# Letter to Paulinus of Tyre

- Author: [Eusebius of Nicomedia](https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/authors/eusebius-of-nicomedia/)
- Latin title: *Epistula ad Paulinum Tyrium*
- Date: ca. 320–323 (approximate)
- Source: Theodoret, Kirchengeschichte, ed. Léon Parmentier, GCS 19 (Leipzig: Hinrichs, 1911), 1.6

- Translation: Claude, from the original text, unless a passage says otherwise; each passage below gives the translator
- Editions and translations: H.-G. Opitz, Athanasius Werke 3.1: Urkunden zur Geschichte des arianischen Streites, Urkunde 8 (Berlin, 1934; cited only)
- Work page: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-nicomedia-epistula-paulinum/
- Passages: 8

## Letter to Paulinus of Tyre 1

- URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-nicomedia-epistula-paulinum/1/#p-1
- Source: Parmentier (GCS 19), 26
- Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27

Summary: Eusebius of Nicomedia greets Paulinus of Tyre, praising Eusebius of Caesarea's zeal for the cause and lamenting Paulinus's silence.

### Greek text

»Τῷ δεσπότῃ μου Παυλίνῳ Εὐσέβιος ἐν κυρίῳ χαίρειν. Οὔτε ἡ τοῦ δεσπότου μου Εὐσεβίου σπουδή, ἡ ὑπὲρ τοῦ λόγου, παρεσιωπήθη ἀλλʼ ἔφθασεν ἕως καὶ ἡμῶν, οὔτε ἡ σοῦ τούτῳ σιωπή, δέσποτα. καὶ ὡς ἦν ἀκόλουθον, ἐπὶ μὲν τῷ μου Εὐσεβίῳ ηὐφράνθημεν, ἐπὶ δὲ σοὶ λυπούμεθα, στοχαζόμενοι καὶ τὴν σιωπὴν ἀνδρὸς τοιούτου ἥτταν ἡμῶν εἶναι.

### English translation (Claude)

"To my lord Paulinus, Eusebius sends greeting in the Lord. Neither the zeal of my lord Eusebius on behalf of the truth has been passed over in silence, but has reached even to us, nor your silence about it, my lord. And, as was fitting, we rejoiced over my [lord] Eusebius, but we grieve over you, reckoning that even the silence of such a man is a defeat for us.

### Translation notes

- The 'lord Eusebius' praised here is Eusebius of Caesarea. 'The truth' renders τοῦ λόγου (literally 'the word' or 'the doctrine'), i.e. the cause under dispute. In 'over my [lord] Eusebius' a word (probably δεσπότῃ, 'lord') seems to have dropped out of the text; it is supplied in brackets.

### Citation (SBL)

Eusebius of Nicomedia, Ep. Paul. 1 (Parmentier (GCS 19), 26; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/eusebius-nicomedia-epistula-paulinum/1).

## Letter to Paulinus of Tyre 2

- URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-nicomedia-epistula-paulinum/1/#p-2
- Source: Parmentier (GCS 19), 26
- Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27

Summary: He urges Paulinus to write on the question, following the words and sense of Scripture.

### Greek text

διὸ παρακαλῶ εἰδότα σε ὡς ἀπρεπὲς ἀνδρὶ φρονίμῳ ἀλλοῖα φρονεῖν καὶ σιωπᾶν τἀληθῆ, ἀνασκαλεύσαντι τῷ πνεύματι τὸν λογισμὸν περὶ τὸ γράφειν περὶ τούτου ἄρχοι, λυσιτελοῦντος καὶ σοὶ καὶ τοῖς ἀκούουσί σου, μάλισθ᾿ ὅταν κατὰ ἀκολουθίαν τῆς γραφῆς καὶ τοῖς ἴχνεσι τῶν λόγων αὐτῆς καὶ τῶν βουλημάτων ἐθέλοις γράφειν.

### English translation (Claude)

I therefore urge you, knowing as you do how unbecoming it is for a man of understanding to think otherwise and to keep silent about the truth, to stir up your thinking in your spirit and to begin writing on this subject. It will profit both you and those who hear you, especially if you are willing to write following the sequence of Scripture and the tracks of its words and intentions.

