# Documents of the Synod of Antioch against Paul of Samosata

- Author: Anonymous
- Latin title: *Synodus Antiochena adversus Paulum Samosatenum*
- Date: ca. 264–269 (approximate)
- Source: Martin Joseph Routh, ed., Reliquiae sacrae, 2nd ed., vol. 3 (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1846), pp. 289–303, from the Internet Archive scan with a Tesseract OCR of the Greek

- Translation: Claude, from the original text, unless a passage says otherwise; each passage below gives the translator
- Editions and translations: Eduard Schwartz, ed., Acta conciliorum oecumenicorum (Berlin: de Gruyter), for the later citations of the fragments; Fridericus Loofs, Paulus von Samosata (Leipzig: Hinrichs, 1924); Henri de Riedmatten, Les Actes du procès de Paul de Samosate (Fribourg: Éditions St-Paul, 1952)
- Work page: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/council-antioch-268/
- Passages: 12

## Letter of the six bishops to Paul 1

- URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/council-antioch-268/1-1/#p-1-1
- Source: Routh, Reliquiae sacrae 3:289–291
- Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27

Summary: Six bishops write to Paul of Samosata setting out the apostolic faith that the Son of God is God, begotten before the ages.

### Greek text

Ὑμεναῖος, Θεόφιλος, Θεότεκνος, Μάξιμος, Πρότοκλος, Βωλανὺς, Παύλῳ ἐν Χριστῷ χαίρειν. Ἤδη μὲν εἰς λόγους ἀλλήλων ἀφικόμενοι τὴν ἑαυτῶν πίστιν ἐδείξαμεν: ἵνα δὲ φανερώτερα ἅπερ ἕκαστος φρονεῖ γένηται, καὶ πέρας ἀσφαλέστερον τὰ ἀμφισβητούμενα λάβῃ, ἔδοξεν ἡμῖν ἔγγραφον τὴν πίστιν ἣν ἐξ ἀρχῆς παρελάβομεν, καὶ ἔχομεν παραδοθεῖσαν, καὶ τηρουμένην ἐν τῇ καθολικῇ καὶ ἁγίᾳ ἐκκλησίᾳ μέχρι τῆς σήμερον ἡμέρας ἐκ διαδοχῆς ὑπὸ τῶν μακαρίων ἀποστόλων, ὃ οἱ καὶ αὐτόπται καὶ ὑπηρέται γεγόνασι τοῦ Λόγου, καταγγελλομένην, ἐκ νόμου καὶ προφητῶν καὶ τῆς καινῆς διαθήκης ταύτην ἐκθέσθαι" “Ὅτι ὁ Θεὸς ἀγέννητος, εἷς, ἄναρχος, ἀόρατος, ἀναλλοίωτος, Ὁ ὃν εἶδεν οὐδεὶς ἀνθρώπων, οὐδὲ ἰδεῖν δύναται" οὗ τὴν δόξαν ἢ τὸ μέγεθος νοῆσαι ἢ ἐξηγήσασθαι καθώς ἐστιν ἀξίως τῆς ἀληθείας, ἀνθρωπίνῃ φύσει ἀνέφικτον᾽ ἔννοιαν δὲ καὶ ὁπωσοῦν μετρίαν περὶ αὐτοῦ λαβεῖν, ἀγαπητὸν, ἀποκαλύπτοντος τοῦ υἱοῦ αὐτοῦ" καθά φησιν, Οὐδεὶς ἔγνω τὸν πατέρα, εἰ μὴ ὁ υἱὸς, καὶ ᾧ ἂν ὁ υἱὸς ἀποκαλύψῃ. Τοῦτον δὲ τὸν υἱὸν γεννῆτον, μονογενῆ υἱὸν, εἰκόνα τοῦ ἀοράτου Θεοῦ τυγχάνοντα, πρωτότοκον πάσης κτίσεως, σοφίαν καὶ λόγον καὶ δύναμιν Θεοῦ, πρὸ αἰώνων οντα, οὐ προγνώσει, ἀλλ ουσίᾳ καὶ ὑποστάσει Θεὸν, Θεοῦ υἱὸν, ἔν τε παλαιᾷ καὶ νέᾳ διαθήκη ἐγνωκοτες ὁμολογοῦμεν καὶ κηρύσσομεν. ὃς ἂν ἀντιμάχηται τὸν υἱὸν τοῦ Θεοῦ Θεὸν μὴ εἶναι πρὸ καταβολῆς κόσμου πιστεύειν καὶ ὁμολογεῖν, φάσκων δύο Θεοὺς καταγγέλλεσθαι, ἐὰν ὁ υἱὸς τοῦ Θεοῦ Θεὸς κηρύσσηται, τοῦτον ἀλλότριον τοῦ ἐκκλησιαστικοῦ κανόνος ἡγούμεθα' καὶ πᾶσαι αἱ καθολικαὶ ἐκκλησίαι συμφωνοῦσιν ἡμῖν.

