A Source Book for Ancient Church History - Mirrors

348 A Source Book for Ancient Church History[318]Jesus Christ our Saviour, begotten of Him before the ages. Butwe cannot and ought not to say there are two Gods.…But since some or many persons were disturbed by questions asto substance, called in Greek ousia, that is, to make it understoodmore exactly, as to homoousios or what is called homoiousios,there ought to be no mention of these at all, nor ought any oneto state them; for the reason and consideration that they are notcontained in the divine Scriptures, and that they are above man'sunderstanding, nor can any man declare the birth of the Son, ofwhom it is written: “Who shall declare His generation?” For it isplain that only the Father knows how He begat the Son, and theSon how He was begotten of the Father. There is no question thatthe Father is greater. No one can doubt that the Father is greaterthan the Son, in honor, dignity, splendor, majesty and in thevery name Father, the Son himself testifying, He that sent Me isgreater than I. And no one is ignorant that it is Catholic doctrinethat there are two persons of Father and Son; and that the Fatheris greater, and that the Son is subordinated to the Father, togetherwith all things which the Father hath subordinated to Him; andthat the Father has no beginning and is invisible, immortal, andimpassible, but that the Son has been begotten of the Father,God of God, light of light, and of this Son the generation, asis aforesaid, no one knows but His Father. And that the Sonof God himself, our Lord and God, as we read, took flesh or abody, that is, man of the womb of the Virgin Mary, as the angelannounced. And as all the Scriptures teach, and especially thedoctor of the Gentiles himself. He took of Mary the Virgin, man,through whom He suffered. And the whole faith is summed upand secured in this, that the Trinity must always be preserved, aswe read in the Gospel: “Go ye and baptize all nations in the nameof the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost.” Completeand perfect is the number of the Trinity. Now the Paraclete, or theSpirit, is through the Son: who was sent and came according toHis promise in order to instruct, teach, and sanctify the Apostles