### Translation notes

- 'Begin' renders ἄρχοι, which looks like a slip for an infinitive or imperative (e.g. ἄρξασθαι, ἄρχου); translated by sense.

### Citation (SBL)

Eusebius of Nicomedia, Ep. Paul. 2 (Parmentier (GCS 19), 26; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/eusebius-nicomedia-epistula-paulinum/2).

## Letter to Paulinus of Tyre 3

- URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-nicomedia-epistula-paulinum/1/#p-3
- Source: Parmentier (GCS 19), 26
- Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27

Summary: Eusebius sets out his belief: one unbegotten God, and one who came into being from him, not from his essence, wholly other in nature though perfectly like him.

### Greek text

ὅτι γὰρ οὔτε δύο ἀγέννητα ἀκηκόαμεν οὔτε ἒν εἰς δύο διῃρημένον οὐδὲ σωματικόν τι πεπονθὸς μεμαθήκαμεν ἢ πεπιστεύκαμεν, δέσποτα, ἀλλʼ ἓν μὲν τὸ ἀγέννητον, ἓν δὲ τὸ ὑπʼ αὐτοῦ ἀληθῶς καὶ οὐκ ἐκ τῆς οὐσίας αὐτοῦ γεγονός, καθόλου τῆς φύσεως τῆς ἀγεννήτου μὴ μετέχον ἢ ὄν ἐκ τῆς οὐσίας αὐτοῦ, ἀλλὰ γεγονὸς ὁλοσχερῶς ἕτερον τῇ φύσει καὶ τῇ δυνάμει, πρὸς τελείαν ὁμοιότητα διαθέσεώς τε καὶ δυνάμεως τοῦ πεποιηκότος γενόμενον· οὗ τὴν ἀρχὴν οὐ λόγῳ μόνον ἀδιήγητον, ἀλλὰ καὶ ἐννοίᾳ οὐκ ἀνθρώπων μόνον ἀλλὰ καὶ τῶν ὑπὲρ ἀνθρώπους πάντων εἶναι ἀκατάληπτον πεπιστεύκαμεν.

### English translation (Claude)

For we have neither heard of two unbegotten beings, nor have we learned or believed that the one has been divided into two or has undergone anything bodily, my lord. Rather, we have believed that the unbegotten is one, and that there is one who has come into being from him truly, and not from his essence, in no way sharing in the unbegotten nature or being from his essence, but having come into being wholly other in nature and in power, made to perfect likeness of disposition and power to the one who made him; and we have believed that his beginning is not only indescribable in word but also incomprehensible in thought, not only to human beings but also to all beings above humans.

### Translation notes

- A statement of the Arian position in the controversy with Alexander of Alexandria, translated as written. 'Unbegotten' renders ἀγέννητον.

### Citation (SBL)

Eusebius of Nicomedia, Ep. Paul. 3 (Parmentier (GCS 19), 26; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/eusebius-nicomedia-epistula-paulinum/3).

## Letter to Paulinus of Tyre 4

- URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-nicomedia-epistula-paulinum/1/#p-4
- Source: Parmentier (GCS 19), 26
- Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27

Summary: He claims Scripture as his source, citing Proverbs 8 to show that the Son is created, established, and begotten.

### Greek text

Καὶ ταῦτα οὐχὶ λογισμοὺς ἑαυτῶν ὑποθέμενοι. ἀλλʼ ἀπὸ τῆς ἁγίας γραφῆς μεμαθηκότες λέγομεν· κτιστὸν εἶναι καὶ θεμελιωτὸν καὶ γεννητὸν τῇ οὐσίᾳ καὶ τῇ ἀναλλοιώτῳ καὶ ἀρρήτῳ φύσει καὶ τῇ ὁμοιότητι τῇ πρὸς τὸν πεποιηκότα μεμαθήκαμεν. ὡς αὐτὸς ὁ κύριός φησιν· »ὁ θεὸς ἔκτισέ με ἀρχὴν ὁδῶν αὐτοῦ, καὶ πρὸ τοῦ αἰῶνος ἐθεμελίωσέ με· πρὸ δὲ πάντων βουνῶν γεννᾷ με«.

