Reference:CPG 8578
Incipit:συνέστηκεν ἕνα θεὸν εἶναι
Council:Sirmium
Date:357
Ancient Sources:Athanasius, De Synodis, 28; Hilary, De Synodis, 11; Socrates, HE 2.30.31-41.
Modern Edition:Hahn, Bibliothek der Symbole und Glaubensregeln der Alten Kirche (Breslau: E. Morgenstern, 1897), 199-201.
English Translation:NPNF2 vol. 4, p. 466, adapted for FCC by SMT, GLT, and LR

This derivative work is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 4.0.

GreekEnglish
συνέστηκεν ἕνα θεὸν εἶναι πατέρα παντοκράτορα, καθὼς καὶ ἐν πάσῃ τῇ οἰκουμένῃ καταγγέλλεται,It is held for certain that there is one God, the Father Almighty, as also is preached in all the world.
καὶ ἕνα μονογενῆ υἱὸν αὐτοῦ, τὸν κύριον ἡμῶν Ἰησοῦν Χριστόν, ἐξ αὐτοῦ πρὸ τῶν αἰώνων γεννηθέντα. δύο θεοὺς μὴ χρῆναι λέγειν, ἐπειδὴ αὐτὸς ὁ κύριος εἴρηκε· πορεύομαι πρὸς τὸν πατέρα μου καὶ πατέρα ὑμῶν καὶ θεόν μου καὶ θεὸν ὑμῶν. διὰ τοῦτο καὶ πάντων θεός ἐστι, καθὼς καὶ ὁ ἀπόστολος ἐδίδαξεν· ἢ Ἰουδαίων μόνων ὁ θεός, οὐχὶ καὶ ἐθνῶν; ναὶ καὶ ἐθνῶν· ἐπείπερ εἷς ὁ θεός, ὃς δικαιώσει περιτομὴν ἐκ πίστεως καὶ ἀκροβυστίαν διὰ πίστεως. καὶ τὰ μὲν λοιπὰ πάντα συμφωνεῖ καὶ οὐδεμίαν ἔχει ἀμφιβολίαν.And his one Only-Begotten Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, begotten from him before the ages; and that we may not speak of two Gods, since the Lord himself has said, “I go to my Father and your Father, and my God and your God” [John 20:17]. On this account he is God of all, as also the apostle taught: “Is he God of the Jews only; is he not also of the Gentiles? Yes, of the Gentiles also; since there is one God who will justify the circumcision from faith, and the uncircumcision through faith” [Rom. 3:29-30]. And everything else agrees, and has no ambiguity.
ἐπειδὴ δὲ πολλούς τινας κινεῖ περὶ τῆς λεγομένης Ῥωμαιστὶ μὲν “σουβσταντίας”, Ἑλληνιστὶ δὲ λεγομένης “οὐσίας”, τουτέστιν ἵνα ἀκριβέστερον γνωσθῇ τὸ ὁμοούσιον ἢ τὸ λεγόμενον ὁμοιοούσιον, οὐ χρή τινα τούτων παντελῶς μνήμην γίνεσθαι οὐδὲ περὶ τούτων ἐξηγεῖσθαι ἐν τῇ ἐκκλησίᾳ διὰ ταύτην τὴν αἰτίαν καὶ διὰ τοῦτον τὸν λογισμόν, ὅτι ἐν ταῖς θείαις γραφαῖς οὐ γέγραπται περὶ τούτων, καὶ ὅτι ταῦτα ὑπὲρ τὴν ἀνθρώπων γνῶσιν καὶ τὸν ἀνθρώπων νοῦν ἐστι, καὶ ὅτι οὐδεὶς δύναται τὴν γενεὰν τοῦ υἱοῦ διηγήσασθαι, καθὼς γέγραπται· τὴν γενεὰν αὐτοῦ τίς διηγήσεται; μόνον γὰρ εἰδέναι τὸν πατέρα φανερόν ἐστι, πῶς τὸν υἱὸν ἐγέννησε, καὶ πάλιν τὸν υἱόν, πῶς αὐτὸς γεγέννηται παρὰ τοῦ πατρός. οὐδενὶ δὲ ἀμφίβολόν ἐστι μείζονα εἶναι τὸν πατέρα. οὐδὲ γὰρ διστάσειεν ἄν τις τὸν πατέρα τιμῇ καὶ ἀξίᾳ καὶ θειότητι καὶ αὐτῷ τῷ ὀνόματι τῷ πατρικῷ μείζονα εἶναι, διαμαρτυρουμένου αὐτοῦ τοῦ υἱοῦ· ὁ ἐμὲ πέμψας πατὴρ μείζων μού ἐστι. καὶ τοῦτο δὲ καθολικὸν εἶναι οὐδεὶς ἀγνοεῖ δύο πρόσωπα εἶναι πατρὸς καὶ υἱοῦ, καὶ τὸν μὲν πατέρα μείζονα, τὸν δὲ υἱὸν ὑποτεταγμένον τῷ πατρὶ μετὰ πάντων, ὧν αὐτῷ ὁ πατὴρ ὑπέταξε, τὸν δὲ πατέρα ἀρχὴν μὴ ἔχειν καὶ ἀόρατον εἶναι καὶ ἀθάνατον εἶναι καὶ ἀπαθῆ εἶναι, τὸν δὲ υἱὸν γεγεννῆσθαι ἐκ τοῦ πατρός, θεὸν ἐκ θεοῦ, φῶς ἐκ φωτός, καὶ τούτου τὴν