A Source Book for Ancient Church History - Mirrors

382 A Source Book for Ancient Church HistoryCouncil of Alexandria A. D. 362. Tomus ad Antiochenos.(MSG, 26:797.)The Council of Alexandria, A. D. 362, was held by Athanasiusin the short time he was allowed to be in his see city at thebeginning of the reign of Julian. In the synodal letter or tomeaddressed to the Nicene Christians at Antioch we have thefoundation of the ultimate formula of the Church as opposingArianism, one substance and three persons, one ousia andthree hypostases. The occasion of the letter was an attemptto win over the Meletian party in the schism among theanti-Arians of Antioch. Meletius and his followers appearto have been Homoiousians who were strongly inclined toaccept the Nicene confession. Their church was in the OldTown, a portion of Antioch. Opposed to them was Paulinuswith his party, which held firmly to the Nicene confession.The difficulty in the way of a full recognition of the Nicenestatement by Meletius and his followers was that it savoredof Sabellianism. The difficulty of the party of Paulinus inrecognizing the orthodoxy of the Meletians was their practiceof speaking of the three hypostases or subsistences, whichwas condemned by the words of the Nicene definition. 120 Theoutcome of the Alexandrian Council in the matter was thata distinction could be made between ousia and hypostasis,that the difference between the parties was largely a matterof terminology, that those who could use the Nicene symbolwith the understanding that the Holy Ghost was not a creatureand was not separate from the essence of Christ should beregarded as orthodox. Out of this understanding came the“New Nicene” party, of which the first might be said tohave been Meletius, who accepted homoousios in the senseof homoiousios, and of which the “three great Cappadocians”became the recognized leaders.120 V. supra, § 63.