Alexander, being assembled with his beloved brothers, the Elders and Ministers of Alexandria, and the Mareotis, greets them in the Lord.
Although you have already subscribed to the letter I addressed to Arius and his fellows, exhorting them to renounce his impiety, and to submit themselves to the sound Universal Faith, and have shown your right-mindedness and agreement in the doctrines of the Universal Assembly: yet forasmuch as I have written also to our fellow-ministers in every place concerning Arius and his fellows, and especially since some of you, as the Elders Chares and Pistus, and the Ministers Serapion, Parammon, Zosimus, and Irenaeus, have joined Arius and his fellows, and been content to suffer deposition with them, I thought it necessary to assemble together you, the Clergy of the city, and to send for you the Clergy of the Mareotis, in order that you may learn what I am now writing, and may testify your agreement thereto, and give your concurrence in the deposition of Arius, Pistus, and their fellows. For it is desirable that you should be made acquainted with what I write, and that each of you should heartily embrace it, as though he had written it himself.
A Copy.
To his dearly beloved and most honored fellow-ministers of the Universal Assembly in every place, Alexander sends health in the Lord.
1. As there is one body of the Universal Assembly, and a command is given us in the sacred Writings to preserve the bond of unity and peace, it is agreeable thereto that we should write and signify to one another whatever is done by each of us individually; so that whether one member suffer or rejoice, we may either suffer or rejoice with one another. Now there are gone forth in this district, at this time, certain lawless men, enemies of Christ, teaching an apostasy, which one may justly suspect and designate as a forerunner of Antichrist. I was desirous to pass such a matter by without notice, in the hope that perhaps the evil would spend itself among its supporters, and not extend to other places to defile the ears of the simple. But seeing that Eusebius, now of Nicomedia, who thinks that the government of the Assembly rests with him, because retribution has not come on him for his desertion of Berytus, when he had cast an eye of desire on the Assembly of the Nicomedians, begins to support these apostates, and has taken on him to write letters every where in their behalf, if by any means he may draw in certain ignorant persons to this most base and antichristian heresy; I am therefore constrained, knowing what is written in the law, no longer to hold my peace, but to make it known to you all; that you may understand who the apostates are, and the cavils which their heresy has adopted, and that, should Eusebius write to you, you may pay no attention to him, for he now desires by means of these men to exhibit anew his old malevolence, which has so long been concealed, pretending to write in their favor, while in truth it clearly appears, that he does it to forward his own interests.
2. Now those who became apostates are these, Arius, Achilles, Aeithales, Carpones, another Arius, and Sarmates, sometime Elders: Euzoïus, Lucius, Julius, Menas, Helladius, and Gaius, sometime Ministers: and with them Secundus and Theonas, sometime called Overseers. And the novelties they have invented and put forth contrary to the Writings are these following: God was not always a Father, but there was a time when God was not a Father. The Word of God was not always, but originated from things that were not; for God that is, has made him that was not, of that which was not; therefore there was a time when He was not; for the Son is a creature and a work. Neither is He like in essence to the Father; neither is He the true and natural Word of the Father; neither is He His true Wisdom; but He is one of the things made and created, and is called the Word and Wisdom by an abuse of terms, since He Himself originated by the proper Word of God, and by the Wisdom that is in God, by which God has made not only all other things but Him also. Therefore He is by nature subject to change and variation as are all rational creatures. And the Word is foreign from the essence of the Father, and is alien and separated therefrom. And the Father cannot be described by the Son, for the Word does not know the Father perfectly and accurately, neither can He see Him perfectly. Moreover, the Son does not know His own essence as it really is; for He is made for us, that God might create us by Him, as by an instrument; and He would not have existed, had not God wished to create us. Accordingly, when some one asked them, whether the Word of God can possibly change as the Devil changed, they were not afraid to say that He can; for being something made and created, His nature is subject to change.
3. Now when Arius and his fellows made these assertions, and shamelessly avowed them, we being assembled with the Overseers of Egypt and Libya, nearly a hundred in number, anathematized both them and their followers. But Eusebius and his fellows admitted them to communion, being desirous to mingle falsehood with the truth, and impiety with piety. But they will not be able to do so, for the truth must prevail; neither is there any “communion of light with darkness,” nor any “concord of Christ with Belial.” For who ever heard such assertions before? or who that hears them now is not astonished and does not stop his ears lest they should be defiled with such language? Who that has heard the words of John, “In the beginning was the Word,” will not denounce the saying of these men, that “there was a time when He was not?” Or who that has heard in the Gospel, “the Only-begotten Son,” and “by Him were all things made,” will not detest their declaration that He is “one of the things that were made.” For how can He be one of those things which were made by Himself? or how can He be the Only-begotten, when, according to them, He is counted as one among the rest, since He is Himself a creature and a work? And how can He be “made of things that were not,” when the Father says, “My heart has uttered a good Word,” and “Out of the womb I have begotten You before the morning star?” Or again, how is He “unlike in substance to the Father,” seeing He is the perfect “image” and “brightness” of the Father, and that He says, “He that has seen Me has seen the Father?” And if the Son is the “Word” and “Wisdom” of God, how was there “a time when He was not?” It is the same as if they should say that God was once without Word and without Wisdom. And how is He “subject to change and variation,” Who says, by Himself, “I am in the Father, and the Father in Me,” and “I and the Father are One“; and by the Prophet, “Behold Me, for I am, and I change not?” For although one may refer this expression to the Father, yet it may now be more aptly spoken of the Word, namely, that though He has been made man, He has not changed; but as the Apostle has said, “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever.” And who can have persuaded them to say, that He was made for us, whereas Paul writes, “for Whom are all things, and by Whom are all things?”
4. As to their blasphemous position that “the Son does not know the Father perfectly,” we ought not to wonder at it; for having once set themselves to fight against Christ, they contradict even His express words, since He says, “As the Father knows Me, even so know I the Father.” Now if the Father knows the Son but in part, then it is evident that the Son does not know the Father perfectly; but if it is not lawful to say this, but the Father does know the Son perfectly, then it is evident that as the Father knows His own Word, so also the Word knows His own Father Whose Word He is.
5. By these arguments and references to the sacred Writings we frequently overthrew them; but they changed like chameleons, and again shifted their ground, striving to bring on themselves that sentence, “when the wicked falls into the depth of evils, he despises.” There have been many heresies before them, which, venturing further than they ought, have fallen into folly; but these men by endeavoring in all their cavils to overthrow the Divinity of the Word, have justified the other in comparison of themselves, as approaching nearer to Antichrist. Therefore, they have been excommunicated and anathematized by the Assembly. We grieve for their destruction, and especially because, having once been instructed in the doctrines of the Assembly, they have now sprung away. Yet we are not greatly surprised, for Hymenaeus and Philetus did the same, and before them Judas, who followed the Savior, but afterward became a traitor and an apostate. And concerning these same persons, we have not been left without instruction; for our Lord has forewarned us; “Take heed lest any man deceive you: for many will come in My name, saying, I am Christ, and the time draws near, and they will deceive many: do not go after them“; while Paul, who was taught these things by our Savior, wrote that “in the latter times some will depart from the sound faith, giving heed to seducing spirits and doctrines of devils, which reject the truth.”
6. Since then our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ has instructed us by His own mouth, and also has signified to us by the Apostle concerning such men, we accordingly being personal witnesses of their impiety, have anathematized, as we said, all such, and declared them to be alien from the Universal Faith and Assembly. And we have made this known to your piety, dearly beloved and most honored fellow-ministers, in order that should any of them have the boldness to come to you, you may not receive them, nor comply with the desire of Eusebius, or any other person writing in their behalf. For it becomes us who are Christians to turn away from all who speak or think any thing against Christ, as being enemies of God, and destroyers of souls; and not even to “bid such God speed,” lest we become partakers of their sins, as the blessed John has charged us. Salute the brothers that are with you. They that are with me salute you.
Elders of Alexandria.
7. I, Colluthus, Elder, agree with what is here written, and give my assent to the deposition of Arius and his associates in impiety.
Alexander, Elder, likewise Dioscorus, Elder, likewise Dionysius, Elder, likewise Eusebius, Elder, likewise Alexander, Elder, likewise Nilaras, Elder, likewise Arpocration, Elder, likewise Agathus, Elder Nemesius, Elder Longus, Elder Silvanus, Elder Peroys, Elder Apis, Elder Proterius, Elder Paulus, Elder Cyrus, Elder, likewise Ministers Ammonius, Minister, likewise Macarius, Minister Pistus, Minister, likewise Athanasius, Minister Eumenes, Minister Apollonius, Minister Olympius, Minister Aphthonius, Minister Athanasius, Minister Macarius, Minister, likewise Paulus, Minister Petrus, Minister Ambytianus, Minister Gaius, Minister, likewise Alexander, Minister Dionysius, Minister Agathon, Minister Polybius, Minister, likewise Theonas, Minister Marcus, Minister Comodus, Minister Serapion, Minister Nilon, Minister Romanus, Minister, likewise Elders of the Mareotis.
I, Apollonius, Elder, agree with what is here written, and give my assent to the deposition of Arius and his associates in impiety.
Ingenius, Elder, likewise Ammonius, Elder Dioscorus, Elder Sostras, Elder Theon, Elder Tyrannus, Elder Copres, Elder Ammonas, Elder Orion, Elder Serenus, Elder Didymus, Elder Heracles, Elder Boccon, Elder Agathus, Elder Achillas, Elder Paulus, Elder Thalelaeus, Elder Dionysius, Elder, likewise Ministers Sarapion, Minister, likewise Justus, Minister, likewise Didymus, Minister Demetrius, Minister Maurus, Minister Alexander, Minister Marcus, Minister Comon, Minister Tryphon, Minister Ammonius, Minister Didymus, Minister Ptollarion, Minister Seras, Minister Gaius, Minister Hierax, Minister Marcus, Minister Theonas, Minister Sarmaton, Minister Carpon, Minister Zoilus, Minister, likewise Encyclical Epistle.
To his fellow-ministers in every place, beloved lords, Athanasius sends health in the Lord.
Our sufferings have been dreadful beyond endurance, and it is impossible to describe them in suitable terms; but in order that the dreadful nature of the events which have taken place may be more readily apprehended, I have thought it good to remind you of a history out of the Writings. It happened that a certain Levite was injured in the person of his wife; and, when he considered the exceeding greatness of the pollution (for the woman was a Hebrew, and of the tribe of Judah), being astounded at the outrage which had been committed against him, he divided his wife’s body, as the Holy Writing relates in the Book of Judges, and sent a part of it to every tribe in Israel, in order that it might be understood that an injury like this pertained not to himself only, but extended to all alike; and that, if the people sympathized with him in his sufferings, they might avenge him; or if they neglected to do so, might bear the disgrace of being considered thenceforth as themselves guilty of the wrong. The messengers whom he sent related what had happened; and they that heard and saw it, declared that such things had never been done from the day that the children of Israel came up out of Egypt. So every tribe of Israel was moved, and all came together against the offenders, as though they had themselves been the sufferers; and at last the perpetrators of this iniquity were destroyed in war, and became a curse in the mouths of all: for the assembled people did not consider their related blood, but regarded only the crime they had committed. You know the history, brothers, and the particular account of the circumstances given in Writing. I will not therefore describe them more in detail, since I write to persons acquainted with them, and as I am anxious to represent to your piety our present circumstances, which are even worse than those to which I have referred. For my object in reminding you of this history is this, that you may compare those ancient transactions with what has happened to us now, and perceiving how much these last exceed the other in cruelty, may be filled with greater indignation on account of them, than were the people of old against those offenders. For the treatment we have undergone surpasses the bitterness of any persecution; and the calamity of the Levite was but small, when compared with the enormities which have now been committed against the Assembly; or rather such deeds as these were never before heard of in the whole world, or the like experienced by any one. For in that case it was but a single woman that was injured, and one Levite who suffered wrong; now the whole Assembly is injured, the priesthood insulted, and worst of all, piety is persecuted by impiety. On that occasion the tribes were astounded, each at the sight of part of the body of one woman; but now the members of the whole Assembly are seen divided from one another, and are sent abroad some to you, and some to others, bringing word of the insults and injustice which they have suffered. Be therefore also moved, I beseech you, considering that these wrongs are done to you no less than to us; and let every one lend his aid, as feeling that he is himself a sufferer, lest shortly ecclesiastical Canons, and the faith of the Assembly be corrupted. For both are in danger, unless God will speedily by your hands amend what has been done wrongly, and the Assembly be avenged on her enemies. For our Canons and our forms were not given to the Assemblies at the present day, but were wisely and safely transmitted to us from our forefathers. Neither had our faith its beginning at this time, but it came down to us from the Lord through His disciples. That therefore the ordinances which have been preserved in the Assemblies from old time until now, may not be lost in our days, and the trust which has been committed to us required at our hands; rouse yourselves, brothers, as being stewards of the mysteries of God, and seeing them now seized on by others. Further particulars of our condition you will learn from the bearers of our letters; but I was anxious myself to write you a brief account thereof, that you may know for certain, that such things have never before been committed against the Assembly, from the day that our Savior when He was taken up, gave command to His disciples, saying, ‘Go and make disciples of all nations, immersing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.’
Now the outrages which have been committed against us and against the Assembly are these. While we were holding our assemblies in peace, as usual, and while the people were rejoicing in them, and advancing in godly conversation, and while our fellow-ministers in Egypt, and the Thebais, and Libya, were in love and peace both with one another and with us; on a sudden the Prefect of Egypt puts forth a public letter, bearing the form of an edict, and declaring that one Gregory from Cappadocia was coming to be my successor from the court. This announcement confounded every one, for such a proceeding was entirely novel, and now heard of for the first time. The people however assembled still more constantly in the assemblies, for they very well knew that neither they themselves, nor any Overseer or Elder, nor in short any one had ever complained against me; and they saw that Arians only were on his side, and were aware also that he was himself an Arian, and was sent by Eusebius and his fellows to the Arian party. For you know, brothers, that Eusebius and his fellows have always been the supporters and associates of the impious heresy of the Arian madmen, by whose means they have ever carried on their designs against me, and were the authors of my banishment into Gaul.
The people, therefore, were justly indignant and exclaimed against the proceeding, calling the rest of the magistrates and the whole city to witness, that this novel and iniquitous attempt was now made against the Assembly, not on the ground of any charge brought against me by ecclesiastical persons, but through the wanton assault of the Arian heretics. For even if there had been any complaint generally prevailing against me, it was not an Arian, or one professing Arian doctrines, that ought to have been chosen to supersede me; but according to the ecclesiastical Canons, and the direction of Paul, when the people were ‘gathered together, and the spirit’ of them that ordain, ‘with the power of our Lord Jesus Christ‘ all things ought to have been inquired into and transacted canonically, in the presence of those among the laity and clergy who demanded the change; and not that a person brought from a distance by Arians, as if making a traffic of the title of Overseer, should with the patronage and strong arm of heathen magistrates, thrust himself on those who neither asked for nor desired his presence, nor indeed knew anything of what had been done. Such proceedings tend to the dissolution of all the ecclesiastical Canons, and compel the heathen to blaspheme, and to suspect that our appointments are not made according to a divine rule, but as a result of traffic and patronage.
Thus was this notable appointment of Gregory brought about by the Arians, and such was the beginning of it. And what outrages he committed on his entry into Alexandria, and of what great evils that event has been the cause, you may learn both from our letters, and by inquiry of those who are sojourning among you. While the people were offended at such an unusual proceeding, and in consequence assembled in the assemblies, in order to prevent the impiety of the Arians from mingling itself with the faith of the Assembly, Philagrius, who has long been a persecutor of the Assembly and her virgins, and is now Prefect of Egypt, an apostate already, and a fellow-countryman of Gregory, a man too of no respectable character, and moreover supported by Eusebius and his fellows, and therefore full of zeal against the Assembly; this person, by means of promises which he afterward fulfilled, succeeded in gaining over the heathen multitude, with the Jews and disorderly persons, and having excited their passions, sent them in a body with swords and clubs into the assemblies to attack the people.
What followed on this it is by no means easy to describe: indeed it is not possible to set before you a just representation of the circumstances, nor even could one recount a small part of them without tears and lamentations. Have such deeds as these ever been made the subjects of tragedy among the ancients? or has the like ever happened before in time of persecution or of war? The assembly and the holy baptistery were set on fire, and immediately groans, shrieks, and lamentations, were heard through the city; while the citizens in their indignation at these enormities, cried shame on the governor, and protested against the violence used to them. For holy and undefiled virgins were being stripped naked, and suffering treatment which is not to be named and if they resisted, they were in danger of their lives. Monks were being trampled underfoot and perishing; some were being hurled headlong; others were being destroyed with swords and clubs; others were being wounded and beaten. And oh! what deeds of impiety and iniquity have been committed on the Holy Table! They were offering birds and pine cones in sacrifice, singing the praises of their idols, and blaspheming even in the very assemblies our Lord and Savior Jesus-Christ, the Son of the living God. They were burning the books of Holy Writing which they found in the assembly; and the Jews, the murderers of our Lord, and the godless heathen entering irreverently (O strange boldness!) the holy baptistery, were stripping themselves naked, and acting such a disgraceful part, both by word and deed, as one is ashamed even to relate. Certain impious men also, following the examples set them in the bitterest persecutions, were seizing on the virgins and ascetics by the hands and dragging them along, and as they were haling them, endeavored to make them blaspheme and deny the Lord; and when they refused to do so, were beating them violently and trampling them underfoot.
In addition to all this, after such a notable and illustrious entry into the city, the Arian Gregory, taking pleasure in these calamities, and as if desirous to secure to the heathens and Jews, and those who had worked these evils on us, a prize and price of their iniquitous success, gave up the assembly to be plundered by them. On this license of iniquity and disorder, their deeds were worse than in time of war, and more cruel than those of robbers. Some of them were plundering whatever fell in their way; others dividing among themselves the sums which some had laid up there; the wine, of which there was a large quantity, they either drank or emptied out or carried away; they plundered the store of oil, and every one took as his spoil the doors and chancel rails; the candlesticks they immediately laid aside in the wall, and lighted the candles of the Assembly before their idols: in a word, rapine and death pervaded the Assembly. And the impious Arians, so far from feeling shame that such things should be done, added yet further outrages and cruelty. Elders and laymen had their flesh torn, virgins were stripped of their veils, and led away to the tribunal of the governor, and then cast into prison; others had their goods confiscated, and were scourged; the bread of the ministers and virgins was intercepted. And these things were done even during the holy season of Lent, about the time of Easter; a time when the brothers were keeping fast, while this notable Gregory exhibited the disposition of a Caiaphas, and, together with Pilate the Governor, furiously raged against the pious worshipers of Christ. Going into one of the assemblies on the Preparation, in company with the Governor and the heathen multitude, when he saw that the people regarded with abhorrence his forcible entry among them, he caused that most cruel person, the Governor, publicly to scourge in one hour, four and thirty virgins and married women, and men of rank, and to cast them into prison. Among them there was one virgin, who, being fond of study, had the Psalter in her hands, at the time when he caused her to be publicly scourged: the book was torn in pieces by the officers, and the virgin herself shut up in prison.
When all this was done, they did not stop even here; but consulted how they might act the same part in the other assembly, where I was mostly living during those days; and they were eager to extend their fury to this assembly also, in order that they might hunt out and dispatch me. And this would have been my fate, had not the grace of Christ assisted me, if it were only that I might escape to relate these few particulars concerning their conduct. For seeing that they were exceedingly mad against me, and being anxious that the assembly should not be injured, nor the virgins that were in it suffer, nor additional murders be committed, nor the people again outraged, I withdrew myself from among them, remembering the words of our Savior, ‘If they persecute you in this city, flee into another.’ For I knew, from the evil they had done against the first-named assembly, that they would forbear no outrage against the other also. And there in fact they reverenced not even the Lord’s Day of the holy Feast, but in that assembly also they imprisoned the persons who belonged to it, at a time when the Lord delivered all from the bonds of death, whereas Gregory and his associates, as if fighting against our Savior, and depending on the patronage of the Governor, have turned into mourning this day of liberty to the servants of Christ. The heathens were rejoicing to do this, for they abhor that day; and Gregory perhaps did but fulfill the commands of Eusebius and his fellows in forcing the Christians to mourn under the infliction of bonds.
With these acts of violence has the Governor seized on the assemblies, and has given them up to Gregory and the Arian madmen. Thus, those persons who were excommunicated by us for their impiety, now glory in the plunder of our assemblies; while the people of God, and the clergy of the Universal Assembly are compelled either to have communion with the impiety of the Arian heretics, or else to forbear entering into them. Moreover, by means of the Governor, Gregory has exercised no small violence toward the captains of ships and others who pass over sea, torturing and scourging some, putting others in bonds, and casting them into prison, in order to oblige them not to resist his iniquities, and to take letters from him. And not satisfied with all this, that he may glut himself with our blood, he has caused his savage associate, the Governor, to prefer an indictment against me, as in the name of the people, before the most religious Emperor Constantius, which contains odious charges, from which one may expect not only to be banished, but even ten thousand deaths. The person who drew it up is an apostate from Christianity, and a shameless worshiper of idols, and they who subscribed it are heathens, and keepers of idol temples, and others of them Arians. In short, not to make my letter tedious to you, a persecution rages here, and such a persecution as was never before raised against the Assembly. For in former instances a man at least might pray while he fled from his persecutors, and be immersed while he lay in concealment. But now their extreme cruelty has imitated the godless conduct of the Babylonians. For as they falsely accused Daniel, so does the notable Gregory now accuse before the Governor those who pray in their houses, and watches every opportunity to insult their ministers, so that through his violent conduct, many are endangered from missing immersion, and many who are in sickness and sorrow have no one to visit them, a calamity which they bitterly lament, accounting it worse than their sickness. For while the ministers of the Assembly are under persecution, the people who condemn the impiety of the Arian heretics choose rather thus to be sick and to run the risk, than that a hand of the Arians should come on their heads.
Gregory then is an Arian, and has been sent to the Arian party; for none demanded him, but they only; and accordingly as a hireling and a stranger, he makes use of the Governor to inflict these dreadful and cruel deeds on the people of the universal assemblies, as not being his own. For since Pistus, whom Eusebius and his fellows formerly appointed over the Arians, was justly anathematized and excommunicated for his impiety by you the overseers of the Universal Assembly, as you all know, on our writing to you concerning him, they have now, therefore, in like manner sent this Gregory to them; and lest they should a second time be put to shame, by our again writing against them, they have employed extraneous force against me, in order that, having obtained possession of the Assemblies, they may seem to have escaped all suspicion of being Arians. But in this too they have been mistaken, for none of the people of the Assembly are with them, except the heretics only, and those who have been excommunicated on various charges, and such as have been compelled by the Governor to dissemble. This then is the drama of Eusebius and his fellows, which they have long been rehearsing and composing; and now have succeeded in performing through the false charges which they have made against me before the emperor. Notwithstanding, they are not yet content to be quiet, but even now seek to kill me; and they make themselves so formidable to our friends, that they are all driven into banishment, and expect death at their hands. But you must not for this stand in awe of their iniquity, but on the contrary avenge: and show your indignation at this their unprecedented conduct against us. For if when one member suffers all the members suffer with it, and, according to the blessed Apostle, we ought to weep with them that weep, let every one, now that so great a Assembly as this is suffering, avenge its wrongs, as though he were himself a sufferer. For we have a common Savior, who is blasphemed by them, and Canons belonging to us all, which they are transgressing. If while any of you had been sitting in your Assembly, and while the people were assembled with you, without any blame, some one had suddenly come under plea of an edict as successor of one of you, and had acted the same part toward you, would you not have been indignant? would you not have demanded to be righted? If so, then it is right that you should be indignant now, lest if these things be passed over unnoticed, the same mischief will by degrees extend itself to every Assembly, and so our schools of religion be turned into a market-house and an exchange.
7. Appeal to the overseers of the whole Assembly to unite against Gregory.
You are acquainted with the history of the Arian madmen, beloved, for you have often, both individually and in a body, condemned their impiety; and you know also that Eusebius and his fellows, as I said before, are engaged in the same heresy; for the sake of which they have long been carrying on a conspiracy against me. And I have represented to you, what has now been done, both for them and by them, with greater cruelty than is usual even in time of war, in order that after the example set before you in the history which I related at the beginning, you may entertain a zealous hatred of their wickedness, and reject those who have committed such enormities against the Assembly. If the brothers at Rome [last year], before these things had happened, and on account of their former misdeeds, wrote letters to call a Council, that these evils might be set right (fearing which, Eusebius and his fellows took care previously to throw the Assembly into confusion, and desired to destroy me, in order that they might thenceforth be able to act as they pleased without fear, and might have no one to call them to account), how much more ought you now to be indignant at these outrages, and to condemn them, seeing they have added this to their former misconduct.
I beseech you, overlook not such proceedings, nor suffer the famous Assembly of the Alexandrians to be trodden down by heretics. In consequence of these things the people and their ministers are separated from one another, as one might expect, silenced by the violence of the Prefect, yet abhorring the impiety of the Arian madmen. If therefore Gregory will write to you, or any other in his behalf, do not receive his letters, brothers, but tear them in pieces and put the bearers of them to shame, as the ministers of impiety and wickedness. And even if he presumes to write to you after a friendly fashion, nevertheless, do not receive them. Those who bring his letters convey them only from fear of the Governor, and on account of his frequent acts of violence. And since it is probable that Eusebius and his fellows will write to you concerning him, I was anxious to admonish you beforehand, so that you may herein imitate God, who is no respecter of persons, and may drive out from before you those that come from them; because for the sake of the Arian madmen they caused persecutions, rape of virgins, murders, plunder of the Assembly’s property, burnings, and blasphemies in the Assemblies, to be committed by the heathens and Jews at such a season. The impious and mad Gregory cannot deny that he is an Arian, being proved to be so by the person who writes his letters. This is his secretary Ammon, who was cast out of the Assembly long ago by my predecessor the blessed Alexander for many misdeeds and for impiety.
For all these reasons, therefore, grant to send me a reply, and condemn these impious men; so that even now the ministers and people of this place, seeing your orthodoxy and hatred of wickedness, may rejoice in your concord in the Christian faith, and that those who have been guilty of these lawless deeds against the Assembly may be reformed by your letters, and brought at last, though late, to conversion. Salute the brotherhood that is among you. All the brothers that are with me salute you. Farewell, and remember me, and the Lord preserve you continually, most truly beloved lords.
1. Christ warned His followers against false prophets.
All things whatsoever our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, as Luke wrote, ‘both has done and taught,’ He effected after having appeared for our salvation; for He came, as John says, ‘not to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.’ And among the rest we have especially to admire this instance of His goodness, that He was not silent concerning those who should fight against us, but plainly told us beforehand, that, when those things should come to pass, we might immediately be found with minds established by His teaching. For He said, ‘There will arise false prophets and false Christs, and will show great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible, the very elect will be deceived. Behold, I have told you before.’ Manifold indeed and beyond human conception are the instructions and gifts of grace which He has laid up in us; as the pattern of heavenly conversation, power against demons, the adoption of sons, and that exceeding great and singular grace, the knowledge of the Father and of the Word Himself, and the gift of the Holy Spirit. But the mind of man is prone to evil exceedingly; moreover, our adversary the Devil, envying us the possession of such great blessings, goes about seeking to snatch away the seed of the word which is sown within us. Therefore as if by His prophetic warnings He would seal up His instructions in our hearts as His own peculiar treasure, the Lord said, ‘Take heed that no man deceive you: for many will come in My name, saying, I am he; and the time draws near; and they will deceive many: do not go therefore after them.’ This is a great gift which the Word has bestowed on us, that we should not be deceived by appearances, but that, howsoever these things are concealed, we should all the more distinguish them by the grace of the Spirit. For whereas the inventor of wickedness and great spirit of evil, the Devil, is utterly hateful, and as soon as he shows himself is rejected of all men—as a serpent, as a dragon, as a lion seeking whom he may seize on and devour—therefore he conceals and covers what he really is, and craftily personates that Name which all men desire, so that deceiving by a false appearance, he may thenceforth fix fast in his own chains those whom he has led astray. And as if one that desired to kidnap the children of others during the absence of their parents, should personate their appearance, and so putting a cheat on the affections of the offspring, should carry them far away and destroy them; in like manner this evil and wily spirit the Devil, having no confidence in himself, and knowing the love which men bear to the truth, personates its appearance, and so spreads his own poison among those that follow after him.
2. Satan pretending to be holy, is detected by the Christian.
Thus, he deceived Eve, not speaking his own, but artfully adopting the words of God, and perverting their meaning. Thus, he suggested evil to the wife of Job, persuading her to feign affection for her husband, while he taught her to blaspheme God. Thus does the crafty spirit mock men by false displays, deluding and drawing each into his own pit of wickedness. When of old he deceived the first man Adam, thinking that through him he should have all men subject to him, he exulted with great boldness and said, ‘My hand has found as a nest the riches of the people; and as one gathers eggs that are left, have I gathered all the earth; and there is none that will escape me or speak against me.’ But when the Lord came on earth, and the enemy made trial of His human Economy, being unable to deceive the flesh which He had taken on Him, from that time forth he, who promised himself the occupation of the whole world, is for His sake mocked even by children: that proud one is mocked as a sparrow. For now the infant child lays his hand on the hole of the asp, and laughs at him that deceived Eve; and all that rightly believe in the Lord tread underfoot him that said, ‘I will ascend above the heights of the clouds: I will be like the Most High.’ Thus he suffers and is dishonored; and although he still ventures with shameless confidence to disguise himself, yet now, wretched spirit, he is detected the rather by them that bear the Sign on their foreheads; yes, more, he is rejected of them, and is humbled, and put to shame. For even if, now that he is a creeping serpent, he will transform himself into a messenger of light, yet his deception will not profit him; for we have been taught that ‘though a messenger from heaven preach to us any other gospel than that we have received, he is anathema.’
3. And although, again, he conceal his natural falsehood, and pretend to speak truth with his lips; yet are we ‘not ignorant of his devices,’ but are able to answer him in the words spoken by the Spirit against him; ‘But to the ungodly, said God, why do you preach My laws?’ and, ‘Praise is not seemly in the mouth of a sinner.’ For even though he speak the truth, the deceiver is not worthy of credit. And whereas Writing showed this, when relating his wicked artifices against Eve in Paradise, so the Lord also reproved him—first in the mount, when He laid open ‘the folds of his breast-plate,’ and showed who the crafty spirit was, and proved that it was not one of the holy ones, but Satan that was tempting Him. For He said, ‘Get you behind Me Satan; for it is written, You will worship the Lord your God, and Him only will you serve.’ And again, when He put a curb in the mouths of the demons that cried after Him from the tombs. For although what they said was true, and they lied not then, saying, ‘You are the Son of God,’ and ‘the Holy One of God’; yet He would not that the truth should proceed from an unclean mouth, and especially from such as them, lest under pretense thereof they should mingle with it their own malicious devices, and sow these also while men slept. Therefore, He did not allow them to speak such words, neither would He have us to suffer such, but has charged us by His own mouth, saying, ‘Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves’; and by the mouth of His Holy Apostles, ‘Believe not every spirit.’ Such is the method of our adversary’s operations; and of the like nature are all these inventions of heresies, each of which has for the father of its own device the Devil, who changed and became a murderer and a liar from the beginning. But being ashamed to profess his hateful name, they usurp the glorious Name of our Savior ‘which is above every name,’ and deck themselves out in the language of Writing, speaking indeed the words, but stealing away the true meaning thereof; and so disguising by some artifice their false inventions, they also become the murderers of those whom they have led astray.
4. It does not profit to receive part of Writing, and reject part.
For whence do Marcion and Manichaeus receive the Gospel while they reject the Law? For the New Testament arose out of the Old, and bears witness to the Old; if then they reject this, how can they receive what proceeds from it? Thus Paul was an Apostle of the Gospel, ‘which God promised afore by His prophets in the holy Writings’: and our Lord Himself said, ‘you search the Writings, for they are they which testify of Me.’ How then will they confess the Lord unless they first search the Writings which are written concerning Him? And the disciples say that they have found Him, ‘of whom Moses and the Prophets did write.’ And what is the Law to the Sadducees if they do not receive the Prophets? For God who gave the Law, Himself promised in the Law that He would raise up Prophets also, so that the same is Lord both of the Law and of the Prophets, and he that denies the one must of necessity deny the other also. And again, what is the Old Testament to the Jews, unless they acknowledge the Lord whose coming was expected according to it? For had they believed the writings of Moses, they would have believed the words of the Lord; for He said, ‘He wrote of Me.’ Moreover, what are the Writings to him of Samosata, who denies the Word of God and His incarnate Presence, which is signified and declared both in the Old and New Testament? And of what use are the Writings to the Arians also, and why do they bring them forward, men who say that the Word of God is a creature, and like the Gentiles ‘serve the creature more than’ God ‘the Creator?’ Thus, each of these heresies, in respect of the peculiar impiety of its invention, has nothing in common with the Writings. And their advocates are aware of this, that the Writings are very much, or rather altogether, opposed to the doctrines of every one of them; but for the sake of deceiving the more simple sort (such as are those of whom it is written in the Proverbs, ‘The simple believes every word),’ they pretend like their ‘father the Devil‘ to study and to quote the language of Writing, in order that they may appear by their words to have a right belief, and so may persuade their wretched followers to believe what is contrary to the Writings. Assuredly in every one of these heresies the Devil has thus disguised himself and has suggested to them words full of craftiness. The Lord spoke concerning them, that ‘there will arise false Christs and false prophets, so that they will deceive many.’ Accordingly, the Devil has come, speaking by each and saying, ‘I am Christ, and the truth is with me’; and he has made them, one and all, to be liars like himself. And strange it is, that while all heresies are at variance with one another concerning the mischievous inventions which each has framed, they are united together only by the common purpose of lying. For they have one and the same father that has sown in them all the seeds, of falsehood. Therefore, the faithful Christian and true disciple of the Gospel, having grace to discern spiritual things, and having built the house of his faith on a rock, stands continually firm and secure from their deceits. But the simple person, as I said before, that is not thoroughly grounded in knowledge, such a one, considering only the words that are spoken and not perceiving their meaning, is immediately drawn away by their wiles. Therefore, it is good and necessary for us to pray that we may receive the gift of discerning spirits, so that everyone may know, according to the precept of John, whom he ought to reject, and whom to receive as friends and of the same faith. Now one might write at great length concerning these things, if one desired to go into details respecting them; for the impiety and perverseness of heresies will appear to be manifold and various, and the craft of the deceivers to be very terrible. But since holy Writing is of all things most sufficient for us, therefore recommending to those who desire to know more of these matters, to read the Divine word, I now hasten to set before you that which most claims attention, and for the sake of which principally I have written these things.
5. Attempt of Arians to substitute a Creed for the Nicene.
I heard during my sojourn in these parts (and they were true and orthodox brothers that informed me), that certain professors of Arian opinions had met together, and drawn a confession of faith to their own liking, and that they intend to send word to you, that you must either subscribe to what pleases them, or rather to what the Devil has inspired them with, or in case of refusal must suffer banishment. They are indeed already beginning to molest the Overseers of these parts; and thereby are plainly manifesting their disposition. For inasmuch as they frame this document only for the purpose of inflicting banishment or other punishments, what does such conduct prove them to be, but enemies of the Christians, and friends of the Devil and his messengers? and especially since they spread abroad what they like contrary to the mind of that gracious Prince, our most religious Emperor Constantius. And this they do with great craftiness, and, as appears to me, chiefly with two ends in view; first, that by obtaining your subscriptions, they may seem to remove the evil repute that rests on the name of Arius, and may escape notice themselves as if not professing his opinions; and again, that by putting forth these statements they may cast a shade over the Council of Nicaea, and the confession of faith which was then put forth against the Arian heresy. But this proceeding does but prove the more plainly their own maliciousness and heterodoxy. For had they believed correctly, they would have been satisfied with the confession put forth at Nicaea by the whole Ecumenic Council; and had they considered themselves slandered and falsely called Arians, they ought not to have been so eager to innovate on what was written against Arius, lest what was directed against him might seem to be aimed at them also. This, however, is not the course they pursue, but they conduct the struggle in their own behalf, just as if they were Arius. Observe how entirely they disregard the truth, and how everything they say and do is for the sake of the Arian heresy. For in that they dare to question those sound definitions of the faith, and take on themselves to produce others contrary to them, what else do they but accuse the Fathers, and stand up in defense of that heresy which they opposed and protested against? And what they now write proceeds not from any regard for the truth, as I said before, but rather they do it as in mockery and by an artifice, for the purpose of deceiving men; that by sending about their letters they may engage the ears of the people to listen to these notions, and so put off the time when they will be brought to trial; and that by concealing their impiety from observation, they may have room to extend their heresy, which, ‘like a gangrene,’ eats its way everywhere.
6. Accordingly, they disturb and disorder everything, and yet not even thus are they satisfied with their own proceedings. For every year, as if they were going to draw up a contract, they meet together and pretend to write about the faith, whereby they expose themselves the more to ridicule and disgrace, because their expositions are rejected, not by others, but by themselves. For had they had any confidence in their previous statements, they would not have desired to draw up others; nor again, leaving these last, would they now have set down the one in question, which no doubt true to their custom they will again alter, after a very short interval, and as soon as they will find a pretense for their customary plotting against certain persons. For when they have a design against any, then it is that they make a great show of writing about the faith; that, as Pilate washed his hands, so they by writing may destroy those who rightly believe in Christ, hoping that, as making definitions about the faith, they may appear, as I have repeatedly said, to be free from the charge of false doctrine. But they will not be able to hide themselves, nor to escape; for they continually become their own accusers even while they defend themselves. Justly so, since instead of answering those who bring proof against them, they do but persuade themselves to believe whatever they wish. And when is an acquittal obtained, on the criminal becoming his own judge? Hence it is that they are always writing, and always altering their own previous statements, and thus they show an uncertain faith,’ or rather a manifest unbelief and perverseness. And this, it appears to me, must necessarily be the case with them; for since, having fallen away from the truth, and desiring to overthrow that sound confession of faith which was drawn up at Nicaea, they have, in the language of Writing, ‘loved to wander, and have not refrained their feet’; therefore, like Jerusalem of old, they labor and toil in their changes, sometimes writing one thing, and sometimes another, but only for the sake of gaining time, and that they may continue enemies of Christ, and deceivers of mankind.
7. The party of Acacius really Arians.
Who, then, that has any real regard for truth, will be willing to suffer these men any longer? who will not justly reject their writing? who will not denounce their audacity, that being but few in number, they would have their decisions to prevail over everything, and as desiring the supremacy of their own meetings, held in corners and suspicious in their circumstances, would forcibly cancel the decrees of an uncorrupt, pure, and Ecumenic Council? Men who have been promoted by Eusebius and his fellows for advocating this Antichristian heresy, venture to define articles of faith, and while they ought to be brought to judgment as criminals, like Caiaphas, they take on themselves to judge. They compose a Thalia, and would have it received as a standard of faith, while they are not yet themselves determined what they believe. Who does not know that Secundus of Pentapolis, who was several times degraded long ago, was received by them for the sake of the Arian madness; and that George, now of Laodicea, and Leontius the Eunuch, and before him Stephanus, and Theodorus of Heraclea, were promoted by them? Ursacius and Valens also, who from the first were instructed by Arius as young men, though they had been formerly degraded from the Priesthood, afterward got the title of Overseers on account of their impiety; as did also Acacius, Patrophilus, and Narcissus, who have been most forward in all manner of impiety. These were degraded in the great Synod of Sardica; Eustathius also now of Sebastea, Demophilus and Germinius, Eudoxius, and Basil, who are supporters of that impiety, were advanced in the same manner. Of Cecropius, and him they called Auxentius, and of Epictetus the impostor, it were superfluous for me to speak, since it is manifest to all men, in what manner, on what pretexts, and by what enemies of ours these were promoted, that they might bring their false charges against the orthodox Overseers who were the objects of their designs. For although they resided at the distance of eighty posts, and were unknown to the people, yet on the ground of their impiety they purchased for themselves the title of Overseer. For the same reason also they have now hired one George of Cappadocia, whom they wish to impose on you. But no respect is due to him any more than to the rest; for there is a report in these parts that he is not even a Christian, but is devoted to the worship of idols; and he has a hangman’s temper. And this person, such as he is described to be, they have taken into their ranks, that they may be able to injure, to plunder, and to slay; for in these things he is a great proficient, but is ignorant of the very principles of the Christian faith.
8. Words are bad, though Scriptural, which proceed from bad men.
Such are the machinations of these men against the truth: but their designs are manifest to all the world, though they attempt in ten thousand ways, like eels, to elude the grasp, and to escape detection as enemies of Christ. Therefore I beseech you, let no one among you be deceived, no one seduced by them; rather, considering that a sort of Judaical impiety is invading the Christian faith, be all zealous for the Lord; hold fast, every one, the faith we have received from the Fathers, which they who assembled at Nicaea recorded in writing, and endure not those who endeavor to innovate thereon. And however they may write phrases out of the Writing, endure not their writings; however they may speak the language of the orthodox, yet attend not to what they say; for they speak not with an upright mind, but putting on such language like sheeps’ clothing, in their hearts they think with Arius, after the manner of the Devil, who is the author of all heresies. For he too made use of the words of Writing, but was put to silence by our Savior. For if he had indeed meant them as he used them, he would not have fallen from heaven; but now having fallen through his pride, he artfully dissembles in his speech, and oftentimes maliciously endeavors to lead men astray by the subtleties and sophistries of the Gentiles. Had these expositions of theirs proceeded from the orthodox, from such as the great Confessor Hosius, and Maximinus of Gaul, or his successor, or from such as Philogonius and Eustathius, Overseers of the East, or Julius and Liberius of Rome, or Cyriacus of Moesia, or Pistus and Aristaeus of Greece, or Silvester and Protogenes of Dacia, or Leontius and Eupsychius of Cappadocia, or Caecilianus of Africa, or Eustorgius of Italy, or Capito of Sicily, or Macarius of Jerusalem, or Alexander of Constantinople, or Paederos of Heraclea, or those great Overseers Meletius, Basil, and Longianus, and the rest from Armenia and Pontus, or Lupus and Amphion from Cilicia, or James and the rest from Mesopotamia, or our own blessed Alexander, with others of the same opinions as these—there would then have been nothing to suspect in their statements, for the character of apostolical men is sincere and incapable of fraud.
9. For such words do but serve as their cloak.
But when they proceed from those who are hired to advocate the cause of heresy, and since, according to the divine proverb, ‘The words of the wicked are to lie in wait,’ and ‘The mouth of the wicked pours out evil things,’ and ‘The counsels of the wicked are deceit’: it becomes us to watch and be sober, brothers, as the Lord has said, lest any deception arise from subtlety of speech and craftiness; lest anyone come and pretend to say, ‘I preach Christ,’ and after a little while he be found to be Antichrist. These indeed are Antichrists, whosoever come to you in the cause of the Arian madness. For what defect is there among you, that anyone need to come to you from without? Or, of what do the Assemblies of Egypt and Libya and Alexandria stand so much in need, that these men should make a purchase of the Episcopate instead of wood and goods, and intrude into Assemblies which do not belong to them? Who is not aware, who does not perceive clearly, that they do all this in order to support their impiety? Therefore although they should make themselves dumb, or although they should bind on their garments larger borders than the Pharisees, and pour themselves forth in long speeches, and practice the tones of their voice, they ought not to be believed; for it is not the mode of speaking, but the intentions of the heart and a godly conversation that recommend the faithful Christian. And thus the Sadducees and Herodians, although they have the law in their mouths, were put to rebuke by our Savior, who said to them, ‘You do err, not knowing the Writings, nor the power of God’: and all men witnessed the exposure of those who pretended to quote the words of the Law, as being in their minds heretics and enemies of God. Others indeed they deceived by these professions, but when our Lord became man, they were not able to deceive Him; ‘for the Word was made Flesh,’ who ‘knows the thoughts of men that they are vain.’ Thus He exposed the carping of the Jews, saying, ‘If God were your Father, you would love Me, for I proceeded forth from the Father, and am come to you.’ In like manner these men seem now to act; for they disguise their real sentiments, and then make use of the language of Writing for their writings, which they hold forth as a bait for the ignorant, that they may inveigle them into their own wickedness.
10. They ought first to condemn Arius, if they are to be heard.
Consider, whether this is not so. If, when there is no reason for their doing so, they write confessions of faith, it is a superfluous, and perhaps also a mischievous proceeding, because, when there is no inquiry, they offer occasion for controversy of words, and unsettle the simple hearts of the brothers, disseminating among them such notions as have never entered into their minds. And if they are attempting to write a defense of themselves in regard to the Arian heresy, they ought first to have removed the seeds of those evils which have sprung up, and to have proscribed those who produced them, and then in the room of former statements to set forth others which are sound; or else let them openly vindicate the opinions of Arius, that they may no longer covertly but openly show themselves enemies of Christ, and that all men may fly from them as from the face of a serpent. But now they keep back those opinions, and for a pretense write on other matters; just as if a surgeon, when summoned to attend a person wounded and suffering, should on coming in to him say not a word concerning his wounds, but proceed to discourse about his sound limbs. Such a one would be chargeable with utter stupidity, for saying nothing on the matter for which he came, but discoursing on those other points in which he was not needed. Yet just in the same manner these men omit those matters which concern their heresy, and take on themselves to write on other subjects; whereas if they had any regard for the Faith, or any love for Christ, they ought first to have removed out of the way those blasphemous expressions uttered against Him, and then in the room of them to speak and to write the sound words. But this they neither do themselves, nor permit those that desire to do so, whether it be from ignorance, or through craft and artifice.
11. No profit to do right in one way, if we do wrong in another.
If they do this from ignorance they must be charged with rashness, because they affirm positively concerning things that they know not; but if they dissemble knowingly, their condemnation is the greater, because while they overlook nothing in consulting for their own interests, in writing about faith in our Lord they make a mockery, and do anything rather than speak the truth; they keep back those particulars respecting which their heresy is accused, and merely bring forward the language of the Writings. Now this is a manifest theft of the truth, and a practice full of all iniquity; and so I am sure your piety will readily perceive it to be from the following illustrations. No person being accused of adultery defends himself as innocent of theft; nor would any one in prosecuting a charge of murder suffer the accused parties to defend themselves by saying, ‘We have not committed perjury, but have preserved the deposit which was entrusted to us.’ This would be mere child’s play, instead of a refutation of the charge and a demonstration of the truth. For what has murder to do with a deposit, or adultery with theft? The vices are indeed related to each other as proceeding from the same heart; yet in respect to the refutation of an alleged offense, they have no connection with each other. Accordingly as it is written in the Book of Joshua the son of Nun, when Achan was charged with theft, he did not excuse himself with the plea of his zeal in the wars; but being convicted of the offense was stoned by all the people. And when Saul was charged with negligence and a breach of the law, he did not benefit his cause by alleging his conduct on other matters. For a defense on one count will not operate to obtain an acquittal on another count; but if all things should be done according to law and justice, a man must defend himself in those particulars wherein he is accused, and must either disprove the past, or else confess it with the promise that he will desist, and do so no more. But if he is guilty of the crime, and will not confess, but in order to conceal the truth speaks on other points instead of the one in question, he shows plainly that he has acted wrongly, no, and is conscious of his delinquency. But what need of many words, seeing that these persons are themselves accusers of the Arian heresy? For since they have not the boldness to speak out, but conceal their blasphemous expressions, it is plain that they know that this heresy is separate and alien from the truth. But since they themselves conceal it and are afraid to speak, it is necessary for me to strip off the veil from their impiety, and to expose the heresy to public view, knowing as I do the statements which Arius and his fellows formerly made, and how they were cast out of the Assembly, and degraded from the Clergy. But here first I ask for pardon of the foul words which I am about to produce, since I use them, not because I thus think, but in order to convict the heretics.
