# Letters to the Monks

- Author: [Athanasius of Alexandria](https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/authors/athanasius/)
- Latin title: *Epistulae ad monachos*
- Date: ca. 357 (approximate)
- Source: J.-P. Migne, ed., Patrologiae cursus completus, Series Graeca 25 (Paris: Migne, 1857), Epistulae ad monachos (reprinting the Benedictine edition of B. de Montfaucon, Paris, 1698)

- Translation: Claude, from the original text, unless a passage says otherwise; each passage below gives the translator
- Editions and translations: Hans-Georg Opitz et al., eds., Athanasius Werke, vol. 2 (Berlin: de Gruyter, 1935–)
- Work page: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/athanasius-epistulae-monachos/
- Passages: 2

## Letter to the Monks 1.1

- URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/athanasius-epistulae-monachos/1-1/#p-1-1
- Source: PG 25:692a–692b
- Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-10-09

Summary: Athanasius tells the monks that the more he tried to write about the Godhead of the Word, the more the knowledge of it eluded him.

### Greek text

Τῇ μὲν ὑμετέρᾳ διαθέσει πεισθεὶς, καὶ πολλάκις παρʼ ὑμῶν προτραπεὶς, ἔγραψανιδί ὀλίγων περὶ ὧν πεπόνθαμεν ἡμεῖς τεγκαῖΙή Ἐκκλησία, λιαὶ ὡς δύναμίς μοι διελέγχων τήν μυσαρὰν αἵρεσινΙτῶν Ἀρειομανιτῶν, καὶ δεικνὺς ὅσον ἐστίν ἀλλοτρία τῆς ἀληθείας αὕτη. Ὃ δὲ πεπονθα γράφων, ἀναγκαῖόν ἡγησάμην δηλῶσαι τῇ εὐσεβείᾳ ὑμᾶίν, ἵνα iul ἐν τούτου μάθητε, πῶς ἀληθῶς εἷʼρηκεν ὁ μακάριος Ἀπόστολος Ὢ βάθος πλούτου καὶ σοφίας καὶἺγνώσεως θεοῦι καὶ συγνᾶντεῼκάμοὶ άνθρώπῴ ἀσθενεῖ τήν φύσιν ὄντι· ὅσον γὰρ ἐβουλόμην Ῠράφειν, καὶ νοεῖνἐβιυιζόμην ἐμαυτόν περὶ τῆς θεότητος τοῦ Λόγου, τοσοῦτον ἦ γνῶσις ἐξανεχώρει μακρὰν ἀπʼ ἐμοῦ· καὶ ἐγίνῷέκον ἐμαυτὸν τοσοῦτον ἀπολιμπανόμενον, ὅσον ἐδόκουν καταλαμβάνειν. Καὶ γὰρ οὐδὲ ἐδόκουν νοεῖν, ἠδυνάμην γράφειν· ἀλλὰ διαὶ ὃ ἔγραφον, ἔλαττον ἐγίνετο τῆς ἐν τῇ διανοίᾳ γενομένης-μᾶν βραχείας τῆς-ἀληθείας σκιᾶς.

### English translation (Claude)

Persuaded by your affection, and often urged by you, I have written briefly about what we and the Church have suffered, refuting as far as I was able the abominable heresy of the Ariomaniacs and showing how foreign it is to the truth. And what I experienced in writing I thought it necessary to make known to your piety, so that from this you may learn how truly the blessed Apostle said, “O the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God!”, and may pardon me, a man weak by nature. For the more I wished to write, and forced myself to understand about the Godhead of the Word, the further the knowledge withdrew from me; and I recognized that I fell short in proportion as I seemed to grasp it. For I could not even write what I seemed to understand; and what I wrote fell short of even the faint shadow of the truth that was in my mind.

### Scripture references

- Rom 11:33: quotation, high confidence

### Translation notes

- This section and the first part of section 2 are not the History of the Arians but Athanasius’s covering letter to the monks (the “First Letter to the Monks”), which Migne prints before the History; the opening of the History itself (ch. 1 and the beginning of ch. 2) is lost in the scan. Editorial decision needed whether to keep this text here. “O the depth …”: Rom 11:33.

