A Source Book for Ancient Church History - Mirrors

351Why do you condemn my faith in the homoousios, which youcannot disapprove by the confession of the homoiousios? Foryou condemn my faith, or rather your own, when you condemnits verbal equivalent. Does somebody else misunderstand it?Let us together condemn the misunderstanding, but not take [320]away the security of your faith. Do you think that one mustsubscribe to the Samosetene Council, so that no one may makeuse of homoousios in the sense of Paul of Samosata? Then letus subscribe to the Council of Nicæa, so that the Arians may notimpugn the word homoousios. Have we to fear that homoiousiosdoes not imply the same belief as homoousios? Let us decree thatthere is no difference between being of one and being of a similarsubstance. But may not the word homoousios be understood in awrong sense? Let it be proved that it can be understood in a goodsense. We hold one and the same sacred truth. I beseech youthat the one and the same truth which we hold, we should regardas sacred among us. Forgive me, brethren, as I have so oftenasked you to do. You are not Arians; why, then, by denying thehomoousios, should you be thought to be Arians?§ 89. … True likeness belongs to a true natural connection.But when the true natural connection exists, the homoousios isimplied. It is likeness according to essence when one piece ofmetal is like another and not plated.… Nothing can be like goldbut gold, or like milk that does not belong to that species.§ 91. I do not know the word homoousios or understand itunless it confesses a similarity of essence. I call God of heavenand earth to witness, that when I heard neither word, my beliefwas always such that I should have interpreted homoiousios byhomoousios. That is I believed that nothing could be similaraccording to nature unless it was of the same nature.§ 67. The Policy of the Sons of Constantine Toward Heathenismand Donatism