### English translation (Claude)

Hymenaeus, Theophilus, Theotecnus, Maximus, Proclus and Bolanus, to Paul, greeting in Christ. We have already met in discussion with one another and have shown our own faith. But so that what each of us thinks may become clearer, and the points in dispute may reach a surer conclusion, we have decided to set out in writing the faith which we received from the beginning and hold as handed down, kept in the catholic and holy church to this very day by succession from the blessed apostles, who were also eyewitnesses and servants of the Word, and proclaimed from the Law and the Prophets and the New Testament. It is this: that God is unbegotten, one, without beginning, invisible, unchangeable, 'whom no human being has seen or can see'; whose glory or greatness no human nature can conceive or explain as it is, in a way worthy of the truth; but to receive even a moderate conception of him in any way is something to be content with, when his Son reveals him, as he says: 'No one has known the Father except the Son, and anyone to whom the Son reveals him.' This Son, begotten, the only-begotten Son, who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation, the wisdom and Word and power of God, existing before the ages, God not by foreknowledge but in essence and hypostasis, Son of God, we confess and proclaim, having come to know him in both the Old and the New Testament. Whoever opposes believing and confessing that the Son of God is God before the foundation of the world, saying that two Gods are proclaimed if the Son of God is preached as God, we regard as a stranger to the church's rule; and all the catholic churches agree with us.

### Scripture references

- Luke 1:2: allusion, medium confidence
- 1 Tim 6:16: quotation, high confidence
- Matt 11:27: quotation, high confidence
- Col 1:15: quotation, high confidence
- 1 Cor 1:24: allusion, high confidence

### Translation notes

- The letter of the six bishops (Hymenaeus of Jerusalem, Theotecnus of Caesarea in Palestine and others) to Paul of Samosata, bishop of Antioch, is preserved outside Eusebius; its authenticity is debated. 'In essence and hypostasis' renders οὐσίᾳ καὶ ὑποστάσει, here used together for real, personal existence, against a Son existing only in God's foreknowledge. No public-domain English translation exists; checked against the Greek.

### Citation (SBL)

Syn. Ant. 1.1 (Routh, Reliquiae sacrae 3:289–291; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/council-antioch-268/1-1/#p-1-1).

## Letter of the six bishops to Paul 2

- URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/council-antioch-268/1-1/#p-1-2
- Source: Routh, Reliquiae sacrae 3:291–293
- Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27

Summary: The bishops cite Psalms, Isaiah, Romans and Hosea to show the Son is God, and identify him as the one through whom the Father created all things.

### Greek text

περὶ γὰρ τούτου γέγραπται: !'O θρόνος σου ὁ Θεὸς εἰς τὸν αἰῶνα τοῦ αἰῶνος" ῥάβδος εὐθύτητος ἡ ῥάβδος τῆς βασιλείας σου. ἠγάπησας δικαιοσύνην, καὶ ἐμίσησας ἀνομίαν" διὰ τοῦτο ἔχρισέ σε ὁ Θεὸς, ὃ Θεὸς σου ἔλαιον ἀγαλλιάσεως παρὰ τοὺς μετόχους σου. καὶ παλιν Ἡσαίας" €'O Θεὸς ἡμῶν κρίσιν ἀνταποδίδωσι. καὶ ἡμῶν κρ ; ἀνταποδώσει" αὐυτος ἥξει καὶ σώσει μᾶς, ΤΟΤΕ ανοιχθήσονται ὀφθαλμοὶ τυφλῶν, καὶ ὦτα κωφῶν ἀκούσονται τότε ἁλεῖται ὡς ἔλαφος ὁ χωλός" καὶ τρανὴ ἔσται γλῶσσα μογιλάλων᾽ καὶ πάλιν, "Ἐν σοὶ προσεὐξονται, ὅτι ἐν σοὶ ὁ Θεὸς ἐστι" καὶ οὐκ ἔστι Θεὸς πλήν σου" σὺ γὰρ εἶ ὁ Θεὸς, καὶ οὐκ ἤδειμεν, ὁ Θεὸς τοῦ Ἰσραὴλ σωτήρ. καὶ παρὰ τῷ ἀποστόλῳ᾽ Ἐξ Θεὸς εὐλογητὸς εἰς τοὺς αἰῶνας. ἀμήν. τοῦ, ὁ ὢν ἐπὶ πάντων καὶ τοῦ, πλήν σου, νοουμένου ἐπὶ πάντων γενητῶν. καὶ ἐν τῷ ᾿Ὥσηε" "Διότι ὁ Θεὸς ἐγώ εἰμι, καὶ οὐκ ἄνθρωπος, ἐν σοὶ ἁγιος, καὶ οὐκ εἰσελεύσομαι εἰς πόλιν, ὀπίσω Κυρίου πορεύσομαι. καὶ πᾶσαι αἱ θεόπνευστοι γραφαὶ Θεὸν τὸν υἱὸν τοῦ Θεοῦ μηνύουσιν· ἃς καθ᾽ ἑκάστην παρατίθεσθαι τὸν υἱὸν ὑπερτιθέμεθα. Τοῦτον πιστεύομεν σὺν τῷ πατρὶ αἰεὶ ὄντα ἐκπεπληρωκέναι τὸ πατρικὸν βούλημα πρὸς τὴν κτίσιν τῶν ὅλων" ᾿ Αὐτὸς γὰρ εἶπε, καὶ ἐγεννήθησαν" αὑτὸς ἐνετείλατο, καὶ ἐκτίσθησαν. ὁ δὲ ἐντελλόμενος ἑτέρῳ ἐντέλλεται· ὃν οὐκ ἄλλον πεπείσμεθα, ἢ τὸν μονογενῆ υἱὸν τοῦ Θεοῦ Θεὸν, o καὶ εἶπε, " Ποιήσωμεν ἄνθρωπον κατ᾽ εἰκόνα, καὶ καθ᾽ ὁμοίωσιν ἡμετέραν.

