CLI. Letter or Address of Theodoret to the Monks of the Euphratensian,
the Osrhoene, Syria, Phoenicia, and Cilicia. [2156]
When I contemplate the condition of the Church at the present crisis of
affairs,--the tempest which has recently beset the holy ship, the
furious blasts, the beating of the waves, the deep darkness of the
night, and, besides all this, the strife of the mariners, the struggle
going on between oarsmen, the drunkenness of the pilots, and, lastly,
the untimely action of the bad,--I bethink me of the laments of
Jeremiah and cry with him, "my bowels, my bowels! I am pained at my
very heart, my heart maketh a noise in me," [2157] and to put away
despondency's great cloud by the drops from my eyes, I have recourse to
founts of tears. Amid a storm so wild it is fitting that the pilots be
awake, to battle with the tempest, and take heed for the safety of the
ship: the sailors ought to cease from their strife, and strive to undo
the danger alike by prayer and skill: the mariners ought to keep the
peace, and quarrel neither with one another nor with the pilots, but
implore the Lord of the sea to banish the darkness by His rod. No one
now is willing to do anything of the kind; and, just as happens in a
night-engagement, we cannot recognise one another, we leave our enemies
alone, and waste our weapons against our own side; we wound our
comrades for foes, while all the while the bystanders laugh at our
drunken folly, enjoy our disasters, and are delighted to see us engaged
in mutual destruction. The responsibility for all this lies with those
who have striven to corrupt the apostolic faith, and have dared to add
a monstrous doctrine to the teaching of the Gospels; with them that
have accepted the impious "Chapters" which they have sent forth with
anathematisms to the imperial city, and have confirmed them, as they
have imagined, by their own signatures. But these "Chapters" have
sprouted without doubt from the sour root of Apollinarius; they are
tainted with Arian and Eunomian error; look into them carefully, and
you will find that they are not clear of the impiety of Manes and
Valentinus. [2158]
In his very first chapter he rejects the dispensation [2159] which has
been made on our behalf, teaching that God the Word did not assume
human nature, but was Himself changed into flesh, thus laying down that
the incarnation took place not in reality but in semblance and seeming.
This is the outcome of the impiety of Marcion, Manes, and Valentinus.
In his second and third chapters, as though quite oblivious of what he
had stated in his preface, he brings in the hypostatic union, and a
meeting by natural union, and by these terms he represents that a kind
of mixture and confusion was effected of the divine nature and of the
form of the servant. This comes of the innovation of the Apollinarian
heresy.
In his fourth chapter he denies the distinction of the terms of
evangelists and apostles, and refuses to allow, as the teaching of the
orthodox Fathers has allowed, the terms of divine dignity to be
understood of the divine nature, while the terms of humility, spoken in
human sense, are applied to the nature assumed; whence the rightminded
can easily detect the kinship with impiety. For Arius and Eunomius,
asserting the only begotten Son of God to be a creature, and made out
of the non-existent, and a servant, have ventured to apply to His
godhead what is said in lowly and human sense; establishing by such
means the difference of substance and the unlikeness. Besides this, to
be brief, he argues that the very impassible and immutable Godhead of
the Christ suffered, and was crucified, dead, and buried. This goes
beyond even the madness of Arius and Eunomius, for this pitch of
impiety has not been reached even by them that dare to call the maker
and creator of the universe a creature. Furthermore he blasphemes
against the Holy Ghost, denying that It proceeds from the Father, in
accordance with the word of the Lord, but maintaining that It has Its
origin of the Son. Here we have the fruit of the Apollinarian seed;
here we come near the evil husbandry of Macedonius. Such are the
offspring of the Egyptian, viler children of a vile father. This
growth, which men, entrusted with the healing of souls, ought to make
abortive while yet in the womb, or destroy as soon as it is born, as
dangerous and deadly to mankind, is cherished by these excellent
persons, and promoted with great energy, alike to their own ruin and to
that of all who will listen to them. We, on the contrary, earnestly
desire to keep our heritage untouched; and the faith which we have
received, and in which we have been ourselves baptized, and baptize
others, we strive to preserve uninjured and undefiled. We confess that
our Lord Jesus Christ, perfect God and perfect man, of a reasonable
soul and body, was begotten of the Father before the ages, as touching
the Godhead; and in the last days for us men and our salvation (was
born) of the Virgin Mary; that the same Lord is of one substance with
the Father as touching the Godhead, and of one substance with us as
touching the manhood. For there was an union of two natures. Wherefore
we acknowledge one Christ, one Son, one Lord; but we do not destroy the
union; we believe it to have been made without confusion, in obedience
to the word of the Lord to the Jews, "Destroy this temple and in three
days I will raise it up." [2160] If on the contrary there had been
mixture and confusion, and one nature was made out of both, He ought to
