Scroll to the Antiochians

“Scroll to the Antiochians”, or “Tomos to the Antiochians”, is a conciliar letter to the Antiochian Church, sent by St. Athanasius the Great on behalf of the bishops of Italy, Arabia, Egypt and Libya, who gathered in Alexandria in 362. The letter consists of 11 chapters. It reports on the decision made at the council regarding the conditions for the admission of Arians to the Church. A necessary condition for acceptance into the Church was recognized as the Nicene Confession of Faith, the condemnation of Arianism, the doctrine of the creation of the Holy Spirit and all other heresies (Sabellius, Paul of Samosata, the Manichaeans, Euzoius and Eudoxius). At the same time, the decrees of the Council of Nicea were confirmed, the confession of the consubstantiality of the Holy Spirit with the Father and the Son was expressed, and the perception by the Son of God in the incarnation of a perfect man, consisting not only of a body, but also of a rational soul. In view of the fact that the Orthodox in Antioch argued among themselves regarding the use of the terms ούσία and ύπόστασις, with the followers of Meletius talking about one ούσία and three hypostases, and the supporters of Paulinus recognized it as necessary to preserve consubstantiality to confess only one hypostasis, the council, considering both of them to think correctly and who disagreed only about words, suggested to them the safest way - to use the expressions of the Nicene symbol. *The title of the work in Greek is ῾Ο πρὸς τοὺς ̓Αντιοχεῖς τόμος. *The title of the work in Latin is Tomus ad Antiochenos. 1) To the beloved and most desired concelebrants: Eusebius, Lucifer, Asterius, Cymatius and Anatolius, Athanasius and the Bishops from Italy, Arabia, Egypt and Libya staying in Alexandria, Eusebius, Asterius, Gaius, Agathus, Ammonius, Agathodemon, Dracontius, Adelphius, Hermeon, Mark, Theodore, Andrew, Paphnutius, another Mark, Zoilus, Mina, George, Lucius, Macarius and others wish to rejoice greatly in Christ. We are confident that, being servants of God and good builders, you have sufficient strength to improve all church affairs. But it has come to our attention that very many, who previously separated from us out of stubbornness, now want to be at peace with us; and many, having abandoned relations with the Arians, seek communication with us: then we considered it necessary that what was written by us and our beloved Eusebius and Asterius, then write also for your kindness, O beloved and truly most desired co-workers. We rejoice at this news. and we wish that, if anyone still remains far from us, and if someone, apparently, still agrees with the Arians, then he too would flee their Arian madness, and finally everyone everywhere could say: there is one Lord, one faith (Eph. 4:5). For, as the Songsinger said, what is good or what is good, but how can brethren live together (Psalm 133:1)? But our home is the Church, and it is fitting for us to have the same way of thinking, for we believe that in this case the Lord will also dwell with us, saying: I will dwell in them and walk around (2 Cor. 6:16), and: I will dwell here as I will? (Psalm 132:14). Where is it, if not there, where one faith, one piety is preached? 2) Therefore, indeed, we Egyptians, together with our beloved brothers, Eusebius and Asterius, intended to go to you, both for many reasons, and especially in order to kiss your love and together enjoy such peace and unanimity. But since, as we have explained in other epistles, and as you can learn from our fellow servants themselves, church needs hold us back; then we grieved and begged these our fellow servants, Eusebius and Asterius, to go to you in our place. And thanks be to their godliness, that although they themselves could hasten to their dioceses, they preferred the journey to you for the sake of urgent church needs. Having received their consent, we were consoled by the fact that when they and you are there, we will all consider ourselves co-present with you. 3) So, everyone who wants to be in peace with us, especially those who have meetings in the old city, as well as those who have retreated from the Arians, invite them to you, receive them as fathers of children, appropriate them to yourself as teachers and trustees, and unite them with our beloved who are with the Peacock; Do not demand anything more from them, but only that they anathematize the Arian heresy, and confess the faith confessed by the Holy Fathers in Nicaea, and also anathematize those who claim that the Holy Spirit is a creature and is separated from the essence of Christ. For not to divide the Holy Trinity, and not to say that something from It is a creation, means to truly depart from the hated heresy of the Arians. And those who pretend to attribute to themselves the faith confessed in Nicea, and dare to blaspheme the Holy Spirit, do no more than deny the Arian heresy in words, but keep it in their hearts. Let everyone anathematize the wickedness of Sabellius and Paul of Samosata, the madness of Valentinus and Basilides and the recklessness of the Manichaeans. For when all this happens, then everyone will become free from every evil suspicion, and the one pure faith of the universal Church will be visible. 4) And that this faith is contained both by us and by those who have always had communication with us, this, we think, is not unknown to you or anyone else. Since we participate in the joy of those intending to enter into unity, like all those who mainly have meetings in the old city, and both for everyone and for the good intention of the latter, we have especially glorified the Lord; then we beg you, on these conditions, to be of the same mind with them, and, according to what was said before, just as you do not demand anything more from those who have meetings in the old city, so also do not present to those who are with Peacock anything other than the Nicene definitions. 