### English translation (Claude)

And we say these things not by laying down reasonings of our own, but having learned them from the holy Scripture. We have learned that he is created, and established, and begotten in his essence and in his unchangeable and ineffable nature and in his likeness to the one who made him, as the Lord himself says: "God created me as the beginning of his ways, and before the age he established me, and before all the hills he begets me."

### Scripture references

- Prov 8:22–25: quotation, high confidence

### Translation notes

- The quotation is Prov 8:22–23, 25 in the Septuagint wording (ἔκτισέ με, 'created me'), a key text in the Arian controversy; 'the Lord himself' is Wisdom speaking, read as the Son.

### Citation (SBL)

Eusebius of Nicomedia, Ep. Paul. 4 (Parmentier (GCS 19), 26; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/eusebius-nicomedia-epistula-paulinum/4).

## Letter to Paulinus of Tyre 5

- URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-nicomedia-epistula-paulinum/1/#p-5
- Source: Parmentier (GCS 19), 26
- Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27

Summary: He argues that if the Son were from the Father's essence, he could not be called created or established.

### Greek text

εἰ δὲ ἐξ αὐτοῦ, τουτέστιν ἀπʼ αὐτοῦ ἢν, ὡς ἂν μέρος αὐτοῦ ἤ ἐξ ἀπορροίας τῆς οὐσίας, οὐκ ἂν ἔτι κτιστὸν οὐδὲ θεμελιωτὸν εἶναι ἐλέγετο· οὐδὲ αὐτὸς ἀγνοεῖς, κύριε, ἀληθῶς. τὸ γὰρ ἐκ τοῦ ἀγεννήτου ὑπάρχον κτιστὸν ἔτι ὑφʼ ἑτέρου ἢ ὑπʼ αὐτοῦ ἢ θεμελιωτὸν οὐκ ἂν εἴη. ἐξ ἀρχῆς ἀγέννητον ὑπάρχον.

### English translation (Claude)

But if he were from him, that is, of him, as a part of him or from an outflow of the essence, he could no longer be said to be created or established; and you yourself, my lord, are truly not unaware of this. For what exists from the unbegotten could not still be created by another, or by him, or established, since it exists unbegotten from the beginning.

### Translation notes

- The text reads ἐγεννήτου, a slip for ἀγεννήτου ('the unbegotten'), as the argument requires.

### Citation (SBL)

Eusebius of Nicomedia, Ep. Paul. 5 (Parmentier (GCS 19), 26; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/eusebius-nicomedia-epistula-paulinum/5).

## Letter to Paulinus of Tyre 6

- URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-nicomedia-epistula-paulinum/1/#p-6
- Source: Parmentier (GCS 19), 26
- Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27

Summary: He answers that 'begotten' in Scripture is used also of beings wholly unlike God.

### Greek text

εἰ δὲ τὸ γεννητὸν αὐτὸν λέγεσθαι ὑπόφασίν τινα παρέχει, ὡς ἂν ἐκ τῆς οὐσίας τῆς πατρικῆς αὐτὸν γεγονότα καὶ ἔχειν ἐκ τούτου τὴν ταὐτότητα τῆς φύσεως, γιγνώσκομεν ὡς οὐ περὶ αὐτοῦ μόνου τὸ γεννητὸν εἶναί φησιν ἡ γραφή, ἀλλὰ καὶ ἐπὶ τῶν ἀνομοίων αὐτῷ κατὰ πάντα τῇ φύσει.

### English translation (Claude)

But if his being called begotten gives some suspicion that he came into being from the Father's essence and has from it identity of nature, we know that Scripture says 'begotten' not of him alone but also of beings wholly unlike him in nature.

### Citation (SBL)

Eusebius of Nicomedia, Ep. Paul. 6 (Parmentier (GCS 19), 26; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/eusebius-nicomedia-epistula-paulinum/6).

## Letter to Paulinus of Tyre 7

- URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-nicomedia-epistula-paulinum/1/#p-7
- Source: Parmentier (GCS 19), 26
- Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27

Summary: He cites texts that call humans and even dew 'begotten' to show that the word means coming into being by God's will.

