De fide

Concerning Faith The teacher of the church is like a physician, with the church possessing many and varied afflictions, and he gives to each of the sick the remedy according to the need of the malady. For example, some have come into the clinic of the Church seized by the swelling passion of pride; taking the plaster of humility, they healed the swelling passion of pride. Others have run up inflamed by anger; these too, relaxed by the remedies of the soul, extinguished their sickness. Yet others, goaded by the passions of the flesh toward lust, have run up; and these, taking the plaster of temperance, bound themselves with chastity. Come then, beloved, since the teacher who preceded us healed the souls of the sick with the threefold faith, let us also follow in his footsteps. I think that many of those standing here also wish to hear about faith, not because they themselves need it—for they are healthy—but because they wish through it to heal those who are sick. For there are many who are healthy themselves but are unable to heal those who are ill by their own means. Therefore, beloved, although I have the intention to expound the passage just read to you from the Gospel and to imbue those present with its spirit, I set this aside for now and do instead what I promised. For as disciples of the Apostle, we must become all things to all people in order to win all. And I ask that, even if we stumble in our words, you grant us forgiveness.

Those who speak extemporaneously often err, since the mind is insufficient both to contemplate the Scripture and to adorn the discourse. And you yourselves, present here the inner man of your heart as most pure, so that each of you may not only hear what is said, but also see, and learn the power of each matter. First, then, faith toward God is a thing incomprehensible, intangible, invisible, indescribable, honored by silence and worshiped; faith begins from the Father, proceeds to the Son, and is fulfilled in the Spirit; faith is the seat of the soul, the foundation of life, the immortal root; the living root of faith is the Father, the unfading branch is the Son, the immortal fruit is the Holy Spirit. A Trinity simple, uncompounded, inexpressible, indescribable, undivided in concord, in power, in energy, in divinity, in magnitude, divided in hypostases and names, united in things and powers; a Trinity existing before the ages, not having begun its existence from a beginning, but without beginning, timeless, ageless, immortal, unending, neither increasing nor diminishing, not growing old, but being indissoluble; being a Trinity in the same manner, not now discovered to be worshiped, but from the ages worshiped by angels in the heavens, glorified by fathers on earth, honored by prophets, proclaimed by apostles, magnified by the church until now. And let us begin, beloved, from the heavens; let us begin to show the one lordship, and worship, and majesty of the Trinity.

Third, the highest angels and powers, Cherubim and Seraphim, with ceaseless mouth hymn "Holy, Holy, Holy," crowning the glory into one lordship. The patriarch Abraham, happening upon three angels under the oak of Mamre in the tent, beheld them and assigned one lordship, equality to the triad of angels. Three angels, and an oak, and a tent, and Abraham, and a cross, and a church, and the seed of men. Abraham himself traveled a journey of three days to offer his son Isaac as a whole burnt offering to God. A three-day journey and Isaac being offered whole, a three-day passion of the Only-Begotten through the cross. That Abraham beheld the mystery of Christ in Isaac, the Lord bears witness, saying: "Abraham, your father, rejoiced that he might see my day; and he saw, and he rejoiced." For three days Moses also travels to sacrifice to God. He says then to Pharaoh: "We will travel a journey of three days to sacrifice to the Lord our God." Sarah, taking three measures of fine flour, made the hearth cakes; three measures of fine flour and Sarah and hearth cakes, a threefold faith and church preserved in the secret of the heart of men. Jacob, taking three rods and placing them in the water, watered the sheep of Laban; three rods and water and sheep being watered. A Trinity and baptism and a people being enlightened. Jonah spent three days and three nights in the whale; three days and nights, Jonah and the whale, of the Only-Begotten in Hades. And that these things are so, let him say: In what manner Jonah spent three days and three nights in the belly of the whale.

Thus also the Son of Man was to spend three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. Three days—and the Ninevites, having fasted, lived; three days and a fast, and the Ninevites living, a light-bearing triad and abstinence from evils and the life of the world. Third, the prophet Elijah, pouring water upon the kindling and the pieces of the ox, brought down fire from heaven upon them; and the threefold water and kindling and pieces of ox and heavenly fire, a threefold baptism and cross and members of Christ and heavenly radiance. Third of the day, and Daniel, opening the windows of his house and praying toward the east, obtained his request, the mystery teaching: we must open the eyes of the soul and intercede with Father, Son, and Holy Spirit toward the east. Three youths, unharmed, cast into the furnace of fire, themselves suffered nothing, but burned the Chaldeans; three unharmed youths and a furnace and Chaldeans, an incorruptible triad and judgment and perishing demons. Three virtues the blessed Paul delivers to the Church, saying: Faith, hope, love; faith in the Father, hope in the Son, and the fulfillment of the law, love; for love is the fruit of the Spirit. Three times also Paul himself besought the Lord, saying: "For this I besought the Lord three times." And note the wisdom of the man compressed in a most humble phrase. He did not say, "I besought the Lord a third time," but "three times"; Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, three hypostases, one lordship. And "three times," he says, "I was beaten with rods.