have said "Destroy me and in three days I shall be raised." But now, to
show that there is a distinction between God according to His nature,
and the temple, and that both are one Christ, His words are "Destroy
this temple and in three days I will raise it up," clearly teaching
that it was not God who was undergoing destruction, but the temple. The
nature of this latter was susceptible of destruction, while the power
of the former raised what was being destroyed. Furthermore it is in
obedience to the divine Scriptures that we acknowledge the Christ to be
God and man. That our Lord Jesus Christ is God is asserted by the
blessed evangelist John "In the beginning was the Word and the Word was
with God and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All
things were made by Him and without Him was not anything made that was
made." [2161] And again, "That was the true light which lighteth every
man that cometh into the world." [2162] And the Lord Himself distinctly
teaches us, "He that hath seen me hath seen the Father." [2163] And "I
and my Father are one" [2164] and "I am in the Father and the Father in
me," [2165] and the blessed Paul in his epistle to the Hebrews says
"Who being the brightness of His glory and the express image of His
person, and upholding all things by the word of His power" [2166] and
in the epistle to the Philippians "Let this mind be in you, which was
also in Christ Jesus; who being in the form of God thought it not
robbery to be equal with God but made Himself of no reputation and took
upon Him the form of a servant." [2167] And in the Epistle to the
Romans, "Whose are the fathers and of whom as concerning the flesh
Christ came who is over all God blessed for ever. Amen." [2168] And in
the epistle to Titus "Looking for that blessed hope and the glorious
appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ." [2169] And
Isaiah exclaims "Unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and
the government shall be upon His shoulder; and His name shall be
called, Angel of great counsel, Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God,
powerful, the Prince of Peace, the Father of the Age to come." [2170]
And again "In chains they shall come over and they shall fall unto
thee. They shall make supplication unto thee saying, surely God is in
thee and there is none else, there is no God. Verily thou art a God
that hidest thyself, O God of Israel, the Saviour." [2171] The name
Emmanuel, however, indicates both God and man, for it is interpreted in
the Gospel to mean "God with us," [2172] that is to say "God in man,"
God in our nature. And the divine Jeremiah too utters the prediction
"This is our God and there shall none other be accounted of in
comparison with him. He hath found out all the way of knowledge and
hath given it unto Jacob His servant and to Israel His beloved and
afterward did He show Himself upon earth and conversed with men."
[2173] And countless other passages might be found as well in the holy
gospels and in the writings of the apostles as in the predictions of
the prophets, setting forth that our Lord Jesus Christ is very God.
That after the Incarnation He is spoken of as Man our Lord Himself
teaches in His words to the Jews "Why go ye about to kill me?" "A man
that hath told you the truth." [2174] And in the first Epistle to the
Corinthians the blessed Paul writes "For since by man came death, by
man came also the resurrection of the dead," [2175] and to show of whom
he is speaking he explains his words and says, "For as in Adam all die
even so in Christ shall all be made alive." [2176] And writing to
Timothy he says, "For there is one God and one mediator between God and
men, the man Christ Jesus." [2177] In the Acts in his speech at Athens
"The times of this ignorance God winked at; but now commandeth all men
everywhere to repent; because He hath appointed a day in the which He
will judge the world in righteousness by that man whom He hath
ordained, whereof He hath given assurance unto all men, in that He hath
raised him from the dead." [2178] And the blessed Peter preaching to
the Jews says, "Ye men of Israel, hear these words Jesus of Nazareth, a
man approved of God among you by miracles and wonders and signs which
God did by Him in the midst of you," [2179] and the prophet Isaiah when
predicting the sufferings of the Lord Christ, whom but just before he
had called God, calls man in the passage "A man of sorrows and
acquainted with grief." "Surely he hath borne our griefs and carried
our sorrows." [2180] I might have collected other consentient passages
of holy Scripture and inserted them in my letter had I not known you to
be practised in the divine oracles as befits the man called blessed in
the Psalms. [2181] I now leave the collection of evidence to your own
diligence and proceed with my subject.
We confess then that our Lord Jesus Christ is very God and very man. We
do not divide the one Christ into two persons, but we believe two
natures to be united without confusion. We shall thus be able without
difficulty to refute even the manifold blasphemy of the heretics: for
many and various are the errors of those who have rebelled against the
truth, as we shall proceed to point out. Marcion and Manes deny that
God the Word assumed human nature and do not believe that our Lord
Jesus Christ was born of a Virgin. They say that God the Word Himself
was fashioned in human form and appeared as man rather in semblance
than in reality.