### Citation (SBL)

Athanasius, Ep. mon. 1.1 (PG 25:692a–692b; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/athanasius-epistulae-monachos/1-1/#p-1-1).

## Letter to the Monks 1.2

- URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/athanasius-epistulae-monachos/1-1/#p-1-2
- Source: PG 25:692b–697a
- Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-10-09

Summary: The covering letter to the monks ends by asking them to treat the work as a refutation of the Arians, to return it uncopied, and to pray; then a fragment of the History describes how the emperor imposes unknown bishops on unwilling people.

### Greek text

Ὁρῶν τοίνυν, ὡς ἐν τῷ Ἐκκλησιαπῇ γεγραπται, ὅτι Εἴπα· Σοφισθήσομαι, καὶ κρύνθη ἀπʼ ἐμοῦ μακρὰν ὑπερ ὃ ἧν · καὶ βαθὺ βάθος, τίς εὐρήσει αὐτό ; καὶ τὸ ἐν τοῖς Ψαλμοῖς· Ἐθαυμαστώθη ἡ.. γνῶσίς σου ἐξ ἐμοῦ, ἐκραταιώθη, οὐ μή δύναμαι πρὸς αὐτήν· οιαὶ ὁ Σολομών φηςʼ-Δόξα Θεοῦ, κρύπτειν λόγον. Πολλάκις ἐβουλευσάμην ἐπισχεῖν καὶ … τοῦ γράφειν · ναὶ πιστεύσατε. Ἵνα δὲ μὴ δόξω μηδὲ ὑμᾶς λυπεῖν, μήτε ἐκείνους τοὺς παρʼ ὑμῖν ζητήσαντας καὶ φιλονεικήσαντας έπιτρίβειν εἷς τὴν ἀσέβειαν ἐκ τοῦ σιωπᾷν, ἐβιασάμην ἐμαυτὸν ὀλίγα γράψαι καὶ ταῦτα ἀπέστειλα τῇ ὑμετέρᾳθεοσεβείᾳ. Εἰ γὰρ καὶ, ὥς ἐστιν τῆς ἀληθείας κατάληψις, μακράν ἐστι νῦν ἀφʼ ἡμῶν διὰ τὴν τῆς σαρκὸς ἀσθένειαν, ἀλλά δυνατὸν, ὡς εἶπεν αὐτὸς 6 Ἐκκλησιαστής, γνῶναι τῶν ἀσεβῶν τὴν ἀφροσύνην, καὶ εὑρόντα ταύτην, εἰπεῖν πικροτέραν ὑπὲρ θάνατον εἶναι. Τούτου γοῦν χάριν, ὡς τοῦτο γινώσκων καὶ δυνάμενος εὑρεῖν, ἔγραψα · εἰδὼς, ὡς τοῖς πιστοῖς ἡ τῆς ἀσεβείας κατάγνωσις, αὐτάρκης πρὸς εὐσέβειάν ἐστι γνῶσις. Καὶ γὰρ εἶ μὴ δυνατὸν καταλαβέσθαι τί ἐστι Θεὸς, ἀλλὰ δυνατὸν εἰπεῖν, τί οὐκ ἔστιν· οἷʼδαμεν δὲ, ὅτι οὐχ ὡς ἅνθρωπός ἐστι, καὶ ὅτι οὐδὲν τῶν γενητῶν θέμις ἐπινοεῖν έν αὐτῷ. Οὕτω δὴ καὶ περὶτοῦ Υἳοῦ τοῦ Θεοῦ, εἶ καὶ πολὺ τοῦ καταλαβεῖν μακράν ἐσμεν τῇ φύσει, ἀλλά δυνατὸν καὶ εὔκολον καταγνῶναι τῶν προσφερομένων παρά τῶν αἱρετικῶν, καὶ εἰπεῖν, ὅτι οὐκ ἔστι ταῦτα Υἱὸς 6 τοῦ Θεοῦ, οὐδὲ θέμις