### English translation (Claude)

For of him it is written: 'Your throne, O God, is for ever and ever; a sceptre of uprightness is the sceptre of your kingdom. You loved righteousness and hated lawlessness; therefore God, your God, anointed you with the oil of gladness beyond your companions.' And again Isaiah: 'Our God repays judgement, and he will repay; he himself will come and save us. Then the eyes of the blind will be opened, and the ears of the deaf will hear; then the lame will leap like a deer, and the tongue of the stammerers will be clear.' And again: 'In you they will pray, for God is in you, and there is no God besides you; for you are God, and we did not know it, the God of Israel, the Saviour.' And in the apostle: 'From whom … God blessed for ever. Amen', the words 'who is over all' and 'besides you' being understood of all things that have come into being. And in Hosea: 'For I am God and not man, holy among you, and I will not enter into a city; I will walk after the Lord.' And all the divinely inspired Scriptures declare that the Son of God is God; we defer setting them out one by one. This one, we believe, being always with the Father, carried out the Father's will for the creation of all things: 'For he spoke, and they came into being; he commanded, and they were created.' He who commands gives commands to another, and we are persuaded that this other is none other than the only-begotten Son of God, God, to whom he also said, 'Let us make man after our image and likeness.'

### Scripture references

- Ps 45:6–7 (44:7-8 LXX): quotation, high confidence
- Heb 1:8–9: allusion, medium confidence
- Isa 35:4–6: quotation, high confidence
- Isa 45:14–15: quotation, high confidence
- Rom 9:5: quotation, high confidence
- Hos 11:9–10: quotation, high confidence
- Ps 148:5: quotation, high confidence
- Ps 33:9 (32:9 LXX): allusion, medium confidence
- Gen 1:26: quotation, high confidence

### Translation notes

- The quotation of Rom 9:5 is damaged in the scan ('From whom … God blessed'); the comment that follows applies 'who is over all' (Rom 9:5) and 'besides you' (Isa 45:14) to all created things. The text prints ἐγεννήθησαν ('were begotten') in the Psalm quotation, where the LXX has ἐγενήθησαν ('came into being'); translated by the LXX sense.

### Citation (SBL)

Syn. Ant. 1.2 (Routh, Reliquiae sacrae 3:291–293; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/council-antioch-268/1-1/#p-1-2).

## Letter of the six bishops to Paul 3

- URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/council-antioch-268/1-1/#p-1-3
- Source: Routh, Reliquiae sacrae 3:293–294
- Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27

Summary: The bishops teach that the Son is the living, personal Word through whom the Father made all things, and that he appeared to Abraham and the patriarchs.

### Greek text

ἐν κεφαλαίῳ δὲ κατὰ τὸ εὐαγγέλιον" ? Πάντα δὲ αὐτοῦ ἐγένετο, καὶ χωρὶς αὐτοῦ ἐγένετο οὐδὲ ἐν. καὶ κατὰ τὸν ἀπόστολον" Ἐν αὐτῷ ἐκτίσθη τὰ πάντα τὰ ἐν τοῖς οὐρανοῖς καὶ τὰ ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς, τά τε ὁρατὰ εἴτε ἀόρατα, εἴτε θρόνοι, εἴτε ἀρχαὶ, εἴτε κυριότητες, εἶτε ἐξουσίαι: πάντα δι᾽ αὐτοῦ, καὶ εἰς αὐτὸν ἐκτισται. Οὕτω δὲ, ὡς ἀληθῶς ὄντος καὶ ἐνεργοῦντος, ὡς Λόγου ἅμα καὶ Θεοῦ" δι οὗ ὁ πατὴρ πάντα πεποίηκεν, οὐχ ὡς δι ὀργάνου, οὐδ᾽ ὡς δὶ ἐπιστήμης ἀνυποστάτου. γεννήσαντος μὲν τοῦ πατρὸς τὸν υἱὸν ὡς ζῶσαν ἐνέργειαν, καὶ ἐνυπόστατον, ἐνεργοῦντα τὰ πάντα ἐν πᾶσιν' οὐχὶ βλέποντος δὲ μόνον, οὐδὲ παρόντος μόνον τοῦ υἱοῦ, ἀλλὰ καὶ ἐνεργοῦντος πρὸς τὴν τῶν ὅλων δημιουργίαν, ὡς γέγραπται: "Ἤμην παρ᾽ αὐτῷ, ἁρμόζουσα. τῷ τοῦτον λέγομεν καταβάντα καὶ ἃ ὀφθέντα τῷ Αβρααμ πρὸς τῇ δρυὶ τοῦ Μαμβρῇ:. ἑκατὸν τριῶν, ᾧ διελέγετο" ἅτε τὴν κρίσιν ἅπασαν εἰληφότος πάρὰ τοῦ πατρὸς. περὶ οὗ γέγραπται Κύριος ἔβρεξεν ἐπὶ Σόδομα καὶ Γόμοῤῥα πῦρ καὶ θεῖον παρὰ Κυρίου ἐκ τοῦ οὐρανοῦ" τοῦτον εἶναι, ὃς ἐκπληρῶν τὴν πατρικὴν βουλὴν τοῖς πατριάρχαις φαίνεται, καὶ διαλέγεται ἐν ταῖς αὐταῖς περικοπαΐς, καὶ τοῖς αὐτοῖς κεφαλαίοις, ποτὲ μὲν ὡς ἄγγελος, ποτὲ δὲ ὡς Κύριος, ποτε δὲ Θεὸς μαρτυρούμενος.

