Defense of the Nicene Definition
c. 350–351
De Decretis
Athanasius’s defense of the Nicene council’s language against Arian and semi-Arian objections. English in Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, Series II.
Translated by John Henry Newman
English translation by John Henry Newman, in Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, Second Series, Vol. IV (eds. Philip Schaff and Henry Wace; New York: Christian Literature Publishing Co., 1892). Public domain. Digital text via New Advent Church Fathers.
Contents
- 1. Introduction. The complaint of the Arians against the Nicene Council; their fickleness; they are like Jews; their employment of force instead of reason.
- 2. Conduct of the Arianstowards the Nicene Council. Ignorant as well as irreligious to attempt to reverse an Ecumenical Council: proceedings at Nicæa: Eusebians then signed what they now complain of: on the unanimity of true teachers and the process of tradition: changes of the Arians.
- 3. Two senses of the word Son, 1. adoptive; 2. essential; attempts of Ariansto find a third meaning between these; e.g. that our Lord only was created immediately by God (Asterius's view), or that our Lord alone partakes the Father. The second and true sense; God begets as He makes, really; though His creation and generation are not like man's; His generation independent of time; generation implies an internal, and therefore an eternal, act in God; explanation of Proverbs 8:22.
- 4. Proof of the Catholic Sense of the Word Son. Power, Word or Reason, and Wisdom, the names of the Son, imply eternity; as well as the Father's title of Fountain. The Ariansreply, that these do not formally belong to the essence of the Son, but are names given Him; that God has many words, powers, etc. Why there is but one Son and Word, etc. All the titles of the Son coincide in Him.
- 5. Defence of the Council's Phrases, from the essence, And one in essence. Objection that the phrases are not scriptural; we ought to look at the sense more than the wording; evasion of the Ariansas to the phrase of God which is in Scripture; their evasion of all explanations but those which the Council selected, which were intended to negative the Arianformulæ; protest against their conveying any material sense.
- 6. Authorities in Support of the Council. Theognostus; Dionysius of Alexandria; Dionysius of Rome; Origen.
- 7. On the ArianSymbol Unoriginate. This term afterwards adopted by them; and why; three senses of it. A fourth sense. Unoriginate denotes God in contrast to His creatures, not to His Son; Father the scriptural title instead; Conclusion.