12. Arian statements.
Now the Overseer Alexander of blessed memory cast Arius out of the Assembly for holding and maintaining the following opinions: ‘God was not always a Father: The Son was not always: But whereas all things were made out of nothing, the Son of God also was made out of nothing: And since all things are creatures, He also is a creature and a thing made: And since all things once were not, but were afterward made, there was a time when the Word of God Himself was not; and He was not before He was begotten, but He had a beginning of existence: For He has then originated when God has chosen to produce Him: For He also is one among the rest of His works. And since He is by nature changeable, and only continues good because He chooses by His own free will, He is capable of being changed, as are all other things, whenever He wishes. And therefore God, as foreknowing that He would be good, gave Him by anticipation that glory which He would have obtained afterward by His virtue; and He is now become good by His works which God foreknew.’ Accordingly they say, that Christ is not truly God, but that He is called God on account of His participation in God’s nature, as are all other creatures. And they add, that He is not that Word which is by nature in the Father, and is proper to His Essence, nor is He His proper wisdom by which He made this world; but that there is another Word which is properly in the Father, and another Wisdom which is properly in the Father, by which Wisdom also He made this Word; and that the Lord Himself is called the Word (Reason) conceptually in regard of things endued with reason, and is called Wisdom conceptually in regard of things endued with wisdom. No, they say that as all things are in essence separate and alien from the Father, so He also is in all respects separate and alien from the essence of the Father, and properly belongs to things made and created, and is one of them; for He is a creature, and a thing made, and a work. Again, they say that God did not create us for His sake, but Him for our sakes. For they say, ‘God was alone, and the Word was not with Him, but afterward when He would produce us, then He made Him; and from the time He was made, He called Him the Word, and the Son, and the Wisdom, in order that He might create us by Him. And as all things subsisted by the will of God, and did not exist before; so He also was made by the will of God, and did not exist before. For the Word is not the proper and natural Offspring of the Father, but has Himself originated by grace: for God who existed made by His will the Son who did not exist, by which will also He made all things, and produced, and created, and willed them to come into being.’ Moreover they say also, that Christ is not the natural and true power of God; but as the locust and the cankerworm are called a power, so also He is called the power of the Father. Furthermore, he said that the Father is secret from the Son, and that the Son can neither see nor know the Father perfectly and exactly. For having a beginning of existence, He cannot know Him that is without beginning; but what He knows and sees, He knows and sees in a measure proportionate to His own measure, as we also know and see in proportion to our powers. And he added also, that the Son not only does not know His own Father exactly, but that He does not even know His own essence.
13. Arguments from the Writing against Arian statements.
For maintaining these and the like opinions Arius was declared a heretic; for myself, while I have merely been writing them down, I have been cleansing myself by thinking of the contrary doctrines, and by holding fast the sense of the true faith. For the Overseers who all assembled from all parts at the Council of Nicaea, began to hold their ears at these statements, and all with one voice condemned this heresy on account of them, and anathematized it, declaring it to be alien and estranged from the faith of the Assembly. It was no compulsion which led the judges to this decision, but they all deliberately vindicated the truth: and they did so justly and rightly. For infidelity is coming in through these men, or rather a Judaism counter to the Writings, which has close on it Gentile superstition, so that he who holds these opinions can no longer be even called a Christian, for they are all contrary to the Writings. John, for instance, says, ‘In the beginning was the Word’; but these men say, ‘He was not, before He was begotten.’ And again he wrote, ‘And we are in Him that is true, even in His Son Jesus Christ; this is the true God, and eternal life’; but these men, as if in contradiction to this, allege that Christ is not the true God, but that He is only called God, as are other creatures, in regard of His participation in the divine nature. And the Apostle blames the Gentiles, because they worship the creatures, saying, ‘They served the creature more than’ God ‘the Creator.’ But if these men say that the Lord is a creature, and worship Him as a creature, how do they differ from the Gentiles? If they hold this opinion, is not this passage also against them; and does not the blessed Paul write as blaming them? The Lord also says, ‘I and My Father are One’: and ‘He that has seen Me, has seen the Father’; and the Apostle who was sent by Him to preach, writes, ‘Who being the Brightness of His glory, and the express Image of His Person.’ But these men dare to separate them, and to say that He is alien from the essence and eternity of the Father; and impiously to represent Him as changeable, not perceiving, that by speaking thus, they make Him to be, not one with the Father, but one with created things. Who does not see, that the brightness cannot be separated from the light, but that it is by nature proper to it, and co-existent with it, and is not produced after it? Again, when the Father says, ‘This is My beloved Son,’ and when the Writings say that ‘He is the Word’ of the Father, by whom ‘the heavens were established,’ and in short, ‘All things were made by Him’; these inventors of new doctrines and fictions represent that there is another Word, and another Wisdom of the Father, and that He is only called the Word and the Wisdom conceptually on account of things endued with reason, while they perceive not the absurdity of this.
14. Arguments from the Writing against Arian statements.
But if He be styled the Word and the Wisdom by a fiction on our account, what He really is they cannot tell. For if the Writings affirm that the Lord is both these, and yet these men will not allow Him to be so, it is plain that in their godless opposition to the Writings they would deny His existence altogether. The faithful are able to conclude this truth both from the voice of the Father Himself, and from the Messengers that worshiped Him, and from the holy ones that have written concerning Him; but these men, as they have not a pure mind, and cannot bear to hear the words of divine men who teach of God, may be able to learn something even from the devils who resemble them, for they spoke of Him, not as if there were many besides, but, as knowing Him alone, they said, ‘You are the Holy One of God,’ and ‘the Son of God.’ He also who suggested to them this heresy, while tempting Him, in the mount, said not, ‘If You also be a Son of God,’ as though there were others besides Him, but, ‘If You are the Son of God,’ as being the only one. But as the Gentiles, having fallen from the notion of one God, have sunk into polytheism, so these wonderful men, not believing that the Word of the Father is one, have come to adopt the idea of many words, and they deny Him that is really God and the true Word, and have dared to conceive of Him as a creature, not perceiving how full of impiety is the thought. For if He be a creature, how is He at the same time the Creator of creatures? or how the Son and the Wisdom and the Word? For the Word is not created, but begotten; and a creature is not a Son, but a production. And if all creatures were made by Him, and He is also a creature, then by whom was He made? Things made must of necessity originate through some one; as in fact they have originated through the Word; because He was not Himself a thing made, but the Word of the Father. And again, if there be another wisdom in the Father beside the Lord, then Wisdom has originated in wisdom: and if the Word of God be the Wisdom of God, then the Word has originated in a word: and if the Son be the Word of God, then the Son must have been made in the Son.
15. Arguments from the Writing against Arian statements.
How is it that the Lord has said, ‘I am in the Father, and the Father in Me,’ if there be another in the Father, by whom the Lord Himself also was made? And how is it that John, passing over that other, relates of this One, saying, ‘All things were made by Him; and without Him was not any thing made?’ If all things that were made by the will of God were made by Him, how can He be Himself one of the things that were made? And when the Apostle says, ‘For whom are all things, and by whom are all things,’ how can these men say, that we were not made for Him, but He for us? If it be so, He ought to have said, ‘For whom the Word was made’; but He says not so, but, ‘For whom are all things, and by whom are all things,’ thus proving these men to be heretical and false. But further, as they have had the boldness to say that there is another Word in God, and since they cannot bring any clear proof of this from the Writings, let them but show one work of His, or one work of the Father that was done without this Word; so that they may seem to have some ground at least for their own idea. The works of the true Word are manifest to all, so as for Him to be contemplated by analogy from them. For as, when we see the creation, we conceive of God as the Creator of it; so when we see that nothing is without order therein, but that all things move and continue with order and providence, we infer a Word of God who is over all and governs all. This too the holy Writings testify, declaring that He is the Word of God, and that ‘all things were made by Him, and without Him was not any thing made.’ But of that other Word, of whom they speak, there is neither word nor work that they have to show. No, even the Father Himself, when He says, ‘This is My beloved Son,’ signifies that besides Him there is none other
16. Arians parallel to the Manichees.
It appears then that so far as these doctrines are concerned, these wonderful men have now joined themselves to the Manichees. For these also confess the existence of a good God, so far as the mere name goes, but they are unable to point out any of His works either visible or invisible. But inasmuch as they deny Him who is truly and indeed God, the Maker of heaven and earth, and of all things invisible, they are mere inventors of fables. And this appears to me to be the case with these evil-minded men. They see the works of the true Word who alone is in the Father, and yet they deny Him, and make to themselves another Word, whose existence they are unable to prove either by His Works or by the testimony of others. Unless it be that they have adopted a fabulous notion of God, that He is a composite being like man, speaking and then changing His words, and as a man exercising understanding and wisdom; not perceiving to what absurdities they are reduced by such an opinion. For if God has a succession of words, they certainly must consider Him as a man. And if those words proceed from Him and then vanish away, they are guilty of a greater impiety, because they resolve into nothing what proceeds from the self-existent God. If they conceive that God does at all beget, it were surely better and more religious to say that He is the begetter of One Word, who is the fullness of His Godhead, in whom are hidden the treasures of all knowledge, and that He is co-existent with His Father, and that all things were made by Him; rather than to suppose God to be the Father of many words which are nowhere to be found, or to represent Him who is simple in His nature as compounded of many, and as being subject to human passions and variable. Next whereas the Apostle says, ‘Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God,’ these men reckon Him but as one among many powers; no, worse than this, they compare Him, transgressors as they are, with the cankerworm and other irrational creatures which are sent by Him for the punishment of men. Next, whereas the Lord says, ‘No one knows the Father, save the Son’; and again, ‘Not that any man has seen the Father save He which is of the Father’; are not these indeed enemies of God which say that the Father is neither seen nor known of the Son perfectly? If the Lord says, ‘As the Father knows Me, even so know I the Father,’ and if the Father does not know the Son partially, are they not mad to say idly that the Son knows the Father only partially, and not fully? Next, if the Son has a beginning of existence, and all things likewise have a beginning, let them say, which is prior to the other. But indeed they have nothing to say, neither can they with all their craft prove such a beginning of the Word. For He is the true and proper Offspring of the Father, and ‘in the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.’ For with regard to their assertion, that the Son does not know His own essence, it is superfluous to reply to it, except only so far as to condemn their madness; for how does not the Word know Himself, when He imparts to all men the knowledge of His Father and of Himself, and blames those who do not know themselves?
17. Arguments from the Writing against Arian statements.
But it is written, they say, ‘The Lord created me in the beginning of His ways for His works.’ O untaught and insensate that you are! He is called also in the Writings, ‘servant,’ and ‘son of a handmaid,’ and ‘lamb,’ and ‘sheep,’ and it is said that He suffered toil, and thirst, and was beaten, and has suffered pain. But there is plainly a reasonable ground and cause, why such representations as these are given of Him in the Writings; and it is because He became man and the Son of Man, and took on Him the form of a servant, which is the human flesh: for ‘the Word,’ says John, ‘was made flesh.’ And since He became man, no one ought to be offended at such expressions; for it is proper to man to be created, and born, and formed, to suffer toil and pain, to die and to rise again from the dead. And as, being Word and Wisdom of the Father, He has all the attributes of the Father, His eternity, and His unchangeableness, and the being like Him in all respects and in all things, and is neither before nor after, but co-existent with the Father, and is the very form of the Godhead, and is the Creator, and is not created: (for since He is in essence like the Father, He cannot be a creature, but must be the Creator, as Himself has said, ‘My Father works until now, and I work’:) so being made man, and bearing our flesh, He is necessarily said to be created and made, and that is proper to all flesh; however, these men, like Jewish vintners, who mix their wine with water, debase the Word, and subject His Godhead to their notions of created things. Therefore, the Fathers were with reason and justice indignant, and anathematized this most impious heresy; which these persons are now cautious of and keep back, as being easy to be disproved and unsound in every part of it. These that I have set down are but a few of the arguments which go to condemn their doctrines; but if anyone desires to enter more at large into the proof against them, he will find that this heresy is not far removed from heathenism, and that it is the lowest and the very dregs of all the other heresies. These last are in error either concerning the body or the incarnation of the Lord, falsifying the truth, some in one way and some in another, or else they deny that the Lord has sojourned here at all, as the Jews erroneously suppose. But this one alone more madly than the rest has dared to assail the very Godhead, and to assert that the Word is not at all, and that the Father was not always a father; so that one might reasonably say that that Psalm was written against them; ‘The fool has said in his heart, there is no God. Corrupt are they, and become abominable in their doings.’
18. If the Arians felt they were right, they would speak openly.
‘But,’ they say, ‘we are strong, and are able to defend our heresy by our many devices.’ They would have a better answer to give, if they were able to defend it, not by artifice nor by Gentile sophisms, but by the simplicity of their faith. If however they have confidence in it, and know it to be in accordance with the doctrines of the Assembly, let them openly express their sentiments; for no man when he has lighted a candle puts it under the bushel, but on the candlestick, and so it gives light to all that come in. If therefore they are able to defend it, let them record in writing the opinions above imputed to them, and expose their heresy bare to the view of all men, as they would a candle, and let them openly accuse the Overseer Alexander, of blessed memory, as having unjustly ejected Arius for professing these opinions; and let them blame the Council of Nicaea for putting forth a written confession of the true faith in place of their impiety. But they will not do this, I am sure, for they are not so ignorant of the evil nature of those notions which they have invented and are ambitious of sowing abroad; but they know well enough, that although they may at first lead astray the simple by vain deceit, yet their imaginations will soon be extinguished, ‘as the light of the ungodly,’ and themselves branded everywhere as enemies of the Truth. Therefore, although they do all things foolishly, and speak as fools, yet in this at least they have acted wisely, as ‘children of this world,’ hiding their candle under the bushel, that it may be supposed to give light, and lest, if it appear, it be condemned and extinguished. Thus when Arius himself, the author of the heresy, and the associate of Eusebius, was summoned through the interest of Eusebius and his fellows to appear before Constantine Augustus of blessed memory, and was required to present a written declaration of his faith, the wily man wrote one, but kept out of sight the peculiar expressions of his impiety, and pretended, as the Devil did, to quote the simple words of Writing, just as they are written. And when the blessed Constantine said to him, ‘If you hold no other opinions in your mind besides these, take the Truth to witness for you; the Lord is your avenger if you swear falsely’: the unfortunate man swore that he held no other, and that he had never either spoken or thought otherwise than as he had now written. But as soon as he went out he dropped down, as if paying the penalty of his crime, and ‘falling headlong burst apart in the midst.’
19. Significance of the death of Arius.
Death, it is true, is the common end of all men, and we ought not to insult the dead, though he be an enemy, for it is uncertain whether the same event may not happen to ourselves before evening. But the end of Arius was not after an ordinary manner, and therefore it deserves to be related. Eusebius and his fellows threatening to bring him into the Assembly, Alexander, the Overseer of Constantinople, resisted them; but Arius trusted to the violence and menace of Eusebius. It was the Sabbath, and he expected to join communion on the following day. There was therefore a great struggle between them; the others threatening, Alexander praying. But the Lord being judge of the case, decided against the unjust party: for the sun had not set, when the necessities of nature compelled him to that place, where he fell down, and was immediately deprived of communion with the Assembly and of his life together. The blessed Constantine hearing of this at once, was struck with wonder to find him thus convicted of perjury. And indeed it was then evident to all that the threats of Eusebius and his fellows had proved of no avail and the hope of Arius had become vain. It was shown too that the Arian madness was rejected from communion by our Savior both here and in the Assembly of the firstborn in heaven. Now who will not wonder to see the unrighteous ambition of these men, whom the Lord has condemned—to see them vindicating the heresy which the Lord has pronounced excommunicate (since He did not suffer its author to enter into the Assembly), and not fearing that which is written, but attempting impossible things? ‘For the Lord of hosts has purposed, and who will disannul it?’ and whom God has condemned, who will justify? Let them however in defense of their own imaginations write what they please; but do you, brothers, as ‘bearing the vessels of the Lord,’ and vindicating the doctrines of the Assembly, examine this matter, I beseech you; and if they write in other terms than those above recorded as the language of Arius, then condemn them as hypocrites, who hide the poison of their opinions, and like the serpent flatter with the words of their lips. For, though they thus write, they have associated with them those who were formerly rejected with Arius, such as Secundus of Pentapolis, and the clergy who were convicted at Alexandria; and they write to them in Alexandria. But what is most astonishing, they have caused us and our friends to be persecuted, although the most religious Emperor Constantine sent us back in peace to our country and Assembly, and showed his concern for the harmony of the people. But now they have caused the Assemblies to be given up to these men, thus proving to all that for their sake the whole conspiracy against us and the rest has been carried on from the beginning.
20. While they are friends of Arius, in vain their moderate words.
Now while such is their conduct, how can they claim credit for what they write? Had the opinions they have put in writing been orthodox, they would have expunged from their list of books the Thalia of Arius, and have rejected the scions of the heresy, namely, those disciples of Arius, and the partners of his impiety and his punishment. But since they do not renounce these, it is manifest to all that their sentiments are not orthodox, though they write them over ten thousand times. Therefore it becomes us to watch, lest some deception be conveyed under the clothing of their phrases, and they lead away certain from the true faith. And if they venture to advance the opinions of Arius, when they see themselves proceeding in a prosperous course, nothing remains for us but to use great boldness of speech, remembering the predictions of the Apostle, which he wrote to forewarn us of such like heresies, and which it becomes us to repeat. For we know that, as it is written, ‘in the latter times some will depart from the sound faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils, that turn from the truth’; and, ‘as many as will live godly in Christ will suffer persecution. But evil men and seducers will wax worse and worse, deceiving and being deceived.’ But none of these things will prevail over us, nor ‘separate us from the love of Christ,’ though the heretics threaten us with death. For we are Christians, not Arians; would that they too, who have written these things, had not embraced the doctrines of Arius! Yes, brothers, there is need now of such boldness of speech; for we have not received ‘the spirit of bondage again to fear,’ but God has called us ‘to liberty.’ And it were indeed disgraceful to us, most disgraceful, were we, on account of Arius or of those who embrace and advocate his sentiments, to destroy the faith which we have received from our Savior through His Apostles. Already very many in these parts, perceiving the craftiness of these writers, are ready even to blood to oppose their wiles, especially since they have heard of your firmness. And seeing that the refutation of the heresy has gone forth from you, and it has been drawn forth from its concealment, like a serpent from his hole, the Child that Herod sought to destroy is preserved among you, and the Truth lives in you, and the Faith thrives among you.
21. To make a stand for the Faith equivalent to martyrdom.
Therefore I exhort you, keeping in your hands the confession which was framed by the Fathers at Nicaea, and defending it with great zeal and confidence in the Lord, be ensamples to the brothers everywhere, and show them that a struggle is now before us in support of the Truth against heresy, and that the wiles of the enemy are various. For the proof of a martyr lies not only in refusing to burn incense to idols; but to refuse to deny the Faith is also an illustrious testimony of a good conscience. And not only those who turned aside to idols were condemned as aliens, but those also who betrayed the Truth. Thus Judas was degraded from the Apostolical office, not because he sacrificed to idols, but because he proved a traitor; and Hymenaeus and Alexander fell away not by betaking themselves to the service of idols, but because they ‘made shipwreck concerning the faith.’ On the other hand, the Patriarch Abraham received the crown, not because he suffered death, but because he was faithful to God; and the other holy ones, of whom Paul speaks, Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephtha, David and Samuel, and the rest, were not made perfect by the shedding of their blood, but by faith they were justified; and to this day they are the objects of our admiration, as being ready even to suffer death for piety toward the Lord. And if one may add an instance from our own country, you know how the blessed Alexander contended even to death against this heresy, and what great afflictions and labors, old man as He was, he sustained, until in extreme age he also was gathered to his fathers. And how many beside have undergone great toil, in their teachings against this impiety, and now enjoy in Christ the glorious reward of their confession! Therefore, let us also, considering that this struggle is for our all, and that the choice is now before us, either to deny or to preserve the faith, let us also make it our earnest care and aim to guard what we have received, taking as our instruction the Confession drawn up at Nicaea, and let us turn away from novelties, and teach our people not to give heed to ‘seducing spirits,’ but altogether to withdraw from the impiety of the Arian madmen, and from the coalition which the Meletians have made with them.
22. Coalition of sordid Meletians with insane Arians.
For you perceive how, though they were formerly at variance with one another, they have now, like Herod and Pontius, agreed together in order to blaspheme our Lord Jesus Christ. And for this they truly deserve the hatred of every man, because they were at enmity with one another on private grounds, but have now become friends and join hands, in their hostility to the Truth and their impiety toward God. No, they are content to do or suffer anything, however contrary to their principles, for the satisfaction of securing their several aims; the Meletians for the sake of pre-eminence and the mad love of money, and the Arian madmen for their own impiety. And thus by this coalition they are able to assist one another in their malicious designs, while the Meletians put on the impiety of the Arians, and the Arians from their own wickedness concur in their baseness, so that by thus mingling together their respective crimes, like the cup of Babylon, they may carry on their plots against the orthodox worshipers of our Lord Jesus Christ. The wickedness and falsehood of the Meletians were indeed even before this evident to all men; so too the impiety and godless heresy of the Arians have long been known everywhere and to all; for the period of their existence has not been a short one. The former became schismatics five and fifty years ago, and it is thirty-six years since the latter were pronounced heretics, and they were rejected from the Assembly by the judgment of the whole Ecumenic Council. But by their present proceedings they have proved at length, even to those who seem openly to favor them, that they have carried on their designs against me and the rest of the orthodox Overseers from the very first solely for the sake of advancing their own impious heresy. For observe, that which was long ago the great object of Eusebius and his fellows is now brought about. They have caused the Assemblies to be snatched out of our hands, they have banished as they pleased, the Overseers and Elders who refused to communicate with them; and the people who withdrew from them they have excluded from the Assemblies, which they have given up into the hands of the Arians who were condemned so long ago, so that with the assistance of the hypocrisy of the Meletians they can without fear pour forth in them their impious language, and make ready, as they think, the way of deceit for Antichrist, who sowed among them the seeds of this heresy.
23. Conclusion.
Let them however thus dream and imagine vain things. We know that when our gracious Emperor will hear of it, he will put a stop to their wickedness, and they will not continue long, but according to the words of Writing, ‘the hearts of the impious will quickly fail them.’ But let us, as it is written, ‘put on the words of holy Writing,’ and resist them as apostates who would set up fanaticism in the house of the Lord. And let us not fear the death of the body, nor let us emulate their ways; but let the word of Truth be preferred before all things. We also, as you all know, were formerly required by Eusebius and his fellows either to put on their impiety, or to expect their hostility; but we would not engage ourselves with them, but chose rather to be persecuted by them, than to imitate the conduct of Judas. And assuredly they have done what they threatened; for after the manner of Jezebel, they engaged the treacherous Meletians to assist them, knowing how the latter resisted the blessed martyr Peter, and after him the great Achillas, and then Alexander, of blessed memory, in order that, as being practiced in such matters, the Meletians might pretend against us also whatever might be suggested to them, while Eusebius and his fellows gave them an opening for persecuting and for seeking to kill me. For this is what they thirst after; and they continue to this day to desire to shed my blood. But of these things I have no care; for I know and am persuaded that they who endure will receive a reward from our Savior; and that you also, if you endure as the Fathers did, and show yourselves examples to the people, and overthrow these strange and alien devices of impious men, will be able to glory, and say, We have ‘kept the Faith’; and you will receive the ‘crown of life,’ which God ‘has promised to them that love Him.’ And God grant that I also together with you may inherit the promises, which, were given, not to Paul only, but also to all them that ‘have loved the appearing‘ of our Lord, and Savior, and God, and universal King, Jesus Christ; through whom to the Father be glory and dominion in the Holy Spirit, both now and forever, world without end. Amen.
To our beloved and much-desired fellow-ministers Eusebius, Lucifer, Asterius, Kymatius, and Anatolius, Athanasius and the overseers present in Alexandria from Italy and Arabia, Egypt and Libya; Eusebius, Asterius, Gaius, Agathus, Ammonius, Agathodaemon, Dracontius, Adelphius, Hermaeon, Marcus, Theodorus, Andreas, Paphnutius, another Marcus, Zoilus, Menas, George, Lucius, Macarius and the rest, greetings to all in Christ.
1. We are persuaded that being ministers of God and good stewards you are sufficient to order the affairs of the Assembly in every respect. But since it has come to us, that many who were formerly separated from us by jealousy now wish for peace, while many also having severed their connection with the Arian madmen are desiring our communion, we think it well to write to your courtesy what ourselves and the beloved Eusebius and Asterius have drawn up: yourselves being our beloved and truly most-desired fellow-ministers. We rejoice at the said tidings, and pray that even if any be left still far from us, and if any appear to be in agreement with the Arians, he may promptly leave their madness, so that for the future all men everywhere may say, ‘One Lord, one faith.’ For as the psalmist says, what is so good or pleasant as for brothers to dwell in unity. But our dwelling is the Assembly, and our mind ought to be the same. For thus we believe that the Lord also will dwell with us, who says, ‘I will dwell with them and walk in them‘ and ‘Here will I dwell for I have a delight therein.’ But by ‘here’ what is meant but there where one faith and religion is preached?
2. Mission of Eusebius and Asterius.
We then of Egypt truly wished to go to you along with our beloved Eusebius and Asterius, for many reasons, but chiefly that we might embrace your affection and together enjoy the said peace and concord. But since, as we declared in our other letters, and as you may learn from our fellow-ministers, the needs of the assembly detain us, with much regret we begged the same fellow-ministers of ours, Eusebius and Asterius, to go to you in our stead. And we thank their piety in that although they might have gone at once to their districts, they preferred to go to you at all costs, on account of the pressing need of the Assembly. They therefore having consented, we consoled ourselves with the consideration that you and they being there, we all were present with you in mind.
3. The ‘Meletians’ to be acknowledged, and all who renounce heresy, especially as to the Holy Spirit.
As many then as desire peace with us, and especially those who assemble in the Old [Assembly] and those again who are seceding from the Arians, call to yourselves, and receive them as parents their sons, and welcome them as tutors and guardians; and unite them to our beloved Paulinus and his people, without requiring more from them than to anathematize the Arian heresy and confess the faith confessed by the holy fathers at Nicaea, and to anathematize also those who say that the Holy Spirit is a Creature and separate from the Essence of Christ. For this is in truth a complete renunciation of the abominable heresy of the Arians, to refuse to divide the Holy Trinity, or to say that any part of it is a creature. For those who, while pretending to cite the faith confessed at Nicaea, venture to blaspheme the Holy Spirit, do nothing more than in words deny the Arian heresy while they retain it in thought. But let the impiety of Sabellius and of Paul of Samosata also be anathematized by all, and the madness of Valentinian and Basilides, and the folly of the Manichaeans. For if this be done, all evil suspicion will be removed on all hands, and the faith of the Universal Assembly alone be exhibited in purity.
4. The parties at Antioch to unite.
But that we, and they who have ever remained in communion with us, hold this faith, we think no one of yourselves nor any one else is ignorant. But since we rejoice with all those who desire re-union, but especially with those that assemble in the Old [assembly], and as we glorify the Lord exceedingly, as for all things so especially for the good purpose of these men, we exhort you that concord be established with them on these terms, and, as we said above, without further conditions, without namely any further demand on yourselves on the part of those who assemble in the Old [assembly], or Paulinus and his fellows propounding anything else, or anything beyond the Nicene definition.
5. The creed of Sardica not an authorized formula. Question of ‘hypostasis.’
And prohibit even the reading or publication of the paper, much talked of by some, as having been drawn up concerning the Faith at the synod of Sardica. For the synod made no definition of the kind. For whereas some demanded, on the ground that the Nicene synod was defective, the drafting of a creed, and in their haste even attempted it, the holy synod assembled in Sardica was indignant, and decreed that no statement of faith should be drafted, but that they should be content with the Faith confessed by the fathers at Nicaea, inasmuch as it lacked nothing but was full of piety, and that it was undesirable for a second creed to be promulged, lest that drafted at Nicaea should be deemed imperfect, and a pretext be given to those who were often wishing to draft and define a creed. So that if a man propound the above or any other paper, stop them, and persuade them rather to keep the peace. For in such men we perceive no motive save only contentiousness. For as to those whom some were blaming for speaking of three Subsistences, on the ground that the phrase is unscriptural and therefore suspicious, we thought it right indeed to require nothing beyond the confession of Nicaea, but on account of the contention we made inquiry of them, whether they meant, like the Arian madmen, subsistences foreign and strange, and alien in essence from one another, and that each Subsistence was divided apart by itself, as is the case with creatures in general and in particular with those begotten of men, or like different substances, such as gold, silver, or brass—or whether, like other heretics, they meant three Beginnings and three Gods, by speaking of three Subsistences.
They assured us in reply that they neither meant this nor had ever held it. But on our asking them ‘what then do you mean by it, or why do you use such expressions?’ they replied, Because they believed in a Holy Trinity, not a trinity in name only, but existing and subsisting in truth, ‘both a Father truly existing and subsisting, and a Son truly substantial and subsisting, and a Holy Spirit subsisting and really existing do we acknowledge,’ and that neither had they said there were three Gods or three beginnings, nor would they at all tolerate such as said or held so, but that they acknowledged a Holy Trinity but One Godhead, and one Beginning, and that the Son is coessential with the Father, as the fathers said; while the Holy Spirit is not a creature, nor external, but proper to and inseparable from the Essence of the Father and the Son.
6. The question of one Subsistence (Hypostasis) or three, not to be pressed.
Having accepted then these men’s interpretation and defense of their language, we made inquiry of those blamed by them for speaking of One Subsistence, whether they use the expression in the sense of Sabellius, to the negation of the Son and the Holy Spirit, or as though the Son were non-substantial, or the Holy Spirit impersonal. But they in their turn assured us that they neither meant this nor had ever held it, but ‘we use the word Subsistence thinking it the same thing to say Subsistence or Essence’; ‘But we hold that there is One, because the Son is of the Essence of the Father, and because of the identity of nature. For we believe that there is one Godhead, and that it has one nature, and not that there is one nature of the Father, from which that of the Son and of the Holy Spirit are distinct.’ Well, thereon they who had been blamed for saying there were three Subsistences agreed with the others, while those who had spoken of One Essence, also confessed the doctrine of the former as interpreted by them. And by both sides Arius was anathematized as an adversary of Christ, and Sabellius, and Paul of Samosata, as impious men, and Valentinus and Basilides as aliens from the truth, and Manichaeus as an inventor of mischief. And all, by God’s grace, and after the above explanations, agree together that the faith confessed by the fathers at Nicaea is better than the said phrases, and that for the future they would prefer to be content to use its language.
7. The human Nature of Christ complete, not Body only.
But since also certain seemed to be contending together concerning the fleshly Economy of the Savior, we inquired of both parties. And what the one confessed, the others also agreed to, that the Word did not, as it came to the prophets, so dwell in a holy man at the consummation of the ages, but that the Word Himself was made flesh, and being in the Form of God, took the form of a servant, and from Mary after the flesh became man for us, and that thus in Him the human race is perfectly and wholly delivered from sin and raised from the dead, and given access to the kingdom of the heavens. For they confessed also that the Savior did not have a body without a soul, nor without sense or intelligence; for it was not possible, when the Lord had become man for us, that His body should be without intelligence: nor was the salvation effected in the Word Himself a salvation of body only, but of soul also. And being Son of God in truth, He became also Son of Man, and being God’s Only-begotten Son, He became also at the same time ‘firstborn among many brothers.’ Therefore neither was there one Son of God before Abraham, another after Abraham: nor was there one that raised up Lazarus, another that asked concerning him; but the same it was that said as man, ‘Where does Lazarus lie’; and as God raised him up: the same that as man and in the body spat, but divinely as Son of God opened the eyes of the man blind from his birth; and while, as Peter says, in the flesh He suffered, as God opened the tomb and raised the dead. For which reasons, thus understanding all that is said in the Gospel, they assured us that they held the same truth about the Word’s Incarnation and becoming Man.
8. Questions of words must not be suffered to divide those who think alike.
These things then being thus confessed, we exhort you not hastily to condemn those who so confess, and so explain the phrases they use, nor to reject them, but rather to accept them as they desire peace and defend themselves, while you check and rebuke, as of suspicious views, those who refuse so to confess and to explain their language. But while you refuse toleration to the latter, counsel the others also who explain and hold correctly, not to inquire further into each other’s opinions, nor to fight about words to no useful purpose, nor to go on contending with the above phrases, but to agree in the mind of piety. For they who are not thus minded, but only stir up strife with such petty phrases, and seek something beyond what was drawn up at Nicaea, do nothing except ‘give their neighbor turbid confusion to drink,’ like men who grudge peace and love dissensions. But do you, as good men and faithful servants and stewards of the Lord, stop and check what gives offense and is strange, and value above all things peace of that kind, faith being sound. Perhaps God will have pity on us, and unite what is divided, and, there being once more one flock, we will all have one leader, even our Lord Jesus Christ.
9. The above terms unanimously agreed on.
These things, albeit there was no need to require anything beyond the synod of Nicaea, nor to tolerate the language of contention, yet for the sake of peace, and to prevent the rejection of men who wish to believe correctly, we inquired into. And what they confessed, we put briefly into writing, we namely who are left in Alexandria, in common with our fellow-ministers, Asterius and Eusebius. For most of us had gone away to our districts. But do you on your part read this in public where you are accustomed to assemble, and be pleased to invite all to you there. For it is right that the letter should be there first read, and that there those who desire and strive for peace should be re-united. And then, when they are re-united, in the spot where all the laity think best, in the presence of your courtesy, the public assemblies should be held, and the Lord be glorified by all together. The brothers who are with me greet you. I pray that you may be well, and remember us to the Lord; both I, Athanasius, and likewise the other overseers assembled, sign, and those sent by Lucifer, overseer of the island of Sardinia, two ministers, Herennius and Agapetus; and from Paulinus, Maximus and Calemerus, ministers also. And there were present certain monks of Apolinarius the overseer, sent from him for the purpose.
10. Signatures.
The names of the several overseers to whom the letter is addressed are: Eusebius of the city of Virgilli in Gaul, Lucifer of the island of Sardinia, Asterius of Petra, Arabia, Kymatius of Paltus, Coele-Syria, Anatolius of Euboea.
Senders: the Pope Athanasius, and those present with him in Alexandria, namely: Eusebius, Asterius, and the others above-mentioned, Gaius of Paratonium in Here Libya, Agathus of Phragonis and part of Elearchia in Egypt, Ammonius of Pachnemunis and the rest of Elearchia, Agathodaemon of Schedia and Menelaitas, Dracontius of Lesser Hermupolis, Adelphius of Onuphis in Lychni, Hermion of Tanes, Marcus of Zygra, Here Libya, Theodorus of Athribis, Andreas of Arsenoe, Paphnutius of Sais, Marcus of Philae, Zoilus of Andrôs, Menas of Antiphra.
Eusebius also signs the following in Latin, of which the translation is:
I, Eusebius, according to your exact confession made on either side by agreement concerning the Subsistences, also add my agreement; further concerning the Incarnation of our Savior, namely that the Son of God has become Man, taking everything on Himself without sin, like the composition of our old man, I ratify the text of the letter. And whereas the Sardican paper is ruled out, to avoid the appearance of issuing anything beyond the creed of Nicaea, I also add my consent, in order that the creed of Nicaea may not seem by it to be excluded, and [I agree] that it should not be published. I pray for your health in the Lord.
I, Asterius, agree to what is above written, and pray for your health in the Lord.
11. The ‘Tome’ signed at Antioch.
And after this Tome was sent off from Alexandria, thus signed by the aforementioned, [the recipients] in their turn signed it:
I Paulinus hold thus, as I received from the fathers, that the Father perfectly exists and subsists, and that the Son perfectly subsists, and that the Holy Spirit perfectly subsists. Therefore also I accept the above explanation concerning the Three Subsistences, and the one Subsistence, or rather Essence, and those who hold thus. For it is pious to hold and confess the Holy Trinity in one Godhead. And concerning the Word of the Father becoming Man for us, I hold as it is written, that, as John says, the Word was made Flesh, not in the sense of those most impious persons who say that He has undergone a change, but that He has become Man for us, being born of the holy Virgin Mary and of the Holy Spirit. For the Savior had a body neither without soul, nor without sense, nor without intelligence. For it were impossible, the Lord being made Man for us, that His body should be without intelligence. Therefore, I anathematize those who set aside the Faith confessed at Nicaea, and who do not say that the Son is of the Father’s Essence, and coessential with the Father. Moreover, I anathematize those who say that the Holy Spirit is a Creature made through the Son. Once more I anathematize the heresy of Sabellius and of Photinus, and every heresy, walking in the Faith of Nicaea, and in all that is above written. I, Karterius, pray for your health.
1. Pre-Eminence of the Council of Nicaea. Efforts to exalt that of Ariminum at its expense.
The letters are sufficient which were written by our beloved fellow-minister Damasus, overseer of the Great Rome, and the large number of overseers who assembled along with him; and equally so are those of the other synods which were held, both in Gaul and in Italy, concerning the sound Faith which Christ gave us, the Apostles preached, and the Fathers, who met at Nicaea from all this world of ours, have handed down. For so great a stir was made at that time about the Arian heresy, in order that they who had fallen into it might be reclaimed, while its inventors might be made manifest. To that council, accordingly, the whole world has long ago agreed, and now, many synods having been held, all men have been put in mind, both in Dalmatia and Dardania, Macedonia, Epirus and Greece, Crete, and the other islands, Sicily, Cyprus, Pamphylia, Lycia, and Isauria, all Egypt and the Libyas, and most of the Arabians have come to know it, and marveled at those who signed it, inasmuch as even if there were left among them any bitterness springing up from the root of the Arians; we mean Auxentius, Ursacius, Valens and their fellows, by these letters they have been cut off and isolated. The confession arrived at at Nicaea was, we say once more, sufficient and enough by itself, for the subversion of all irreligious heresy, and for the security and furtherance of the doctrine of the Assembly. But since we have heard that certain wishing to oppose it are attempting to cite a synod supposed to have been held at Ariminum, and are eagerly striving that it should prevail rather than the other, we think it right to write and put you in mind, not to endure anything of the sort: for this is nothing else but a second growth of the Arian heresy. For what else do they wish for who reject the synod held against it, namely the Nicene, if not that the cause of Arius should prevail? What then do such men deserve, but to be called Arians, and to share the punishment of the Arians? For they were not afraid of God, who says, ‘Remove not the eternal boundaries which your fathers placed,’ and ‘He that speaks against father or mother, let him die the death’: they were not in awe of their fathers, who enjoined that they who hold the opposite of their confession should be anathema.
2. The Synod of Nicaea contrasted with the local Synods held since.
For this was why an ecumenical synod has been held at Nicaea, 318 overseers assembling to discuss the faith on account of the Arian heresy, namely, in order that local synods should no more be held on the subject of the Faith, but that, even if held, they should not hold good. For what does that Council lack, that anyone should seek to innovate? It is full of piety, beloved; and has filled the whole world with it. Indians have acknowledged it, and all Christians of other barbarous nations. Vain then is the labor of those who have often made attempts against it. For already the men we refer to have held ten or more synods, changing their ground at each, and while taking away some things from earlier decisions, in later ones make changes and additions. And so far they have gained nothing by writing, erasing, and using force, not knowing that ‘every plant that the Heavenly Father has not planted will be plucked up.’ But the word of the Lord which came through the ecumenical Synod at Nicaea, abides forever. For if one compare number with number, these who met at Nicaea are more than those at local synods, inasmuch as the whole is greater than the part. But if a man wishes to discern the reason of the Synod at Nicaea, and that of the large number subsequently held by these men, he will find that while there was a reasonable cause for the former, the others were got together by force, by reason of hatred and contention. For the former council was summoned because of the Arian heresy, and because of Easter, in that they of Syria, Cilicia and Mesopotamia differed from us, and kept the feast at the same season as the Jews. But thanks to the Lord, harmony has resulted not only as to the Faith, but also as to the Sacred Feast. And that was the reason of the synod at Nicaea. But the subsequent ones were without number, all however planned in opposition to the ecumenical.
3. The true nature of the proceedings at Ariminum.
This being pointed out, who will accept those who cite the synod of Ariminum, or any other, against the Nicene? or who could help hating men who set at nothing their fathers’ decisions, and put above them the newer ones, drawn up at Ariminum with contention and violence? or who would wish to agree with these men, who do not accept even their own? For in their own ten or more synods, as I said above, they wrote now one thing, now another, and so came out clearly as themselves the accusers of each one. Their case is not unlike that of the Jewish traitors in old times. For just as they left the one well of the living water, and hewed for themselves broken cisterns, which cannot hold water, as the prophet Jeremiah has it, so these men, fighting against the one ecumenical synod, ‘hewed for themselves’ many synods, and all appeared empty, like ‘a sheaf without strength.’ Let us not then tolerate those who cite the Ariminian or any other synod against that of Nicaea. For even they who cite that of Ariminum appear not to know what was done there, for else they would have said nothing about it. For you know, beloved, from those who went from you to Ariminum, how Ursacius and Valens, Eudoxius and Auxentius (and there Demophilus also was with them), were deposed, after wishing to write something to supersede the Nicene decisions. For on being requested to anathematize the Arian heresy, they refused, and preferred to be its ringleaders. So the overseers, like genuine servants of the Lord and orthodox believers (and there were nearly 200), wrote that they were satisfied with the Nicene alone, and desired and held nothing more or less than that. This they also reported to Constantius, who had ordered the assembling of the synod. But the men who had been deposed at Ariminum went off to Constantius, and caused those who had reported against them to be insulted, and threatened with not being allowed to return to their districts, and to be treated with violence in Thrace that very winter, to compel them to tolerate their innovations.
4. The Nicene formula in accordance with Writing.
If then any cite the synod of Ariminum, firstly let them point out the deposition of the above persons, and what the overseers wrote, namely that none should seek anything beyond what had been agreed on by the fathers at Nicaea, nor cite any synod save that one. But this they suppress, but make much of what was done by violence in Thrace; thus showing that they are dissemblers of the Arian heresy, and aliens from the sound Faith. And again, if a man were to examine and compare the great synod itself, and those held by these people, he would discover the piety of the one and the folly of the others. They who assembled at Nicaea did so not after being deposed: and secondly, they confessed that the Son was of the Essence of the Father. But the others, after being deposed again and again, and once more at Ariminum itself, ventured to write that it ought not to be said that the Son had Essence or Subsistence. This enables us to see, brothers, that they of Nicaea breathe the spirit of Writing, in that God says in Exodus, ‘I am that I am,’ and through Jeremiah, ‘Who is in His substance and has seen His word’; and just below, ‘if they had stood in My subsistence and heard My words’: now subsistence is essence, and means nothing else but very being, which Jeremiah calls existence, in the words, ‘and they heard not the voice of existence.’ For subsistence, and essence, is existence: for it is, or in other words exists. This Paul also perceiving wrote to the Hebrews, ‘who being the brightness of his glory, and the express Image of his subsistence.’ But the others, who think they know the Writings and call themselves wise, and do not choose to speak of subsistence in God (for thus they wrote at Ariminum and at other synods of theirs), were surely with justice deposed, saying as they did, like the fool did in his heart, ‘God is not.’ And again the fathers taught at Nicaea that the Son and Word is not a creature, nor made, having read ‘all things were made through Him,’ and ‘in Him were all things created, and consist’; while these men, Arians rather than Christians, in their other synods have ventured to call Him a creature, and one of the things that are made, things of which He Himself is the Artificer and Maker. For if ‘through Him all things were made’ and He too is a creature, He would be the creator of Himself. And how can what is being created create? or He that is creating be created?
5. How the test ‘Coessential’ came to be adopted at Nicaea.
But not even thus are they ashamed, although they say such things as cause them to be hated by all; citing the Synod of Ariminum, only to show that there also they were deposed. And as to the actual definition of Nicaea, that the Son is coessential with the Father, on account of which they ostensibly oppose the synod, and buzz around everywhere like gnats about the phrase, either they stumble at it from ignorance, like those who stumble at the stone of stumbling that was laid in Zion; or else they know, but for that very reason are constantly opposing and murmuring, because it is an accurate declaration and full in the face of their heresy. For it is not the phrases that vex them, but the condemnation of themselves which the definition contains. And of this, once again, they are themselves the cause, even if they wish to conceal the fact of which they are perfectly aware—But we must now mention it, in order that hence also the accuracy of the great synod may be shown. For the assembled overseers wished to put away the impious phrases devised by the Arians, namely ‘made of nothing,’ and that the Son was ‘a thing made,’ and a ‘creature,’ and that ‘there was a time when He was not,’ and that ‘He is of mutable nature.’ And they wished to set down in writing the acknowledged language of Writing, namely that the Word is of God by nature Only-begotten, Power, Wisdom of the Father, Very God, as John says, and as Paul wrote, brightness of the Father’s glory and express image of His person. But Eusebius and his fellows, drawn on by their own error, kept conferring together as follows: ‘Let us assent. For we also are of God: for “there is one God of whom are all things,” and “old things are passed away, behold all things are made new, but all things are of God.”‘ And they considered what is written in the Shepherd, ‘Before all things believe that God is one, who created and set all things in order, and made them to exist out of nothing.’ But the Overseers, beholding their craftiness, and the cunning of their impiety, expressed more plainly the sense of the words ‘of God,’ by writing that the Son is of the Essence of God, so that whereas the Creatures, since they do not exist of themselves without a cause, but have a beginning of their existence, are said to be ‘of God,’ the Son alone might be deemed proper to the Essence of the Father. For this is peculiar to one who is Only-begotten and true Word in relation to a Father, and this was the reason why the words ‘of the essence’ were adopted. Again, on the overseers asking the dissembling minority if they agreed that the Son was not a Creature, but the Power and only Wisdom of the Father, and the Eternal Image, in all respects exact, of the Father, and true God, Eusebius and his fellows were observed exchanging nods with one another, as much as to say ‘this applies to us men also, for we too are called “the image and glory of God,” and of us it is said, “For we which live are always,” and there are many Powers, and “all the power of the Lord went out of the land of Egypt,” while the caterpillar and the locust are called His “great power.” And “the Lord of powers is with us, the God of Jacob is our help.” For we hold that we are proper to God, and not merely so, but insomuch that He has even called us brothers. Nor does it vex us, even if they call the Son Very God. For when made He exists in verity.’