### English translation (Claude)

In sum, according to the Gospel: 'All things came into being through him, and without him not one thing came into being.' And according to the apostle: 'In him all things were created, those in the heavens and those on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or principalities or lordships or authorities; all things have been created through him and for him.' He is so as truly existing and active, as Word and God at once, through whom the Father made all things; not as through an instrument, nor as through a knowledge without hypostasis, for the Father begot the Son as a living activity, having his own hypostasis, working all things in all; and the Son was not only looking on, nor only present, but also at work in the fashioning of all things, as it is written: 'I was beside him, fitting things together.' This is the one, we say, who came down and was seen by Abraham at the oak of Mamre, one of the three, with whom he conversed, as the one who has received all judgement from the Father; of whom it is written: 'The Lord rained on Sodom and Gomorrah fire and sulphur from the Lord out of heaven.' This is he who, carrying out the Father's will, appears to the patriarchs and speaks with them in the same passages and the same chapters, attested sometimes as an angel, sometimes as Lord, sometimes as God.

### Scripture references

- John 1:3: quotation, high confidence
- Col 1:16: quotation, high confidence
- Prov 8:30: quotation, high confidence
- Gen 18:1–2: allusion, high confidence
- John 5:22: allusion, medium confidence
- Gen 19:24: quotation, high confidence

### Translation notes

- 'One of the three': the printed text has ἑκατόν, apparently corrupt; Routh notes that the Latin translation reads 'one of the three'. 'I was beside him, fitting things together' is Prov 8:30 LXX, applied to the Son as Wisdom. 'Not as through an instrument' rejects the view that the Word is merely God's tool or an impersonal knowledge.

### Citation (SBL)

Syn. Ant. 1.3 (Routh, Reliquiae sacrae 3:293–294; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/council-antioch-268/1-1/#p-1-3).

## Letter of the six bishops to Paul 4

- URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/council-antioch-268/1-1/#p-1-4
- Source: Routh, Reliquiae sacrae 3:294–295
- Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27

Summary: The bishops identify the 'angel of the Lord' who spoke to Abraham and Jacob, and who mediated the law, with the Son of God.

### Greek text

τὸν μὲν γὰρ Θεὸν τῶν ὅλων ἀσεβὲς ἄγγελον νομίσαι καλεῖσθαι, ὃ δὲ ἄγγελος τοῦ πατρὸς ὁ υἱὸς ἐστιν, αὐτὸς Κύριος καὶ Θεὸς ὦν. γέγραπται γὰρ, Μεγάλης βουλῆς ἄγγελος" ὡς καὶ ἐν ἄλλοις πρὸς τὸν ᾿Αβραὰμ, [καὶ ἐκάλεσεν αὐτὸν ἄγγελος Κυρίου ἐκ τοῦ οὐρανοῦ,] καὶ rà ἑξῆς" " Νῦν γὰρ ἔγνων, ὅτι φοβῇ σὺ τὸν Θεὸν, καὶ οὐκ ἐφείσω τοῦ υἱοῦ σου τοῦ ἀγαπητοῦ δι᾽ ἐμέ. Καὶ ἐκάλεσε τὸ ὄνομα τοῦ τόπου, Κύριος εἰδεν᾽ iva εἴπωσι σήμερον, ἐν τῷ ὄρει Κύριος ὥφθη. καὶ ἐπὶ τοῦ Ἰακώβ, Καὶ εἶπέ μοι, φησὶν, ὁ ἄγγελος τοῦ Θεοῦ καθ᾽ ὕπνον, Ἰακώβ· ἐγὼ εἶπα, τί ἐστι; καὶ εἶπεν, ἀνάβλεψον τοῖς ὀψθαλμοῖς σου, καὶ τὰ ἑξῆς" ἐγώ εἰμι ὁ Θεὸς ὁ ὀφθείς σοι ἐν τόπῳ Θεοῦ" οὗ ἤλειψάς μοι ἐκεῖ στήλην, καὶ μετὰ τὴν πάλην καὶ ταῦτα ἀνθρώπου προγεγραμμένου, ἐπάγεται, Καὶ ἐκάλεσεν ᾿Ιακὼβ τὸ ὄνομα τοῦ τόπου ἐκείνου εἰδος Θεοῦ: εἰδον γὰρ Θεὸν προσωπὸν πρὸς πρόσωπον, καὶ ἐσώθη μου ἡ ψυχή. ἄνθρωπον δὲ τὸν προγεγραμμένον λέγομεν ὄντα υἱὸν τοῦ Θεοῦ, ὃν Θεὸν ἡ αὐτὴ γραφὴ μεμήνυκεν. Αλλὰ μὴν καὶ τὸν νόμον ὁμοίως Μωυσῇ φαμὲν δεδόσθαι, διακονοῦντος τοῦ υἱοῦ τοῦ Θεοῦ, ὡς ὃ ἀπόστολος διδάσκει λέγων" Τί οὖν ὁ νόμος ; τῶν παραβασεων χάριν προσετέθη, ἄχρις οὗ ἐλθῃ τὸ σπέρμα ᾧ ἐπήγγελται, διαταγεὶς δι᾽ ἀγγέλων ἐν