Valentinus and Bardesanes admit the birth, but they deny the assumption
of our nature and affirm that the Son of God employed the Virgin as it
were as a mere conduit.
Sabellius the Libyan, Photinus, Marcellus the Galatian, and Paul of
Samosata say that a mere man was born of the Virgin, but openly deny
that the eternal Christ was God.
Arius and Eunomius maintain that God the Word assumed only a body of
the Virgin.
Apollinarius adds to the body an unreasonable soul, as though the
incarnation of God the Word had taken place not for the sake of
reasonable beings but of unreasonable, while the teaching of the
Apostles is that perfect man was assumed by perfect God, as is proved
by the words "Who being in the form of God took the form of a servant;"
[2182] for "form" is put instead of "nature" and "substance" and
indicates that having the nature of God He took the nature of a
servant.
When therefore we are disputing with Marcion, Manes and Valentinus, the
earliest inventors of impiety, we endeavour to prove from the divine
Scriptures that the Lord Christ is not only God but also man.
When, however, we are proving to the ignorant that the doctrine of
Arius, Eunomius and Apollinarius about the oeconomy is incomplete, we
show from the divine oracles of the Spirit that the assumed nature was
perfect.
The impiety of Sabellius, Photinus, Marcellus, and Paulus, we refute by
proving by the evidence of divine Scripture that the Lord Christ was
not only man but also eternal God, of one substance with the Father.
That He assumed a reasonable soul is stated by our Lord Himself in the
words "Now is my soul troubled; and what shall I say? Father save me
from this hour; but for this cause came I unto this hour." [2183] And
again "My soul is exceeding sorrowful even unto death." [2184] And in
another place "I have power to lay down my soul (life A.V.) and I have
power to take it again. No man taketh it from me." [2185] And the angel
said to Joseph, "Take the young child and His mother and go into the
land of Israel; for they are dead which sought the young child's soul
(life A.V.)" [2186] And the Evangelist says "Jesus increased in wisdom
and stature and in favour with God and man." Now what increases in
stature and wisdom is not the Godhead which is ever perfect, but the
human nature which comes into being in time, grows, and is made
perfect.
Wherefore all the human qualities of the Lord Christ, hunger, I mean,
and thirst and weariness, sleep, fear, sweat, prayer, and ignorance,
and the like, we affirm to belong to our nature which God the Word
assumed and united to Himself in effecting our salvation. But the
restitution of motion to the maimed, the resurrection of the dead, the
supply of loaves, and all the other miracles we believe to be works of
the divine power. In this sense I say that the same Lord Christ both
suffers and destroys suffering; suffers, that is, as touching the
visible, and destroys suffering as touching the ineffably indwelling
Godhead. This is proved beyond question by the narrative of the holy
evangelists, from whom we learn that when lying in a manger and wrapped
in swaddling clothes, He was announced by a star, worshipped by magi
and hymned by angels. Thus we reverent discern that the swaddling bands
and the want of a bed and all the poverty belonged to the manhood;
while the journey of the magi and the guiding of the star and the
company of the angels proclaim the Godhead of the unseen. In like
manner He makes His escape into Egypt and avoids the fury of Herod by
flight, [2187] for He was man; but as the Prophet says "He shakes the
idols of Egypt," [2188] for He was by nature God. He is circumcised; He
keeps the law; and offers offerings of purification, because He sprang
from the root of Jesse. And, as man, He was under the law; and
afterwards did away with the law and gave the new covenant, because He
was a lawgiver and had promised by the prophets that He Himself would
give it. He was baptized by John; and this shews His sharing what is
ours. He is testified to by the Father from on high and is pointed out
by the Spirit; this proclaims Him eternal. He hungered; but He fed many
thousands with five loaves; the latter is divine, the former human. He
thirsted and He asked for water; but He was the well of life; the
former of His human weakness, the latter of His divine power. He fell
asleep in the boat, but he put the tempest of the sea to sleep; the
former of His human nature, the latter of His efficient and creative
power which has gifted all things with their being. He was weary as he
walked; but He healed the halt and raised dead men from their tombs;
the former of human weakness, the latter of a power passing that of
this world. He feared death and He destroyed death; the former shows
that He was mortal, the latter that He was immortal or rather giver of
life. "He was crucified," as the blessed Paul says "through weakness."
[2189] But as the same Paul says "Yet He liveth by the power of God."
