Quaestiones aliae

Of Our Father among the Saints Athanasius, Archbishop of Alexandria, Certain Other Questions. Question 1. What is God? Answer. God is an intellectual substance, invisible and ineffable. God is an immaterial spirit, an unsleeping eye, and an unmoved mind. God is a creative substance of all invisible and visible creatures. Question 2. And why is God called God? Answer. God is called from the word to behold all things, as if a beholder, and God, that is, a spectator of all things. And again God is called from the word to run and to course mentally without time through all things. For God is always everywhere present. Question 3. And how many gods are there? Answer. One God of gods, and Lord of lords, and besides him there is no other. But men are also called gods by grace, as in: "I said, You are gods, and all sons of the Most High." Question 4. And since he is one, how do we call that one God tri-hypostatic, Father, and Son, and Holy Spirit? For behold, we say three, and not one. But teach us how he is one God, and how again we say three persons concerning God. This seems wonderful to us, how God is both one, and his persons are three. Answer. Listen attentively, and you will understand the mystery of the Holy Trinity, as the mind of men is able to understand. As it seems to me, however, this is said to us according to our capacity of words. For God is ineffable, and therefore we are not able to comprehend his nature; nor is he like us, single-personed. For if he were single-personed, we would know him, as we know one another.

But God is one, and His persons are three. And see now what is said. Just as the sun is one, yet the sun has a ray and light, and there are in the sun three persons: disc, ray, and light; and the disc is the sun’s orb, the ray descends torch-like and strikes toward the earth, and the light is what illuminates, even reaching shadowy places without the ray. And behold, the persons are three: disc, ray, and light. Yet we do not say three suns, but one sun; nor do we say one person, but three persons. For if you are asked how many suns are in the sky, you will say that there is one sun; but if you are asked how many persons of the sun there are, you will say three: disc, ray, and light. So understand also concerning God. God is one, but the persons of the one God are three: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. And from this know that, just as the sun is three-personed, so also one God is three-hypostasis. For the disc of the sun is a type of the Father, the ray is a type of the Son, and the light of the sun is a type of the Holy Spirit. And say thus: In the case of the sun, there are disc, ray, and light; yet we do not say three suns, but one only. Likewise in the case of God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are one God, and not three. And again say thus: In the case of the sun, the disc, the ray, and the light are inseparable; for they are not separated from one another. Therefore it is said that God is one and not three, because the three persons—Father, Son, and Holy Spirit—of the one God are not separated from one another.

And just as the solar disc generates the ray and emits the light, so also God and Father generates the Son and emits the Holy Spirit. See intelligently: just as the sun’s ray descends from heaven to the earth, and is neither separated from the solar disc nor absent from heaven nor from the earth, but is both in the solar disc and in heaven and on the earth and everywhere, and is absent neither from the things above nor from those below; so also the Son and Word of God came down to the earth, and was neither absent from the Father nor from the heavens nor from the earth, but was both in the bosom of the Father inseparable, and above and below and everywhere, and was absent from nothing. And just as the solar light is both in the solar disc and in the ray and in heaven and on the earth, and enters into houses and everywhere and illuminates, so also the Holy Spirit is both with the Father and with the Son, and above and below, and illuminates every person, and is never absent. “For the Holy Spirit,” says the Apostle Paul, “searches everything, even the depths of God.” Behold then, just as we never know, nor are able to know, what sort of person someone was whom we have never seen; but when we see his image, then we comprehend a little the character of his face; so understand also concerning God. “For no one has ever seen God.” How then can anyone comprehend him?

