet not even the three hundred wrote as holding anything new, nor did they champion unscriptural terms trusting in themselves, but they too set out from fathers and used their words. For there were two named Dionysius, long before the seventy who deposed the Samosatene, of whom one was bishop of Rome, the other of Alexandria. Now, when some accused the bishop of Alexandria before the bishop of Rome of saying that the Son is a thing made and not of the same essence as the Father, the council at Rome was indignant, and the bishop of Rome wrote the opinion of them all to his namesake. And he, in turn, defending himself, entitled his book Of Refutation and Defense; and he writes this to him: ### Translation notes - The council of Antioch (268) that deposed Paul of Samosata (“the seventy”). Dionysius of Rome and Dionysius of Alexandria: see De sententia Dionysii and De decretis 25–26. ### Citation (SBL) Athanasius, Syn. 43 (PG 26:768c–769b; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/athanasius-synodis/33/#p-43). ## On the Councils of Ariminum and Seleucia 44 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/athanasius-synodis/33/#p-44 - Source: PG 26:769b–772a - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-10-09 Summary: Dionysius of Alexandria’s defense: though the word is not in Scripture, his arguments always implied that Christ is of the same essence as God. ### Greek text ι( Καὶ διʼ ἄλλης ἐπιπολῆς ἔγραψα, ἐν οἷς ἤλεγξα καὶ ’ὀ προφέρουσιν ἔγκλημα κατʼ ἐμοῦ, ψεῦδος ὃν, ὡς οὗ λέγοντος τὸν Χριστὸν ὃμοούσιον εἶναι τῷ Θεῷ. Ei‘ γὰρ καὶ τὸ ὄνομα τοῦτό φημι μὴ εὑρηκέναι, μηδʼ ἀνεγνωκέναι που τῶν ἁγίων Γραφῶν, ἀλλά γε τά ἐπιχειρήματά μου τὰ ἑξῆς, ἃ σεσεωπήκασι, τῆς διανοίας ταύτης οὐκ ἀπᾴδει. Καὶ γὰρ ἀνθρωο πιίαν γονὴν παρεθέμην, δῆλον ὡς οὖσαν ὁμογενῆ, φήσας πάντως τοὺς γονεῖς μόνον ἑτέρους εἶναι τῶν τέκνων, δτι μὴ αὐτοὶ εἶεν τὰ τέκνα· ἢ μήτε γονεῖς ἀναγκαῖον ὑπάρχειν εἶναι, μήτε τέκνα. Καὶ τὴν μὲν ἐπιστολὴν, ὡς προεῖπον, διὰ τὰς περιστάσεις οὐκ ἔχω προκομίσαι· εἰ δʼ οὖν, αύτά σοι τὰ τότε ῥήματα, μᾶλλον δὲ καὶ πάσης ἀνέπεμψα τὸ ἀντίγραφονε ὅπερ ἐὰν εὐπορήσω, ποιήσω. Οἶδα δὲ καὶ μέμνημαι πλείονα προσθεὶς τῶν συγγενῶν ὁμοιώματα. Καὶ γὰρ καὶ φυτὸν εἶπον, ἀπὸ σπέρματος ἢ ἀπὸ ῥίζης ἀνελθὸν, ἓτερον εἶναι τοῦ ὅθεν ἐβλάστησε, καὶ πάντως ἐκείνῳ καθέστηκεν ὁμοφυές· καὶ ποταμὸν ἀπὸ πηγῆς ῥέοντα, ἕτερον καὶ σχῆμα καὶ ὄνομα μετειληφέναι· μήτε γὰρ τὴν πηγὴν ποταμὸν, μήτε τὸν ποταμὸν πηγήν λέγεσθαι, καὶ ἀμφότερα ὑπάρχειν καὶ τήν μὲν πηγὴν οἱονεὶ Πατέρα εἶναι, τὸν δὲ ποταμὸν εἶναι τὸ ἐκ τῆς πηγῆς γεννώμενον. ›› Εἴρηκεν 6 ἐπίσκοπος. ### English translation (Claude) “And in another letter I wrote, in which I refuted the charge they bring against me, which is false, that I do not say that Christ is of the same essence as God. For even if I say that I have not found or read this name anywhere in the holy Scriptures, yet my arguments that followed, which they have passed over in silence, are not out of keeping with this meaning. For I set forth human generation, plainly as being of the same kind, saying that parents differ from their children only in this, that they are not themselves the children; otherwise there could be neither parents nor children. The letter, as I said before, I cannot produce because of circumstances; otherwise I would have sent you the very words I used then, or rather a copy of the whole, which I will do if I am able. But I know and remember that I added more comparisons with kindred things. For I said that a plant coming up from a seed or a root is other than that from which it sprang, and yet is entirely of the same nature with it; and that a river flowing from a spring has taken a different form and name—for neither is the spring called river, nor the river spring—and that both exist, and the spring is as it were father, while the river is what is begotten from the spring.” So the bishop said. ### Extrabiblical texts - Dionysius of Alexandria (Dionysius of Alexandria (letters and fragments)): quotation, high confidence ### Translation notes - Dionysius of Alexandria, Refutation and Defense, quoted (also in De decretis 25). ### Citation (SBL) Athanasius, Syn. 44 (PG 26:769b–772a; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/athanasius-synodis/33/#p-44). ## On the Councils of Ariminum and Seleucia 45 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/athanasius-synodis/45/#p-45 - Source: PG 26:772a–776a - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-10-09 Summary: The council against Paul of Samosata rejected “of the same essence” in Paul’s bodily sense, while Nicaea affirmed it against the Arians; like Paul’s varied statements about the law, both are right in their context. ### Greek text Εἴπερ οῦν μέμφεται τις τοῖς ἐν Νικαίᾳ συνελο θοῦσιν, ὡς εἰρηκόσι παρὰ τὰ δόξαντα τοῖς πρὸ αὐτῶν, 6 αὐτὸς μέμψαιτʼ ἂν εῗκότως καὶ τοῖς ἐβδομήκοντα, ὅτι μὴ τὰ τῶν πρὸ αὐτῶν ἐφύλαξαν· πρὸ αὐτῶν δὲ ἦσαν οἱ Διονύσιοι, καὶ οἱ ἐν Ῥώμῃ τὸ τηνικαῦτα συνελθόντες ἐπίσκοποι. Ἀλλʼ οὕτε τούτους, οὐτε ἐκείνους ὅσιον αἰτιάσασθαι· πάντες γὰρ ἐπρέσβευον τὰ Χριστοῦ, καὶ πάντες σπουδὴν ἐσχήκασι κατὰ τῶν αἱρετικῶν, καὶ οἱ μὲν τὸν Σαμοσατέα, οἳ δὲ τὴν Ἀρειανὴν αʼίρεσιν κατέκριναν. Ὀρθῶς δὲ καὶ οὗτοι κάκεῖνοι, καὶ καλῶς πρὸς τὴν ὑποκειμένην ὐπόθεσιν γεγράφασι. Καὶ ὥσπερ 6 μακάριος Ἀπὸο στολος, Ῥωμαίοις μὲν ἐπιστέλλων, ἔλεγεν· ‹‹ Ὀ νόμος πνευματικός ἐστι· υ καὶ, ‹‹ Ὁ νόμος ἅγιος, » καὶ, ι Ἡ ἐντολὴ ἁγία, καὶ δικαία, καὶ ἀγαθή· ›› καὶ μετʼ ὀλίγον · ‹‹ Τὸ γὰρ ἀδύνατον τοῦ νόμου, ἐν ᾧ ἠσθένει· ›› Ἑβραίοις δὲ ἔγραφεν· α Ὁ νόμος οὐδένα τετελείωκε· ›› καὶ Γαλάταις μὲν, ‹‹ Ἐν νόμῳ οὐδεὶς δικαιοῦται· »Τιμοθέῳ δὲ, ὅτι ε Καλὸς 6 νόμος, ἐάν τις αὐτῷ νομίμως χρῆται ι καὶ οὐκ ἄν τις αἴτιάσαιτο τὸν ἅγιον ὡς ἐναντία καὶ μαχόμενα γράφοντα, ἀλλὰ καὶ μᾶλλον θαυμάσειεν ἁρμοζόντως πρὸς ἑκάστους ἐπιστέλλοντα, ’ίνα οἱ μὲν Ῥωμαῖοι καὶ οἱ ἄλλοι μάθωσιν ἀπὸ τοῦ γράμματος ἐπιστρέφειν εἷς τὸ Πνεῦμα· οἱ δὲ Ἑβραῖοι καὶ Γαλάται παιδευθῶσι, μή εἶς τὸν νόμον, ἀλλʼ εἷς τὸν Κύριον τὸν δεδωκότα τὸν νόμον ἔχειν τὰς ἐλπίδας· οὕτως εἰ ἀμφοτέρων τῶν συνόδων οἱ Πατέρες διαφόρως ἐμνημόνευσαν περὶ τοῦ ὁμοουσίου, οὐ χρὴ πάντως ἡμᾶς διαφέρεσθαι πρὸς αὐτοὺς, ἀλλὰ τὴν διάνοιαν αὐτῶν ἐρευνᾷν, καὶ πάντως εὑρήσομεν ἀμφοτέρων τῶν συνόδων τὴν ὁμόνοιαν. Οἱ μὲν γὰρ τὸν Σαμοσατέα καθελόντες, σωματικῶς ἐκλαμβάνοντες τὸ ὁμοούσιον, τοῦ Παύλου σοφίζεσθαί τε θέλοντος καὶ λέγοντος, Εἰ μή ἐξ ἀνθρώπου γέγονεν 6 Χριστὸς Θεὸς, οὐκοῦν ὁμοούσιός ἐστι τῷ ῐΙατρὶ, καὶ ἀνάγκη τρεῖς οὐσίας εἶναι, μίαν μὶν προηγουμένην,τὰς δὲ δύο ἐξ ἐκείνης·διὰ τοῦτʼ εἰκότως εὐλαβηθέντες τὸ τοιοῦτον σόφισμα τοῦ Σαμοσατέως, εἶʼρήκασι μή εἶναι τὸν Χριστὸν ὁμοούσιον· οὐκ ἔστι γὰρ οὕτως 6 Υἱὸς πρὸς τὸν Πατέρα, ὡς ἐκεῖνος ἐνόει· οἱ δὲ τήν Ἀρειανήν αίρεσιν ἀναθεματίσαντες, θεωρήσαντες τήν πανουργίαν τοῦ Παύλου, καὶ λογισάμενοι μή οὕτως καὶ ἐπὶ τῶν ἀσωμάτων, καὶ μάλιστα ἐπὶ Θεοῦ τὸ ὁμοούσιον σημαίνεσθαι, γινώσκοντές τε μὴ κτίσμα, ἀλλʼ ἐκ τῆς οὐσίας γέννημα εἶναι τὸν Λόγον, καὶ τήν οὐσίαν τοῦ Πατρὸς ἀρχὴν, καὶ ῥίζαν, καὶ πηγὴν εἶναι τοῦ Υὶοῦ, καὶ αὐτοαλη· θής ὁμοιότης ἦν τοῦ γεννήσαντος, οὐχ ὡς έτεροφυής, ὥσπερ ἡμεῖς ἐσμεν, χωριζόμενός ἐστι τοῦ Πατρόςι ἀλλʼ ὡς ἐξ αὐτοῦ Υἱὸς ἀδιαίρετος ὑπάρχει. ὡς ἔστι τὸ ἀπαύγασμα πρὸς τὸ φῶς· ἔχοντες δὲ καὶ τὰ τῶν περὶ Διονύσιον παραδείγματα, τήν πηγὴν καὶ τήν περὶ τοῦ ὁμοουσίου ἀπολογίαν, πρὸ δὲ τούτων τὴν τοῦ Σωτῆο ρος ἐνοειδῆ φωνήν· ‹‹ Ἐγὼ καὶ ὁ Πατὴρ ’ἐν ἐσμεν· ›› καὶ, ιι Ὀ ἑωρακὼς ἐμὲ ἑώρακε τὸν Πατέραο ›› τούτου ’ἐνεκεν εἰκότως εἰρήκασι καὶ αὐτοὶ ὁμοούσιον τὸν Υἱόν. Καὶ ὥσπερ, καθὰ προεῖπον, οὐκ ἂν εις αἰτιάσαιτο τὸν Ἀπόστολον, εἰ περὶ τοῦ νόμου, Ῥωμαίοις μὲν οὕτως, Ἑβραίοις δὲ οὕτως ἔγραψε· τὸν αὐτὸν τρόπον οὕτε οἱ νῦν τοῖς προτέροις ἐγκαλέσαεεν, βλέποντες αὐτῶν τὴν ἐρμηνείαν· οὕτε οἱ πρότεροι τοὺς μετʼ αὐτοὺς μέμψαιντʼ ἂν, ὁρῶντες τὴν ἑρμηνείαν αὐτῶν, καὶ τήν χρείαν διʼ ᾖν οὕτως ἔγραψαν περὶ 106 Κυρίου. Καὶ γὰρ καὶ την αἰτίαν ἑκάστη σύνοδος εὔλογον ἔχει, διʼ ἣν οἱ μὶν οὕτως, o't δὲ οὕτως εἰρήκασιν. Ἐπειδὴ γὰρ ὁ Σαμοσατεὺς ἐφρόνει μὴ εἶναι πρὸ Μαρίας τὸν Υἱὸν, ἀλλʼ ἀπʼ αὐτῆς ἀρχὴν ἆσχηκὲναι τοῦ εἶναι, τούτου ἕνεκεν οἱ τότε συνελθόντες, καθεῖλον μὲν αὐτὸν καὶ αἱρετικὸν ἀπέφηναν· περὶ δὲ τῆς τοῦ Υἱοῦ θεότητος ἁπλούστερον γράφοντες, οὐ κατεγένοντο περὶ τήν τοῦ ὁμοουσίου ἀκρίβειαν, ἀλλʼ οὕτως ὡς ἰξειλήφασι περὶ τοῦ ὁμοουσίου εἰρήκασι. Τήν φροντίδα γὰρ εἶχον πᾶσαν, ὅπερ ἐπενόησεν ὁ Σαμοσατεὺς, ἀνελεῖν, καὶ δεῖξαι πρὸ πάντων εἶναι τὸν Υἱόν, καὶ ὅτι οὐκ ἐξ ἀνθρώπων γέγονε Θεὸς, ἀλλὰ, Θεὸς ὢν, ἐνεδύσατο δούλου μορφὴν, καὶ Λόγος ὢν, γέγονε σὰρξ, ὡς εἶπεν ὁ Ἰωάννης καὶ οὕτω μὲν κατὰ τῆς βλασφη μίας Παύλου πέπρακται. Ἐπειδή