[2190] Let that word "weakness" teach us that He was not nailed to the
tree as the Almighty, the Uncircumscribed, the Immutable and
Invariable, but that the nature quickened by the power of God, was
according to the Apostle's teaching dead and buried, both death and
burial being proper to the form of the servant. "He broke the gates of
brass and cut the bars of iron in sunder" [2191] and destroyed the
power of death and in three days raised His own temple. These are
proofs of the form of God in accordance with the Lord's words "Destroy
this temple and in three days I will raise it up." [2192] Thus in the
one Christ through the sufferings we contemplate the manhood and
through the miracles we apprehend the Godhead. We do not divide the two
natures into two Christs, and we know that of the Father God the Word
was begotten and that of the seed of Abraham and David our nature was
assumed. Wherefore also the blessed Paul says when discoursing of
Abraham "He saith not and to seeds as of many; but as of one, and to
thy seed which is Christ," [2193] and writing to Timothy he says
"Remember that Jesus Christ of the seed of David was raised from the
dead according to my gospel." [2194] And to the Romans he writes
"Concerning His son Jesus Christ...which was made of the seed of David
according to the flesh." [2195] And again "Whose are the fathers and of
whom as concerning the flesh Christ came." [2196] And the Evangelist
writes "The book of the generation of Jesus Christ, the Son of David,
the Son of Abraham," [2197] and the blessed Peter in the Acts says
David "being a prophet and knowing that God had sworn with an oath to
him that of the fruit of his loins, He would raise up Christ to sit on
his throne, he seeing this before spake of his resurrection," [2198]
and God says to Abraham "In thy seed shall all the nations of the earth
be blessed," [2199] and Isaiah "There shall come forth a rod out of the
stem of Jesse and a branch shall grow out of His roots; and there shall
rest upon Him [2200] the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit
of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and of piety and the
spirit of the fear of the Lord shall fill Him." [2201] And a little
further on "And in that day there shall be a root of Jesse which shall
stand for an ensign of the people; to it shall the Gentiles seek; and
His rest shall be glorious." [2202]
From these quotations it is made plain that according to the flesh, the
Christ was descended from Abraham and David and was of the same nature
as theirs; while according to the Godhead He is Everlasting Son and
Word of God, ineffably and in superhuman manner begotten of the Father,
and co-eternal with Him as brightness and express image and Word. For
as the word in relation to intelligence and brightness in relation to
light are inseparably connected, so is the only begotten Son in
relation to His own Father. We assert therefore that our Lord Jesus
Christ is only begotten, and first born Son of God; only begotten both
before the incarnation and after the incarnation, but firstborn after
being born of the Virgin. For the name first-born seems to be in a
sense contrary to that of only begotten, because the only Son begotten
of any one is called only begotten, while the eldest of several
brothers is called first-born. The divine Scriptures state God the Word
alone to have been begotten of the Father; but the only begotten
becomes also first-born, by taking our nature of the Virgin, and
deigning to call brothers those who have trusted in Him; so that the
same is only begotten in that He is God, first born in that He is Man.
Thus acknowledging the two natures we adore the one Christ and offer
Him one adoration, for we believe that the union took place from the
moment of the conception in the Virgin's holy womb. Wherefore also we
call the holy Virgin both Mother of God [2203] and Mother of man, since
the Lord Christ Himself is called God and man in the divine Scripture.
The name Emmanuel proclaims the union of the two natures. If we
acknowledge the Christ to be both God and Man and so call Him, who is
so insensate as to shrink from using the term "Mother of man" with that
of "Mother of God"? For we use both terms of the Lord Christ. For this
reason the Virgin is honoured and called "full of grace." [2204] What
sensible man then would object to name the Virgin in accordance with
the titles of the Saviour, when on His account she is honoured by the
faithful? For He who was born of her is not worshipped on her account,
but she is honoured with the highest titles on account of Him Who was
born from her.
Suppose the Christ to be God only, and to have taken the origin of His
existence from the Virgin, then let the Virgin be styled and named only
"Mother of God" as having given birth to a being divine by nature. But
if the Christ is both God and man and was God from everlasting
(inasmuch as He did not begin to exist, being co-eternal with the
Father that begat Him) and in these last days was born man of His human
nature, then let him who wishes to define doctrine in both directions
devise appellations for the Virgin with the explanation which of them
befits the nature and which the union. But if any one should wish to
deliver a panegyric and to compose hymns, and to repeat praises, and is
naturally anxious to use the most august names; then, not laying down
doctrine as in the former case, but with rhetorical laudation, and
expressing all possible admiration at the mightiness of the mystery,
let him gratify his heart's desire, let him employ high names, let him
praise and let him wonder. Many instances of this kind are found in the
writings of orthodox teachers. But on all occasions let moderation be
respected. All praise to him who said that "moderation is best,"
although he is not of our herd. [2205]
This is the confession of the faith of the Church; this is the doctrine
taught by evangelists and apostles. For this faith, by God's grace I
will not refuse to undergo many deaths. This faith we have striven to
convey to them that now err and stray, again and again challenging them
to discussion, and eager to show them the truth, but without success.