But since God is and is called light, we depict him from this sensible light, so that, as we said before, we characterize the Holy Trinity by the type of the sun, saying that the Father is the disc, the Son the ray, and the Holy Spirit the light from light. And just as the disc, the ray, and the light are one and three, divided indivisibly, so also God the Trinity—the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit—is one and three, divided in persons according to the sun, yet remaining undivided in nature. And just as the disc of the sun alone is the cause and unbegotten, while the ray is caused and generated from the disc, and the light is emitted from the disc alone, sent through the ray and illuminating the earthly realm, so also God and Father alone is the cause for the two and unbegotten; the Son is caused and generated from the Father alone; and the Spirit itself is caused and emitted from the Father alone, but sent into the world through the Son. And thus hold, understand, and believe concerning God. But if the example of the sun is not sufficient for you to recognize the three-hypostasis divinity, look also at another image of God: namely, the soul of man. For when God was about to fashion man, he said, "Let us make man according to our image and likeness." Behold, then, man is an image of God, that is, the soul of man. Now the soul of man is one, yet three-hypostasis; the soul has three persons. And how? Listen. The soul is one person.

the soul generates the word, and behold, the word is another person. The soul emits also the breath, and behold, the breath is another person. Behold three persons: soul, word, and breath. For the word and the breath belong to the soul, not to the body, since, when the soul departs from the body, neither word nor breath remains in the body, but the body lies both breathless and speechless. The word and the breath are with the soul; and from this it is clear that both the word and the breath are from the soul, and are persons of the soul; and behold, then, the soul is one person, and the word is another person, and the breath is another person. Behold three persons of the soul, but one soul, and not three. For if you are asked, how many souls does a man have? you will say, one. If you are asked also, how many persons are there of the soul? it is fitting that you say, three; since soul, word, and breath are one soul, and three persons. And the soul is a type of the Father; the word of the soul is a type of the Son and Word of God; the breath of the soul is a type of the Holy Spirit. For as the soul is unbegotten, so also God and Father is unbegotten; and as the word is begotten from the soul, so also the Word of God is begotten from the Father; and as the breath

emissive from the soul, so also the Holy Spirit is emissive from the Father. And they spoke thus: soul, word, and breath, one soul, and not three; for the word and the breath are inseparable from the soul. Likewise Father, and Son, that is Word, and Spirit, one God, and not three; for the Word and the divine Spirit are inseparable from the Father. And just as the soul is invisible, so also God is invisible. And thus when you hesitate in your mind, and say, how is God one, and also trihypostatic? Consider your soul, and say: Just as my soul is one, but also trihypostatic, soul, word, and breath; so also God is one, but is also trihypostatic, Father, Word, and Holy Spirit. And say in your mind, that, if the soul, the creation of God, likewise also the sun, is trihypostatic, and their nature is one; how much more so God the creator of these! Is it not possible that he is such, that he is one in nature, and trihypostatic in persons? And truly it is possible. For as soul, word, and breath are three persons, and one nature of soul, and not three souls; so Father, Word, and Holy Spirit, three persons, and one God in nature, and not three gods. Thus if you always reason, you will not blaspheme against the Holy Trinity. But also hear another image of God, beloved. Behold, fire is one, yet also trihypostatic. For the underlying fire itself is one, but its burning property is another person, and its illuminating property is another person.

Behold then three aspects of the one fire, namely the underlying fire, the burning, and the illuminating; but one nature of the fire, and not three. Similarly also in the case of God: for the Father is the fire, the Son is the burning, and the Holy Spirit is the illuminating. And just as in the case of fire, we say the fire, the burning, and the illuminating, and the underlying fire itself are one, and not three, so also in the case of God we say the three aspects, the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit, are one God, and not three. And concerning the knowledge of the Holy Trinity, let these things suffice for the believer. But hear also another mystery in addition to these. The word of man has a double generation, and is born in two ways: it is born once from the soul, and another time from the lips. And the word of man is born from the soul when one conceives the intention to say something. For the conception is called the first generation of the word, since one conceives the intention to speak that word; but he does not utter it through the lips, but the soul keeps the word in its bosom; and that conception is the first generation of the word from the soul. Nevertheless, even if the word is born from the soul, a first generation when the soul conceives it, yet it does not manifest it, but still keeps it. When, however, he wishes to manifest the word, then he gives birth to it from the lips. And this birth from the lips is the second generation of the word; it manifests the word to all, and the word is no longer called invisible, but visible.

