Image and firstborn from dead; Hebrews heir through flesh
See again: he calls him the image of the invisible God (Colossians 1:15–18), and clearly affirms that thrones and rulers and lordships were created through him, and says that all things are unto him and hold together in him, and that he is the head of the body’s church and firstborn from the dead. Who then is the image of God, the creator of the wholes, if not the Only-begotten Son of God himself? Who also became firstborn from the dead, as having died in his own flesh and not rather in someone else’s. So there is one Christ and Son, God and human together.
From Hebrews. “In many parts and in many ways God, having spoken of old to the fathers in the prophets, in these last days spoke to us in a Son, whom he placed heir of all, through whom he also made the ages.” (Hebrews 1:1–2) The Only-begotten Word is believed to be by nature Lord of the wholes with God and Father, yet he is placed heir because he became flesh. For it was said to him, as one who appeared as a human like us for our sake: “Ask of me, and I will give you nations as your inheritance, and the ends of the earth as your possession.” (Psalm 2:8) But he says that through this same God who is heir—because of the human—the ages themselves were also made, the matter referring back to the Word’s seniority. So there is one Christ and Son, the same one God and human together.
Greek
ἰδοὺ δὴ πάλιν εἰκόνα μὲν τοῦ Θεοῦ τοῦ ἀοράτου φησὶν αὐτόν, ἐκτίσθαι δὲ δι’ αὐτοῦ θρόνους καὶ ἀρχὰς καὶ κυριότητας διαβεβαιοῦται σαφῶς, καὶ εἰς αὐτὸν τὰ πάντα καὶ ἐν αὐτῷ συνεστάναι λέγει, καὶ αὐτὸν εἶναι τὴν κεφαλὴν τοῦ σώματος τῆς ἐκκλησίας καὶ πρωτότοκον ἐκ τῶν νεκρῶν. τίς οὖν ἄρα ἐστὶν ἡ εἰκὼν τοῦ Θεοῦ, ὁ κτίστης τῶν ὅλων, εἰ μὴ αὐτὸς ὁ Μονογενὴς τοῦ Θεοῦ Υἱός; ὃς καὶ γέγονε πρωτότοκος ἐκ νεκρῶν, ὡς ἀποθανὼν σαρκὶ τῇ ἰδίᾳ καὶ οὐχὶ δὴ μᾶλλον τῇ τινὸς ἑτέρου. εἷς οὖν Χριστὸς καὶ Υἱός, Θεός τε ὁμοῦ καὶ ἄνθρωπος.
Ἐκ τῆς πρὸς Ἑβραίους. «Πολυμερῶς καὶ πολυτρόπως πάλαι ὁ Θεὸς λαλήσας τοῖς πατράσιν ἐν τοῖς προφήταις ἐπ’ ἐσχάτου τῶν ἡμερῶν τούτων ἐλάλησεν ἡμῖν ἐν υἱῷ, ὃν ἔθηκε κληρονόμον πάντων, δι’ οὗ καὶ τοὺς αἰῶνας ἐποίησεν.» φύσει τῶν ὅλων Κύριος μετὰ τοῦ Θεοῦ καὶ Πατρὸς ὁ Μονογενὴς αὐτοῦ Λόγος εἶναι πεπίστευται, τίθεται δὲ κληρονόμος ὅτι γέγονε σάρξ. εἴρηται γὰρ πρὸς αὐτόν, ὡς καθ’ ἡμᾶς ἄνθρωπον πεφηνότα δι’ ἡμᾶς· «Αἴτησαι παρ’ ἐμοῦ, καὶ δώσω σοι ἔθνη τὴν κληρονομίαν σου, καὶ τὴν κατάσχεσίν σου τὰ πέρατα τῆς γῆς.» ἀλλὰ δι’ αὐτοῦ τοῦ Θεοῦ τοῦ κληρονόμου διὰ τὸ ἀνθρώπινον καὶ αὐτοὺς πεποιῆσθαι τοὺς αἰῶνας φησίν, εἰς τὸ τοῦ Λόγου πρεσβύτατον τοῦ πράγματος ἔχοντος τὴν ἀναφοράν. εἷς οὖν ἄρα Χριστὸς καὶ Υἱός, ὁ αὐτὸς Θεός τε ὁμοῦ καὶ ἄνθρωπος.
About this text
Cyril’s court treatise on right faith for Arcadia and Marina (CPG 5219). One Son, Word made flesh — not two Christs. English from Pusey’s Greek.
English follows Pusey’s 1877 Greek of De recta fide ad Arcadiam et Marinam. This is a reading translation for study, not a new critical edition.
Witnesses
- Copy-text Pusey, De recta fide ad reginas (Oxford, 1877) (Greek · CPG 5219 §§1–100)
This is an AI-assisted study translation. Source fidelity and completeness have not been independently certified. Open Greek on each section for the source text. This is not a complete critical edition.