5) The sheet declared by some to be written about faith at the Council of Sardicia, forbid reading or referring to it at all; because the Council did not define anything like that. Although some, under the guise that the presentation of the faith of the Nicaea Council was not enough, wanted to write about faith and made strong attempts to do so: however, the holy Council, which met in Sardica, was indignant at this, and determined not to write more about faith, but to be content with the faith confessed by the Fathers in Nicaea; because this confession lacks nothing, but is full of piety; and the confession of faith should not be repeated a second time, so that the confession written in Nicaea could not be considered insufficient, and this would not give reason to those who wish to frequently write and make definitions about the faith. Why, if anyone exposes this or any other statement of faith, stop them and convince them to live better in peace; and we see nothing more in these people except stubbornness. Let’s also talk about those who were criticized by others for the use of sayings - three hypostases - since these sayings are not taken from Scripture and are suspicious. Although we asked not to demand anything more than the Nicene Confession; however, because of the dispute, they asked them: do they not, like the Arians, call these hypostases alienated, disunited, and mutually inexistent, each hypostasis especially separate, just as other creatures and those born from people are separated; or whether the hypostases are not called different essences, such as gold, or silver, or copper; or, as other heretics call the three principles and three gods, is this not what they, thinking about the hypostases, call them? - And they confirmed that they do not call it in that sense, and that they never thought so. When we asked them: why do you say this, and in general, why do you use such sayings? - they answered: because we believe in the Holy Trinity; We know the Trinity not only by name, but truly existing and abiding, truly existing and abiding Father, truly existing and abiding self-existent Son, abiding and existing Holy Spirit; We do not name three gods or three principles, and we do not at all tolerate those who assert this or think so; but we know the Holy Trinity, and one Divinity, and one Beginning, and the Son of one essence with the Father, as the Fathers said, and the Holy Spirit - not a creature and not alien, but the own essence of the Son and the Father and inseparable from Them. 6) Having accepted from them such an explanation and justification of the sayings, we asked those accused by them, as if they were calling one hypostasis: is it not in the same sense as Sabellius philosophizes, and they call it so, thereby denying the Son and the Holy Spirit, or suggesting that the Son is not self-existent and the Holy Spirit is not independent? – But they confirmed that they do not name it in this sense and never thought so; we call, they said, hypostasis, considering it equivalent to say: hypostasis or dryness; but we understand one hypostasis, because the Son is from the Father’s essence, and we recognize the identity of nature in the Father and the Son. For we believe that the Divinity is one, and His nature is one, and not the different nature of the Father, and not the alien nature of the Son and the Holy Spirit. And indeed, those accused of what are called three hypostases began to agree with the latter in this, and those who affirmed one essence themselves approved the opinion of the former in the form in which they explained it; the same and others anathematized Arius as a fighter against Christ, Sabellius and Paul of Samosata as evil, Valentinus and Basilides as alien to the truth, and Manichaeus as the inventor of evils. And everyone, by the grace of God, after such explanations, collectively agree that the faith confessed by the Fathers in Nicea is better and more accurate than such sayings, and that finally it is better to be content and use those sayings that are used in the Nicene Confession. 7) And since some, apparently, argue with each other about the economy of the Savior in the Incarnation; then we asked both of them about this, and what some confessed, others agreed with, namely: not as the Word of the Lord was in the Prophets, so at the end of the ages It dwelt in the Holy Man; on the contrary, the Word itself became flesh, and in the image of God He took on the form of a servant, and from Mary in the flesh became man for our sake; and thus, the human race, in Him completely and completely freed from sin and quickened from the dead, is introduced into the kingdom of heaven. They also confessed that the Savior had a body that was not soulless, not insensitive, and not unreasonable; for, since the Lord became man for our sake, it is impossible for His body to be unreasonable; because the Word itself accomplished the salvation of not only the body, but also the soul. Being truly the Son of God, He also became the Son of man; and being the only begotten Son of God, he became the firstborn of many brethren. Why, there was not another Son of God who existed before Abraham, but another who existed after Abraham; It was not another who raised Lazarus, but another who inquired about him; but One and the same humanly said: where is Lazarus laid? and according to Divinity he resurrects him. One and the same physically, like a man, I spit, and divinely, like the Son of God, opened the eyes of the man blind from birth; and having suffered in the flesh, as Peter said (1 Peter 4:1), he divinely opened the graves and raised the dead. In the same way, from this understanding everything narrated in the Gospel, they argued