That is, I confessed three hypostases, but at once I sealed my soul to a single harmony with the stone of confession for the faith of the Trinity. And three times, he says, I was shipwrecked; that is, I sank the cargo of Jewish sins in the name of Father and Son and Holy Spirit in the font of baptism. Three sati of flour and the kingdom of heaven likened, a woman taking and hiding a small leaven, leavened the whole dough; three sati of flour and a small leaven and a woman leavening is wisdom through the body of Christ turning all humanity to the faith of the Trinity. To all such mysteries, as if setting a seal, our Lord, in three immersions of the body, handed down one baptism to his disciples, saying: Go, teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. We shall readily demonstrate one energy; and with one energy of Father and Son and Holy Spirit demonstrated, it is absolutely necessary that one substance also be believed; for those whose energy is one, their substance is also one. Let us begin, then, to speak about cosmogony, about adoption, about freedom, about the constitution of heaven and earth, and simply about every work and the other necessities of our life, accomplished by Father and Son and Holy Spirit as starting points. Let us begin from the first, and come to the second, and then in this way let us preserve our discourse in order. The Father made the heaven not without Word and Spirit;

For by the word of the Lord the heavens were established, and by the spirit of his mouth all their power. The Father filled the whole inhabited world, as it is written: "I fill heaven and earth," says the Lord. The Son also filled it: For all things came to be through him, and without him nothing came to be. Listen to Wisdom speaking concerning the Spirit: "The Spirit of the Lord filled the inhabited world." What then? The greatest of creatures, man, was not made by the Father alone, but with the Son cooperating, and the Holy Spirit completing: "Let us make," it says, "man according to our image and likeness." "Let us make"—not "I will make," nor "you will make," nor "he will make," but "let us make." For if it had said, "make," it would have indicated a subordinate; but teaching equality, it says "let us make man." The intention is common, the action is common, and the formation is common. And that Father, Son, and Holy Spirit made man, David bears witness to me, saying to God: "Your hands made me and formed me." You did not make me alone; your hand alone did not make me, which is your only-begotten. "Your hands made me," that is, the Word and the Spirit. As if he said: The wisdom of the Word formed me, and the understanding of the Spirit made me, with you completing. Likewise Job says to God: "Your hands formed me and made me." For the heavens and the power of the heavens came to be through him. David says: "By the word of the Lord the heavens were established, and by the spirit of his mouth all their power"; and in the prophet Hosea:

Whose hands built the host of heaven. For here too it signifies that the host of the heavens was built through spirit and word. Let us make man according to our image; not according to our images, but let us make man according to our image: the "let us make" is plural, but the "according to our image" is singular. And so that no one might suppose that man was made only according to the image of the Father, it added "our." And for this reason, since that first-formed image of Adam, having been corrupted by transgression, required renewal and cleansing, it is renewed in baptism not in the name of the Father alone, but also of the Son and the Holy Spirit, since it was so from the beginning. Indeed, the Father seals in baptism, as Paul says: "The God who worked us for this very thing, and anointed us and sealed us." And the Holy Spirit also seals: "Do not grieve the Holy Spirit, in whom you were sealed for the day of redemption." Being sealed by the Father and the Spirit in our hearts, we are not transformed into two images, but into one, that of his Son. From these things it is concluded that the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are one. Being sealed in our hearts, we become conformed to the Son and an image of God, as Paul proclaims: "For a man ought not to cover himself, being an image and glory of God." Much more is the Holy Spirit an image of God. Great is the Son, and infinite is the Holy Spirit.

Great is our Lord, and great is his might (for Christ is the power of God), and of his understanding there is no number. That is, the Holy Spirit is the spirit of wisdom and understanding of God. And the Father is peace: "Behold, I will incline toward them, like a river of peace." And the Son is peace, as Paul says: "He himself is our peace, who made both one." And the Holy Spirit is peace: "The fruit of the Spirit," it says, "is love, peace." The Father is a spring: "For with you is a spring of life." And the Son is a spring: "For they abandoned me, a spring of living water." And if the Holy Spirit were not also a spring, Paul would not have said: "And we were all baptized in the same spirit." But it is more complete to learn from the Lord's words that the Holy Spirit is likened to a spring. For Jesus came and cried out, saying: "If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink water." And, as Scripture said, "Rivers will flow from his belly of living water." This he said about the Spirit, which those not believing in him were about to receive. The Father is light, because God is light. And the Son is light: "For I am the light of the world." And the Spirit is light: for Paul would not have said: "Do not extinguish the Spirit." But since this seems forced to some, let David speak specifically: "In your light we will see light, the Holy Spirit." The Father frees the one enslaved by sin. The Son frees: for he said to the Jews: "If then the Son frees you, you are truly free." And the Spirit frees: "For where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom." The law of the Spirit frees.

