Works Gregory Thaumaturgus (213-270) Confessio fidei A Declaration of Faith
Gregory Thaumaturgus (213-270)
A Declaration of Faith
(Confessio fidei)

A Declaration of Faith. 1

There is one God, the Father of the living Word, who is His subsistent Wisdom and Power and Eternal Image: 2 perfect Begetter of the perfect Begotten, Father of the only-begotten Son. There is one Lord, Only of the Only, 3 God of God, Image and Likeness of Deity, Efficient Word, 4 Wisdom comprehensive 5 of the constitution of all things, and Power formative 6 of the whole creation, true Son of true Father, Invisible of Invisible, and Incorruptible of Incorruptible, and Immortal of Immortal and Eternal of Eternal. 7 And there is One Holy Spirit, having His subsistence 8 from God, and being made manifest 9 by the Son, to wit to men: 10 Image 11 of the Son, Perfect Image of the Perfect; 12 Life, the Cause of the living; Holy Fount; Sanctity, the Supplier, or Leader, 13 of Sanctification; in whom is manifested God the Father, who is above all and in all, and God the Son, who is through all. There is a perfect Trinity, in glory and eternity and sovereignty, neither divided nor estranged. 14 Wherefore there is nothing either created or in servitude 15 in the Trinity; 16 nor anything superinduced, 17 as if at some former period it was non-existent, and at some later period it was introduced. And thus neither was the Son ever wanting to the Father, nor the Spirit to the Son; 18 but without variation and without change, the same Trinity abideth ever. 19

  1. The title as it stands has this addition: "which he had by revelation from the blessed John the evangelist, by the mediation of the Virgin Mary, Parent of God." Gallandi, Veterum Patrum Biblioth., Venice, 1766, p. 385. [Elucidation, p. 8, infra.] ↩

  2. charakteros aidiou. ↩

  3. monos ek monou . ↩

  4. logos energos. ↩

  5. periektike. ↩

  6. poietike. ↩

  7. aidios aidiou. ↩

  8. huparxin. ↩

  9. pephenos. ↩

  10. The words delade tois anthropois are suspected by some to be a gloss that has found its way into the text. ↩

  11. eikon. ↩

  12. So John of Damascus uses the phrase, eikon tou Patros ho Huios, kai tou Huiou, to Pneuma, the Son is the Image of the Father, and the Spirit is that of the Son, lib. 1, De fide orthod., ch. 13, vol. i. p. 151. See also Athanasius, Epist. 1 ad Serap.; Basil, lib. v. contra Eunom.; Cyril, Dial., 7, etc. ↩

  13. choregos. ↩

  14. apallotrioumene. See also Gregory Nazianz., Orat., 37, p. 609. ↩

  15. doulon. ↩

  16. Gregory Nazianz., Orat., 40, p. 668, with reference apparently to our author, says: Ouden tes Triados doulon, oude ktiston, oude epeisakton, ekousa ton sophon tinos legontos-- In the Trinity there is nothing either in servitude or created, or superinduced, as I heard one of the learned say. ↩

  17. epeisakton. ↩

  18. In one codex we find the following addition here: oute auxetai monas eis duada, oude duas eis triada--Neither again does the unity grow into duality, nor the duality into trinity; or = Neither does the condition of the one grow into the condition of the two, nor that of the two into the condition of the three. ↩

  19. [See valuable note and Greek text in Dr. Schaff's History, vol. ii. p. 799.] ↩

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A Declaration of Faith
Elucidation - Declaration of Faith Compare
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Commentaries for this Work
Introductory Note to Gregory Thaumaturgus

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