ት Tergwame Greek · Coptic · Ethiopic · Syriac · Armenian · Georgian · Latin

Greek · Other ·

De deitate filii et spiritus sancti

Gregory of Nyssa · khazarzar

BothSourceEnglish
JSON Dossier
machine-draft · no human review 1 passages · 285 words

Work dossier · summary and historical context

Summary

Gregory of Nyssa's 'De deitate filii et spiritus sancti' (On the Divinity of the Son and the Holy Spirit) is a theological treatise defending the full divinity of the Son and the Holy Spirit against Eunomian subordinationism. It employs Trinitarian terminology distinguishing ousia (essence) from hypostasis (person), and argues through a chain of deductive steps rather than discrete syllogisms. The work was composed after Gregory's 'Contra Eunomium' (c. 380–383) and before his death c. 395, with internal references to the Council of Constantinople (381) suggesting a date in the early 380s. The Greek text survives in multiple medieval manuscripts; the khazarzar edition is a digital transcription based on Migne's Patrologia Graeca, lacking critical apparatus.

The treatise is a key witness to the development of pro-Nicene Trinitarian theology, particularly the distinction between ousia and hypostasis. Its use at the Second Council of Nicaea shows its influence on later iconodule arguments. The work also anticipates later Byzantine anti-dualist literature, as Gregory's arguments against coeternal evil were cited by John of Damascus and in Palamite controversies.

Historical context

The treatise was composed in the early 380s, likely in Cappadocia, within the context of the post-Nicene Trinitarian controversies. Gregory of Nyssa, a leading Cappadocian Father, wrote against Eunomius, who argued for the subordination of the Son and Spirit. The work reflects the theological developments following the Council of Constantinople (381), which affirmed the consubstantiality of the Holy Spirit. The text was transmitted through Byzantine monastic and theological circles, and was quoted at the Second Council of Nicaea (787) to support icon veneration, indicating its continued authority. The khazarzar edition, based on Migne's 19th-century Patrologia Graeca, lacks manuscript sigla and critical notes, so textual decisions cannot be verified. The argument relies on contested scriptural proof-texts (e.g., 1 John 5:7), requiring consultation of modern critical editions.

Apparatus · what the pipeline recorded

Annotation and terms

6 commentary units 2 term1 structure1 background1 scripture1 reception 0 derived notes 2 open questions 1 narrative
What the kinds mean

Pipeline notes

  • coverageNo English translation could be identified: a language model asked twice could not name one, though it could not rule one out either. That is not proof that none exists — translations in dissertations, recent books and other modern languages are easily missed.
  • limitThe English is a machine draft produced passage by passage from the transcribed Coptic; no human has verified it. The commentary is model-written and cites only keys the pipeline could resolve.
  • registerRegister: other in ancient Greek; the English keeps the liturgical formulae and the vocatives rather than normalising them.
  • structurePassages: 1 narrative.
  • sourceSource edition: khazarzar — Migne PG text (public domain); khazarzar host and the digitising project state no licence for this layer

