A Source Book for Ancient Church History - Mirrors

246 A Source Book for Ancient Church History[223]There is one God, the Father of the living Word, His substantiveWisdom, Power, and Eternal Image, the perfect Begetter of theperfect One, the Father of the Only begotten Son.There is one Lord, only One from only One, God from God,the image and likeness of the Godhead, the active Word, TheWisdom which comprehends the constitution of all things, andthe Power which produced all creation; the true Son of the trueFather, Invisible of Invisible, and Incorruptible of Incorruptible,and Immortal of Immortal, and Everlasting of Everlasting.And there is one Holy Spirit having His existence from God,and manifested by the Son [namely, to men], 74 the perfect likenessof the perfect Son, Life and Cause of the living [the sacredFount], Sanctity, Leader of sanctification, in whom is revealedGod the Father, who is over all and in all, and God the Son,who is through all; a perfect Trinity 75 not divided nor differingin glory and eternity and sovereignty.There is, therefore, nothing created or subservient in the Trinity,nor introduced as if not there before, but coming afterward;for there never was a time when the Son was lacking to theFather, nor the Spirit to the Son, but the same Trinity is everunvarying and unchangeable.(b) Athanasius, De Sent. Dionysii, 4, 5, 6, 13-15. (MSG, 25:484f., 497 f.)What has been called the “Controversy of the two Dionysii”was in reality no controversy. Dionysius of Alexandria [v.supra, § 48] wrote a letter to the Sabellians near Cyrene,pointing out the distinction of the Father and the Son. Init he used language which was, to say the least, indiscreet.74 The bracketed phrases are doubtful.75 Gregory uses the term Trias for Trinity here and throughout.