περὶ τῆς θεότητος αὐτοῦ τοιαῦτα κᾶν έννοεῖν, οἷα λέγουσιν ἐκεῖνοι, μήτιγε καὶ φθέγγεσθαι διὰ χειλέων. Οὕτω τοίνυν, ὅσον ἠδυνήθην ἐγὼ μὲν ἔγραψα· ὑμεῖς δὲ, ἀγαπητοὶ, δέξασθε ταῦτα μὴ ὡς τελείαν ἔχοντα τὴν ἑρμηνείαν περί τῆς τοῦ Λόγου θεότητος, ἀλλʼ ὡς μόνον ἐλέγχοντα μὲν τήν ἀσέβειαν τῶν Χριστομάχων, ἔχοντα δὲ καὶ διδόντα τοῖς βουλομένοις ἀφορμὴν εἰς εὐσέβειαν τῆς ὑγιαινούσης ἐν Χριστῷ πίστεως. Et δέ τι παραλέλειπται (πάντα δὲ νομίζω παραλελεῖφθαι), συγγινώσκετε μετά συνειδήσεως καθαρᾶς, καὶ μόνον ἀποδέξασθε τὸ τολμηρὸν τῆς πρὸς εὐσέβειαν προθέσεως. Εἰς γὰρ τελείαν κατάγνωσιν τῆς αἱρέσεως τῶν Ἀρειανῶν, αὐτάρκης ἡ περὶ τοῦ θανάτου ’Δρείου γενομένη παρά τοῦ Κυρίου κρίσιςʼ ἢν ἤδη φθάσαντες καὶ παρʼ ἑτέρων ἔγνωτε. ‘A γὰρ 6 Θεὸς 6 ἅγιος βεβούλευται, τίς διασκεδάσεις καὶ ’ὃν ὁ Κύριος κατέκρινε, τίς 6 δικαιῶν; Τίς γὰρ ἐκ τοῦ τοιούτου γενομένου σημείου οὐ γινώσκει λοιπὸν, ὅτι θεομίσητός ἐστιν ἡ αʼίρεσις, κᾶν ἀνθρώπους ἔχῃ προστάταςς Ἐντυχόννες μέντοι, εὔχεσθε μὲν, καὶ ἀλλήλους εἰς τοῦτο προτρέπεσθε ποιεῖν, ὑπὲρ ἡμῶν · εὐθὺς δὲ ἀντιπέμψατε ταῦτα πρὸς ἡμᾶς · καὶ μηδενὶ τὸ σύνολον ἀντίγραφον ἔκδοτε, μηδὲ ἑαυτοῖς μεταγράψατε, ἀλλʼ ἀρκέσθητε ὡς δόκιμοι τραπεζῖται τῇ ἐντεύξει, κᾶν πολλάκις ἐντυχεῖν θελήσητε. Οὐ γὰρ ἀσφαλὲς τοῖς μετὰ ταῦτα τὰ παρʼ ἡμῶν τῶν ψελλιζόντων καὶ ἰδιωτῶν ἐστι γράμματα. Ἀσπάσασθε ἀλλήλους ἐν ἀγάπῃ, καὶ πάντας τοὺς ἐρχομένους πρὸς ὑμᾶς έν εὐσεβείᾳ καὶ πίστει. Εἰ γάρ τις, ὡς εἶπεν 6 Ἀπόστολος, οὐ φιλεῖ τὸν Κύριον, ἤτω ἀνάθεμα. Ἡ χάρις τοῦ Κυρίου ἡμῶν Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ μεθʼ ὑμῶν. ’Δμήν. πτον, τοῦτον ἀφαιρεῖται καὶ ἐξορίζει βασιλεύςʼ ὃν δὲ μήτε βούλονται, μήτε γινώσκουσι, τοῦτον μακρόθεν μετά στρατιωτῶν ἀποστέλλει καὶ γραμμάτων ἑαυτοῦ· καὶ λοιπὸν ἀνάγκη πολλή μισεῖν μὲν ’ὀν ἀγαπῶσι τὸν κατηχήσαντα, καὶ πατὲρα γενόμενον ἐν θεοσεβείᾳ· ἀγαπᾷν δὲ ὃν οὐ βούλονται, καὶ πιστεύειν ἑαυτῶν τὰ τὲκνα, οὗ τὸν βίον, καὶ τὴν ἀναστροφὴν, καὶ τίς ἐστιν οὐ γινώσκουσινο ἢ δηλονότι τιμωρίαν ὑπομένειν, ἢν μὴ πείθωνται βασιλεῖ.