With a suspicion of their probably plain confutation, they have shirked
the encounter; for verily falsehood is rotten and yokefellow of
obscurity. "Every one," it is written "that doeth evil cometh not to
the light lest his deeds should be reproved" [2206] by the light.
Since, therefore, after many efforts, I have failed in persuading them
to recognise the truth, I have returned to my own churches, filled at
once with sorrow and with joy; with joy on account of my own freedom
from error; and with sorrow at the unsoundness of my members. I
therefore implore you to pray with all your might to our loving Lord,
and to cry unto Him, "Spare Thy people, O Lord and give not Thy
heritage to reproach.' [2207] Feed us O Lord that we become not as we
were in the beginning when Thou didst not rule over us nor was Thy name
invoked to help us. We are become a reproach to our neighbours, a scorn
and derision to them that are round about us,' [2208] because wicked
doctrines have come into Thy inheritance. They have polluted Thy holy
temple in that the daughters of strangers have rejoiced over our
troubles. A little while ago we were of one mind and one tongue and now
are divided into many tongues. But, O Lord our God, give us Thy peace
which we have lost by setting Thy commandments at naught. O Lord we
know none other than Thee. We call Thee by Thy name. Make both one and
break down the middle wall of the partition,' [2209] namely the
iniquity that has sprung up. Gather us one by one, Thy new Israel,
building up Jerusalem and gathering together the outcasts of Israel.
[2210] Let us be made once more one flock [2211] and all be fed by
Thee; for Thou art the good Shepherd Who giveth His life for the sheep
' [2212] Awake, why sleepest Thou O Lord, arise cast us not off
forever.' [2213] Rebuke the winds and the sea; give Thy Church calm and
safety from the waves."
These words and words like these I implore you to utter to the God of
all; for He is good and full of loving-kindness and ever fulfils the
will of them that fear Him. He will therefore listen to your prayer,
and will scatter this darkness deeper than the plague of Egypt. He will
give you His own calm of love, and will gather them that are scattered
abroad and welcome them that have been cast out. Then shall be heard
"the voice of rejoicing and salvation in the tabernacles of the
righteous." [2214] Then shall we cry unto Him we have been "glad
according to the days wherein Thou hast afflicted us and the years
wherein we have seen evil," [2215] and you when you have been granted
your prayer shall praise Him in the words "Blessed be God which not
turned away my prayer nor His mercy from me." [2216]
Proof that after the Incarnation our Lord Jesus Christ, was one Son.
The authors of slanders against me allege that I divide the one Lord
Jesus Christ into two sons. But so far am I from holding this opinion
that I charge with impiety all who dare to say so. For I have been
taught by the divine Scripture to worship one Son, our Lord Jesus
Christ, the only begotten Son of God, God the Word incarnate. For we
confess the same to be both God eternal, and made man in the last days
for the sake of man's salvation; but made man not by the change of the
Godhead but by the assumption of the manhood. For the nature of this
godhead is immutable and invariable, as is that of the Father who begat
Him before the ages. And whatever would be understood of the substance
of the Father will also be wholly found in the substance of the only
begotten; for of that substance He is begotten. This our Lord taught
when He said to Philip "He that hath seen me hath seen the Father"
[2217] and again in another place "All things that the Father hath are
mine," [2218] and elsewhere "I and the Father are one," [2219] and very
many other passages may be quoted setting forth the identity of
substance.
It follows that He did not become God: He was God. "In the beginning
was the Word, and the Word was with God; and the Word was God." [2220]
He was not man: He became man, and He so became by taking on Him our
nature: So says the blessed Paul--"Who being in the form of God thought
it not robbery to be equal with God, but made Himself of no reputation,
and took upon Him the form of a servant." [2221] And again: "For verily
He took not on Him the nature of angels; but He took on Him the seed of
Abraham." [2222] And again; Forasmuch then as the children are
partakers of flesh and blood, He also Himself likewise took part of the
same." [2223] Thus He was both passible and impassible; mortal and
immortal; passible, on the one hand, and mortal, as man; impassible, on
the other, and immortal, as God. As God He raised His own flesh, which
was dead;--as His own words declare: "Destroy this temple, and in three
days I will raise it up." [2224] And as man, He was passible and mortal
up to the time of the passion. For, after the resurrection, even as man
He is impassible, immortal, and incorruptible; and He discharges divine
lightnings; not that according to the flesh He has been changed into
the nature of Godhead, but still preserving the distinctive marks of
humanity. Nor yet is His body uncircumscribed, for this is peculiar to
the divine nature alone, but it abides in its former circumscription.
