Chapter X.—Concerning the Trisagium (“the Thrice Holy”).

This being so635    Gen. i. 2.    Dam., Epist. ad Jord. Archim., we declare that the addition which the vain-minded Peter the Fuller made to the Trisagium or “Thrice Holy” Hymn is blasphemous636    See Basil, Hexaëm., Hom. 3.    Text, βλάσφημον. Variant, βλασφημίαν.; for it introduces a fourth person into the Trinity, giving a separate place to the Son of God, Who is the truly subsisting power of the Father, and a separate place to Him Who was crucified as though He were different from the “Mighty One,” or as though the Holy Trinity was considered passible, and the Father and the Holy Spirit suffered on the Cross along with the Son. Have done with this blasphemous637    Text, ὑφήπλωται. Variant, ἐφήπλωται.    Text, βλάσφημον. Variant, βλασφημίαν. and nonsensical interpolation! For we hold the words “Holy God” to refer to the Father, without limiting the title of divinity to Him alone, but acknowledging also as God the Son and the Holy Spirit: and the words “Holy and Mighty” we ascribe to the Son, without stripping the Father and the Holy Spirit of might: and the words “Holy and Immortal” we attribute to the Holy Spirit, without depriving the Father and the Son of immortality. For, indeed, we apply all the divine names simply and unconditionally to each of the subsistences in imitation of the divine Apostle’s words. But to us there is but one God, the Father, of Whom are all things, and we in Him: and one Lord Jesus Christ by Whom are all things, and we by Him638    Basil, Hom. 2 in Hexaëm.; Sever. Gabal., Orat. de opific. mundi.    1 Cor. viii. 5.^{639    Gen. i. 9.    These words which refer to the Holy Spirit are absent in R. 2930 and in 1 Cor. viii., but are present in other Codices and in Basil, De Spirit. Sancto, and in Greg. Nazianz., Orat. 39, and further in the Damascene himself in Parallel, and elsewhere, and could not be omitted here.}. And, nevertheless, we follow Gregory the Theologian640    Gen. i. 10.    Orat. 39. when he says, “But to us there is but one God, the Father, of Whom are all things, and one Lord Jesus Christ, through Whom are all things, and one Holy Spirit, in Whom are all things:” for the words “of Whom” and “through Whom” and “in Whom” do not divide the natures (for neither the prepositions nor the order of the names could ever be changed), but they characterise the properties of one unconfused nature. And this becomes clear from the fact that they are once more gathered into one, if only one reads with care these words of the same Apostle, Of Him and through Him and in Him are all things: to Him be the glory for ever and ever. Amen641    Text, συνήχθησαν. R. 2927 has διέστησαν: Edit. Veron. Reg. 3362 has ὅθεν συνέστησαν: Colb. 1 has ὀθεν συνέστη.    Rom. xi. 36..

For that the “Trisagium” refers not to the Son alone642    Gen. ii. 10.    Vid. Epist. ad Jordan., but to the Holy Trinity, the divine and saintly Athanasius and Basil and Gregory, and all the band of the divinely-inspired Fathers bear witness: because, as a matter of fact, by the threefold holiness the Holy Seraphim suggest to us the three subsistences of the superessential Godhead. But by the one Lordship they denote the one essence and dominion of the supremely-divine Trinity. Gregory the Theologian of a truth says643    For ποταμὸς δὲ ὁ γλυκὺ ὕδωρ ἔχων ἐστί, reading πότιμον καὶ γλυκὺ ὕδωρ ἔχων.    Orat. 42. at the beginning., “Thus, then, the Holy of Holies, which is completely veiled by the Seraphim, and is glorified with three consecrations, meet together in one lordship and one divinity.” This was the most beautiful and sublime philosophy of still another of our predecessors.

Ecclesiastical historians644    Basil, Hom. 4 in Hexaëm.    Epist. ad Petrum Fullonem; Theoph., Ad Arn. 5930., then, say that once when the people of Constantinople were offering prayers to God to avert a threatened calamity645    Gen. i. 2.    See Niceph. Call., Hist. xviii. 51., during Proclus’ tenure of the office of Archbishop, it happened that a boy was snatched up from among the people, and was taught by angelic teachers the “Thrice Holy” Hymn, “Thou Holy God, Holy and Mighty One, Holy and Immortal One, have mercy upon us:” and when once more he was restored to earth, he told what he had learned, and all the people sang the Hymn, and so the threatened calamity was averted. And in the fourth holy and great Œcumenical Council, I mean the one at Chalcedon, we are told that it was in this form that the Hymn was sung; for the minutes of this holy assembly so record it646    Sever. Gabal., Orat. 4, De opific. mundi: Basil, Hom. 8.    Conc. Chal., Act. 1, at the end.. It is, therefore, a matter for laughter and ridicule that this “Thrice Holy” Hymn, taught us by the angels, and confirmed by the averting of calamity647    This chapter is wanting in certain copies, Reg. 7, Colb. 1, R. 2930. In Cod. Hil. it is given after the chapter On Creation.    In Cod. S. Hil. is written above the line ἢ θεηλάτου ὀργῆς παύσει, which explains the author’s meaning., ratified and established by so great an assembly of the holy Fathers, and sung first by the Seraphim as a declaration of the three subsistences of the Godhead, should be mangled and forsooth emended to suit the view of the stupid Fuller as though he were higher than the Seraphim. But oh! the arrogance! not to say folly! But we say it thus, though demons should rend us in pieces, “Do Thou, Holy God, Holy and Mighty One, Holy and Immortal One, have mercy upon us.”