δὲ καὶ o't περὶ Εὐσέβιον καὶ ’Δρειον πρὸ χρόνων μὲν εἶναι τὸν ’Υἱὸν ἔλεγον, πεποιῆσθαι μέντοι, καὶ ἕνα τῶν κτισμάτων αὐτὸν ἐδίδασκον, καὶ τὸ, ἐκ τοῦ Θεοῦ, οὐχ ὡς Υἱὸν ἐκ Πατρὸς γνήσιον, ἐπίστευον· ἀλλʼ ὡς τὰ κτίσμςτω οὕτω καὶ ἐπʼ αὐτοῦ τὸ ἐκ τοῦ Θεοῦ εἶναι διεβεβαιοῦντο· τήν τε τῆς ὁμοιώσεως ἑνότητα τοῦ Υἱοῦ πρὸς τὸν Πατέρα οὐκ ἔλεγον κατὰ τὴν οὐσίαν, οὐδὲ κατὰ τήν φύσιν, ὡς ἔστιν υἱὸς ὅμοιος Πατρί, ἀλλὰ διὰ τὴν συμφωνίαν τῶν δογμάτων καὶ τῆς διδασκαλίας· ἀλλὰ γὰρ καὶ ἀπεσχοίνιζον καὶ ἀπεξενοῦντο παντελῶς τὴν οὐσίαν τοῦ Υἱοῦ ἀπὸ τοῦ Πατρὸς, ὲτὲραν ἀρχὴν αὐτῷ τοῦ εἶναι παρὰ τὸν πατέρα ἐπινοοῦντες καὶ εἲς τὰ κτίσματα καταφέροντες αὐτόνʼ τούτου χάριν οἱ ἐν Νικαίᾳ συνελθόντες, θεωρήσαντες τὴν πανουργίαν τῶν οὕτω φρονούντων, καὶ συναγαγόντες ἐκ τῶν Γραφῶν τὴν διάνοιαν, λευκότερον γράφοντες, εἰρήκασι τὸ ὁμοούσιονʼ τίνα καὶ τὰ γνήσιον ἀληθῶς ἐκ τούτου γνωσθῇ τοῦ Υἶοῦ, καὶ μηδὲν κοινὸν ἔχῃ πρὸς τοῦτον τὰ γενητα Ἡ γὰρ τῆς λέξεως ταύτης ἀκρίβεια τήν τε ὑπόκρισιν αὐτῶν, ἐὰν λέγωσι I τὸ, ἐκ τοῦ Θεοῦ, ῥητὸν, διελέγχει, καί πάσας αὐτῶν τά πιθανοτητας, έν αἷς ὑφαρπάζουσι τοὺς ἀκεραίους, ἐκβάλλει. Πάντα γοῦν δυνάμενοι σοφίζεσθαι καὶ μεταποιεῖν, ὡς θέλουσι, ταύτην μόνην τὴν λέξιν, ὡς ### English translation (Claude) If, then, anyone blames those who met at Nicaea for saying what was contrary to the decisions of those before them, he might with equal reason blame the seventy too, for not keeping to what those before them held; and before them were the Dionysii and the bishops who met at Rome at that time. But it is not holy to accuse either these or those; for all were envoys of Christ’s cause, and all showed zeal against the heretics, the one council condemning the Samosatene, the other the Arian heresy. Both wrote rightly and well for the matter in hand. And as the blessed apostle, writing to the Romans, said, “The law is spiritual,” and “The law is holy, and the commandment holy and just and good,” and a little later, “For what the law could not do, in that it was weak,” but wrote to the Hebrews, “The law made nothing perfect,” and to the Galatians, “By the law no one is justified,” and to Timothy, “The law is good, if one uses it lawfully”—and no one would accuse the saint of writing contradictory and conflicting things, but would rather admire him for writing fittingly to each, so that the Romans and the others might learn to turn from the letter to the Spirit, while the Hebrews and Galatians might be taught to place their hope not in the law but in the Lord who gave the law—so, if the fathers of the two councils spoke of “of the same essence” in different ways, we must by no means quarrel with them, but search out their meaning, and we shall certainly find the agreement of both councils. For those who deposed the Samosatene took “of the same essence” in a bodily sense, because Paul tried to argue sophistically, saying, “If Christ did not become God from being a man, then he is of the same essence as the Father, and there must be three essences, one prior, and two from it.” For this reason, rightly guarding against such a sophism of the Samosatene, they said that Christ is not of the same essence; for the Son is not related to the Father in the way Paul supposed. But those who anathematized the Arian heresy saw Paul’s craftiness and reckoned that “of the same essence” does not have such a meaning in the case of incorporeal things, and especially in the case of God. They knew that the Word is not a creature but an offspring from the essence, and that the Father’s essence is the beginning and root and fountain of the Son, and that he was the very true likeness of the one who begot him, not separated from the Father as being of another nature, as we are, but existing as Son from him inseparably, as the radiance is in relation to the light. They also had the illustrations used by Dionysius, the fountain, and his defense concerning “of the same essence,” and, before these, the Savior’s words expressing unity: “I and the Father are one” and “He who has seen me has seen the Father.” For this reason they too rightly said that the Son is of the same essence. And as, I said before, one would not accuse the apostle for having written about the law one way to the Romans and another to the Hebrews, in the same way neither would those of today find fault with the earlier fathers, when they see their interpretation, nor would the earlier ones blame those who came after them, when they see their interpretation and the need for which they wrote as they did about the Lord. For each council has a reasonable cause why the one spoke thus and the other thus. For since the Samosatene held that the Son did not exist before Mary, but had his beginning of being from her, those who met at that time deposed him and declared him a heretic; but writing more simply about the Son’s divinity, they did not concern themselves with the exact sense of “of the same essence,” but spoke of it as they understood it. For their whole concern was to destroy what the Samosatene had devised, and to show that the Son is before all things, and that he did not become God from among men, but, being God, put on the form of a servant, and being Word, became flesh, as John said. So that was done against the blasphemy of Paul. But Eusebius’s and Arius’s party said that the Son existed before times, yet taught that he was made and was one of the creatures, and did not believe “from God” in the sense of a genuine Son from a Father, but asserted that he is “from God” in the same way as the creatures; and they spoke of the oneness of likeness of the Son to the Father not as being according to essence or according to nature, as a son is like his father, but as resting on agreement of doctrines and teaching; and moreover they cut off and wholly estranged the Son’s essence from the Father, devising for him another beginning of being besides the Father and bringing him down among the creatures. For this reason those who met at Nicaea, seeing the craftiness of those who thought so, and gathering the sense from the Scriptures, wrote more clearly and said “of the same essence,” so that the true genuineness of the Son might be known from this, and that originated things might have nothing in common with him. For the exactness of this term both exposes their hypocrisy if they say the text “from God,” and casts out all their plausibilities, by which they carry off the simple. At any rate, though they are able to sophisticate and alter everything as they wish, this term alone, as … ### Scripture references - Rom 7:14: quotation, high confidence - Rom 7:12: quotation, high confidence - Rom 8:3: quotation, high confidence - Heb 7:19: quotation, high confidence - Gal 3:11: quotation, high confidence - 1 Tim 1:8: quotation, high confidence - John 10:30: quotation, high confidence - John 14:9: quotation, high confidence - Phil 2:7: allusion, high confidence - John 1:14: allusion, high confidence ### Translation notes - Rom 7:14; Rom 7:12; Rom 8:3; Heb 7:19; Gal 3:11; 1 Tim 1:8; John 10:30; John 14:9; Phil 2:7; John 1:14. - Paul of Samosata’s argument is reported by Athanasius; its exact form is uncertain. The chapter breaks off in the scan (ταύτην μόνην τὴν λέξιν, ὡς); the rest is lost (“…”). ### Citation (SBL) Athanasius, Syn. 45 (PG 26:772a–776a; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/athanasius-synodis/45/#p-45). ## On the Councils of Ariminum and Seleucia 46 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/athanasius-synodis/45/#p-46 - Source: PG 26:776a–776c - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-10-09 Summary: As “unbegotten” has more than one meaning, so the councils’ different uses of “of the same essence” can both be pious. ### Greek text Ιῐεπαύσθω τοίνυν πᾶσα φιλονεικία, καὶ μηκέτι προσκόπτωμεν ἡμεῖς, εί διαφόρως έξειλήφασιν αἱ σύνοδοι τὴν τοῦ ὁμοουσίου λέξιν. ’Έχομεν γάρ εἷς ἀπολογίαν εὐλόγους περὶ αὐτῶν αἰτίας, τά προειρημένας μὲν, καὶ ταύτην δέʼ τὸ ἀγέννητον εἴ καὶ μὴ παρά τῶν Γραφῶν μεμαθήκαμεν, οὐδαμοῦ γὰρ ἀγέννητον τὸν Θεὸν εἰρήκασιν αἱ Γραφαὶ, ὅμως ἕπειδὴ καὶ πολλοὶ τῶν δοκούντων ἐμνημόνευσαν τοῦ ὀνόματος, φιλοπευστήσαντες ἔγνωμεν ὅτι καὶ τοῦτο τὸ ὄνομα διάφορα ἔχει τὰ σημαινόμεναο καὶ οἱ μὶν τὸ ὅν μὲν, μήτε δὲ γεννηθὲν, μήτε ὅλως ἔχον τὸν αʼίο τιον λέγουσιν ἀγέννητονʼ οἳ δὲ τὸ ἄκτιστον.”