Understanding Scriptural Theology
instead of the Creator
The great and small, the temporal and the heterousious fear of demons. How one must intellectually grasp the theologies of the Scriptures.
I, unworthy as I am, have contended with the theologies concerning the only-begotten Son and the Holy Spirit, without even in thought harming the unutterable glory concerning God and the Father—for it has not been unknown, even if it has not been revealed beforehand regarding both of the aforementioned divine hypostases, that nevertheless both hypostases are naturally and inherently from Him, the one of the Son by way of generation, and the other of the Spirit by way of procession—but I am preparing and setting forth the heretics' harmful interpretations which they seem to honor the Father more than the Scripture does, and through these they both grieve Him and His only-begotten Son and insult the Spirit.
And this is about the same. Therefore, those who wish to engage with the orthodox, even regarding the small work of God—if they dare to say a small work is of God—need words, and works before words, and faith before both these, and much reverence and understanding of the listener, so that through these, having been made worthy to know, even the small is not graspable by the intellect, but is infinite and surpasses even human things—for if it is the work of God, even if it seems small, it is great as being of God: 'How could anyone catch the great things with small labors? An ignorant man,' they say, 'and to will these things'—but much more the discourse concerning the unutterable God, surpassing the perception of archangels, should cause them to withdraw from the unstable inquiries, leaving them to be known by God alone, and with the apostle saying: 'I believed, therefore I also spoke' (2 Cor 4:13).
The theologies of the Scriptures are not to be understood in this way: that when they speak from one person, it is because of the one nature and will; when from both, it is because the personal property of the holy and incorruptible Trinity is being shown; for when Isaiah says: 'I, the Lord, have stretched out the heavens and spread out the earth' (Isa 40:22) and again: 'I am, and there is no other God besides me' (Isa 44:6), it is because of the one divinity and harmony, as it is foretold; when the Holy Spirit is not mentioned in glory, it is because He is contained within God, of whom He happens to be the Spirit; when the mystery...