Περὶ τοῦ τρισαγίου

Ἐντεῦθεν καὶ τὴν ἐν τῷ τρισαγίῳ προσθήκην ὑπὸ τοῦ ματαιόφρονος Πέτρου τοῦ κναφέως γεγενημένην βλάσφημον ὁριζόμεθα ὡς τέταρτον παρεισάγουσαν πρόσωπον καὶ ἀναμέρος τιθεῖσαν τὸν τοῦ θεοῦ υἱὸν τὴν τοῦ πατρὸς ἐνυπόστατον δύναμιν καὶ ἀναμέρος τὸν ἐσταυρωμένον ὡς ἄλλον ὄντα παρὰ τὸν ἰσχυρὸν ἢ παθητὴν τὴν ἁγίαν τριάδα δοξάζουσαν καὶ συσταυροῦσαν τῷ υἱῷ τὸν πατέρα καὶ τὸ πνεῦμα τὸ ἅγιον. Ἄπαγε ταύτην τὴν βλάσφημον καὶ παρέγγραπτον φλυαρίαν. Ἡμεῖς γὰρ τὸ «ἅγιος ὁ θεὸς» ἐπὶ τοῦ πατρὸς ἐκλαμβάνομεν οὐκ αὐτῷ μόνῳ τὸ τῆς θεότητος ἀφορίζοντες ὄνομα, ἀλλὰ καὶ τὸν υἱὸν θεὸν εἰδότες καὶ τὸ πνεῦμα τὸ ἅγιον, καὶ τὸ «ἅγιος ἰσχυρὸς» ἐπὶ τοῦ υἱοῦ τίθεμεν οὐκ ἀπαμφιεννύντες τῆς ἰσχύος τὸν πατέρα καὶ τὸ πνεῦμα τὸ ἅγιον, καὶ τὸ «ἅγιος ἀθάνατος» ἐπὶ τοῦ ἁγίου πνεύματος τάττομεν οὐκ ἔξω τῆς ἀθανασίας τιθέντες τὸν πατέρα καὶ τὸν υἱόν, ἀλλ' ἐφ' ἑκάστης τῶν ὑποστάσεων πάσας τὰς θεωνυμίας ἁπλῶς καὶ ἀπολύτως ἐκλαμβάνοντες καὶ τὸν θεῖον ἀπόστολον ἐκμιμούμενοι φάσκοντα: «Ἡμῖν δὲ εἷς θεὸς ὁ πατήρ, ἐξ οὗ τὰ πάντα καὶ ἡμεῖς ἐξ αὐτοῦ, καὶ εἷς κύριος Ἰησοῦς Χριστός, δι' οὗ τὰ πάντα καὶ ἡμεῖς δι' αὐτοῦ», οὐ μὴν ἀλλὰ καὶ τὸν θεολόγον Γρηγόριον, ὧδέ πῃ λέγοντα: «‘Ἡμῖν δὲ εἷς θεὸς ὁ πατήρ, ἐξ οὗ τὰ πάντα, καὶ εἷς κύριος Ἰησοῦς Χριστός, δι' οὗ τὰ πάντα, καὶ ἓν πνεῦμα ἅγιον, ἐν ᾧ τὰ πάντα’, τοῦ ‘ἐξ οὗ’ καὶ ‘δι' οὗ’ καὶ ‘ἐξ ᾧ’ μὴ φύσεις τεμνόντων (οὐδὲ γὰρ ἂν μετέπιπτον αἱ προθέσεις ἢ αἱ τάξεις τῶν ὀνομάτων), ἀλλὰ χαρακτηριζόντων μιᾶς καὶ ἀσυγχύτου φύσεως ἰδιότητας: καὶ τοῦτο δῆλον: ἐξ ὧν εἰς ἓν συνάγονται πάλιν, εἴ τῳ μὴ παρέργως ἐκεῖνο ἀναγινώσκεται παρὰ τῷ ἀποστόλῳ, τὸ ‘ἐξ αὐτοῦ καὶ δι' αὐτοῦ καὶ εἰς αὐτὸν τὰ πάντα: αὐτῷ ἡ δόξα εἰς τοὺς αἰῶνας. Ἀμήν’».

