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A Sectional Confession of Faith

Gregory Thaumaturgus

Section 8

About this work

Author: Gregory Thaumaturgus

VIII.

Now the person in each declares the independent

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being

and

subsistence

.

But

divinity

is

the

property

of

the

Father

;

and

whenever

the

divinity

of

these

three

is

spoken

of

as

one

,

testimony

is

borne

that

the

property

of

the

Father

belongs

also

to

the

Son

and

the

Spirit

:

wherefore

,

if

the

divinity

may

be

spoken

of

as

one

in

three

persons

,

the

trinity

is

established

,

and

the

unity

is

not

dissevered

;

and

the

oneness

which

is

naturally

the

Father’s

is

also

acknowledged

to

be

the

Son’s

and

the

Spirit’s

.

If

one

,

however

,

speaks

of

one

person

as

he

may

speak

of

one

divinity

,

it

cannot

be

that

the

two

in

the

one

are

as

one

.

For

Paul

addresses

the

Father

as

one

in

respect

of

divinity

,

and

speaks

of

the

Son

as

one

in

respect

of

lordship

:

“

There

is

one

God

the

Father

,

of

whom

are

all

things

,

and

we

for

Him

;

and

one

Lord

Jesus

Christ

,

by

whom

are

all

things

,

and

we

by

Him

.

”

Wherefore

if

there

is

one

God

,

and

one

Lord

,

and

at

the

same

time

one

person

as

one

divinity

in

one

lordship

,

how

can

credit

be

given

to

(

this

distinction

in

)

the

words

“

of

whom

”

and

“

by

whom

,

”

as

has

been

said

before

?

We

speak

,

accordingly

,

not

as

if

we

separated

the

lordship

from

the

divinity

,

nor

as

estranging

the

one

from

the

other

,

but

as

unifying

them

in

the

way

warranted

by

actual

fact

and

truth

;

and

we

call

the

Son

God

with

the

property

of

the

Father

,

as

being

His

image

and

offspring

;

and

we

call

the

Father

Lord

,

addressing

Him

by

the

name

of

the

One

Lord

,

as

being

His

Origin

and

Begettor

.

Notes

1
τὸ εἶναι αὐτὸ καὶ ὑφεστάναι δηλοῖ.
2
By the ἰδιότητα τοῦ Πατρός is meant here the divinity belonging to the Father.—Migne.
3
οὐκ ἐστιν ὡς ἓν τὰ δύο ἐν τῷ ἑνί.
4
1 Cor. viii. 6.
5
καθ᾽ ὃ θεότης μιᾶς κυριότητος.
6
τῷ ἰδιώματι τοῦ Πατρός.