that they were discussing the incarnation and incarnation of the Word in the same way. 8) Since they confessed this way, we beg you: do not judge hastily, and do not reject those who confess and explain the words they use in this way; but better accept those who want peace and those who make excuses. And those who do not want to confess and explain these sayings in this way, restrain them and shame them, because their way of thinking is suspicious. But, not tolerating the latter, and the former, who correctly interpret and reason, exhort them not to offer any more questions to each other, not to enter into verbal disputes about useless things, not to compete about such sayings, but to adhere to a pious way of thinking. For those who reason differently, who love to argue about such sayings and who seek something beyond what is written in Nicaea, do nothing else but, like haters of the world and lovers of schisms, infuse their friends with muddy corruption (Habakk. 2:15). But you, as good people, faithful servants, and the Lord’s builders, stop and forbid what tempts and alienates, and most of all prefer this kind of peace, keeping a sound faith; The Lord may have mercy on us and unite what is divided. When a single herd is formed, then we will all again have one leader, our Lord Jesus Christ. 9) And we, who remained in Alexandria, together with our servants Asterius and Eusebius (because most of us went to our own dioceses), although we should not have asked about anything other than the Council of Nicaea, and not tolerate controversial sayings, however, for the sake of peace, and in order not to reject those who wanted to believe the right, we proposed these questions to them, and what they confessed, they stated briefly. And you, too, together, and wherever you usually have your meetings, read this, and deign to invite everyone there. For it is right to first read the epistle there, and there to enter into unity with those who desire and seek peace, and after they have joined, wherever the whole people pleases, there in the presence of your kindness they will perform church services and glorify the Lord together with everyone. The brethren who are with me greet you; I wish you to be healthy and make a memory of us before the Lord. This was signed by: I - Athanasius - and the other assembled Bishops, and two deacons Erennius and Agapit sent by the Bishop of the island of Sardinia Lucifer, and also deacons sent by Peacock Maxim and Kalimer; There were also some monastics from Bishop Apollinaris, sent by him for this purpose. 10) The Bishops named at the beginning to whom this letter was written were: Eusebius - the city of Vercelli in Gaul, Lucifer - the islands of Sardinia, Asterius - Petra of Arabia, Cymatius - Paltosa in Kelesyria, Anatolius - Euboea. And those who wrote the letter were: Pope Athanasius and Eusebius and Asterius who were with him in Alexandria, and others: Gaius - Bishop of Paratonius near Libya, Agathus - Fragon and part of the Elearchy of Egypt, Ammonius - Pachnemunis and the rest of the Elearchy, Agathodemon - Schedia and Menelaite, Dracontius - the Malago of Hermopolis, Adelphius - Onufa of Lichnia, Ermion - Tanesa, Mark - Zigrov near Libya, Theodore - Atriba, Andrei - Arsenoita, Paphnutius - Saisa, Mark - Filov, Zoilus - Andro, Mina - Antiphrona. To this Eusebius added in Latin, which translated means: I - Bishop Eusebius - am with you, according to the exact confession of your faith on both sides, mutually agreeing with each other in discussing the hypostases, and I myself agree; and I not only confirm this, but also everything that is said in the Epistle, as can be seen from the connection of the speech, about the incarnation of our Savior, namely, that He was the Son of God and became man, having taken upon Himself, except for sin, all of our old man that he was. And therefore the leaf attributed to the Council of Sardica is removed, so that it does not seem as if it sets forth anything beyond the Nicene faith; then I agree not to make it public in the Church, so as not to give the impression that it excludes the Nicene faith; and I wish to help you in the Lord. I – Asterius – gave my consent to everything written above; I want to help you in the Lord. 11) When this scroll was sent from Alexandria to the Antiochians with the indicated signatures of those named above, then they themselves signed to it: I am the Peacock, as I received from the Fathers, so I hold in my thoughts that the Father is and remains perfect, and the Son remains perfect, and the Holy Spirit remains perfect; which is why I accept the interpretation written above about three hypostases, and about a single hypostasis, or essence, as well as those who understand this. For it is pious to understand and confess the Holy Trinity in one Divinity. And about the incarnation of the Father’s Word, which took place for our sake, I reason as it is written, namely, that, according to what John said, the Word became flesh, and that He did not undergo a change, as the wicked say, but became for our sake a man, born of the Holy Virgin Mary and of the Holy Spirit. For the Savior took upon Himself a body not without a soul, not without feeling, not without mind; because when the Lord became man for our sake, it was impossible for Him to have only a body and not have a mind. Why, I anathematize those who reject the faith confessed at Nicea and those who do not recognize that the Son is from the essence of the Father and is consubstantial with the Father; I also anathematize those who assert that the Holy Spirit is a creature brought into being by the Son; and I also anathematize the heresy of Sabellius and Photinus, and all other heresies, taking into account the faith compiled in Nicaea, and with everything written above. I - Carterius - wish you good health.