Term index

CopticRenderingCountFirst
no glossary terms recorded
khazarzar-gregory-of-nyssa-de-deitate-filii-et-spiritus-sancti:1 · narrativehigh
Source
ΤΟΥ ΑΥΤΟΥ ΚΑΤΑ ΜΑΝΙΧΑΙΩΝ ΛΟΓΟΣ Δώδεκα συλλογισμῶν, ὅτι τὸ κακὸν, φθαρτὸν καὶ γεννητὸν καὶ ἀνύπαρκτον, καὶ ὁ τούτου δὲ πατὴρ διάβολος οὐκ ἀγέννητος. Εἴ τι ἂν κακὸν, κολαστέον· οὐδὲν δὲ κολαζόμενον ἄφθαρτον. Οὐδὲν ἄρα κακὸν ἄφθαρτον. Οὐδὲν φθαρτὸν ἀγέννητον· ἔστι δὲ τὸ κακὸν φθαρτόν. Τὸ ἄρα κακὸν οὐκ ἀγέννητον. Οὐδὲν κατ' οὐσίαν κακόν· τῷ τὸ κακὸν ποιὸν εἶναι. Οὐδὲν δὲ ποιὸν οὐσία. Τὸ ἄρα κακὸν οὐκ οὐσία. Πάντα τὰ ἐναντία ἀλλήλων φθαρτά· τὰ δὲ ἀγέννητα ὄντα οὐ φθαρτά. Τὰ ἄρα ἐναντία οὐκ ἄφθαρτα. Οὐδὲν ἀγέννητον τρεπτόν· τρέπεται δὲ τὸ ἀγαθὸν κρατηθὲν ὑπὸ τοῦ κακοῦ. Τὸ ἄρα ἀγαθὸν οὐκ ἀγέννητον. Τὸ ἀγέννητον οὐκ ἔστιν ὀρεκτικὸν φθορᾶς τινος, οὐδέ γε φθαρτικόν· τὸ δέ γε κακὸν ὀρεκτικὸν φθορᾶς. Τὸ ἄρα κακὸν οὐκ ἀγέννητον. Αἱ θεῖαι Γραφαὶ ταῖς κολάσεσι παραδίδοσθαι οὐ τοὺς ἄλλους μόνους κακοὺς, ἀλλὰ καὶ αὐτὸν τὸν διάβολον λέγουσι· πᾶν δὲ τὸ κολάσει παραδιδόμενον τρεπτόν· οὐδὲν δὲ τρεπτὸν ἀγέννητον. Οὐδὲν ἄρα τῶν κακῶν ἀγέννητον. Τῶν δι' ὅλου ἐναντιουμένων, οὐδὲν κοινόν. Ὥστε πᾶσα ἀνάγκη τὸ ἀγαθὸν ὑπάρχει, μὴ ὂν ἄρα τὸ κακόν. Πᾶς ὁ εὐλόγως ὀρεγόμενός τινος ἐπιτετευγμένην ἔχει τὴν ὄρεξιν, ᾗ εὐλόγως ὀρέγεται· τῶν φθαρτῶν ἄρα ἐστὶν ἡ κακία· τῶν φθαρτῶν οὖσα ἀφανισθήσεται. Ἀφανιζομένη δὲ, οὐκ ἔστιν ἀγέννητος. Ἀγέννητον τὸ κακὸν, κατὰ φύσιν αὐτῷ ὑπάρχει τὸ κακὸν εἶναι. Οὐδεὶς δὲ κατὰ φύσιν ἐνεργῶν ἁμαρτάνει· τὸ ἄρα ἀγέννητον οὐχ ἁμαρτάνει. Τὸ μὴ ἁμαρτάνον οὐχ ὑπαίτιον· ὑπαίτιος δὲ ὁ Σατανᾶς. Οὐκ ἄρα ἀγέννητον.
English
Of the Same, Against the Manichaeans, a Discourse of Twelve Syllogisms: that evil is destructible, generated, and non-substantial, and that the father of this, the devil, is not ungenerated. If something is evil, it is punishable; but nothing that is punished is indestructible. Therefore, nothing evil is indestructible. Nothing destructible is ungenerated; but evil is destructible. Therefore, evil is not ungenerated. Nothing is evil in substance, because evil is a quality. But nothing that is a quality is a substance. Therefore, evil is not a substance. All contraries are destructible of each other; but ungenerated beings are not destructible. Therefore, contraries are not indestructible. Nothing ungenerated is changeable; but the good is changed when overcome by evil. Therefore, the good is not ungenerated. The ungenerated is not desirous of any destruction, nor is it destructive; but evil is desirous of destruction. Therefore, evil is not ungenerated. The divine Scriptures say that not only other evil ones are delivered over to punishments, but also the devil himself; everything delivered over to punishment is changeable; nothing changeable is ungenerated. Therefore, none of the evil things is ungenerated. Of things that are entirely opposed, nothing is common. So it is absolutely necessary that the good exists; therefore, evil does not exist. Everyone who reasonably desires something has his desire fulfilled, which he reasonably desires; therefore, vice is among destructible things; being among destructible things, it will be obliterated. Being obliterated, it is not ungenerated. If evil is ungenerated, it belongs to it by nature to be evil. But no one acting according to nature errs; therefore, the ungenerated does not err. That which does not err is not culpable; but Satan is culpable. Therefore, he is not ungenerated.
Citation. Tergwame, “De deitate filii et spiritus sancti”, khazarzar-gregory-of-nyssa-de-deitate-filii-et-spiritus-sancti:1, machine-draft, 2026. https://naxiai.com/christian/works/khazarzar-gregory-of-nyssa-de-deitate-filii-et-spiritus-sancti#s1
Colophon. Source: khazarzar · licence: Migne PG text (public domain); khazarzar host and the digitising project state no licence for this layer · model: deepseek/deepseek-v4-flash:floor · provider: Relace · cost: $0.0013 · generated 2026-11-15.