A Declaration of Faith. - ANF06. Fathers of the Third Century: Gregory Thaumaturgus, Dionysius the Great, Julius Africanus, Anatolius, and Minor Writers, Methodius, Arnobius

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A Declaration of Faith.
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Part I.—Acknowledged Writings.

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A Declaration of Faith.¹⁸

¹⁸ The title as it stands has this addition: “which he had by revelation from the blessed John the evangelist, by the mediation of the Virgin Mary, Parent of God.” Gallandi, Veterum Patrum Biblioth., Venice, 1766, p. 385. [Elucidation, p. 8, infra.]

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There is one God, the Father of the living Word, who is His subsistent Wisdom and Power and Eternal Image:¹⁹

¹⁹ χαρακτῆρος ἀϊδίου.
perfect Begetter of the perfect Begotten, Father of the only-begotten Son. There is one Lord, Only of the Only,²⁰

²⁰ μόνος ἐκ μόνου .
God of God, Image and Likeness of Deity, Efficient Word,²¹

²¹ λόγος ἐνεργός.
Wisdom comprehensive²²

²² περιεκτική.
of the constitution of all things, and Power formative²³

²³ ποιητική.
of the whole creation, true Son of true Father, Invisible of Invisible, and Incorruptible of Incorruptible, and Immortal of Immortal and Eternal of Eternal.²⁴

²⁴ ἀΐδιος ἀϊδίου.
And there is One Holy Spirit, having His subsistence²⁵

²⁵ ὕπαρξιν.
from God, and being made manifest²⁶

²⁶ πεφηνός.
by the Son, to wit to men:²⁷

²⁷ The words δηλαδὴ τοῖς ἀνθρώποις are suspected by some to be a gloss that has found its way into the text.
Image²⁸

²⁸ εἰκών.
of the Son, Perfect Image of the Perfect;²⁹

²⁹ So John of Damascus uses the phrase, εἰκὼν τοῦ Πατρὸς ὁ Υἱὸς, καὶ τοῦ Υἱοῦ, τὸ Πνεῦμα, the Son is the Image of the Father, and the Spirit is that of the Son, lib. 1, De fide orthod., ch. 13, vol. i. p. 151. See also Athanasius, Epist. 1 ad Serap.; Basil, lib. v. contra Eunom.; Cyril, Dial., 7, etc.
Life, the Cause of the living; Holy Fount; Sanctity, the Supplier, or Leader,³⁰

³⁰ χορηγός.
of Sanctification; in whom is manifested God the Father, who is above all and in all, and God the Son, who is through all. There is a perfect Trinity, in glory and eternity and sovereignty, neither divided nor estranged.³¹

³¹ ἀπαλλοτριουμένη. See also Gregory Nazianz., Orat., 37, p. 609.
Wherefore there is nothing either created or in servitude³²

³² δοῦλον.
in the Trinity;³³

³³ Gregory Nazianz., Orat., 40, p. 668, with reference apparently to our author, says: Οὐδὲν τῆς Τριάδος δοῦλον, οὐδὲ κτιστον, οὐδὲ ἐπείσακτον, ἤκουσα τῶν σοφῶν τινος λέγοντος— In the Trinity there is nothing either in servitude or created, or superinduced, as I heard one of the learned say.
nor anything superinduced,³⁴

³⁴ ἐπείσακτον.
as if at some former period it was non-existent, and at some later period it was introduced. And thus neither was the Son ever wanting to the Father, nor the Spirit to the Son;³⁵

³⁵ In one codex we find the following addition here: οὔτε αὔξεται μονὰς εἰς δυάδα, οὐδὲ δυὰς εἰς τριάδα—Neither again does the unity grow into duality, nor the duality into trinity; or = Neither does the condition of the one grow into the condition of the two, nor that of the two into the condition of the three.
but without variation and without change, the same Trinity abideth ever.³⁶

³⁶ [See valuable note and Greek text in Dr. Schaff’s History, vol. ii. p. 799.]
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