When the word is born through the lips, then all hear it, and it becomes manifest to all; and this birth through the lips is called the second birth of the word; so that there are two births of our word: one from the soul, when it conceives the intention to speak the word, which is called the first birth; and another from the lips, which makes the word manifest to all men, which is called the second birth. Learn then precisely that, just as the word of man has two births, one from the soul and another from the lips, so also the Word of God has two births, one from God and Father, which is called the first birth; and another from the flesh, which is called the second birth. And just as our word, even if it is born the first birth from the soul, is nevertheless invisible and is not manifested, but again after the birth remains in the psychic depths; so also the Word of God, even if it was born before the ages from God and Father, was not manifested to men; but remained again in the paternal depths. And just as our word, when we wish, is born from our lips and is manifested to all those near us; so also the Word of God, when he willed, was born from the lips of the prophets and from the all-holy Mary, and then became manifest in the whole world.

For just as our word is made manifest when it is born from our lips, so also the Word of God, born from the flesh of the ever-virgin Mary, was made manifest to all creation, and those who have believed in it are saved. And just as our word, when born from our lips, at the moment it is born from those lips, neither departs from the soul, nor from its own lips, nor from the ears of those who hear, but remains both in the soul and on our lips and in the ears of the hearers, and is absent from nowhere—even if thousands upon thousands hear the word, the word is not diminished, but was always most full in us—so also the Word of God, even though it was born from the Virgin Mary and from the lips of the prophets, nevertheless neither was it absent from the Father, nor from the flesh, nor from all men, nor from the whole of creation, but was present everywhere, and was not diminished, but was most full. And thus understand concerning God and Word, that it has a twofold generation: one from God and Father, and one from the flesh; and the one from the Father is pre-eternal, the one from the flesh at the end of the days; just as our word is first born from the soul, and then from the lips. And these things concerning the two generations of the Word of God. Question 5: What is the common element of the Holy Trinity? Answer: Common is the essence; common is the beginninglessness; common are the power, the goodness, the wisdom, the justice. For the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit possess all things equally, except their own proper attributes.

For it is proper to the Father to be unbegotten, to the Son to be begotten, and to the Holy Spirit to be that which proceeds. Question 5: How many essences do you confess in God? Answer: I say one essence, one nature, one form, one kind, one glory, one dignity and lordship. Question 6: And how many hypostases do you confess in God? Answer: I confess three hypostases, three persons, three proper things, three individuals, and three characters. Question 7: Why is the Father called Father? Answer: God is called Father as the one who preserves all things, as if the preserver of all. Question 8: And why is the Son called Son? Answer: The Son is called from "such as," that is, what sort and similar; for as the Father is, so also is the Son, and by the change of omicron to upsilon, Son. For the Son is similar to the Father. Question 9: And why is the Spirit called Spirit? Answer: The Spirit is called from "to conceive every nod quickly," that is, every inclination is conceived swiftly through it. "For the Holy Spirit searches all things and the depths of God." Question 10: How many causes are there in God? Answer: I say one cause in God, and this is the Father. For the Father himself begets the Son, and also sends forth the Spirit. Further, know that the Father alone is cause; the Son is not cause, but caused. So that the Father alone is cause; the caused things are two, the Son and the Spirit. And the Father is called cause because he begets and is not begotten, sends forth and is not sent forth. He begets the Son; he also sends forth the Holy Spirit. And for this reason the Father is called cause. Question 11: And how many caused things? Answer: Caused things are two, the Son and the Spirit.

