Sophia Scriptura

On the Trinity

De Trinitate sive de fide contra Arianos

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  1. 0Faustinus writes at the request of the empress, who asked how to answer the Arians' proof texts; he will first set out what the Arians really believe.
  2. 1Faustinus sets out the Arian position and refutes it from John 1, Philippians 2, Colossians 1, Genesis 1, and 'I and the Father are one,' arguing that the Son is eternal, equal, and of one substance and will with the Father.
  3. 2Against the claim that God made the Son from nothing, Faustinus cites the Father's voice at the baptism and transfiguration, Peter's confession, John's 'only-begotten' texts, God's gift of his Son compared with Abraham's offering of Isaac, and Psalm 110:3, 'from the womb I begot you.'
  4. 3Faustinus proves the Son almighty and unchangeable from Zechariah, Revelation, Wisdom, the Psalms, and Isaiah, and explains Christ's weaknesses as belonging to the human nature he assumed.
  5. 4'The Father is greater than I' refers to the Son's emptying of himself in the form of a servant, or, as some catholics hold, to the Father's being the source of the Son, not to any inequality of deity.
  6. 5Acts 2:36, 'God made him Lord and Christ,' refers to Jesus according to the flesh, who became Lord of those who serve him and Christ, King and Priest, by the anointing of the Spirit, not to the making of the Word's substance.
  7. 6Proverbs 8:22, 'the Lord created me,' does not make Wisdom (Christ) a creature: Wisdom was begotten before it was 'created' for God's works, and 'created' can mean being made something for others, as God is 'made' our refuge.
  8. 7Faustinus briefly confesses the Holy Spirit as truly holy, of the same substance with the Father and the Son, not a creature, and explains his refusal of communion with heretics and those who compromised the faith.

About this work

Author
Faustinus
Attribution
authentic · Named in the manuscripts as the work of the presbyter Faustinus, written for Flaccilla, wife of Theodosius.
Standing
Not honoured as a saint or in a church calendar by the Catholic, Orthodox, or Protestant traditions. Luciferian presbyter whose Nicene teaching was not rejected; separated over discipline, tolerated by Theodosius; not venerated by any of the three traditions.
Date
ca. 380–384 (approximate) · Written after Theodosius's edict of 380 and before Flaccilla's death (386).
Written at
Rome (approximate)
Addressed to
Flaccilla, empress
Language
Latin
Genre
treatise
Reference system
chapter, as Migne (PL 13) numbers them: the dedicatory letter is 0 and the seven chapters 1-7. Migne's paragraph numerals (I., II., ...) inside each chapter stay in the text.
SBL abbreviation
Trin.Not yet checked
Text from
Jacques-Paul Migne, ed., Patrologiae cursus completus, Series Latina, vol. 13 (Paris, 1845), cols. 37-80, after Sirmond and Coustant (Printed edition in the public domain; digital text CC BY-SA 4.0)