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Thursday, February 21, 2013

Η Αλεξάνδρεια, ο Αθανάσιος
& η επιβολή της νικαϊκής τριαδολογίας /

Alexandria, Athanasius
& the imposition of the Nicene triadology




*


᾿Εν τούτῳ δὲ πολλῶν πόλεων ἐπίσκοποι συνελθόντες ἀνὰ τὴν ᾿Αλεξάνδρειαν ἅμα ᾿Αθανασίῳ καὶ Εὐσεβίῳ τὰ δεδογμένα ἐν Νικαίᾳ κρατύνουσιν. ὁμοούσιόν τε τῷ πατρὶ καὶ τῷ υἱῷ καὶ τὸ ἅγιον πνεῦμα ὡμολόγησαν, καὶ τριάδα ὠνόμασαν· οὐ μόνῳ τε σώματι, ἀλλὰ καὶ ψυχῇ τέλειον χρῆναι δοξάζειν ἄνθρωπον, ὃν ὁ θεὸς λόγος ἀνέλαβεν, εἰσηγήσαντο, καθὰ καὶ τοῖς πάλαι ἐκκλησιαστικοῖς φιλοσόφοις ἐδόκει. ἐπεὶ δὲ ἡ περὶ τῆς οὐσίας καὶ ὑποστάσεως ζήτησις τὰς ἐκκλησίας ἐτάραττεν καὶ συχναὶ περὶ τούτων ἔριδες καὶ διαλέξεις ἦσαν, εὖ μάλα σοφῶς μοι δοκοῦσιν ὁρίσαι μὴ ἐξ ἀρχῆς εὐθὺς ἐπὶ θεοῦ τούτοις χρῆσθαι τοῖς ὀνόμασι, πλὴν ἡνίκα τις τὴν Σαβελλίου δόξαν ἐκβάλλειν πειρῷτο, ἵνα μὴ ἀπορίᾳ ὀνομάτων ταὐτὸν δόξῃ τις τρισὶ προσηγορίαις καλεῖν, ἀλλ' ἕκαστον ἰδίᾳ νοοῖτο τριχῇ. καὶ τὰ μὲν ὧδε τοῖς τότε ἐν ᾿Αλεξανδρείᾳ συνελθοῦσιν ἔδοξεν· ἀπολογούμενος δὲ ἐν τούτοις ᾿Αθανάσιος περὶ τῆς αὐτοῦ φυγῆς διεξῆλθε τὸν λόγον ὃν περὶ τούτου ἔγραψε.

Καὶ διαλυθείσης τῆς συνόδου παραγενόμενος Εὐσέβιος εἰς ᾿Αντιόχειαν εὗρεν ἐν διχονοίᾳ τὸν λαόν.


In the meantime, the bishops of many cities had assembled in Alexandria with Athanasius and Eusebius, and had confirmed the Nicene doctrines. They confessed that the Holy Ghost is of the same substance as the Father and the Son, and they made use of the term “Trinity.” They declared that the human nature assumed by God the Word is to be regarded as consisting of not a perfect body only, but also of a perfect soul, even as was taught by the ancient Church philosophers. As the Church had been agitated by questions concerning the terms “substance” and “hypostasis,” and the contentions and disputes about these words had been frequent, they decreed, and, as I think, wisely, that these terms should not henceforth at the beginning be used in reference to God, except in refutation of the Sabellian tenet; lest from the paucity of terms, one and the same thing might appear to be called by three names; but that one might understand each by its peculiar term in a threefold way. These were the decrees passed by the bishops convened at Alexandria. Athanasius read in the council the document about his flight which he had written in order to justify himself.

On the termination of the council, Eusebius repaired to Antioch and found dissension prevailing among the people.

* Σωζομενός / Sozomen,
Εκκλησιαστική ιστορία / Church history 5:12, 13.
[Ελληνικά/Greek, English/Αγγλικά, PDF]
[PG 5:1249C, 1253A-C].


English translation:
Bohn's Ecclesiastical Library (1855), p./σ. 242.


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