Ωσπερ οὖν τούτων οὕτω σημαινομένων, εἷʼ 6 μέν τις ἀποβλέπων είς τὸ πρότερον σημαινόμενον, τὸ, μή ἔχον τὸν αʼίτιον, ἔλεγε μή εἶναι ἀγέννητον τὸν Υἱὸν, οὐκ ἂν κατηγόρει βλέπων ἕτερον βλέποντα είς τὸ μή εἶναι ποίημα μηδὶ κτίσμα, ἀλλʼ ἀίδιον γέννημα, καὶ λέγοντα ἀγέννητον τὸν Υἱόν. ’Λμφότεροι γὰρ πρὸς τὸν ξʼδιον σκοπὸν ὁρῶντες, καλῶς εἰρήκασιν· οῧτως εἰ καὶ τῶν Πατέρωθ οἱ μὲν οὕτως, οἱ δὶ οὕτως εἰρήκασι περί τοῦ ὁμοουσίου, μή φιλονεικῶμεν ἡμεῖς, ἀλλʼ εὐσεβῶς τὰ παρʼ αὐτῶν δεχώμεθα, ἓως μάλιστα τὴν σπουδὴν εἶχον εἷς εὐσέβειαν. ### English translation (Claude) Let all contention cease, then, and let us no longer stumble if the councils took the term “of the same essence” in different ways. For we have reasonable grounds in their defense: those already mentioned, and this one too. “Unbegotten,” though we have not learned it from the Scriptures (for the Scriptures nowhere call God unbegotten), yet since many reputable men have mentioned the name, we inquired and learned that this name too has different meanings. Some call “unbegotten” that which exists, but was neither begotten nor has any cause at all; others, that which is uncreated. As, then, these being its meanings, if one, looking to the first meaning, “having no cause,” were to say that the Son is not unbegotten, he would not accuse another who, looking to the fact that the Son is not a thing made or a creature but an eternal offspring, called the Son unbegotten. For both, looking each to his own aim, have spoken well. So too, if some of the fathers spoke in one way and others in another about “of the same essence,” let us not be contentious, but receive what they said piously, especially since they had zeal for piety. ### Translation notes - ἀγέννητος (“unbegotten”) and ἀγένητος (“unoriginate”) are spelled interchangeably in the scan here; the argument concerns the senses of the term, as in De decretis 28. ### Citation (SBL) Athanasius, Syn. 46 (PG 26:776a–776c; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/athanasius-synodis/45/#p-46). ## On the Councils of Ariminum and Seleucia 47 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/athanasius-synodis/45/#p-47 - Source: PG 26:776c–780b - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-10-09 Summary: Ignatius called Christ both originate and unoriginate in different senses; the fathers should be read in harmony, and the oneness of Father and Son is one of essence, not mere agreement. ### Greek text Ἰγνάτιος οὖν, 6 μετά τοὺς ἀποστόλους ἐν ’Δντιοχείᾳ κατασταθεὶς ἐπίσκοπος, καὶ μάρτυς τοῦ Χριστοῦ γενόμενος, γράφων περὶ τοῦ Κυρίου, εἷʼρηκεν· ‹‹ Εἷς ἰατρός ἐστι, σαρκικὸς καὶ πνευματικὸς, γενητὸς καὶ ἀγένητος, έν ἀνθρώπῳ Θεὸς, έν θανάτῳ ζωὴ ἀληθινὴ, καὶ ἐκ Μαρίας καὶ ἐκ Θεοῦ. ν Τινὶς δὲ καὶ τῶν μετά Ἰγνάτιον διδάσκαλοι καὶ αὐτοί γράφουσινο ‹‹ Ἐν τὸ ἀγένητον ὁ Πατὴρ, καὶ εἷς 6 ἐξ αὐτοῦ Υἱὸς γνήσιος, γέννημα ἀληθινὸν, Λόγος καὶ Σοφία τοῦ Πατρός. υ Εἴ μὶν οὖν καὶ πρὸς τούτους ἐναντίως διακείμεθα, ἔστω καὶ πρὸς τὰς συνόδους ἡμῖν ἡ μάχη. Εἴ δί, τήν ἐν Χριστῷ πίστιν αὐτῶν γινώσκοντες, πεπείσμεθα, ὅτι καὶ ὁ μακάριος Ἰγνά· τιος ὀρθῶς ἔγραψε, γενητόν αὐτὸν λέγων διὰ τὴν σάρκα (ὁ γὰρ Χριστὸς σὰρξ ἐγένετοʼ ἀγένητον δὲ, δτι μὴ τῶν ποιημάτων καὶ γενητῶν ἐστιν, ἀλλʼ Υἱὸς ἐκ Πατρός. Οὐκ ἀγνοοῦμεν δὲ, ὅτι καὶ οἱ εἰρηκότες ἓν τὸ ἀγένητον τὸν Πατέρα λέγοντες, οὐχ ὡς γε· νητοῦ καὶ ποιήματος ὄντος τοῦ Λόγου οὕτως ἔγραψαν, ἀλλʼ ὅτι μὴ ἔχει τὸν αἴτιον· καὶ μᾶλλον αὐτὸς Πατὴρ μέν ἔστι τῆς Σοφίας, τὰ δὲ γενητά πάντα ἐν σοφίᾳ πεποίηκεʼ διὰ τί μὴ καὶ τοὺς Πατέρας, τούς τε τόν Σαμοσατέα καθελόντας, καὶ τὴν ’Δρειανὴν αἵρεσιν στηλιτεόσαντας, εἷς εὐσέβειαν συνάγομεν, ἀλλὰ διαστέλλομεν ὁὶνᾶ μέσον αὐτῶν, καὶ οὗ μᾶλλον ὀρθῶς περὶ αὐτῶν φρονοῦμεν; ὅτι κάκεῖνοι, καθάπερ εἶπον, πρὸς τὸ σόφισμα τοῦ Σαμοσατέως, καὶ τὴν ἑρμηνείαν αὐτοῦ τήν διάνοιαν..... -..,.,. ν.. ἔχοντες, ἔγραψαν, Οὐκ ἔστιν ὁμοοόσιος· καὶ οὗτοι δὲ, καλῶς νοήσαντες, εἰρήκασιν ὁμοούσιον εἶναὶ τὸν Υἱόν. Καὶ γὰρ κάγὼ τοιαῦτα μὶν νοῶν περὶ τῶν εὑσεβοὖντων εἷς τὸν Χριστόν διʼ ὀλίγων ἔγραψα· εἴ δὶ δυνατὸν ἧν εὐπορῆσαι καὶ τῆς ἐπιπολῆς, ἢν λέγουσιν ἰκείνους γεγραφέναι, ἡγοῦμαι πλείους εὑρεθήσεσθαι τὰς προφάσεις, διʼ ἃς ἠναγκάσθησαν οὕτω γράψαι οἱ μακάριοι ἐκεῖνοι. Δεῖ γὰρ ἡμᾶς καί πρέπει τοιαῦτα φρονεῖν, τοιαύτην τε σώζειν ἀγαθὴν συνείδησιν πρὸς τοὺς ΙΙατὲρας, εἷʼγε μή νόθοι τυγχάνο· μεν, ἀλλʼ ἐξ αὐτῶν ἔχομεν τὰς παραδόσεις, καὶ παρʼ αὐτῶν τήν τῆς εὐσεβείας διδασκαλίαν. . Τοιαύτη μὲν οὖν ἡ διάνοια τῶν Πατέρων λεγέσθω καὶ πιστευέσθω. Φέρε δὲ καὶ μετʼ αὐτῶν πάλιν ἐξετάσωμεν τό πρᾶγμα πράως, καὶ μετὰ συνειδήσεως ἀγαθῆς, μνημονεύσαντες καὶ τῶν προειρημένων· ειμή τῷ ὄντι δείκνυνται καλῶς φρονήσαντες οἱ ἐν τῇ Νικαίᾳ συνελθόντες ἐπίσκοποι. Εἰ μὲν ποίημά εστιν ὁ Λόγος, καὶ ἀλλότριος τῆς τοῦ Πατρὸς οὒσίας, ὥστε καὶ χωρίζεσθαι αὐτόν ἀπό τοῦ Πατρὸς τῷ ὲτεροφυεῖ χωριστῷ, οὐκ ἄν εἷή ὁμοούσιος τῷ Πατρί, ἀλλὰ μᾶλλον ὁμογενὴς τῇ φόσει τοῖς ποιήμασι, κᾶν ὑπερβάλλῃ τῇ χάριτιο εί δὲ ὁμολογοῦμεν μὴ εἶναι αὐτὸν ποίημα, ἀλλὰ γνήσιον ἐκ τῆς οὐσίας τοῦ Πατρὸς γέννημα, ἀκόλουθον ἂν εἴη καὶ ἀχώριστον αὖτὸν εἶναι τοῦ Ηατρὸς, ὁμοφυῆ ὄντα διὰ τὸ ἐξ αὐτοῦ γεγεννῆσθαι. Τοιοῦτος, δὲ ὣν, εἰκότως καὶ ὁμοούσιος ἂν λέγοιτο. Ἔπειτα εἰ μὴ έκ μετουσίας ἐστὶν ὁ Υἱός, ἀλλᾶ τῇ οὐσίᾳ Λόγος ἐστὶ καὶ Σοφία τοῦ Πατρὸς, ἠ δὲ οὐσία αὕτη τῆς οὐσίας τῆς πατρικῆς έστι γέννημα καὶ ὁμοιότης αὐτῆς, ὠσπερ καὶ τὰ ἀπαύγασμα τοῦ φωτόςʼ λέγει δὲ ὁ Υἱὸς, ‹‹ Ἐγὼ καὶ ὁ Πατὴρ ’ἐν ἐσμεν, ›› καὶ, ‹‹ '0 ἐμὲ ἑωρακὼς έώρακε τὸν Πατέρα· ›› πῶς δεῖ νοεῖν ταύτας τὰς φωνάς; ἢ πῶς αὐτὰς ἱκλαμβάνοντες, σώσομεν τὸ ἓν εἶναι λ τὸν Πατὲρα καὶ σὸν Υἱὸν; Εί μὲν οὗν τῇ συμφωνίᾳ τῶν δογμάτων, καὶ τῷ μὴ διαφωνεῖν πρὸς τὸν Πατέρα, ὡς oi. Ἀρειανοὶ λεγουσι, φαῦλος 6 τοιοῦτος νοῦς. Καὶ γὰρ καὶ οἱ ἅγιοι, καὶ μᾶλλόν γε ἄγγελοι καὶ ἀρχάγγελοι, τὴν τοιαύτην ἔχουσι πρὸς τὸν Θεόν συμφωνίαν, καὶ οὐδεμία παρʼ αὐτοῖς ἐστι διαφωνία. ’0 γὰρ διαφωνήσας διάβολος ἐθεωρήθη αἰπτων ἐκ τῶν οὐρανῶν, ὡς εἶπεν 6 Κύριος. Οὐκοῦν εἴ διὰ τήν συμφωνίαν ἓν ἔστιν 6 Πατὴρ καὶ δ ᾔδεʼ εἷή ἃν καὶ τῶν γενητῶν τὰ συμφωνοῦντα οὕτω πρὸς τὸν Θεὸν, καὶ εἷʼποι ἄν ἕκαστος. ι Ἐγώ καὶ 6 Πατὴρ ἔν ἐσμεν. ›› Εἰ δὲ τοῦτο ἄτοπον· ἄτοπον γάρ ἐστιν ἀληθῶς· ἀνάγκη λοιπὸν κατὰ τήν οὐσίαν νοεῖν καὶ τὴν Υἱοῦ γαὶ Πατρὸς ἑνότητα. Τὰ μὲν γὰρ γενητὰ κᾶν συμφωνίαν ἔχῃ πρὸς τὸν πεποιηκότα, ἀλλʼ ἐν κιτήσει καὶ μετουσίᾳ καὶ νῷ ταύτην ἔχει, ἥνπερ Β περ 9 μή φυλᾶεας ἑκβἐβληται τῶν οὐρανῶν· Ὀ δὶ Υἱὸς ὲκ τῆς οὐσίας ὤν γέννημα, οὐσίᾳ ἓν ἐστιν αὐτὸς καὶ 6 γεννήσας αὐτόν Πατήρ. ### English translation (Claude) Ignatius, then, who after the apostles was appointed bishop at Antioch and became a martyr of Christ, writing about the Lord, said: “There is one physician, fleshly and spiritual, originate and unoriginate, God in man, true life in death, both from Mary and from God.” And some teachers after Ignatius also write: “The Father is the one unoriginate, and one is the genuine Son from him, true offspring, Word and Wisdom of the Father.” If, then, we are opposed to these too, let our fight be with the councils as well. But if, knowing their faith in Christ, we are persuaded that the blessed Ignatius too wrote rightly, calling him originate because of the flesh (for Christ became flesh) and unoriginate because he is not one of the things made and originated but Son from Father; and if we are not ignorant that those who said that the Father is the one unoriginate did not write so as though the Word were originate and a thing made, but because he has no cause, and rather the Father himself is Father of Wisdom and made all originated things in wisdom—why do we not bring together in piety the fathers too, both those who deposed the Samosatene and those who exposed the Arian heresy, rather than make a distinction between them, and not rather think rightly about them? For those, as I said, having their mind directed against the sophism of the Samosatene and his interpretation, wrote “He is not of the same essence”; and these, understanding well, said that the Son is of the same essence. I too, thinking such things about those who are pious toward Christ, have written briefly; but if it were possible to obtain the letter which they say those men wrote, I think more reasons would be found for which those blessed men were compelled to write as they did. For it is necessary and fitting for us to think such things and to keep such a good conscience toward the fathers, if indeed we are not bastards, but have the traditions from them and the teaching of piety from them. [48] Let this, then, be said and believed as the meaning of the fathers. But come, let us again examine the matter with them gently and with a good conscience, remembering what was said before, whether the bishops who assembled at Nicaea are not really shown to have thought rightly. If the Word is a thing