The Son does not beget, but is begotten, and for this reason he is called caused. Therefore, if someone asks, concerning God, how many causes do you confess? say, I say one cause. And what is this? The Father. And why is the Father called cause? Because he begets the Son and also sends forth the Spirit. But if he asks you, how many caused things do you say concerning God? say two. And what are these? The Son and the Spirit. And why are they called caused? Because the Son is begotten, and does not beget; and the Spirit is sent forth, and does not send forth. Question 13: In the Holy Trinity, who is first? Answer: In the Holy Trinity, no one is first, and no one is last, but Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are simultaneous; and for this reason they are called co-beginningless and beginningless. Beginningless is said of that which exists before the beginning. Therefore the Father is beginningless, the Son is beginningless, the Holy Spirit is beginningless. And not one is first and another last, but all three are simultaneous: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. For this reason they both are and are called co-beginningless. Question 14: Clarify for us also this: how the Son and Word of God is begotten from the Father; for this astounds us. Answer: Since God is invisible and ineffable, we are not able to interpret even this. For how can one interpret what he has never himself seen, nor ever heard from others? Nevertheless, from his works, I mean of the Word and God, let us speak typologically, as far as is in our power. One must understand that, just as the word of a human being is begotten from the soul without seed and inconceivably, so also the Word is begotten from the Father.

And as fire is begotten from fire, and light from light, so the Son and Word of God is begotten from the Father. Question 15. And how does the Holy Spirit proceed from the Father? Answer. It is fitting that you not ask about this either. For this too is inexplicable. Yet learn also about this. Just as the breath of a man proceeds from the soul, so also the Holy Spirit proceeds from the Father. And as Eve is neither begotten nor unbegotten, but in a middle way, so also the Holy Spirit proceeds from the Father. For Adam is unbegotten, Seth is begotten, and Eve is processional. For Eve was neither born as Seth was born, nor was she unbegotten like Adam, but she proceeded from the side of Adam. And Adam was unbegotten as a type of the unbegotten Father; Seth was begotten as a type of the begotten Son; and Eve, processional from the side of Adam, as a type of the all-holy Spirit. For in our forebears the Holy Trinity was typified. But Adam, Seth, and Eve were bodies, and were separate from one another; but God the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit are neither bodies nor are they separate from one another. Only the type of the Father’s unbegottenness is seen in the unbegotten Adam, and the type of the Son’s generation in the begotten Seth, and the type of the Holy Spirit’s procession is seen in the processional Eve. And thus understand also concerning this. Question 16. Is God contained in one place, or not? Answer. Apply your mind, and understand that God is light unseeable and uncontainable.

God is neither seen nor contained anywhere. And since He is not contained in the whole, how is it possible for Him to appear or be conceived by anyone? Not even Moses the God-seer, nor the disciples of His Word on the mount of His transfiguration, nor anyone else at any time was able to behold the bare divinity; so it is clear that God is not contained in one place, but is present everywhere. And these things are concerning theology; now we shall begin to speak also concerning the economy, that is, concerning the incarnation of the Son and Word of God. Question 17. Behold, I ask you a question, and you answer me. You have taught us concerning the Holy Trinity, that God is three-hypostasis, and that there is Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Now I ask you: Who is this Christ? I wish to learn about this. Answer. Surely you have heard concerning the Holy Trinity, that one person is called Father, another Son, and the other person is called Holy Spirit. Behold then, know that this Son and Word of God and Father put on the flesh of a man, and walked as a man on the earth. He was therefore named Christ, because He was anointed, that is, He wore the flesh of a man. And for this reason He is called

the incarnate God, and Christ the Son and Word of God and God, because He wore the form of man. Question 18. And what reason, or what need, did God, that is, the Son and Word of God, have to become incarnate and walk on earth as a man? Answer. God had no need to become incarnate, but humanity required healing. For after God made the heaven and the earth and all things in them, He also formed man and placed him in the midst of paradise, and appointed him king over all creatures, that all might serve him, and he was to dwell in paradise as the image of God. Knowing this, the devil, envying man's dignity, counseled man to disobey God, so that through disobedience he might expel him from paradise and from his dignity from God, and make the immortal mortal. And man, having no experience of the evil one's wickedness, heeded the devil's counsel and disobeyed God, and from then on received the death of sin; likewise all men born from him, having received sin from their ancestors, retained it, and sin prevailed over men. God sent prophets and teachers into the world to teach the world, that is, men, and to turn them from sin; but the prophets were unable to set things right. Therefore God said within Himself:

