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Latin · Letters ·

Epistola 01 ad Athanasium Episcopum

SS Liberius · ogl-pl

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machine-draft · no human review 2 passages · 347 words

Work dossier · summary and historical context

Summary

The Epistola 01 ad Athanasium Episcopum, attributed to Pope Liberius (352–366), is a Latin letter traditionally dated to the mid-4th century. It presents a personal confession of faith addressed to Athanasius of Alexandria, structured as a Trinitarian creed followed by anathemas against heretics such as Arius and Sabellius. The letter employs Nicene terminology, including 'genitus, non creatus' (begotten, not created), and emphasizes the unity of deity, power, essence, and substance. Surviving only in later canonical collections, its authenticity has been questioned. The text was cited in medieval canon law to support papal authority over Eastern bishops, particularly in disputes over Athanasius's orthodoxy.

The letter is significant for its early use of Nicene creedal language in a papal context, particularly the phrase 'genitus, non creatus' and the synonymous treatment of 'essentia' and 'substantia'. It was later employed in medieval canon law to assert papal primacy over Eastern sees, influencing ecclesiological debates. Its disputed authenticity highlights the challenges of reconstructing 4th-century papal correspondence from later sources.

Historical context

The letter is set during the pontificate of Liberius (352–366), a period of intense Trinitarian controversy following the Council of Nicaea (325). Athanasius of Alexandria, a staunch defender of Nicene orthodoxy, faced multiple exiles under Constantius II and later emperors. The letter likely dates to one of these exiles, but the precise year is unknown. The Latin text survives only in later medieval canonical collections, such as those used by Gratian, with no contemporary manuscript extant. This raises questions about possible scribal alterations and the letter's original form. The letter's transmission through canon law collections reflects its later use to bolster papal authority in disputes with Eastern bishops, especially regarding Athanasius's orthodoxy. The edition (ogl-pl) lacks a critical apparatus, obscuring variant readings from other manuscript families.

Apparatus · what the pipeline recorded

Annotation and terms

12 commentary units 3 term2 structure2 background2 reception1 caution1 sense1 scripture 0 derived notes 2 open questions 2 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: letter in Latin; the English keeps the liturgical formulae and the vocatives rather than normalising them.
  • structurePassages: 2 narrative.
  • sourceSource edition: ogl-pl — Available under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License

Term index

CopticRenderingCountFirst
no glossary terms recorded
tmp127.tmp127.opp-lat1:1 · narrativemedium
Source
EPISTOLA LIBERII EPISCOPI ROMAE AD ATHANASIUM EPISCOPUM ALEXANDRIAE. (Coust. Append., p. 97.) Quod Deus Verbum perfectum hominem assumpserit Haec igitur est nostra confessio, optatissime Athanasi. Verbum Dei filius secundum naturam ex Deo et Patre genitus, non creatus; sed semper sine initio una cum Deo et Patre, et sine fine imperium habens per infinita saecula, amen. Item (credimus) Spiritum sanctum vere ex Deo secundum naturam et natura Deum, indivisum a Deo secundum sacras Scripturas; ita ut sit vere Pater, vere Filius, et vere Spiritus sanctus. Vetitumque est sub anathematis poena quodlibet nomen a propria significatione transferre; ita ut Trinitas sit vere Trinitas in una deitate, in una potestate, in una essentia, et in una substantia. Ne– quaquam enim dividitur Filius neque Spiritus sanctus a paterna substantia, quae implet coelum et terram. Est igitur, uti supra dixi, Trinitas indivisa in una substantia: estque substantia unum, deitate unum, potestate unum, regno unum, glorificatione unum, imagine unum. Spiritu unum; Spiritus namque non dividitur. Anathema igitur pronuntio in Sabellii et Arii dogma, necnon in antea proscrip– tas haereses, ad sempiternum supplicium secundum Salvatoris vocem.
English
Letter of Liberius, Bishop of Rome, to Athanasius, Bishop of Alexandria. (Coust. Append., p. 97.) That God the Word assumed a perfect man. This, therefore, is our confession, most beloved Athanasius. The Word of God, the Son, is by nature born from God and the Father, not created; but always without beginning together with God and the Father, and without end having dominion through infinite ages, amen. Likewise (we believe) the Holy Spirit to be truly from God by nature and by nature God, undivided from God according to the sacred Scriptures; so that there is truly Father, truly Son, and truly Holy Spirit. And it is forbidden under penalty of anathema to transfer any name from its proper signification; so that the Trinity is truly Trinity in one deity, in one power, in one essence, and in one substance. For the Son is in no way divided, nor the Holy Spirit from the paternal substance, which fills heaven and earth. Therefore, as I said above, the Trinity is undivided in one substance: and the substance is one, the deity one, the power one, the kingdom one, the glorification one, the image one. One in Spirit; for the Spirit is not divided. Therefore I pronounce anathema upon the dogma of Sabellius and Arius, as well as upon the previously condemned heresies, to eternal punishment according to the word of the Savior.
tmp127.tmp127.opp-lat1:2 · narrativehigh
Source
Si igitur, frater Athanasi, in hac confessione, quae sola et vera fides est in sancta catholica et apostolica Ecclesia, mecum consentis; co– ram judice Deo et Christo, quaeso, mihi rescribas, si perinde atque nos in vera fide semias; ut confidenter et sine discrimine quas rogas praestare possim. Illud etiam te non ignorare velim, dilecte, nimirum veritatis filios impatibilem deitatem confiteri, nec– non Adventum Verbi et Dei in carne; qui perfectum hominem assumpsit sine peccato, natus ex Spiritu sancto et Maria virgine, secundum Evangelia, in Christo Jesu, amen.
English
If, therefore, brother Athanasius, you agree with me in this confession, which is the sole and true faith in the holy catholic and apostolic Church, before God and Christ as judge, I ask that you write back to me, whether you likewise stand with us in the true faith, so that I may confidently and without risk grant what you request. I also wish you not to be unaware, beloved, that the sons of truth confess the impassible divinity, as well as the coming of the Word and God in the flesh, who assumed a perfect man without sin, born from the Holy Spirit and the Virgin Mary, according to the Gospels, in Christ Jesus, amen.
Citation. Tergwame, “Epistola 01 ad Athanasium Episcopum”, tmp127.tmp127.opp-lat1:1, machine-draft, 2026. https://naxiai.com/christian/works/tmp127.tmp127.opp-lat1#s1
Colophon. Source: ogl-pl · licence: Available under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License · model: deepseek/deepseek-v4-flash:floor · provider: Relace · cost: $0.0015 · generated 2026-11-15.