made and foreign to the Father’s essence, so as to be separated from the Father by the separation of a different nature, he would not be of the same essence as the Father, but rather of the same kind by nature as the things made, even if he surpasses them in grace. But if we confess that he is not a thing made but a genuine offspring from the Father’s essence, it would follow that he is also inseparable from the Father, being of the same nature because he was begotten from him; and being such, he might rightly be called “of the same essence.” Next, if the Son is not Son by participation, but is in essence the Word and Wisdom of the Father, and this essence is the offspring of the Father’s essence and its likeness, as the radiance is of the light; and the Son says, “I and the Father are one,” and “He who has seen me has seen the Father”—how must these sayings be understood? Or how, taking them, shall we preserve the oneness of the Father and the Son? If it is by agreement of doctrines, and by not disagreeing with the Father, as the Arians say, such a sense is poor. For the saints too, and still more angels and archangels, have such agreement with God, and there is no disagreement among them; for the devil, who disagreed, was seen falling from heaven, as the Lord said. So if the Father and the Son are one on account of agreement, there would also be originated things that agree with God in this way, and each might say, “I and the Father are one.” But if this is absurd—and it truly is absurd—it is necessary to understand the oneness of Son and Father as being according to essence. For originated things, even if they have agreement with their maker, have it by motion and participation and mind; and whoever did not keep it was cast out of heaven. But the Son, being offspring from the essence, is one in essence, he and the Father who begot him. ### Scripture references - John 1:14: allusion, medium confidence - John 10:30: quotation, high confidence - John 14:9: quotation, high confidence - Luke 10:18: allusion, high confidence ### Extrabiblical texts - Ign. Eph. 7.2 (To the Ephesians): quotation, high confidence ### Translation notes - Chapter 48 begins at “[48]”; its numeral was lost in the scan, so it stands inside staged ref 47. - Ignatius, To the Ephesians 7.2, quoted. The “teachers after Ignatius” are not identified. - John 1:14; John 10:30; John 14:9; Luke 10:18. A few words before “wrote ‘He is not of the same essence’” are garbled in the scan; translated by sense. ### Citation (SBL) Athanasius, Syn. 47 (PG 26:776c–780b; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/athanasius-synodis/45/#p-47). ## On the Councils of Ariminum and Seleucia 49 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/athanasius-synodis/45/#p-49 - Source: PG 26:780b–781c - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-10-09 Summary: Scripture gives the Son every title it gives the Father—God, Almighty, Light, Creator, Lord, King, giver of life—except the name Father. ### Greek text Διὰ τοῦτο γὰρ καὶ τὸ ἰσάζον ἔχει πρὸς τὸν Πατέρα ταῖς ἐνοειδὲσι φωναῖς, καὶ τὰ ἐπὶ τοῦ Πατρὸς λεγόμενα, ταῦτα καὶ ἐπὶ Υὶοῦ λέγουσιν αἱ Γραφαὶ χωρὶς μόνον τοῦ λέγεσθαι αὐτὸν Πατέρα. Αὐτὸς γὰρ εἴπενὸΥἱός· ιι Πάντα ὅσα ἔχει 6 Πατὴρ. ἐμά ἐστι· ›› τῷ τε Πατρὶ ἔλεγε· ιι Πάντα τὰ ἐμὰ σά ἐστι, καὶ τὰ σὰ ipa" ι οῖον τὸ, Θεὸς. ιι Θεὸς ι) γὰρ ιι ἦν 6 Λόγος· ιι τὸ, Παντοκράτωρ· ιι Τάδε λέγει 6 ὤν, καὶ 6 ἦν, καὶ 6 ἐρχόμενος 6 Παντοκράτωρ· υ τὸ εῖναι φῶς· ιι Ἐγώ εἰμι, ›› φησὶ, ιι τὸ φῶς· ›› τὸ δημιουργικὸν αἶʼτιον· ιι Πάντα γὰρ διʼ αὐτοῦ ἐγένετο· ι καὶ, ιι "A βλέπω τὸν Πατέρα ποιοῦντα, ταῦτα κάγὼ ποιῶ· ι τὸ εἶναι ἀΐδιον· ιι Ἥ τε ›› γὰρ ιι ἀΐδιος αὐτοῦ δύναμις καὶ θειότης, ›ι καὶ. α Ἐν ἀρχῇ ἦν 6 Λόγος, ι, καὶ, Ἠ τὸ φῶς τὸ ἀληθινὸν, ’ὀ φωτίζει πάντα ἄνθρωπον ἐρχόμενον είς τὸν κόσμον· ›› τὸ εἶναι Κυριός· ιι Ἐβρεξε γὰρ Κύριος θεῖον καὶ πῦρ παρὰ Κυρίου· ›› καὶ 6 μὲν Πατήρ φησιν· ιι Ἐγὼ Κόριος, υ καῖ, ιι Τάδε λέγει Κύριος ὁ Θεὸς 6 παντοκράτωρ· ›› περῖδὲ τοῦ Υἱοῦ ό Παῦλός φηφιν· ιι Εἷς. Κύριος Ἰησοῦς Χριστὸς, διʼ οὗ τὰ πάντα, ι Καὶ τῷ μὲν Ila-cpi. λειτουργοῦσιν ἄγγελοι· ὁ δὲ Υἱὸς προσκυνεῖται παρʼ αὐτῶν· ιι Καὶ προσκυνησάτωσαν αὐτῷ πάντες ἄγγελοι Θεοῦ. ›› Λέγεται δὲ εἶναι καὶ Κύριος ἀγγέλων· ιι Διηκόνουν ι γὰρ ιι αὐτῷ οἱ ἂγγελοι· ›› καὶ, ιι Ἀποστελεῖὸ Υἱὸς τοτὲ ἀνθρώπου τούς ἀγγέλους αὐτοῦ· ι τὸ τιμᾶσθαι ὡς τὸν Πατέρα· ιι Ἵνα ›› γὰρ, φησὶ, ιι τιιῶσι τὸν Υἱὸν, καθὼς τιμῶσι τὸν Ηατέρα· ›› τὸ εἶναι ἳσα Θεῷ· ι» Οὐχ ἁρπαγμόν ἡγήσατο τὸ εἶναι ἴσα Θεῷο ›› τὸ εἶναι ἐξ ἀληθινοῦ ἀλήθειαν, καὶ ἐκ ζῶντος ζωήν, ὡς,ἀπὸ πηγῆς ὅντως τοῦ ΙΙατρὸς, τὸ ζωοποιεῖν τὸν Υἱὸν καὶ ἐγείρειν τοὺς νεκροὺς ὥσπερ 6 Πατήρ. οὕτω γὰρ ἐν τῷ Εὗαγγελίῳ γὲγραπται. Καὶ περὶ μὲν τοῦ Πατρὸς γέγραπταιο ‹‹ Κύριος 6 Θεός σου, Κυριος εἷς ἐστι · » καὶ, ‹‹ Θεὸς θεῶν Κύριος ἐλάλησε, καὶ ἐκάλεσε τήν γῆν· ›› περὶ δὲ τοῦ Υἱοῦ Θεὸς Κύριος, καὶ, ι( Ἐπέερανεν ἡμῖν, n καὶ, ‹‹ Ὀφθήσεται ὁ Θεὸς τῶν θεῶν ἐν Σιών· ›› πάλιν τε περὶ μὲν τοῦ Θεοῦ φησιν 6 Ἡσαΐας· ‹‹ Τίς Θεὸς, ὥσπερ σὺ, ἐξαίρων ἀνομίας, καὶ ὑπερβαίνων ἀδικίαςς 6 δὶ Υἱὸς ἔλεγεν οἷς ἤθελεν· «Ἀφέωνταί σου αἱ ἁμαρτίαι ›› ὅτε καὶ τῶν Ἰουδαίων γογγυζόντων, ἔργῳ τὴν ἄφεσιν ἐδείκνυε, λέγων τῷ παραλυτικῷ· « Ἐγειραι. ἆρον τὸν κράὸβατόν σου, καὶ ὕπαγε εἷς τὸν οἶκόν σου. ιι Καὶ περὶ ’μὲν τοῦ Θεοῦ ἔλεγεν 6 Παῦλος ι Τῷ δὲ βασιλεῖ τῶν αἷώνωνʼ ›› περῖ δὲ τοῦ Υἶοῦ 6 μὲν Δαβἶδ ἔψαλλεν « ’Λρατε πύλας, οἱ ἄρχοντες, ὑμῶν, καὶ ἐπάρθητε, πύλαι αἰώνιοι, καὶ εἰσελεύσεται 6 βασιλεὺς τῆς δόξηςο ›› 6 δὲ Δάνιὴν ἤκουσεν· ιι Ἡ βασιλεία αὐτοῦ βασιλεία αἰώνιος, ›› καὶ, ‹‹ Ἡ βασιλεία αὐτοῦ οὒ διαφθαρήσεται, » Καὶ ύλως δσιι ἂν εὕροις περὶ τοῦ Πατρὸς λεγόμενα, τοσαῦτα ἂν εὕροις καὶ περὶ τοῦ Υἱοῦ λεγόμενα, χωρὲς μόνου τοῦ εἶναι αὐτὸν Πατέρα, καθάπερ εἷʼρηται. ### English translation (Claude) This is why he has equality with the Father in words expressing unity, and why what is said of the Father, the Scriptures also say of the Son, except only his being called Father. For the Son himself said, “All things that the Father has are mine”; and he said to the Father, “All mine are yours, and yours are mine.” For example, the name “God”: “For the Word was God”; “Almighty”: “Thus says he who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty”; being light: “I am,” he says, “the light”; the creative cause: “For all things came to be through him,” and “What I see the Father doing, these things I also do”; being eternal: “For his eternal power and divinity,” and “In the beginning was the Word,” and “He was the true light, which enlightens every man coming into the world”; being Lord: “For the Lord rained brimstone and fire from the Lord”; and the Father says, “I am the Lord,” and “Thus says the Lord God Almighty”; while of the Son Paul says, “One Lord Jesus Christ, through whom are all things.” And angels minister to the Father, while the Son is worshiped by them: “And let all the angels of God worship him.” And he is said to be Lord of angels too: “For the angels ministered to him,” and “The Son of Man will send his angels.” Being honored as the Father is: “that they may honor the Son,” he says, “as they honor the Father”; being equal to God: “He did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped”; being truth from the true and life from the living, as from the Father, who is truly the fountain; giving life and raising the dead as the Father does, for so it is written in the Gospel. And of the Father it is written, “The Lord your God is one Lord,” and “The God of gods, the Lord, has spoken, and called the earth”; but of the Son, “God is the Lord, and he has shone upon us,” and “The God of gods will be seen in Zion.” And again, of God Isaiah says, “Who is a God like you, taking away iniquities and passing over unrighteousness?”; while the Son said to whom he wished, “Your sins are forgiven”; and when the Jews murmured, he showed the forgiveness in deed, saying to the paralytic, “Rise, take up your bed, and go to your house.” And of God Paul said, “To the King of the ages”; while of the Son David sang, “Lift up your gates, O rulers, and be lifted up, eternal gates, and the King of glory shall come in,” and Daniel heard, “His kingdom is an everlasting kingdom,” and “His kingdom shall not be destroyed.” And in general, as many things as you may find said of the Father, so many will you find said of the Son too, except only his being Father, as has been said. ### Scripture references - John 16:15: quotation, high confidence - John 17:10: quotation, high confidence - John 1:1: quotation, high confidence - Rev 1:8: quotation, high