Homilies at the Council of Ephesus 73.14
Greek text: ACO I.1.2 (Greek text: E. Schwartz, ACO I.1.2 (1927), from a scanned copy supplied by the editor; the text layer is an uncorrected OCR).English: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), public domain (CC0).
Chapter 73
73.14ACO I.1.2 1.1.2
ούκ άναζίως οίκεΐ. εί δέ λέγεις" πώς ούρανόν καταλιπών έν μήτραι κατώικησεν; έρώ σοι κάγώ δτι θεός ών άνθρωπος δι' άνθρώπους έγένετο, μείνας θεός και ού μετατεθείσης ούσίας. 'Ομολογώ τοιγαροΰν τον αύτόν θεόν και ανθρωπον, θεόν μεν προ αιώνων, άνθρωπον δέ γενόμενον έκ του τόκου άρΣάμενον, ού δύο, άλλ' ένα, ού φραζόμενον ως ένα, διττόν δέ έπινοούμενον · ούδέ γάρ μάχεσθαι δει τώι λόγωι τήν έννοιαν. ού νοοΰμεν δύο, όμολογοΟμεν δέ ένα" τό γάρ οίκονομίαι και θαύματι συνημμένον ούδέ λόγος διίστησιν ούδέ έννοια. εί δέ τις έπινοίαι διαστήσειε τό συνημμένον, διαλελυμένον ένόησε και ψευδής ή έννοια γίνεται, διαστήσασα (δηλονότι) τό συνημμένον αεί. δει ουν συνομολογοΰσαν Ιχειν τώι λόγωι τήν έννοιαν. ίνα λέγεις Χριστόν, τόν αύτόν θεόν και άνθρωπον; ούκοΰν ένα και νόει. εί δέ λέγεις μέν ένα, έπινοεΐς δέ δύο, τώι λόγωι σου πολεμούσαν Ιχεις τήν έννοιαν. μή ουν λέγε δύο διαφοράι τινι διιστάμενα. εί γάρ ένοίς τώι λόγωι, μή τέμηις τήι έννοίαι· εί δέ τέμνεις ταΐς έννοίαις, τήν ένωσιν ήρνησαι. μή oöv προς φύσεις διισταμένας καταγάγηις τόν λογισμόν, θεοΰ τήν άκραν θαυματουργήσαντος ένωσιν. πίστευε τώι θαύματι και μή έρεύνα λογισμοΐς τό γενόμενον. μή καταλύσηις τό θαΰμα, εύρεΐν τόν λόγον φιλονεικών ού γάρ μένει τό θαΰμα ού ό λόγος γνωρίζεται. εί του γενομένου γνώριμος ό λόγος, ούκέτι σημεΐον ούδέ θαΰμα τό γεγονός" εί δέ σημεΐον καί θαΰμα, καταλιπών λογισμούς τήν πίστιν άνάλαβε, όμολογών ένα κύριον Ίησοΰν Χριστόν και θεόν και ανθρωπον τον αυτόν ουδέ έπινοίαις ουδέ λογισμοΐς διιστάμενον, ίνα μή τά ένωθέντα λογισμοΐς διαστήσαντες οίκονομίαν σωτήριον άρνησώμεθα. γαρ ένωσις θεοΟ και άνθρωπου δια της οικονομίας γνωρίζεται, ό την ένωσιν διαστήσας την οίκονομίαν ήρνήσατο. πιστεύσωμεν ούν της οικονομίας τοις θαύμασιν, 'ίνα πιστευθείς ό Χριστός τοις όμολογοΟσι ταύτην την χάριν βασιλείαν ουρανών δωρήσηται, ής γένοιτο πάντας ήμάς έπιτυχεΐν χάριτι του Χριστού, ώι ή δόξα εις τους αιώνας, αμήν.