6. The Nicene test not unscriptural in sense, nor a novelty.
Such was the corrupt mind of the Arians. But here too the Overseers, beholding their craftiness, collected from the Writings the figures of brightness, of the river and the well, and of the relation of the express Image to the Subsistence, and the texts, ‘in your light will we see light,’ and ‘I and the Father are one.’ And lastly they wrote more plainly, and concisely, that the Son was coessential with the Father; for all the above passages signify this. And their murmuring, that the phrases are unscriptural, is exposed as vain by themselves, for they have uttered their impieties in unscriptural terms: (for such are ‘of nothing’ and ‘there was a time when He was not’), while yet they find fault because they were condemned by unscriptural terms pious in meaning. While they, like men sprung from a dunghill, truly ‘spoke of the earth,’ the Overseers, not having invented their phrases for themselves, but having testimony from their Fathers, wrote as they did. For ancient overseers, of the Great Rome and of our city, some 130 years ago, wrote and censured those who said that the Son was a creature and not coessential with the Father. And Eusebius knew this, who was overseer of Caesarea, and at first an accomplice of the Arian heresy; but afterward, having signed at the Council of Nicaea, wrote to his own people affirming as follows: ‘we know that certain eloquent and distinguished overseers and writers even of ancient date used the word “coessential” with reference to the Godhead of the Father and the Son.’
7. The position that the Son is a Creature inconsistent and untenable.
Why then do they go on citing the Synod of Ariminum, at which they were deposed? Why do they reject that of Nicaea, at which their Fathers signed the confession that the Son is of the Father’s Essence and coessential with Him? Why do they run about? For now they are at war not only with the overseers who met at Nicaea, but with their own great overseers and their own friends. Whose heirs or successors then are they? How can they call men fathers, whose confession, well and apostolically drawn up, they will not accept? For if they think they can object to it, let them speak, or rather answer, that they may be convicted of falling foul of themselves, whether they believe the Son when He says, ‘I and my Father are one,’ and ‘he that has seen Me has seen the Father.’ ‘Yes,’ they must answer, ‘since it is written we believe it.’ But if they are asked how they are one, and how he that has seen the Son has seen the Father, of course, we suppose they will say, ‘by reason of resemblance,’ unless they have quite come to agree with those who hold the brother-opinion to theirs, and are called Anomoeans. But if once more they are asked, ‘how is He like?’ they brasen it out and say, ‘by perfect virtue and harmony, by having the same will with the Father, by not willing what the Father wills not.’ But let them understand that one assimilated to God by virtue and will is liable also to the purpose of changing; but the Word is not thus, unless He is ‘like’ in part, and as we are, because He is not like [God] in essence also. But these characteristics belong to us, who are originate, and of a created nature. For we too, albeit we cannot become like God in essence, yet by progress in virtue imitate God, the Lord granting us this grace, in the words, ‘Be merciful as your Father is merciful’: ‘be perfect as your heavenly Father is perfect.’ But that originate things are changeable, no one can deny, seeing that messengers transgressed, Adam disobeyed, and all stand in need of the grace of the Word. But a mutable thing cannot be like God who is truly unchangeable, any more than what is created can be like its creator. This is why, with regard to us, the holy man said, ‘Lord, who will be likened to you,’ and ‘who among the gods is like to you, Lord’; meaning by gods those who, while created, had yet become partakers of the Word, as He Himself said, ‘If he called them gods to whom the word of God came.’ But things which partake cannot be identical with or similar to that whereof they partake. For example, He said of Himself, ‘I and the Father are one,’ implying that things originate are not so. For we would ask those who allege the Ariminian Synod, whether a created essence can say, ‘what things I see my Father make, those I make also.’ For things originate are made and do not make; or else they made even themselves. Why, if, as they say, the Son is a Creature and the Father is His Maker, surely the Son would be His own maker, as He is able to make what the Father makes, as He said. But such a supposition is absurd and utterly untenable, for none can make himself.
8. The Son’s relation to the Father essential, not merely ethical.
Once more, let them say whether things originate could say, ‘all things whatsoever the Father has are Mine.’ Now, He has the prerogative of creating and making, of Eternity, of omnipotence, of immutability. But things originate cannot have the power of making, for they are creatures; nor eternity, for their existence has a beginning; nor of omnipotence and immutability, for they are under sway, and of changeable nature, as the Writings say. Well then, if these prerogatives belong to the Son, they clearly do so, not on account of His virtue, as said above, but essentially, even as the synod said, ‘He is of no other essence’ but of the Father’s, to whom these prerogatives are proper. But what can that be which is proper to the Father’s essence, and an offspring from it, or what name can we give it, save ‘coessential?’ For that which a man sees in the Father, that sees he also in the Son; and that not by participation, but essentially. And this is [the meaning of] ‘I and the Father are one,’ and ‘he that has seen Me has seen the Father.’ Here especially once more it is easy to show their folly. If it is from virtue, the antecedent of willing and not willing, and of moral progress, that you hold the Son to be like the Father; while these things fall under the category of quality; clearly you call God compound of quality and essence. But who will tolerate you when you say this? For God, who compounded all things to give them being, is not compound, nor of similar nature to the things made by Him through the Word. Far be the thought. For He is simple essence, in which quality is not, nor, as James says, ‘any variableness or shadow of turning.’ Accordingly, if it is shown that it is not from virtue (for in God there is no quality, neither is there in the Son), then He must be proper to God’s essence. And this you will certainly admit if mental apprehension is not utterly destroyed in you. But what is that which is proper to and identical with the essence of God, and an Offspring from it by nature, if not by this very fact coessential with Him that begot it? For this is the distinctive relation of a Son to a Father, and he who denies this, does not hold that the Word is Son in nature and in truth.
9. The honest repudiation of Arianism involves the acceptance of the Nicene test.
This then the Fathers perceived when they wrote that the Son was coessential with the Father, and anathematized those who say that the Son is of a different Subsistence: not inventing phrases for themselves, but learning in their turn, as we said, from the Fathers who had been before them. But after the above proof, their Ariminian Synod is superfluous, as well as any other synod cited by them as touching the Faith. For that of Nicaea is sufficient, agreeing as it does with the ancient overseers also, in which too their fathers signed, whom they ought to respect, on pain of being thought anything but Christians. But if even after such proofs, and after the testimony of the ancient overseers, and the signature of their own Fathers, they pretend as if in ignorance to be alarmed at the phrase ‘coessential,’ then let them say and hold, in simpler terms and truly, that the Son is Son by nature, and anathematize as the synod enjoined those who say that the Son of God is a Creature or a thing made, or of nothing, or that there was once a time when He was not, and that He is mutable and liable to change, and of another Subsistence. And so let them escape the Arian heresy. And we are confident that in sincerely anathematizing these views, they ipso facto confess that the Son is of the Father’s Essence, and coessential with Him. For this is why the Fathers, having said that the Son was coessential, immediately added, ‘but those who say that He is a creature, or made, or of nothing, or that there was once a time when He was not,’ the Universal Assembly anathematizes: namely in order that by this means they might make it known that these things are meant by the word ‘coessential.’ And the meaning ‘Coessential’ is known from the Son not being a Creature or thing made: and because he that says ‘coessential’ does not hold that the Word is a Creature: and he that anathematizes the above views, at the same time holds that the Son is coessential with the Father; and he that calls Him ‘coessential,’ calls the Son of God genuinely and truly so; and he that calls Him genuinely Son understands the texts, ‘I and the Father are one,’ and ‘he that has seen Me has seen the Father.’
10. Purpose of this Letter; warning against Auxentius of Milan.
Now it would be proper to write this at greater length. But since we write to you who know, we have dictated it concisely, praying that among all the bond of peace might be preserved, and that all in the Universal Assembly should say and hold the same thing. And we are not meaning to teach, but to put you in mind. Nor is it only ourselves that write, but all the overseers of Egypt and the Libyas, some ninety in number. For we all are of one mind in this, and we always sign for one another if any chance not to be present. Such being our state of mind, since we happened to be assembled, we wrote, both to our beloved Damasus, overseer of the Great Rome, giving an account of Auxentius who has intruded on the assembly at Milan; namely that he not only shares the Arian heresy, but is also accused of many offenses, which he committed with Gregory, the sharer of his impiety; and while expressing our surprise that so far he has not been deposed and expelled from the Assembly, we thanked [Damasus] for his piety and that of those who assembled at the Great Rome, in that by expelling Ursacius and Valens, and those who hold with them, they preserved the harmony of the Universal Assembly. Which we pray may be preserved also among you, and therefore entreat you not to tolerate, as we said above, those who put forward a host of synods held concerning the Faith, at Ariminum, at Sirmium, in Isauria, in Thrace, those in Constantinople, and the many irregular ones in Antioch. But let the Faith confessed by the Fathers at Nicaea alone hold good among you, at which all the fathers, including those of the men who now are fighting against it, were present, as we said above, and signed: in order that of us too the Apostle may say, ‘Now I praise you that you remember me in all things, and as I handed the traditions to you, so you hold them fast.’
11. Godhead of the Spirit also involved in the Nicene Creed.
For this Synod of Nicaea is in truth a proscription of every heresy. It also upsets those who blaspheme the Holy Spirit, and call Him a Creature. For the Fathers, after speaking of the faith in the Son, immediately added, ‘And we believe in the Holy Spirit,’ in order that by confessing perfectly and fully the faith in the Holy Trinity they might make known the exact form of the Faith of Christ, and the teaching of the Universal Assembly. For it is made clear both among you and among all, and no Christian can have a doubtful mind on the point, that our faith is not in the Creature, but in one God, Father Almighty, maker of all things visible and invisible: and in one Lord Jesus Christ His Only-begotten Son, and in one Holy Spirit; one God, known in the holy and perfect Trinity, immersed into which, and in it united to the Deity, we believe that we have also inherited the kingdom of the heavens, in Christ Jesus our Lord, through whom to the Father be the glory and the power forever and ever. Amen.
Easter Day xi Pharmuthi; viii Id. April; Aer. Dioclet. 45; Coss. Constantinus Aug. VIII. Constantinus Caes. IV; Prefect. Septimius Zenius; Indict. II.
Of Fasting, and Trumpets, and Feasts.
1. Come, my beloved, the season calls us to keep the feast. Again, ‘the Sun of Righteousness, causing His divine beams to rise on us, proclaims beforehand the time of the feast, in which, obeying Him, we ought to celebrate it, lest when the time has passed by, gladness likewise may pass us by. For discerning the time is one of the duties most urgent on us, for the practice of virtue; so that the blessed Paul, when instructing his disciple, teaches him to observe the time, saying, ‘Stand (ready) in season, and out of season‘—that knowing both the one and the other, he might do things befitting the season, and avoid the blame of unseasonableness. For thus the God of all, after the manner of wise Solomon, distributes everything in time and season, to the end that, in due time, the salvation of men should be everywhere spread abroad. Thus the ‘Wisdom of God,’ our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, not out of season, but in season, ‘passed on holy souls, fashioning the friends of God and the prophets’; so that although very many were praying for Him, and saying, ‘O that the salvation of God were come out of Zion!’—the Spouse also, as it is written in the Song of Songs, was praying and saying, ‘O that You were my sister’s son, that sucked the breasts of my mother!’ that You were like the children of men, and would take on You human passions for our sake!—nevertheless, the God of all, the Maker of times and seasons, who knows our affairs better than we do, while, as a good physician, He exhorts to obedience in season—the only one in which we may be healed—so also does He send Him not unseasonably, but seasonably, saying, ‘In an acceptable time have I heard You, and in the day of salvation I have helped You.’
2. And, on this account, the blessed Paul, urging us to note this season, wrote, saying, ‘Behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation.’ At set seasons also He called the children of Israel to the Levitical feasts by Moses, saying, ‘Three times in a year you will keep a feast to Me‘ (one of which, my beloved, is that now at hand), the trumpets of the priests sounding and urging its observance; as the holy Psalmist commanded, saying, ‘Blow with the trumpet in the new moon, on the [solemn] day of your feast.’ Since this sentence enjoins on us to blow both on the new moons, and on the solemn days, He has made a solemn day of that in which the light of the moon is perfected in the full; which was then a type, as is this of the trumpets. At one time, as has been said, they called to the feasts; at another time to fasting and to war. And this was not done without solemnity, nor by chance, but this sound of the trumpets was appointed, so that every man should come to that which was proclaimed. And this ought to be learned not merely from me, but from the divine Writings, when God was revealed to Moses, and said, as it is written in the book of Numbers; ‘And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, Make to you two trumpets; of silver will you make them, and they will be for you to call the congregation‘—very properly for those who here love Him. So that we may know that these things had reference to the time of Moses—yes, were to be observed so long as the shadow lasted, the whole being appointed for use, ‘until the time of reformation.’ ‘For’ (said He) ‘if you will go out to battle in your land against your enemies that rise up against you‘ (for such things as these refer to the land, and no further), ‘then you will proclaim with the trumpets, and will be remembered before the Lord, and be delivered from your enemies.’ Not only in wars did they blow the trumpet, but under the law, there was a festal trumpet also. Hear him again, going on to say, ‘And in the day of your gladness, and in your feasts, and your new moons, you will blow with the trumpets.’ And let no man think it a light and contemptible matter, if he hear the law command respecting trumpets; it is a wonderful and fearful thing. For beyond any other voice or instrument, the trumpet is awakening and terrible; so Israel received instruction by these means, because he was then but a child. But in order that the proclamation should not be thought merely human, being superhuman, its sounds resembled those which were uttered when they trembled before the mount; and they were reminded of the law that was then given them, and kept it.
3. For the law was admirable, and the shadow was excellent, otherwise, it would not have worked fear, and induced reverence in those who heard; especially in those who at that time not only heard but saw these things. Now these things were typical, and done as in a shadow. But let us pass on to the meaning, and henceforth leaving the figure at a distance, come to the truth, and look on the priestly trumpets of our Savior, which cry out, and call us, at one time to war, as the blessed Paul says; ‘We wrestle not with flesh and blood, but with principalities, with powers, with the rulers of this dark world, with wicked spirits in heaven.’ At another time the call is made to virginity, and self-denial, and conjugal harmony, saying, To virgins, the things of virgins; and to those who love the way of abstinence, the things of abstinence; and to those who are married, the things of an honorable marriage; thus assigning to each its own virtues and an honorable recompense. Sometimes the call is made to fasting, and sometimes to a feast. Hear again the same [Apostle] blowing the trumpet, and proclaiming, ‘Christ our Passover is sacrificed; therefore let us keep the feast, not with old leaven, neither with the leaven of malice and wickedness.’ If you would listen to a trumpet much greater than all these, hear our Savior saying; ‘In that last and great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried, saying, If any man thirst, let him come to Me and drink.’ For it became the Savior not simply to call us to a feast, but to ‘the great feast’; if only we will be prepared to hear, and to conform to the proclamation of every trumpet.
4. For since, as I before said, there are various proclamations, listen, as in a figure, to the prophet blowing the trumpet; and further, having turned to the truth, be ready for the announcement of the trumpet, for he says, ‘Blow the trumpet in Zion: sanctify a fast.’ This is a warning trumpet, and commands with great earnestness, that when we fast, we should hallow the fast. For not all those who call on God, hallow God, since there are some who defile Him; yet not Him—that is impossible—but their own mind concerning Him; for He is holy, and has pleasure in the holy ones. And therefore the blessed Paul accuses those who dishonor God; ‘Transgressors of the law dishonor God.’ So then, to make a separation from those who pollute the fast, he says here, ‘sanctify a fast.’ For many, crowding to the fast, pollute themselves in the thoughts of their hearts, sometimes by doing evil against their brothers, sometimes by daring to defraud. And, to mention nothing else, there are many who exalt themselves above their neighbors, thereby causing great mischief. For the boast of fasting did no good to the Pharisee, although he fasted twice in the week, only because he exalted himself against the publican. In the same manner the Word blamed the children of Israel on account of such a fast as this, exhorting them by Isaiah the Prophet, and saying, ‘This is not the fast and the day that I have chosen, that a man should humble his soul; not even if you should bow down your neck like a hook, and should strew sackcloth and ashes under you; neither thus will you call the fast acceptable.’ That we may be able to show what kind of persons we should be when we fast, and of what character the fast should be, listen again to God commanding Moses, and saying, as it is written in Leviticus, ‘And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, In the tenth day of this seventh month, there will be a day of atonement; a convocation, and a holy day will it be to you; and you will humble your souls, and offer whole burnt-offerings to the Lord.’ And afterward, that the law might be defined on this point, He proceeds to say; ‘Every soul that will not humble itself, will be cut off from the people.’
5. Behold, my brothers, how much a fast can do, and in what manner the law commands us to fast. It is required that not only with the body should we fast, but with the soul. Now the soul is humbled when it does not follow wicked opinions, but feeds on becoming virtues. For virtues and vices are the food of the soul, and it can eat either of these two meats, and incline to either of the two, according to its own will. If it is bent toward virtue, it will be nourished by virtues, by righteousness, by temperance, by meekness, by fortitude, as Paul says; ‘Being nourished by the word of truth.’ Such was the case with our Lord, who said, ‘My meat is to do the will of My Father which is in heaven.’ But if it is not thus with the soul, and it inclines downward, it is then nourished by nothing but sin. For thus the Holy Spirit, describing sinners and their food, referred to the Devil when He said, ‘I have given him to be meat to the people of Ethiopia.’ For this is the food of sinners. And as our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, being heavenly bread, is the food of the holy ones, according to this; ‘Except you eat My flesh, and drink My blood’; so is the Devil the food of the impure, and of those who do nothing which is of the light, but work the deeds of darkness. Therefore, in order to withdraw and turn them from vices, He commands them to be nourished with the food of virtue; namely, humbleness of mind, lowliness to endure humiliations, the acknowledgment of God. For not only does such a fast as this obtain pardon for souls, but being kept holy, it prepares the holy ones, and raises them above the earth.
6. And indeed that which I am about to say is wonderful, yes it is of those things which are very miraculous; yet not far from the truth, as you may be able to learn from the sacred writings. That great man Moses, when fasting, conversed with God, and received the law. The great and holy Elijah, when fasting, was thought worthy of divine visions, and at last was taken up like Him who ascended into heaven. And Daniel, when fasting, although a very young man, was entrusted with the mystery, and he alone understood the secret things of the king, and was thought worthy of divine visions. But because the length of the fast of these men was wonderful, and the days prolonged, let no man lightly fall into unbelief; but rather let him believe and know, that the contemplation of God, and the word which is from Him, suffice to nourish those who hear, and stand to them in place of all food. For the messengers are no otherwise sustained than by beholding at all times the face of the Father, and of the Savior who is in heaven. And thus Moses, as long as he talked with God, fasted indeed bodily, but was nourished by divine words. When he descended among men, and God was gone up from him, he suffered hunger like other men. For it is not said that he fasted longer than forty days—those in which he was conversing with God. And, generally, each one of the holy ones has been thought worthy of similar transcendent nourishment.
7. Therefore, my beloved, having our souls nourished with divine food, with the Word, and according to the will of God, and fasting bodily in things external, let us keep this great and saving feast as becomes us. Even the ignorant Jews received this divine food, through the type, when they ate a lamb in the Passover. But not understanding the type, even to this day they eat the lamb, erring in that they are without the city and the truth. As long as Judea and the city existed, there were a type, and a lamb, and a shadow, since the law thus commanded: These things will not be done in another city; but in the land of Judea, and in no place without [the land of Judea]. And besides this, the law commanded them to offer whole burnt-offerings and sacrifices, there being no other altar than that in Jerusalem. For on this account, in that city alone was there an altar and temple built, and in no other city were they permitted to perform these rites, so that when that city should come to an end, then those things that were figurative might also be done away.
8. Now observe; that city, since the coming of our Savior, has had an end, and all the land of the Jews has been laid waste; so that from the testimony of these things (and we need no further proof, being assured by our own eyes of the fact) there must, of necessity, be an end of the shadow. And not from me should these things be learned, but the sacred voice of the prophet foretold, crying; ‘Behold on the mountains the feet of Him that bringeth good tidings, and publishes peace’; and what is the message he published, but that which he goes on to say to them, ‘Keep your feasts, O Judah; pay to the Lord your vows. For they will no more go to that which is old; it is finished; it is taken away: He is gone up who breathed on the face, and delivered you from affliction.’ Now who is he that went up? a man may say to the Jews, in order that even the boast of the shadow may be done away; neither is it an idle thing to listen to the expression, ‘It is finished; he is gone up who breathed.’ For nothing was finished before he went up who breathed. But as soon as he went up, it was finished. Who was he then, O Jews, as I said before? If Moses, the assertion would be false; for the people had not yet come to the land in which alone they were commanded to perform these rites. But if Samuel, or any other of the prophets, even in that case there would be a perversion of the truth; for until now these things were done in Judea, and the city was standing. For it was necessary that while that stood, these things should be performed. So that it was none of these, my beloved, who went up. But if you would hear the true matter, and be kept from Jewish fables, behold our Savior who went up, and ‘breathed on the face, and said to His disciples, Receive the Holy Spirit.’ For as soon as these things were done, everything was finished, for the altar was broken, and the veil of the temple was torn; and although the city was not yet laid waste, the abomination was ready to sit in the midst of the temple, and the city and those ancient ordinances to receive their final consummation.
9. Since then we have passed beyond that time of shadows, and no longer perform rites under it, but have turned, as it were, to the Lord; ‘for the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty‘—as we hear the sacred trumpet, no longer slaying a material lamb, but that true Lamb that was slain, even our Lord Jesus Christ; ‘Who was led as a sheep to the slaughter, and was dumb as a lamb before her shearers’; being purified by His precious blood, which speaks better things than that of Abel, having our feet shod with the preparation of the Gospel, holding in our hands the rod and staff of the Lord, by which that saint was comforted, who said, ‘Your rod and Your staff they comfort me’; and to sum up, being in all respects prepared, and careful for nothing, because, as the blessed Paul says, ‘The Lord is at hand’; and as our Savior says, ‘In an hour when we think not, the Lord comes—Let us keep the Feast, not with old leaven, neither with the leaven of malice and wickedness; but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth. Putting off the old man and his deeds, let us put on the new man, which is created in God,’ in humbleness of mind, and a pure conscience; in meditation of the law by night and by day. And casting away all hypocrisy and fraud, putting far from us all pride and deceit, let us take on us love toward God and toward our neighbor, that being new [creatures], and receiving the new wine, even the Holy Spirit, we may properly keep the feast, even the month of these new [fruits].
10. We begin the holy fast on the fifth day of Pharmuthi (March 31), and adding to it according to the number of those six holy and great days, which are the symbol of the creation of this world, let us rest and cease (from fasting) on the tenth day of the same Pharmuthi (April 5), on the holy sabbath of the week. And when the first day of the holy week dawns and rises on us, on the eleventh day of the same month (April 6), from which again we count all the seven weeks one by one, let us keep feast on the holy day of Pentecost—on that which was at one time to the Jews, typically, the feast of weeks, in which they granted forgiveness and settlement of debts; and indeed that day was one of deliverance in every respect. Let us keep the feast on the first day of the great week, as a symbol of the world to come, in which we here receive a pledge that we will have everlasting life hereafter. Then having passed hence, we will keep a perfect feast with Christ, while we cry out and say, like the holy ones, ‘I will pass to the place of the wondrous tabernacle, to the house of God; with the voice of gladness and thanksgiving, the shouting of those who rejoice’; whence pain and sorrow and sighing have fled, and on our heads gladness and joy will have come to us! May we be judged worthy to be partakers in these things.
11. Let us remember the poor, and not forget kindness to strangers; above all, let us love God with all our soul, and might, and strength, and our neighbor as ourselves. So may we receive those things which the eye has not seen, nor the ear heard, and which have not entered into the heart of man, which God has prepared for those that love Him, through His only Son, our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ; through Whom, to the Father alone, by the Holy Spirit, be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.
Salute one another with a kiss. All the brothers who are with me salute you.
Here ends the first Festal Letter of holy Athanasius.
Easter Day xxiv Pharmuthi; xiii Kal. Mai; Aera Dioclet. 46; Coss. Gallicianus, Valerius Symmachus; Prefect, Magninianus; Indict. iii.
1. Again, my brothers, is Easter come and gladness; again the Lord has brought us to this season; so that when, according to custom, we have been nourished with His words, we may duly keep the feast. Let us celebrate it then, even heavenly joy, with those holy ones who formerly proclaimed a like feast and were ensamples to us of conversation in Christ. For not only were they entrusted with the charge of preaching the Gospel, but, if we inquire, we will see, as it is written, that its power was displayed in them. ‘Be therefore followers of me,’ he wrote to the Corinthians. Now the apostolic precept exhorts us all, for those commands which he sent to individuals, he at the same time enjoined on every man in every place, for he was ‘a teacher of all nations in faith and truth.’ And, generally, the commands of all the holy ones urge us on similarly, as Solomon makes use of proverbs, saying, ‘Hear, my children, the instruction of a father, and attend to know understanding; for I give you a good gift, do not forsake my word: for I was an obedient son to my father, and beloved in the sight of my mother.’ For a just father brings up [his children] well, when he is diligent in teaching others in accordance with his own upright conduct, so that when he meets with opposition, he may not be ashamed on hearing it said, ‘You therefore that teach others, teach you not yourself?’ but rather, like the good servant, may both save himself and gain others; and thus, when the grace committed to him has been doubled, he may hear, ‘You good and faithful servant, you have been faithful in a little, I will set you over much: enter into the joy of your Lord.’
2. Let us then, as is becoming, as at all times, yet especially in the days of the feast, not be hearers only, but doers of the commandments of our Savior; that having imitated the behavior of the holy ones, we may enter together into the joy of our Lord which is in heaven, which is not transitory, but truly abides; of which evildoers having deprived themselves, there remains to them as the fruit of their ways, sorrow and affliction, and groaning with torments. Let a man see what these become like, that they bear not the likeness of the conversation of the holy ones, nor of that right understanding, by which man at the beginning was rational, and in the image of God. But they are compared to their disgrace to beasts without understanding, and becoming like them in unlawful pleasures, they are spoken of as wanton horses; also, for their craftiness, and errors, and sin laden with death, they are called a ‘generation of vipers,’ as John says. Now having thus fallen, and groveling in the dust like the serpent, having their minds set on nothing beyond visible things, they esteem these things good, and rejoicing in them, serve their own lusts and not God.
3. Yet even in this state, the man-loving Word, who came for this very reason, that He might seek and find that which was lost, sought to restrain them from such folly, crying and saying, ‘Do not be as the horse and the mule which have no understanding, whose cheeks you hold in with bit and bridle.’ Because they were careless and imitated the wicked, the prophet prays in spirit and says, ‘You are to me like merchant-men of Phoenicia.’ And the avenging Spirit protests against them in these words, ‘Lord, in Your city You will despise their image.’ Thus, being changed into the likeness of fools, they fell so low in their understanding that by their excessive reasoning, they even likened the Divine Wisdom to themselves, thinking it to be like their own arts. Therefore, ‘professing themselves to be wise, they became fools and changed the glory of the incorruptible God into the likeness of the corruptible image of man, and birds, and four-footed beasts, and creeping things. Therefore God gave them over to a reprobate mind, to do those things which are not convenient.’ For they did not listen to the prophetic voice that reproved them (saying), ‘To what have you likened the Lord, and with what have you compared Him?’ neither to David, who prayed concerning such as these, and sang, ‘All those that make them are like to them, and all those who put their trust in them.’ Being blind to the truth, they looked on a stone as God, and hence, like senseless creatures, they walked in darkness, and, as the prophet cried, ‘They hear indeed, but they do not understand; they see indeed, but they do not perceive; for their heart is waxen fat, and with their ears they hear heavily.’
4. Now those who do not observe the feast, continue such as these even to the present day, feigning indeed and devising names of feasts, but rather introducing days of mourning than of gladness; ‘For there is no peace to the wicked, says the Lord.’ And as Wisdom says, ‘Gladness and joy are taken from their mouth.’ Such are the feasts of the wicked. But the wise servants of the Lord, who have truly put on the man which is created in God, have received gospel words, and reckon as a general commandment that given to Timothy, which says, ‘Be you an example to the believers in word, in conversation, in love, in faith, in purity.’ So well do they keep the Feast, that even the unbelievers, seeing their order, may say, ‘God is with them of a truth.’ For as he who receives an apostle receives Him who sent him, so he who is a follower of the holy ones, makes the Lord in every respect his end and aim, even as Paul, being a follower of Him, goes on to say, ‘As I also of Christ.’ For there were first our Savior’s own words, who from the height of His divinity, when conversing with His disciples, said, ‘Learn of Me, for I am meek and lowly in heart, and you will find rest to your souls.’ Then too when He poured water into a basin, and girded Himself with a towel, and washed His disciples’ feet, He said to them, ‘Know what I have done. You call Me Master and Lord, and you say well, for so I am. If therefore I, your Lord and Master, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet: for I have given you an example, that as I have done to you, you also should do.’
5. Oh, my brothers! How will we admire the loving-kindness of the Savior? With what power, and with what a trumpet should a man cry out, exalting these His benefits! That not only should we bear His image, but should receive from Him an example and pattern of heavenly conversation; that as He has begun, we should go on, that suffering, we should not threaten, being reviled, we should not revile again, but should bless them that curse, and in everything commit ourselves to God who judges righteously. For those who are thus disposed, and fashion themselves according to the Gospel, will be partakers of Christ, and imitators of apostolic conversation, on account of which they will be deemed worthy of that praise from him, with which he praised the Corinthians, when he said, ‘I praise you that in everything you are mindful of me.’ Afterward, because there were men who used his words, but chose to hear them as suited their lusts, and dared to pervert them, as the followers of Hymenaeus and Alexander, and before them the Sadducees, who as he said, ‘having made shipwreck of faith,’ scoffed at the mystery of the resurrection, he immediately proceeded to say, ‘And as I have delivered to you traditions, hold them fast.’ That means, indeed, that we should think not otherwise than as the teacher has delivered.
6. For not only in outward form did those wicked men dissemble, putting on as the Lord says sheep’s clothing, and appearing like to whited tombs; but they took those divine words in their mouth, while they inwardly cherished evil intentions. And the first to put on this appearance was the serpent, the inventor of wickedness from the beginning—the Devil—who, in disguise, conversed with Eve, and immediately deceived her. But after him and with him are all inventors of unlawful heresies, who indeed refer to the Writings, but do not hold such opinions as the holy ones have handed down, and receiving them as the traditions of men, err, because they do not rightly know them nor their power. Therefore, Paul justly praises the Corinthians, because their opinions were in accordance with his traditions. And the Lord most righteously reproved the Jews, saying, ‘Therefore you also transgress the commandments of God on account of your traditions.’ For they changed the commandments they received from God after their own understanding, preferring to observe the traditions of men. And about these, a little after, the blessed Paul again gave directions to the Galatians who were in danger thereof, writing to them, ‘If any man preach to you anything other than that you have received, let him be accursed.’
7. For there is no fellowship whatever between the words of the holy ones and the fancies of human invention; for the holy ones are the ministers of the truth, preaching the kingdom of heaven, but those who are borne in the opposite direction have nothing better than to eat, and think their end is that they will cease to be, and they say, ‘Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die.’ Therefore blessed Luke reproves the inventions of men, and hands down the narrations of the holy ones, saying in the beginning of the Gospel, ‘Since many have presumed to write narrations of those events of which we are assured, as those who from the beginning were witnesses and ministers of the Word have delivered to us; it has seemed good to me also, who have adhered to them all from the first, to write correctly in order to you, O excellent Theophilus, that you may know the truth concerning the things in which you have been instructed.’ For as each of the holy ones has received, that they impart without alteration, for the confirmation of the doctrine of the mysteries. Of these the (divine) word would have us disciples, and these should of right be our teachers, and to them only is it necessary to give heed, for of them only is ‘the word faithful and worthy of all acceptation’; these not being disciples because they heard from others, but being eye-witnesses and ministers of the Word, that which they had heard from Him have they handed down.
Now some have related the wonderful signs performed by our Savior and preached His eternal Godhead. And others have written of His being born in the flesh of the Virgin, and have proclaimed the festival of the holy Passover, saying, ‘Christ our Passover is sacrificed’; so that we, individually and collectively, and all the assemblies in the world may remember, as it is written, ‘That Christ rose from the dead, of the seed of David, according to the Gospel.’ And let us not forget that which Paul delivered, declaring it to the Corinthians; I mean His resurrection, whereby ‘He destroyed him that had the power of death, that is, the Devil’; and raised us up together with Him, having loosed the bands of death, and granted a blessing instead of a curse, joy instead of grief, a feast instead of mourning, in this holy joy of Easter, which being continually in our hearts, we always rejoice, as Paul commanded; ‘We pray without ceasing; in everything we give thanks.’ So we are not remiss in giving notice of its seasons, as we have received from the Fathers. Again we write, again keeping to the apostolic traditions, we remind each other when we come together for prayer; and keeping the feast in common, with one mouth we truly give thanks to the Lord. Thus giving thanks to Him, and being followers of the holy ones, ‘we will make our praise in the Lord all the day,’ as the Psalmist says. So, when we rightly keep the feast, we will be counted worthy of that joy which is in heaven.
8. We begin the fast of forty days on the 13th of the month Phamenoth (Mar. 9). After we have given ourselves to fasting in continued succession, let us begin the holy Paschal week on the 18th of the month Pharmuthi (April 13). Then resting on the 23rd of the same month Pharmuthi (April 18), and keeping the feast afterward on the first of the week, on the 24th (April 19), let us add to these the seven weeks of the great Pentecost, wholly rejoicing and exulting in Christ Jesus our Lord, through Whom to the Father be glory and dominion in the Holy Spirit, forever and ever. Amen.
The brothers which are with me salute you. Salute one another with a holy kiss.
Here ends the second Festal Letter of the holy lord Athanasius, Overseer of Alexandria.
Easter Day xvi Pharmuthi; iii Id. April; Aera Dioclet. 47; Coss. Annius Bassus, Ablabius; Prefect, Florentius; Indict. iv.
1. Again, my beloved brothers, the day of the feast draws near to us, which, above all others, should be devoted to prayer, which the law commands to be observed, and which it would be an unholy thing for us to pass over in silence. For although we have been held under restraint by those who afflict us, that, because of them, we should not announce to you this season; yet thanks be to ‘God, who comforts the afflicted,’ that we have not been overcome by the wickedness of our accusers and silenced; but obeying the voice of truth, we together with you cry aloud in the day of the feast. For the God of all has commanded, saying, ‘Speak, and the children of Israel will keep the Passover.’ And the Spirit exhorts in the Psalm; ‘Blow the trumpet in the new moons, in the solemn day of your feast.’ And the prophet cries; ‘Keep your feasts, O Judah.’ I do not send word to you as though you were ignorant; but I publish it to those who know it, that you may perceive that although men have separated us, yet God having made us companions, we approach the same feast, and worship the same Lord continually. And we do not keep the festival as observers of days, knowing that the Apostle reproves those who do so, in those words which he spoke; ‘You observe days, and months, and times, and years.’ But rather do we consider the day solemn because of the feast; so that all of us, who serve God in every place, may together in our prayers be well-pleasing to God. For the blessed Paul, announcing the nearness of gladness like this, did not announce days, but the Lord, for whose sake we keep the feast, saying, ‘Christ, our Passover, is sacrificed’; so that we all, contemplating the eternity of the Word, may draw near to do Him service.
2. For what else is the feast, but the service of the soul? And what is that service, but prolonged prayer to God, and unceasing thanksgiving? The unthankful departing far from these are rightly deprived of the joy springing therefrom: for ‘joy and gladness are taken from their mouth.’ Therefore, the [divine] word does not allow them to have peace; ‘For there is no peace to the wicked, says the Lord,’ they labor in pain and grief. So, not even to him who owed ten thousand talents did the Gospel grant forgiveness in the sight of the Lord. For even he, having received forgiveness of great things, was forgetful of kindness in little ones, so that he paid the penalty also of those former things. And justly indeed, for having himself experienced kindness, he was required to be merciful to his fellow servant. He too that received the one talent, and bound it up in a napkin, and hid it in the earth, was in consequence cast out for unthankfulness, hearing the words, ‘You wicked and slothful servant, you knew that I reap where I sowed not, and gather where I have not strawed; you ought therefore to have put my money to the exchangers, and on my return, I should have received my own. Take therefore the talent from him, and give it to him that has ten talents.’ For, of course, when he was required to deliver up to his lord that which belonged to him, he should have acknowledged the kindness of him who gave it, and the value of that which was given. For he who gave was not a hard man, had he been so, he would not have given even in the first instance; neither was that which was given unprofitable and vain, for then he had not found fault. But both he who gave was good, and that which was given was capable of bearing fruit. As therefore ‘he who withholds corn in seed-time is cursed,’ according to the divine proverb, so he who neglects grace, and hides it without culture, is properly cast out as a wicked and unthankful person. On this account, he praises those who increased [their talents], saying, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant; you have been faithful in a little, I will place you over much; enter into the joy of your Lord.’
3. This was right and reasonable; for, as the Writing declares, they had gained as much as they had received. Now, my beloved, our will ought to keep pace with the grace of God, and not fall short; lest while our will remains idle, the grace given us should begin to depart, and the enemy finding us empty and naked, should enter [into us], as was the case with him spoken of in the Gospel, from whom the Devil went out; ‘for having gone through dry places, he took seven other spirits more wicked than himself; and returning and finding the house empty, he dwelt there, and the last state of that man was worse than the first.’ For the departure from virtue gives place for the entrance of the unclean spirit. There is, moreover, the apostolic injunction, that the grace given us should not be unprofitable; for those things which he wrote particularly to his disciple, he enforces on us through him, saying, ‘Neglect not the gift that is in you. For he who tills his land will be satisfied with bread; but the paths of the slothful are strewn with thorns’; so that the Spirit forewarns a man not to fall into them, saying, ‘Break up your fallow ground, sow not among thorns.’ For when a man despises the grace given him; and immediately falls into the cares of the world, he delivers himself over to his lusts; and thus in the time of persecution he is offended, and becomes altogether unfruitful. Now the prophet points out the end of such negligence, saying, ‘Cursed is he who does the work of the Lord carelessly.’ For a servant of the Lord should be diligent and careful, yes, moreover, burning like a flame, so that when, by an ardent spirit, he has destroyed all carnal sin, he may be able to draw near to God who, according to the expression of the holy ones, is called ‘a consuming fire.’
4. Therefore, the God of all, ‘Who makes His messengers [spirits],’ is a spirit, ‘and His ministers a flame of fire.’ Therefore, in the departure from Egypt, He forbade the multitude to touch the mountain, where God was appointing them the law, because they were not of this character. But He called blessed Moses to it, as being fervent in spirit, and possessing unquenchable grace, saying, ‘Let Moses alone draw near.’ He entered into the cloud also, and when the mountain was smoking, he was not injured; but rather, through ‘the words of the Lord, which are choice silver purified in the earth,’ he descended purified. Therefore, the blessed Paul, when desirous that the grace of the Spirit given to us should not grow cold, exhorts, saying, ‘Quench not the Spirit.’ For so will we remain partakers of Christ, if we hold fast to the end the Spirit given at the beginning. For he said, ‘Quench not’; not because the Spirit is placed in the power of men and is able to suffer anything from them; but because bad and unthankful men are such as manifestly wish to quench it, since they, like the impure, persecute the Spirit with unholy deeds. ‘For the holy Spirit of discipline will flee deceit, nor dwell in a body that is subject to sin; but will remove from thoughts that are without understanding.’ Now they being without understanding, and deceitful, and lovers of sin, walk still as in darkness, not having that ‘Light which lights every man that comes into the world.’ Now a fire such as this laid hold of Jeremiah the prophet, when the word was in him as a fire, and he said, ‘I pass away from every place, and am not able to endure it.’ And our Lord Jesus Christ, being good and a lover of men, came that He might cast this on earth, and said, ‘And what? would that it were already kindled!’ For He desired, as He testified in Ezekiel, the conversion of a man rather than his death; so that evil should be entirely consumed in all men, that the soul, being purified, might be able to bring forth fruit; for the word which is sown by Him will be productive, some thirty, some sixty, some a hundred. Thus, for instance, those who were with Cleopas, although infirm at first from lack of knowledge, yet afterward were inflamed with the words of the Savior, and brought forth the fruits of the knowledge of Him. The blessed Paul also, when seized by this fire, revealed it not to flesh and blood, but having experienced the grace, he became a preacher of the Word. But not such were those nine lepers who were cleansed from their leprosy, and yet were unthankful to the Lord who healed them; nor Judas, who obtained the lot of an apostle, and was named a disciple of the Lord, but at last, ‘while eating bread with the Savior, lifted up his heel against Him, and became a traitor.’ But such men have the due reward of their folly, since their expectation will be vain through their ingratitude; for there is no hope for the ungrateful, the last fire, prepared for the Devil and his messengers, awaits those who have neglected divine light. Such then is the end of the unthankful.
5. But the faithful and true servants of the Lord, knowing that the Lord loves the thankful, never cease to praise Him, ever giving thanks to the Lord. And whether the time is one of ease or of affliction, they offer up praise to God with thanksgiving, not reckoning these things of time, but worshiping the Lord, the God of times. Thus, of old time, Job, who possessed fortitude above all men, thought of these things when in prosperity; and when in adversity, he patiently endured, and when he suffered, gave thanks. As also the humble David, in the very time of affliction sang praises and said, ‘I will bless the Lord at all times.’ And the blessed Paul, in all his Epistles, so to say, ceased not to thank God. In times of ease, he failed not, and in afflictions he gloried, knowing that ‘tribulation works patience, and patience experience, and experience hope, and that hope makes not ashamed.’ Let us, being followers of such men, pass no season without thanksgiving, but especially now, when the time is one of tribulation, which the heretics excite against us, will we praise the Lord, uttering the words of the holy ones; ‘All these things have come on us, yet have we not forgotten You.’ For as the Jews at that time, although suffering an assault from the tabernacles of the Edomites, and oppressed by the enemies of Jerusalem, did not give themselves up, but all the more sang praises to God; so we, my beloved brothers, though hindered from speaking the word of the Lord, will the more proclaim it, and being afflicted, we will sing Psalms, in that we are accounted worthy to be despised, and to labor anxiously for the truth. Yes, moreover, being grievously vexed, we will give thanks. For the blessed Apostle, who gave thanks at all times, urges us in the same manner to draw near to God saying, ‘Let your requests, with thanksgiving, be made known to God.’ And being desirous that we should always continue in this resolution, he says, ‘At all times give thanks; pray without ceasing.’ For he knew that believers are strong while employed in thanksgiving, and that rejoicing they pass over the walls of the enemy, like those holy ones who said, ‘Through You will we pierce through our enemies, and by my God I will leap over a wall.’ At all times let us stand firm, but especially now, although many afflictions overtake us, and many heretics are furious against us. Let us then, my beloved brothers, celebrate with thanksgiving the holy feast which now draws near to us, ‘girding up the loins of our minds,’ like our Savior Jesus Christ, of Whom it is written, ‘Righteousness will be the girdle of His loins, and faithfulness the girdle of His reins.’ Each one of us having in his hand the staff which came out of the root of Jesse, and our feet shod with the preparation of the Gospel, let us keep the feast as Paul says, ‘Not with the old leaven, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth’; reverently trusting that we are reconciled through Christ, and not departing from faith in Him, nor do we defile ourselves together with heretics, and strangers to the truth, whose conversation and whose will degrade them. But rejoicing in afflictions, we break through the furnace of iron and darkness, and pass, unharmed, over that terrible Red Sea. Thus also, when we look on the confusion of heretics, we will, with Moses, sing that great song of praise, and say, ‘We will sing to the Lord, for He is to be gloriously praised.’ Thus, singing praises, and seeing that the sin which is in us has been cast into the sea, we pass over to the wilderness. And being first purified by the fast of forty days, by prayers, and fastings, and discipline, and good works, we will be able to eat the holy Passover in Jerusalem.
6. The beginning of the fast of forty days is on the fifth of Phamenoth (Mar. 1); and when, as I have said, we have first been purified and prepared by those days, we begin the holy week of the great Easter on the tenth of Pharmuthi (Apr. 5), in which, my beloved brothers, we should use more prolonged prayers, and fastings, and watchings, that we may be enabled to anoint our lintels with precious blood, and to escape the destroyer. Let us rest then, on the fifteenth of the month Pharmuthi (Apr. 10), for on the evening of that Saturday we hear the messengers’ message, ‘Why seek the living among the dead? He is risen.’ Immediately afterward that great Sunday receives us, I mean on the sixteenth of the same month Pharmuthi (April 11), on which our Lord having risen, gave us peace toward our neighbors. When then we have kept the feast according to His will, let us add from that first day in the holy week, the seven weeks of Pentecost, and as we then receive the grace of the Spirit, let us at all times give thanks to the Lord; through Whom to the Father be glory and dominion, in the Holy Spirit, forever and ever. Amen.
Salute one another with a holy kiss. The brothers who are with me salute you. I pray, brothers beloved and longed for, that you may have health, and that you may be mindful of us in the Lord.
Here ends the third Festal Letter of holy Athanasius.
Easter Day vii Pharmuthi, iv Non. Apr.; Aera Dioclet. 48; Coss. Fabius Pacatianus, Maecilius Hilarianus; Prefect, Hyginus; Indict. v.
[He sent this Letter from the emperor’s Court by a soldier.]
1. I send to you, my beloved, late and beyond the accustomed time; yet I trust you will forgive the delay, on account of my protracted journey, and because I have been tried with illness. Being hindered by these two causes, and unusually severe storms having occurred, I have deferred writing to you. But notwithstanding my long journeys, and my grievous sickness, I have not forgotten to give you the festal notification, and, in discharge of my duty, I now announce to you the feast. For although the date of this letter is later than that usual for this announcement, it should still be considered well-timed, since our enemies having been put to shame and reproved by the Assembly, because they persecuted us without a cause, we may now sing a festal song of praise, uttering the triumphant hymn against Pharaoh; ‘We will sing to the Lord, for He is to be gloriously praised; the horse and his rider He has cast into the sea.’
2. It is well, my beloved, to proceed from feast to feast; again festal meetings, again holy vigils arouse our minds, and compel our intellect to keep vigil to contemplation of good things. Let us not fulfill these days like those that mourn, but, by enjoying spiritual food, let us seek to silence our fleshly lusts. For by these means we will have strength to overcome our adversaries, like blessed Judith, when having first exercised herself in fastings and prayers, she overcame the enemies, and killed Holofernes. And blessed Esther, when destruction was about to come on all her race, and the nation of Israel was ready to perish, defeated the fury of the tyrant by no other means than by fasting and prayer to God, and changed the ruin of her people into safety. Now as those days are considered feasts for Israel, so also in old time feasts were appointed when an enemy was slain, or a conspiracy against the people broken up, and Israel delivered. Therefore, blessed Moses of old time ordained the great feast of the Passover, and our celebration of it, because, namely, Pharaoh was killed, and the people were delivered from bondage. For in those times it was especially, when those who tyrannized over the people had been slain, that temporal feasts and holidays were observed in Judea.