I shall go down and put on flesh, and I shall become human in form, and I shall teach my creation, and it shall turn away from the counsel of the devil, and every man shall be as God not by nature but by position. And having willed this, God, with the good will of the Father and the cooperation of the Holy Spirit, the Son and Word of God descended and entered into the pure womb of a virgin woman, and taking flesh from her, He became man; and again, having come forth from the woman and having left her pure and sealed, an undefiled virgin as before, He walked in the world among men as a man, and then He was named Christ, because He was anointed and wore the flesh of man. And this is Christ, the Son and Word of God, wearing flesh. Question 19. And how was it possible for a virgin to give birth to flesh and yet remain a virgin? This seems to us wonderful and quite extraordinary; teach us also about this, we beseech you. Answer. Even if this seems wonderful to us, it is not the work of man but of God; for where God wills, the order of nature is overcome; and again, "God is wonderful," and "His works are wonderful." Nevertheless, hear concerning the Virgin who gave birth various and most clear symbols: remember that Adam, being a virgin, begot Eve; and again he remained a virgin, as before. And just as Adam, a virgin, begot and remained a virgin, so also the Mother of God Mary, being a virgin, bore Christ and again remained a virgin. But also hear another mystery concerning this.

Just as a house enclosed on all sides, having a small eastern window of pure and very thin glass, when the sun rises its rays pass through the glass and enter, illuminating the entire house; and again, when the sun passes and its rays depart, the glass is not shattered but remains unharmed by the comings and goings of the sun's rays—so understand also concerning the ever-virgin Mary. For this all-holy one, being like an enclosed house, the Son and Word of God, like a divine ray from the sun of righteousness, the Father, descended and entered through the glass-like small window of her ears, and illuminated her all-holy house, and again, as he himself knows, departed, without in any way harming her virginity; but as before the birth, so during the birth and after the birth, he preserved her a pure virgin. Along with these things, hear also another luminous and most marvelous image, similar to those. The pearl is produced in the Red Sea; and it is produced in this way. The shores of the Red Sea are dry, having a small flow of water. And there are found there certain marine shelled creatures throughout that entire Red Sea, called pinnae. These pinnae always stand gaping open, awaiting food for their nourishment. So then, while they stand gaping open and awaiting their food, since lightning flashes frequently occur there, the lightning descends toward the pinna, and finding the shells of the pinna open, it enters into it.

The pinna, immediately contracting and tightening upon itself, shuts the lightning within itself. And the lightning, being rolled into the eye-sockets of the pinna, illuminates them and makes them pearls. The pearls, coming out of the pinna, fall toward the shore of that sea, and thus those who seek them find them. Understand in this way also concerning the incarnation of the Word. The sea is the world, and the Virgin is the shell. The Virgin stood like a pinna in the temple, receiving the heavenly bread, Christ God, who, descending and entering into her like lightning, and being enfolded in the flanks of her virginity, made radiant the all-holy flesh which he assumed when he became incarnate; and thus the Word of God was born from her as a pure and precious pearl, without male intercourse. And just as the pearl is both heavenly and earthly—heavenly by reason of the lightning, earthly by reason of the interweaving of the pinna’s eyes—so also Christ is both heavenly and earthly: heavenly according to his divinity, earthly according to his humanity. And just as the pearl is produced without intercourse of male and female, from lightning and the pinna, so also Christ was born without intercourse of male and female, from the divinity and the flesh of the Virgin.

