Socrates of Constantinople, Church History 1.8.41-1.8.45
https://caesarea-maritima.org/testimonia/474
Context
Socrates of Constantinople, the “Scholastic,” was an otherwise unknown
historian of the early 5th century. He wrote his account of the Church from 305 to 439
to continue Eusebius of Caesarea, adopting a particular perspective on the relationship
between Imperial and ecclesiastical authority. In this passage, Socrates describes the
difficult position of Eusebius bishop of Caesarea at the Council of Nicaea in the summer
of 325 C.E., where he was slow to accept the principle of consubstantiality. In June of
325, Eusebius wrote a long letter of explanation to his congregation at Caesarea, which
Socrates quotes in full (Church History 1.8.35-1.8.54). In the second
section of the letter, Eusebius writes that the emperor Constantine approved of the
first draft of the Nicene Creed but exhorted the bishops to add the word
consubstantial (ὁμοούσιος) to the second draft.
Text
(41) Ταύτης ὑφ’ ἡμῶν ἐκτεθείσης τῆς πίστεως οὐδενὶ παρῆν ἀντιλογίας
τόπος, ἀλλ’ αὐτός τε πρῶτος ὁ θεοφιλέστατος ἡμῶν βασιλεὺς ὀρθότατα περιέχειν αὐτὴν
ἐμαρτύρησεν, οὕτω τε καὶ ἑαυτὸν φρονεῖν συνωμολόγησεν καὶ ταύτῃ τοὺς πάντας
συγκαταθέσθαι καὶ ὑπογράφειν τοῖς δόγμασιν καὶ συμφωνεῖν τούτοις αὐτοῖς παρεκελεύετο,
ἑνὸς μόνου προσεγγραφέντος ῥήματος τοῦ ὁμοουσίου, (42) ὃ καὶ αὐτὸ ἑρμήνευε λέγων, ὅτι μὴ
κατὰ τὰ τῶν σωμάτων πάθη λέγοιτο ὁμοούσιον, οὔτε κατὰ διαίρεσιν οὔτε κατά τινα ἀποτομὴν
ἐκ τοῦ πατρὸς ὑποστῆναι· μήτε γὰρ δύνασθαι τὴν ἄϋλον καὶ νοερὰν καὶ ἀσώματον φύσιν
σωματικόν τι πάθος ὑφίστασθαι, θείοις δὲ καὶ ἀπορρήτοις λόγοις προσήκειν τὰ τοιαῦτα
νοεῖν. (43) Καὶ ὁ μὲν σοφώτατος ἡμῶν καὶ εὐσεβέστατος βασιλεὺς τοιαῦτα ἐφιλοσόφει, οἱ δὲ
προφάσει τῆς τοῦ ὁμοουσίου προσθήκης τήνδε τὴν γραφὴν πεποιήκασιν·(44) ‘Πιστεύομεν
εἰς ἕνα Θεὸν πατέρα παντοκράτορα, πάντων ὁρατῶν τε καὶ ἀοράτων ποιητήν, καὶ εἰς ἕνα
κύριον Ἰησοῦν Χριστὸν τὸν υἱὸν τοῦ θεοῦ, γεννηθέντα ἐκ τοῦ πατρὸς μονογενῆ, τουτέστιν ἐκ
τῆς οὐσίας τοῦ πατρός, θεὸν ἐκ θεοῦ, φῶς ἐκ φωτός, θεὸν ἀληθινὸν ἐκ θεοῦ ἀληθινοῦ,
γεννηθέντα, οὐ ποιηθέντα, ὁμοούσιον τῷ πατρί, δι’ οὗ τὰ πάντα ἐγένετο τά τε ἐν οὐρανῷ
καὶ τὰ ἐν τῇ γῇ, τὸν δι’ ἡμᾶς τοὺς ἀνθρώπους καὶ διὰ τὴν ἡμετέραν σωτηρίαν κατελθόντα
καὶ σαρκωθέντα, ἐνανθρωπήσαντα, παθόντα καὶ ἀναστάντα τῇ τρίτῃ ἡμέρᾳ, ἀνελθόντα εἰς
οὐρανούς, ἐρχόμενον κρῖναι ζῶντας καὶ νεκρούς, καὶ εἰς τὸ ἅγιον πνεῦμα. (45) Τοὺς δὲ
λέγοντας ‘ἦν ποτε ὅτε οὐκ ἦν’ καὶ ‘πρὶν γεννηθῆναι οὐκ ἦν’ καὶ ὅτι ‘ἐξ οὐκ ὄντων
ἐγένετο’ ἢ ἐξ ἑτέρας ὑποστάσεως ἢ οὐσίας φάσκοντας εἶναι ἢ κτιστὸν ἢ τρεπτὸν ἢ ἀλλοιωτὸν
τὸν υἱὸν τοῦ θεοῦ, τούτους ἀναθεματίζει ἡ ἁγία τοῦ Θεοῦ καθολικὴ καὶ ἀποστολικὴ
ἐκκλησία.’1
Textual Note
Ed. Hussey and Bright 1893 with ref. to Hansen 1995Translation
(41) “When we had put forth this declaration of faith, no one had
grounds to voice opposition, but our most-loved-by-God emperor [Constantine I] himself
was the first to attest that it was perfectly correct. He declared that he himself
agreed with the thinking, and he exhorted everyone to assent and to subscribe to these
teachings and to support them in unison, with the addition of one single word,
consubstantial. (42) The emperor explained this word by saying
that (the Son) is said to be consubstantial not with respect to afflictions of the body,
and that neither by dividing nor by any cutting off from the Father does (the Son)
subsist; for (Constantine said that) a nature that is immaterial, intellectual, and
incorporeal cannot be subjected to afflictions of the body, and that divine and
ineffable terminology befits our conception of such matters. (43) Such was the