### English translation (Claude)

For it is impious to think that the God of all is called an angel; but the angel of the Father is the Son, being himself Lord and God. For it is written: 'Angel of great counsel.' So too elsewhere, to Abraham: [And the angel of the Lord called him from heaven], and what follows: 'For now I know that you fear God, and you have not spared your beloved son for my sake.' And he called the name of the place 'The Lord saw', so that they might say today, 'On the mountain the Lord was seen.' And in the case of Jacob: 'And the angel of God said to me in sleep, Jacob; and I said, What is it? And he said, Lift up your eyes', and what follows: 'I am the God who appeared to you in the place of God, where you anointed a pillar to me.' And after the wrestling, though it was a man who was named before, the text goes on: 'And Jacob called the name of that place Form of God; for I saw God face to face, and my soul was saved.' The man named before, we say, is the Son of God, whom the same Scripture has declared to be God. Moreover, we say that the law too was given to Moses in the same way, with the Son of God ministering, as the apostle teaches, saying: 'Why then the law? It was added because of transgressions, until the offspring should come to whom the promise had been made, ordained through angels by the hand

### Scripture references

- Isa 9:6 (9:5 LXX): quotation, high confidence
- Gen 22:11–12: quotation, high confidence
- Gen 22:14: quotation, high confidence
- Gen 31:11–13: quotation, high confidence
- Gen 32:24: allusion, high confidence
- Gen 32:30 (32:31 LXX): quotation, high confidence
- Gal 3:19: quotation, high confidence

### Translation notes

- The bracketed words are supplied by Routh from the Latin translation. 'Angel of great counsel' is Isa 9:6 LXX. 'Form of God' (Εἶδος θεοῦ) is the LXX rendering of Peniel. The sentence continues in 1.5; a garbled repetition of the quotation at the end of this section in the scan is removed.

### Citation (SBL)

Syn. Ant. 1.4 (Routh, Reliquiae sacrae 3:294–295; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/council-antioch-268/1-1/#p-1-4).

## Letter of the six bishops to Paul 5

- URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/council-antioch-268/1-1/#p-1-5
- Source: Routh, Reliquiae sacrae 3:295–297
- Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27

Summary: The bishops show from Exodus and Deuteronomy that the one who appeared to Moses in the bush and in glory was the Son of God.

### Greek text

χειρὶ μεσίτου. μεσίτην γὰρ ἄλλον οὐκ ἰσμεν Θεοῦ καὶ ἀνθρώπων ἢ τοῦτον. διδασκόμεθα δὲ καὶ ταῦτα διὰ τοῦ Μωυσέως: Ὤφθη δὲ αὐτῷ ἄγγελος ἐν φλογὶ πυρὸς ἐκ τῆς βάτου" καὶ ἑξῆς" ὡς δὲ εἶδε Κύριος, ὅτι προσἀγει ἰδεῖν, ἐκάλεσεν αὐτὸν Κύριος ἐκ τῆς βάτου" καὶ πάλιν, εἰσελθὼν συναγαγὼν τὴν γερουσίαν τῶν υἱῶν ᾿Ισραὴλ, καὶ ἐρεῖς πρὸς αὐτοὺς" Κύριος ὁ Θεὸς τῶν πατέρων ἡμῶν ὦπταί μοι, ὃ Θεὸς ᾽Αβρααμ, καὶ ὃ Θεὸς ᾿Ισαὰκ, καὶ ὁ Θεὸς ᾿Ιακὼβ, καὶ ἑξῆς" ἐὰν οὖν μὴ πιστεύσωσί μοι, μηδὲ εἰσακούσωσι τῆς φωνῆς μου" ἐροῦσι γαρ, οὐκ ὦπταί σοι Κύριος ὁ Θεὸς, τί ἐρῶ πρὸς αὐτούς; και ἐν ταις εὐλογίαις, Κατὰ τὰ δικαιώματα τῷ ὀφθέντι ἐν τῇ βάτῳ, ἔλθωσαν ἐπὶ κεφαλὴν τοῦ ᾿Ιωσήφ. καὶ ἀλλαχοῦ" Καὶ εἶπε Κύριος πρὸς Μωυσῆν καὶ τὸν λόγον σοι τοῦτον ὃν εἴρηκας ποιήσω. καὶ εἶπε, δεῖξον μοι τὴν δόξαν σου" καὶ εἶπεν. ἐγὼ παρελεύσομαι πρότερός σου τῇ δόξῃ μου· Καὶ καλέσω ἐν ονοματι Κυρίου εναντιον σου, καὶ ἐλεήσω, ὃν ἂν ἐλεῶ, καὶ οἰκτειρησω, ὃν ἂν οἰκτείρω. ὕπερ τελειοῦται οὕτως" " Καὶ κατέβη Κύριος ἐν νεφέλῃ, καὶ παρέστη αὐτῷ ἐκεῖ. καὶ ἐκάλεσεν ἐν ὀνόματι Κυρίου: καὶ παρῆλθε Κύριος πρὸ προσώπου αὐτοῦ" καὶ ἐκάλεσε Κύριος Θεός" ὁ γὰρ ἄνω παρελεύσεσθαι ἐπαγγειλάμενος, ὁ υἱὸς τοῦ Θεοῦ Κύριος ἐστιν ὃς καὶ ἀληθεύει λέγων" Οὐχ ὅτι τὸν πατέρα τις ἑώρακεν, εἰ μὴ ὁ ὧν παρὰ τοῦ πατρός" οὗτος ἑώρακε τὸν πατέρα.