3. Now, however, that the Devil, that tyrant against the whole world, is slain, we do not approach a temporal feast, my beloved, but an eternal and heavenly. Not in shadows do we show it forth, but we come to it in truth. For they being filled with the flesh of a dumb lamb, accomplished the feast, and having anointed their door-posts with the blood, implored aid against the destroyer. But now we, eating of the Word of the Father, and having the lintels of our hearts sealed with the blood of the New Testament, acknowledge the grace given us from the Savior, who said, ‘Behold, I have given to you to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy.’ For no more does death reign; but instead of death henceforth is life, since our Lord said, ‘I am the life’; so that everything is filled with joy and gladness; as it is written, ‘The Lord reigns, let the earth rejoice.’ For when death reigned, ‘sitting down by the rivers of Babylon, we wept,’ and mourned, because we felt the bitterness of captivity; but now that death and the kingdom of the Devil is abolished, everything is entirely filled with joy and gladness. And God is no longer known only in Judea, but in all the earth, ‘their voice has gone forth, and the knowledge of Him has filled all the earth.’ What follows, my beloved, is obvious; that we should approach such a feast, not with filthy raiment, but having clothed our minds with pure garments. For we need in this to put on our Lord Jesus, that we may be able to celebrate the feast with Him. Now we are clothed with Him when we love virtue, and are enemies to wickedness, when we exercise ourselves in temperance and mortify lasciviousness, when we love righteousness before iniquity, when we honor sufficiency, and have strength of mind, when we do not forget the poor, but open our doors to all men, when we assist humble-mindedness, but hate pride.
4. By these things Israel of old, having first, as in a figure, striven for the victory, came to the feast, for these things were then foreshadowed and typified. But we, my beloved, the shadow having received its fulfillment, and the types being accomplished, should no longer consider the feast typical, neither should we go up to Jerusalem which is here below, to sacrifice the Passover, according to the unseasonable observance of the Jews, lest, while the season passes away, we should be regarded as acting unseasonably; but, in accordance with the injunction of the Apostles, let us go beyond the types, and sing the new song of praise. For perceiving this, and being assembled together with the Truth, they drew near, and said to our Savior, ‘Where will You that we should make ready for You the Passover?’ For no longer were these things to be done which belonged to Jerusalem which is beneath; neither there alone was the feast to be celebrated, but wherever God willed it to be. Now He willed it to be in every place, so that ‘in every place incense and a sacrifice might be offered to Him.’ For although, as in the historical account, in no other place might the feast of the Passover be kept save only in Jerusalem, yet when the things pertaining to that time were fulfilled, and those which belonged to shadows had passed away, and the preaching of the Gospel was about to extend everywhere; when indeed the disciples were spreading the feast in all places, they asked the Savior, ‘Where will You that we will make ready?’ The Savior also, since He was changing the typical for the spiritual, promised them that they should no longer eat the flesh of a lamb, but His own, saying, ‘Take, eat and drink; this is My body, and My blood.’ When we are thus nourished by these things, we also, my beloved, will truly keep the feast of the Passover.
5. We begin on the first of Pharmuthi (Mar. 27), and rest on the sixth of the same month (Apr. 1), on the evening of the seventh day; and the holy first day of the week having risen on us on the seventh of the same Pharmuthi (Apr. 2), celebrate we too the days of holy Pentecost following thereon, showing forth through them the world to come, so that henceforth we may be with Christ forever, praising God over all in Christ Jesus, and through Him, with all holy ones, we say to the Lord, Amen. Salute one another with a holy kiss. All the brothers who are with me salute you. We have sent this letter from the Court, by the hand of an attendant officer, to whom it was given by Ablavius, the Prefect of the Praetorium, who fears God in truth. For I am at the Court, having been summoned by the emperor Constantine to see him. But the Meletians, who were present there, being envious, sought our ruin before the emperor. But they were put to shame and driven away thence as slanderers, being confuted by many things. Those who were driven away were Callinicus, Ision, Eudaemon, and Geloeus Hieracammon, who, on account of the shame of his name, calls himself Eulogius.
Here ends the fourth Festal Letter of holy Athanasius.
Easter Day, Coss. Dalmatius and Zenophilus; Prefect, Paternus; vi Indict.; xvii Kal. Maii, xx Pharmuthi; xv Moon; vii Gods; Aera Dioclet. 49.
1. We duly proceed, my brothers, from feasts to feasts, duly from prayers to prayers, we advance from fasts to fasts, and join holy days to holy days. Again the time has arrived which brings to us a new beginning, even the announcement of the blessed Passover, in which the Lord was sacrificed. We eat, as it were, the food of life, and constantly thirsting we delight our souls at all times, as from a fountain, in His precious blood. For we continually and ardently desire; He stands ready for those who thirst; and for those who thirst there is the word of our Savior, which, in His loving-kindness, He uttered on the day of the feast; ‘If any man thirst, let him come to Me and drink.’ Nor was it then alone when anyone drew near to Him, that He cured his thirst; but whenever anyone seeks, there is free access for him to the Savior. For the grace of the feast is not limited to one time, nor does its splendid brilliancy decline; but it is always near, enlightening the minds of those who earnestly desire it. For therein is constant virtue, for those who are illuminated in their minds, and meditate on the divine Writings day and night, like the man to whom a blessing is given, as it is written in the sacred Psalms; ‘Blessed is the man who has not walked in the counsel of the ungodly, nor stood in the way of sinners, nor sat in the seat of corrupters. But his delight is in the law of the Lord, and in His law does he meditate day and night.’ For it is not the sun, or the moon, or the host of those other stars which illumines him, but he glitters with the high effulgence of God over all.
2. For it is God, my beloved, even the God who at first established the feast for us, who grants the celebration of it year by year. He both brought about the slaying of His Son for salvation, and gave us this reason for the holy feast, to which every year bears witness, as often as at this season the feast is proclaimed. This also leads us on from the cross through this world to that which is before us, and God produces even now from it the joy of glorious salvation, bringing us to the same assembly, and in every place uniting all of us in spirit; appointing us common prayers, and a common grace proceeding from the feast. For this is the marvel of His loving-kindness, that He should gather together in the same place those who are at a distance; and make those who appear to be far off in the body, to be near together in unity of spirit.
3. Therefore then, my beloved, do we not acknowledge the grace as becometh the feast? Why do we not make a return to our Benefactor? It is indeed impossible to make an adequate return to God; still, it is a wicked thing for us who receive the gracious gift, not to acknowledge it. Nature itself manifests our inability; but our own will reproves our unthankfulness. Therefore, the blessed Paul, when admiring the greatness of the gift of God, said, ‘And who is sufficient for these things?’ For He made the world free by the blood of the Savior; then, again, He has caused the grave to be trodden down by the Savior’s death, and furnished a way to the heavenly gates free from obstacles to those who are going up. Therefore, one of the holy ones, while he acknowledged the grace, but was insufficient to repay it, said, ‘What will I render to the Lord for all He has done to me?’ For instead of death he had received life, instead of bondage, freedom, and instead of the grave, the kingdom of heaven. For of old time, ‘death reigned from Adam to Moses’; but now the divine voice has said, ‘Today will you be with Me in Paradise.’ And the holy ones, being sensible of this, said, ‘Except the Lord had helped me, my soul had almost dwelt in hell..’ Besides all this, being powerless to make a return, he yet acknowledged the gift, and wrote finally, saying, ‘I will take the cup of salvation, and call on the name of the Lord; precious in His sight is the death of His holy ones.’
With regard to the cup, the Lord said, ‘Are you able to drink of that cup which I am about to drink of?’ And when the disciples assented, the Lord said, ‘You will indeed drink of My cup; but that you should sit on My right hand, and on My left, is not Mine to give; but to those for whom it is prepared.’ Therefore, my beloved, let us be sensible of the gift, though we are found insufficient to repay it. As we have ability, let us meet the occasion. For although nature is not able, with things unworthy of the Word, to return a recompense for such benefits, yet let us render Him thanks while we persevere in piety. And how can we more abide in piety than when we acknowledge God, who in His love to mankind has bestowed on us such benefits? (For thus we will obediently keep the law and observe its commandments. And, further, we will not, as unthankful persons, be accounted transgressors of the law, or do those things which ought to be hated, for the Lord loves the thankful); when too we offer ourselves to the Lord, like the holy ones, when we subscribe ourselves entirely [as] living henceforth not to ourselves, but to the Lord who died for us, as also the blessed Paul did, when he said, ‘I am crucified with Christ, yet I live; yet not I, but Christ lives in me.’
4. Now our life, my brothers, truly consists in our denying all bodily things, and continuing steadfast in those only of our Savior. Therefore, the present season requires of us, that we should not only utter such words, but should also imitate the deeds of the holy ones. But we imitate them, when we acknowledge Him who died, and no longer live to ourselves, but Christ henceforth lives in us; when we render a recompense to the Lord to the utmost of our power, though when we make a return we give nothing of our own, but those things which we have before received from Him, this being especially of His grace, that He should require, as from us, His own gifts. He bears witness to this when He says, ‘My offerings are My own gifts.’ That is, those things which you give Me are yours, as having received them from Me, but they are the gifts of God. And let us offer to the Lord every virtue, and that true holiness which is in Him, and in piety let us keep the feast to Him with those things which He has hallowed for us. Let us thus engage in the holy fasts, as having been prescribed by Him, and by means of which we find the way to God. But let us not be like the heathen, or the ignorant Jews, or as the heretics and schismatics of the present time. For the heathen think the accomplishment of the feast is in the abundance of food; the Jews, erring in the type and shadow, think it still such; the schismatics keep it in separate places, and with vain imaginations. But let us, my brothers, be superior to the heathen, in keeping the feast with sincerity of soul, and purity of body; to the Jews, in no longer receiving the type and the shadow, but as having been gloriously illumined with the light of truth, and as looking on the Sun of Righteousness; to the schismatics, in not tearing the coat of Christ, but in one house, even in the Universal Assembly, let us eat the Passover of the Lord, who, by ordaining His holy laws, guided us toward virtue, and counseled the abstinence of this feast. For the Passover is indeed abstinence from evil for exercise of virtue, and a departure from death to life. This may be learned even from the type of old time. For then they toiled earnestly to pass from Egypt to Jerusalem, but now we depart from death to life; they then passed from Pharaoh to Moses, but now we rise from the Devil to the Savior. And as, at that time, the type of deliverance bore witness every year, so now we commemorate our salvation. We fast meditating on death, that we may be able to live; and we watch, not as mourners, but as they that wait for the Lord, when He will have returned from the wedding, so that we may vie with each other in the triumph, hastening to announce the sign of victory over death.
5. Would therefore, O my beloved, that as the word requires, we might here so govern ourselves at all times and entirely, and so live, as never to forget the noble acts of God, nor to depart from the practice of virtue! As also the Apostolic voice exhorts; ‘Remember Jesus Christ, that He rose from the dead.’ Not that any limited season of remembrance was appointed, for at all times He should be in our thoughts. But because of the slothfulness of many, we delay from day to day. Let us then begin in these days. To this end a time of remembrance is permitted, that it may show forth to the holy ones the reward of their calling, and may exhort the careless while reproving them. Therefore, in all the remaining days, let us persevere in virtuous conduct, converting as is our duty, of all that we have neglected, whatever it may be; for there is no one free from defilement, though his course may have been but one hour on the earth, as Job, that man of surpassing fortitude, testifies. But, ‘stretching forth to those things that are to come,’ let us pray that we may not eat the Passover unworthily, lest we be exposed to dangers. For to those who keep the feast in purity, the Passover is heavenly food; but to those who observe it profanely and contemptuously, it is a danger and reproach. For it is written, ‘Whosoever will eat and drink unworthily, is guilty of the death of our Lord.’ Therefore, let us not merely proceed to perform the festal rites, but let us be prepared to draw near to the divine Lamb, and to touch heavenly food. Let us cleanse our hands, let us purify the body. Let us keep our whole mind from guile; not giving up ourselves to excess, and to lusts, but occupying ourselves entirely with our Lord, and with divine doctrines; so that, being altogether pure, we may be able to partake of the Word.
6. We begin the holy fast on the fourteenth of Pharmuthi (Apr. 9), on the [first] evening of the week; and having ceased on the nineteenth of the same month Pharmuthi (Apr. 14), the first day of the holy week dawns on us on the twentieth of the same month Pharmuthi (Apr. 15), to which we join the seven weeks of Pentecost; with prayers, and fellowship with our neighbor, and love toward one another, and that peaceable will which is above all. For so will we be heirs of the kingdom of heaven, through our Lord Jesus Christ, through Whom to the Father be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen. All the brothers who are with me salute you. Salute one another with a holy kiss.
Here ends the fifth Festal Letter of holy Athanasius.
Easter Day, xii Pharmuthi, vii Id. April; xvii Moon; Aera Dioclet. 50; Coss. Optatus Patricius, Anicius Paulinus; Prefect, Philagrius, the Cappadocian; vii Indict.
1. Now again, my beloved, has God brought us to the season of the feast, and through His loving-kindness we have reached the period of assembly for it. For that God who brought Israel out of Egypt, even He at this time calls us to the feast, saying by Moses, ‘Observe the month of new fruits, and keep the Passover to the Lord your God’: and by the prophet, ‘Keep your feasts, O Judah; pay to the Lord your vows.’ If then God Himself loves the feast, and calls us to it, it is not right, my brothers, that it should be delayed, or observed carelessly; but with alacrity and zeal we should come to it, so that having begun joyfully here, we may also receive an earnest of that heavenly feast. For if we diligently celebrate the feast here, we will doubtless receive the perfect joy which is in heaven, as the Lord says; ‘With desire I have desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer. For I say to you, that I will not eat it, until it is fulfilled with you in the kingdom of God.’ Now we eat it if, understanding the reason of the feast, and acknowledging the Deliverer, we conduct ourselves in accordance with His grace, as Paul says; ‘So that we may keep the Feast, not with old leaven, neither with the leaven of wickedness; but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.’ For the Lord died in those days, that we should no longer do the deeds of death. He gave His life, that we might preserve our own from the snares of the Devil. And, what is most wonderful, the Word became flesh, that we should no longer live in the flesh, but in spirit should worship God, who is Spirit. He who is not so disposed, abuses the days, and does not keep the feast, but like an unthankful person finds fault with the grace, and honors the days overmuch, while he does not supplicate the Lord who in those days redeemed him. Let him by all means hear, though fancying that he keeps the feast, the Apostolic voice reproving him; ‘You observe days, and months, and times, and years: I fear lest I have labored among you in vain.’
2. For the feast is not on account of the days; but for the Lord’s sake, who then suffered for us, we celebrate it, for ‘our Passover Christ, is sacrificed.’ Even as Moses, when teaching Israel not to consider the feast as pertaining to the days, but to the Lord, said, ‘It is the Lord’s Passover.’ To the Jews, when they thought they were keeping the Passover, because they persecuted the Lord, the feast was useless; since it no longer bore the name of the Lord, even according to their own testimony. It was not the Passover of the Lord, but that of the Jews. The Passover was named after the Jews, my brothers, because they denied the Lord of the Passover. On this account, the Lord, turning away His face from such a doctrine of theirs, says, ‘Your new moons and your sabbaths My soul hates.’
3. So now, those who keep the Passover in like manner, the Lord again reproves, as He did those lepers who were cleansed, when He loved the one as thankful, but was angry with the others as ungrateful, because they did not acknowledge their Deliverer, but thought more of the cure of the leprosy than of Him who healed them. ‘But one of them when he saw that he was healed, turned back, and with a loud voice glorified God, and fell on his face at the feet of Jesus giving Him thanks; and he was a Samaritan. And Jesus answering said, Were there not ten cleansed? but those nine—whence are there none found who returned to give glory to God, but this stranger?’ And there was more given to him than to the rest; for being cleansed from his leprosy, he heard from the Lord, ‘Arise, go your way, your faith has saved you.’ For he who gives thanks, and he who glorifies, have similar feelings, in that they bless their Helper for the benefits they have received. So the Apostle exhorts all men to this, saying, ‘Glorify God with your body’; and the prophet commands, saying, ‘Give glory to God.’ Although testimony was borne by Caiaphas against our Redeemer, and He was set at nothing by the Jews, and was condemned by Pilate in those days, yet exalted exceedingly and most mighty was the voice of the Father which came to Him; ‘I have glorified, and will glorify again.’ For those things which He suffered for our sake have passed away; but those which belong to Him as the Savior remain forever.
4. But in our commemoration of these things, my brothers, let us not be occupied with meats, but let us glorify the Lord, let us become fools for Him who died for us, even as Paul said; ‘For if we are foolish, it is to God; or if we are sober-minded, it is to you; since because one died for all men, therefore all were dead to Him; and He died for all, that we who live should not henceforth live to ourselves, but to Him who died for us, and rose again.’ No longer then ought we to live to ourselves, but, as servants to the Lord. And not in vain should we receive the grace, as the time is especially an acceptable one, and the day of salvation has dawned, even the death of our Redeemer. For even for our sakes the Word came down, and being incorruptible, put on a corruptible body for the salvation of all of us. Of which Paul was confident, saying, ‘This corruptible must put on incorruption.’ The Lord too was sacrificed, that by His blood He might abolish death. Full well did He once, in a certain place, blame those who participated vainly in the shedding of His blood, while they did not delight themselves in the flesh of the Word, saying, ‘What profit is there in my blood, that I go down to corruption?’ This does not mean that the descent of the Lord was without profit, for it gained the whole world; but rather that after He had thus suffered, sinners would prefer to suffer loss than to profit by it. For He regarded our salvation as a delight and a peculiar gain; while on the contrary He looked on our destruction as loss.
5. Also in the Gospel, He praises those who increased the grace twofold, both him who made ten talents of five, and him who made four talents of two, as those who had profited, and turned them to good account; but him who hid the talent He cast out as lacking, saying to him, ‘You wicked servant! Should you not have put My money to the exchangers? then at My coming I should have received My own with interest. Take, therefore, from him the talent, and give it to him that has ten talents. For to everyone that has will be given, and he will have more abundantly; but from him that has not, will be taken away even that which he has. And cast the unprofitable servant into outer darkness; there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’ For it is not His will that the grace we have received should be unprofitable; but He requires us to take pains to render Him His own fruits, as the blessed Paul says; ‘The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, and peace.’ Having therefore this right resolution, and owing no man anything, but rather giving everything to every man, he was a teacher of the like rightness of principle, saying, ‘Render to all their dues.’ He was like those sent by the householder to receive the fruits of the vineyard from the farmers; for he exhorted all men to render a return. But Israel despised and would not render, for their will was not right, no moreover they killed those that were sent, and not even before the Lord of the vineyard were they ashamed, but even He was slain by them. Truly, when He came and found no fruit in them, He cursed them through the fig-tree, saying, ‘Let there be henceforth no fruit from you’; and the fig-tree was dead and fruitless so that even the disciples wondered when it withered away.
6. Then was fulfilled that which was spoken by the prophet; ‘I will take away from them the voice of joy and the voice of gladness, the voice of the bridegroom and the voice of the bride, the scent of myrrh, and the light of a lamp, and the whole land will be destroyed.’ For the whole service of the law has been abolished from them, and henceforth and forever they remain without a feast. And they observe not the Passover; for how can they? They have no abiding place, but they wander everywhere. And they eat unleavened bread contrary to the law, since they are unable first to sacrifice the lamb, as they were commanded to do when eating unleavened bread. But in every place they transgress the law, and as the judgments of God require, they keep days of grief instead of gladness. Now the cause of this to them was the slaying of the Lord, and that they did not reverence the Only-Begotten. At this time the altogether wicked heretics and ignorant schismatics are in the same case; the one in that they slay the Word, the other in that they tear the coat. They too remain expelled from the feast, because they live without godliness and knowledge, and emulate the conduct shown in the matter of Bar-Abbas the robber, whom the Jews desired instead of the Savior. Therefore, the Lord cursed them under the figure of the fig-tree. Yet even thus He spared them in His loving-kindness, not destroying them root and all. For He did not curse the root, but [said], that no man should eat fruit of it thenceforth. When He did this, He abolished the shadow, causing it to wither; but preserved the root, so that we might [not] be grafted on it; ‘they too, if they abide not in unbelief, may attain to be grafted into their own olive tree.’ Now when the Lord had cursed them because of their negligence, He removed from them the new moons, the true lamb, and that which is truly the Passover.
7. But to us it came: there came too the solemn day, in which we ought to call to the feast with a trumpet, and separate ourselves to the Lord with thanksgiving, considering it as our own festival. For we are bound to celebrate it, not to ourselves but to the Lord; and to rejoice, not in ourselves but in the Lord, who bore our griefs and said, ‘My soul is sorrowful to death.’ For the heathen, and all those who are strangers to our faith, keep feasts according to their own wills, and have no peace, since they commit evil against God. But the holy ones, as they live to the Lord also keep the feast to Him, saying, ‘I will rejoice in Your salvation,’ and, ‘my soul will be joyful in the Lord.’ The commandment is common to them, ‘Rejoice, you righteous, in the Lord‘—so that they also may be gathered together, to sing that common and festal Psalm, ‘Come, let us rejoice,’ not in ourselves, but, ‘in the Lord.’
8. For thus the patriarch Abraham rejoiced not to see his own day, but that of the Lord; and thus looking forward ‘he saw it, and was glad.’ And when he was tried, by faith he offered up Isaac, and sacrificed his only-begotten son—he who had received the promises. And, in offering his son, he worshiped the Son of God. And, being restrained from sacrificing Isaac, he saw the Messiah in the ram, which was offered up instead as a sacrifice to God. The patriarch was tried, through Isaac, not however that he was sacrificed, but He who was pointed out in Isaiah; ‘He will be led as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers he will be speechless’; but He took away the sin of the world. And on this account [Abraham] was restrained from laying his hand on the lad, lest the Jews, taking occasion from the sacrifice of Isaac, should reject the prophetic declarations concerning our Savior, even all of them, but more especially those uttered by the Psalmist; ‘Sacrifice and offering You would not; a body You have prepared Me’; and should refer all such things as these to the son of Abraham.
9. For the sacrifice was not properly the setting to rights of Isaac, but of Abraham who also offered, and by that was tried. Thus God accepted the will of the offerer, but prevented that which was offered from being sacrificed. For the death of Isaac did not procure freedom to the world, but that of our Savior alone, by whose stripes we all are healed. For He raised up the falling, healed the sick, satisfied those who were hungry, and filled the poor, and, what is more wonderful, raised us all from the dead; having abolished death, He has brought us from affliction and sighing to the rest and gladness of this feast, a joy which reaches even to heaven. For not we alone are affected by this, but because of it, even the heavens rejoice with us, and the whole assembly of the firstborn, written in heaven, is made glad together, as the prophet proclaims, saying, ‘Rejoice, you heavens, for the Lord has had mercy on Israel. Shout, you foundations of the earth. Cry out with joy, you mountains, you high places, and all the trees which are in them, for the Lord has redeemed Jacob, and Israel has been glorified.’ And again; ‘Rejoice, and be glad, you heavens; let the hills melt into gladness, for the Lord has had mercy on His people, and comforted the oppressed of the people.’
10. The whole creation keeps a feast, my brothers, and everything that has breath praises the Lord, as the Psalmist [says], on account of the destruction of the enemies, and our salvation. And justly indeed; for if there is joy in heaven over one sinner that repenteth, what should there not be over the abolition of sin, and the resurrection of the dead? Oh what a feast and how great the gladness in heaven! how must all its hosts joy and exult, as they rejoice and watch in our assemblies, those that are held continually, and especially those at Easter? For they look on sinners while they convert; on those who have turned away their faces, when they become converted; on those who formerly persisted in lusts and excess, but who now humble themselves by fastings and temperance; and, finally, on the enemy who lies weakened, lifeless, bound hand and foot, so that we may mock at him; ‘Where is your victory, O Death? where is your sting, O Grave?’ Let us then sing to the Lord a song of victory.
11. Who then will lead us to such a company of messengers as this? Who, coming with a desire for the heavenly feast, and the angelic holiday, will say like the prophet, ‘I will pass to the place of the wondrous tabernacle, to the house of God; with the voice of joy and praise, with the shouting of those who keep festival?’ To this course the holy ones also encourage us, saying, ‘Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, and to the house of the God of Jacob.’ But not for the impure is this feast, nor is the ascent thereto for sinners; but it is for the virtuous and diligent; and for those who live according to the aim of the holy ones; for, ‘Who will ascend to the hill of the Lord? or who will stand in His holy place, but he that has clean hands, and a pure heart; who has not devoted his soul to vanity, nor sworn deceitfully to his neighbor. For he,’ as the Psalmist adds, when he goes up, ‘will receive a blessing from the Lord.’ Now this clearly also refers to what the Lord gives to them at the right hand, saying, ‘Come, you blessed, inherit the kingdom prepared for you.’ But the deceitful, and he that is not pure of heart, and possesses nothing that is pure (as the Proverb says, ‘To a deceitful man there is nothing good‘), will assuredly, being a stranger, and of a different race from the holy ones, be accounted unworthy to eat the Passover, for ‘a foreigner will not eat of it.’ Thus Judas, when he thought he kept the Passover, because he plotted deceit against the Savior, was estranged from the city which is above, and from the apostolic company. For the law commanded the Passover to be eaten with due observance; but he, while eating it, was sifted of the Devil, who had entered his soul.
12. Therefore, let us not celebrate the feast after an earthly manner, but as keeping festival in heaven with the messengers. Let us glorify the Lord, by chastity, by righteousness, and other virtues. And let us rejoice, not in ourselves, but in the Lord, that we may be inheritors with the holy ones. Let us keep the feast then, as Moses. Let us watch like David who rose seven times, and in the middle of the night gave thanks for the righteous judgments of God. Let us be early, as he said, ‘In the morning I will stand before You, and You will look on me: in the morning You will hear my voice.’ Let us fast like Daniel; let us pray without ceasing, as Paul commanded; all of us recognizing the season of prayer, but especially those who are honorably married; so that having borne witness to these things, and thus having kept the feast, we may be able to enter into the joy of Christ in the kingdom of heaven. But as Israel, when going up to Jerusalem, was first purified in the wilderness, being trained to forget the customs of Egypt, the Word by this typifying to us the holy fast of forty days, let us first be purified and freed from defilement, so that when we depart hence, having been careful of fasting, we may be able to ascend to the upper chamber with the Lord, to sup with Him; and may be partakers of the joy which is in heaven. In no other manner is it possible to go up to Jerusalem, and to eat the Passover, except by observing the fast of forty days.
13. We begin the fast of forty days on the first day of the month Phamenoth (Feb. 25); and having prolonged it until the fifth of Pharmuthi (Mar. 31), suspending it on the Sundays and the Saturdays preceding them, we then begin again on the holy days of Easter, on the sixth of Pharmuthi (Apr, 1), and cease on the eleventh of the same month (Apr. 6), late in the evening of the Saturday, whence dawns on us the holy Sunday, on the twelfth of Pharmuthi (Apr. 7), which extends its beams, with unobscured grace, to all the seven weeks of the holy Pentecost. Resting on that day, let us ever keep Easter joy in Christ Jesus our Lord, through Whom, to the Father, be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen. All the brothers who are with me salute you. Salute one another with a holy kiss.
Here ends the sixth Festal Letter of the holy and God-clad Athanasius.
Easter Day iv Pharmuthi, iii Kal. April; xx Moon; Aer. Dioclet. 51; Coss. Julius Constantius, the brother of Augustus, Rufinus Albinus; Prefect, the same Philagrius; viii Indict.
1. The blessed Paul wrote to the Corinthians that he always bore in his body the dying of Jesus, not as though he alone should make that boast, but also they and we too, and in this let us be followers of him, my brothers. And let this be the customary boast of all of us at all times. In this David participated, saying in the Psalms, ‘For your sake we die all the day; we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter.’ Now this is becoming in us, especially in the days of the feast, when a commemoration of the death of our Savior is held. For he who is made like Him in His death, is also diligent in virtuous practices, having mortified his members which are on the earth, and crucifying the flesh with the affections and lusts, he lives in the Spirit, and is conformed to the Spirit. He is always mindful of God, and forgets Him not, and never does the deeds of death. Now, in order that we may bear in our body the dying of Jesus, he immediately adds the way of such fellowship, saying, ‘we having the same spirit of faith, as it is written, I believed, and therefore have I spoken; we also believe, and therefore speak.’ He adds also, speaking of the grace that arises from knowledge; ‘For He that raised up Jesus, will also raise us up with Jesus, and will present us before Him with you.’
2. When by such faith and knowledge the holy ones have embraced this true life, they receive, doubtless, the joy which is in heaven; for which the wicked not caring, are deservedly deprived of the blessedness arising from it. For, ‘let the wicked be taken away, so that he will not see the glory of the Lord.’ For although, when they will hear the universal proclamation of the promise, ‘Awake, you that sleep, and arise from the dead,’ they will rise and will come even to heaven, knocking and saying, ‘Open to us’; nevertheless the Lord will reprove them, as those who put the knowledge of Himself far from them, saying, ‘I do not know you.’ But the holy Spirit cries against them, ‘The wicked will be turned into hell, even all the nations that forget God..’ Now we say that the wicked are dead, but not in an ascetic life opposed to sin; nor do they, like the holy ones, bear about dying in their bodies. But it is the soul which they bury in sins and follies, drawing near to the dead, and satisfying it with dead nourishment; like young eagles which, from high places, fly on the carcasses of the dead, and which the law prohibited, commanding figuratively, ‘You will not eat the eagle, nor any other bird that feeds on a dead carcass’; and it pronounced unclean whatsoever eats the dead. But these kill the soul with lusts, and say nothing but, ‘let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die.’ And the kind of fruit those have who thus love pleasures, he immediately describes, adding, ‘And these things are revealed in the ears of the Lord of Hosts, that this sin will not be forgiven you until you die.’ Yes, even while they live they will be ashamed, because they consider their belly their lord; and when dead, they will be tormented, because they have made a boast of such a death. To this effect also Paul bears witness, saying, ‘Meats for the belly, and the belly for meats; but God will destroy both it and them.’ And the divine word declared before concerning them; ‘The death of sinners is evil, and those who hate the righteous commit sin.’ For bitter is the worm, and grievous the darkness, which wicked men inherit.
3. But the holy ones, and they who truly practice virtue, ‘mortify their members which are on the earth, fornication, uncleanness passions, evil concupiscence’; and, as the result of this, are pure and without spot, confiding in the promise of our Savior, who said, ‘Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.’ These, having become dead to the world, and renounced the merchandise of the world, gain an honorable death; for, ‘precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of His holy ones.’ They are also able, preserving the Apostolic likeness, to say, ‘I am crucified with Christ, nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ lives in me.’ For that is the true life, which a man lives in Christ; for although they are dead to the world, yet they dwell as it were in heaven, minding those things which are above, as he who was a lover of such a habitation said, ‘While we walk on earth, our dwelling is in heaven.’ Now those who thus live, and are partakers in such virtue, are alone able to give glory to God, and this it is which essentially constitutes a feast and a holiday. For the feast does not consist in pleasant intercourse at meals, nor splendor of clothing, nor days of leisure, but in the acknowledgment of God, and the offering of thanksgiving and of praise to Him. Now this belongs to the holy ones alone, who live in Christ; for it is written, ‘The dead will not praise You, O Lord, neither all those who go down into silence; but we who live will bless the Lord, from henceforth even forever.’ So was it with Hezekiah, who was delivered from death, and therefore praised God, saying, ‘Those who are in hades cannot praise You; the dead cannot bless You; but the living will bless You, as I also do.’ For to praise and bless God belongs to those only who live in Christ, and by means of this they go up to the feast; for the Passover is not of the Gentiles, nor of those who are yet Jews in the flesh; but of those who acknowledge the truth in Christ, as he declares who was sent to proclaim such a feast; ‘Our Passover, Christ, is sacrificed.’
4. Therefore, although wicked men press forward to keep the feast, and as at a feast praise God, and intrude into the Assembly of the holy ones, yet God expostulates, saying to the sinner, ‘Why do you talk of My ordinances?’ And the gentle Spirit rebukes them, saying, ‘Praise is not comely in the mouth of a sinner.’ Neither has sin any place in common with the praise of God; for the sinner has a mouth speaking perverse things, as the Proverb says, ‘The mouth of the wicked answers evil things.’ For how is it possible for us to praise God with an impure mouth? since things which are contrary to each other cannot coexist. For what communion has righteousness with iniquity? or, what fellowship is there between light and darkness? So exclaims Paul, a minister of the Gospel.
Thus it is that sinners, and all those who are aliens from the Universal Assembly, heretics, and schismatics, since they are excluded from glorifying (God) with the holy ones, cannot properly even continue observers of the feast. But the righteous man, although he appears dying to the world, uses boldness of speech, saying, ‘I will not die, but live, and narrate all Your marvelous deeds.’ For even God is not ashamed to be called the God of those who truly mortify their members which are on the earth, but live in Christ; for He is the God of the living, not of the dead. And He by His living Word raises all men, and gives Him to be food and life to the holy ones; as the Lord declares, ‘I am the bread of life.’ The Jews, because they were weak in perception, and had not exercised the senses of the soul in virtue, and did not comprehend this discourse about bread, murmured against Him, because He said, ‘I am the bread which came down from heaven, and gives life to men.’
5. For sin has her own special bread, of her death, and calling to those who are lovers of pleasure and lack understanding, she says, ‘Touch with delight secret bread, and sweet waters which are stolen’; for he who merely touches them does not know that that which is born from the earth perishes with her. For even when the sinner thinks to find pleasure, the end of that food is not pleasant, as the Wisdom of God says again, ‘Bread of deceit is pleasant to a man; but afterward his mouth will be filled with gravel.’ And, ‘Honey drops from the lips of a whorish woman, which for a time is sweet to your palate; but at the last you will find it more bitter than gall, and sharper than a two-edged sword.’ Thus then he eats and rejoices for a little time; afterward he spurns it when he has removed his soul afar. For the fool does not know that those who depart far from God will perish. And besides, there is the restraint of the prophetic admonition which says, ‘What have you to do in the way of Egypt, to drink the waters of Gihon? And what have you to do in the way of Asshur, to drink the waters of the rivers?’ And the Wisdom of God which loves mankind forbids these things, crying, ‘But depart quickly, tarry not in the place, neither fix your eye on it; for thus you will pass over strange waters, and depart quickly from the strange river.’ She also calls them to herself, ‘For wisdom has built her house, and supported it on seven pillars; she has killed her sacrifices, and mingled her wine in the goblets, and prepared her table; she has sent forth her servants, inviting to the goblet with a loud proclamation, and saying, Whoever is foolish, let him turn in to me; and to them that lack understanding she says, Come, eat of my bread, and drink of the wine I have mingled for you.’ And what hope is there instead of these things? ‘Forsake folly that you may live, and seek understanding that you may abide.’ For the bread of Wisdom is living fruit, as the Lord said; ‘I am the living bread which came down from heaven: if any man eat of this bread, he will live forever.’ For when Israel ate of the manna, which was indeed pleasant and wonderful, yet he died, and he who ate it did not in consequence live forever, but all that multitude died in the wilderness. The Lord teaches, saying, ‘I am the bread of life: your fathers did eat manna in the wilderness, and are dead. This is the bread which came down from heaven, that a man should eat thereof, and not die.’
6. Now wicked men hunger for bread like this, for effeminate souls will hunger; but the righteous alone, being prepared, will be satisfied, saying, ‘I will behold Your face in righteousness; I will be satisfied when Your glory is seen by me.’ For he who partakes of divine bread always hungers with desire; and he who thus hungers has a never-failing gift, as Wisdom promises, saying, ‘The Lord will not slay the righteous soul with famine.’ He promises too in the Psalms, ‘I will abundantly bless her provision; I will satisfy her poor with bread.’ We may also hear our Savior saying, ‘Blessed are they who hunger and thirst after righteousness, for they will be filled.’ Well then do the holy ones and those who love the life which is in Christ raise themselves to a longing after this food. And one earnestly implores, saying, ‘As the hart pants after the fountains of waters, so pants my soul after You, O God! My soul thirsts for the living God, when will I come and see the face of God?’ And another; ‘My God, my God, I seek You early; my soul thirsts for You; often does my flesh, in a dry and pathless land, and without water. So did I appear before You in holiness to see Your power and Your glory.’
7. Since these things are so, my brothers, let us mortify our members which are on the earth, and be nourished with living bread, by faith and love to God, knowing that without faith it is impossible to be partakers of such bread as this. For our Savior, when He called all men to him, and said, ‘If any man thirst, let him [come] to Me and drink,’ immediately spoke of the faith without which a man cannot receive such food; ‘He that believes on Me, as the Writing says, out of his belly will flow rivers of living water.’ To this end He continually nourished His believing disciples with His words, and gave them life by the nearness of His divinity, but to the Canaanitish woman, because she was not yet a believer, He deigned not even a reply, although she stood greatly in need of food from Him. He did this not from scorn, far from it (for the Lord is loving to men and good, and on that account He went into the coasts of Tyre and Sidon); but because of her unbelief, and because she was of those who did not have the word. And He did it righteously, my brothers; for there would have been nothing gained by her offering her supplication before believing, but by her faith she would support her petition; ‘For He that comes to God, must first believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of them that seek Him’; and that ‘without faith it is impossible for a man to please Him.’ This Paul teaches. Now that she was previously an unbeliever, one of the profane, He shows, saying, ‘It is not meet to take the children’s bread, and to cast it to dogs.’ She then, being convinced by the power of the word, and having changed her ways, also gained faith; for the Lord no longer spoke to her as a dog, but conversed with her as a human being, saying, ‘O woman, great is your faith!’ As therefore she believed, He immediately granted to her the fruit of faith, and said, ‘Be it to you as you desire. And her daughter was healed in the self-same hour.’
8. For the righteous man, being nurtured in faith and knowledge, and the observance of divine precepts, has his soul always in health. Therefore it is commanded to ‘receive to ourselves him who is weak in the faith,’ and to nourish him, even if he is not yet able to eat bread, but herbs, ‘for he that is weak eats herbs.’ For even the Corinthians were not able to partake of such bread, being yet babes, and like babes they drank milk. ‘For everyone that partakes of milk is unskillful in the word of righteousness,’ according to the words of that divine man. The Apostle exhorts his beloved son Timothy, in his first Epistle, ‘to be nourished with the word of faith, and the good doctrine to which he had attained.’ And in the second, ‘Preserve you the form of sound words which you have heard of me, in faith and love which are in Christ Jesus.’ And not only here, my brothers, is this bread the food of the righteous, neither are the holy ones on earth alone nourished by such bread and such blood; but we also eat them in heaven, for the Lord is the food even of the exalted spirits, and the messengers, and He is the joy of all the heavenly host. And to all He is everything, and He has pity on all according to His loving-kindness. Already has the Lord given us messengers’ food, and He promises to those who continue with Him in His trials, saying, ‘And I promise to you a kingdom, as My Father has promised to Me; that you will eat and drink at My table in My kingdom, and sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel.’ O what a banquet is this, my brothers, and how great is the harmony and gladness of those who eat at this heavenly table! For they delight themselves not with that food which is cast out, but with that which produces life everlasting. Who then will be deemed worthy of that assembly? Who is so blessed as to be called, and accounted worthy of that divine feast? Truly, ‘blessed is he who will eat bread in Your kingdom.’
9. Now he who has been counted worthy of the heavenly calling, and by this calling has been sanctified, if he grow negligent in it, although washed becomes defiled: ‘counting the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified a profane thing, and despising the Spirit of grace,’ he hears the words, ‘Friend, how did you come in here, not having wedding garments?’ For the banquet of the holy ones is spotless and pure; ‘for many are called, but few chosen.’ Judas namely, though he came to the supper, because he despised it went out from the presence of the Lord, and having abandoned his Life, hanged himself. But the disciples who continued with the Redeemer shared in the happiness of the feast. And that young man who went into a far country, and there wasted his substance, living in dissipation, if he receive a desire for this divine feast, and, coming to himself, will say, ‘How many hired servants of my father have bread to spare, while I perish here with hunger!’ and will next arise and come to his father, and confess to him, saying, ‘I have sinned against heaven and before you, and am not worthy to be called your son; make me as one of your hired servants‘—when he will thus confess, then he will be counted worthy of more than he prayed for. For the father does not receive him as a hired servant, neither does he look on him as a stranger, but he kisses him as a son, he brings him back to life as from the dead, and counts him worthy of the divine feast, and gives him his former and precious robe. So that, on this account, there is singing and gladness in the paternal home.
10. For this is the work of the Father’s loving-kindness and goodness, that not only should He make him alive from the dead, but that He should render His grace illustrious through the Spirit. Therefore, instead of corruption, He clothes him with an incorruptible garment; instead of hunger, He kills the fatted calf; instead of far journeys, [the Father] watched for his return, providing shoes for his feet; and, what is most wonderful, placed a divine signet-ring on his hand; while by all these things He begot him afresh in the image of the glory of Christ. These are the gracious gifts of the Father, by which the Lord honors and nourishes those who abide with Him, and also those who return to Him and convert. For He promises, saying, ‘I am the bread of life; he that comes to Me will not hunger, and he that believes on Me will never thirst.’ We too will be counted worthy of these things, if at all times we cleave to our Savior, and if we are pure, not only in these six days of Easter, but consider the whole course of our life as a feast, and continue near and do not go far off, saying to Him, ‘You have the words of eternal life, and where will we go?’ Let those of us who are far off return, confessing our iniquities, and having nothing against any man, but by the spirit mortifying the deeds of the body. For thus, having first nourished the soul here, we will partake with messengers at that heavenly and spiritual table; not knocking and being repulsed like those five foolish virgins, but entering with the Lord, like those who were wise and loved the bridegroom; and showing the dying of Jesus in our bodies, we will receive life and the kingdom from Him.
11. We begin the fast of forty days on the twenty-third of Mechir (Feb. 17), and the holy fast of the blessed feast on the twenty-eighth of Phamenoth (Mar. 24); and having joined to these six days after them, in fastings and watchings, as each one is able, let us rest on the third of the month Pharmuthi (Mar. 29), on the evening of the seventh day. Also that day which is holy and blessed in everything, which possesses the name of Christ, namely the Lord’s Day, having risen on us on the fourth of Pharmuthi (Mar. 30), let us afterward keep the holy feast of Pentecost. Let us at all times worship the Father in Christ, through Whom to Him and with Him be glory and dominion by the Holy Spirit forever and ever. Amen. All the brothers who are with me salute you: salute one another with a holy kiss.
There is no eighth or ninth, for he did not send them, for the reason before mentioned.
Here ends the seventh Festal Letter of holy Athanasius the Patriarch.
Coss. Ursus and Polemius; Praef. the same Theodorus, of Heliopolis, and of the Universal [Christians]. After him, for the second year, Philagrius; Indict. xi; Easter Day, vii Kal. Ap. xxx Phamenoth; Moon 18½; Aera Dioclet. 54.
1. Although I have traveled all this distance from you, my brothers, I have not forgotten the custom which obtains among you, which has been delivered to us by the fathers, so as to be silent without notifying to you the time of the annual holy feast, and the day for its celebration. For although I have been hindered by those afflictions of which you have doubtless heard, and severe trials have been laid on me, and a great distance has separated us; while the enemies of the truth have followed our tracks, laying snares to discover a letter from us, so that by their accusations, they might add to the pain of our wounds; yet the Lord, strengthening and comforting us in our afflictions, we have not feared, even when held fast in the midst of such machinations and conspiracies, to indicate and make known to you our saving Easter-feast, even from the ends of the earth. Also, when I wrote to the elders of Alexandria, I urged that these letters might be sent to you through their instrumentality, although I knew the fear imposed on them by the adversaries. Still, I exhorted them to be mindful of the apostolic boldness of speech, and to say, ‘Nothing separates us from the love of Christ; neither affliction, nor distress, nor persecution, nor famine, nor nakedness, nor peril, nor sword.’ Thus, keeping the feast myself, I was desirous that you also, my beloved, should keep it; and being conscious that an announcement like this is due from me, I have not delayed to discharge this duty, fearing to be condemned by the Apostolic counsel; ‘Render to every man his due.’
2. While I then committed all my affairs to God, I was anxious to celebrate the feast with you, not taking into account the distance between us. For although place separate us, yet the Lord the Giver of the feast, and who is Himself our feast, who is also the Bestower of the Spirit, brings us together in mind, in harmony, and in the bond of peace. For when we mind and think the same things and offer up the same prayers on behalf of each other, no place can separate us, but the Lord gathers and unites us together. For if He promises, that ‘when two or three are gathered together in His name, He is in the midst of them,’ it is plain that being in the midst of those who in every place are gathered together, He unites them, and receives the prayers of all of them, as if they were near, and listens to all of them, as they cry out the same Amen. I have borne affliction like this, and all those trials which I mentioned, my brothers, when I wrote to you.
3. And that we may not distress you at all, I would now (only) briefly remind you of these things, because it is not becoming in a man to forget, when more at ease, the pains he experienced in tribulation; lest, like an unthankful and forgetful person, he should be excluded from the divine assembly. For at no time should a man freely praise God, more than when he has passed through afflictions; nor, again, should he at any time give thanks more than when he finds rest from toil and temptations. As Hezekiah, when the Assyrians perished, praised the Lord, and, gave thanks, saying, ‘The Lord is my salvation; and I will not cease to bless You with harp all the days of my life, before the house of the Lord.’ And those valiant and blessed three who were tried in Babylon, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah, when they were in safety and the fire became to them as dew, gave thanks, praising and ‘saying words of glory to God.’ I too like them have written, my brothers, having these things in mind; for even in our time, God has made possible those things which are impossible to men. And those things which could not be accomplished by man, the Lord has shown to be easy of accomplishment, by bringing us to you. For He does not give us as a prey to those who seek to swallow us up. For it is not so much us, as the Assembly, and the faith and godliness which they planned to overwhelm with wickedness.