Greek
ἐπιστέλλοντι· «ἐσεβάσθησαν καὶ ἐλάτρευσαν τῇ κτίσει παρὰ τὸν κτίσαντα». 34.11 Τοῦτο δὲ τοῦ νομοθετήσαντος Μωυσέως· «ὁ θυσιάζων θεοῖς ἀλλοτρίοις λιθοβοληθήσεται, πλὴν κυρίῳ μόνῳ». 34.12 πρόσφατος δὲ καὶ ἀλλότριος θεὸς ὁ μὴ ὁμοούσιος τῷ θεῷ καὶ πατρὶ ὢν καὶ ποτὲ μὴ ὑπάρξας. 34.13 Καὶ οἱ λέγοντες «δόξα πατρὶ δι' υἱοῦ ἐν ἁγίῳ πνεύματι» οὐ δοξάζουσι τὸν υἱὸν ἢ τὸ πνεῦμα τοῦ θεοῦ. 34.14 ἄλλῳ γὰρ δι' ἄλλου ἐν ἄλλῳ ἀναπέμπουσι τὴν δόξαν, μᾶλλον δὲ οὐδ' ὁποτέρῳ. 34.15 καὶ παρατιτρώσκουσι τοῦτο μὲν τὸ θέλημα τοῦ πατρὸς λέγοντος· «τὴν δόξαν μου ἑτέρῳ οὐ δώσω» ἀντὶ τοῦ ἑτεροφυεῖ οὐ δώσω, βουλομένου δὲ τιμᾶσθαι τὸν υἱὸν ὁμοίως αὐτοῦ, τοῦτο δὲ καὶ τὴν παράδοσιν τοῦ υἱοῦ, 34.16 ὅμοια πάσχοντες τῶν Χριστὸν μὲν αὐτὸν τῷ στόματι καλούντων, ταῖς δὲ χερσὶ τυπτόντων καὶ κραζόντων· «προφήτευσον ἡμῖν, Χριστέ, τίς ἐστιν ὁ παίσας σε;» τῶν καὶ λεγόντων οὕτως· «πιστεύομεν ὡς Μωϋσῆς καὶ οἱ προφῆται», αὐτὸν δὲ τὸν προφητευθέντα σταυρωσάντων. 34.17 Ὅτε οὖν καὶ ὁ θεὸς πατὴρ σὺν τῷ μονογενεῖ θεῷ παρακούεται καὶ ἡ εἰς κτίσμα πίστις ἀνωφελής ἐστιν, βλάπτειν μᾶλλον ἢ σώζειν δυναμένη, αὐτοὶ λογιζέσθωσαν, εἰ ἀκίνδυνον ἔχουσι πίστιν τὴν σωτηρίαν ἀρνούμενοι· δεῖ γὰρ σωθῆναι ὀρθῶς πιστεύοντα· καλὸν γάρ, φασί, τὸ σωθῆναι, τἄλλα δέ ἐστιν ἄλλος λόγος. 34.18 Καὶ Μακεδονίου δὲ παῖδες ὡς τοῦ ἁγίου πνεύματος οὕτω καὶ τοῦ μονογενοῦς τὴν δόξαν οὐ σώζουσιν ὁμοιούσιον τῷ πατρὶ καὶ οὐχὶ ὁμοούσιον λέγοντες αὐτὸν ὡς νοεῖσθαι, ὅτι ἄλλης ὁμοίας οὐσίας ἐστίν. 34.19 Ὥστε λείπεται αἱρετικοὺς ἢ ἀμεῖψαι ἐν ταῖς θρησκείαις αὐτῶν τὸ ὄνομα τοῦ πατρὸς ὡς τῇ ἀληθείᾳ παρ' αὐτοῖς οὐκ ὄντος πατρός, ἔτι μὴν καὶ τοῦ μονογενοῦς υἱοῦ, καὶ τοῦ πνεύματος δὲ τοῦ θεοῦ ὡς τοῦτο οὐκ ὄντος–συγγνώτω δὲ ἡμῖν ἡ ἁγία καὶ σεπτὴ καὶ παρ' ἡμῶν δοξαζομένη ὁμοούσιος τριάς–, ἀμεῖψαι δὲ πρό γε πάντων τὸ ἑαυτῶν ὄνομα καὶ μήτε καλεῖσθαι Χριστιανοὺς ἢ πνευματικούς, μήτε διακεῖσθαι ὡς ὄντες αὐτοὶ ἐκεῖνοι ὁμογενεῖς υἱοὶ τῶν ἰδίων πατέρων, ἢ μὴ ἐξαλλάττειν τῆς τοῦ πατρὸς θεότητος καὶ δόξης τὸν ἀληθινὸν υἱὸν καὶ τὸ ἅγιον πνεῦμα αὐτοῦ. 34.20 ἴδιον γὰρ Ἰουδαίων μὲν τὸ τὸν πατέρα μόνον τιμᾷν, Ἑλλήνων δὲ τὸ πλῆθος δαιμονίων μέγα καὶ μικρὸν καὶ χρονικὸν καὶ ἑτεροούσιον σέβειν. 