confidence - John 8:12: quotation, high confidence - John 1:3: quotation, high confidence - John 5:19: quotation, high confidence - Rom 1:20: quotation, high confidence - John 1:9: quotation, high confidence - Gen 19:24: quotation, high confidence - Isa 45:5: quotation, medium confidence - 1 Cor 8:6: quotation, high confidence - Heb 1:6: quotation, high confidence - Matt 4:11: quotation, high confidence - Matt 24:31: quotation, high confidence - John 5:23: quotation, high confidence - Phil 2:6: quotation, high confidence - John 5:21: allusion, high confidence - Deut 6:4: quotation, high confidence - Ps 50:1 (49:1 LXX): quotation, high confidence - Ps 118:27 (117:27 LXX): quotation, high confidence - Ps 84:7 (83:8 LXX): quotation, high confidence - Mic 7:18: quotation, high confidence - Matt 9:2: quotation, high confidence - Matt 9:6: quotation, high confidence - 1 Tim 1:17: quotation, high confidence - Ps 24:7 (23:7 LXX): quotation, high confidence - Dan 7:27: quotation, high confidence - Dan 7:14: quotation, high confidence ### Translation notes - John 16:15; John 17:10; John 1:1; Rev 1:8; John 8:12; John 1:3; John 5:19; Rom 1:20; John 1:9; Gen 19:24; Isa 45:5 (“I am the Lord”); 1 Cor 8:6; Heb 1:6; Matt 4:11; Matt 24:31; John 5:23; Phil 2:6; John 5:21; Deut 6:4; Ps 50:1 (49:1 LXX); Ps 118:27 (117:27 LXX); Ps 84:7 (83:8 LXX); Mic 7:18, attributed to Isaiah as printed; Matt 9:2, 6; 1 Tim 1:17; Ps 24:7 (23:7 LXX); Dan 7:27; Dan 7:14. ### Citation (SBL) Athanasius, Syn. 49 (PG 26:780b–781c; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/athanasius-synodis/45/#p-49). ## On the Councils of Ariminum and Seleucia 50 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/athanasius-synodis/45/#p-50 - Source: PG 26:781c–784a - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-10-09 Summary: If all the Father’s attributes belong to the Son, he cannot be of a foreign essence without our worshiping a stranger; so he is rightly called of the same essence. ### Greek text Εἰ μὶν οὖν ἄλλην ἀρχὴν ἐνθυμεῖταί τις, καὶ ἄλλον Πατέρα διὰ τὸ ἰσάζον τῶν λεγομὲνων, μανικόν τό ἐνθύμημω εἰ δὲ διὰ τὸ ἐκ τοῦ Ιῐατρὸς εἶναι τὸν Υἱὸν, πάντα τὰ τοῦ Πατρὸς, ὡς ἐν εἰκόνι καὶ χαρακτῆρι τοῦ Υἰοῦ ἐστι, λογισώμεθα εὐμενῶς, εὶ ξὲνη ούσία τῆς τοῦ Ηατρὸς οὐσίας δεκτική τῶν τοιούτων ἐστίʼ καὶ εἲ ὁ τοιοῦτος ἔτεροφυής καὶ ἂλλοτριούσιός ἐστι, καὶ οὐχ ὁμοούσιος τῷ Ηατρί. Εὐλαβητὲον γὰρ μὴ τᾶ τοῦ Πατρος ἴδια μεταφέροντες ἐπὶ τὸ ἀνομοιοούσιον αὐτῷ, καὶ ἐν ἀνομοιογενεῖ καὶ ἆλλοτριοουσίῳ χαρακτηρίζοντες τὴν τοῦ [Ιατρὸς θεότητα, ξένην μὶν ἄλλην εἷσάξωμεν οὐσίαν, δεκτικὴν τῶν τῆς πρώτης οὐσίας ἰδιωμάτων, ἐντραπῶμεν δὲ ὑπʼ αὐτοῦ τοῦ Θεοῦ λέγοντος· ‹‹ Τὴν δόξαν μου ἐτὲρῳ ού δώσω· ›› καὶ εύρεθῶμεν προσκυνοῦντες τῷ ἀλλοτίῳ, καὶ νομισθωμεν εἶναι τοιοῦτοι, οἷοι ἦσαν at τότε Ἰουδαῖοι λέγοντεςο ‹‹ Διά τί σὺ, ἄνφριιιπος ὤν, ποιεῖς σεαυτόν Θεόνς ›) ὅτε καὶ, τὰ τοῦ Πνεύματος μεταφέροντες, ἐβλασφήμουν λέγοντες, ὅτι α Ἐν Βεελζεβοὺλ ἐκβάλλει τὰ δαιμόνια, ›› Εἰ δὲ τοῦτο ἀπρεπὲς, δῆλον, ὅτι οὐκ ἀνομοιοούσιος ἂν .3.65, ἀλλὰ Pnacium: Πατρίʼ καὶ vulg: εἷ τὰ - _...._..--_.- _-.. Α.. μ.-....’._ - _- νεὶ, τοῦ [ἰατρὸς φυσικῶς τοῦ Υἱοῦ ἐστιν, αὐτός τε ὁ Υἱὸς ἐκ τοῦ Πατρός ἐστι, καὶ διὰ τῆν τοιάύτην ἑνότητα γῆς θεότητος καὶ τῆς φύσεως αὐτὸς καὶ ὁ Πατὴρ ἕν εἰσι, καὶ ὁ ἑωρακὼς τὸν Υὶὸν ἑώρακε τὸν Πατέρα, εἰκότως έλὲχθη παρᾶ τιΞιν Πατέρων ὁμοούσιοςο οὐ γὰρ τεροουσίου τὰ τοιαῦτα ἔχειν ἐστί. ### English translation (Claude) If, then, anyone conceives of another beginning and another Father because of the equality of what is said, the notion is mad. But if, because the Son is from the Father, all the things of the Father are in the Son as in an image and impress, let us consider fairly whether an essence foreign to the Father’s essence is capable of such things, and whether such a one is of another nature and of alien essence, and not of the same essence as the Father. For we must beware lest, by transferring what is proper to the Father to what is unlike him in essence, and expressing the divinity of the Father in what is unlike in kind and alien in essence, we bring in another, foreign essence, capable of the properties of the first essence, and be put to shame by God himself, who says, “My glory I will not give to another,” and be found worshiping what is alien, and be thought to be such as the Jews of that time were, who said, “Why do you, being a man, make yourself God?”—when also, transferring what belongs to the Spirit, they blasphemed, saying, “He casts out demons by Beelzebul.” But if this is unseemly, it is plain that he would not be unlike in essence, but of the same essence as the Father; and if the things of the Father are by nature the Son’s, and the Son himself is from the Father, and because of such oneness of divinity and of nature he and the Father are one, and he who has seen the Son has seen the Father, he was rightly called “of the same essence” by the fathers; for to have such things does not belong to one of another essence. ### Scripture references - Isa 42:8: quotation, high confidence - John 10:33: quotation, high confidence - Luke 11:15: quotation, high confidence - John 10:30: allusion, high confidence - John 14:9: allusion, high confidence ### Translation notes - Isa 42:8; John 10:33; Luke 11:15; John 10:30; John 14:9. - The last part of this chapter is badly garbled in the scan, with fragments of Latin apparatus mixed in; some debris is removed by logged corrections, and the rest (from “it is plain that he would not be unlike”) is translated by sense. ### Citation (SBL) Athanasius, Syn. 50 (PG 26:781c–784a; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/athanasius-synodis/45/#p-50). ## On the Councils of Ariminum and Seleucia 51 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/athanasius-synodis/45/#p-51 - Source: PG 26:784a–785b - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-10-09 Summary: The Son deifies and gives light because he is the Father’s own Word, not a participant; and “of the same essence” does not imply a third essence prior to Father and Son. ### Greek text Πάλιν τε εἰ, καθᾶ προείπομεν, οὐκ ἐκ μετουσίας ἐστὶν ὁ Υἱός· ἀλλᾶ τὰ μὶν γενητὰ πάντα ἐκ μετουσίας ἔχει τὴν παρὰ Θεοῦ χάριν, αὐτὰς δὲ τοῦ ξατρὸς σοφία καὶ Λόγος ἐστὶν, οὐ μετέχει τὰ πάνταο δῆλον ὅτι αὐτὸς ὢν τὸ θεοποιὸν καὶ φωτιστικὸν τοῦ Πατρὸς, ἐν ᾧ τᾶ πάντα θεοποιεῖται καὶ ζωοποιεῖται, οὐκ ἀλλοτριοούσιός ἐστι τοῦ Πατρὸς, ἀλλʼ ὁμοούσιος. Τούτου γὰρ μεταλαμβάνοντες, τοῦ Πατρὸς μετέχομεν, διὰ τὸ τοῦ Πατρὸς εἶναι ἴδιον τὸν Λόγον. Ὅθεν εἶ ἦν ἐκ μετουσίας καὶ αὐτὸς, καὶ . μή ἐξ αὐτοῦ οὐσιώδης θεότης καὶ εἷκὼν τοῦ. Πατρὸς, οὐκ ἃν έθεοποίησε θεοποιούμενος καὶ αὐτός. Οὐ γὰρ οἷόν τε τὸν έκ μετουσίας ἔχοντα μεταδιδόναι τῆς μεταλήψεως ἑτέροις, ὅτι μὴ αὐτοῦ έστιν ὃ ἔχει, ἀλλᾶ τοῦ δεδωκότος, καί ὅ ἔλαβε, μόγις τὴν ἄρχουσαν αὐτῷ χάριν ἔλαβε. Καὶ τήν αἰτίαν δὶ ὅμως, διʼ ἦν τινες, ὡς λέγεται, παραιτοῦνται τὸ ὁμόούσιον, έξετά· σωμεν ἀληθῶς, μή ἄρα μᾶλλον ἐκ ταύτης ὁμοούσιος δείκνυται ὁ Υἱὸς τῷ Πατρί. Φασὶ τοίνυν, ὡς ὑμεῖς ἐγράψατε, μή χρῆναι λέγειν ὁμοούσιον τὸν Υἱὸν τῷ Πατρὶ, δτι ὁ λέγων ὀμοούσιον τρία λέγει, οὐσίαν τινὰ προϋποκειμένην, καὶ τοὺς ἐκ ταύτης γεννωμένους ὁμοουσίους εἶναι· καὶ ἐπιλέγουσιν. Ἐὰν οὖν ὁ Υἱὸς ὸμοούσιος τῷ Πατρὶ, ἀνάγκη προϋποκεῖσθαι αὐτῶν οὐσίαν, ἐξ ἧς καὶ ἐγεννήθησαν, καὶ μή εἶναι τὸν μὲν Πατέρα, τὸν δὲ Υἱὸν, ἀλλʼ ἀμφοτέρους ἆδελφούς. Ταῦτα εί καὶ Ἑλλήνων εἰσὶν ἑρμηο νεῖαι, καὶ οὐκ ἂναγκαῖα ἡμῖν τὰ παρʼ ἐκείνων· ἀλλʼ ἴδωμέν τὰ εἰρημένα τὰ ὁμοούσια, τὰ ἐκ τῆς προνοουμένης οὐσίας ἀδελφὰ, πότερον ἑαυτῶν εἰσιν ὁμοούσια, ἢ της οὐσίας ἐξ ἧς καὶ ἐγεννήθησαν· εἰ μὶν γὰρ ἑαυτῶν, ἐτεροούσια καὶ ἆνὸμοια ἔσται πρὸς τήν γεννήσασαν αὐτᾶ οὐσίανο ἀντίκειται γὰρ τῷ ὁμοουσίῷ τὸ ἒτεροούσιονο εἷ δὲ τῆς γεννησάσης αὖτᾶ οὐσίας ἐστὶν ἕκαστον ὁμοούσιον, δῆλον, ὅτι τὸ ἔκ τινος γεννώμενον ὁμοούσιόν ἐστι τῷ γεννήσαντι· καὶ οὐκέτι χρὴ ζητεῖν τρεῖς οὐσίας, ἀλλά μόνον ζητεῖν, εί τόδε ἀληθὶς ἐκ τοῦδὲ ἐστι. Κᾶν γὰρ συμβῇ μὴ εἶναι δύο ἀδελφοὺς, ἀλλά καὶ μόνον ἕνα ἐξ ἐκείνης τῆς οὐσίας γενέσθαι, οὐ διὰ τὸ μὴ εἶναι ἓτερον, ἀλλοτριοούσιοςι ἂν λεχθείη ὁ γεννηθείςο ἀλλὰ καὶ μόνος ὣν, εἴη ἂν καὶ αὐτὸς ὁμοούσιος εῷ γεννήσαντι. Ἐπεὶ τί ἂν εἱίποιμεν περὶ τῆς Θυγατρὸς τοῦ Ἰεο φθάε, ὅτι μονογενὴς ἦνʼ ι( Καὶ οὐκ iv,» φησὶν, ι( ἄλλο τέκνον αὐτῷ, ›› καὶ περῖ τοῦ υἱοῦ δὲ τῆς χήρας, ὃν ἤγειρεν ἐκ νεκρῶν ὁ Κύριος, ὅτι καὶ αὐτὸς οὐκ εἶγεν ἀδελφὸν, ἀλλά μονογενής ἦν ’ ἄρα οὐκ ἦν ὁμοούσιος ἕκαστος αὐτῶν τῷ γενννςσαντι; καὶ μὴν ἦσανʼ τέκνα γὰρ ἦσανοκαὶ τοῦτο τέκνων ’ἴδιόν ἐστι πρὸς γονέας. Οὕτω καὶ τὸν τοῦ Θεοῦ Υἱὸν ἐκ τῆς οὖσίας εἴπόντες οἱ Πατέρες, εἰκότως