And just as the pearl, when crushed, often the material of the eye-sockets of the pinna is crushed and dissolved, but the brightness of the lightning does not suffer, but the brightness of the lightning remains impassible, and only the material of the eye-sockets of the pinna is crushed and suffers; so also you must understand concerning Christ. For when our Savior Himself was scourged and suffered at the hands of the unbelieving Jews on the cross, only the material of the flesh, that is, the humanity, suffered, while the divinity remained impassible. And by saying these things, you refute the Theopaschites and teach the incarnate economy. Hence the ambiguity, beloved, is resolved for you by the grace of Christ. Question 20. Behold, O God-like Father, you have taught us all these things fittingly. But we ask you also to interpret for us this difficulty: why did the divinity not teach man alone and save him without flesh? For what need was there to put on the flesh? Answer. You ask well concerning this; therefore listen well to the answer. In the beginning, when God made man, and man was led astray by the devil, the devil did not conquer the divinity, but the humanity. Therefore it was fitting that this same conquered humanity should again itself conquer its enemy the devil, and again recover the divine paradise which it had previously lost through him. For if the naked divinity had come and conquered the devil, the devil would have boasted that it was no wonder that he was conquered, since he was attacked and conquered by the divinity.

And for this reason God did not consent that his bare divinity should wrestle with the devil, but he willed that the humanity which had been conquered by the devil should itself and alone conquer the devil who had conquered it. Therefore the wise God, foreseeing again that humanity alone could not conquer without divinity, hid the divinity in that flesh, so that the devil, seeing the flesh and not knowing that the divinity was hidden in that flesh, would approach and wrestle with Christ, and thus be conquered by the hidden divinity. And this is what happened. For just as a fisherman, wishing to catch a fish, does not cast the bare hook into the sea, but cunningly clothes the hook externally with a worm, and thus casts it into the sea clothed with the worm; and the fish, seeing only the worm and not knowing that the worm has the hook within it, but thinking the worm is alone without a hook, is deceived and caught by the hook; so also did Christ. For wishing to catch the venomous fish lurking in the boundless waters of the abyss, or rather the great serpent the devil, he did not offer his bare divinity to the devil, but cunningly offered the worm, his all-holy flesh, which he put on from the Ever-Virgin Mary, the most holy earth, without mixture, according to the divine David who says:

I am a worm and not a man," he concealed the most sacred hook, his world-saving cross, being fastened upon it, and through this wishing to hide his own divinity, by which this venomous and serpent-stung fish, the great dragon devil, who cast out and killed man from paradise, was deceived and caught, and being conquered, perished. Thus the divinity is in the form of the hook, and the humanity in the form of the worm. Therefore the devil, seeing from without the human element and not perceiving the divinity hidden within it, was deceived, and approaching the humanity, was caught by the incomparable and invincible hook of the divinity; and thus the great dragon devil was conquered. For this reason the Son and Word of God did not come with his bare divinity to hunt the devil, but he put on flesh, and thus entered. And this is the cause of the incarnation. And just as the devil himself, once wishing to deceive man and cast him out of paradise, did not approach Eve with his bare devilishness, but put on the flesh of the serpent, and thus approached and deceived her; for the crafty one knew that if he approached her with his bare devilishness, he would not be able to deceive her; and therefore he clothed himself, as it were, in the flesh of the serpent, and through the flesh-bearing serpent he deceived Eve. And the serpent was visible, but the devil was not visible. And through the visible serpent the invisible serpent devil acted. For two natures in one person then brought about the fall of the first parents.

And just as then devil-nature and serpent-nature, two natures, were united in one person, and the one nature, that is, the serpent-nature, was visible, while the other, namely the devil-nature, was not visible, and it cast man out of paradise; so also in the case of Christ, two natures, divinity and humanity, were united in one person; and humanity was visible, while divinity was not visible, and through the visible humanity the invisible divinity was acting, and these two good natures, I mean divinity and humanity, cast man, who had long ago been exiled from paradise, back into it again. And this is the reason why God became flesh and became man: because glory befits him for infinite ages. Amen.