This He teaches in the words He spake to the disciples even after His
resurrection "Behold my hands and feet that it is I myself; handle me
and see; for a spirit hath not flesh and bones as ye see me have."
[2225] While He was thus beheld He went up into heaven; thus has He
promised to come again, thus shall He be seen both by them that have
believed and them that have crucified, for it is written "They shall
look on Him whom they pierced." [2226] We therefore worship the Son,
but we contemplate in Him either nature in its perfection, both that
which took, and that which was taken; the one of God and the other of
David. For this reason also He is styled both Son of the living God and
Son of David; either nature receiving its proper title. Accordingly the
divine scripture calls him both God and man, and the blessed Paul
exclaims "There is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the
man Christ Jesus; who gave Himself a ransom for all." [2227] But Him
whom here he calls man in another place he describes as God for he says
"Looking for that blessed hope and the glorious appearing of the great
God and our Saviour Jesus Christ." [2228] And yet in another place he
uses both names at once saying "Of whom as concerning the flesh Christ
came who is over all God blessed for ever. Amen." [2229]
Thus he has stated the same Christ to be of the Jews according to the
flesh, and God over all as God. Similarly the prophet Isaiah writes "A
man of sorrows and acquainted with grief....Surely He hath borne our
griefs and carried our sorrows," [2230] and shortly afterwards he says
"Who shall declare His generation?" [2231] This is spoken not of man
but of God. Thus through Micah God says "Thou Bethlehem in the land of
Judah art not the least among the princes of Judah, for out of thee
shall come a governor that shall rule my people Israel, whose goings
forth have been as of old from everlasting." [2232] Now by saying "From
thee shall come forth a ruler" he exhibits the oeconomy of the
incarnation; and by adding "whose goings forth have been as of old from
everlasting" he declares the Godhead begotten of the Father before the
ages.
Since we have been thus taught by the divine scripture, and have
further found that the teachers who have been at different periods
illustrious in the Church, are of the same opinion, we do our best to
keep our heritage inviolate; worshipping one Son of God, one God the
Father, and one Holy Ghost; but at the same time recognising the
distinction between flesh and Godhead. And as we assert them that
divide our one Lord Jesus Christ into two sons to trangress from the
road trodden by the holy apostles, so do we declare the maintainers of
the doctrine that the Godhead of the only begotten and the manhood have
been made one nature to fall headlong into the opposite ravine. These
doctrines we hold; these we preach; for these we do battle.
The slander of the libellers that represent me as worshipping two sons
is refuted by the plain facts of the case. I teach all persons who come
to holy Baptism the faith put forth at Nicæa; and, when I celebrate the
sacrament of regeneration I baptize them that make profession of their
faith in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost,
pronouncing each name by itself. And when I am performing divine
service in the churches it is my wont to give glory to the Father and
to the Son and to the Holy Ghost; not sons, but Son. If then I uphold
two sons, whether of the two is glorified by me, and whether remains
unhonoured? For I have not quite come to such a pitch of stupidity as
to acknowledge two sons and leave one of them without any tribute of
respect. It follows then even from this fact that the slander is proved
slander,--for I worship one only begotten Son, God the Word incarnate.
And I call the holy Virgin "Mother of God" [2233] because she has given
birth to the Emmanuel, which means "God with us." [2234] But the
prophet who predicted the Emmanuel a little further on has written of
him that "Unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given; and the
government shall be upon his shoulders; and his name is called Angel of
great counsel, wonderful, counsellor, mighty God, powerful, Prince of
peace, Father of the age to come." [2235] Now if the babe born of the
Virgin is styled "Mighty God," then it is only with reason that the
mother is called "Mother of God." For the mother shares the honour of
her offspring, and the Virgin is both mother of the Lord Christ as man,
and again is His servant as Lord and Creator and God.