γένεσιν, καθὼς προείρηται, μηδένα γινώσκειν, εἰ μὴ μόνον τὸν πατέρα, αὐτὸν δὲ τὸν υἱὸν καὶ κύριον καὶ θεὸν ἡμῶν σάρκα ἤτοι σῶμα, τουτέστιν ἄνθρωπον, ἀνειληφέναι ἀπὸ Μαρίας τῆς παρθένου, καθάπερ καὶ ὁ ἄγγελος προευηγγελίσατο, καθὼς δὲ πᾶσαι αἱ γραφαὶ διδάσκουσι καὶ μάλιστα αὐτὸς ὁ ἀπόστολος ὁ διδάσκαλος τῶν ἐθνῶν· ἄνθρωπον ἀνέλαβεν ὁ Χριστὸς ἀπὸ Μαρίας τῆς παρθένου, δι’ οὗ πέπονθε.But since many persons are disturbed by questions concerning what is called in Latin substantia, but in Greek ousia (or, to put it more clearly, ‘co-essential’, or  ‘like-in-essence’, there ought to be no mention of any of these at all, nor exposition of them in the church, for these reasons:  that in the Divine Scriptures nothing is written about them, and that they are above men’s knowledge and men’s understanding; and because no one can declare the Son’s generation, as it is written, “Who will declare his generation?” [Is. 53:8]. For it is clear that only the Father knows how he begat the Son, and again the Son how he has been generated by the Father. No one can question that the Father is greater, for no one can doubt that the Father is greater in honor and dignity and Godhead, and in the very name of Father. The Son himself testifies, “The Father that sent me is greater than I” [John 10:29; 14:28]. And no one is ignorant that it is catholic doctrine that there are two persons–Father and Son; that the Father is greater, and the Son is subordinated to the Father together with all things which the Father has subordinated to him; that the Father has no beginning, is invisible, and immortal, and impassible. But the Son has been begotten from the Father, God from God, Light from Light, and his origin, as stated previously, no one knows except the Father alone. And that the Son himself and our Lord and God, took flesh, that is, a body, that is, man, from the Virgin Mary, as the angel announced beforehand; and as all the scriptures teach, and especially the apostle himself, the teacher of the Gentiles, Christ took on manhood of the Virgin Mary, through which he has suffered.
τὸ δὲ κεφάλαιον πάσης τῆς πίστεως καὶ ἡ βεβαιότης ἐστίν, ἵνα τριὰς ἀεὶ φυλάττηται, καθὼς ἀνέγνωμεν ἐν τῷ εὐαγγελίῳ· πορευθέντες βαπτίζετε πάντα τὰ ἔθνη εἰς τὸ ὄνομα τοῦ πατρὸς καὶ τοῦ υἱοῦ καὶ τοῦ ἁγίου πνεύματος. ἀκέραιος δὲ καὶ τέλειός ἐστιν ὁ ἀριθμὸς τῆς τριάδος. ὁ δὲ παράκλητος τὸ πνεῦμα τὸ ἅγιον δι’ υἱοῦ ἀποσταλὲν ἦλθε κατὰ τὴν ἐπαγγελίαν, ἵνα τοὺς ἀποστόλους καὶ πάντας τοὺς πιστεύοντας ἀναδιδάξῃ καὶ ἁγιάσῃ.And the whole faith is summed up, and secured in this, that a Trinity should ever be preserved, as we read in the gospel, “Go and baptize all the nations in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit” [Matt. 28:19]. And entire and perfect is the number of the Trinity; but the Paraclete, the Holy Spirit, sent forth through the Son, came according to the promise, that he might teach and sanctify the apostles and all believers.

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