4. But God, who is good, multiplied His loving-kindness toward us, not only when He granted the common salvation of us all through His Word, but now also, when enemies have persecuted us, and have sought to seize on us. As the blessed Paul says in a certain place, when describing the incomprehensible riches of Christ: ‘But God, being rich in mercy, for the great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in follies and sins, raised us with Christ.’ For the might of man and of all creatures, is weak and poor; but the Might which is above man, and uncreated, is rich and incomprehensible, and has no beginning, but is eternal. He does not then possess one method only of healing, but being rich, He works in various manners for our salvation by means of His Word, who is not restricted or hindered in His dealings toward us; but since He is rich and manifold, He varies Himself according to the individual capacity of each soul. For He is the Word and the Power and the Wisdom of God, as Solomon testifies concerning Wisdom, that ‘being one, it can do all things, and remaining in itself, it makes all things new; and passing on holy souls, fashions the friends of God and the prophets.’ To those then who have not yet attained to the perfect way He becomes like a sheep giving milk, and this was administered by Paul: ‘I have fed you with milk, not with meat.’ To those who have advanced beyond the full stature of childhood, but still are weak as regards perfection, He is their food, according to their capacity, being again administered by Paul, ‘Let him that is weak eat herbs.’ But as soon as ever a man begins to walk in the perfect way, he is no longer fed with the things before mentioned, but he has the Word for bread, and flesh for food, for it is written, ‘Strong meat is for those who are of full age, for those who, by reason of their capacity, have their senses exercised.’ And further, when the word is sown it does not yield a uniform produce of fruit in this human life, but one various and rich; for it bringeth forth, some a hundred, and some sixty, and some thirty, as the Savior teaches—that Sower of grace, and Bestower of the Spirit. And this is no doubtful matter, nor one that admits no confirmation; but it is in our power to behold the field which is sown by Him; for in the Assembly the word is manifold and the produce rich. Not with virgins alone is such a field adorned; nor with monks alone, but also with honorable matrimony and the chastity of each one. For in sowing, He did not compel the will beyond the power. Nor is mercy confined to the perfect, but it is sent down also among those who occupy the middle and the third ranks, so that He might rescue all men generally to salvation. To this intent He has prepared many mansions with the Father, so that although the dwelling-place is various in proportion to the advance in moral attainment, yet all of us are within the wall, and all of us enter within the same fence, the adversary being cast out, and all his host expelled thence. For apart from light there is darkness, and apart from blessing there is a curse, the Devil also is apart from the holy ones, and sin far from virtue. Therefore, the Gospel rebukes Satan, saying, ‘Get you behind Me, Satan.’ But us it calls to itself, saying, ‘Enter in at the narrow gate.’ And again, ‘Come, blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom which is prepared for you.’ So also the Spirit cried aforetime in the Psalms, saying, ‘Enter into His gates with psalms.’ For through virtue a man enters in to God, as Moses did into the thick cloud where God was. But through vice a man goes out from the presence of the Lord; as Cain when he had slain his brother, went out, as far as his will was concerned, from before the face of God; and the Psalmist enters, saying, ‘And I will go in to the altar of God, even to the God that delights my youth.’ But of the Devil the Writing bears witness, that the Devil went out from before God, and struck Job with sore boils. For this is the characteristic of those who go out from before God—to strike and to injure the men of God. And this is the characteristic of those who fall away from the faith—to injure and persecute the faithful. The holy ones on the other hand, take such to themselves and look on them as friends; as also the blessed David, using openness of speech, says, ‘Mine eyes are on the faithful of the earth, that they may dwell with me.’ But those that are weak in the faith, Paul urges that we should especially take to ourselves. For virtue is philanthropic, just as in men of an opposite character, sin is misanthropic. So Saul, being a sinner, persecuted David, whereas David, though he had a good opportunity, did not kill Saul. Esau too persecuted Jacob, while Jacob overcame his wickedness by meekness. And those eleven sold Joseph, but Joseph, in his loving-kindness, had pity on them.
5. But what do we need with many words? Our Lord and Savior, when He was persecuted by the Pharisees, wept for their destruction. He was injured, but He threatened not; not when He was afflicted, not even when He was killed. But He grieved for those who dared to do such things. He, the Savior, suffered for man, but they despised and cast from them life, and light, and grace. All these were theirs through that Savior who suffered in our stead. And truly for their darkness and blindness, He wept. For if they had understood the things which are written in the Psalms, they would not have been so vainly daring against the Savior, the Spirit having said, ‘Why do the heathen rage, and the people imagine a vain thing?’ And if they had considered the prophecy of Moses, they would not have hanged Him who was their Life. And if they had examined with their understanding the things which were written, they would not have carefully fulfilled the prophecies which were against themselves, so as for their city to be now desolate, grace taken from them, and they themselves without the law, being no longer called children, but strangers. For thus in the Psalms was it before declared, saying, ‘The strange children have acted falsely by Me.’ And by Isaiah the prophet; ‘I have begotten and brought up children, and they have rejected Me.‘ And they are no longer named the people of God, and a holy nation, but rulers of Sodom, and people of Gomorrah; having exceeded in this even the iniquity of the Sodomites, as the prophet also says, ‘Sodom is justified before you.’ For the Sodomites raved against messengers, but these against the Lord and God and King of all, and these dared to slay the Lord of messengers, not knowing that Christ, who was slain by them, lives. But those Jews who had conspired against the Lord died, having rejoiced a very little in these temporal things, and having fallen away from those which are eternal. They were ignorant of this—that the immortal promise has not respect to temporal enjoyment, but to the hope of those things which are everlasting. For through many tribulations, and labors, and sorrows, the saint enters into the kingdom of heaven; but when he arrives where sorrow, and distress, and sighing, will flee away, he will thenceforward enjoy rest; as Job, who, when tried here, was afterward the familiar friend of the Lord. But the lover of pleasures, rejoicing for a little while, afterward passes a sorrowful life; like Esau, who had temporal food, but afterward was condemned thereby.
6. We may take as a type of this distinction, the departure of the children of Israel and the Egyptians from Egypt. For the Egyptians, rejoicing a little while in their injustice against Israel, when they went forth, were all drowned in the deep; but the people of God, being for a time smitten and injured, by the conduct of the taskmasters, when they came out of Egypt, passed through the sea unharmed, and walked in the wilderness as an inhabited place. For although the place was unfrequented by man and desolate, yet, through the gracious gift of the law, and through converse with messengers, it was no longer desert, but far more than an inhabited country. As also Elisha, when he thought he was alone in the wilderness, was with companies of messengers; so in this case, though the people were at first afflicted and in the wilderness, yet those who remained faithful afterward entered the land of promise. In like manner those who suffer temporal afflictions here, finally having endured, attain comfort, while those who here persecute are trodden underfoot, and have no good end. For even the rich man, as the Gospel affirms, having indulged in pleasure here for a little while, suffered hunger there, and having drunk largely here, he there thirsted exceedingly. But Lazarus, after being afflicted in worldly things, found rest in heaven, and having hungered for bread ground from corn, he was there satisfied with that which is better than manna, even the Lord who came down and said, ‘I am the bread which came down from heaven, and gives life to mankind.’
7. Oh! my dearly beloved, if we will gain comfort from afflictions, if rest from labors, if health after sickness, if from death immortality, it is not right to be distressed by the temporal ills that lay hold on mankind. It does not become us to be agitated because of the trials which befall us. It is not right to fear if the gang that contended with Christ, should conspire against godliness; but we should the more please God through these things, and should consider such matters as the probation and exercise of a virtuous life. For how will patience be looked for, if there are not previously labors and sorrows? Or how can fortitude be tested with no assault from enemies? Or how will magnanimity be exhibited, unless after contumely and injustice? Or how can long-suffering be proved, unless there has first been the calumny of Antichrist? And, finally, how can a man behold virtue with his eyes, unless the iniquity of the very wicked has previously appeared? Thus even our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ comes before us, when He would show men how to suffer, who when He was smitten bore it patiently, being reviled He reviled not again, when He suffered He threatened not, but He gave His back to the strikers, and His cheeks to buffetings, and turned not His face from spitting; and at last, was willingly led to death, that we might behold in Him the image of all that is virtuous and immortal, and that we, conducting ourselves after these examples, might truly tread on serpents and scorpions, and on all the power of the enemy.
8. Thus too Paul, while he conducted himself after the example of the Lord, exhorted us, saying, ‘Be followers of me, as I also am of Christ.’ In this way he prevailed against all the divisions of the Devil, writing, ‘I am persuaded that neither death, nor life, nor messengers, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, will be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Jesus Christ.’ For the enemy draws near to us in afflictions, and trials, and labors, using every endeavor to ruin us. But the man who is in Christ, combating those things that are contrary, and opposing wrath by long-suffering, contumely by meekness, and vice by virtue, obtains the victory, and exclaims, ‘I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me’; and, ‘In all these things we are conquerors through Christ who loved us.’ This is the grace of the Lord, and these are the Lord’s means of restoration for the children of men. For He suffered to prepare freedom from suffering for those who suffer in Him, He descended that He might raise us up, He took on Him the trial of being born, that we might love Him who is unbegotten, He went down to corruption, that corruption might put on immortality, He became weak for us, that we might rise with power, He descended to death, that He might bestow on us immortality, and give life to the dead. Finally, He became man, that we who die as men might live again, and that death should no more reign over us; for the Apostolic word proclaims, ‘Death will not have the dominion over us.’
9. Now because they did not thus consider these matters, the Ario-maniacs, being opponents of Christ, and heretics, strike Him who is their Helper with their tongue, and blaspheme Him who set [them] free, and hold all manner of different opinions against the Savior. Because of His coming down, which was on behalf of man, they have denied His essential Godhead; and seeing that He came forth from the Virgin, they doubt His being truly the Son of God, and considering Him as become incarnate in time, they deny His eternity; and, looking on Him as having suffered for us, they do not believe in Him as the incorruptible Son from the incorruptible Father. And finally, because He endured for our sakes, they deny the things which concern His essential eternity; allowing the deed of the unthankful, these despise the Savior and offer Him insult instead of acknowledging His grace. To them may these words justly be addressed: Oh! unthankful opponent of Christ, altogether wicked, and the slayer of his Lord, mentally blind, and a Jew in his mind, had you understood the Writings, and listened to the holy ones, who said, ‘Cause Your face to shine, and we will be saved’; or again, ‘Send out Your light and Your truth‘—then would you have known that the Lord did not descend for His own sake, but for ours; and for this reason, you would the more have admired His loving kindness. And had you considered what the Father is, and what the Son, you would not have blasphemed the Son, as of a mutable nature. And had you understood His work of loving-kindness toward us, you would not have alienated the Son from the Father, nor have looked on Him as a stranger, who reconciled us to His Father. I know these [words] are grievous, not only to those who dispute with Christ, but also to the schismatics; for they are united together, as men of similar feelings. For they have learned to tear the seamless coat of God: they think it not strange to divide the indivisible Son from the Father.
10. I know indeed, that when these things are spoken, they will gnash their teeth on us, with the Devil who stirs them up, since they are troubled by the declaration of the true glory concerning the Redeemer. But the Lord, who always has scoffed at the Devil, does the same even now, saying, ‘I am in the Father, and the Father in Me.’ This is the Lord, who is manifested in the Father, and in Whom also the Father is manifested; who, being truly the Son of the Father, at last became incarnate for our sakes, that He might offer Himself to the Father in our stead and redeem us through His oblation and sacrifice. This is He who once brought the people of old time out of Egypt; but who afterward redeemed all of us, or rather the whole race of men, from death, and brought them up from the grave. This is He who in old time was sacrificed as a lamb, He being signified in the lamb; but who afterward was slain for us, for ‘Christ our Passover is sacrificed.’ This is He who delivered us from the snare of the hunters, from the opponents of Christ, I say, and from the schismatics, and again rescued us His Assembly. And because we were then victims of deceit, He has now delivered us by His own self.
11. What then is our duty, my brothers, for the sake of these things, but to praise and give thanks to God, the King of all? And let us first exclaim in the words of the Psalms, ‘Blessed be the Lord, who has not given us over as a prey to their teeth.’ Let us keep the feast in that way which He has dedicated for us to salvation—the holy day Easter—so that we may celebrate the feast which is in heaven with the messengers. Thus anciently, the people of the Jews, when they came out of affliction into a state of ease, kept the feast, staging a song of praise for their victory. So also the people in the time of Esther, because they were delivered from the edict of death, kept a feast to the Lord, reckoning it a feast, returning thanks to the Lord, and praising Him for having changed their condition. Therefore, let us, performing our vows to the Lord, and confessing our sins, keep the feast to the Lord, in conversation, moral conduct, and manner of life; praising our Lord, who has chastened us a little, but has not utterly failed nor forsaken us, nor altogether kept silence from us. For if, having brought us out of the deceitful and famous Egypt of the opponents of Christ, He has caused us to pass through many trials and afflictions, as it were in the wilderness, to His Holy Assembly, so that from hence, according to custom, we can send to you, as well as receive letters from you; on this account especially I both give thanks to God myself, and exhort you to thank Him with me and on my behalf, this being the Apostolic custom, which these opponents of Christ, and the schismatics, wished to put an end to, and to break off. The Lord did not permit it, but both renewed and preserved that which was ordained by Him through the Apostle, so that we may keep the feast together, and together keep holy-day, according to the tradition and commandment of the fathers.
12. We begin the fast of forty days on the nineteenth of the month Mechir (Feb. 13); and the holy Easter-fast on the twenty-fourth of the month Phamenoth (Mar. 20). We cease from the fast on the twenty-ninth of the month Phamenoth (Mar. 25), late in the evening of the seventh day. And we thus keep the feast on the first day of the week which dawns on the thirtieth of the month Phamenoth (Mar. 26); from which, to Pentecost, we keep holy-day, through seven weeks, one after the other. For when we have first meditated properly on these things, we will attain to be counted worthy of those which are eternal, through Christ Jesus our Lord, through Whom to the Father be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen. Greet one another with a holy kiss, remembering us in your holy prayers. All the brothers who are with me salute you, at all times remembering you. And I pray that you may have health in the Lord, my beloved brothers, whom we love above all.
Here ends the tenth Letter of holy Athanasius.
Coss. Constantius Augustus II, Constans I; Prefect, Philagrius the Cappadocian, for the second time; Indict. xii; Easter Day xvii Kal. Mai, xx Pharmuthi; Aera Dioclet. 55.
1. The blessed Paul, being girt about with every virtue, and called faithful of the Lord—for he was conscious of nothing in himself but what was a virtue and a praise, or what was in harmony with love and godliness—clave to these things more and more, and was carried up even to heavenly places, and was borne to Paradise; to the end that, as he surpassed the conversation of men, he should be exalted above men. And when he descended, he preached to every man; ‘We know in part, and we prophesy in part; here I know in part; but then will I know even as also I am known.’ For, in truth, he was known to those holy ones who are in heaven, as their fellow-citizen. And in relation to all that is future and perfect, the things known by him here were in part; but with respect to those things which were committed and entrusted to him by the Lord, he was perfect; as he said, ‘We who are perfect, should be thus minded.’ For as the Gospel of Christ is the fulfillment and accomplishment of the ministration which was supplied by the law of Israel, so future things will be the accomplishment of such as now exist, the Gospel being then fulfilled, and the faithful receiving those things which, not seeing now, they yet hope for, as Paul says; ‘For what a man sees, why does he also hope for? But if we hope for those things we see [not], we then by patience wait for them.’ Since then that blessed man was of such a character, and apostolic grace was committed to him, he wrote, wishing ‘that all men should be as he was.’ For virtue is philanthropic, and great is the company of the kingdom of heaven, for thousands of thousands and myriads of myriads there serve the Lord. And though a man enters it through a restricted and narrow way, yet having entered, he beholds immeasurable space, and a place greater than any other, as they declare, who were eye-witnesses and heirs of these things. ‘You placed afflictions before us.’ But afterward, having related their afflictions, they say, ‘You brought us forth into a wide place’; and again, ‘In affliction You have enlarged us.’ For truly, my brothers, the course of the holy ones here is narrowed; since they either toil painfully through longing for those things which are to come, as he who said, ‘Woe is me that my pilgrimage is prolonged’; or they are distressed and spent for the salvation of other men, as Paul wrote to the Corinthians, saying, ‘Lest, when I come to you, God should humble me, and I should bewail many of those who have sinned already, and not converted for the uncleanness and fornication and lasciviousness which they have committed.’ As Samuel bewailed the destruction of Saul, and Jeremiah wept for the captivity of the people. But after this affliction, and sorrow, and sighing, when they depart from this world, a certain divine gladness, and pleasure, and exultation receives them, from which misery and sorrow, and sighing, flee away.
2. Since we are thus circumstanced, my brothers, let us never loiter in the path of virtue; for hereto he counsels us, saying, ‘Be followers of me, as I also am of Christ.’ For he gave this advice not to the Corinthians only, since he was not their Apostle only, but being ‘a teacher of the Gentiles in faith and verity,’ he admonished us all through them; and in short, the things he wrote to each particular person are commandments common to all men. On this account in writing to different people, some he exhorted as, for instance, in the Epistles to the Romans, and the Ephesians, and Philemon. Some he reproved, and was indignant with them, as in the case of the Corinthians and Galatians. To some he gave advice, as to the Colossians and Thessalonians. The Philippians he approved of, and rejoiced in them. The Hebrews he taught that the law was a shadow to them. But to his elect sons, Timothy and Titus, when they were near, he gave instruction; when far away, he put them in remembrance. For he was all things to all men; and being himself a perfect man, he adapted his teaching to the need of every one, so that by all means he might rescue some of them. Therefore, his word was not without fruit; but in every place it is planted and productive even to this day.
3. And therefore, my beloved? For it is right that we should search into the apostolic mind. Not only in the beginning of the Epistles, but toward their close, and in the middle of them, he used persuasions and admonitions. I hope therefore that, by your prayers, I will in no respect falsely represent the plan of that holy man. As he was well skilled in these divine matters, and knew the power of the divine teaching, he deemed it necessary, in the first place, to make known the word concerning Christ, and the mystery regarding Him; and then afterward to point to the correction of habits, so that when they had learned to know the Lord, they might earnestly desire to do those things which He commanded. For when the Guide to the laws is unknown, one does not readily pass on to the observance of them. Faithful Moses, the minister of God, adopted this method; for when he promulgated the words of the divine dispensation of laws, he first proclaimed the matters relating to the knowledge of God: ‘Hear, O Israel, the Lord your God is one Lord.’ Afterward, having shadowed Him forth to the people, and taught of Him in Whom they ought to believe, and informed their minds of Him who is truly God, he proceeds to lay down the law relating to those things whereby a man may be well-pleasing to Him, saying, ‘You will not commit adultery; you will not steal’; together with the other commandments. For also, according to the Apostolic teaching, ‘He that draws near to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of them that seek Him.’ Now He is sought by means of virtuous deeds, as the prophet says; ‘Seek the Lord, and when you have found Him, call on Him; when He is near to you, let the wicked forsake his ways, and the lawless man his thoughts.’
4. It will also be well if a man is not offended at the testimony of the Shepherd, saying in the beginning of his book, ‘Before all things believe that there is one God, who created and established all these things, and from non-existence called them into being.’ And, further, the blessed Evangelists—who recorded the words of the Lord—in the beginning of the Gospels, wrote the things concerning our Savior; so that, having first made known the Lord, the Creator, they might be believed when narrating the events that took place. For how could they have been believed, when writing respecting him who [was blind] from his mother’s womb, and those other blind men who recovered their sight, and those who rose from the dead, and the changing of water into wine, and those lepers who were cleansed; if they had not taught of Him as the Creator, writing, ‘In the beginning was the Word?’ Or, according to Matthew, that He who was born of the seed of David, was Emmanuel, and the Son of the living God? He from Whom the Jews, with the Arians, turn away their faces, but Whom we acknowledge and worship. The Apostle therefore, as was meet, sent to different people, but his own son he especially reminded, ‘that he should not despise the things in which he had been instructed by him,’ and enjoined on him, ‘Remember Jesus Christ, who rose from the dead, of the seed of David, according to my Gospel.’ And speaking of these things being delivered to him, to be always had in remembrance, he immediately writes to him, saying, ‘Meditate on these things: be engaged in them.‘ For constant meditation, and the remembrance of divine words, strengthens piety toward God, and produces a love to Him inseparable and not merely formal; as he, being of this mind, speaks about himself and others like-minded, saying boldly, ‘Who will separate us from the love of God?’ For such men, being confirmed in the Lord, and possessing an unshaken disposition toward Him, and being one in spirit (for ‘he who is joined to the Spirit is one spirit’), are sure ‘as the mount Zion’; and although ten thousand trials may rage against them, they are founded on a rock, which is Christ. In Him the careless take no delight; and having no continuous purpose of good, they are sullied by temporal attacks, and esteem nothing more highly than present things, being unstable and deserving reproof as regards the faith. For ‘either the care of this world, or the deceitfulness of riches, chokes them’; or, as Jesus said in that parable which had reference to them, since they have not established the faith that has been preached to them, but continue only for a time, immediately, in time of persecution, or when affliction arises through the word, they are offended. Now those who meditate evil we say, [think] not truth, but falsehood and not righteousness, but iniquity, for their tongue learns to speak lies. They have done evil, and have not ceased that they might convert. For, persevering with delight in wicked actions, they hasten thereto without turning back, even treading underfoot the commandment with regard to neighbors, and, instead of loving them, devise evil against them, as the saint testifies, saying, ‘And those who seek me evil have spoken vanity, and imagined deceit all the day.’ But that the cause of such meditation is none other than the want of instruction, the divine proverb has already declared; ‘The son that forsakes the commandment of his father meditates evil words.’ But such meditation, because it is evil, the Holy Spirit blames in these words, and reproves too in other terms, saying, ‘Your hands are polluted with blood, your fingers with sins; your lips have spoken lawlessness, and your tongue imagines iniquity: no man speaks right things, nor is there true judgment.’ But what the end is of such perverse imagining, He immediately declares, saying, ‘They trust in vanities and speak falsehood; for they conceive mischief, and bring forth lawlessness. They have hatched the eggs of an asp, and woven a spider’s web; and he who is prepared to eat of their eggs, when he breaks them finds gall, and a basilisk therein.’ Again, what the hope of such is, He has already announced. ‘Because righteousness does not overtake them, when they waited for light, they had darkness; when they waited for brightness, they walked in a thick cloud. They will grope for the wall like the blind, and as those who have no eyes will they grope; they will fall at noon-day as at midnight; when dead, they will groan. They will roar together as a bear, or as a dove.’
This is the fruit of wickedness, these rewards are given to its familiars, for perverseness does not deliver its own. But in truth, against them it sets itself, and it tears them first, and on them especially it summons ruin. Woe to them against whom these are brought; for ‘it is sharper than a two-edged sword,’ slaying beforehand and very swiftly those who will lay hold of it. For their tongue, according to the testimony of the Psalmist, is a ‘sharp sword, and their teeth spears and arrows.’ But the wonderful part is that while often he against whom men imagine [harm] suffers nothing, they are pierced by their own spears: for they possess, even in themselves, before they reach others, anger, wrath, malice, guile, hatred, bitterness. Although they may not be able to bring these on others, they immediately return on and against themselves, as he prays, saying, ‘Let their sword enter into their own heart.’ There is also such a proverb as this: ‘The wicked is held fast by the chain of his sins.’
5. The Jews in their imaginings, and in their agreeing to act unjustly against the Lord, forgot that they were bringing wrath on themselves. Therefore, does the Word lament for them, saying, ‘Why do the people exalt themselves, and the nations imagine vain things?’ For vain indeed was the imagination of the Jews, meditating death against the Life, and devising unreasonable things against the ‘Word of the Father.’ For who that looks on their dispersion, and the desolation of their city, may not aptly say, ‘Woe to them, for they have imagined an evil imagination, saying against their own soul, let us bind the righteous man, because he is not pleasing to us.’ And full well is it so, my brothers; for when they erred concerning the Writings, they did not know that ‘he who digs a pit for his neighbor falls therein; and he who destroys a hedge, a serpent will bite him.’ And if they had not turned their faces from the Lord, they would have feared what was written before in the divine Psalms: ‘The heathen are caught in the pit which they made; in the snare which they hid is their own foot taken. The Lord is known when executing judgments: by the works of his hands is the sinner taken.’ Let them observe this, and how that ‘the snare they do not know will come on them, and the net they hid take them.’ But they understood not these things, for had they done so, ‘they would not have crucified the Lord of glory.’
6. Therefore, the righteous and faithful servants of the Lord, who ‘are made disciples for the kingdom of heaven, and bring forth from it things new and old’; and who ‘meditate on the words of the Lord, when sitting in the house, when lying down or rising up, and when walking by the way‘—since they are of good hope because of the promise of the Spirit which said, ‘Blessed is the man that has not walked in the counsel of the ungodly, nor stood in the way of sinners, nor sat in the seat of corrupters; but his delight is in the law of the Lord, and in His law does he meditate day and night‘—being grounded in faith, rejoicing in hope, fervent in spirit, they have boldness to say, ‘My mouth will speak wisdom, and the meditation of my heart will be of understanding.’ And again, ‘I have meditated on all Your works, and on the work of Your hands has been my meditation.’ And, ‘If I have remembered You on my bed, and in the morning have meditated on You.’ Afterward, advancing in boldness, they say, ‘The meditation of my heart is before You at all times.’ And what is the end of such a one? He cites immediately; ‘The Lord is my Helper and my Redeemer.’ For to those who thus examine themselves, and conform their hearts to the Lord, nothing adverse will happen; for indeed, their heart is strengthened by confidence in the Lord, as it is written, ‘They who trust in the Lord are as mount Zion: he who dwells in Jerusalem will not be moved forever.’ For if at any time, the crafty one will be presumptuously bold against them, chiefly that he may break the rank of the holy ones, and cause a division among brothers; even in this the Lord is with them, not only as an avenger on their behalf, but also when they have already been beaten, as a deliverer for them. For this is the divine promise; ‘The Lord will fight for you.’ Henceforth, although afflictions and trials from without overtake them, yet, being fashioned after the apostolic words, and ‘being steadfast in tribulations, and persevering in prayers‘ and in meditation on the law, they stand against those things which befall them, are well-pleasing to God, and give utterance to the words which are written, ‘Afflictions and distresses have come on me; but Your commandments are my meditation.’
7. And whereas, not only in action, but also in the thoughts of the mind, men are moved to deeds of virtue, he afterward adds, saying, ‘Mine eyes prevent the dawn, that I might meditate on Your words.’ For it is meet that the spiritual meditations of those who are whole should precede their bodily actions. And does not our Savior, when intending to teach this very thing begin with the thoughts of the mind? saying, ‘Whosoever looks on a woman to lust after her, has already committed adultery’: and, ‘Whosoever will be angry with his brother, is guilty of murder.’ For where there is no wrath, murder is prevented; and where lust is first removed, there can be no accusation of adultery. Hence meditation on the law is necessary, my beloved, and uninterrupted converse with virtue, ‘that the saint may lack nothing, but be perfect to every good work.’ For by these things is the promise of eternal life, as Paul wrote to Timothy, calling constant meditation exercise, and saying, ‘Exercise yourself to godliness; for bodily exercise profits little; but godliness is profitable for all things, since it has the promise of the present life, and of that which is eternal.’
8. Worthy of admiration is the virtue of that man, my brothers! for through Timothy he enjoins on all, that they should have regard to nothing more than to godliness, but above everything to adjudge the chief place to faith in God. For what grace has the unrighteous man, though he may feign to keep the commandments? No rather, the unrighteous man is unable even to keep a portion of the law, for as is his mind, such of necessity must be his actions; as the Spirit says, reproving such; ‘The fool has said in his heart, there is no God.’ After this the Word, showing that actions correspond with thoughts, says, ‘They are corrupt; they are profane in their machinations.’ The unrighteous man then, in every respect corrupts his body; stealing, committing adultery, cursing, being drunken, and doing such like things. Even as Jeremiah, the prophet, convicts Israel of these things, crying out and saying, ‘Oh, that I had a lodge far off in the wilderness! then would I leave my people and depart from them: for they are all adulterers, an assembly of oppressors, who draw out their tongue as a bow; lying and not truth has prevailed on the earth, and they proceed from iniquities to iniquities; but Me they have not known.’ Thus, for wickedness and falsehood, and for deeds, in which they [proceed] from iniquity to iniquity, he reproves their practices; but, because they did not know the Lord, and were faithless, he charges them with unrighteousness.
9. For faith and godliness are allied to each other, and sisters; and he who believes in Him is godly, and he also who is godly, believes the more. He therefore who is in a state of wickedness, undoubtedly also wanders from the faith; and he who falls from godliness, falls from the true faith. Paul, for instance, bearing testimony to the same point, advises his disciple, saying, ‘Avoid profane conversations; for they increase to more ungodliness, and their word takes hold as does a canker, of whom are Hymenaeus and Philetus.’ In what their wickedness consisted he declares, saying, ‘Who have erred from the faith, saying that the resurrection is already past.’ But again, desirous of showing that faith is yoked with godliness, the Apostle says, ‘And all those who will live godly in Jesus Christ will suffer persecution.’ Afterward, that no man should renounce godliness through persecution, he counsels them to preserve the faith, adding, ‘You, therefore, continue in the things you have learned, and have been assured of.’ And as when brother is helped by brother, they become as a wall to each other; so faith and godliness, being of like growth, hang together, and he who is practiced in the one, of necessity is strengthened by the other. Therefore, wishing the disciple to be exercised in godliness to the end, and to contend for the faith, he counsels them, saying, ‘Fight the good fight of faith, and lay hold on eternal life.’ For if a man first put away the wickedness of idols, and rightly confesses Him who is truly God, he next fights by faith with those who war against Him.
10. For of these two things we speak of—faith and godliness—the hope is the same, even everlasting life; for he says, ‘Fight the good fight of faith; lay hold on eternal life.’ And, ‘exercise yourself to godliness, for it has the promise of the life that now is, and of that which is to come.’ For this cause, the Ario-maniacs, who now have gone out from the Assembly, being opponents of Christ, have dug a pit of unbelief, into which they themselves have been thrust; and, since they have advanced in ungodliness, they ‘overthrow the faith of the simple’; blaspheming the Son of God, and saying that He is a creature, and has His being from things which are not. But as then against the adherents of Philetus and Hymenaeus, so now the Apostle forewarns all men against ungodliness like theirs, saying, ‘The foundation of God stands sure, having this seal, The Lord knows them that are His; and, Let everyone that names the name of the Lord depart from iniquity.’ For it is well that a man should depart from wickedness and deeds of iniquity, that he may be able properly to celebrate the feast; for he who is defiled with the pollutions of the wicked is not able to sacrifice the Passover to the Lord our God. Hence, the people who were then in Egypt said, ‘We cannot sacrifice the Passover in Egypt to the Lord our God.’ For God, who is over all, willed that they should go far away from the servants of Pharaoh, and from the furnace of iron; so that being set free from wickedness, and having carefully put away from them all strange notions, they might receive the knowledge of God and of virtuous actions. For He says, ‘Go far from them: depart from the midst of them, and touch not the unclean things.’ For a man will not otherwise depart from sin, and lay hold on virtuous deeds, than by meditation on his acts; and when he has been practiced by exercise in godliness, he will lay hold on the confession of faith, which also Paul, after he had fought the fight, possessed, namely, the crown of righteousness which was laid up; which the righteous Judge will give, not to him alone, but to all who are like him.
11. For such meditation and exercise in godliness, being at all times the habit of the holy ones, is urgent on us at the present time, when the divine word desires us to keep the feast with them if we are in this disposition. For what else is the feast, but the constant worship of God, and the recognition of godliness, and unceasing prayers from the whole heart with agreement? So Paul wishing us to be ever in this disposition, commands, saying, ‘Rejoice evermore; pray without ceasing; in everything give thanks.’ Not therefore separately, but unitedly and collectively, let us all keep the feast together, as the prophet exhorts, saying, ‘O come, let us rejoice in the Lord; let us make a joyful noise to God our Savior.’ Who then is so negligent, or who so disobedient to the divine voice, as not to leave everything, and run to the general and common assembly of the feast? which is not in one place only, for not one place alone keeps the feast; but ‘into all the earth their song has gone forth, and to the ends of the world their words.’ And the sacrifice is not offered in one place, but ‘in every nation, incense and a pure sacrifice is offered to God.’ So when in like manner from all in every place, praise and prayer will ascend to the gracious and good Father, when the whole Universal Assembly which is in every place, with gladness and rejoicing, celebrates together the same worship to God, when all men in common send up a song of praise and say, Amen; how blessed will it not be, my brothers! who will not, at that time, be engaged, praying rightly? For the walls of every adverse power, yes even of Jericho especially, falling down, and the gift of the Holy Spirit being then richly poured on all men, every man perceiving the coming of the Spirit will say, ‘We are all filled in the morning with Your favor, and we rejoice and are made glad in our days.’
12. Since this is so, let us make a joyful noise with the holy ones, and let no one of us fail of his duty in these things; counting as nothing the affliction or the trials which, especially at this time, have been enviously directed against us by the party of Eusebius. Even now they wish to injure us, and by their accusations to compass our death, because of that godliness, whose helper is the Lord. But, as faithful servants of God, knowing that He is our salvation in the time of trouble: for our Lord promised beforehand, saying, ‘Blessed are you when men revile you and persecute you, and say all manner of evil against you falsely, for My sake. Rejoice, and be exceeding glad, for your reward is great in heaven.’ Again, it is the Redeemer’s own word, that affliction will not befall every man in this world, but only those who have a holy fear of Him: on this account, the more the enemies hem us in, the more let us be at liberty; although they revile us, let us come together; and the more they would turn us aside from godliness, let us the more boldly preach it saying, ‘All these things have come on us, yet have we not forgotten You,’ and we have not done evil with the Ario-maniacs, who say that You have existence from those things that exist not. The Word which is eternally with the Father, is also from Him.
13. Let us therefore keep the feast, my brothers, celebrating it not at all as an occasion of distress and mourning, neither let us mingle with heretics through temporal trials brought on us by godliness. But if anything that would promote joy and gladness should offer, let us attend to it; so that our heart may not be sad, like that of Cain; but that, like faithful and good servants of the Lord, we may hear the words, ‘Enter into the joy of your Lord.’ For we do not institute days of mourning and sorrow, as some may consider these of Easter to be, but we keep the feast, being filled with joy and gladness. We keep it then, not regarding it after the deceitful error of the Jews, nor according to the teaching of the Arians, which takes away the Son from the Godhead, and numbers Him among creatures; but we look to the correct doctrine we derive from the Lord. For the guile of the Jews, and the unbounded impiety of the Arians, cause nothing but sad reflections, for the former at the beginning slew the Lord; but these latter take away His position of having conquered that death to which the Jews brought Him, in that they say He is not the Creator, but a creature. For if He were a creature, He would have been holden by death; but if He was not holden by death, according to the Writings, He is not a creature, but the Lord of the creatures, and the subject of this immortal feast.
14. For the Lord of death would abolish death, and being Lord, what He would was accomplished; for we have all passed from death to life. But the imagination of the Jews, and of those who are like them, was vain, since the result was not such as they contemplated, but turned out adverse to themselves; and ‘at both of them He that sits in the heaven will laugh: the Lord will have them in derision.’ Hence, when our Savior was led to death, He restrained the women who followed Him weeping, saying, ‘Weep not for Me’; meaning to show that the Lord’s death is an event, not of sorrow but of joy, and that He who dies for us is alive. For He does not derive His being from those things which are not, but from the Father. It is truly a subject of joy, that we can see the signs of victory against death, even our own incorruptibility, through the body of the Lord. For since He rose gloriously, it is clear that the resurrection of all of us will take place; and since His body remained without corruption, there can be no doubt regarding our incorruption. For as by one man, as says Paul (and it is the truth), sin passed on all men, so by the resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ, we will all rise. ‘For,’ he says, ‘this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality.’ Now this came to pass in the time of the Passion, in which our Lord died for us, for ‘our Passover, Christ, is sacrificed.’ Therefore, because He was sacrificed, let each of us feed on Him, and with alacrity and diligence partake of His sustenance; since He is given to all without grudging, and is in every one ‘a well of water flowing to everlasting life.’
15. We begin the fast of forty days on the ninth of the month Phamenoth (Mar. 5); and having, in these days, served the Lord with abstinence, and first purified ourselves, we commence also the holy Easter on the fourteenth of the month Pharmuthi (April 9). Afterward, extending the fast to the seventh day, on the seventeenth of the month, let us rest late in the evening. And the light of the Lord having first dawned on us, and the holy Sunday on which our Lord rose shining on us, we should rejoice and be glad with the joy which arises from good works, during the seven weeks which remain—to Pentecost—giving glory to the Father, and saying, ‘This is the day which the Lord has made: we will rejoice and be glad in it,‘ through our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, through Whom to the same, and to His Father, be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen. Salute one another with a holy kiss. All the brothers who are with me salute you. That you may have health in the Lord, I pray, beloved brothers.
To the Beloved Brother, and our fellow Minister Serapion.
Thanks be to Divine Providence for those things which, at all times, it grants to us; for it has granted to us now to come to the season of the festival. Having, therefore, according to custom, written the Letter respecting the festival, I have sent it to you, my beloved; that through you all the brothers may be able to know the day of rejoicing. But because some Meletians, being come from Syria, have boasted that they had received what does not belong to them, I mean, that they also were reckoned in the Universal Assembly; on this account, I have sent to you a copy of one letter of our fellow-ministers who are of Palestine, that when it reaches you, you may know the fraud of the pretenders in this matter. For because they boasted, as I have said before, it was necessary for me to write to the Overseers who are in Syria, and immediately those of Palestine sent us a reply, having agreed in the judgment against them, as you may learn from this example. That you may not have to consider the letters of all the Overseers one after the other, I have sent you one, which is of like character with the rest, in order that from it you may know the purport of all of them. I know also that when they are convicted in this matter, they will incur perfect odium at the hands of all men. And thus far concerning the pretenders. But I have further deemed it highly necessary and very urgent, to make known to your modesty—for I have written this to each one—that you should proclaim the fast of forty days to the brothers, and persuade them to fast, lest, while all the world is fasting, we who are in Egypt should be derided, as the only people who do not fast, but take our pleasure in these days. For if, on account of the Letter [not] being yet read, we do not fast, we should take away this pretext, and it should be read before the fast of forty days, so that they may not make this an excuse for neglect or fasting. Also, when it is read, they may be able to learn about the fast. But O, my beloved, whether in this way or any other, persuade and teach them to fast the forty days. For it is a disgrace that when all the world does this, those alone who are in Egypt, instead of fasting, should find their pleasure. For even I being grieved because men deride us for this, have been constrained to write to you. When therefore you receive the letters, and have read them and given the exhortation, write to me in return, my beloved, that I also may rejoice on learning it.
2. But I have also thought it necessary to inform you of the fact, that Overseers have succeeded those who have fallen asleep. In Tanis in the stead of Elias, is Theodorus. In Arsenoitis, Silvanus instead of Calosiris. In Paralus, Nemesion is instead of Nonnus. In Bucolia is Heraclius. In Tentyra, Andronicus is instead of Saprion, his father. In Thebes, Philon instead of Philon. In Maximianopolis, Herminus instead of Atras. In the lower Apollon is Sarapion instead of Plution. In Aphroditon, Serenus is in the place of Theodorus. In Rhinocoruron, Salomon. In Stathma, Arabion, and in Marmarica. In the eastern Garyathis, Andragathius in the place of Hierax. In the southern Garyathis, Quintus instead of Nicon. So that to these you may write, and from these receive the canonical Letters.
Salute one another with a holy kiss. All the brothers who are with me salute you.
Coss. Marcellinus, Probinus; Praef. Longinus; Indict. xiv; Easter Day, xiii Kal. Maii, xxiv Pharmuthi; Aera Dioclet. 57.
1. Again, my beloved brothers, I am ready to notify to you the saving feast, which will take place according to annual custom. For although the opponents of Christ have oppressed you together with us with afflictions and sorrows; yet, God having comforted us by our mutual faith, behold, I write to you even from Rome. Keeping the feast here with the brothers, still I keep it with you also in will and in spirit, for we send up prayers in common to God, ‘Who has granted us not only to believe in Him, but also now to suffer for His sake.’ For troubled as we are, because we are so far from you, He moves us to write, that by a letter we might comfort ourselves, and provoke one another to good. For, indeed, numerous afflictions and bitter persecutions directed against the Assembly have been against us. For heretics, corrupt in their mind, untried in the faith, rising against the truth, violently persecute the Assembly, and of the brothers, some are scourged and others torn with stripes, and hardest of all, their insults reach even to the Overseers. Nevertheless, it is not becoming, on this account, that we should neglect the feast. But we should especially remember it, and not at all forget its commemoration from time to time. Now the unbelievers do not consider that there is a season for feasts, because they spend all their lives in reveling and follies; and the feasts which they keep are an occasion of grief rather than of joy. But to us in this present life they are above all an uninterrupted passage [to heaven]—it is indeed our season. For such things as these serve for exercise and trial, so that, having approved ourselves zealous and chosen servants of Christ, we may be fellow-heirs with the holy ones. For thus Job: ‘The whole world is a place of trial to men on the earth.’ Nevertheless, they are proved in this world by afflictions, labors, and sorrows, to the end that each one may receive of God such reward as is meet for him, as He says by the prophet, ‘I am the Lord, who tries the hearts, and searches the reins, to give to every one according to his ways.’
2. Not that He first knows the things of a man on his being proved (for He knows them all before they come to pass), but because He is good and philanthropic, He distributes to each a due reward according to his actions, so that every man may exclaim, Righteous is the judgment of God! As the prophet says again, ‘The Lord tries the just, and discerns the reins.’ Again, for this cause He tries each one of us, either that to those who know it not, virtue may be manifested by means of those who are proved, as was said respecting Job; ‘Think you that I was revealed to you for any other cause, than that you should be seen righteous?’ or that, when men come to a sense of their deeds, they may be able to know of what manner they are, and so may either convert of their wickedness, or abide confirmed in the faith. Now the blessed Paul, when troubled by afflictions, and persecutions, and hunger and thirst, ‘in everything was a conqueror, through Jesus Christ, who loved us.’ Through suffering he was weak indeed in body, yet, believing and hoping, he was made strong in spirit, and his strength was made perfect in weakness.
3. The other holy ones also, who had a like confidence in God, accepted a like probation with gladness, as Job said, ‘Blessed be the name of the Lord.’ But the Psalmist, ‘Search me, O Lord, and try me: prove my reins and my heart.’ For since, when the strength is proved, it convinces the foolish, they perceiving the cleansing and the advantage resulting from the divine fire, were not discouraged in trials like these, but they rather delighted in them, suffering no injury at all from the things which happened, but being seen to shine more brightly, like gold from the fire, as he said, who was tried in such a school of discipline as this; ‘You have tried my heart, You have visited me in the night-season; You have proved me, and have not found iniquity in me, so that my mouth will not speak of the works of men.’ But those whose actions are not restrained by law, who know of nothing beyond eating and drinking and dying, account trials as danger. They soon stumble at them, so that, being untried in the faith, they are given over to a reprobate mind, and do those things which are not seemly. Therefore, the blessed Paul, when urging us to such exercises as these, and having before measured himself by them, says, ‘Therefore I take pleasure in afflictions, in infirmities.’ And again, ‘Exercise yourself to godliness.’ For since he knew the persecutions that befell those who chose to live in godliness, he wished his disciples to meditate beforehand on the difficulties connected with godliness; that when trials should come, and affliction arise, they might be able to bear them easily, as having been exercised in these things. For in those things with which a man has been conversant in mind, he ordinarily experiences a hidden joy. In this way, the blessed martyrs, becoming at first conversant with difficulties, were quickly perfected in Christ, regarding as nothing the injury of the body, while they contemplated the expected rest.
4. But all those who ‘call their lands by their own names,’ and have wood, and hay, and stubble in their thoughts; such as these, since they are strangers to difficulties, become aliens from the kingdom of heaven. Had they however known that ‘tribulation perfects patience, and patience experience, and experience hope, and hope makes not ashamed,’ they would have exercised themselves, after the example of Paul, who said, ‘I keep under my body and bring it into subjection, lest when I have preached to others, I myself should be a castaway.’ They would easily have borne the afflictions which were brought on them to prove them from time to time, if the prophetic admonition had been listened to by them; ‘It is good for a man to take up Your yoke in his youth; he will sit alone and will be silent, because he has taken Your yoke on him. He will give his cheek to him who strikes him; he will be filled with reproaches. Because the Lord does not cast away forever; for when He abases, He is gracious, according to the multitude of His tender mercies.’ For though all these things should proceed from the enemies, stripes, insults, reproaches, yet will they avail nothing against the multitude of God’s tender mercies; for we will quickly recover from them since they are merely temporal, but God is always gracious, pouring out His tender mercies on those who please [Him]. Therefore, my beloved brothers, we should not look at these temporal things, but fix our attention on those which are eternal. Though affliction may come, it will have an end, though insult and persecution, yet are they nothing to the hope which is set [before us]. For all present matters are trifling compared with those which are future; the sufferings of this present time not being worthy to be compared with the hope that is to come. For what can be compared with the kingdom? or what is there in comparison with life eternal? Or what is all we could give here, to that which we will inherit yonder? For we are ‘heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ.’ Therefore, it is not right, my beloved, to consider afflictions and persecutions, but the hopes which are laid up for us because of persecutions.
5. Now to this the example of Issachar, the patriarch, may persuade, as the Writing says, ‘Issachar desires that which is good, resting between the heritages; and when he saw that the rest was good, and the land fertile, he bowed his shoulder to labor, and became a farmer.’ Being consumed by divine love, like the spouse in the Canticles, he gathered abundance from the holy Writings, for his mind was captivated not by the old alone, but by both the heritages. And hence as it were, spreading his wings, he beheld afar off ‘the rest’ which is in heaven, and—since this ‘land’ consists of such beautiful works—how much more truly the heavenly [country] must also [consist] of such; for the other is ever new, and grows not old. For this ‘land’ passes away, as the Lord said; but that which is ready to receive the holy ones is immortal. Now when Issachar, the patriarch, saw these things, he joyfully made his boast of afflictions and toils, bowing his shoulders that he might labor. And he did not contend with those who struck him, neither was he disturbed by insults; but like a strong man triumphing the more by these things, and the more earnestly tilling his land, he received profit from it. The Word scattered the seed, but he watchfully cultivated it, so that it brought forth fruit, even a hundred-fold.
6. Now what does this mean, my beloved, but that we also, when the enemies are arrayed against us, should glory in afflictions, and that when we are persecuted, we should not be discouraged, but should the rather press after the crown of the high calling in Christ Jesus our Lord? and that being insulted, we should not be disturbed, but should give our cheek to the striker, and bow the shoulder? For the lovers of pleasure and the lovers of enmity are tried, as says the blessed Apostle James, ‘when they are drawn away by their own lusts and enticed.’ But let us, knowing that we suffer for the truth, and that those who deny the Lord strike and persecute us, ‘count it all joy, my brothers,’ according to the words of James, ‘when we fall into trials of various temptations, knowing that the trial of our faith works patience.’ Let us rejoice as we keep the feast, my brothers, knowing that our salvation is ordered in the time of affliction. For our Savior did not redeem us by inactivity, but by suffering for us He abolished death. And respecting this, He intimidated to us before, saying, ‘In the world you will have tribulation.’ But He did not say this to every man, but to those who diligently and faithfully perform good service to Him, knowing beforehand, that they should be persecuted who would live godly toward Him.