Ὅτι γὰρ οὐκ εἰς τὸν υἱὸν μόνον λέλεκται τὸ τρισάγιον, ἀλλ' εἰς τὴν ἁγίαν τριάδα, μάρτυς ὁ θεῖος καὶ ἱερὸς Ἀθανάσιος Βασίλειός τε καὶ Γρηγόριος καὶ πᾶς ὁ τῶν θεοφόρων πατέρων χορός, ὅτιπερ διὰ τῆς τρισσῆς ἁγιότητος τὰς τρεῖς τῆς ὑπερουσίου θεότητος ὑποστάσεις τὰ ἅγια Σεραφὶμ ἡμῖν ὑπεμφαίνουσι. Διὰ δὲ τῆς μιᾶς κυριότητος τὴν μίαν τῆς θεαρχικῆς τριάδος οὐσίαν τε καὶ βασιλείαν γνωρίζουσι. Φησὶ γοῦν ὁ θεολόγος Γρηγόριος: «Οὕτω μὲν οὖν τὰ ἅγια τῶν ἁγίων, ἃ καὶ τοῖς Σεραφὶμ συγκαλύπτεται καὶ δοξάζεται τρισὶν ἁγιασμοῖς εἰς μίαν συνιοῦσι κυριότητα καὶ θεότητα: ὃ καὶ ἄλλῳ τινὶ πρὸ ἡμῶν πεφιλοσόφηται κάλλιστά τε καὶ ὑψηλότατα».

Φασὶ μὲν οὖν οἱ τὴν ἐκκλησιαστικὴν ἱστορίαν συντάξαντες λιτανεύοντος τοῦ ἐν Κωνσταντινουπόλει λαοῦ διά τινα θεήλατον ἀπειλὴν ἐπὶ Πρόκλου τοῦ ἀρχιεπισκόπου γεγενημένην, ἀφαρπαχθῆναι παιδίον τοῦ λαοῦ καὶ οὕτω μυηθῆναι ὑπ' ἀγγελικῆς τινος διδασκαλίας τὸν τρισάγιον ὕμνον «ἅγιος ὁ θεός, ἅγιος ἰσχυρός, ἅγιος ἀθάνατος, ἐλέησον ἡμᾶς» καὶ αὖθις ἐπιστραφέντος τοῦ παιδίου καὶ τὸ μυηθὲν ἀπαγγείλαντος ᾆσαι τὸν ὕμνον ἅπαν τὸ πλῆθος καὶ οὕτω κοπάσαι τὴν ἀπειλήν. Καὶ ἐν τῇ ἁγίᾳ δὲ καὶ μεγάλῃ τῇ οἰκουμενικῇ τετάρτῃ συνόδῳ, τῇ ἐν Χαλκηδόνι φημί, οὕτως ὑμνηθῆναι ὁ τρισάγιος οὗτος ὕμνος παραδέδοται: οὕτω γὰρ τοῖς πεπραγμένοις τῆς αὐτῆς ἁγίας συνόδου ἐμφέρεται. Γέλως οὖν ὄντως καὶ παίγνιον τὴν δι' ἀγγέλων μυηθεῖσαν καὶ τῇ τῆς ἐπαγωγῆς λήξει πιστωθεῖσαν καὶ τῇ τοσῶνδε ἁγίων πατέρων συνόδῳ κυρωθεῖσαν καὶ βεβαιωθεῖσαν καὶ πρότερον ὑπὸ τῶν Σεραφὶμ ὑμνηθεῖσαν τὴν τρισάγιον ᾠδὴν ὡς τῆς τρισυποστάτου θεότητος ἐμφαντικὴν τῇ τοῦ κναφέως οἷον καταπατηθῆναι ἀλόγῳ οἰήσει καὶ δῆθεν διορθωθῆναι ὡς τῶν Σεραφὶμ ὑπερβάλλοντος. Ἀλλ' ὢ τῆς αὐθαδείας, ἵνα μὴ λέγω τῆς ἀνοίας. Ἡμεῖς δὲ οὕτω φαμέν, κἂν δαίμονες διαρρήγνυνται: «Ἅγιος ὁ θεός, ἅγιος ἰσχυρός, ἅγιος ἀθάνατος, ἐλέησον ἡμᾶς».