### English translation (Claude)

of a mediator.' For we know no other mediator between God and men than this one. We are taught these things through Moses too: 'And an angel appeared to him in a flame of fire out of the bush', and what follows: 'And when the Lord saw that he was coming near to see, the Lord called him out of the bush.' And again: 'Go in and gather the elders of the sons of Israel, and you shall say to them: The Lord, the God of our fathers, has appeared to me, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob', and what follows: 'If, then, they do not believe me nor listen to my voice, for they will say, The Lord God has not appeared to you, what shall I say to them?' And in the blessings: 'According to the ordinances of him who was seen in the bush, may they come upon the head of Joseph.' And elsewhere: 'And the Lord said to Moses: This word that you have spoken I will also do. And he said: Show me your glory. And he said: I will pass by before you in my glory, and I will call on the name of the Lord before you, and I will have mercy on whom I have mercy and pity whom I pity.' This is fulfilled as follows: 'And the Lord came down in a cloud and stood beside him there, and called on the name of the Lord; and the Lord passed by before his face, and the Lord God called.' For the one who promised above to pass by is the Son of God, the Lord, who also speaks the truth when he says: 'Not that anyone has seen the Father, except the one who is from the Father; he has seen the Father.'

### Scripture references

- 1 Tim 2:5: allusion, high confidence
- Exod 3:2: quotation, high confidence
- Exod 3:4: quotation, high confidence
- Exod 3:16: quotation, high confidence
- Exod 4:1: quotation, high confidence
- Deut 33:16: quotation, high confidence
- Exod 33:17–19: quotation, high confidence
- Exod 34:5–6: quotation, high confidence
- John 6:46: quotation, high confidence

### Translation notes

- In the blessing of Joseph (Deut 33:16) the text has δικαιώματα ('ordinances') where the LXX has τὰ δεκτά ('the things acceptable').

### Citation (SBL)

Syn. Ant. 1.5 (Routh, Reliquiae sacrae 3:295–297; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/council-antioch-268/1-1/#p-1-5).

## Letter of the six bishops to Paul 6

- URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/council-antioch-268/1-1/#p-1-6
- Source: Routh, Reliquiae sacrae 3:297–299
- Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27

Summary: The bishops confess that the Son, God and Lord of all, became man from the virgin, his body united unchangeably with the Godhead, and that Scripture names Christ even before the incarnation.

### Greek text

Καὶ ἐν τῷ αὐτῷ εὐαγγελίῳ Οὔτε φωνὴν αὐτοῦ πώποτε ἀκηκόατε, οὔτε εἰδος αὐτοῦ ἑωράκατε. Καὶ, Θεὸν οὐδεὶς ἑώρακε πώποτε. Καὶ, τῷ δὲ βασιλεῖ τῶν αἰώνων ἀφθάρτω, ἀοράτῳ, μόνῳ σόφῳ Θεῷ, φησί. Τὸν δὲ υἱὸν, παρὰ τῷ πατρὶ ὄντα Θεὸν μεν καὶ Κύριον τῶν γενητῶν ἁπάντων᾽ ὑπὸ δὲ τοῦ πατρὸς ἀποσταλέντα ἐξ οὐρανῶν, καὶ σαρκωθέντα ἐνηνθρωπηκέναι. διόπερ καὶ τὸ ἐκ τῆς παρθένου σῶμα χωρῆσαν πᾶν τὸ πλήρωμα τῆς Θεότητος σωματικῶς, τῇ Θεότητι ἀτρέπτως ἥνωται καὶ τεθεοποίηται οὗ χάριν ὁ αὐτὸς Θεὸς καὶ ἄνθρωπος Ἰησοῦς Χριστὸς προεφητεύετο ἐν νόμῳ καὶ προφήταις, καὶ ἐν τῇ ἐκκλησίᾳ τῇ ὑπὸ τὸν οὐρανὸν πάσῃ πεπίστευται Θεὸς μὲν κενώσας ἑαυτὸν ἀπὸ τοῦ εἶναι ἶσα Θεῷ: ἄνθρωπος δὲ, καὶ " ἐκ σπέρματος Δαβὶδ τὸ κατὰ σάρκα. τὰ μὲν σημεῖα καὶ τὰ τέρατα τὰ ἐν τοῖς εὐαγγελίοις ἀναγεγραμμένα ὡς Θεὸς ἦν ἐπιτελέσας" τὸ δὲ σαρκὸς καὶ αἵματος μετεσχηκέναι τὸν πεπειραμένον κατὰ πάντα καθ ὁμοιότητα, χωρὶς ἁμαρτίας. οὕτω καὶ ὁ Χριστὸς πρὸ τῆς σαρκώσεως ἐν ταῖς θείαις γραφαῖς ὡς εἷς ὠνόμασται" ἐν μὲν Ἱερεμίᾳ " Πνεῦμα προσώπου ἡμῶν Χριστὸς" "ὃ δὲ Κύριος τὸ πνεῦμα ἐστι, κατὰ τὸν πνευματικῆς πέτρας, ἡ δὲ πέτρα ἣν ὁ Χριστός. καὶ πάλιν, " Μηδὲ ἐκπειράζωμεν τὸν Κύριον, καθώς τινες αὐτὸν ἐξεπείρασαν, καὶ ὑπὸ τῶν ὄφεων ἀπώλλυντο καὶ περὶ Μωυσέως" “ Μείζονα πλοῦτον ἡγησάμενος τῶν Αἰγύπτου θησαυρῶν τὸν ὀνειδισμὸν τοῦ Χριστοῦ.