### Greek text

καὶ γὰρ καὶ ἐπʼ ἀνθρώπων φησίν· υἱοὺς ἐγέννησα καὶ ὕψωσα, αὐτοὶ δέ με ἠθέτησαν«, καὶ θεὸν τὸν γεννήσαντά σε ἐγκατέλιπες‘, καὶ ἐν ἑτέροις· »τίς«, φησί, »ὁ τετοκὼς βώλους δρόσου;« οὐ τὴν φύσιν ἐκ τῆς φύσεως διηγούμενος, ἀλλὰ τὴν ἐφʼ ἑκάστῳ τῶν γενομένων ἐκ τοῦ βουλήματος αὐτοῦ γένεσιν. οὐδὲν γάρ ἐστιν ἐκ τῆς οὐσίας αὐτοῦ, πάντα δὲ βουλήματι αὐτοῦ γενόμενα ἕκαστον, ὡς καὶ ἐγένετο, ἐστίν.

### English translation (Claude)

For it says even of human beings: "I begot sons and raised them up, but they rejected me"; and, "You forsook the God who begot you"; and in other places: "Who," it says, "is the one who has given birth to the clods of dew?" It does not describe nature born from nature, but the coming into being of each of the things that came to be by his will. For nothing is from his essence, but all things came into being by his will, each one being just as it came into being.

### Scripture references

- Isa 1:2: quotation, high confidence
- Deut 32:18: quotation, high confidence
- Job 38:28: quotation, high confidence

### Translation notes

- Quotations: Isa 1:2; Deut 32:18; Job 38:28, all in the Septuagint wording.

### Citation (SBL)

Eusebius of Nicomedia, Ep. Paul. 7 (Parmentier (GCS 19), 26; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/eusebius-nicomedia-epistula-paulinum/7).

## Letter to Paulinus of Tyre 8

- URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-nicomedia-epistula-paulinum/1/#p-8
- Source: Parmentier (GCS 19), 26
- Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27

Summary: He concludes that all things are from God through the Son, and asks Paulinus to write to Alexander of Alexandria.

### Greek text

ὁ μὲν γὰρ θεός τὰ δὲ πρὸς ὁμοιότητα αὐτοῦ λόγῳ ὅμοια ἐσόμενα, τὰ δὲ καθʼ ἑκουσιασμὸν γενόμενα· τὰ δὲ πάντα διʼ αὐτοῦ ὑπὸ τοῦ θεοῦ γενόμενα, πάντα δὲ ἐκ τοῦ θεοῦ. ἅπερ λαβὼν καὶ ἐξεργασάμενος κατὰ τὴν προσοῦσάν σοι θεόθεν χάριν, γράψαι τῷ δεσπότῃ μου Ἀλεξάνδρῳ σπούδασον· πεπίστευκα γὰρ ὡς εἰ γράψειας αὐτῷ, ἐντρέψειας αὐτόν. πρόσειπε πάντας τοὺς ἐν κυρίῳ. ἐρρωμένον σε καὶ ὑπὲρ ἡμῶν εὐχόμενον ἡ θεία χάρις διαφυλάττοι, δέσποτα.«

### English translation (Claude)

For there is God; and there are the things that will be like him in likeness by the Word, and the things that came into being by free choice; and all things came into being through him by God, and all things are from God. Take these points, work them out according to the grace given you from God, and be eager to write to my lord Alexander. For I am confident that if you write to him, you will make him think again. Greet all who are in the Lord. May the divine grace keep you in health and praying for us, my lord."

### Scripture references

- John 1:3: echo, low confidence
- 1 Cor 8:6: echo, low confidence

### Translation notes

- The opening sentence is elliptical and probably damaged in transmission; it is translated by sense. 'Through him' is probably an echo of John 1:3 and 1 Cor 8:6. 'Make him think again' renders ἐντρέψειας (literally 'turn him' or 'put him to shame'). The text reads πεπίστευδα, a slip for πεπίστευκα ('I am confident').

### Citation (SBL)

Eusebius of Nicomedia, Ep. Paul. 8 (Parmentier (GCS 19), 26; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/eusebius-nicomedia-epistula-paulinum/8).