ouk anaziōs oikeï. ei de legeis" pōs ouranon katalipōn en mētrai katōikēsen? erō soi kagō dti theos ōn anthrōpos di' anthrōpous egeneto, meinas theos kai ou metatetheisēs ousias. 'Omologō toigaroÿn ton auton theon kai anthrōpon, theon men pro aiōnōn, anthrōpon de genomenon ek tou tokou arSamenon, ou dyo, all' ena, ou phrazomenon ōs ena, ditton de epinooumenon ; oude gar machesthai dei tōi logōi tēn ennoian. ou nooÿmen dyo, omologoOmen de ena" to gar oikonomiai kai thaumati synēmmenon oude logos diistēsin oude ennoia. ei de tis epinoiai diastēseie to synēmmenon, dialelymenon enoēse kai pseudēs ē ennoia ginetai, diastēsasa (dēlonoti) to synēmmenon aei. dei oun synomologoÿsan Ichein tōi logōi tēn ennoian. ina legeis Christon, ton auton theon kai anthrōpon? oukoÿn ena kai noei. ei de legeis men ena, epinoeïs de dyo, tōi logōi sou polemousan Icheis tēn ennoian. mē oun lege dyo diaphorai tini diistamena. ei gar enois tōi logōi, mē temēis tēi ennoiai; ei de temneis taïs ennoiais, tēn enōsin ērnēsai. mē oov pros physeis diistamenas katagagēis ton logismon, theoÿ tēn akran thaumatourgēsantos enōsin. pisteue tōi thaumati kai mē ereuna logismoïs to genomenon. mē katalysēis to thaÿma, eureïn ton logon philoneikōn ou gar menei to thaÿma ou o logos gnōrizetai. ei tou genomenou gnōrimos o logos, ouketi sēmeïon oude thaÿma to gegonos" ei de sēmeïon kai thaÿma, katalipōn logismous tēn pistin analabe, omologōn ena kyrion Iēsoÿn Christon kai theon kai anthrōpon ton auton oude epinoiais oude logismoïs diistamenon, ina mē ta enōthenta logismoïs diastēsantes oikonomian sōtērion arnēsōmetha. gar enōsis theoO kai anthrōpou dia tēs oikonomias gnōrizetai, o tēn enōsin diastēsas tēn oikonomian ērnēsato. pisteusōmen oun tēs oikonomias tois thaumasin, 'ina pisteutheis o Christos tois omologoOsi tautēn tēn charin basileian ouranōn dōrēsētai, ēs genoito pantas ēmas epitycheïn chariti tou Christou, ōi ē doxa eis tous aiōnas, amēn.
dwells not unworthily. And if you say: How did he leave heaven and dwell in a womb? I in turn will tell you that, being God, he became man for the sake of human beings, remaining God, his essence not being displaced. I confess, therefore, the same as God and man: God before the ages, and man having come to be, beginning from the birth; not two, but one; not spoken of as one while thought of as twofold, for thought must not fight against speech. We do not think of two while confessing one; for what is joined by economy and wonder neither speech nor thought separates. But if anyone separates in thought what is joined, he has thought of it as dissolved, and the thought becomes false, having separated (evidently) what is always joined. Thought, then, must be in agreement with speech. Do you say that Christ is one, the same God and man? Then think of him as one too. But if you say one and think two, you have your thought at war with your speech. Do not, then, speak of two separated by some difference. For if you unite in speech, do not cut in thought; and if you cut in thoughts, you have denied the union. Do not, then, bring your reasoning down to separated natures, when God has worked the highest union. Believe the wonder and do not search out by reasonings what happened. Do not destroy the wonder by striving to find its reason; for where the reason is known the wonder does not remain. If the reason of what happened is known, what happened is no longer a sign or a wonder; but if it is a sign and a wonder, leave reasonings behind and take up faith, confessing one Lord Jesus Christ, the same both God and man, separated neither by thoughts nor by reasonings, so that we may not, by separating in reasonings what is united, deny the saving economy. For since the union of God and man is known through the economy, the one who separates the union has denied the economy. Let us then believe the wonders of the economy, so that Christ, being believed, may grant the kingdom of heaven to those who confess this grace; which may we all obtain by the grace of Christ, to whom be glory forever. Amen.
Notes and citation
Summary: Theodotus confesses one Christ, the same God and man, and warns that dividing him even in thought denies the economy of salvation.
- '(Evidently)' is the editor's addition, translated. 'For since' is translated by sense where the first word of the sentence is lost in the digital text.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (OCR slip; leaked marginal reference inside word; line marker; line number inside word): άνθρωΜ ν 204 πον → άνθρωπον; συνομο- 25 λογοΰσαν → συνομολογοΰσαν; έννοίαΓ → έννοίαι·; θαυματουργήσαν-30 τος → θαυματουργήσαντος; ούκέπ → ούκέτι; ανθραιπον → ανθρωπον; σωτήρων → σωτήριον; ?νωσις → ένωσις; ής γένοιτο s πάντας → ής γένοιτο πάντας.
Topics: Christology, Heresy, Christological controversies
Cite (SBL): Theodotus of Ancyra, Hom. 73.14 (ACO I.1.2 1.1.2; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/theodotus-ancyra-homiliae/73-14). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/theodotus-ancyra-homiliae/73-14
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Translation: Translated by Claude from Schwartz, Acta Conciliorum Oecumenicorum (text layer of the printed volumes, OCR slips corrected by logged corrections). No public-domain or FOTC English exists; re-read against the original.