### English translation (Claude)

And in the same Gospel: 'You have never heard his voice nor seen his form.' And: 'No one has ever seen God.' And: 'To the King of the ages, immortal, invisible, the only wise God', it says. The Son, being with the Father, is God and Lord of all things that have come into being; and, sent by the Father from heaven and made flesh, he became man. Therefore the body from the virgin, which contained all the fullness of the Godhead bodily, has been united unchangeably to the Godhead and made divine. For this reason the same Jesus Christ, God and man, was foretold in the Law and the Prophets, and is believed in by the whole church under heaven: God, who emptied himself of being equal with God; and man, of the seed of David according to the flesh. The signs and wonders recorded in the Gospels he performed as God; but he who was tempted in all things in like manner, without sin, partook of flesh and blood. So too Christ, before the incarnation, is named in the divine Scriptures as one: in Jeremiah, 'The Spirit before our face, Christ the Lord'; 'and the Lord is the Spirit', according to the apostle; … 'the spiritual rock, and the rock was Christ.' And again: 'Let us not put the Lord to the test, as some of them tested him and were destroyed by the serpents.' And of Moses: 'considering the reproach of Christ greater wealth than the treasures of Egypt.'

### Scripture references

- John 5:37: quotation, high confidence
- John 1:18: quotation, high confidence
- 1 Tim 1:17: quotation, high confidence
- Col 2:9: allusion, high confidence
- Phil 2:6–7: allusion, high confidence
- Rom 1:3: allusion, high confidence
- Heb 4:15: allusion, high confidence
- Heb 2:14: allusion, high confidence
- Lam 4:20: quotation, high confidence
- 2 Cor 3:17: quotation, high confidence
- 1 Cor 10:4: quotation, high confidence
- 1 Cor 10:9: quotation, high confidence
- Heb 11:26: quotation, high confidence

### Translation notes

- Routh notes that a word ('we say') seems to have fallen out before 'became man'; his note is removed from the text. 'Made divine' renders τεθεοποίηται. Words are lost before 'the spiritual rock' (1 Cor 10:4). 'Jeremiah' is Lam 4:20 LXX, which was counted with Jeremiah.

### Citation (SBL)

Syn. Ant. 1.6 (Routh, Reliquiae sacrae 3:297–299; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/council-antioch-268/1-1/#p-1-6).

## Letter of the six bishops to Paul 7

- URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/council-antioch-268/1-1/#p-1-7
- Source: Routh, Reliquiae sacrae 3:299
- Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27

Summary: The bishops close by affirming that Christ is one and the same before the ages and ask Paul to sign whether he agrees.

### Greek text

καὶ ὁ Πέτρος: "Περὶ ἧς σωτηρίας ἐξεζήτησαν καὶ ἐξηρεύνησαν προφῆται, οἱ περὶ τῆς εἰς ἡμᾶς χάριτος προφητεύσαντες" ἐρευνῶντες εἰς τίνα, ἢ ποῖον καιρὸν ἐδήλου τὸ πνεῦμα Χριστοῦ ἐν αὐτοῖς. εἰ δὲ " Χριστὸς Θεοῦ δύναμις, καὶ Θεοῦ σοφία, πρὸ αἰώνων ἐστίν' οὕτω καὶ καθὸ Χριστος, ἐν καὶ τὸ αὑτὸ ὧν τῇ οὐσίᾳ εἰ καὶ τὰ μάλιστα πολλαῖς ἐπινοίαις ἐπινοεῖται. Ταῦτα ἀπὸ πλείστων ὀλίγα σημειωσάμενοι, βουλοόμεθα μαθεῖν, εἰ τὰ αὐτὰ φρονεῖς ἡμῖν καὶ διδάσκεις, καὶ ὑποσημειώσασθαί σε, εἰ ἀρέσκῃ τοῖς προγεγραμμένοις, ἢ οὔ.

### English translation (Claude)

And Peter: 'Concerning this salvation the prophets who prophesied of the grace meant for us sought and searched, inquiring what person or what time the Spirit of Christ in them was indicating.' And if 'Christ is the power of God and the wisdom of God', he exists before the ages. So too, insofar as he is Christ, he is one and the same in essence, even though he is conceived under very many aspects. Having noted these few things out of very many, we wish to learn whether you think and teach the same as we do, and that you sign below whether you are satisfied with what has been written above or not.

### Scripture references

- 1 Pet 1:10–11: quotation, high confidence
- 1 Cor 1:24: quotation, high confidence

### Translation notes

- 'Under very many aspects' renders πολλαῖς ἐπινοίαις, the many titles under which Christ is conceived (Word, Wisdom, Power), a usage familiar from Origen.

### Citation (SBL)

Syn. Ant. 1.7 (Routh, Reliquiae sacrae 3:299; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/council-antioch-268/1-1/#p-1-7).

## Fragment I of the acts of the disputation with Malchion

- URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/council-antioch-268/1-1/#p-2-1
- Source: Routh, Reliquiae sacrae 3:300
- Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27

Summary: A fragment of the disputation distinguishes the Word, begotten by God alone, from Jesus Christ born of the virgin, with whom the Word came together.

### Greek text

Συνῆλθεν ὁ Λογος τῷ ἐκ Δαβὶδ γεγενημένῳ, ὃς ἐστιν ᾿Ιησοῦς Χριστὸς, ὁ γεννηθεὶς ἐκ πνεύματος ἁγίου. καὶ τοῦτον μὲν ἤνεγκεν ἡ παρθένος δια πνεύματος ἁγίου. ἐκεῖνον δὲ τὸν Λόγον ἐγέννησεν ὁ Θεὸς ἄνευ παρθένου, καὶ ἄνευ τινὸς οὐδένος ὄντος πλὴν τοῦ Θεοῦ καὶ οὕτως ὑπέστη ὁ Λόγος.