philosophical view expressed by our wisest and most pious emperor. So (the bishops)
produced the following text allegedly (to add) the consubstantial:(44) “We believe in one God the Father Almighty, Maker of all things visible and
invisible; and in one Lord Jesus Christ the son of God, begotten of God the only-born,
that is, of the substance of God, God from God, Light from Light, Life from Life, true
God from true God, born not made, consubstantial with the Father, through whom all
things were made both in heaven and on earth, who for us humanity and for our salvation
descended and became flesh, took the form of man, suffered, and arose on the third day,
ascended to heaven, and will come to judge the living and the dead; and in the Holy
Spirit. (45) Those who say ‘There was once when he was not,’ and ‘Before being born he
was not,’ and ‘He became out of the non-existent,’ or claiming that he was from another
substance or essence, or that the Son of God is created, changed, and altered, the Holy
Catholic and Apostolic Church anathematizes them.’ 2
Translation Note
Adapted from Zenos 1890 and Périchon and Maraval 2004-2007Discussion Note
The quotations in §45 were phrases commonly associated with Arianism.Works Cited
- 1 Socrates of Constantinople, Ecclesiastical History, According to the Text of Hussey, ed. Robert Hussey and William Bright, 2nd ed. (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1893), bk: 1, ch: 8.41-8.45.
- 2 Socrates of Constantinople, Socrates: Church History from A.D. 305-439, in Socrates, Sozomenus: Church Histories., trans. Andrew C Zenos, repr. of American ed., A Select Library of Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers of the Christian Churhc. Second Series 2 (New York: Christian Literature Publishing, 1890), 1–178, p: 11.
Additional Bibliography
- Socrates of Constantinople, Kirchengeschichte, ed. Günther Christian Hansen, Die griechischen christlichen Schriftsteller der ersten Jahrhunderte n.F. 1 (Berlin: Akademie Verlag, 1995), bk: 1, ch: 8.41-8.45.
- Socrates of Constantinople, Socrate de Constantinople: Histoire ecclésiastique, trans. Pierre Périchon and Pierre Maraval, 4 vols., Sources chrétiennes 477, 493, 505, 506 (Paris: Éditions du Cerf, 2004), vol: 1, p: 106-109.
How to Cite This Entry
Joseph L. Rife, “Socrates of Constantinople, Church History 1.8.41-1.8.45,” in Caesarea Maritima: A Collection of Testimonia, entry published June 30, 2023, https://caesarea-maritima.org/testimonia/474.
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Bibliography:
Joseph L. Rife, “Socrates of Constantinople, Church History 1.8.41-1.8.45.” In Caesarea Maritima: A Collection of Testimonia, edited by Joseph L. Rife., edited by Joseph L. Rife. Caesarea City and Port Exploration Project, 2023. Entry published June 30, 2023. https://caesarea-maritima.org/testimonia/474.About this Entry
Entry Title: Socrates of Constantinople, Church History 1.8.41-1.8.45
Authorial and Editorial Responsibility:
- Joseph L. Rife, general editor, Vanderbilt University
- Joseph L. Rife, editor, Caesarea Maritima: A Collection of Testimonia
- David A. Michelson, Daniel L. Schwartz, and William L. Potter, technical editor, “Socrates of Constantinople, Church History 1.8.41-1.8.45”
- Joseph L. Rife, entry contributor, “Socrates of Constantinople, Church History 1.8.41-1.8.45”
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- Testimonium edited by Joseph L. Rife
- TEI record created by Joseph L. Rife
- Testimonium translated by Joseph L. Rife
- Testimonium transcribed by Joseph L. Rife
- Testimonium identified by Joseph L. Rife
- Editorial review by Joseph L. Rife