The law of the spirit freed you from the slavery of corruption. The Father is good, and the Son is good. If, he says, your eye is evil, am I therefore good? The Holy Spirit is also good. Your good spirit will lead me in a straight land. Where it wishes, the Father is, for he has nothing to which he is subject. Where it wishes, the Son also is, for he is free. Where it wishes, the Spirit also is. The spirit blows where it wishes, and you hear its voice, but you do not know whence it comes or whither it goes. The Father contains all things, the Son also contains all things, and the Holy Spirit also contains all things. For David says, Where shall I go from your spirit, and from your face where shall I flee? The Father is all-powerful, as Job says, I know, Lord, that you can do all things, and nothing is impossible for you. The Son is all-powerful, as he says to the one who disbelieves, To the believer, he says, all things are possible. The Holy Spirit is also all-powerful. For, he says, this is the power of God, the Holy Spirit, a spirit that is intellectual, holy, manifold, subtle, mobile, clear, distinct, harmless, sharp, unhindered, beneficent, philanthropic, steadfast, secure, carefree, all-powerful, and all-overseeing. Not only is the Holy Spirit all-overseeing, but it also makes men, as Paul witnesses to me saying, Attend to yourselves and to the whole flock, in which the Holy Spirit has placed you as bishops. The Father sent prophets, the Son sent prophets, and the Holy Spirit also sent prophets, as one of the prophets, Isaiah, declares saying,

And now, "Lord, Lord has sent me, and his Spirit." Apostles were sent out by the Son: "For behold, I send you out as sheep among wolves." They were also sent out by the Holy Spirit, as it says in the Acts: "Now those sent out by the Holy Spirit went down to Seleucia." The Father called the apostles, the Son also called the apostles, and likewise the Holy Spirit called them: "While they were ministering to the Lord." Of whom? The apostles. The Holy Spirit said: "Set apart for me Barnabas and Paul for the work to which I have called them." "You set apart, set apart for me Barnabas and Paul." I speak as a master; obey as servants. "While they were fasting and ministering to the Lord." Pay attention: "And ministering." Where are those who say the Holy Spirit is a minister? If the Holy Spirit is a minister, it is one of the angels and the holy apostles; for he makes his angels spirits and his ministers a flame of fire. But the Holy Spirit is not a minister, but is ministered to: "While they were ministering," it says, "the Holy Spirit said, 'Set apart for me.'" But it is the voice of a master: "Set apart for me Barnabas and Paul for the work to which I have called them." Now you set apart for me Paul and Barnabas; for I have already set them apart from their mother's womb. And since Paul was called by the Holy Spirit, but was set apart by the apostles for the gospel, as it says: "A called servant, apostle, set apart for the gospel of God.

But now, beloved, those who devote themselves to blasphemy, instead of devoting themselves to the divine scripture and knowing the Lord and what is said—that you should devote yourselves and know that "I am God"—have discovered something else. Now they have found another blasphemous question, and they ask us, saying: Does the Father have a throne? And we say, yes: that God is on his holy throne. Does the Son also have a throne? We say, yes; for it is written concerning the Son: "Your throne, O God, is for eternity." But when you hear of a throne of God, you must understand it in a manner befitting God, that is, as authority, kingdom, lordship. For scripture speaks to us as to humans. For where is it written that the Holy Spirit also has a throne, so that from the throne we might infer equal honor and ascribe lordship? Indeed, we should not have answered such people at all in response to such a question. For if servants born of the earth—I mean the apostles—were deemed worthy to sit on thrones—"Behold, you twelve will sit on thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel"—how much more the Holy Spirit. In addition to this, they ask: Where is the glory of the Spirit? The Father is glorified, the Son is glorified; where is the Holy Spirit, the unbelievers seek. Let the faithful speak, and let Isaiah testify: "I saw the Lord on a high throne"—speaking of the Spirit, as will be shown shortly—"and raised up, and the house was full of his glory. And Seraphim stood around him; six wings to one, and six wings to another; and they cried out: 'Holy, holy, holy, Lord Sabaoth; heaven and earth are full of your glory.'

Pay attention here, and behold the throne and the glory. And the Lord said to me: "Whom shall I send, and who will go to this people of the Jews? And he will say to them: 'You will hear with your ears, but you will not understand; for the heart of this people has grown thick, and they have heard heavily with their ears,'" and so forth. Paul comes after many cycles of years from the prophecy; he is in Rome, he debates with the Jews, trying to convince them to believe in the Only-Begotten; but they turned away and disbelieved. Then he remembers this prophecy, that it had been fulfilled. And what does he say to them? "Well did the Holy Spirit speak about you through the prophet Isaiah: 'You will hear with your ears, but you will not understand,'" and so forth. Behold, the one whom Isaiah calls Lord Sabaoth, seated on a high throne and glorified by angels, Paul says is the Holy Spirit. Who still is mad enough to doubt that he is both Lord and God and a worshipful Spirit? To whom is the glory unto the ages of ages. Amen.