καὶ ὁμοοῦσιον εἰρήκασι· ταύτην γὰρ ἔχει καὶ τὸ ἀπαύγασμα δῦναμιν πρὸς τὸ φῶς. Ἔπεται δὲ τούτοις μηδὲ τήν κτίσιν ἐκ τοῦ μὴ ὄντος γεγονέναι. Οἱ γὰρ κατὰ πάθος γεννῶντες ἅνθρωποι, αὐτοῖ καὶ τὴν ὑποκειμένην ὕλην ἐργάζονται, καὶ ἄλλως οὐκ ἂν δύναιντο ποιεῖνʼ εἰ δὲ τὸ κτίζειν οὐκ ἀνθρωπίνως νοοῦμεν ἐπὶ Θεοῦ, πολλῷ μᾶλλον οὐδὲ τὸ γεννᾷν ἀνθρωπίνως πρέπει νοεῖν ἐπὶ Θεοῦ, οὐδὲ τὸ ὁμοοῦσιον σωματικῶς ἐκλαμβάνειν, ἀλλʼ ἀναχωρεῖν δεῖ ἀπὸ τῶν γενητῶν, καὶ ἀποτιθέντας κάτω που τὰς ἀνθρωπίνας εἷκόνας καὶ πάσας ἁπλῶς τὰς αἰσθήσεις, ἀνιέναι ἐπὶ τὸν Πατέρα, μὴ λάθωμεν ἀφαιροῦντες τὸν Υἱὸν ἀπὸ τοῦ Πατρὸς, καὶ προστιθέντες τοῖς ἑαυτοῦ κτίσμασι. ### English translation (Claude) Again, if, as we said before, the Son is not Son by participation, but all originated things have the grace from God by participation, while he is the Father’s Wisdom and Word, of which all things partake, it is plain that he, being the deifying and enlightening power of the Father, in whom all things are deified and given life, is not alien in essence from the Father, but of the same essence. For by partaking of him we partake of the Father, because the Word is the Father’s own. Hence, if he too were Son by participation, and not essential divinity and image of the Father from him, he would not deify, being deified himself. For one who has something by participation cannot impart a share of it to others, since what he has is not his own but the giver’s, and what he has received is barely the grace sufficient for himself. Yet let us examine honestly the reason for which, as it is said, some decline “of the same essence,” whether the Son is not rather shown by it to be of the same essence as the Father. They say, then, as you wrote, that one should not say the Son is of the same essence as the Father, because he who says “of the same essence” speaks of three things: some essence lying beneath, and those begotten from it, which are of the same essence; and they add: “If, then, the Son is of the same essence as the Father, there must be an essence lying beneath them, from which they were begotten, and the one is not Father and the other Son, but both are brothers.” Even if these are interpretations of the Greeks, and what comes from them is not binding on us, let us nevertheless see whether the things said to be of the same essence, brothers from the essence presupposed, are of the same essence with one another or with the essence from which they were begotten. For if with one another, they will be of another essence than the essence that begot them, and unlike it; for “of another essence” is the opposite of “of the same essence.” But if each is of the same essence as the essence that begot them, it is plain that what is begotten from something is of the same essence as what begot it; and one need no longer look for three essences, but need only ask whether this is truly from that. For even if it happens that there are not two brothers, but only one came to be from that essence, the one begotten would not be called alien in essence because there is no other; but even being alone, he would be of the same essence as the one who begot him. For what should we say of the daughter of Jephthah, that she was only-begotten—“and he had no other child,” it says—and of the son of the widow whom the Lord raised from the dead, that he too had no brother but was only-begotten? Was each of them, then, not of the same essence as the one who begot them? Indeed they were; for they were children, and this is proper to children in relation to parents. So too the fathers, having said that the Son of God is from the essence, rightly said that he is of the same essence as well; for the radiance too has this relation to the light. And it would follow from their argument that creation did not come to be from nothing either. For men, who beget with passion, also work on an underlying matter and could not make anything otherwise; but if we do not understand creating in a human way in the case of God, much less is it fitting to understand begetting in a human way in God’s case, or to take “of the same essence” in a bodily sense. Rather, we must withdraw from originated things and, laying aside below all human images and in short all the senses, ascend to the Father, lest we unawares take the Son away from the Father and add him to his own creatures. ### Scripture references - Judg 11:34: quotation, high confidence - Luke 7:12: allusion, high confidence ### Translation notes - Judg 11:34 (Jephthah’s daughter); Luke 7:12 (the widow’s son). - θεοποιός / θεοποιεῖται are rendered “deifying” / “deified”. The objection about a prior essence and “brothers” is the one reported in ch. 45 from the time of Paul of Samosata. ### Citation (SBL) Athanasius, Syn. 51 (PG 26:784a–785b; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/athanasius-synodis/45/#p-51). ## On the Councils of Ariminum and Seleucia 52 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/athanasius-synodis/45/#p-52 - Source: PG 26:785b–788b - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-10-09 Summary: There is one divinity, the Father’s, which is in the Son as light is in its radiance; so the Son, who is one with the Father, should be called of the same essence. ### Greek text Καὶ ἄλλως δὲ, εἴ μὲν Πατέρα καὶ Υἶὸν ὁμολογοῦντες, δύο τινας ἀρχὰς, ἢ δύο Θεοῦςλ καθάπερ Μαρκίων καὶ Οὐαλεντῖνος, λέγομεν,ἢ ἕτερόν τινα τρόπον θεότητος ἔχειν τὸν Υἱὸν, καὶ μὴ εἰκόνα καὶ χαρακτῆρα τοῦ Ηατρὸς εἶναι τὸν Υίὸν, διὰ τὸ ἐξ αὐτοῦ πεφυκέναιʼ ἔστω ἀνόμοιοςʼ ξέναι γάρ εἷʼσι παντάπασιν ἀλλήλων αἱ τοιαῦται οὐσίαι· εἰ δὲ μίαν οἴδαμεν καὶ μόνην θεότητα τὴν τοῦ Πατρὸς, τούτου τε Λόγον καὶ Σοφίαν εἶναι τὸν Υἱὸν, καὶ οὕτω πιστεύοντις οὐ λέγομεν δύο Θεοῦς, τήν τε ἑνότητα τοῦ Υἱοῦ πρὸς τὸν Πατέρα οὐχ ὁμοιώσει διδασκαλίας, ἀλλά _ κατά τήν οὐσίαν καὶ ἀληθείᾳ φρονοῦμενο ὥστε διὰ τοῦτο μὴ λέγειν δύο Θεοῦς, ἀλλʼἕνα Θεὸν, ένὸς ὄντος εἴδους θεότητος, ὡς ἔστι τὸ φῶς καὶ τὸ ἀπαύγασμαο τοῦτο γὰρ ὤφθη τῷ πατριάρχῃ Ἰακὼβ, καί φησιν ἡ Γραφή· ‹‹ Ἀνέτειλε δὲ αὐτῷ ὁ ἥλιος, ἡνίκα παρῆλθε τὸ εἶδος τοῦ Θεοῦ· »καὶ τοῦτο θεωροῦντες οἱ ἅγιοι προφῆται καὶ νοοῦντες, τίνος ἐστὶν Υἱὸς καὶ εἰκὼν, ἔλεγονʼ α Ἐγένετο Λόγος Κυρίου πρὸς μέ. ›› Γινώσκοντες τὸν ἐν αὐτῷ θεωρούμενον καὶ ἀποκαλυπτόμενον Πατέρα ο ἐθάρρουν εἰπεῖν ‹‹ Ὠφθη μοι ὁ Θεὸς τῶν πατέρων ἡμῶν, ὁ Θεὸς Ἀβραὰμ, καί Ἰσαὰκ καὶ Ἰακώβ. ι Τούτου δὲ οὕτως ὄντος, διὰ τί τὸν ἕνα ὄντα πρὸς τὸν Πατέρα καὶ φαινόμενον, ὡς ἔστιν ὁ Πατὴρ, κατά τήν ομοιότητα καὶ μίαν θεότητα, εὐλαβώμεθα εἰπεῖν ὁμοοῦσιον ; Εἴ μὲν γὰρ, ὥσπερ εἴρηται πολλάκις, οὐκ ἔχειτὴν ἰδιότητα τῆς πατρικῆς οὐσίας, οὐδὲ τὴν ἐμφέρειαν ὡς Υἱὸς, καλῶς εὐλαβοῦμεθα · εἶ δὲ τοῦτό στι τὸ (ρωτιστικὸν καὶ δημιουργικὸν τὸ ίδιαίτατον τοῦ ΙΙατρὸς, οὗ ἄνευ οὔτε δημιουργεῖ, οὗτε γινώσκεται (πάντα γὰρ διʼ αὐτοῦ καὶ ἐν αὐτῷ συνέστηκι)’ διὰ τί, τὸ πρᾶγμα νοοῦντες, παραιτούμεθα τήν τοῦτο σημαίνουσαν λέξιν εἶπεῖν; Τί γάρ ἐστι τὸ οὕτως ὁμοφυὶς τῷ ΙῙατρὶ ἢ ὁμοούσιον αὐτοῦς Οὐ γὰρ ἀλλότριον ὡς ὑπουργοῦ δεόμενος προσελάβετο ὁ Θεὸς τὸν Υἱὸν, οὐδὲ τά ποιήματα ίσάξια τοῦ κτίσαντος, ὥστε τιμᾶσθαι ταῦτα ὡς ἐκεῖνον, νομίζειν, ὅτι ταῦτα καὶ ὁ Πατὴρ ἓν εἶʼσιν. ’Ἡ τολμησάτω τις διελεῖν, καὶ εἰπεῖν, δύο φῶτα εἶναι τὸν ἥλιον καὶ τὸ ἀπαύγασμα, ἢ ἑτέραν τινὰ εἶναι οὸσίαν,ἢ ὅτι ἐπισυμβἐβηκε τὸ ἀπαύγασμα, καὶ μὴ άπλοῦν εἶναι καὶ καθαρὸν γὲννημα ἐκ τοῦ ἡλίου τοῦτο· ὥστε δύο μὲν εἶναι ἥλιον καὶ ἀπαύγασμα, ἓν δὲ τὸ φῶς, διά τὸ ἰκ τοῦ ἡλίου ,ἶναι τοῦτο γέννημα. Τοιαύτης δί οὔσης καὶ μᾶλλον ὶδιαιρέτου τῆς φύσεως τοῦ Υἱοῦ πρὸς τὸν [Ιατέρα, καὶ οὐκ ἐπιωμὸάσης τῆς θεότητος τῷ Υἱῷ, ἀλλὰ τῆς πατρικῆς θεότητος οὔσης ἐν τῷ Υἱῷ, ὥστε τὸν ὶωρακότα τὸν Υἱὸν ὁρᾷν έν αὐτῷ τὸν Πατέρα, διὰ τί ὁ τοιοῦτος μὴ ἃν λέγοιτο ὁμοούσιος ς ### English translation (Claude) And besides: if, while confessing Father and Son, we speak of two principles or two Gods, as Marcion and Valentinus do, or say that the Son has some other kind of divinity and is not the image and impress of the Father because he is by nature from him, then let him be unlike; for such essences are wholly foreign to one another. But if we know the one and only divinity of the Father, and that the Son is his Word and Wisdom, and believing thus we do not say two Gods, and if we understand the oneness of the Son with the Father not by likeness of teaching but as being according to essence and in truth, so that on this account we say not two Gods but one God, there being one form of divinity, as with the light and the radiance—for this is what was seen by the patriarch Jacob, and Scripture says, “The sun