7. ‘But evildoers and sorcerers will wax worse and worse, deceiving and being deceived.’ If therefore, like those expounders of dreams and false prophets who professed to give signs, these ignorant men being drunk, not with wine, but with their own wickedness, make a profession of priesthood, and glory in their threats, believe them not; but since we are tried, let us humble ourselves, not being drawn away by them. For so God warned His people by Moses, saying, ‘If there will rise up among you a prophet, or a dreamer of dreams, and will give signs and tokens, and the sign or the token will come to pass which he spoke to you, saying, Let us go and serve strange gods, which you have not known; you will not listen to the words of that prophet or that dreamer of dreams. For the Lord your God tries you, that He may know whether you will love the Lord your God with all your heart.’ So we, when we are tried by these things, will not separate ourselves from the love of God. But let us now keep the feast, my beloved, not as introducing a day of suffering, but of joy in Christ, by Whom we are fed every day. Let us be mindful of Him who was sacrificed in the days of the Passover; for we celebrate this, because Christ the Passover was sacrificed. He who once brought His people out of Egypt, and has now abolished death, and him that had the power of death, that is the Devil, will likewise now turn him to shame, and again grant aid to those who are troubled, and cry to God day and night.
8. We begin the fast of forty days on the thirteenth of Phamenoth (9 Mar.), and the holy week of Easter on the eighteenth of Pharmuthi (Apr. 13); and resting on the seventh day, being the twenty-third (Apr. 18), and the first of the great week having dawned on the twenty-fourth of the same month Pharmuthi (Apr. 19), let us reckon from it until Pentecost. And at all times let us sing praises, calling on Christ, being delivered from our enemies by Christ Jesus our Lord, through Whom to the Father be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen. Greet one another with a holy kiss. All those who are here with me salute you. I pray, my beloved brothers, that you may have health in the Lord.
Coss. Augustus Constantius III, Constans II, Praef. the same Longinus; Indict. xv; Easter Day iii Id. Apr., xvi Pharmuthi; Aera Dioclet. 58.
1. The gladness of our feast, my brothers, is always near at hand, and never fails those who wish to celebrate it. For the Word is near, who is all things on our behalf, even our Lord Jesus Christ, who, having promised that His habitation with us should be perpetual, in virtue thereof cried, saying, ‘Behold, I am with you all the days of the world.’ For as He is the Shepherd, and the High Priest, and the Way and the Door, and everything at once to us, so again, He is shown to us as the Feast, and the Holy day, according to the blessed Apostle; ‘Our Passover, Christ, is sacrificed.’ He it was who was expected, He caused a light to shine at the prayer of the Psalmist, who said, ‘My Joy, deliver me from those who surround me’; this being indeed true rejoicing, this being a true feast, even deliverance from wickedness, to which a man attains by thoroughly adopting an upright conversation, and being approved in his mind of godly submission toward God. For thus the holy ones all their lives long were like men rejoicing at a feast. One found rest in prayer to God, as blessed David, who rose in the night, not once but seven times. Another gave glory in songs of praise, as great Moses, who sang a song of praise for the victory over Pharaoh, and those task-masters. Others performed worship with unceasing diligence, like great Samuel and blessed Elijah; who have ceased from their course, and now keep the feast in heaven, and rejoice in what they formerly learned through shadows, and from the types recognize the truth.
2. But what sprinklings will we now employ, while we celebrate the feast? Who will be our guide, as we haste to this festival? None can do this, my beloved, but Him whom you will name with me, even our Lord Jesus Christ who said, ‘I am the Way.’ For it is He who, according to the blessed John, ‘takes away the sin of the world.’ He purifies our souls, as Jeremiah the prophet says in a certain place, ‘Stand in the ways and see, and inquire, and look which is the good path, and you will find in it cleansing for your souls.’ Of old time, the blood of he-goats and the ashes of a heifer, sprinkled on those who were unclean, were fit only to purify the flesh; but now, through the grace of God the Word, every man is thoroughly cleansed. Following Him, we may, even here, as on the threshold of the Jerusalem which is above, meditate beforehand on the feast which is eternal, as also the blessed Apostles, together following the Savior who was their Leader, have now become teachers of a like grace, saying, ‘Behold, we have left all, and followed You.’ For the following of the Lord, and the feast which is of the Lord, is not accomplished by words only, but by deeds, every enactment of laws and every command involving a distinct performance. For as great Moses, when administering the holy laws, exacted a promise from the people, respecting the practice of them, so that having promised, they might not neglect them, and be accused as liars, thus also, the celebration of the least of the Passover raises no question, and demands no reply; but when the word is given, the performance of it follows, for He says, ‘And the children of Israel will keep the Passover’; intending that there should be a ready performance of the commandment, while the command should aid its execution. But respecting these matters, I have confidence in your wisdom, and your care for instruction. Such points as these have been touched on by us often and in various Letters.
3. But now, which is above all things most necessary, I wish to remind you, and myself with you, how that the command would have us come to the Paschal feast not profanely and without preparation, but with sacramental and doctrinal rites, and prescribed observances, as indeed we learn from the historical account, ‘A man who is of another nation, or bought with money, or uncircumcised, will not eat the Passover.’ Neither should it be eaten in ‘any’ house, but He commands it to be done in haste; inasmuch as before we groaned and were made sad by the bondage to Pharaoh, and the commands of the task-masters. For when in former time the children of Israel acted in this way, they were counted worthy to receive the type, which existed for the sake of this feast, nor is the feast now introduced on account of the type. As also the Word of God, when desirous of this, said to His disciples, ‘With desire I have desired to eat this Passover with you.’ Now that is a wonderful account, for a man might have seen them at that time girded as for a procession or a dance, and going out with staves, and sandals, and unleavened bread. These things, which took place before in shadows, were typical. But now the Truth is near to us, ‘the Image of the invisible God,’ our Lord Jesus Christ, the true Light, who instead of a staff, is our scepter, instead of unleavened bread, is the bread which came down from heaven, who, instead of sandals, has furnished us with the preparation of the Gospel, and who, to speak briefly, by all these has guided us to His Father. And if enemies afflict us and persecute us, He again, instead of Moses, will encourage us with better words, saying, ‘Be of good cheer; I have overcome the wicked one.’ And if after we have passed over the Red Sea heat should again vex us or some bitterness of the waters befall us, even thence again the Lord will appear to us, imparting to us of His sweetness, and His life-giving fountain, saying, ‘If any man thirst, let him come to Me, and drink.’
4. Why therefore do we tarry, and why do we delay, and not come with all eagerness and diligence to the feast, trusting that it is Jesus who calls us? Who is all things for us, and was laden in ten thousand ways for our salvation; who hungered and thirsted for us, though He gives us food and drink in His saving gifts. For this is His glory, this the miracle of His divinity, that He changed our sufferings for His happiness. For, being life, He died that He might make us alive, being the Word, He became flesh, that He might instruct the flesh in the Word, and being the fountain of life, He thirsted our thirst, that thereby He might urge us to the feast, saying, ‘If any man thirst, let him come to Me, and drink.’ At that time, Moses proclaimed the beginning of the feast, saying, ‘This month is the beginning of months to you.’ But the Lord, who came down in the end of the ages, proclaimed a different day, not as though He would abolish the law, far from it, but that He should establish the law, and be the end of the law. ‘For Christ is the end of the law to everyone that believes in righteousness’; as the blessed Paul says, ‘Do we make void the law by faith? far from it: we rather establish the law.’ Now these things astonished even the officers who were sent by the Jews, so that wondering they said to the Pharisees, ‘No man ever thus spoke.’ What was it then that astonished those officers, or what was it which so affected the men as to make them marvel? It was nothing but the boldness and authority of our Savior. For when in ancient time prophets and scribes studied the Writings, they perceived that what they read did not refer to themselves, but to others. Moses, for instance, ‘A prophet will the Lord raise up to you of your brothers, like to me; to him listen in all that he commands you.’ Isaiah again, ‘Behold, a virgin will conceive and bear a son, and you will call his name Emmanuel.’ And others prophesied in different and various ways, concerning the Lord. But by the Lord, of Himself, and of no other, were these things prophesied; to Himself He limited them all, saying, ‘If any man thirst, let him come to Me‘—not to any other person, but to ‘Me.’ A man may indeed hear from those concerning My coming, but he must not henceforth drink from others, but from Me.
5. Therefore, let us also, when we come to the feast, no longer come as to old shadows, for they are accomplished, neither as to common feasts, but let us hasten as to the Lord, who is Himself the feast, not looking on it as an indulgence and delight of the belly, but as a manifestation of virtue. For the feasts of the heathen are full of greediness, and utter indolence, since they consider they celebrate a feast when they are idle; and they work the works of perdition when they feast. But our feasts consist in the exercise of virtue and the practice of temperance; as the prophetic word testifies in a certain place, saying, ‘The fast of the fourth, and the fast of the fifth, and the fast of the seventh, and the fast of the tenth [month], will be to the house of Judah for gladness, and rejoicing, and for pleasant feasts.’ Since therefore this occasion for exercise is set before us, and such a day as this has come, and the prophetic voice has gone forth that the feast will be celebrated, let us give all diligence to this good proclamation, and like those who contend on the race course, let us vie with each other in observing the purity of the fast, by watchfulness in prayers, by study of the Writings, by distributing to the poor, and let us be at peace with our enemies. Let us bind up those who are scattered abroad, banish pride, and return to lowliness of mind, being at peace with all men, and urging the brothers to love. Thus also the blessed Paul was often engaged in fastings and watchings, and was willing to be accursed for his brothers. Blessed David again, having humbled himself by fastings, used boldness, saying, ‘O Lord my God, if I have done this, if there is any iniquity in my hands, if I have repaid those who dealt evil with me, then may I fall from my enemies as a vain man.’ If we do these things, we will conquer death; and receive an earnest of the kingdom of heaven.
6. We begin the holy Easter feast on the tenth of Pharmuthi (April 5), desisting from the holy fasts on the fifteenth of the same month Pharmuthi (April 10), on the evening of the seventh day. And let us keep the holy feast on the sixteenth of the same month Pharmuthi (April 11); adding one by one [the days] until the holy Pentecost, passing on to which, as through a succession of feasts, let us keep the festival to the Spirit, who is even now near us, in Jesus Christ, through Whom and with Whom to the Father be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.
Coss. Amantius, Albinus; Praef. Nestorius of Gaza; Indict. iii; Easter Day, vii Id. Apr., xii Pharmuthi; Moon 19; Aera Dioclet. 61.
Athanasius to the Elders and Ministers of Alexandria, and to the beloved brothers, greetings in Christ.
According to custom, I give you notice respecting Easter, my beloved, that you also may notify the same to the districts of those who are at a distance, as is usual. Therefore, after this present festival, I mean this which is on the twentieth of the month Pharmuthi, the Easter Day following will be on the vii Id. April, or according to the Alexandrians on the twelfth of Pharmuthi. Give notice therefore in all those districts, that Easter Day will be on the vii Id. April, or according to the Alexandrian reckoning on the twelfth of Pharmuthi. That you may be in health in Christ, I pray, my beloved brothers.
Coss. Augustus Constantius IV, Constans III; Praef. the same Nestorius; Indict. iv; Easter Day iii Kal. Apr., iv Pharmuthi; Moon 21; Aera Dioclet. 62.
Athanasius, to the Elders and Ministers of Alexandria, beloved brothers in the Lord, greetings.
You have done well, dearly beloved brothers, that you have given the customary notice of the holy Easter in those districts; for I have seen and acknowledged your exactness. By other letters I have also given you notice, that when this year is finished, you may know concerning the next. Yet now I have thought it necessary to write the same things that, when you have it exactly, you also may write with care. Therefore, after the conclusion of this feast, which is now drawing to its close, on the twelfth of the month Pharmuthi, which is on the vii Id. Apr., Easter Day will be on the iii Kal, April; the fourth of Pharmuthi, according to the Alexandrians. When therefore the feast is finished, give notice again in these districts, according to early custom, thus: Easter Sunday is on the iii Kal. April, which is the fourth of Pharmuthi, according to the Alexandrian reckoning. And let no man hesitate concerning the day, neither let any one contend, saying, It is requisite that Easter should be held on the twenty-seventh of the month Phamenoth; for it was discussed in the holy Synod, and all there settled it to be on the iii Kal. April. I say then that it is on the fourth of the month Pharmuthi; for the week before this is much too early. Therefore, let there be no dispute, but let us act as becometh us. For I have thus written to the Romans also. Give notice then as it has been notified to you, that it is on the iii Kal. April; the fourth of Pharmuthi, according to the Alexandrian reckoning.
That you may have health in the Lord, I pray, my dearly beloved brothers.
Coss. Rufinus, Eusebius; Praef. the same Nestorius; Indict. v; Easter Day, Prid. Id. Apr., Pharmuthi xvii; Aera Dioclet. 63; Moon 15.
1. ‘Blessed is God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,’ for such an introduction is fitting for an Epistle, and more especially now, when it brings thanksgiving to the Lord, in the Apostle’s words, because He has brought us from a distance, and granted us again to send openly to you, as usual, the Festal Letters. For this is the season of the feast, my brothers, and it is near; being not now proclaimed by trumpets, as the history records, but being made known and brought near to us by the Savior, who suffered on our behalf and rose again, even as Paul preached, saying, ‘Our Passover, Christ, is sacrificed.’ Henceforth the feast of the Passover is ours, not that of a stranger, nor is it any longer of the Jews. For the time of shadows is abolished, and those former things have ceased, and now the month of new things is at hand, in which every man should keep the feast, in obedience to Him who said, ‘Observe the month of new things, and keep the Passover to the Lord your God.’ Even the heathen fancy they keep festival, and the Jews hypo-critically feign to do so. But the feast of the heathen He reproves, as the bread of mourners, and He turns His face from that of the Jews, as being outcasts, saying, ‘Your new moons and your sabbaths My soul hates.’
2. For actions not done lawfully and piously, are not of advantage, though they may be reputed to be so, but they rather argue hypocrisy in those who venture on them. Therefore, although such persons feign to offer sacrifices, yet they hear from the Father, ‘Your whole burnt-offerings are not acceptable, and your sacrifices do not please Me; and although you bring fine flour, it is vanity, incense also is an abomination to Me.’ For God does not need anything; and, since nothing is unclean to Him, He is full in regard to them, as He testifies, by Isaiah, saying, ‘I am full.’ Now there was a law given about these things, for the instruction of the people, and to prefigure things to come, for Paul says to the Galatians; ‘Before faith came, we were kept guarded under the law, being shut up in the faith which should afterward be revealed to us; therefore the law was our instructor in Christ, that we might be justified by faith.’ But the Jews did not know, neither did they understand, therefore they walked in the daytime as in darkness, feeling for, but not touching, the truth we possess, which [was contained] in the law; conforming to the letter, but not submitting to the spirit. And when Moses was veiled, they looked on him, but turned away their faces from him when he was uncovered. For they did not know what they read, but erroneously substituted one thing for another. The prophet, therefore, cried against them, saying, ‘Falsehood and faithlessness have prevailed among them.’ The Lord also therefore said concerning them, ‘The strange children have dealt falsely with Me; the strange children have waxen old.’ But how gently does He reprove them, saying, ‘Had you believed Moses, you would have believed Me, for he wrote of Me.’ But being faithless, they went on to deal falsely with the law, affirming things after their own pleasure, but not understanding the Writing; and, further, as they had hypocritically made a pretense of the plain text of Writing, and had confidence in this, He is angry with them, saying by Isaiah, ‘Who has required these of your hands?’ And by Jeremiah, since they were very bold, he threatens, ‘Gather together your whole burnt-offerings with your sacrifices, and eat flesh, for I spoke not to your fathers, nor commanded them in the day that I brought them out of the land of Egypt, concerning whole burnt-offerings and sacrifices.’ For they did not act as was right, neither was their zeal according to law, but they rather sought their own pleasure in such days, as the prophet accuses them, beating down their bondsmen, and gathering themselves together for strifes and quarrels, and they struck the lowly with the fist, and did all things that tended to their own gratification. For this cause, they continue without a feast until the end, although they make a display now of eating flesh, out of place and out of season. For, instead of the legally-appointed lamb, they have learned to sacrifice to Baal; instead of the true unleavened bread, ‘they collect the wood, and their fathers kindle the fire, and their wives prepare the dough, that they may make cakes to the host of heaven, and pour out libations to strange gods, that they may provoke Me to anger, says the Lord.’ They have the just reward of such devices, since, although they pretend to keep the Passover, yet joy and gladness is taken from their mouth, as says Jeremiah, ‘There has been taken away from the cities of Judah, and the streets of Jerusalem, the voice of those who are glad, and the voice of those who rejoice; the voice of the bridegroom, and the voice of the bride.’ Therefore now, ‘he who among them sacrifices an ox, is as he who strikes a man, and he who sacrifices a lamb is as he who kills a dog, he that offereth fine flour, is as [if he offered] swine’s blood, he that gives frankincense for a memorial, is as a blasphemer.’ Now these things will never please God, neither thus has the word required of them. But He says, ‘These have chosen their own ways; and their abominations are what their soul delights in.’
3. And what does this mean my brothers? For it is right for us to investigate the saying of the prophet, and especially on account of heretics who have turned their mind against the law. By Moses then, God gave commandment respecting sacrifices, and all the book called Leviticus is entirely taken up with the arrangement of these matters, so that He might accept the offerer. So through the Prophets, He blames him who despised these things, as disobedient to the commandment saying, ‘I have not required these at your hands. Neither did I speak to your fathers respecting sacrifices, nor command them concerning whole burnt-offerings.’ Now it is the opinion of some, that the Writings do not agree together, or that God, who gave the commandment, is false. But there is no disagreement whatever, far from it, neither can the Father, who is truth, lie; ‘for it is impossible that God should lie,’ as Paul affirms. But all these things are plain to those who rightly consider them, and to those who receive with faith the writings of the law. Now it appears to me—may God grant, by your prayers, that the remarks I presume to make may not be far from the truth—that not at first were the commandment and the law concerning sacrifices, neither did the mind of God, who gave the law, regard whole burnt-offerings, but those things which were pointed out and prefigured by them. ‘For the law contained a shadow of good things to come.’ And, ‘Those things were appointed until the time of reformation.’
4. Therefore, the whole law did not treat of sacrifices, though there was in the law a commandment concerning sacrifices, that by means of them it might begin to instruct men and might withdraw them from idols, and bring them near to God, teaching them for that present time. Therefore, neither at the beginning, when God brought the people out of Egypt, did He command them concerning sacrifices or whole burnt-offerings, nor even when they came to mount Sinai. For God is not as man, that He should be careful about these things beforehand; but His commandment was given, that they might know Him who is truly God, and His Word, and might despise those which are falsely called gods, which are not, but appear in outward show. So He made Himself known to them in that He brought them out of Egypt, and caused them to pass through the Red Sea. But when they chose to serve Baal, and dared to offer sacrifices to those that have no existence, and forgot the miracles which were worked in their behalf in Egypt, and thought of returning there again; then indeed, after the law, that commandment concerning sacrifices was ordained as law; so that with their mind, which at one time had meditated on those which are not, they might turn to Him who is truly God, and learn not, in the first place, to sacrifice, but to turn away their faces from idols, and conform to what God commanded. For when He says, ‘I have not spoken concerning sacrifices, neither given commandment concerning whole burnt-offerings,’ He immediately adds, ‘But this is the thing which I commanded them, saying, Obey My voice, and I will be to you a God, and you will be to Me a people, and you will walk in all the ways that I command you.’ Thus then, being before instructed and taught, they learned not to do service to any one but the Lord. They attained to know what time the shadow should last, and not to forget the time that was at hand, in which no longer should the bullock of the herd be a sacrifice to God, nor the ram of the flock, nor the he-goat, but all these things should be fulfilled in a purely spiritual manner, and by constant prayer, and upright conversation, with godly words; as David sings, ‘May my meditation be pleasing to Him. Let my prayer be set forth before You as incense, and the lifting up of my hands as the evening sacrifice.’ The Spirit also, who is in him, commands, saying, ‘Offer to God the sacrifice of praise, and pay to the Lord your vows. Offer the sacrifice of righteousness, and put your trust in the Lord.’
5. Samuel, that great man, no less clearly reproved Saul, saying, ‘Is not the word better than a gift?’ For hereby a man fulfills the law, and pleases God, as He says, ‘The sacrifice of praise will glorify Me.’ Let a man ‘learn what this means, I will have mercy, and not sacrifice,’ and I will not condemn the adversaries. But this wearied them, for they were not anxious to understand, ‘for had they known, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory.’ And what their end is, the prophet foretold, crying, ‘Woe to their soul, for they have devised an evil thought, saying, let us bind the just man, because he is not pleasing to us.’ The end of such abandonment as this can be nothing but error, as the Lord, when reproving them, says, ‘You do err, not knowing the Writings.’ Afterward when, being reproved, they should have come to their senses, they rather grew insolent, saying, ‘We are Moses’ disciples; and we know that God spoke to Moses’; dealing the more falsely by that very expression, and accusing themselves. For had they believed him to whom they listened, they would not have denied the Lord, who spoke by Moses, when He was present. Not so did the eunuch in the Acts, for when he heard, ‘Understandest you what you read?’ he was not ashamed to confess his ignorance, and implored to be taught. Therefore, to him who became a learner, the grace of the Spirit was given. But as for those Jews who persisted in their ignorance; as the proverb says, ‘Death came on them. For the fool dies in his sins.’
6. Like these too, are the heretics, who, having fallen from true discernment, dare to invent to themselves atheism. ‘For the fool says in his heart, There is no God. They are corrupt, and become abominable in their doings.’ Of such as are fools in their thoughts, the actions are wicked, as He says, ‘can you, being evil, speak good things’; for they were evil, because they thought wickedness. Or how can those do just acts, whose minds are set on fraud? Or how will he love, who is prepared beforehand to hate? How will he be merciful, who is bent on the love of money? How will he be chaste, who looks on a woman to lust after her? ‘For from the heart proceed evil thoughts, fornications, adulteries, murders.’ By them the fool is wrecked, as by the waves of the sea, being led away and enticed by his fleshly pleasures; for this stands written, ‘All flesh of fools is greatly tempest-tossed.’ While he associates with folly, he is tossed by a tempest, and perishes, as Solomon says in the Proverbs, ‘The fool and he who lacketh understanding will perish together, and will leave their wealth to strangers.’ Now they suffer such things, because there is not among them one sound of mind to guide them. For where there is sagacity, there the Word, who is the Pilot of souls, is with the vessel; ‘for he that has understanding will possess guidance’; but they who are without guidance fall like the leaves. Who has so completely fallen away as Hymenaeus and Philetus, who held evil opinions respecting the resurrection, and concerning faith in it suffered shipwreck? And Judas being a traitor, fell away from the Pilot, and perished with the Jews. But the disciples since they were wise, and therefore remained with the Lord, although the sea was agitated, and the ship covered with the waves, for there was a storm, and the wind was contrary, yet fell not away. For they awoke the Word, who was sailing with them, and immediately the sea became smooth at the command of its Lord, and they were saved. They became preachers and teachers at the same time; relating the miracles of our Savior, and teaching us also to imitate their example. These things were written on our account and for our profit, so that through these signs we may acknowledge the Lord who worked them.
7. Let us, therefore, in the faith of the disciples, hold frequent converse with our Master. For the world is like the sea to us, my brothers, of which it is written, ‘This is the great and wide sea, there go the ships; the Leviathan, which You have created to play therein.’ We float on this sea, as with the wind, through our own free-will, for everyone directs his course according to his will, and either, under the pilotage of the Word, he enters into rest, or, laid hold on by pleasure, he suffers shipwreck, and is in peril by storm. For as in the ocean there are storms and waves, so in the world there are many afflictions and trials. The unbelieving therefore ‘when affliction or persecution arises is offended,’ as the Lord said. For not being confirmed in the faith, and having his regard toward temporal things, he cannot resist the difficulties which arise from afflictions. But like that house, built on the sand by the foolish man, so he, being without understanding, falls before the assault of temptations, as it were by the winds. But the holy ones, having their senses exercised in self-possession, and being strong in faith, and understanding the word, do not faint under trials; but although, from time to time, circumstances of greater trial are set against them, yet they continue faithful, and awaking the Lord who is with them, they are delivered. So, passing through water and fire, they find relief and duly keep the feast, offering up prayers with thanksgiving to God who has redeemed them. For either being tempted they are known, like Abraham, or suffering they are approved, like Job, or being oppressed and deceitfully treated, like Joseph, they patiently endure it, or being persecuted, they are not overtaken; but as it is written, through God they ‘leap over the wall‘ of wickedness, which divides and separates between brothers, and turns them from the truth. In this manner the blessed Paul, when he took pleasure in infirmities, in reproach, in necessities, in persecutions, and in distresses for Christ, rejoiced, and wished all of us to rejoice saying, ‘Rejoice always; in everything give thanks.’
8. For what is so fitting for the feast, a turning from wickedness, and a pure conversation, and prayer offered without ceasing to God, with thanksgiving? Therefore, let us, my brothers, looking forward to celebrate the eternal joy in heaven, keep the feast here also, rejoicing at all times, praying incessantly, and in everything giving thanks to the Lord. I give thanks to God, for those other wonders He has done, and for the various helps that have now been granted us, in that though He has chastened us sore, He did not deliver us over to death, but brought us from a distance even as from the ends of the earth, and has united us again with you. I have been mindful while I keep the feast, to give you also notice of the great feast of Easter, that so we may go up together, as it were, to Jerusalem, and eat the Passover, not separately but as in one house; let us not as sodden in water, water down the word of God; neither let us, as having broken its bones, destroy the commands of the Gospel. But as roasted with fire, with bitterness, being fervent in spirit, in fastings and watchings, with lying on the ground, let us keep it with penitence and thanksgiving.
9. We begin the fast of forty days on the sixth day of Phamenoth (Mar. 2); and having passed through that properly, with fasting and prayers, we may be able to attain to the holy day. For he who neglects to observe the fast of forty days, as one who rashly and impurely treads on holy things, cannot celebrate the Easter festival. Further, let us put one another in remembrance, and stimulate one another not to be negligent, and especially that we should fast those days, so that fasts may receive us in succession, and we may rightly bring the feast to a close.
10. The fast of forty days begins then, as was already said, on the sixth of Phamenoth (Mar. 2), and the great week of the Passion on the eleventh of Pharmuthi (Apr. 6). And let us rest from the fast on the sixteenth of it (Apr. 11), on the seventh day, late in the evening. Let us keep the feast when the first of the week dawns on us, on the seventeenth of the same month Pharmuthi (Apr. 12). Let us then add, one after the other, the seven holy weeks of Pentecost, rejoicing and praising God, that He has by these things made known to us beforehand, joy and rest everlasting, prepared in heaven for us and for those who truly believe in Christ Jesus our Lord; through Whom, and with Whom, be glory and dominion to the Father, with the Holy Spirit, forever and ever. Amen.
Salute one another with a holy kiss. The brothers who are with me salute you.
I have also thought it necessary to inform you of the appointment of Overseers, which has taken place in the stead of our blessed fellow-ministers, that you may know to whom to write, and from whom you should receive letters. In Syene, therefore, Nilammon, instead of Nilammon of the same name. In Latopolis, Masis, instead of Ammonius. In Coptos, Psenosiris, instead of Theodorus. In Panopolis, because Artemidorus desired it, on account of his old age, and weakness of body, Arius is appointed coadjutor. In Hypsele, Arsenius, having become reconciled to the Assembly. In Lycopolis, Eudaemon in the stead of Plusianus. In Antinoöpolis, Arion, instead of Ammonius and Tyrannus. In Oxyrynchus, Theodorus, instead of Pelagius. In Nilopolis, instead of Theon, Amatus, and Isaac, who are reconciled to each other. In Arsenoitis, Andreas , instead of Silvanus. In Prosopitis, Triadelphus, instead of Serapammon. In Diosphacus, on the riverside, Theodorus, instead of Serapammon. In Sais, Paphnutius, instead of Nemesion. In Xois, Theodorus, instead of Anubion; and there is also with him Isidorus, who is reconciled to the Assembly. In Sethroitis, Orion, instead of Potammon. In Clysma, Tithonas, instead of Jacob; and there is with him Paulus, who has been reconciled to the Assembly.
Coss. Philippus, Salia; Prefect the same Nestorius; Indict. vi; Easter Day iii Non. Apr., viii Pharmuthi; Aera Dioclet. 64; Moon 18.
1. Let us now keep the feast, my brothers, for as our Lord then gave notice to His disciples, so He now tells us beforehand, that ‘after some days is the Passover,’ in which the Jews indeed betrayed the Lord, but we celebrate His death as a feast, rejoicing because we then obtained rest from our afflictions. We are diligent in assembling ourselves together, for we were scattered in time past and were lost, and are found. We were far off, and are brought near, we were strangers, and have become His, who suffered for us, and was nailed on the cross, who bore our sins, as the prophet says, and was afflicted for us, that He might put away from all of us grief, and sorrow, and sighing. When we thirst, He satisfies us on the feast-day itself; standing and crying, ‘If any man thirst, let him come to Me, and drink.’ For such is the love of the holy ones at all times, that they never once leave off, but offer the uninterrupted, constant sacrifice to the Lord, and continually thirst, and ask of Him to drink; as David sang, ‘My God, my God, early will I seek You, my soul thirsts for You; many times my heart and flesh longs for You in a barren land, without a path, and without water. Thus was I seen by You in the sanctuary.’ And Isaiah the prophet says, ‘From the night my spirit seeks You early, O God, because Your commandments are light.’ And another says, ‘My soul faints for the longing it has for Your judgments at all times.’ And again he says, ‘For Your judgments I have hoped, and Your law will I keep at all times.’ Another boldly cries out, saying, ‘Mine eye is ever toward the Lord.’ And with him one says, ‘The meditation of my heart is before You at all times.’ And Paul further advises, ‘At all times give thanks; pray without ceasing.’ Those who are thus continually engaged, are waiting entirely on the Lord, and say, ‘Let us follow on to know the Lord: we will find Him ready as the morning, and He will come to us as the early and the latter rain for the earth.’ For not only does He satisfy them in the morning; neither does He give them only as much to drink as they ask; but He gives them abundantly according to the multitude of His lovingkindness, granting to them at all times the grace of the Spirit. And what it is they thirst for He immediately adds, saying, ‘He that believes on Me.’ For, ‘as cold waters are pleasant to those who are thirsty,’ according to the proverb, so to those who believe in the Lord, the coming of the Spirit is better than all refreshment and delight.
2. It becomes us then in these days of the Passover, to rise early with the holy ones, and approach the Lord with all our soul, with purity of body, with confession and godly faith in Him; so that when we have here first drunk, and are filled with these divine waters which [flow] from Him, we may be able to sit at table with the holy ones in heaven, and may share in the one voice of gladness which is there. From this sinners, because it wearied them, are rightly cast out, and hear the words, ‘Friend, how did you come in here, not having a wedding garment?’ Sinners indeed thirst, but not for the grace of the Spirit; but being inflamed with wickedness, they are wholly set on fire by pleasures, as says the Proverb, ‘All day long he desires evil desires.’ But the Prophet cries against them, saying, ‘Wo to those who rise up early, and follow strong drink; who continue until the evening, for wine inflames them.’ And since they run wild in wantonness, they dare to thirst for the destruction of others. Having first drunk of lying and unfaithful waters, those things have come on them, which are stated by the Prophet; ‘My wound,’ he says, ‘is grievous, whence will I be healed; it has surely been to me like deceitful waters, in which there is no trust.’ Secondly, while they drink with their companions, they lead astray and disturb the right mind and turn away the simple from it. And what does he cry? ‘Wo to him who causes his neighbor to drink turbid destruction, and makes him drunk, that he may look on his caverns.’ But those who dissemble, and steal away the truth, quench their hearts. Having first drunk of these things, they go on to say those things which the whore says in the Proverbs, ‘Lay hold with delight on hidden bread, and sweet stolen waters.’ They lay snares secretly, because they have not the freedom of virtue, nor the boldness of Wisdom, who praises herself in the gates, and employs freedom of speech in the broad ways, preaching on high walls. For this reason, they are bidden to ‘lay hold with delight,’ because, having the choice between faith and pleasures, they steal the sweetness of truth, and disguise their own bitter waters [to escape] from the blame of their wickedness, which would have been speedy and public. On this account, the wolf puts on the skin of the sheep, tombs deceive by their whitened exteriors. Satan, that is . . .
Where our Lord Jesus Christ, who took on Him to die for all, stretched forth His hands, not somewhere on the earth beneath, but in the air itself, in order that the Salvation effected by the Cross might be shown to be for all men everywhere: destroying the Devil who was working in the air: and that He might consecrate our road up to Heaven, and make it free.
And at that time when they went forth and crossed over Egypt, their enemies were the sport of the sea; but now, when we pass over from earth to Heaven, Satan himself henceforth falls like lightning from Heaven.
[From the twenty-seventh Festal Letter of Athanasius, Overseer of Alexandria and Confessor; of which the commencement is, ‘Again the season of the day of the living Passover.’]
For who is our joy and boast, but our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, who suffered for us, and by Himself made known to us the Father? For He is no other than He who of old time spoke by the Prophets; but now He says to every man, ‘I who speak am near.’ Right well is this word spoken, for He does not at one time speak, at another keep silence; but continually and at all times, from the beginning without ceasing, He raises up every man and speaks to every man in his heart.
. . . In order that while He might become a sacrifice for us all, we, nourished up in the words of truth, and partaking of His living doctrine, might be able with the holy ones to receive also the joy of Heaven. For there, as He called the disciples to the upper chamber, so does the Word call us with them to the divine and incorruptible banquet; having suffered for us here, but there, preparing the heavenly tabernacles for those who most readily listen to the summons, and unceasingly, and [gazing] at the goal, pursue the prize of their high calling; where for them who come to the banquet, and strive with those who hinder them, there is laid up both a crown, and incorruptible joy. For even though, humanly speaking, the labor of such a journey is great, yet the Savior Himself has rendered even it light and kind.
. . . But let us, brothers, who have received the vineyard from the Savior, and are invited to the heavenly banquet, inasmuch as the Feast is now drawing near, take the branches of the palm trees, and proving conquerors of sin, let us too like those, who on that occasion went to meet the Savior, make ourselves ready by our conduct, both to meet Him when He comes, and to go in with Him and partake of the immortal food, and from thenceforth live eternally in the heavens.
From the twenty-ninth Letter, of which the beginning is, ‘Sufficient for this present time is that which we have already written.’
The Lord proved the disciples, when He was asleep on the pillow, at which time a miracle was worked, which is especially calculated to put even the wicked to shame. For when He arose, and rebuked the sea, and silenced the storm, He plainly showed two things; that the storm of the sea was not from the winds, but from fear of its Lord who walked on it, and that the Lord who rebuked it was not a creature, but rather its Creator, since a creature is not obedient to another creature. For although the Red Sea was divided before by Moses, yet it was not Moses who did it, for it came to pass, not because he spoke, but because God commanded. And if the sun stood still in Gibeon, and the moon in the valley of Ajalon, yet this was the work, not of the son of Nun, but of the Lord, who heard his prayer. He it was who both rebuked the sea, and on the cross caused the sun to be darkened.
[From the twenty-ninth Letter, of which the beginning is, ‘Sufficient for this present time is that which we have already written.’]
The Lord proved the disciples, when He was asleep on the pillow, at which time a miracle was worked, which is especially calculated to put even the wicked to shame. For when He arose, and rebuked the sea, and silenced the storm, He plainly showed two things; that the storm of the sea was not from the winds, but from fear of its Lord who walked on it, and that the Lord who rebuked it was not a creature, but rather its Creator, since a creature is not obedient to another creature. For although the Red Sea was divided before by Moses, yet it was not Moses who did it, for it came to pass, not because he spoke, but because God commanded. And if the sun stood still in Gibeon, and the moon in the valley of Ajalon, yet this was the work, not of the son of Nun, but of the Lord, Who heard his prayer. He it was Who both rebuked the sea, and on the cross caused the sun to be darkened.
. . . And whereas what is human comes to an end, what is divine does not. For which reason also when we are dead, and when our nature is tired out, he raises us up, and leads us up [though] born of earth to heaven.
. . . May God comfort you. I know moreover that not only this thing saddens you, but also the fact that while others have obtained the assemblies by violence, you are meanwhile cast out from your places. For they hold the places, but you the Apostolic Faith. They are, it is true, in the places, but outside of the true Faith; while you are outside the places indeed, but the Faith, within you. Let us consider whether is the greater, the place or the Faith. Clearly the true Faith. Who then has lost more, or who possesses more? He who holds the place, or he who holds the Faith? Good indeed is the place, when the Apostolic Faith is preached there, holy is it if the Holy One dwell there. (After a little:) But you are blessed, who by faith are in the Assembly, dwell on the foundations of the faith, and have full satisfaction, even the highest degree of faith which remains among you unshaken. For it has come down to you from Apostolic tradition, and frequently has accursed envy wished to unsettle it, but has not been able. On the contrary, they have rather been cut off by their attempts to do so. For this is it that is written, ‘You are the Son of the Living God,’ Peter confessing it by revelation of the Father, and being told, ‘Blessed are you Simon Barjona, for flesh and blood did not reveal it to you,’ but ‘My Father who is in heaven,’ and the rest. No one therefore will ever prevail against your Faith, most beloved brothers. For if ever God will give back the assemblies (for we think He will) yet without such restoration of the assemblies the Faith is sufficient for us. And lest, speaking without the Writings, I should [seem to] speak too strongly, it is well to bring you to the testimony of Writings, for recollect that the Temple indeed was at Jerusalem; the Temple was not deserted, aliens had invaded it, whence also the Temple being at Jerusalem, those exiles went down to Babylon by the judgment of God, who was proving, or rather correcting them; while manifesting to them in their ignorance punishment [by means] of blood-thirsty enemies. And aliens indeed had held the Place, but did not know the Lord of the Place, while in that He neither gave answer nor spoke, they were deserted by the truth. What profit then is the Place to them?
For behold they that hold the Place are charged by them that love God with making it a den of thieves, and with madly making the Holy Place a house of merchandise, and a house of judicial business for themselves to whom it was unlawful to enter there. For this and worse than this is what we have heard, most beloved, from those who have come from thence. However really, then, they seem to hold the assembly, so much the more truly are they cast out. And they think themselves to be within the truth, but are exiled, and in captivity, and [gain] no advantage by the assembly alone. For the truth of things is judged . . .
[Of the particular books and their number, which are accepted by the Assembly. From the thirty-ninth Letter of Holy Athanasius, Overseer of Alexandria, on the Paschal festival; wherein he defines canonically what are the divine books which are accepted by the Assembly.]
. . . 1. They have fabricated books which they call books of tables, in which they show stars, to which they give the names of holy ones. And therein of a truth they have inflicted on themselves a double reproach: those who have written such books, because they have perfected themselves in a lying and contemptible science; and as to the ignorant and simple, they have led them astray by evil thoughts concerning the right faith established in all truth and upright in the presence of God.
. . . 2. But since we have made mention of heretics as dead, but of ourselves as possessing the Divine Writings for salvation; and since I fear lest, as Paul wrote to the Corinthians, some few of the simple should be beguiled from their simplicity and purity, by the subtilty of certain men, and should henceforth read other books—those called apocryphal—led astray by the similarity of their names with the true books; I beseech you to bear patiently, if I also write, by way of remembrance, of matters with which you are acquainted, influenced by the need and advantage of the Assembly.
3. In proceeding to make mention of these things, I will adopt, to commend my undertaking, the pattern of Luke the Evangelist, saying on my own account: ‘Forasmuch as some have taken in hand,’ to reduce into order for themselves the books termed apocryphal, and to mix them up with the divinely inspired Writing, concerning which we have been fully persuaded, as they who from the beginning were eyewitnesses and ministers of the Word, delivered to the fathers; it seemed good to me also, having been urged thereto by true brothers, and having learned from the beginning, to set before you the books included in the Canon, and handed down, and accredited as Divine; to the end that any one who has fallen into error may condemn those who have led him astray; and that he who has continued steadfast in purity may again rejoice, having these things brought to his remembrance.
4. There are, then, of the Old Testament, twenty-two books in number; for, as I have heard, it is handed down that this is the number of the letters among the Hebrews; their respective order and names being as follows. The first is Genesis, then Exodus, next Leviticus, after that Numbers, and then Deuteronomy. Following these there is Joshua, the son of Nun, then Judges, then Ruth. And again, after these four books of Kings, the first and second being reckoned as one book, and so likewise the third and fourth as one book. And again, the first and second of the Chronicles are reckoned as one book. Again Ezra, the first and second are similarly one book. After these there is the book of Psalms, then the Proverbs, next Ecclesiastes, and the Song of Songs. Job follows, then the Prophets, the twelve being reckoned as one book. Then Isaiah, one book, then Jeremiah with Baruch, Lamentations, and the epistle, one book; afterward, Ezekiel and Daniel, each one book. Thus far constitutes the Old Testament.
5. Again, it is not tedious to speak of the [books] of the New Testament. These are, the four Gospels, according to Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. Afterward, the Acts of the Apostles and Epistles (called General), seven, namely of James, one; of Peter, two; of John, three; after these, one of Jude. In addition, there are fourteen Epistles of Paul, written in this order. The first, to the Romans; then two to the Corinthians; after these, to the Galatians; next, to the Ephesians; then to the Philippians; then to the Colossians; after these, two to the Thessalonians, and that to the Hebrews; and again, two to Timothy; one to Titus; and lastly, that to Philemon. And besides, the Revelation of John.
6. These are fountains of salvation, that they who thirst may be satisfied with the living words they contain. In these alone is proclaimed the doctrine of godliness. Let no man add to these, neither let him take ought from these. For concerning these the Lord put to shame the Sadducees, and said, ‘You err, not knowing the Writings.’ And He reproved the Jews, saying, ‘Search the Writings, for these are they that testify of Me.’
7. But for greater exactness I add this also, writing of necessity; that there are other books besides these not indeed included in the Canon, but appointed by the Fathers to be read by those who newly join us, and who wish for instruction in the word of godliness. The Wisdom of Solomon, and the Wisdom of Sirach, and Esther, and Judith, and Tobit, and that which is called the Teaching of the Apostles, and the Shepherd. But the former, my brothers, are included in the Canon, the latter being [merely] read; nor is there in any place a mention of apocryphal writings. But they are an invention of heretics, who write them when they choose, bestowing on them their approbation, and assigning to them a date, that so, using them as ancient writings, they may find occasion to lead astray the simple.
‘You are they that have continued with Me in My temptations; and I appoint to you a kingdom, as My Father has appointed to Me, that you may eat and drink at My table in My kingdom.’ Being called, then, to the great and heavenly Supper, in that upper room which has been swept, let us ‘cleanse ourselves,’ as the Apostle exhorted, ‘from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God’; that so, being spotless within and without—without, clothing ourselves with temperance and justice; within, by the Spirit, rightly dividing the word of truth—we may hear, ‘Enter into the joy of your Lord.’
For we have been called, brothers, and are now called together, by Wisdom, and according to the Evangelical parable, to that great and heavenly Supper, and sufficient for every creature; I mean, to the Passover—to Christ, who is sacrificed; for ‘Christ our Passover is sacrificed.’ (And afterward:) They, therefore, that are thus prepared will hear, ‘Enter into the joy of your Lord.’
Of us, then, whose also is the Passover, the calling is from above, and ‘our conversation is in heaven,’ as Paul says; ‘For we have here no abiding city, but we seek that which is to come,’ to which, also, looking forward, we properly keep the feast. (And again, afterward:) Heaven truly is high, and its distance from us infinite; for ‘the heaven of heavens,’ he says, ‘is the Lord’s.’ But not, on that account, are we to be negligent or fearful, as though the way thereto were impossible; but rather should we be zealous. Yet not, as in the case of those who formerly, removing from the east and finding a plain in Senaar, began [to build a tower], is there need for us to bake bricks with fire, and to seek slime for mortar; for their tongues were confounded, and their work was destroyed. But for us the Lord has consecrated a way through His blood, and has made it easy. (And again:) For not only has He afforded us consolation respecting the distance, but also in that He has come and opened the door for us which was once shut. For, indeed, it was shut from the time He cast out Adam from the delight of Paradise, and set the Cherubim and the flaming sword, that turned every way, to keep the way of the tree of life—now, however, opened wide. And He that sits on the Cherubim having appeared with greater grace and loving-kindness, led into Paradise with himself the thief who confessed, and having entered heaven as our forerunner, opened the gates to all. (And again:) Paul also, ‘pressing toward the mark for the prize of the high calling,’ by it was taken up to the third heaven, and having seen those things which are above, and then descended, he teaches us, announcing what is written to the Hebrews, and saying, ‘For you are not come to the mount that might be touched, and that burned with fire, and clouds, and darkness, and a tempest, and to the voice of words. But you have come to Mount Zion, and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to an innumerable company of messengers, and to the general assembly and Assembly of the firstborn, which are written in heaven.’ Who would not wish to enjoy the high companionship with these! Who not desire to be enrolled with these, that he may hear with them, ‘Come, you blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.’
[And again, from the forty-fourth Letter, of which the commencement is, ‘All that our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ did instead of us and for us.’]
When therefore the servants of the chief priests and the scribes saw these things, and heard from Jesus, ‘Whosoever is thirsty, let him come to Me and drink’; they perceived that this was not a mere man like themselves, but that this was He who gave water to the holy ones, and that it was He who was announced by the prophet Isaiah. For He was truly the splendor of the light, and the Word of God. And thus as a river from the fountain he gave drink also of old to Paradise; but now to all men He gives the same gift of the Spirit, and says, ‘If any man thirst, let him come to Me and drink.’ Whosoever ‘believes on Me, as says the Writing, rivers of living water will flow out of his belly.’ This was not for man to say, but for the living God, who truly grants life, and gives the Holy Spirit.
Let us all take up our sacrifices, observing distribution to the poor, and enter into the holy place, as it is written; ‘where also our forerunner Jesus is entered for us, having obtained eternal redemption.’ . . . (From the same:) . . . And this is a great proof that, whereas we were strangers, we are called friends; from being formerly aliens, we are become fellow-citizens with the holy ones, and are called children of the Jerusalem which is above, whereof that which Solomon built was a type. For if Moses made all things according to the pattern showed him in the mount, it is clear that the service performed in the tabernacle was a type of the heavenly mysteries, to which the Lord, desirous that we should enter, prepared for us the new and abiding way. And as all the old things were a type of the new, so the festival that now is, is a type of the joy which is above, to which coming with psalms and spiritual songs, let us begin the fasts.
Athanasius to the elders and ministers and the people of the Universal Assembly in the Mareotis, brothers beloved and longed for, greetings in the Lord.
The holy council has praised your piety in Christ. They have all acknowledged your spirit and fortitude in all things, in that you did not fear threats, and though you had to bear insults and persecutions against your piety you held out. Your letters when read out to all produced tears and enlisted universal sympathy. They loved you though absent, and reckoned your persecutions as their own. Their letter to you is a proof of their affection: and although it would suffice to include you along with the Holy Assembly of Alexandria, yet the holy synod has written separately to you in order that you may be encouraged not to give way on account of your sufferings, but to give thanks to God; because your patience will have good fruit.
