|
HOME | GREEK LANGUAGE |
LIBRARIES |
BLOG | HELP | SEARCH | BOOKSTORE | FREEWARE |
|
|
Translated by Cardinal Newman.
St Athanasius the Great Resources Online and in Print
|
39 Pages
Page 30
Theognostus then, after previously investigating in the way of an exercise [926] , proceeds to lay down his sentiments in the foregoing words. Next, Dionysius, who was Bishop of Alexandria, upon his writing against Sabellius and expounding at large the Saviour's Economy according to the flesh, and thence proving against the Sabellians that not the Father but His Word became flesh, as John has said, was suspected of saying that the Son as a thing made and originated, and not one in essence with the Father; on this he writes to his namesake Dionysius, Bishop of Rome, to allege in his defence that this was a slander upon him. And he assured him that he had not called the Son made, nay, did confess Him to be even one in essence. And his words ran thus:--
"And I have written in another letter a refutation of the false charge they bring against me, that I deny that Christ was one in essence with God. For though I say that I have not found this term anywhere in Holy Scripture, yet my remarks which follow, and which they have not noticed, are not inconsistent with that belief. For I instanced human birth as being evidently homogeneous, and I observed that undeniably parents differed from their children only in not being the same individuals, otherwise there could be neither parents nor children. And my letter, as I said before, owing to present circumstances I am unable to produce; or I would have sent you the very words I used, or rather a copy of it all, which, if I have an opportunity, I will do still. But I am sure from recollection that I adduced parallels of things kindred with each other; for instance, that a plant grown from seed or from root, was other than that from which it sprang, yet was altogether one in nature with it [927] : and that a stream flowing from a fountain, gained a new name, for that neither the fountain was called stream, nor the stream fountain, and both existed, and the stream was the water from the fountain"
[926] en gumnasi& 139; exetasas. And so S:27. of Origen, xeton kai gumnazon. Constantine too, writing to Alexander and Arius, speaks of altercation, phusikes tinos gumnasias heneka. Socr. i. 7. In somewhat a similar way, Athanasius speaks of Dionysius writing kat' oikonomian, economically, or with reference to certain persons addressed or objects contemplated, de Sent. D. 6. and 26.
[927] The Arians at Nicaea objected to this image, Socr. i. 8. as implying that the Son was a probole, issue or development, as Valentinus taught. Epiph. Haer. 69. 7. Athanasius elsewhere uses it himself.
Reference address : https://elpenor.org/athanasius/defence-nicene-definition.asp?pg=30