rose upon him when the form of God passed by”; and the holy prophets, seeing this and understanding whose Son and image he is, said, “The word of the Lord came to me”; and, knowing the Father beheld and revealed in him, they dared to say, “The God of our fathers appeared to me, the God of Abraham and of Isaac and of Jacob”—this being so, why should we scruple to call “of the same essence” him who is one with the Father and appears as the Father is, according to likeness and one divinity? For if, as has often been said, he does not have the property of the Father’s essence, nor the resemblance proper to a Son, we are right to scruple; but if he is the enlightening and creative power, most proper to the Father, without whom the Father neither creates nor is known (for all things came to be through him and hold together in him), why, understanding the reality, do we decline to say the word that signifies it? For what is so of one nature with the Father as to be of the same essence with him? For God did not take to himself the Son as something alien, as one needing an assistant; nor are the things made equal in worth to their creator, so that they should be honored as he is, or be thought to be one with the Father. Or let someone dare to divide and say that the sun and its radiance are two lights, or that the radiance is another essence, or that it is an accident and not a simple and pure offspring from the sun—when in fact sun and radiance are two, but the light is one, because the radiance is the offspring from the sun. And since the nature of the Son in relation to the Father is such, and indeed even more indivisible, and the divinity is not something added to the Son, but the Father’s divinity is in the Son, so that he who has seen the Son sees the Father in him, why should such a one not be called of the same essence? ### Scripture references - Gen 32:31 (32:32 LXX): quotation, high confidence - Jer 1:4: quotation, medium confidence - Exod 3:16: quotation, high confidence - Col 1:16: allusion, high confidence - Col 1:17: allusion, high confidence - John 14:9: allusion, high confidence ### Translation notes - Gen 32:31 (32:32 LXX); Jer 1:4 and elsewhere (“The word of the Lord came to me”); Exod 3:16; Col 1:16–17; John 14:9. ### Citation (SBL) Athanasius, Syn. 52 (PG 26:785b–788b; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/athanasius-synodis/45/#p-52). ## On the Councils of Ariminum and Seleucia 53 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/athanasius-synodis/45/#p-53 - Source: PG 26:788b–789a - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-10-09 Summary: Likeness belongs to qualities, not essences; a Son “of like essence” would be Son only by participation, like creatures, whereas the true Son is of the same essence. ### Greek text Ἐστι μὲν οὖν ἱκανὰ καὶ ταῦτα πεῖσαι ὑμᾶς, μὴ κατηγορεῖν τῶν εἰρηκότων, ὁμοούσιον εἶναι τὸν Υἱὸν τῷ Πατρί· καί αὐτὴν δὶ ὅμως τὴν τοῦ ὁμοουσίου λὲξιν καθʼ ἑαυτὴν έξετάσωμεν,ίνα γνῶμεν, εί χρὴ λέγειν ὅλως ὁμοούσιον, καὶ εἰ κυρία λέξις ἐστὶ, καὶ ἁρμοζόντως ἐστὶν αὕτη ἐπὶ Υἱοῦ λεγομένη. Οἴδατε γὰρ καὶ ὑμεῖς. καὶ οὐδʼ ἄν τις ἀμφιβάλλοιι δτι τὸ ὅμοιον οὐκ ἐπὶ τῶν οὐσιῶν, ἀλλʼ ἰπὶ σχημάτων καὶ ποιοτήτων λέγεται ὅμοιον ἐπὶ γὰρ τῶν οὐσιῶν οὐχ ὁμοιότης, ἀλλὰ ταυτότης ἂν λεχθείη. ’Ἄνθρωπος γούν ἀνθρώπῳ ὅμοιος λέγεται, οὐῄκατὰ τήν οὐσίαν,ἀλλά κατὰ τὸ σχῆμα καί τὸν χαρακτῆραο τῇ γὰρ οὐσίᾳ ὁμοφυεῖς sict. Καὶ πάλιν ἅνθρωπος κυνὶ οὐκ ἀνόμοιος λέγεται, ἀλλʼ ἓτεροφυήςο οὐκοῦν τὸ μὲν ὁμοφυὶς καὶ ὁμοούσιον, τὸ δὲ ὲτεροφυὶς καὶ ἐτεροούσιον.Διὸ καὶ ὁ λέγων ὅμοιον κατʼ οὐσίαν ἐκ μετουσίας τοῦτο λέγει ὅμοιον. Τὸ γὰρ ὅμοιον ποιότης ἐστὶν, ἥτις τῇ οὐσίᾳ προσγένοιτʼ ἄν. Τοῦτο δὶ τῶν ποιημάτων ἴδιον ἂν εἴη· τάὖτα γὰρ ἐκ μετοχῆς ὁμοιοῦται τῷ Θεῷ. ιι ’Όταν ›› γὰρ, φησὶ, α φανερωθῇ, ὅμοιοι αὐτῷ ἐσόμεθα· ›› ὅμοιοι δηλονότι οὐ τῇ οὐσίᾳ, ἀλλὰ τῇ υἰότητι, ἧς μεταλαμβάνομεν παρʼ αὐτοῦ. Εἰ μὲν οὖν καὶ τὸν Υἱὸν ἐκ μετουσίας λέγετε, λιγὲσθω μὲν παρʼ ὑμῶν ὁμοιοούσιος. Οὐκ ἔστι μέντοι λεγόμενος οὕτως ἀλήθεια, οὐδὲ ὅλως φῶς, οὐδὲ φύσει Θεός. Τὰ γὰρ ιχ μετουσίας οὐκ ᾄληθείᾳι ἀλλʼ ὁμοιώσει τῆς ἀληθείας λέγεται ὅμοια, ὥστε καὶ μεταπίπτειν, καὶ ἀφαιρεῖσθαι δύνασθαι ἀπὸ τῶν μετεχόντων τὴν μετάληψιν. Τοῦτο δὲ πάλιν ἴδιον τῶν κτισμάτων καὶ ποιημάτων έστίν. Οὐκοῦν si τοῦτο ἄτοπον, οὐκ ἂν εἷη ἐκ μετουσίας, ἀλλά φύσει καὶ ἀληθείᾳ Υἱὸς, φῶς, σοφία, Θεός. Φύσει δὲ ὢν καὶ οὗ μετοχῇ, οὐκ ἂν κυρίως Αεχθείη ὀμοιοοόσιος,ἀλλʼ ὁμοοόσιος. ’Ὀ δὲ μηδὲ ἐπʼ ἄλλων ἄν τις εἷʼποι· ἐδείχθη γὰρ τὸ ὅμοιον μή ἐπὶ τῶν οὐσιῶν λεγόμενονυ πῶς οὐκ ἀνόπτον μὶν, ἢ τάχα καὶ χαλεπὸν τοῦτο προφέρειν ἐπὶ ὶἱοῦ, καὶ μή μᾶλλον τὸ ὁμοοόσιον; ### English translation (Claude) These things too are sufficient to persuade you not to accuse those who have said that the Son is of the same essence as the Father. Yet let us examine the term “of the same essence” in itself, so as to know whether one ought to say “of the same essence” at all, and whether it is a proper term and fittingly said of the Son. For you know too, and no one would doubt it, that “like” is said not of essences but of shapes and qualities; for in the case of essences one would speak not of likeness but of identity. A man, at any rate, is said to be like a man not in essence but in shape and form; for in essence they are of one nature. And again a man is not said to be unlike a dog, but of a different nature. So the one is “of one nature” and “of the same essence,” the other “of a different nature” and “of another essence.” Therefore whoever says “like in essence” says “like” by participation. For likeness is a quality, which may be added to an essence. And this would be proper to things made; for these are made like God by participation. “For when he appears,” it says, “we shall be like him”—like, plainly, not in essence but in sonship, which we receive from him. If, then, you say that the Son too is Son by participation, let him be called by you “of like essence.” But so called, he is not truth, nor light at all, nor God by nature. For things that are by participation are said to be like not in truth but by a likeness to the truth, so that the participation can also fall away and be taken from those who partake. And this again is proper to creatures and things made. So if this is absurd, he would not be Son by participation, but by nature and in truth Son, light, wisdom, God. And being so by nature and not by participation, he would not properly be called “of like essence” but “of the same essence.” But what one would not say even of other things—for it was shown that “like” is not said of essences—how is it not unreasonable, or perhaps even harsh, to apply it to the Son, and not rather “of the same essence”? ### Scripture references - 1 John 3:2: quotation, high confidence ### Translation notes - 1 John 3:2. ὁμοιούσιος is rendered “of like essence”. ### Citation (SBL) Athanasius, Syn. 53 (PG 26:788b–789a; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/athanasius-synodis/45/#p-53). ## On the Councils of Ariminum and Seleucia 54 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/athanasius-synodis/45/#p-54 - Source: PG 26:789a–789d - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-10-09 Summary: Nicaea rightly called the Son of the same essence; Athanasius closes with a prayer that strife cease and all confess one Lord, one faith, one baptism. ### Greek text Διᾶ τοῦτο γὰρ καὶ ἡ ἐν Νικαίᾳ σύνοδος xuλῶς ἔγραψεν, ὅπερ ἔπρεπεν εἰπεῖν, γεννητὸν ἐκ τῆς οὐσίας τοῦ Πατρός τὸν Υἳὸν ὁμοοόσιον. Ταῦτα καὶ ἡμεῖς μαθόντες, μὴ σκιαμαχῶμεν, καὶ μάλιστα γινώσκοντες, ὅτι οἱ καὶ ταῦτα γράψαντες, οὐχ ὡς παρεξηγοόμενοι τήν ἀλήθειαν, ἀλλʼ ἔκδικουντες μὲν τήν ἀλήθειαν καὶ τὴν είς Χριστὸν εὐσέβειαν, καθαιροῦντες δὲ τὰς κατʼ αὐτοῦ τῶν Ἀρειομανιτῶν βλασφημίας, οὕτως ὡμολόγησαν τὴν πίστιν. Σκεπτὲον γὰρ καὶ κατανοητέον ἀκριβῶς, ὅτι λέγοντες μὲν ἀνομοιοοόσιον xui ἑτεροούσιον, οὗ σημαίνομεν τὸν ἀληθινὸν Υἱὸν, ἀλλʼ ἓν τι τῶν ποιημάτων καὶ τὸν είσποιητὸν καὶ θὲσει Υἱὸν, ὅπερ τοῖς αἱρετικοῗς δοκεῖʼ λέγοντες δὲ μή ἐριστικῶς τὸ ὁμοοῦσιον, Υἱὸν σημαίνομεν γνήσιον ἐκ τοῦ Πατρὸς πεφυκότα, κᾶν ἐν τούτῳ διαρῥηγνύωνται πολλάκις οἱ Χριστομαχοι. Ταῦτα μὲν, ἅπερ ἔγνων ἐγὼ, καὶ διαλεγομένων ἤκουσα φρονίμων, διʼ ὀλίγων γέγραφα· ὑμεῖς δὲ, μὲνοντες ἐπὶ τὸν θεμέλιον τῶν ἀποστόλων, καὶ τὰς παραδόσεις τῶν Πατὲρων κατέχοντες, εὔχεσθε ’ίνα ἤδη ποτε παύσηται πᾶσα λοιπὸν ἔρις καὶ ζῆλος, τῶν τε αἱρετικῶν αἱ μωραὶ ζητήσεις καταγνωσθῶσι, καὶ πᾶσα λογομαχία· καὶὴ μὲν δυσώνυμος καὶ ἀνθρωποκτόνος τῶν Ἀρειανῶν αʼίρεσις ἐξαφανισθείη, ἀναλάμψειε δὲ πάντων ἐν ταῖς καρδίαις