Formerly the character of the heretics was not evident. But now it is revealed and laid open to all. For the holy synod has taken cognizance of the calumnies these men have concocted against you, and has had them in abhorrence, and has deposed Theodore, Valens, Ursacius, in Alexandria and the Mareotis by consent of all. The same notice has been given to other Assemblies also. And since the cruelty and tyranny practiced by them against the Assemblies can no longer be borne, they have been cast out from the episcopate and expelled from the communion of all. Moreover, of Gregory they were unwilling even to make mention, for since the man has lacked the very name of overseer, they thought it superfluous to name him. But on account of those who are deceived by him they have mentioned his name; not because he seemed worthy of mention, but that those deceived by him might thereby recognize his infamy and blush at the kind of man with whom they have communicated. You will learn what has been written about them from the previous document: and though not all of the overseers came together to sign, yet it was drawn up by all, and they signed for all. Salute one another with a holy kiss. All the brothers salute you.
I, Protogenes, overseer, desire that you may be preserved in the Lord, beloved and longed for.
I, Athenodorus, overseer, desire that you may be preserved in the Lord, most beloved brothers. [Other signatures] Julian, Ammonius, Aprianus, Marcellus, Gerontius, Porphyrius, Zosimus, Asclepius, Appian, Eulogius, Eugenius, Liodorus, Martyrius, Eucarpus, Lucius, Caloes. Maximus: by letters from the Gauls I desire that you may be preserved in the Lord, beloved. We, Arcidamus and Philoxenus, elders, and Leo a minister, from Rome, desire that you may be preserved. I, Gaudentius, overseer of Naissus, desire that you may be preserved in the Lord. [Also] Florentius of Meria in Pannonia, Ammianus, of Castellum in Pannonia, Januarius of Beneventum, Praetextatus of Narcidonum in Pannonia, Hyperneris of Hypata in Thessaly, Castus of Caesaraugusta, Severus of Calcisus in Thessaly, Julian of Therae Heptapolis, Lucius of Verona, Eugenius of Hecleal Cycbinae, Zosimus of Lychni Sunosion in Apulia, Hermogenes of Syceon, Thryphos of Magara, Paregorius of Caspi, Caloes of Castromartis, Ireneus of Syconis, Macedonius of Lypianum, Martyrius of Naupacti, Palladius of Dius, Broseus of Lu[g]dunum in Gaul, Ursacius of Brixia, Amantius of Viminacium, by the elder Maximus, Alexander of Gypara in Achaia, Eutychius of Mothona, Aprianus of Petavio in Pannonia, Antigonus of Pallene in Macedonia, Dometius of Acaria Constantias, Olympius of Enorodope, Zosimus of Oreomarga, Protasius of Milan, Mark of Siscia on the Save, Eucarpus of Opûs in Achaia, Vitalis of Vertara in Africa, Helianus of Tyrtana, Symphorus of Herapythae in Crete, Mosinius of Heracla, Eucissus of Chisamus, Cydonius of Cydonia.
Athanasius to all the elders and ministers of the holy Universal Assembly at Alexandria and the Parembola, brothers most beloved, greetings.
In writing this I must begin my letter, most beloved brothers, by giving thanks to Christ. But now this is especially fitting, since both many things and great, done by the Lord, deserve our thanks, and those who believe in Him ought not to be ungrateful for His many benefits. We thank the Lord therefore, who always manifests us to all in the faith, who also has at this time done many wonderful things for the Assembly. For what the heretical party of Eusebius and heirs of Arius have maintained and spread abroad, all the overseers who assembled have pronounced false and fictitious. And the very men who are thought terrible by many, like those who are called giants, were counted as nothing, and rightly so, for just as the darkness is illuminated when light comes, so, iniquity is unveiled by the coming of the just, and when the good are present, the worthless are exposed.
For you yourselves, beloved, are not ignorant what the successors of the ill-named heresy of Eusebius did, namely Theodore, Narcissus, Valens, Ursacius, and the worst of them all, George, Stephen, Acacius, Menophantus, and their colleagues, for their madness is manifest to all; nor has it escaped your observation what they committed against the Assemblies. For you were the first they injured, your Assembly the first they tried to corrupt. But they who did so many great things, and were, as I said above, terrible to the minds of all, have been so frightened as to pass all imagination. For not only did they fear the Roman Synod, not only when invited to it did they excuse themselves, but, now also having arrived at Sardica, so conscience-stricken were they, that when they had seen the judges, they were astonished. So they fainted in their minds. Truly, one might say to them: ‘Death, where is your sting, Death, where is your victory?’ For neither did it go as they wished, for them to give judgment as they pleased; this time they could not over-reach whom they would. But they saw faithful men, that cared for justice, no rather, they saw our Lord Himself among them, like the demons of old from the tombs; for being sons of falsehood, they could not bear to see the truth. So Theodore, Narcissus, and Ursacius, with their friends said as follows: ‘Stay, what have we to do with you, men of Christ? We know that you are true, and fear to be convicted: we shrink from confessing our calumnies to your face. We have nothing to do with you; for you are Christians, while we are foes to Christ; and while with you truth is powerful, we have learned to over-reach. We thought our deeds were hid; we did not think that we were now coming to judgment; why do you expose our deeds before their time; and by exposing us vex us before the day?’ and although they are of the worst character and walk in darkness, yet they have learned at last that there is no agreement between light and darkness, and no concord between Christ and Belial. Accordingly, beloved brothers, since they knew what they had done, and saw their victims ready as accusers, and the witnesses before their eyes, they followed the example of Cain and fled like him; in that they greatly wandered, for they imitated his flight, and so have received his condemnation. For the holy council knows their works; it has heard our blood crying aloud, heard from themselves the voices of the wounded. All the Overseers know how they have sinned, and how many things they have done against our Assemblies and others; and accordingly they have expelled these men from the Assemblies like Cain. For who did not weep when your letter was read? who did not groan to see whom those men had exiled? Who did not reckon your tribulations his own? Most beloved brothers, you suffered formerly when they were committing evil against you, and perhaps it is no long time since the war has ceased. Now, however, all the Overseers who assembled and heard what you have suffered, grieved and lamented just as you did when you suffered the injuries and they shared your grief at that time. . . .
On account of these deeds then, and all the others which they have committed against the Assemblies, the holy general council has deposed them all, and not only has judged them aliens from the Assembly, but has held them unworthy to be called Christians. For how can men be called Christians who deny Christ? And how can men be admitted to assembly who do evil against the Assemblies? Accordingly, the holy council has sent to the Assemblies everywhere, that they may be marked among all, so that they who were deceived by them may now return to full assurance and truth. Do not therefore fail, beloved brothers; like servants of God, and professors of the faith of Christ, be tried in the Lord, and do not let tribulation cast you down, neither let troubles caused by the heretics who plot against you make you sad. For you have the sympathy of the whole world in your grief, and what is more, it bears you all in mind. Now I think that those deceived by them will, when they see the severe sentence of the Council, turn aside from them and reject their impiety. If, however, even after this their hand is lifted up, do you not be astonished, nor fear if they rage; but pray and raise your hands to God, and be sure that the Lord will not tarry but will perform all things according to your will. I could wish indeed to write you a longer letter with a detailed account of what has taken place, but since the elders and ministers are competent to tell you in person of all they have seen, I have refrained from writing much. One thing alone I charge you, considering it a necessity, that having the fear of the Lord before your eyes you will put Him first, and carry on all things with your accustomed concord as men of wisdom and understanding. Pray for us, bearing in mind the necessities of the widows, especially since the enemies of truth have taken away what belongs to them. But let your love overcome the malice of the heretics. For we believe that according to your prayers the Lord will be gracious and permit me to see you speedily. Meanwhile you will learn the proceedings at the Synod by what all the Overseers have written to you, and from the appended letter you will perceive the deposition of Theodore, Narcissus, Stephen, Acacius, George, Menophantus, Ursacius and Valens. For Gregory they did not wish to mention: since they thought it superfluous to name a man who lacked the very name of overseer. Yet for the sake of those deceived by him they have mentioned his name, not that his name was worthy of mention, but in order that those deceived by him may learn his infamy and blush for the sort of man they have communicated with. . . . I pray that you may be preserved in the Lord, brothers most beloved and longed for.
All things made by God are beautiful and pure, for the Word of God has made nothing useless or impure. For ‘we are a sweet savor of Christ in them that are being saved,’ as the Apostle says. But since the Devil’s darts are varied and subtle, and he contrives to trouble those who are of simpler mind, and tries to hinder the ordinary exercises of the brothers, scattering secretly among them thoughts of uncleanness and defilement; come let us briefly dispel the error of the evil one by the grace of the Savior, and confirm the mind of the simple. For ‘to the pure all things are pure,’ but both the conscience and all that belongs to the unclean are defiled. I marvel also at the craft of the Devil, in that, although he is corruption and mischief itself, he suggests thoughts under the show of purity; but with the result of a snare rather than a test. For with the object, as I said before, of distracting ascetics from their customary and salutary meditation, and of appearing to overcome them, he stirs some such buzzing thoughts as are of no profit in life, vain questions and frivolities which one ought to put aside. For tell me, beloved and most pious friend, what sin or uncleanness there is in any natural secretion—as though a man were minded to make a culpable matter of the cleanings of the nose or the sputa from the mouth? And we may add also the secretions of the belly, such as are a physical necessity of animal life. Moreover, if we believe man to be, as the divine Writings say, a work of God’s hands, how could any defiled work proceed from a pure Power? and if, according to the divine Acts of the Apostles, ‘we are God’s offspring,’ we have nothing unclean in ourselves. For then only do we incur defilement, when we commit sin, that foulest of things. But when any bodily excretion takes place independently of will, then we experience this, like other things, by a necessity of nature. But since those whose only pleasure is to gainsay what is said correctly, or rather what is made by God, pervert even a saying in the Gospels, alleging that ‘not that which goes in defiles a man, but that which goes out,’ we are obliged to make plain this unreasonableness—for I cannot call it a question—of theirs. For firstly, like unstable persons, they wrest the Writings to their own ignorance. Now the sense of the divine oracle is as follows. Certain persons, like these of today, were in doubt about meats. The Lord Himself, to dispel their ignorance, or it may be to unveil their deceitfulness, lays down that, not what goes in defiles the man, but what goes out. Then he adds exactly whence they go out, namely from the heart. For there, as he knows, are the evil treasures of profane thoughts and other sins. But the Apostle teaches the same thing more concisely, saying, ‘But meat will not bring us before God.’ Moreover, one might reasonably say no natural secretion will bring us before him for punishment. But possibly medical men (to put these people to shame even at the hands of outsiders) will support us on this point, telling us that there are certain necessary passages accorded to the animal body, to provide for the dismissal of the superfluity of what is secreted in our several parts; for example, for the superfluity of the head, the hair and the watery discharges from the head, and the purgings of the belly, and that superfluity again of the seminative channels. What sin then is there in God’s name, elder most beloved of God, if the Master who made the body willed and made these parts to have such passages? But since we must grapple with the objections of evil persons, as they may say, ‘If the organs have been individually fashioned by the Creator, then there is no sin in their genuine use,’ let us stop them by asking this question: What do you mean by use? That lawful use which God permitted when He said, ‘Increase and multiply, and replenish the earth,’ and which the Apostle approves in the words, ‘Marriage is honorable and the bed undefiled,’ or that use which is public, yet carried on stealthily and in adulterous fashion? For in other matters also which go to make up life, we will find differences according to circumstances. For example, it is not right to kill, yet in war it is lawful and praiseworthy to destroy the enemy; accordingly, not only are they who have distinguished themselves in the field held worthy of great honors, but monuments are put up proclaiming their achievements. So that the same act is at one time and under some circumstances unlawful, while under others, and at the right time, it is lawful and permissible. The same reasoning applies to the relation of the sexes. He is blessed who, being freely yoked in his youth, naturally begets children. But if he uses nature licentiously, the punishment of which the Apostle writes will await whoremongers and adulterers.
For there are two ways in life, as touching these matters. The one the more moderate and ordinary, I mean marriage; the other angelic and unsurpassed, namely virginity. Now if a man chooses the way of the world, namely marriage, he is not indeed to blame; yet he will not receive such great gifts as the other. For he will receive, since he too brings forth fruit, namely thirtyfold. But if a man embraces the holy and unearthly way, even though, as compared with the former, it be rugged and hard to accomplish, yet it has the more wonderful gifts: for it grows the perfect fruit, namely a hundredfold. So then their unclean and evil objections had their proper solution long since given in the divine Writings. Strengthen then, father, the flocks under you, exhorting them from the Apostolic writings, guiding them from the Gospel, counseling them from the Psalms, and saying, ‘raise me according to Your Word’; but by ‘Your Word,’ is meant that we should serve Him with a pure heart. For knowing this, the Prophet says, as if interpreting himself, ‘Make [in] me a clean heart, O God,’ lest filthy thoughts trouble me. David again, ‘And establish me with Your free Spirit,’ that even if ever thoughts disturb me, a certain strong power from You may stablish me, acting as a support. Giving then this and the like advice, say with regard to those who are slow to obey the truth, ‘I will teach Your ways to the wicked,’ and, confident in the Lord that you will persuade them to desist from such wickedness, sing ‘and sinners will be converted to You.’ And be it granted, that they who raise malicious questions may cease from such vain labor, and that they who doubt in their simplicity may be strengthened with a ‘free spirit’; while as many of you as surely know the truth, hold it unbroken and unshaken in Christ Jesus our Lord, with whom be to the Father glory and might, together with the Holy Spirit, forever and ever. Amen.
1. I am at a loss how to write. Am I to blame you for your refusal? or for having regard to the trials, and hiding for fear of the Jews? In any case, however it may be, what you have done is worthy of blame, beloved Dracontius. For it was not fitting that after receiving the grace you should hide, nor that, being a wise man, you should furnish others with a pretext for flight. For many are offended when they hear it; not merely that you have done this, but that you have done it having regard to the times and to the afflictions which are weighing on the Assembly. And I fear lest, in flying for your own sake, you prove to be in peril in the sight of the Lord on account of others. For if ‘he that offends one of the little ones, should rather choose that a mill stone were hanged about his neck, and that he were drowned in the depths of the sea,’ what can be in store for you, if you prove an offense to so many? For the surprising unanimity about your election in the district of Alexandria will of necessity be broken up by your retirement: and the episcopate of the district will be grasped at by many—and many unfit persons, as you are well aware. And many heathen who were promising to become Christians on your election will remain heathen, if your piety sets at nothing the grace given you.
2. What defense will you offer for such conduct? With what arguments will you be able to wash away and efface such an impeachment? How will you heal those who on your account are fallen and offended? Or how will you be able to restore the broken peace? Beloved Dracontius, you have caused us grief instead of joy, groaning instead of consolation. For we expected to have you with us as a consolation; and now we behold you in flight, and that you will be convicted in judgment, and when on your trial will convert it. And ‘Who will have pity on you,’ as the Prophet says, who will turn his mind to you for peace, when he sees the brothers for whom Christ died injured on account of your flight? For you must know, and not be in doubt, that while before your election you lived to yourself, after it, you live for your flock. And before you had received the grace of the episcopate, no one knew you; but after you became one, the laity expect you to bring them food, namely instruction from the Writings. When then they expect, and suffer hunger, and you are feeding yourself only, and our Lord Jesus Christ comes and we stand before Him, what defense will you offer when He sees His own sheep hungering? For had you not taken the money, He would not have blamed you. But He would reasonably do so if on taking it you dug and buried it—in the words which God forbid that your piety should ever hear: ‘You ought to have given my money to the bankers, that when I came I might demand it of them.’
3. I beseech you, spare yourself and us. Yourself, lest you run into peril; us, lest we be grieved because of you. Take thought of the Assembly, lest many of the little ones be injured on your account, and the others be given an occasion of withdrawing. No but if you feared the times and acted as you did from timidity, your mind is not manly; for in such a case you ought to manifest zeal for Christ, and rather meet circumstances boldly, and use the language of blessed Paul: ‘in all these things we are more than conquerors’; and the more so in that we ought to serve not the time, but the Lord. But if the organizing of the Assemblies is distasteful to you, and you do not think the ministry of the episcopate has its reward, why, then you have brought yourself to despise the Savior that ordered these things. I beseech you, dismiss such ideas, nor tolerate those who advise you in such a sense, for this is not worthy of Dracontius. For the order the Lord has established by the Apostles abides fair and firm; but the cowardice of the brothers will cease.
4. For if all were of the same mind as your present advisers, how would you have become a Christian, since there would be no overseers? Or if our successors are to inherit this state of mind, how will the Assemblies be able to hold together? Or do your advisers think that you have received nothing, that they despise it? If so surely they are wrong. For it is time for them to think that the grace of the Font is nothing, if some are found to despise it. But you have received it, beloved Dracontius; do not tolerate your advisers nor deceive yourself. For this will be required of you by the God who gave it. Have you not heard the Apostle say, ‘Neglect not the gift that is in you?’ or have you not read how he accepts the man that had doubled his money, while he condemned the one that had hidden it? But may it come to pass that you may quickly return, in order that you too may be one of those who are praised. Or tell me, whom do your advisers wish you to imitate? For we ought to walk by the standard of the holy ones and the fathers, and imitate them, and to be sure that if we depart from them we put ourselves also out of their fellowship. Whom then do they wish you to imitate? The one who hesitated, and while wishing to follow, delayed it and took counsel because of his family, or blessed Paul, who, the moment the stewardship was entrusted to him, ‘immediately conferred not with flesh and blood?’ For although he said, ‘I am not worthy to be called an Apostle,’ yet, knowing what he had received, and being not ignorant of the giver, he wrote, ‘For woe is me if I preach not the gospel.’ But, as it was ‘woe to me’ if he did not preach, so, in teaching and preaching the gospel, he had his converts as his joy and crown. This explains why the saint was zealous to preach as far as Illyricum, and not to shrink from proceeding to Rome, or even going as far as the Spains, in order that the more he labored, he might receive so much the greater reward for his labor. He boasted then that he had fought the good fight, and was confident that he should receive the great crown. Therefore, beloved Dracontius, whom are you imitating in your present action? Paul, or men unlike him? For my part, I pray that you, and myself, may prove an imitator of all the holy ones.
5. Or possibly there are some who advise you to hide, because you have given your word on oath not to accept the office if elected. For I hear that they are buzzing in your ears to this effect, and consider that they are thus acting conscientiously. But if they were truly conscientious, they would above all have feared God, who imposed this ministry on you. Or if they had read the divine Writings, they would not have advised you contrary to them. For it is time for them to blame Jeremiah also, and to impeach the great Moses, in that they did not listen to their advice, but fearing God fulfilled their ministry, and prophesying were made perfect. For they also when they had received their mission and the grace of Prophecy, refused. But afterward they feared, and did not set at nothing Him that sent them. Whether then you be of stammering utterance, and slow of tongue, yet fear God that made you, or if you call yourself too young to preach, yet reverence Him who knew you before you were made. Or if you have given your word (now their word was to the holy ones as an oath), yet read Jeremiah, how he too had said, ‘I will not name the Name of the Lord,’ yet afterward he feared the fire kindled within him, and did not do as he had said, nor hid himself as if bound by an oath, but reverenced Him that had entrusted to him his office, and fulfilled the prophetic call. Or are you not aware, beloved, that Jonah also fled, but met with the fate that befell him, after which he returned and prophesied?
6. Do not then entertain counsels opposite to this. For the Lord knows our case better than we ourselves, and He knows to whom He is entrusting His Assemblies. For even if a man is not worthy, yet let him not look at his former life, but let him carry out his ministry, lest, in addition to his life he incur also the curse of negligence. I ask you, beloved Dracontius, whether knowing this, and being a wise man, you are not pricked in your soul? Do you not feel anxious lest any of those entrusted to you should perish? Do you not burn, as with a fire in your conscience? Are you not in fear of the day of judgment, in which none of your present advisers will be there to aid you? For each will give account of those entrusted to his hands. For how did his excuse benefit the man who hid the money? Or how did it benefit Adam to say, ‘The woman beguiled me?’ Beloved Dracontius, even if you are really weak, yet you ought to take up the charge, lest, the Assembly being unoccupied, the enemies injure it, taking advantage of your flight. You should gird yourself up, so as not to leave us alone in the struggle; you should labor with us, in order to receive the reward also along with all.
7. Make haste then, beloved, and tarry no longer, nor allow those who would prevent you: but remember Him that has given, and come here to us who love you, who give you Scriptural advice, in order that you may both be installed by ourselves, and, as you minister in the assemblies make remembrance of us. For you are not the only one who has been elected from among monks, nor the only one to have presided over a monastery, or to have been beloved by monks. But you know that not only was Serapion a monk, and presided over that number of monks; you were not unaware of how many monks Apollos was father; you know Agathon, and are not ignorant of Ariston. You remember Ammonius who went abroad with Serapion. Perhaps you have also heard of Muitus in the upper Thebaid, and can learn about Paul at Latopolis, and many others. And yet these, when elected, did not gainsay; but taking Elisha as an example, and knowing the story of Elijah, and having learned all about the disciples and apostles, they grappled with the charge, and did not despise the ministry, and were not inferior to themselves, but rather look for the reward of their labor, advancing themselves, and guiding others onward. For how many have they turned away from the idols? How many have they caused to cease from their familiarity with demons by their warning? How many servants have they brought to the Lord, so as to cause those who saw such wonders to marvel at the sight? Or is it not a great wonder to make a damsel live as a virgin, and a young man live in continence, and an idolater come to know Christ?
8. Do not let monks then prevent you, as though you alone had been elected from among monks; nor do you make excuses, to the effect that you will deteriorate. For you may even grow better if you imitate Paul, and follow up the actions of the holy ones. For you know that men like those, when appointed stewards of the mysteries, all the more pressed forward to the mark of their high calling. When did Paul meet martyrdom and expect to receive his crown, if not after being sent to teach? When did Peter make his confession, if not when he was preaching the Gospel, and had become a fisher of men? When was Elijah taken up, if not after completing his prophetic career? When did Elisha gain a double share of the Spirit, if not after leaving all to follow Elijah? Or why did the Savior choose disciples, if not to send them out as apostles?
9. So take these as an example, beloved Dracontius, and do not say, or believe those who say, that the overseer’s office is an occasion of sin, nor that it gives rise to temptations to sin. For it is possible for you also as an overseer to hunger and thirst, as Paul did. You can drink no wine, like Timothy, and fast constantly too, like Paul, in order that thus fasting after his example you may feast others with your words, and while thirsting for lack of drink, water others by teaching. Do not let your advisers, then, allege these things. For we know both overseers who fast, and monks who eat. We know overseers who drink no wine, as well as monks who do. We know overseers who work wonders, as well as monks who do not. Many also of the overseers have not even married, while monks have been fathers of children; just as conversely we know overseers who are fathers of children and monks ‘of the completest kind.’ And again, we know clergy who suffer hunger, and monks who fast. For it is possible in the latter way and not forbidden in the former. But let a man, wherever he is, strive earnestly; for the crown is given not according to position, but according to action.
10. Do not then allow those who give contrary advice. But rather hasten and delay not; the more so as the holy festival is approaching; so that the laity may not keep the feast without you, and you bring great danger on yourself. For who will in your absence preach them the Easter sermon? Who will announce to them the great day of the Resurrection, if you are in hiding? Who will counsel them, if you are in flight, to keep the feast fittingly? Ah, how many will be the better if you appear, how many be injured if you fly! And who will think well of you for this? and why do they advise you not to take up the overseer’s office, when they themselves wish to have elders? For if you are bad, let them not associate with you. But if they know that you are good, let them not envy the others. For if, as they say, teaching and government is an occasion of sin, let them not be taught themselves, nor have elders, lest they deteriorate, both they and those who teach them. But do not attend to these human sayings, nor allow those who give such advice, as I have often already said. But rather make haste and turn to the Lord, in order that, taking thought for his sheep, you may remember us also. But to this end I have bidden our beloved Hierax, the elder, and Maximus the reader go, and bid you by word of mouth also, that you may be able thus to learn both with what feelings I have written, and the danger that results from gainsaying the ordinance of the Assembly.
To our lord, and most beloved brother, the Overseer and Confessor Lucifer, Athanasius [sends] greetings in the Lord.
Being well in body by God’s favor, we have now sent our most beloved minister Eutyches, that your most pious holiness, as is much desired by us, may be pleased to inform us of the safety of yourself and those with you. For we believe it is by the life of you Confessors and servants of God that the state of the Universal Assembly is renewed; and that what heretics have assayed to tear in pieces, our Lord Jesus Christ by your means restores whole.
For although the forerunners of Antichrist have by the power of this world done everything to put out the lantern of truth, yet the Deity by your confession shows its light all the clearer, so that none can fail to see their deceit. Heretofore perhaps they were able to dissimulate: now they are called Antichrists. For who can but execrate them, and fly from their communion like a taint, or the poison of a serpent? The whole Assembly everywhere is mourning, every city groans, aged overseers are suffering in exile, and heretics dissembling, who while denying Christ have made themselves publicans, sitting in the Assemblies and exacting revenue. O new kind of men and of persecution which the Devil has devised, namely, to use such cruelty, and even ministers as the agents of evil. But although they act thus, and have gone all lengths in pride and blasphemy, yet your confession, your piety and wisdom, will be the very greatest comfort and solace to the brotherhood. For it has been reported to us that your holiness has written to Constantius Augustus; and we wonder more and more that dwelling as it were among scorpions you yet preserve freedom of spirit, in order, by advice or teaching or correction, to bring those in error to the light of truth. I ask then, and all confessors join me in asking, that you will be good enough to send us a copy; so that all may perceive, not by hearsay only but by letters, the valor of your spirit, and the confidence and firmness of your faith. Those who are with me salute your holiness. I salute all those who are with you. May the deity ever keep you safe and sound and mindful of us, most beloved lord, and true man of God.
To the most glorious lord and deservedly much-desired fellow-Overseer Lucifer, Athanasius [sends] greetings in the Lord.
Although I believe that tidings have reached your holiness also of the persecution which the enemies of Christ have just now attempted to raise, seeking our blood, yet our own most beloved messengers can tell your piety about it. For to such a length did they dare to carry their madness by means of the soldiers, that they not only banished the Clergy of the city, but also went out to the Hermits, and laid their fatal hands on Solitaries. Hence I also withdrew far away, lest those who entertained me should suffer trouble at their hands. For whom do Arians spare, who have spared not even their own souls? Or how can they give up their infamous actions while they persist in denying Christ our Lord the only Son of God? This is the root of their wickedness; on this foundation of sand they build up the perversity of their ways, as we find it written in the thirteenth Psalm, ‘The fool said in his heart there is no God’; and presently follows, ‘Corrupt are they and become abominable in their works.’ Hence the Jews who denied the Son of God, deserved to be called ‘a sinful nation, a people laden with iniquity, a seed of evildoers, children without law.’ Why ‘without law?’—because you have deserted the Lord. And so the most blessed Paul, when he had begun not only to believe in the Son of God, but also to preach His deity, wrote, ‘I know nothing against myself.’ Accordingly, we too, according to your confession of faith, desire to hold the Apostolic tradition, and to live according to the commands of the divine law, that we may be found along with you in that band in which now Patriarchs, Prophets, Apostles and Martyrs are rejoicing. So then, though the Arian madness, aided by external power, was so active that our brothers on account of their fury could not even see the open air with freedom, yet by God’s favor, according to your prayers, I have been able, though with trouble and danger, to see the brother who is accustomed to bring me necessaries and the letters of your holiness, along with those of others. And so we have received the books of your most wise and religious soul, in which we have seen the image of an Apostle, the confidence of a Prophet, the teaching of truth, the doctrine of true faith, the way of heaven, the glory of martyrdom, the triumphs against the Arian heresy, the unimpaired tradition of our Fathers, the right rule of the Assembly’s order. O truly Lucifer, who according to your name bring the light of truth and have set it on a candlestick to give light to all. For who, except the Arians, does not clearly see from your teaching the true faith and the taint of the Arians. Forcibly and admirably, like light from darkness, you have separated the truth from the subtilty and dishonesty of heretics, defended the Universal Assembly, proved that the arguments of the Arians are nothing but a kind of hallucination, and taught that the diabolical gnashings of the teeth are to be despised. How good and welcome are your exhortations to martyrdom; how highly to be desired have you shown death to be on behalf of Christ the Son of the living God. What love you have shown for the world to come and for the heavenly life. You seem to be a true temple of the Savior, who dwells in you and utters these exact words through you, and has given such grace to your discourses. Beloved as you were before among all, now such passionate affection for you is settled in the minds of all, that they call you the Elijah of our times; and no wonder. For if they who seem to please God are called Sons of God, much more proper is it to give that name to the associates of the Prophets, namely the Confessors, and especially to you. Believe me, Lucifer, it is not you only who has uttered this, but the Holy Spirit with you. Whence comes so great a memory for the Writings? Whence an unimpaired sense and understanding of them? Whence has such an order of discourse been framed? Whence did you get such exhortations to the way of heaven, whence such confidence against the Devil, and such proofs against heretics, unless the Holy Spirit had been lodged in you? Rejoice therefore to see that you are already there where also are your predecessors the martyrs, that is, among the band of messengers. We also rejoice, having you as an example of valor, and patience, and liberty. For I blush to say anything of what you have written about my name, lest I should appear a flatterer. But I know and believe that the Lord Himself, who has revealed all knowledge to your holy and religious spirit, will reward you for this labor also with a reward in the kingdom of the heavens. Since then you are such a man, we ask the Lord in prayer that you may pray for us, that in His mercy He may now deign to look down on the Universal Assembly, and deliver all His servants from the hands of persecutors; in order that all they too who have fallen on account of temporal fear may at length be enabled to raise themselves and return to the way of righteousness, led away from which they are wandering, poor people, not knowing in what a pit they are. In particular I ask, if I have said anything wrongly, you would be good enough to overlook it, for from so great a fountain my unskillfulness has not been able to draw what it might have done. But as to our brothers, I ask you again to overlook my not having been able to see them. For truth itself is my witness that I wished and longed to compass this, and was greatly grieved at being unable. For my eyes ceased not from tears, nor my spirit from groaning, because we are not permitted even to see the brothers. But God is my witness, that on account of their persecution I have not been able to see even the parents whom I have. For what is there that the Arians leave undone? They watch the roads, observe those who enter and leave the city, search the vessels, go round the deserts, ransack houses, harass the brothers, cause unrest to everybody. But thanks be to God, in so doing they are more and more incurring the execration of all, and coming to be truly known for what your holiness has called them: slaves of Antichrist. And, poor wretches, hated as they are, they persist in their malice, until they will be condemned to the death of their ancestor Pharaoh. Those with me salute your piety. Pray salute those who are with you. May God’s divine grace preserve you, mindful of us and ever blessed, worthily called man of God, servant of Christ, partner of the Apostles, comfort of the brotherhood, master of truth, and in all things most longed for.
To those in every place who are living a monastic life, who are established in the faith of God, and sanctified in Christ, and who say, ‘Behold, we have forsaken all, and followed You,’ brothers dearly beloved and longed for, heartiest greetings in the Lord.
1. In compliance with your affectionate request, which you have frequently urged on me, I have written a short account of the sufferings which ourselves and the Assembly have undergone, refuting, according to my ability, the accursed heresy of the Arian madmen, and proving how entirely it is alien from the Truth. And I thought it necessary to represent to your Piety what pains the writing of these things has cost me, in order that you may understand thereby how truly the blessed Apostle has said, ‘O the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God’; and may kind bear with a weak man such as I am by nature. For the more I desired to write, and endeavored to force myself to understand the Divinity of the Word, so much the more did the knowledge thereof withdraw itself from me; and in proportion as I thought that I apprehended it, in so much I perceived myself to fail of doing so. Moreover, also I was unable to express in writing even what I seemed to myself to understand; and that which I wrote was unequal to the imperfect shadow of the truth which existed in my conception.
2. Considering therefore how it is written in the Book of Ecclesiastes, ‘I said, I will be wise, but it was far from me; That which is far off, and exceeding deep, who will find it out?’ and what is said in the Psalms, ‘The knowledge of You is too wonderful for me; it is high, I cannot attain to it’; and that Solomon says, ‘It is the glory of God to conceal a thing’; I frequently designed to stop and to cease writing; believe me, I did. But lest I should be found to disappoint you, or by my silence to lead into impiety those who have made inquiry of you, and are given to disputation, I constrained myself to write briefly, what I have now sent to your piety. For although a perfect apprehension of the truth is at present far removed from us by reason of the infirmity of the flesh, yet it is possible, as the Preacher himself has said, to perceive the madness of the impious, and having found it, to say that it is ‘more bitter than death.’ Therefore for this reason, as perceiving this and able to find it out, I have written, knowing that to the faithful the detection of impiety is a sufficient information wherein piety consists. For although it be impossible to comprehend what God is, yet it is possible to say what He is not. And we know that He is not as man; and that it is not lawful to conceive of any originated nature as existing in Him. So also respecting the Son of God, although we are by nature very far from being able to comprehend Him; yet is it possible and easy to condemn the assertions of the heretics concerning Him, and to say, that the Son of God is not such; nor is it lawful even to conceive in our minds such things as they speak, concerning His Godhead; much less to utter them with the lips.
3. Accordingly, I have written as well as I was able; and you, dearly beloved, receive these communications not as containing a perfect exposition of the Godhead of the Word, but as being merely a refutation of the impiety of the enemies of Christ, and as containing and affording to those who desire it, suggestions for arriving at a pious and sound faith in Christ. And if in anything they are defective (and I think they are defective in all respects), pardon it with a pure conscience, and only receive favorably the boldness of my good intentions in support of godliness. For an utter condemnation of the heresy of the Arians, it is sufficient for you to know the judgment given by the Lord in the death of Arius, of which you have already been informed by others. ‘For what the Holy God has purposed, who will scatter?’ and whom the Lord condemned who will justify? After such a sign given, who do not now acknowledge, that the heresy is hated of God, however it may have men for its patrons? Now when you have read this account, pray for me, and exhort one another so to do. And immediately send it back to me, and suffer no one whatever to take a copy of it, nor transcribe it for yourselves. But like good money-changers be satisfied with the reading; but read it repeatedly if you desire to do so. For it is not safe that the writings of us babblers and private persons should fall into the hands of them that will come after. Salute one another in love, and also all that come to you in piety and faith. For ‘if any man’ as the Apostle has said, ‘love not the Lord, let him be anathema. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you. Amen.’
[Athanasius, Chief-overseer of Alexandria, to the Solitaries.]
Athanasius to those who practice a solitary life, and are settled in faith in God, most beloved brothers, greetings in the Lord.
I thank the Lord who has given to you to believe in Him, that you too may have with the holy ones eternal life. But because there are certain persons who hold with Arius and go around the monasteries with no other object save that under color of visiting you, and returning from us they may deceive the simple; whereas there are certain who, while they affirm that they do not hold with Arius, yet compromise themselves and worship with his party; I have been compelled, at the instance of certain most sincere brothers, to write at once in order that keeping faithfully and without guile the pious faith which God’s grace works in you, you may not give occasion of scandal to the brothers. For when any sees you, the faithful in Christ, associate and communicate with such people, [[or worshiping along with them]], certainly they will think it a matter of indifference and will fall into the mire of irreligion. Lest, then, this should happen, be pleased, beloved, to shun those who hold the impiety [of Arius], and moreover to avoid those who, while they pretend not to hold with Arius, yet worship with the impious. And we are especially bound to fly from the communion of men whose opinions we hold in execration. [[If then any come to you, and, as blessed John says, brings with him right doctrine, say to him, All hail, and receive such a one as a brother.]] But if any pretend that he confesses the right faith, but appear to communicate with those others, exhort him to abstain from such communion, and if he promise to do so, treat him as a brother, but if he persist in a contentious spirit, avoid him. [[I might greatly lengthen my letter, adding from the divine Writings the outline of this teaching. But since, being wise men, you can anticipate those who write, and rather, being intent on self-denial, are fit to instruct others also, I have dictated a short letter, as from one loving friend to others, in the confidence]] that living as you do you will preserve a pure and sincere faith, and that those persons, seeing that you do not join with them in worship, will derive benefit, fearing lest they be accounted as impious, and as those who hold with them.
Athanasius to Serapion, a brother and fellow-minister, health in the Lord.
1. I have read the letters of your piety, in which you have requested me to make known to you the events of my times relating to myself, and to give an account of that most impious heresy of the Arians, in consequence of which I have endured these sufferings, and also of the manner of the death of Arius. With two out of your three demands I have readily undertaken to comply, and have sent to your Godliness what I wrote to the Monks; from which you will be able to learn my own history as well as that of the heresy. But with respect to the other matter, I mean the death, I debated with myself for a long time, fearing lest anyone should suppose that I was exulting in the death of that man. But yet, since a disputation which has taken place among you concerning the heresy, has issued in this question, whether Arius died after previously communicating with the Assembly; I therefore was necessarily desirous of giving an account of his death, as thinking that the question would thus be set at rest, considering also that by making this known I should at the same time silence those who are fond of contention. For I conceive that when the wonderful circumstances connected with his death become known, even those who before questioned it will no longer venture to doubt that the Arian heresy is hateful in the sight of God.
2. I was not at Constantinople when he died, but Macarius the Elder was, and I heard the account of it from him. Arius had been invited by Emperor Constantine, through the interest of Eusebius and his fellows; and when he entered the presence the emperor inquired of him, whether he held the Faith of the Universal Assembly? And he declared on oath that he held the right Faith and gave in an account of his Faith in writing, suppressing the points for which he had been cast out of the Assembly by the Overseer Alexander, and speciously alleging expressions out of the Writings. When therefore he swore that he did not profess the opinions for which Alexander had excommunicated him, [the emperor] dismissed him, saying, ‘If your Faith be right, you have done well to swear; but if your Faith be impious, and you have sworn, God judge of you according to your oath.’ When he thus came forth from the presence of the emperor, Eusebius and his fellows, with their accustomed violence, desired to bring him into the Assembly. But Alexander, the Overseer of Constantinople of blessed memory, resisted them, saying that the inventor of the heresy ought not to be admitted to communion; whereupon Eusebius and his fellows threatened, declaring, ‘As we have caused him to be invited by the emperor, in opposition to your wishes, so tomorrow, though it be contrary to your desire, Arius will have communion with us in this Assembly.’ It was the Sabbath when they said this.
3. When the Overseer Alexander heard this, he was greatly distressed, and entering into the assembly, he stretched forth his hands to God, and bewailed himself; and casting himself on his face in the chancel, he prayed, lying on the pavement. Macarius also was present, and prayed with him, and heard his words. And he besought these two things, saying, ‘If Arius is brought to communion tomorrow, let me Your servant depart, and destroy not the pious with the impious; but if You will spare Your Assembly (and I know that You will spare), look on the words of Eusebius and his fellows, and give not your inheritance to destruction and reproach, and take off Arius, lest if he enter into the Assembly, the heresy also may seem to enter with him, and henceforward impiety be accounted for piety.’ When the Overseer had thus prayed, he retired in great anxiety; and a wonderful and extraordinary circumstance took place. While Eusebius and his fellows threatened, the Overseer prayed; but Arius, who had great confidence in Eusebius and his fellows, and talked very wildly, urged by the necessities of nature withdrew, and suddenly, in the language of Writing, ‘falling headlong he burst apart in the midst,’ and immediately expired as he lay, and was deprived both of communion and of his life together.
4. Such has been the end of Arius: and Eusebius and his fellows, overwhelmed with shame, buried their accomplice, while the blessed Alexander, amidst the rejoicings of the Assembly, celebrated the Communion with piety and orthodoxy, praying with all the brothers, and greatly glorifying God, not as exulting in his death (God forbid!), for ‘it is appointed to all men once to die,’ but because this thing had been shown forth in a manner transcending human judgments. For the Lord Himself judging between the threats of Eusebius and his fellows, and the prayer of Alexander, condemned the Arian heresy, showing it to be unworthy of communion with the Assembly, and making manifest to all, that although it receive the support of the emperor and of all mankind, yet it was condemned by the Assembly herself. So the antichristian gang of the Arian madmen has been shown to be unpleasing to God and impious; and many of those who before were deceived by it changed their opinions. For none other than the Lord Himself who was blasphemed by them condemned the heresy which rose up against Him, and again showed that howsoever Emperor Constantius may now use violence to the Overseers in behalf of it, yet it is excluded from the communion of the Assembly, and alien from the kingdom of heaven. Therefore, also let the question which has arisen among you be henceforth set at rest; (for this was the agreement made among you), and let no one join himself to the heresy, but let even those who have been deceived convert. For who will receive what the Lord condemned? And will not he who takes up the support of that which He has made excommunicate, be guilty of great impiety, and manifestly an enemy of Christ?
5. Now this is sufficient to confound the contentious; read it therefore to those who before raised this question, as well as what was briefly addressed to the Monks against the heresy, in order that they may be led thereby more strongly to condemn the impiety and wickedness of the Arian madmen. Do not however consent to give a copy of these to anyone, neither transcribe them for yourself (I have signified the same to the Monks also); but as a sincere friend, if anything is lacking in what I have written, add it, and immediately send them back to me. For you will be able to learn from the letter which I have written to the Brothers, what pains it has cost me to write it, and also to perceive that it is not safe for the writings of a private person to be published (especially if they relate to the highest and chief doctrines), for this reason—lest what is imperfectly expressed through infirmity or the obscurity of language, do hurt to the reader. For the majority of men do not consider the faith, or the aim of the writer, but either through envy or a spirit of contention, receive what is written as themselves choose, according to an opinion which they have previously formed, and misinterpret it to suit their pleasure. But the Lord grant that the Truth and a sound faith in our Lord Jesus Christ may prevail among all, and especially among those to whom you read this. Amen.
To our lord, son, and most desired fellow-minister Rufinianus, Athanasius [sends] greetings in the Lord.
You write what is proper for a beloved son to write to a father: accordingly, I embraced you when you came near me in writing, most desired Rufinianus. And I, though I might write to you as a son both in the opening and the middle and the close, refrained, lest my commendation and testimony should be made known by writing. For you are my letter, as it is written, known and read in the heart. That you then are in such case, believe, yes believe. I address you, and invite you to write. For by doing so you afford me the highest gratification. But since in an honorable and assembly-like spirit, such as becomes your piety, you ask me about those who were drawn away by necessity but not corrupted by error, and wish me to write what resolution has been come to about them, whether in synods or elsewhere; know, most desired Lord, that to begin with, when violence was ceased, a synod has been held, overseers from foreign parts being present; while others have been held by our fellow-ministers resident in Greece, as well as by those in Spain and Gaul: and the same decision was come to here and everywhere, namely, in the case of those who had fallen and been leaders of impiety, to pardon them on their conversion, but not to give them the position of clergy: but in the case of men not deliberate in impiety, but drawn away by necessity and violence, that they should not only receive pardon, but should occupy the position of clergy: the more so, in that they offered a plausible defense, and what had happened seemed due to a certain special purpose. For they assured us that they had not gone over to impiety; but lest certain most impious persons should be elected and ruin the Assemblies they elected rather to acquiesce in the violence and to bear the burden, than to lose the people. But in saying this, they appeared to us to say what was plausible; for they alleged in excuse Aaron the brother of Moses, who in the wilderness acquiesced in the people’s transgression; and that he had had as his excuse the danger of the people returning to Egypt and abiding in idolatry. For there was reason in the view, that if they remained in the wilderness they might cease from their impiety: but if they went into Egypt, they would become ruined and increase the impiety in their midst. For this reason, then, they have been allowed to rank as clergy, those who had been deceived and suffered violence being pardoned. I give this information to your piety in the confidence that you will both accept what has been resolved on, and not charge those who assembled, as I have said, with remissness. But be good enough to read it to the clergy and laity under you, that they may be informed, and may not blame you for being thus minded about such persons. For it would not be fitting for me to write, when your piety is able to do so, and to announce our mind with regard to them, and carry out all that remains to be done. Thanks to the Lord that filled you with all utterance and with all knowledge. Let then those that convert openly anathematize by name the error of Eudoxius and Euzoius. For they blasphemed still, and wrote that He was a creature, ringleaders of the Arian heresy. But let them confess the faith confessed by the fathers at Nicaea, and that they put no other synod before that one. Greet the brotherhood with you. That with us greets you in the Lord.
[Copy of a letter of Emperor Jovian, sent to Athanasius, the most holy Chief-overseer of Alexandria.]
To the most religious and friend of God, Athanasius, Jovian.
Admiring exceedingly the achievements of your most honorable life, and of your likeness to the God of all, and of your affection toward our Savior Christ, we accept you, most honored overseer. And inasmuch as you have not flinched from all labor, nor from the fear of your persecutors, and, regarding dangers and threats of the sword as dung, holding the rudder of the orthodox faith which is dear to you, are contending even until now for the truth, and continue to exhibit yourself as a pattern to all the people of the faithful, and an example of virtue: our imperial Majesty recalls you, and desires that you should return to the office of the teaching of salvation. Return then to the holy Assemblies, and tend the people of God, and send up to God with zeal your prayers for our mercy. For we know that by your supplication we, and all who hold with us [the Christian faith], will have great assistance from the supreme God.
Letter of Athanasius to Jovian concerning the Faith.
1. A desire to learn and a yearning for heavenly things is suitable to a religious Emperor; for thus you will truly have ‘your heart’ also ‘in the hand of God.’ Since then your Piety desired to learn from us the faith of the Universal Assembly, giving thanks for these things to the Lord, we counseled above all things to remind your Piety of the faith confessed by the Fathers at Nicaea. For this certain set at nothing, while plotting against us in many ways, because we would not comply with the Arian heresy, and they have become authors of heresy and schisms in the Universal Assembly. For the true and pious faith in the Lord has become manifest to all, being both ‘known and read‘ from the Divine Writings. For in it both the holy ones were made perfect and suffered martyrdom, and now are departed in the Lord; and the faith would have abode inviolate always had not the wickedness of certain heretics presumed to tamper with it. For a certain Arius and those with him attempted to corrupt it, and to introduce impiety in its place, affirming that the Son of God was from nothing, and a creature, and a thing made and changeable. But with these words they deceived many, so that even ‘they that seemed to be somewhat were carried away,’ with their blasphemy. And yet our holy Fathers, as we said before, came promptly together at the Synod at Nicaea, and anathematized them, and confessed in writing the faith of the Universal Assembly, so that, this being everywhere preached, the heresy kindled by the heretics might be quenched. This faith then was everywhere in every Assembly sincerely known and preached. But since now certain who wish to renew the Arian heresy have presumed to set at nothing this faith confessed at Nicaea by the Fathers, and while pretending to confess it, do in fact deny it, explaining away the ‘Coessential,’ and blaspheming of their own accord against the Holy Spirit, in affirming that It is a creature, and came into being as a thing made by the Son, we hasten as of bounden duty, in view of the injury resulting to the people from such blasphemy, to hand to your Piety the faith confessed at Nicaea; in order that your religiousness may know what has been written with all accuracy, and how far wrong they are who teach contrary to it.