On account of this difference of term He is said by the divine Paul to
be "without father, without mother, without descent, having neither
beginning of days nor end of life." [2236] He is without father as
touching His humanity; for as man He was born of a mother alone. And He
is without mother as God, for He was begotten from everlasting of the
Father alone. And again He is without descent as God while as man He
has descent. For it is written "The book of the generation of Jesus
Christ the son of David, the son of Abraham." [2237] His descent is
also given by the divine Luke. [2238] So again, as God, He has no
beginning of days for He was begotten before the ages; neither has He
an end of life, for His nature is immortal and impassible. But as man
He had both a beginning of days, for He was born in the reign of
Augustus Cæsar, and an end of life, for He was crucified in the reign
of Tiberius Cæsar. But now, as I have already said, even His human
nature is immortal; and, as He ascended, so again shall He come
according to the words of the Angel--"This same Jesus which is taken up
from you into Heaven shall so come in like manner as ye have seen Him
go into Heaven." [2239]
This is the doctrine delivered to us by the divine prophets; this is
the doctrine of the company of the holy apostles; this is the doctrine
of the great saints of the East and of the West; of the far-famed
Ignatius, who received his archpriesthood by the right hand of the
great Peter, and for the sake of his confession of Christ was devoured
by savage beasts; [2240] and of the great Eustathius, who presided over
the assembled council, and on account of his fiery zeal for true
religion was driven into exile. [2241] This doctrine was preached by
the illustrious Meletius, at the cost of no less pains, for thrice was
he driven from his flock in the cause of the apostles doctrines; [2242]
by Flavianus, [2243] glory of the imperial see; and by the admirable
Ephraim, instrument of divine grace, who has left us in the Syriac
tongue a written heritage of good things; [2244] by Cyprian, the
illustrious ruler of Carthage and of all Libya, who for Christ's sake
found a death in the fire; [2245] by Damasus, bishop of great Rome,
[2246] and by Ambrose, glory of Milan, who preached and wrote it in the
language of Rome. [2247]
The same was taught by the great luminaries of Alexandria, Alexander
and Athanasius, men of one mind, who underwent sufferings celebrated
throughout the world. This was the pasture given to their flocks by the
great teachers of the imperial city, by Gregory, shining friend and
supporter of the truth; by John, teacher of the world, by Atticus,
their successor alike in see and in sentiment. [2248] By these
doctrines Basil, great light of the truth, and Gregory sprung from the
same parents, [2249] and Amphilochius, [2250] who from him received the
gift of the high-priesthood, taught their contemporaries, and have left
the same to us in their writings for a goodly heritage. Time would fail
me to tell of Polycarp, [2251] and Irenæus, [2252] of Methodius [2253]
and Hippolytus, [2254] and the rest of the teachers of the Church. In a
word I assert that I follow the divine oracles and at the same time all
these saints. By the grace of the spirit they dived into the depths of
God-inspired scripture and both themselves perceived its mind, and made
it plain to all that are willing to learn. Difference in tongue has
wrought no difference in doctrine, for they were channels of the grace
of the divine spirit, using the stream from one and the same fount.
[2156] This document did not appear in the original edition of the
Letters. A fragment in Latin was published in the Auctarium of
Garnerius. The complete composition is given by Schulze from a ms. in
the Imperial Library at Vienna. The date may be assigned as early in
431. As Cyril had weaned the monks of Egypt and even of Constantinople
from the cause of Nestorius, so Theodoret attempts to win over the
solitaries of the East from Cyril.
[2157] Jer. iv. 19
[2158] "Nihil contumeliosius," remarks Garnerius, "in Cyrilli personam
et doctrinam dici potest." Some have even thought the expressions too
bitter for Theodoret. But the mild man could hit hard sometimes. He
felt warmly for Nestorius and against Cyril, and (accepting Tillemont's
date) he was now about 38.
[2159] oikonomia. Vide p. 72.
[2160] John ii. 19
[2161] John i. 1
[2162] John i. 9
[2163] John xiv. 9
[2164] John x. 30
[2165] John x. 38transposed.
[2166] Hebrews i. 3
[2167] Phil. ii. 5, 6, 7
[2168] Romans ix. 5
[2169] Tit. ii. 13
[2170] Is. ix. 6. (LXX. Alex.)
[2171] Isaiah xlv. 14, 15
[2172] Matt. i. 23
[2173] Baruch iii. 35, 36, 37. From the time of Irenæus the book of
Baruch, friend and companion of Jeremiah, was commonly quoted as the
work of the great prophet. e.g. Iren. adv. Hær. v. 35, 1. cf. note on
p. 165.
[2174] John vii. 19 and viii. 40
[2175] 1 Cor. xv. 21
[2176] 1 Cor. xv. 22
[2177] 1 Tim. ii. 5
[2178] Acts xvii. 30, 31
[2179] Acts ii. 22
[2180] Isaiah liii. 3 and 4
[2181] Psalm i. 2
[2182] Phil. ii. 6 and 7
[2183] John xii. 27
[2184] Matt. xxvi. 38
[2185] John x. 18varied.
[2186] Matt. ii. 20
[2187] Vide note on Page 203.
[2188] Isaiah xix. 1
[2189] 2 Cor. xiii. 4
[2190] 2 Cor. xiii. 4
[2191] Psalm cvii. 16
[2192] John ii. 19
[2193] Gal. iii. 16
[2194] 2 Tim. ii. 8
[2195] Romans i. 3
[2196] Romans ix. 5
[2197] Matt. i. 1
[2198] Acts ii. 30
[2199] Gen. xxii. 18
[2200] Here in the LXX comes in "The spirit of God." It is unlikely
that Theodoret should have intended to omit this, and the omission is
probably due as in similar cases to the carelessness of a copyist in
the case of a repetition of a word.