ἡ ἀλήθεια, ὥστε πάντας πανταχοῦ τὸ αὐτὸ λέγειν, καὶ τὸ αὐτὸ φρονεῖν· μηδεμιᾶς δὲ ἔτι περιλειπομὲνης Ἀρειανῆς δυσφημίας, λέγηται xui ὁμολογῆται κατὰ πᾶσαν Ἐκκλησίαψ ‹‹ Εἷς Κύριος, μία πίστις, ’ἐν βάπτισμα, ›› ἦν Χριστῷ Ἰησοῦ τῷ Κυρίῳ ἡμῶν, διʼ οὗ τῷ Πατρὶ ἡ δόξα καὶ τὸ κράτος εἲς τοὺς αἰῶνας τῶν αἰώνων. Ἀμήν. ### English translation (Claude) That is why the council at Nicaea rightly wrote what it was fitting to say, that the Son, begotten from the essence of the Father, is of the same essence. Having learned this, let us too not fight with shadows, especially since we know that those who wrote these things confessed the faith in this way not as misinterpreting the truth, but as defending the truth and piety toward Christ, and as destroying the blasphemies of the Ariomaniacs against him. For it must be considered and understood exactly that, when we say “unlike in essence” and “of another essence,” we do not signify the true Son, but one of the things made, an adopted Son and Son by appointment, which is what the heretics hold; but when we say “of the same essence” without contentiousness, we signify a genuine Son born from the Father, even if the Christ-fighters often burst with rage at it. These things, which I myself know and have heard from wise men in discussion, I have written briefly; but you, remaining on the foundation of the apostles and holding fast the traditions of the fathers, pray that now at last all strife and rivalry may cease, and the foolish questionings of the heretics and all disputes about words may be condemned; that the ill-named and murderous heresy of the Arians may vanish, and the truth shine forth in the hearts of all, so that all everywhere may say the same and think the same; and that, with no Arian slander remaining any longer, it may be said and confessed in every church, “One Lord, one faith, one baptism,” in Christ Jesus our Lord, through whom to the Father be the glory and the power to the ages of ages. Amen. ### Scripture references - Eph 2:20: allusion, high confidence - 2 Thess 2:15: allusion, high confidence - Titus 3:9: allusion, high confidence - 1 Tim 6:4: allusion, medium confidence - 1 Cor 1:10: allusion, high confidence - Eph 4:5: quotation, high confidence ### Translation notes - Eph 2:20; 2 Thess 2:15; Titus 3:9 (foolish questionings); 1 Tim 6:4 (disputes about words); 1 Cor 1:10; Eph 4:5. ### Citation (SBL) Athanasius, Syn. 54 (PG 26:789a–789d; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/athanasius-synodis/45/#p-54). ## On the Councils of Ariminum and Seleucia 55 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/athanasius-synodis/55/#p-55 - Source: PG 26:789d–793d - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-10-09 Summary: A postscript gives Constantius’s letter delaying the Ariminum envoys and the bishops’ reply refusing to change their decision and asking to return to their churches. ### Greek text Μετά τὸ. γράψαι μετὰ περὶ τῶν συνόδων, ἔγνων γράψαντα τὸν ἀσεβέστατον Κωνστάντιον πρὸς τοὺς ἐν Ἀρίμήνῳ μείναντας ἐπισκόπουςο καὶ σπουδὴν ἔσχον λαβεῖν τὰ ἀντίγραφα παρά γνησίωθ ἀδελφῶν, καὶ ἀποστεῖλαι ὑμῖν, καὶ τὰ παρά τῶν ἐπι- · σκόπων ἀντιγραφένταοτίνα γνῶτε τοῦ μὲν βασιλέως τὴν ἀσεβῆ πανουργίαν, τῶν δὲ ἐπισκόπων τὸ ἑδραῖον xui ἀκλινὶς τῆς πρὸς τὴν ἀλήθειαν γνώμης. Ἑρμηνεία τῆς ἐπιπολῆς. Α Κωνστάντιος Νικητης καὶ Θριαμβευτῆς Αὔγουστος πᾶσιν ἐπισκόποις τοῖς ἐν Ἀριμήνῳ συνελθοῦσιν. ’Λεὶ μὲν προηγουμένην ἡμᾶς ἔχειν φροντίδα περὶτοῦ θειου καὶ προσκυνητοῦ νόμου, οὐδὲ ἡ ὑμετέρα χρηστότης ἀγνοεῖο ἀλλά νῦν τοὺς παρὰ τῆς συν. έσεως ὑμῶν ἀποσταλέντας εἷʼκοσιν ἐπισκόπους, ἀναδεξαμένους τήν παρʼ ὑμῶν πρεσβείαν, τέως οὐκ ἠδυνήθημεν αὐτοὺς ἰδεῖν. Ἀναγκαία γάρ τις ἡμᾶς ἤπειγεν ἡ πρὸς τοὺς βαρβάρους ὁδός· καὶ, ὡς οἷʼδατε, πρέπει τὴν ψυχὴν, καθαρὰν οὖσαν ἀπὸ πάσης φροντίδος, τά περὶ τοῦ θείου νόμου διαγυμνάζειν. Τοιγαροῦν τοὺς ἐπισκόπους ἐκελεύσαμεν ἐν τῇ Ἀδριανουπόλει ἐκδέξασθαι τήν ἡμετέραν ἐπάνοδον, ἵνα, ἐπειδᾶν πάντα καλως διατεθῇ τὰ δημόσια, τότε tomwa ἅπερ ἂν ὑποβάλωσιν, ἀκοῦσαι καὶ δοκιμάσαι δυνηθῶμεν. Τῇ μέντοι στερρότητι ὑμῶν μὴ βαρὺ φαινέσθω, ὥστε ἐκδέξασθαι τὴν αὐτῶν ἐπάνο· δον, *ίνα ἐπειδὰν ἐπανέλθωσι κομίζοντες ὑμῖν τὰς ἡμετέρας ἀποκρίσεις, δυνηθῆτε εἰς πέρας ἀγαγεῖν τὰ πρὸς τὴν λυσιτέλειαν ἀνήκοντα τῇ καθολικῇ Ἐκκλησίᾳ. Ταῦτα ἐδέξαντο οἱ ἐπίσκοποι, ἐπαγομένων τριῶν Ἀντίγραφον τῶν ἐπισκόπων. Τὰ γράμματα τῆς σῆς φιλανθρωπίας ἐδεξάμεθα, κύριε θεοφιλέστατε βασιλεῦ, τὰ περιέχοντα διὰ τήν δημοσίων ἀνάγκην τέως μὴ δεδυνῆσθαί σε τοὺς -ἡμετέρους πρέσβεις θεωρῆσαι· ἡμᾶς τε κελεύεις ἐκ· δέξασθαι τήν αὐτῶν ἐπάνοδον, ἓως ἂν τὰ παρʼ ἡμῶν ὁρισθέντα ἀκολούθως τοῖς προγόνοις ἡμῶν ἐπιγνῷ παρʼ αὐτῶν ἡ σὴ εὐσέβεια. Ἀλλά καὶ νῦν διὰ τούτων τῶν γραμμάτων ὁμοὶογοῦμεν, καὶ διαβεβαιούμεθα, μηδαμῶς ἡμᾶς ἀναχωρεῖν τῆς ἡμετέραςπροθέσεως· τοῦτο γὰρ καὶ τοῖς πρεσβεὖσιν ἡμῶν ἐνετειλάμεθα. Ἀξιοῦμεν τοίνυν ὅπως γαληναίᾳ τῇ προσόψει τά τε νῦν γράμματα τῆς ἡμετέρας μετριότητος κελεύσῃς ἀναγνωσθῆναι. Ἀλλὰ γὰρ κάκεῖνα, a διὰ τῶν πρεσβέων ἡμῶν ἐνετειλάμεθα, ἡδέως ὑποδέξῃ. Ἐκεῖνο μέντοι συνορᾷ μεθʼ ἡμῶν καὶ ἡ σὴ ἡμερότης, ὅση νῦν ἐστι λύπη καὶ κατήφεια, ὅτι ἐντοῖς σοῖς μακαριωτάτοις καιροῖς τοσαῦται Ἐκκλησίαι χωρὶς ἐπισκόπων εἷʼσίο καὶ 8ιά τοῦτο πάλιν τήν σὴν φιλανθρωπίαν ἀξιοῦμεν, κύριε θεοφιλέστατε βασιλεῦ, ὅπως πρὸ τῆς τραχύτητος τῶν χειμώνων, εἷʼπερ ἀρέσειε τῇ σῇ εὐσεβείᾳ, κελεύσῃς ἡμᾶς εἲς τὰς ἡμετέρας Ἐκ-, κλησίας ἐπανελθεῖν, ὑπὲρ τοῦ δύνασθαι ἡμᾶς τῷ παντοκράτορι Θεῷ, καὶ τῷ Δεσπότῃ καὶ Σωτῆρι ἡμᾶ Χριστῷ, τῷ 1ἷῷ αὐτοῦ τῷ μονογενεῖ, ὑπὲρ τῆ σῆς βασιλείας, τὰς ἐθίμους εὐχὰς μετὰ τῶν λαῶ ### English translation (Claude) After writing about the councils, I learned that the most impious Constantius had written to the bishops who remained at Ariminum; and I took pains to obtain copies from genuine brothers and to send them to you, together with what the bishops wrote in reply, so that you may know both the impious craftiness of the emperor and the steadfastness and unswerving firmness of the bishops’ mind toward the truth. Translation of the letter. “Constantius, Victor and Triumpher, Augustus, to all the bishops assembled at Ariminum. That our foremost care has always been for the divine and venerable law, not even your goodness is unaware; but the twenty bishops sent by your prudence, who undertook your embassy, we have not yet been able to see. For a necessary journey against the barbarians pressed upon us; and, as you know, it is fitting that the soul, being pure of every care, should treat of the matters of the divine law. We have therefore ordered the bishops to await our return at Adrianople, so that, when all public affairs have been well arranged, we may then be able to hear and examine whatever they put before us. Let it not seem burdensome to your firmness to await their return, so that, when they come back bringing you our answers, you may be able to bring to completion what pertains to the benefit of the catholic church.” The bishops received this, three men bringing it. Copy of the bishops’ letter. “We have received the letter of your clemency, most God-beloved lord emperor, stating that because of the necessity of public affairs you have not yet been able to see our envoys, and ordering us to await their return until your piety learns from them what we have defined in accordance with our forebears. But now too by this letter we confess and affirm that we will in no way depart from our purpose; for this is what we enjoined our envoys too. We ask, therefore, that with a calm countenance you order both the present letter of our modesty to be read, and that you also graciously receive what we enjoined through our envoys. This, however, your gentleness sees with us, how great is the grief and sadness now, that in your most blessed times so many churches are without bishops. And for this reason we again ask your clemency, most God-beloved lord emperor, that before the harshness of the winters, if it please your piety, you order us to return to our churches, so that we may be able to offer to God Almighty, and to our Master and Savior Christ, his only-begotten Son, for your empire, the customary prayers with the peoples …” ### Translation notes - Letter of Constantius to the Council of Ariminum (359) and the bishops’ reply, quoted in Greek translation. The reply breaks off in the scan (μετὰ τῶν λαῶ…), followed by a stray marginal reference to Socrates; the end is lost (“…”). ### Citation (SBL) Athanasius, Syn. 55 (PG 26:789d–793d; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/athanasius-synodis/55/#p-55).