35.ν Ὅπως χρὴ νοεῖν τὰς θεολογίας τῶν γραφῶν. 35.1 Συναγωνίσασθαι δὲ ὁ ἀνάξιος ἐγὼ ταῖς περὶ τοῦ μονογενοῦς υἱοῦ καὶ τοῦ ἁγίου πνεύματος θεολογίαις προήχθην οὐδὲ κατὰ ἔννοιαν παραβλάπτων τὴν περὶ τοῦ θεοῦ καὶ πατρὸς ἄφραστον δόξαν–οὐ γὰρ ἠγνόηται, ὡς εἰ καὶ μὴ πρὸ ἀμφοῖν δεδήλωται τῶν εἰρημένων θείων ὑποστάσεων, ἀλλ' ὅμως ἄμφω αἱ ὑποστάσεις ἐξ αὐτοῦ κατὰ φύσιν συμφυῶς εἰσιν, ἡ μὲν τοῦ υἱοῦ γεννητικῶς, ἡ δὲ τοῦ πνεύματος αὐτοῦ ἐκπορευτικῶς–, ἀλλ' αἱρετικῶν τὰς πανολεθρίους ἐξηγήσεις ἀποσκευαζόμενος καὶ συνιστάμενος, ὅδι δι' ὧν δοκοῦσι παρὰ τὴν γραφὴν πλέον 40 τιμᾶν τὸν πατέρα, διὰ τούτων αὐτόν τε λυποῦσι καὶ τὸν μονογενῆ αὐτοῦ καὶ τὸ πνεῦμα ἐνυβρίζουσιν. 36.ν Καὶ τοῦτο περὶ τοῦ αὐτοῦ. 36.1 Τοὺς τοίνυν ὀρθοδόξους χρὴ εἰδέναι μέν, ὡς καὶ περὶ μικροῦ ἔργου τοῦ θεοῦ–εἰ τολμήσαντα μικρὸν ἔργον ἔστι φάναι θεοῦ–τοῖς διαλαβεῖν ἐθέλουσι χρεία λόγων, καὶ ἔργων πρὸ τῶν λόγων, καὶ πίστεως πρὸ ἀμφοῖν τούτων, καὶ πολλῆς εὐλαβείας καὶ κατανοήσεως ἀκροτάτης, ἵνα διὰ ταῦτα γνῶναι ἀξιωθέντες, ὡς καὶ τὸ μικρὸν οὐχ ἁλώσιμον τῇ διανοίᾳ, ἀλλ' ἀπείρως καὶ αὐτὸ τῶν ἀνθρωπίνων ὑπερφέρει ἐπιβολῶν–εἰ γὰρ τοῦ θεοῦ ἔργον, κἂν μικρὸν δοκῇ, μέγα ὡς θεοῦ· «μικροῖς δὲ τὰ μεγάλα πῶς ἕλοι τις ἂν πόνοισιν; ἀμαθές», φασίν, «καὶ τὸ βούλεσθαι τάδε»–, πολλῷ δὲ μᾶλλον ἡ περὶ αὐτοῦ τοῦ ἀφράστου θεοῦ διάληψις ὑπερβαίνουσα καὶ ἀρχαγγέλων αἴσθησιν τῶν μὲν σφαλερῶν ζητήσεων ἀναχωρήσωσινʹ, γινώσκειν αὐτὰ μόνῳ τῷ θεῷ ἀφιέντες, σὺν τῷ ἀποστόλῳ δὲ εἴπωσιν· «ἐπίστευσα, διὸ καὶ ἐλάλησα»· 36.2 τὰς δὲ θεολογίας τῶν γραφῶν νοεῖν οὑτωσί, ὅτιπερ, ὅταν ἀπὸ ἑνὸς προσώπου λέγουσιν, διὰ τὴν μίαν φύσιν καὶ θέλησιν· ὅταν ἀπὸ ἀμφοῖν, διὰ τὸ δείκνυσθαι τὸ ἰδιοσύστατον τῆς ἁγίας καὶ ἀκηράτου τριάδος· 36.3 ὅταν γὰρ Ἠσαΐας λέγῃ· «ἐγὼ κύριος ἐξέτεινα τὸν οὐρανὸν καὶ ἐστερέωσα τὴν γῆν» καὶ πάλιν· «ἐγώ εἰμι καὶ οὐκ ἔστιν ἄλλος θεὸς πλὴν ἐμοῦ», διὰ τὴν μίαν θεότητα καὶ συμφωνίαν, ὡς προείρηται· 36.4 ὅταν δόξῃ μὴ μνημονεύεσθαι τὸ ἅγιον πνεῦμα, διὰ τὸ συμπεριέχεσθαι αὐτὸ τῷ θεῷ, οὗ πνεῦμα τυγχάνει ὄν· ὅταν τὴν μυσταγωγίαν
About this text
Didymus the Blind defends the full divinity of Father, Son, and Spirit against those who rank them.
Catalogue & scope
Khazarzar scan
Witnesses
- Copy-text PG (Khazarzar) (Greek)
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.