[2201] Isaiah xi. 1, 2, 3, 7
[2202] Isaiah xi. 10
[2203] On the word Theotokos cf. note on Page 213. Jeremy Taylor (ix.
637 ed. 1861) defends it on the bare ground of logic which no doubt
originally recommended it. "Though the blessed virgin Mary be not in
Scripture called Theotokos the mother of God,' yet that she was the
mother of Jesus and that Jesus Christ is God, that we can prove from
Scripture, and that is sufficient for the appellation."
[2204] Luke i. 28
[2205] Cleobulus of Lindos is credited with the maxim ariston metron.
Theognis, (335) transmits the famous meden agan attributed by Aristotle
(Rhet. ii. 12, 14) to Chilon of Sparta. Ovid makes Phoebus say to
Phæthon "Medio tutissimus ibis" (Met. ii. 137); and quotations from
many other writers may be found all "Turning to scorn with lips divine
The falsehood of extremes!"
[2206] John iii. 20
[2207] Joel ii. 17
[2208] Psalm lxxix. 4
[2209] Cf. Ephes. ii. 14
[2210] Psalm cxlvii. 2
[2211] John x. 10
[2212] John x. 11
[2213] Psalm xliv. 23
[2214] Psalm cxviii. 15
[2215] Psalm xc. 15
[2216] Psalm lxvi. 20
[2217] John xiv. 9
[2218] John xvi. 15
[2219] John x. 30
[2220] John i. 1
[2221] Phil. ii. 6, 7
[2222] Heb. ii. 16
[2223] Heb. ii. 14
[2224] John ii. 29
[2225] Luke xxiv. 39
[2226] John xix. 37. Cf. Zec. xii. 10
[2227] 1 Tim. ii. 5, 6
[2228] Tit. ii. 13
[2229] Rom. ix. 5. The first implicit denial of the sense here given by
Theodoret to this remarkable passage is said to be found in an
assertion of the Emperor Julian that neither Paul nor Matthew nor Mark
ever ventured to call Jesus God. In the early church it was commonly
rendered in its plain and grammatical sense, as by Irenæus, Tertullian,
Athanasius, and Chrysostom. Cf. Alford in loc.
[2230] Is. liii. 3, 4
[2231] Isaiah liii. 8
[2232] Matt. ii. 6 and Mic. v. 2
[2233] Theotokos. cf. p. 213.
[2234] Matt. i. 23
[2235] Is. ix. 6. LXX. Alex.
[2236] Heb. vii. 3
[2237] Matt. i. 1
[2238] Luke iii. 23
[2239] Acts i. 11
[2240] The martyrdom of Ignatius may be placed within a few years of
110,--before or after. In the 4th c. Oct. 17 was named as the day both
of his birth and death. Bp. Lightfoot. Ap. Fathers II. i. 30 and 46.
[2241] i.e. Eustathius of Beroea and Antioch, who, according to
Theodoret (H. E. i. 6, p. 43.), sat at Nicæa on Constantine's right
hand. (Contra. I. Soz. i. 19.) He was exiled on account of the
accusation got up against him by Eusebius of Nicomedia.
[2242] Meletius of Antioch. cf. pp. 92, 93. He presided at
Constantinople in 381, and died while the Council was sitting.
[2243] Of Constantinople, murdered at the Latrocinium.
[2244] Vide p. 129.
[2245] cf. Ep. LII. St. Cyprian was beheaded at Carthage, Aug. 13, 258,
his last recorded utterance being his reply to the reading of the
sentence "That Thascius Cyprianus be beheaded with the sword," "Thanks
be to God." Theodoret's "fire" is either an error, or means the fiery
trial of martyrdom.
[2246] Vide p. 82.
[2247] cf. pp. 110, 174.
[2248] i.e. Gregory of Nazianzus, put in possession of St. Sophia by
Theodosius I. Nov. 24, 380, Chrysostom, consecrated by Theophilus of
Alexandria, Feb. 26, 398; and Atticus, who succeeded Arsacius the
usurper in 406.
[2249] Gregory of Nyssa. cf. p. 129.
[2250] Of Iconium. cf. p. 114.
[2251] 155.
[2252] c. 202.
[2253] Commonly known as bishop of Patara, though Jerome speaks of him
as of Tyre. The place and time of his death are doubtful. Eusebius
calls him a contemporary. (cf. Jer. Cat. 83, and Socr. vi. 13.)
[2254] According to Döllinger the first anti-pope. cf. reff. p. 177.