2. For know, most religious Augustus, that these things have been preached from time immemorial, and this faith the Fathers who met at Nicaea confessed; and to it have assented all the Assemblies in every quarter, both those in Spain, and Britain, and the Gauls, and all Italy and Dalmatia, Dacia and Moesia, Macedonia and all Greece, and in all Africa and Sardinia, and Cyprus and Crete, as well as Pamphylia, Lycia and Isauria, and those in Egypt and the Libyas, Pontus and Cappadocia, and those near at hand to us, and the Assemblies in the East, except a few who hold with Arius. For of all those above mentioned we have both learned the opinion by experience, and we have letters. And you know, O most religious Augustus, that even if some few speak against this faith, they cannot create a demurrer, inasmuch as the whole world holds the Apostolic faith. For they having long been infected by the Arian heresy, now the more obstinately oppose the truth. And that your Piety may know, although you know already, yet we hasten to append the faith confessed by the Overseers at Nicaea. The faith then confessed at Nicaea by the Fathers is as follows:
3. We believe, etc., etc.
4. By this faith, Augustus, all must necessarily abide, as Divine and Apostolic, and none must unsettle it by plausibilities, and contentions about words, which is what the Arian madmen have done, saying that the Son of God is from nothing, and that once there was when He was not, and that He is created, and made and changeable. For this cause, as we said before, the Synod at Nicaea anathematized such heresy, but confessed the faith of the truth. For they have not merely said that the Son is like the Father, lest He should be believed merely like God, instead of Very God from God; but they wrote ‘Coessential,’ which was peculiar to a genuine and true Son, truly and naturally from the Father. Nor yet did they make the Holy Spirit alien from the Father and the Son, but rather glorified Him together with the Father and the Son, in the one faith of the Holy Triad, because there is in the Holy Triad also one Godhead.
[Appendix to Epistle LVI.]
Petition made at Antioch to Jovian the emperor on the part of Lucius and Bernicianus, and certain other Arians against Athanasius, Overseer of Alexandria.
[First Petition which they made as the emperor was departing to Camp, at the Roman Gate.]
May it please your Might and your Majesty and your Piety to hear us. The Emperor: ‘Who are you and where from?’ The Arians: ‘Christians, my Lord.’ Emperor: ‘Where from, and from what city?’ The Arians: ‘Alexandria.’—Emperor: ‘What do you want?’ The Arians: ‘May it please your Might and your Majesty, give us an overseer.’ Emperor: ‘I ordered the former one, whom you had before, Athanasius, to occupy the See.’ The Arians: ‘May it please your Might: he has been many years both in banishment, and under accusation.’ Suddenly a soldier answered in indignation: ‘May it please your Majesty, inquire of them who they are and where from, for these are the leavings and refuse of Cappadocia, the remains of that unholy George who desolated the city and the world.’ The Emperor on hearing this set spurs to his horse, and departed to the Camp.
Second Petition of the Arians.
‘We have accusations and clear proofs against Athanasius, in that ten and twenty years ago he was deprived by the ever memorable Constantine and Constantius, and incurred banishment under the most religious and philosophical and blessed Julian.’ Emperor: ‘Accusations ten, twenty, and thirty years old are now obsolete. Don’t speak to me about Athanasius, for I know why he was accused, and how he was banished.’
Third Petition of the Arians.
‘And now again, we have certain other accusations against Athanasius.’ Emperor: ‘The rights of the case will not appear by means of crowded numbers, and clamors, but choose two from yourselves, and from the party of the majority other two, for I cannot answer each one individually.’ Those from the majority: ‘These are the leavings from the unholy George, who desolated our province, and who would not allow a counselor to dwell in the cities.’ The Arians: ‘May it please you, any one you will except Athanasius.’ Emperor: ‘I told you that the case of Athanasius was already settled,’ (and then angrily) ‘feri, feri!’ The Arians: ‘May it please you, if you send Athanasius, our city is ruined, and no one assembles with him.’ Emperor: ‘Yet I took pains, and ascertained that he holds right opinions and is orthodox, and teaches correctly.’ The Arians: ‘With his mouth he utters what is right, but in his soul he harbors guile.’ Emperor: ‘That will do, you have testified of him, that he utters what is right and teaches correctly, but if he teaches and speaks correctly with his tongue, but harbors evil thoughts in his soul, it concerns him before God. For we are men, and hear what is said; but what is in the heart God knows.’ The Arians: ‘Authorise our holding communion together.’ Emperor: ‘Why, who prevents you?’ The Arians: ‘May it please you, he proclaims us as sectarians and dogmatisers.’ Emperor: ‘It is his duty, and that of those who teach correctly.’ The Arians: ‘May it please your Might; we cannot bear this man, and he has taken away the lands of the Assemblies.’ Emperor: ‘Oh then, it is on account of property you have come here, and not on account of the faith’—then he added—’go away, and keep the peace.’ Once more he added to the Arians: ‘Go away to the Assembly, tomorrow you have a Communion, and after the dismissal, there are Overseers here, and here is Nemesinus, each one of you will sign as he believes: Athanasius is here too; whoever does not know the word of faith, let him learn from Athanasius. You have tomorrow and the day after, for I am going out to Camp.’ And a certain lawyer belonging to the Cynics petitioned the emperor: ‘May it please your Majesty, on account of Overseer Athanasius, the Receiver-General seized my houses.’ Emperor: ‘If the Receiver-General seized your houses what has that to do with Athanasius?’ Another lawyer, Patalas, said: ‘I have a complaint against Athanasius.’ Emperor: ‘And what have you to do with Christians, being a heathen?’ But certain of the majority of them of Antioch took Lucius and brought him to the emperor, saying: ‘May it please your Might and your Majesty, look whom they wanted to make an overseer!’
Another petition made at the porch of the palace on the part of Lucius.
‘May it please your Might, listen to me.’ The Emperor stopped and said: ‘I ask you, Lucius, how did you come here, by sea or by land?’ Lucius: ‘May it please you, by sea.’ Emperor: ‘Well, Lucius, may the God of the world, and the radiant sun, and moon, be angry with those men that made the voyage with you, for not casting you into the sea; and may that ship never again have fair winds, nor find a haven with her passengers when in a storm.’ And through Euzoius the unbelieving Arians asked Probatius and his fellows, the successors of Eusebius and Bardio as eunuchs, that they might be granted an audience. The Emperor learned this, and tortured the eunuchs and said: ‘If any one wants to make a petition against Christians let this be his fate.’ And so the emperor dismissed them.
‘And having spent a few days there, he says to the Abbat Theodorus: Since the Passover is near, visit the brothers after your manner; and as the Lord will dispose me, I will do. And he embraced him, and sent him away, having written a letter by him to the Abbat Orsisius and the brothers, to the following effect’:
I have seen your fellow-worker and father of the brothers, Theodorus, and in him the master of our father Pachomius. And I rejoiced to see the sons of the Assembly, and they made me glad by their presence. But the Lord is their rewarder. And as Theodorus was about to leave me for you, he said to me: Remember me. And I said to him: If I forget you, O Jerusalem, let my right hand be forgotten, yes let my tongue cleave to my throat if I remember you not.
‘But the most holy Chief-overseer Athanasius, when he heard about our father Theodorus, was grieved, and sent this letter to the Abbot Orsisius and the brothers to console them for his decease, as follows’:
Athanasius to Orsisius, Abbot, father of monks, and to all with him who practice the solitary life, and are settled in faith in God, beloved brothers most longed for in the Lord, greetings.
I have heard about the decease of the blessed Theodorus, and the tidings caused me great anxiety, knowing as I did his value to you. Now if it had not been Theodorus, I should have used many words to you, with tears, considering what follows after death. But since it is Theodorus whom you and I have known, what need I say in my letter save ‘Blessed is’ Theodorus, ‘who has not walked in the council of the ungodly?’ But if ‘he is blessed that fears the Lord,’ we may now confidently call him blessed, having the firm assurance that he has reached as it were a haven, and has a life without care. Would that the same had also befallen each one of us; would that each of us in his running might thus arrive; would that each of us, on his voyage, might moor his own bark there in the stormless haven, so that, at rest with the fathers, he might say, ‘here will I dwell, for I have a delight therein.’ Therefore, brothers beloved and most longed-for, weep not for Theodorus, for he ‘is not dead, but sleeps.’ Let no one weep when he remembers him, but imitate his life. For one must not grieve over one that is gone to the place where grief is not. This I write to you all in common; but especially to you, beloved and most longed for Orsisius, in order that now that he is fallen asleep, you may take up the whole charge, and take his place among the brothers. For while he survived, you two were as one, and when one was away, the work of both was carried on: and when both were there you were as one, discoursing to the beloved ones what made for their good. Thus act, then, and so doing write and tell me of the safety of yourself and of the brotherhood. And I exhort you all to pray together that the Lord may grant further peace to the Assemblies. For we now kept festival with joy, both Easter and Pentecost, and we rejoice in the benefits of the Lord. I write to you all. Greet all who fear the Lord. Those with me greet you. I pray that you may be well in the Lord, beloved and much-longed-for brothers.
To my Lord, beloved brother, and most-longed-for fellow-minister Epictetus, Athanasius [sends] greetings in the Lord.
1. I thought that all vain talk of all heretics, many as they may be, had been stopped by the Synod which was held at Nicaea. For the Faith there confessed by the Fathers according to the divine Writings is enough by itself at once to overthrow all impiety, and to establish the religious belief in Christ. For this reason at the present time, at the assembling of diverse synods, both in Gaul and Spain, and great Rome, all who came together, as though moved by one spirit, unanimously anathematized those who still were secretly holding with Arius, namely Auxentius of Milan, Ursacius, Valens, and Gaius of Pannonia. And they wrote everywhere, that, whereas the above-said were devising the names of synods to cite on their side, no synod should be cited in the Universal Assembly save only that which was held at Nicaea, which was a monument of victory over all heresy, but especially the Arian, which was the main reason of the synod assembling when it did. How then, after all this, are some attempting to raise doubts or questions? If they belong to the Arians, this is not to be wondered at, that they find fault with what was drawn up against themselves, just as the Gentiles when they hear that ‘the idols of the heathen are silver and gold, the work of men’s hands,’ think the doctrine of the divine Cross folly. But if those who desire to reopen everything by raising questions belong to those who think they believe correctly, and love what the fathers have declared, they are simply doing what the prophet describes, giving their neighbor turbid confusion to drink, and fighting about words to no good purpose, save to the subversion of the simple.
2. I write this after reading the memoranda submitted by your piety, which I could wish had not been written at all, so that not even any record of these things should go down to posterity. For who ever yet heard the like? Who ever taught or learned it? For ‘from Zion will come forth the law of God, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem’; but whence came forth this? What lower region has vomited the statement that the Body born of Mary is coessential with the Godhead of the Word? or that the Word has been changed into flesh, bones, hair, and the whole body, and altered from its own nature? Or who ever heard in a Assembly, or even from Christians, that the Lord wore a body putatively, not in nature; or who ever went so far in impiety as to say and hold, that this Godhead, which is coessential with the Father, was circumcised and became imperfect instead of perfect; and that what hung on the tree was not the body, but the very creative Essence and Wisdom? Or who that hears that the Word transformed for Himself a passible body, not of Mary, but of His own Essence, could call him who said this a Christian? Or who devised this abominable impiety, for it to enter even his imagination, and for him to say that to pronounce the Lord’s Body to be of Mary is to hold a Tetrad instead of a Triad in the Godhead? Those who think thus, saying that the Body of the Savior which He put on from Mary, is of the Essence of the Triad. Or whence again have certain vomited an impiety as great as those already mentioned; saying namely, that the body is not newer than the Godhead of the Word, but was coeternal with it always, since it was compounded of the Essence of Wisdom. Or how did men called Christians venture even to doubt whether the Lord, who proceeded from Mary, while Son of God by Essence and Nature, is of the seed of David according to the flesh, and of the flesh of the Holy Mary? Or who have been so venturesome as to say that Christ who suffered in the flesh and was crucified is not Lord, Savior, God, and Son of the Father? Or how can they wish to be called Christians who say that the Word has descended on a holy man as on one of the prophets, and has not Himself become man, taking the body from Mary; but that Christ is one person, while the Word of God, who before Mary and before the ages was Son of the Father, is another? Or how can they be Christians who say that the Son is one, and the Word of God another?
3. Such were the contents of the memoranda; diverse statements, but one in their sense and in their meaning; tending to impiety. It was for these things that men who make their boast in the confession of the fathers drawn up at Nicaea were disputing and quarreling with one another. But I marvel that your piety allowed it, and that you did not stop those who said such things, and propound to them the right faith, so that on hearing it they might hold their peace, or if they opposed it might be counted as heretics. For the statements are not fit for Christians to make or to hear, on the contrary they are in every way alien from the Apostolic teaching. For this reason, as I said above, I have caused what they say to be baldly inserted in my letter, so that one who merely hears may perceive the shame and impiety therein contained. And although it would be right to denounce and expose in full the folly of those who have had such ideas, yet it would be a good thing to close my letter here and write no more. For what is so manifestly shown to be evil, it is not necessary to waste time in exposing further, lest contentious persons think the matter doubtful. It is enough merely to answer such things as follows: we are content with the fact that this is not the teaching of the Universal Assembly, nor did the fathers hold this. But lest the ‘inventors of evil things‘ make entire silence on our part a pretext for shamelessness, it will be well to mention a few points from Holy Writing, in case they may even thus be put to shame, and cease from these foul devices.
4. Whence did it occur to you, sirs, to say that the Body is of one Essence with the Godhead of the Word? For it is well to begin at this point, in order that by showing this opinion to be unsound, all the others too may be proved to be the same. Now from the divine Writings we discover nothing of the kind. For they say that God came in a human body. But the fathers who also assembled at Nicaea say that, not the body, but the Son Himself is coessential with the Father, and that while He is of the Essence of the Father, the body, as they admitted according to the Writings, is of Mary. Either then deny the Synod of Nicaea, and as heretics bring in your doctrine from the side; or, if you wish to be children of the fathers, do not hold the contrary of what they wrote. For here again you may see how monstrous it is: If the Word is coessential with the body which is of earthly nature, while the Word is, by your own confession, coessential with the Father, it will follow that even the Father Himself is coessential with the body produced from the earth. And why any longer blame the Arians for calling the Son a creature, when you go off to another form of impiety, saying that the Word was changed into flesh and bones and hair and muscles and all the body, and was altered from its own nature? For it is time for you to say openly that He was born of earth; for from earth is the nature of the bones and of all the body. What then is this great folly of yours, that you fight even with one another? For in saying that the Word is coessential with the Body, you distinguish the one from the other, while in saying that He has been changed into flesh, you imagine a change of the Word Himself. And who will tolerate you any longer if you so much as utter these opinions? For you have gone further in impiety than any heresy. For if the Word is coessential with the Body, the commemoration and the work of Mary are superfluous, inasmuch as the body could have existed before Mary, just as the Word also is eternal: if, that is, it is as you say co-essential with the Body. Or what need was there even of the Word coming among us, to put on what was coessential with Himself, or to change His own nature and become a body? For the Deity does not take hold of itself, so as to put on what is of its own Essence, any more than the Word sinned, in that it ransoms the sins of others, in order that changing into a body it should offer itself a sacrifice for itself, and ransom itself.
5. But this is not so, far be the thought. For he ‘takes hold of the seed of Abraham,’ as the apostle said; whence it behooved Him to be made like His brothers in all things, and to take a Body like us. This is why Mary is truly presupposed, in order that He may take it from her, and offer it for us as His own. And this Isaiah pointed to in his prophecy, in the words: ‘Behold the Virgin,’ while Gabriel is sent to her—not simply to a virgin, but ‘to a virgin betrothed to a man,’ in order that by means of the betrothed man he might show that Mary was really a human being. And for this reason Writing also mentions her bringing forth, and tells of her wrapping Him in swaddling clothes; and therefore, too, the breasts which He sucked were called blessed. And He was offered as a sacrifice, in that He who was born had opened the womb. Now all these things are proofs that the Virgin brought forth. And Gabriel preached the Gospel to her without uncertainty, saying not merely ‘what is born in you,’ lest the body should be thought to be extraneously induced on her, but ‘of you,’ that what was born might be believed to be naturally from her, inasmuch as Nature clearly shows that it is impossible for a virgin to produce milk unless she has brought forth, and impossible for a body to be nourished with milk and wrapped in swaddling clothes unless it has previously been naturally brought forth. This is the meaning of His being circumcised on the eighth day: of Symeon taking Him in his arms, of His becoming a young child, and growing when He was twelve years old, and of His coming to His thirtieth year. For it was not, as some suppose, the very Essence of the Word that was changed, and was circumcised, because it is incapable of alteration or change. For the Savior Himself says, ‘Behold, behold, it is I, and I change not,’ while Paul writes: ‘Jesus Christ, the same yesterday, and today, and forever.’ But in the Body which was circumcised, and carried, and ate and drank, and was weary, and was nailed on the tree and suffered, there was the impassible and incorporeal Word of God. This Body it was that was laid in a grave, when the Word had left it, yet was not parted from it, to preach, as Peter says, also to the spirits in prison.
6. And this above all shows the foolishness of those who say that the Word was changed into bones and flesh. For if this had been so, there were no need of a tomb. For the Body would have gone by itself to preach to the spirits in Hades. But as it was, He Himself went to preach, while the Body Joseph wrapped in a linen cloth, and laid it away at Golgotha. And so it is shown to all that the Body was not the Word, but Body of the Word. And it was this that Thomas handled when it had risen from the dead, and saw in it the print of the nails, which the Word Himself had undergone, seeing them fixed in His own Body, and though able to prevent it, did not do so. On the contrary, the incorporeal Word made His own the properties of the Body, as being His own Body. Why, when the Body was struck by the attendant, as suffering Himself He asked, ‘Why strike you Me?’ And being by nature intangible, the Word yet said, ‘I gave My back to the stripes, and My cheeks to blows, and hid not My face from shame and spitting.’ For what the human Body of the Word suffered, this the Word, dwelling in the body, ascribed to Himself, in order that we might be enabled to be partakers of the Godhead of the Word. And truly it is strange that He it was who suffered and yet suffered not. Suffered, because His own Body suffered, and He was in it, which thus suffered; suffered not, because the Word, being by Nature God, is impassible. And while He, the incorporeal, was in the passible Body, the Body had in it the impassible Word, which was destroying the infirmities inherent in the Body. But this He did, and so it was, in order that Himself taking what was ours and offering it as a sacrifice, He might do away with it, and conversely might invest us with what was His, and cause the Apostle to say: ‘This corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal put on immortality.’
7. Now this did not come to pass putatively, as some have supposed: far be the thought: but the Savior having in very truth become Man, the salvation of the whole man was brought about. For if the Word were in the Body putatively, as they say, and by putative is meant imaginary, it follows that both the salvation and the resurrection of man is apparent only, as the most impious Manichaeus held. But truly our salvation is not merely apparent, nor does it extend to the body only, but the whole man, body and soul alike, has truly obtained salvation in the Word Himself. That then which was born of Mary was according to the divine Writings human by nature, and the Body of the Lord was a true one; but it was this, because it was the same as our body, for Mary was our sister inasmuch as we all are from Adam. And no one can doubt of this when he remembers what Luke wrote. For after He had risen from the dead, when some thought that they did not see the Lord in the body derived from Mary, but were beholding a spirit instead, He said, ‘See My hands and My feet, and the prints of the nails, that it is I Myself: handle Me and see; for a spirit has not flesh and bones as you see Me to have. And when He had said thus, He showed them His hands and His feet.’ Whence they can be refuted who have ventured to say that the Lord was transformed into flesh and bones. For He did not say, ‘As you see Me to be flesh and bone,’ but ‘as you see Me to have,’ in order that it might not be thought that the Word Himself was changed into these things, but that He might be believed to have them after His resurrection as well as before His death.
8. These things being thus demonstrated, it is superfluous to touch on the other points, or to enter on any discussion relating to them, since the body in which the Word was is not coessential with the Godhead, but was truly born of Mary, while the Word Himself was not changed into bones and flesh, but came in the flesh. For what John said, ‘The Word was made flesh,’ has this meaning, as we may see by a similar passage; for it is written in Paul: ‘Christ has become a curse for us.’ And just as He has not Himself become a curse, but is said to have done so because He took on Him the curse on our behalf, so also He has become flesh not by being changed into flesh, but because He assumed on our behalf living flesh, and has become Man. For to say ‘the Word became flesh,’ is equivalent to saying ‘the Word has become man’; according to what is said in Joel: ‘I will pour forth of My Spirit on all flesh’; for the promise did not extend to the irrational animals, but is for men, on whose account the Lord is become Man. As then this is the sense of the above text, they all will reasonably condemn themselves who have thought that the flesh derived from Mary existed before her, and that the Word, prior to her, had a human soul, and existed in it always even before His coming. And they too will cease who have said that the Flesh was not accessible to death, but belonged to the immortal Nature. For if it did not die, how could Paul deliver to the Corinthians ‘that Christ died for our sins, according to the Writings,’ or how did He rise at all if He did not also die? Again, they will blush deeply who have even entertained the possibility of a Tetrad instead of a Triad resulting, if it were said that the Body was derived from Mary. For if (they argue) we say the Body is of one Essence with the Word, the Triad remains a Triad; for then the Word imports no foreign element into it; but if we admit that the Body derived from Mary is human, it follows, since the Body is foreign in Essence, and the Word is in it, that the addition of the Body causes a Tetrad instead of a Triad.
9. When they argue thus, they fail to perceive the contradiction in which they involve themselves. For even though they say that the Body is not from Mary, but is coessential with the Word, yet none the less (the very point they dissemble, to avoid being credited with their real opinion) this on their own premises can be proved to involve a Tetrad. For as the Son, according to the Fathers, is coessential with the Father, but is not the Father Himself, but is called coessential, as Son with Father, so the Body, which they call coessential with the Word, is not the Word Himself, but a distinct entity. But if so, on their own showing, their Triad will be a Tetrad. For the true, really perfect and indivisible Triad is not accessible to addition as is the Triad imagined by these persons. And how do these remain Christians who imagine another God in addition to the true one? For, once again, in their other fallacy one can see how great is their folly. For if they think because it is contained and stated in the Writings, that the Body of the Savior is human and derived from Mary, that a Tetrad is substituted for a Triad, as though the Body created an addition, they go very far wrong, so much so as to make the creature equal to the Creator, and suppose that the Godhead can receive an addition. And they have failed to perceive that the Word is become Flesh, not by reason of an addition to the Godhead, but in order that the flesh may rise again. Nor did the Word proceed from Mary that He might be bettered, but that He might ransom the human race. How then can they think that the Body, ransomed and raised by the Word, made an addition in respect of Godhead to the Word that had raised it? For on the contrary, a great addition has accrued to the human Body itself from the fellowship and union of the Word with it. For instead of mortal it is become immortal; and, though an animal body, it is become spiritual, and though made from earth it entered the heavenly gates. The Triad, then, although the Word took a body from Mary, is a Triad, being inaccessible to addition or diminution; but it is always perfect, and in the Triad one Godhead is recognized, and so in the Assembly one God is preached, the Father of the Word.
10. For this reason they also will henceforth keep silence, who once said that He who proceeded from Mary is not very Christ, or Lord, or God. For if He were not God in the Body, how came He, on proceeding from Mary, immediately to be called ‘Emmanuel, which is being interpreted God with us?’ Why again, if the Word was not in the flesh, did Paul write to the Romans ‘of whom is Christ after the flesh, who is above all God blessed forever. Amen?’ Let them therefore confess, even they who previously denied that the Crucified was God, that they have erred; for the divine Writings bid them, and especially Thomas, who, after seeing on Him the print of the nails, cried out ‘My Lord and my God!’ For the Son, being God, and Lord of glory, was in the Body which was ingloriously nailed and dishonored; but the Body, while it suffered, being pierced on the tree, and water and blood flowed from its side, yet because it was a temple of the Word was filled full of the Godhead. For this reason it was that the sun, seeing its creator suffering in His outraged body, withdrew its rays and darkened the earth. But the body itself being of mortal nature, beyond its own nature rose again by reason of the Word which was in it; and it has ceased from natural corruption, and, having put on the Word which is above man, has become incorruptible.
11. But with regard to the imagination of some, who say that the Word came on one particular man, the Son of Mary, just as it came on each of the Prophets, it is superfluous to discuss it, since their madness carries its own condemnation manifestly with it. For if He came thus, why was that man born of a virgin, and not like others of a man and woman? For in this way each of the holy ones also was begotten. Or why, if the Word came thus, is not the death of each one said to have taken place on our behalf, but only this man’s death? Or why, if the Word sojourned among us in the case of each one of the prophets, is it said only in the case of Him born of Mary that He sojourned here ‘once at the consummation of the ages?’ Or why, if He came as He had come in the holy ones of former times, did the Son of Mary alone, while all the rest had died without rising as yet, rise again on the third day? Or why, if the Word had come in like manner as He had done in the other cases, is the Son of Mary alone called Emmanuel, as though a Body filled full of the Godhead were born of her? For Emmanuel is interpreted ‘God with us.’ Or why, if He came thus, is it not said that when each of the holy ones ate, drank, labored, and died, that He (the Word) ate, drank, labored, and died, but only in the case of the Son of Mary. For what that Body suffered is said to have been suffered by the Word. And while we are merely told of the others that they were born, and begotten, it is said in the case of the Son of Mary alone that ‘The Word was made Flesh.’
12. This proves that while to all the others the Word came, in order that they might prophesy, from Mary the Word Himself took flesh, and proceeded forth as man; being by nature and essence the Word of God, but after the flesh man of the seed of David, and made of the flesh of Mary, as Paul said. Him the Father pointed out both in Jordan and on the Mount, saying, ‘This is My beloved Son in whom I am well pleased.’ Him the Arians denied, but we recognizing worship, not dividing the Son and the Word, but knowing that the Son is the Word Himself, by whom all things are made, and by whom we were redeemed. And for this reason we wonder how any contention at all has arisen among you about things so clear. But thanks to the Lord, much as we were grieved at reading your memoranda, we were equally glad at their conclusion. For they departed with concord, and peacefully agreed in the confession of the pious and orthodox faith. This fact has induced me, after much previous consideration, to write these few words; for I am anxious lest by my silence this matter should cause pain rather than joy to those whose concord occasions joy to ourselves. I therefore ask your piety in the first place, and secondly those who hear, to take my letter in good part, and if anything is lacking in it in respect of piety, to set that right, and inform me. But if it is written, as from one unpracticed in speech, below the subject and imperfectly, let all allow for my feebleness in speaking. Greet all the brothers with you. All those with us greet you; may you live in good health in the Lord, beloved and truly longed for.
1. We have read what your piety has written to us, and genuinely approve your piety toward Christ. And above all we glorify God, who has given you such grace as not only to have right opinions, but also, so far as that is possible, not to be ignorant of the devices of the Devil. But we marvel at the perversity of the heretics, seeing that they have fallen into such a pit of impiety that they no longer retain even their senses, but have their understanding corrupted on all sides. But this attempt is a plot of the Devil, and an imitation of the disobedient Jews. For as the latter, when refuted on all sides, kept devising excuses to their own hurt, if only they could deny the Lord and bring on themselves what was prophesied against them, in like manner these men, seeing themselves proscribed on all hands, and perceiving that their heresy has become abominable to all, prove themselves ‘inventors of evil things,’ in order that, not ceasing their fightings against the truth, they may remain consistent and genuine adversaries of Christ. For whence has this new mischief of theirs sprung forth? How have they even ventured to utter this new blasphemy against the Savior? But the impious man, it seems, is a worthless object, and truly ‘reprobate concerning the Faith.’ For formerly, while denying the Godhead of the only-begotten Son of God, they pretended at any rate to acknowledge His coming in the Flesh. But now, gradually going from bad to worse, they have fallen from this opinion of theirs, and become Godless on all hands, so as neither to acknowledge Him as God, nor to believe that He has become man. For if they believed this they would not have uttered such things as your piety has reported against them.
2. You, however, beloved and most truly longed-for, have done what befitted the tradition of the Assembly and your piety toward the Lord, in refuting, admonishing, and rebuking such men. But since, instigated by their father the Devil, ‘they did not know nor understood,’ as it is written, ‘but go on still in darkness,’ let them learn from your piety that this error of theirs belongs to Valentinus and Marcion, and to Manichaeus, of whom some substituted [the idea of] Appearance for Reality, while the others, dividing what is indivisible, denied the truth that ‘the Word was made Flesh, and dwelt among us.’ Why then, as they hold with those people, do they not also take up the heritage of their names? For it is reasonable, as they hold their error, to have their names as well, and for the future to be called Valentinians, Marcionites, and Manichaeans. Perhaps even thus, being put to shame by the ill savor of the names, they may be enabled to perceive into what a depth of impiety they have fallen. And it would be within our rights not to answer them at all, according to the apostolic advice: ‘A man that is heretical, after a first and second admonition refuse, knowing that such a one is perverted, and sins, being self-condemned’; the more so, in that the Prophet says about such men: ‘The fool will utter foolishness, and his heart will imagine vain things.’ But since, like their leader, they too go around like lions seeking whom among the simple they will devour, we are compelled to write in reply to your piety, that the brothers being once again instructed by your admonition may still further reprobate the vain teaching of those men.
3. We do not worship a creature. Far be the thought. For such an error belongs to heathens and Arians. But we worship the Lord of Creation, Incarnate, the Word of God. For if the flesh also is in itself a part of the created world, yet it has become God’s body. And we neither divide the body, being such, from the Word, and worship it by itself, nor when we wish to worship the Word do we set Him far apart from the Flesh, but knowing, as we said above, that ‘the Word was made flesh,’ we recognize Him as God also, after having come in the flesh. Who, accordingly, is so senseless as to say to the Lord: ‘Leave the Body that I may worship You’; or so impious as to join the senseless Jews in saying, on account of the Body, ‘Why do You, being a man, make Yourself God?’ But the leper was not one of this sort, for he worshiped God in the Body, and recognized that He was God, saying, ‘Lord, if You will You can make me clean.’ Neither by reason of the Flesh did he think the Word of God a creature: nor because the Word was the maker of all creation did he despise the Flesh which He had put on. But he worshiped the Creator of the universe as dwelling in a created temple, and was cleansed. So also the woman with an issue of blood, who believed, and only touched the hem of His garment, was healed, and the sea with its foaming waves heard the incarnate Word, and ceased its storm, while the man blind from birth was healed by the fleshly spitting of the Word. And, what is greater and more startling (for perhaps this even offended those most impious men), even when the Lord was hanging on the actual cross (for it was His Body and the Word was in it), the sun was darkened and the earth shook, the rocks were split, and the veil of the temple torn, and many bodies of the holy ones which slept arose.
4. These things then happened, and no one doubted, as the Arians now venture to doubt, whether one is to believe the incarnate Word; but even from beholding the man, they recognized that He was their maker, and when they heard a human voice, they did not, because it was human, say that the Word was a creature. On the contrary, they trembled, and recognized nothing less than that it was being uttered from a holy Temple. How then can the impious fail to fear lest ‘as they refused to have God in their knowledge, they may be given up to a reprobate mind, to do those things which are not fitting?’ For Creation does not worship a creature. Nor again did she on account of His Flesh refuse to worship her Lord. But she beheld her maker in the Body, and ‘in the Name of Jesus every knee’ bowed, yes and ‘will bow, of things in heaven and things on earth and things under the earth, and every tongue will confess,’ whether the Arians approve or no, ‘that Jesus is Lord, to the Glory of God the Father.’ For the Flesh did not diminish the glory of the Word; far be the thought: on the contrary, it was glorified by Him. Nor, because the Son that was in the form of God took on Him the form of a servant was He deprived of His Godhead. On the contrary, He is thus become the Deliverer of all flesh and of all creation. And if God sent His Son brought forth from a woman, the fact causes us no shame but, to the contrary, glory and great grace. For He has become Man, that He might deify us in Himself, and He has been born of a woman, and begotten of a Virgin, in order to transfer to Himself our erring generation, and that we may become henceforth a holy race, and ‘partakers of the Divine Nature,’ as blessed Peter wrote. And ‘what the law could not do in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh.’
5. Seeing then that Flesh was taken by the Word to deliver all men, raise all from the dead, and make redemption for sins, must not they appear ungrateful, and be worthy of all hatred, who make light of the Flesh, as well as those who on account of it charge the Son of God with being a thing created or made? For they as good as cry to God and say: ‘Send not Your Only-begotten Son in the Flesh, cause Him not to take flesh of a virgin, lest He redeem us from death and sin. We do not wish Him to come in the body, lest He should undergo death on our behalf: we do not desire the Word to be made flesh, lest in it He should become our Mediator to gain access to you, and we so inhabit the heavenly mansions. Let the gates of the heavens be shut lest Your Word consecrate for us the road there through the veil, namely His Flesh.’ These are their utterances, vented with diabolical daring, by the error they have devised. For they who do not wish to worship the Word made flesh, are ungrateful for His becoming man. And they who divide the Word from the Flesh do not hold that one redemption from sin has taken place, or one destruction of death. But where at all will these impious men find the Flesh which the Savior took, apart from Him, that they should even venture to say ‘we do not worship the Lord with the Flesh, but we separate the Body, and worship Him alone.’ Why, the blessed Stephen saw in the heavens the Lord standing on [God’s] right hand, while the Messengers said to the disciples, ‘He will so come in like manner as you beheld Him going into heaven’: and the Lord Himself says, addressing the Father, ‘I will that where I am, they also may be with Me.’ And surely if the Flesh is inseparable from the Word, does it not follow that these men must either lay aside their error, and for the future worship the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, or, if they do not worship or serve the Word who came in the Flesh, be cast out on all sides, and count no longer as Christians but either as heathens, or among the Jews.
6. Such then, as we have above described, is the madness and daring of those men. But our faith is right, and starts from the teaching of the Apostles and tradition of the fathers, being confirmed both by the New Testament and the Old. For the Prophets say: ‘Send out Your Word and Your Truth,’ and ‘Behold the Virgin will conceive and bear a son, and they will call His name Emmanuel, which is being interpreted God with us.’ But what does that mean, if not that God has come in the Flesh? While the Apostolic tradition teaches in the words of blessed Peter, ‘Forasmuch then as Christ suffered for us in the Flesh’; and in what Paul writes, ‘Looking for the blessed hope and appearing of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ, who gave Himself for us that He might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify to Himself a people for His own possession, and zealous of good works.’ How then has He given Himself, if He had not worn flesh? For flesh He offered, and gave Himself for us, in order that undergoing death in it, ‘He might bring to nothing him that had the power of death, that is, the Devil.’ Hence also we always give thanks in the name of Jesus Christ, and we do not set at nothing the grace which came to us through Him. For the coming of the Savior in the flesh has been the ransom and salvation of all creation. So then, beloved and most longed-for, let what I have said put in mind those who love the Lord, while as to those who have imitated the behavior of Judas, and deserted the Lord to join Caiaphas, let them by these things be taught better, if maybe they are willing, if maybe they are ashamed. And let them know that in worshiping the Lord in the flesh we do not worship a creature, but, as we said above, the Creator who has put on the created body.
7. But we should like your piety to ask them this. When Israel was ordered to go up to Jerusalem to worship at the temple of the Lord, where was the ark, ‘and above it the Cherubim of glory overshadowing the Mercy-seat,’ did they do well or the opposite? If they did ill, how did it happen that they who despised this law were liable to punishment? for it is written that if a man make light of it and do not go up, he will perish from among the people. But if they did well, and in this proved well-pleasing to God, are not the Arians, abominable and most shameful of any heresy, many times worthy of destruction, in that while they approve the former People for the honor paid by them to the Temple, they will not worship the Lord who is in the flesh as in a temple? And yet the former temple was constructed of stones and gold, as a shadow. But when the reality came, the type ceased from thenceforth, and there did not remain, according to the Lord’s utterance, one stone on another that was not broken down. And they did not, when they saw the temple of stones, suppose that the Lord who spoke in the temple was a creature; nor did they set the Temple at nothing and retire far off to worship. But they came to it according to the Law, and worshiped the God who uttered His oracles from the Temple. Since then this was so, how can it be other than right to worship the Body of the Lord, all-holy and all-revered as it is, announced as it was by the chief-messenger Gabriel, formed by the Holy Spirit, and made the Vesture of the Word? It was at any rate a bodily hand that the Word stretched out to raise her that was sick of a fever: a human voice that He uttered to raise Lazarus from the dead; and, once again, stretching out His hands on the Cross, He overthrew the prince of the power of the air, that now works in the sons of disobedience, and made the way clear for us into the heavens.
8. Therefore, he that dishonors the Temple dishonors the Lord in the Temple; and he that separates the Word from the Body sets at nothing the grace given to us in Him. And do not let the most impious Arian madmen suppose that, since the Body is created, the Word also is a creature, nor let them, because the Word is not a creature, disparage His Body. For their error is matter for wonder, in that they at once confuse and disturb everything, and devise pretexts only in order to number the Creator among the creatures.
But let them listen. If the Word were a creature, He would not assume the created body to raise it. For what help can creatures derive from a creature that itself needs salvation? But since the Word being Creator has Himself made the creatures, therefore also at the consummation of the ages He put on the creature, that He as creator might once more consecrate it, and be able to recover it. But a creature could never be saved by a creature, any more than the creatures were created by a creature, if the Word was not creator. Accordingly let them not lie against the divine Writings nor give offense to simple brothers; but if they are willing let them change their mind in their turn, and no longer worship the creature instead of God, who made all things. But if they wish to abide by their impieties, let them alone take their fill of them, and let them gnash their teeth like their father the Devil, because the Faith of the Universal Assembly knows that the Word of God is creator and maker of all things; and we know that while ‘in the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God,’ now that He has become also man for our salvation we worship Him, not as though He had come in the body equalising Himself with it, but as Master, assuming the form of the servant, and Maker and Creator coming in a creature in order that, in it delivering all things, He might bring the world near to the Father, and make all things to be at peace, things in heaven and things on the earth. For thus also we recognize His Godhead, even the Father’s, and worship His Incarnate Presence, even if the Arian madmen burst themselves in sunder.
Greet all that love the Lord Jesus Christ. We pray that you may be well, and remember us to the Lord, beloved and truly most longed-for. If need be this is to be read to Hieracas the elder.
To our beloved and most truly longed-for son, Maximus, philosopher, Athanasius [sends] greetings in the Lord.
1. Having read the letter now come from you, I approve your piety: but, marveling at the rashness of those ‘who understand neither what they say nor whereof they confidently affirm,’ I had really decided to say nothing. For to reply on matters which are so plain and which are clearer than light, is simply to give an excuse for shamelessness to such lawless men. And this we have learned from the Savior. For when Pilate had washed his hands, and acquiesced in the false accusation of the Jews of that day, the Lord answered him no more, but rather warned his wife in a dream, so that He that was being judged might be believed to be God not in word, but in power. While after granting Caiaphas no reply to his folly, He Himself by his promise brought all over to knowledge. Accordingly for some time I delayed, and have reluctantly yielded to your zeal for the truth, in view of the argumentativeness of men without shame. And I have dictated nothing beyond what your letter contains, in order that the adversary may from henceforth be convinced on the points to which he has objected, and may ‘keep his tongue from evil and his lips that they speak no guile.’ And would that they would no longer join the Jews who passed by of old in reproaching Him that hung on the Tree: ‘If you are the Son of God save Yourself.’ But if even after this they will not give in, yet do you remember the apostolic injunction, and ‘a man that is heretical after a first and second admonition refuse, knowing that such a one is perverted and sins being self-condemned.’ For if they are Gentiles, or of the Judaizers, who are thus daring, let them, as Jews, think the Cross of Christ a stumbling-block, or as Gentiles, foolishness. But if they pretend to be Christians let them learn that the crucified Christ is at once Lord of Glory, and the Power of God and Wisdom of God.
2. But if they are in doubt whether He is God at all, let them reverence Thomas, who handled the Crucified and pronounced Him Lord and God. Or let them fear the Lord Himself, who said, after washing the feet of the disciples: ‘You call Me Lord and Master, and you say well, for so I am.’ But in the same body in which He was when he washed their feet, He also carried up our sins to the Tree. And He was witnessed to as Master of Creation, in that the Sun withdrew his beams and the earth trembled and the rocks were split, and the executioners recognized that the Crucified was truly Son of God. For the Body they beheld was not that of some man, but of God, being in which, even when being crucified, He raised the dead. Accordingly, it is no good venture of theirs to say that the Word of God came into a certain holy man; for this was true of each of the prophets and of the other holy ones, and on that assumption He would clearly be born and die in the case of each one of them. But this is not so, far be the thought. But once for all ‘at the consummation of the ages, to put away sin’ ‘the Word was made flesh‘ and proceeded forth from Mary the Virgin, Man after our likeness, as also He said to the Jews, ‘Why do you seek to kill Me, a man that has told you the truth?’ And we are deified not by partaking of the body of some man, but by receiving the Body of the Word Himself.
3. And at this also I am much surprised, how they have ventured to entertain such an idea as that the Word became man in consequence of His Nature. For if this were so, the commemoration of Mary would be superfluous. For neither does Nature know of a Virgin bearing apart from a man. Whence by the good pleasure of the Father, being true God, and Word and Wisdom of the Father by nature, He became man in the body for our salvation, in order that having somewhat to offer for us He might save us all, ‘as many as through fear of death were all their life-time subject to bondage.‘ For it was not some man that gave Himself up for us; since every man is under sentence of death, according to what was said to all in Adam, ‘earth you are and to earth you will return.‘ Nor yet was it any other of the creatures, since every creature is liable to change. But the Word Himself offered His own Body on our behalf that our faith and hope might not be in man, but that we might have our faith in God the Word Himself. Why, even now that He is become man we behold His Glory, ‘glory as of one only-begotten of His Father—full of grace and truth.‘ For what He endured by means of the Body, He magnified as God. And while He hungered in the flesh, as God He fed the hungry. And if anyone is offended by reason of the bodily conditions, let him believe by reason of what God works. For humanly He inquires where Lazarus is laid, but raises him up divinely. Let none then laugh, calling Him a child, and citing His age, His growth, His eating, drinking and suffering, lest while denying what is proper for the body, he deny utterly also His sojourn among us. And just as He has not become Man in consequence of His nature, in like manner it was consistent that when He had taken a body He should exhibit what was proper to it, lest the imaginary theory of Manichaeus should prevail. Again, it was consistent that when He went around in the body, He should not hide what belonged to the Godhead, lest he of Samosata should find an excuse to call Him man, as distinct in person from God the Word.
4. Let then the unbelievers perceive this, and learn that while as a Babe He lay in a manger, He subjected the Magi and was worshiped by them; and while as a Child He came down to Egypt, He brought to nothing the hand-made objects of its idolatry: and crucified in the flesh, He raised the dead long since turned to corruption. And it has been made plain to all that not for His own sake but for ours He underwent all things, that we by His sufferings might put on freedom from suffering and incorruption, and abide to life eternal.
5. This then I have concisely dictated, following, as I said above, the lines of your own letter, without working out any point any further but only mentioning what relates to the Holy Cross, in order that the despisers may be taught better on the points where they were offended, and may worship the Crucified. But do you thoroughly persuade the unbelievers; perhaps somehow they may come from ignorance to knowledge, and believe correctly. And even though what your own letter contains is sufficient, yet it is as well to have added what I have for the sake of reminder in view of contentious persons; not so much in order that being refuted in their venturesome statements they may be put to shame, as that being reminded they may not forget the truth. For let what was confessed by the Fathers at Nicaea prevail. For it is correct, and enough to overthrow every heresy however impious, and especially that of the Arians which speaks against the Word of God, and as a logical consequence profanes His Holy Spirit. Greet all who hold correctly. All that are with us greet you.
Athanasius to John and Antiochus, our beloved sons and fellow-elders in the Lord, greetings.
I was glad to receive your letter just now, the more so as you wrote from Jerusalem. I thank you for informing me about the brothers that there assembled, and about those who wish, on account of disputed points, to disturb the simple. But about these things let the Apostle charge them not to give heed to those who contend about words, and seek nothing else than to tell and hear some new thing. But do you, having your foundation sure, even Jesus Christ our Lord, and the confession of the fathers concerning the faith, avoid those who wish to say anything more or less than that, and rather aim at the profit of the brothers, that they may fear God and keep His commandments, in order that both by the teaching of the fathers, and by the keeping of the commandments, they may be able to appear well-pleasing to the Lord in the day of judgment. But I have been utterly astonished at the boldness of those who venture to speak against our beloved Basil the overseer, a true servant of God. For from such vain talk they can be convicted of not loving even the confession of the fathers.
Greet the brothers. They that are with me greet you. I pray that you may be well in the Lord, beloved and much-desired sons.
To our beloved son Palladius, elder, Athanasius the Overseer [sends] greetings in the Lord.
I was glad to receive also the letter written by you alone, the more so that you breathe orthodoxy in it, as is your custom. And having learned not for the first time, but long ago, the reason of your staying at present with our beloved Innocent, I am pleased with your piety. Since then you are acting as you are, write and let me know how are the brothers there, and what the enemies of the truth think about us. But whereas you have also told me of the monks at Caesarea, and I have learned from our beloved Dianius that they are vexed, and are opposing our beloved overseer Basil, I am glad you have informed me, and I have pointed out to them what is fitting, namely that as children they should obey their father, and not oppose what he approves. For if he were suspected as touching the truth, they would do well to combat him. But if they are confident, as we all are, that he is a glory to the Assembly, contending rather on behalf of the truth and teaching those who require it, it is not right to combat such a one, but rather to accept with thanks his good conscience. For from what the beloved Dianius has related, they appear to be vexed without cause. For he, as I am confident, to the weak becomes weak to gain the weak. But let our beloved friends look at the scope of his truth, and at his special purpose, and glorify the Lord who has given such an overseer to Cappadocia as any district must pray to have. And do you, beloved, be good enough to point out to them the duty of obeying, as I write. For this is at once calculated to render them well disposed toward their father and will preserve peace to the assemblies. I pray that you may be well in the Lord, beloved son.
To my lord, son, and most beloved fellow-minister Diodorus [overseer of Tyre], Athanasius [sends] greetings in the Lord.
I thank my Lord, who is everywhere establishing His doctrine, and chiefly so by means of His own sons, such as actual fact shows you to be. For before your Reverence wrote, we knew how great grace has been brought to pass in Tyre by means of your perseverance. And we rejoice with you that by your means Tyre also has learned the right word of piety. And I indeed took an opportunity of writing to you, longed-for and beloved: but I marvel at your not having replied to my letter. Do not be then slow to write at once, knowing that you give me refreshment, as a son to his father, and make me exceeding glad, as a herald of truth. And enter on no controversy with the heretics, but overcome their argumentativeness with silence, their ill-will with courtesy. For thus your speech will be ‘with grace, seasoned with salt,’ while they [will be judged] by the conscience of all. . . .