### English translation (Claude)

The Word came together with the one born of David, who is Jesus Christ, begotten of the Holy Spirit. This one the virgin bore through the Holy Spirit; but that Word God begot without a virgin and without anyone, there being nothing except God; and thus the Word came to subsist.

### Scripture references

- Luke 1:35: allusion, medium confidence

### Translation notes

- Fragments 2.1–2.5 come from the acts of the disputation between the presbyter Malchion and Paul of Samosata, preserved in later writers; this one gives Paul's teaching that the Word 'came together with' a man born of David, distinct from him.

### Citation (SBL)

Syn. Ant. 2.1 (Routh, Reliquiae sacrae 3:300; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/council-antioch-268/1-1/#p-2-1).

## Fragment II of the acts of the disputation with Malchion

- URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/council-antioch-268/1-1/#p-2-2
- Source: Routh, Reliquiae sacrae 3:300
- Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27

Summary: A saying of Paul of Samosata: the Word is greater than Christ, who became great through wisdom.

### Greek text

Ὁ Λόγος μείζων ἦν τοῦ Χριστοῦ. Χριστὸς διὰ σοφίαν μείζων ἐγένετο’ τὸ ἀξίωμα τῆς σοφίας μὴ καθέλωμεν.

### English translation (Claude)

The Word was greater than Christ. Christ became great through wisdom. Let us not pull down the dignity of wisdom.

### Translation notes

- A saying of Paul from the acts of the disputation, cited by later writers as evidence of his teaching.

### Citation (SBL)

Syn. Ant. 2.2 (Routh, Reliquiae sacrae 3:300; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/council-antioch-268/1-1/#p-2-2).

## Fragment III of the acts of the disputation with Malchion

- URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/council-antioch-268/1-1/#p-2-3
- Source: Routh, Reliquiae sacrae 3:301
- Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27

Summary: Paul of Samosata teaches that wisdom dwelt in Christ as in a temple, more than in the prophets, but that Jesus Christ and the Word are two.

### Greek text

μήτε ὁ ἐκ Δαβὶδ χρισθεὶς ἀλλότριος τῆς σοφίας" μήτε ἡ σοφία ἐν ἄλλῳ οὕτως οἰκῇ. καὶ γὰρ ἐν προφήταις ἦν, μᾶλλον δὲ καὶ ἐν Μωσεῖ, καὶ ἐν πολλοῖς κύριος, μᾶλλον δὲ καὶ ἐν Χριστῷ, ὡς ἐν ναῷ" ἄλλος γάρ ἐστιν ᾿Ιησοῦς Χριστὸς, καὶ ἄλλος ὁ Λόγος.

### English translation (Claude)

Neither is the one anointed, who is from David, a stranger to wisdom, nor does wisdom dwell in another in the same way. For it was in the prophets, and more in Moses, and in many it was lord, but more in Christ, as in a temple. For Jesus Christ is one, and the Word is another.

### Scripture references

- John 2:21: echo, low confidence

### Translation notes

- Paul's teaching as quoted in the acts; 'Jesus Christ is one, and the Word is another' is the point on which the synod condemned him.

### Citation (SBL)

Syn. Ant. 2.3 (Routh, Reliquiae sacrae 3:301; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/council-antioch-268/1-1/#p-2-3).

## Fragment IV of the acts of the disputation with Malchion

- URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/council-antioch-268/1-1/#p-2-4
- Source: Routh, Reliquiae sacrae 3:301
- Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27

Summary: Paul of Samosata says that the visible Jesus was not wisdom, since wisdom cannot take a visible shape.

### Greek text

Ὁ φαινόμενος οὐκ ἦν σοφία, οὐ γὰρ ἣν δυνατὸς ἐν σχήματι εὑρίσκεσθαι. οὐδὲ ἐν θέᾳ ἀνδρός" μείζων γὰρ τῶν ὁρωμένων ἐστί.

### English translation (Claude)

The one who appeared was not wisdom; for wisdom could not be found in a shape, nor in the appearance of a man; for it is greater than the things that are seen.

### Scripture references

- Phil 2:7–8: echo, medium confidence

### Translation notes

- A saying of Paul from the acts; compare Phil 2:7–8 ('found in shape as a man'), which his words deny of wisdom.

### Citation (SBL)

Syn. Ant. 2.4 (Routh, Reliquiae sacrae 3:301; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/council-antioch-268/1-1/#p-2-4).

## Fragment V of the acts of the disputation with Malchion

- URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/council-antioch-268/1-1/#p-2-5
- Source: Routh, Reliquiae sacrae 3:302
- Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27

Summary: Malchion presses Paul that he denies that the only-begotten Son was present in essence in the whole Saviour.

### Greek text

Οὐ πάλαι τοῦτο ἔλεγον, ὅτι οὐ δίδως οὐσιῶσθαι ἐν τῷ ὅλῳ Σωτῆρι τὸν υἱὸν τὸν μονογενῆ, τὸν προ πάσης κτίσεως ὑπάρχοντα;

### English translation (Claude)

Was I not saying this long ago, that you do not grant that the only-begotten Son, who exists before all creation, has been present by essence in the whole Saviour?

### Scripture references

- Col 1:15: allusion, medium confidence

### Translation notes

- Malchion's words to Paul in the disputation. 'Present by essence' renders οὐσιῶσθαι.

### Citation (SBL)

Syn. Ant. 2.5 (Routh, Reliquiae sacrae 3:302; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/council-antioch-268/1-1/#p-2-5).