### English translation (Claude)

Seeing, then, as it is written in Ecclesiastes, “I said, I will be wise; but it was far from me, farther than it was; and a deep depth—who shall find it?”; and what is in the Psalms, “Your knowledge has been made wonderful beyond me; it is too strong, I cannot attain it”; and as Solomon says, “It is the glory of God to conceal a word”—I often resolved to stop and to cease from writing; believe me. But lest I seem to grieve you, or by my silence to drive into impiety those among you who have inquired and disputed, I forced myself to write a little, and I have sent it to your godliness. For although the comprehension of the truth, as it is, is now far from us because of the weakness of the flesh, yet it is possible, as the Preacher himself said, to know the folly of the impious, and having found it, to say that it is “more bitter than death.” For this reason, then, as one who knows this and is able to find it, I have written, knowing that for the faithful the condemnation of impiety is sufficient knowledge for piety. For even if it is not possible to comprehend what God is, it is possible to say what he is not. We know that he is not as a man, and that it is not lawful to conceive of anything originate in him. So too concerning the Son of God: though by nature we are very far from comprehending him, yet it is possible and easy to condemn what the heretics put forward, and to say that the Son of God is not such things, and that it is not lawful even to think such things about his Godhead as they say, let alone to utter them with the lips. [3] So I have written as well as I could; and you, beloved, receive it not as containing a complete exposition of the Godhead of the Word, but only as a refutation of the impiety of the Christ-fighters, and as offering to those who wish an occasion for the piety of sound faith in Christ. And if anything has been omitted (and I think everything has been omitted), forgive it with a pure conscience, and only accept the boldness of my purpose for piety. For the complete condemnation of the Arian heresy, the judgment given by the Lord in the death of Arius is sufficient, which you have already learned from others. “For what the holy God has purposed, who shall scatter?” and “Whom the Lord has condemned, who shall justify?” For who, after such a sign has happened, does not know from now on that the heresy is hateful to God, even if it has men as its patrons? When you have read this, pray for us and exhort one another to do so; and send these things back to us at once, and give a copy to no one at all, nor transcribe them for yourselves, but be content, like approved money-changers, with reading them, even if you wish to read them many times. For it is not safe for those who come after to have the writings of us who stammer and are unskilled. Greet one another in love, and all who come to you in piety and faith. “For if anyone,” as the Apostle said, “does not love the Lord, let him be anathema.” The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you. Amen. … him the emperor removes and banishes; and him whom they neither want nor know he sends from afar with soldiers and with his own letters; and then there is great compulsion to hate the one they love, who catechized them and became their father in godliness, and to love the one they do not want, and to entrust their children to a man whose life and conduct and very identity they do not know—or else to suffer punishment, if they do not obey the emperor.

### Scripture references

- Eccl 7:23: quotation, high confidence
- Eccl 7:24: quotation, high confidence
- Ps 139:6 (138:6 LXX): quotation, high confidence
- Prov 25:2: quotation, high confidence
- Eccl 7:26: quotation, high confidence
- Isa 14:27: quotation, high confidence
- Rom 8:33: echo, medium confidence
- 1 Cor 16:22: quotation, high confidence
- 1 Cor 16:23: quotation, high confidence

### Translation notes

- Up to “Amen” this is the end of the First Letter to the Monks (its § 3 begins at [3]); after the “…” follows the surviving end of ch. 2 of the History, whose beginning is lost in the scan. Quotations: Eccl 7:23–24; Ps 139:6 (138:6 LXX); Prov 25:2; Eccl 7:26; Isa 14:27; “whom the Lord has condemned, who shall justify?” echoes Rom 8:33–34; 1 Cor 16:22–23; “greet one another”: 1 Cor 16:20. The death of Arius is told in Athanasius’s Letter to Serapion on the death of Arius.
- Latin-letter OCR debris is removed or corrected by logged corrections; “…to stop and cease from writing” translates a damaged phrase by sense.

### Citation (SBL)

Athanasius, Ep. mon. 1.2 (PG 25:692b–697a; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/athanasius-epistulae-monachos/1-1/#p-1-2).