The fragments of faith; for some articles, as the descent into hell,' and 'the communion of saints,' are not here expressly mentioned, though they may be implied; but the articles of the Trinity, the incarnation, &c., are both expressed, and carefully explained in such a manner, as shows the necessity of an explicit faith in those points, and how the doctrine of our Saviour's divinity was a prime article of the Creed from the very foundation of the Church. 4. Next after Tertullian, we have some remains of the use the Creed of the Creed in Cyprian 40: he says, both the Catholics and in Cyprian. Novatians agreed in the same form of interrogatories, which they always proposed to catechumens at their baptism; some of which were these questions in particular, whether they believed in God the Father, and in Christ his Son, and in the Holy Ghost? and whether they believed the remission of sins and life eternal was to be obtained by the holy Church?' For though, as he observes, 'the Novatians did but falsify and prevaricate as it were in these questions; there being no true Church among them to grant remission of sins; yet however they observed the same form of words, as the Church did in her Creed, and put the same questions to all that came to them for baptism.' Cyprian repeats this in another Epistle11, which is written in the name of the Council of Carthage to the bishops of Numidia, where mention is made of the same interrogatories, as generally used in the administration of baptism. From whence it appears, that not only the articles of the Trinity, but those other, which relate to the Church, and remission of sins, and eternal life, were parts of the Creed used in Cyprian's time in all the African Churches. And 40 Ep. 69. [al. 76.] ad Magnum, p. 183. (p. 296.) Quod si aliquis illud opponat, ut dicat, eandem Novatianum legem tenere, quam Catholica Ecclesia teneat, eodem symbolo quo et nos baptizare, eundem nosse Deum Patrem, eundem Filium Christum, eundem Spiritum Sanctum, ac propter hoc usurpare eum potestatem baptizandi posse, quod videatur in interrogatione baptismi a nobis non discrepare: sciat, quisquis hoc opponendum putat, primum non esse unam nobis et schismaticis sym boli legem, neque eandem interrogationem: nam cum dicunt, Credis remissionem peccatorum et vitam æternam per sanctam ecclesiam ? mentiuntur in interrogatione, quando non habeant ecclesiam. 41 Ep. 70. p. 190. (p. 301.) Sed et ipsa interrogatio, quæ sit in baptismo, testis est veritatis. Nam cum dicimus, Credis in vitam æternam et remissionem peccatorum per sanctam ecclesiam ? intelligimus remissionem peccatorum non nisi in ecclesia dari, &c. 519 except the descent into hell,' and 'the communion of saints,' which are of later date in the Creed than the times of Cyprian or Tertullian, all the other articles are taken notice of by these two primitive writers. 6 of Gregory Thauma 5. Not long after Cyprian lived Gregory, bishop of Neocæ- The Creeds sarea, commonly called Thaumaturgus. Among his works Tha published by Gerhard Vossius of Tongres we have a Creed, turgus, which he composed for the use of his own Church, or rather, as Gregory Nyssen reports in his Life, a Creed which he received in the entrance on his ministry by a vision from heaven. The form is in these words 42: There is one God, the Father of the living Word, the subsisting Wisdom and Power, the eternal express image of God, who is a perfect begetter of a Perfect, a Father of an only begotten Son. And one Lord, One of One, God of God, the character and image of the Godhead, the Word of power, the Wisdom that comprehends the whole system of the world, the Power that made every creature. The true Son of the true Father, invisible of invisible, incorruptible of incorruptible, immortal of immortal, eternal of eternal. And one Holy Ghost, who has his existence from God, who was manifested to men by the Son, the perfect image of the perfect Son, the living Cause of all living, the fountain of holiness, essential Sanctity, who is the author of holiness in all others. In whom God the Father is manifested, who is above all and in all, and God the Son, whose power runs through all things. A perfect Trinity, whose glory, eternity, and dominion is no way divided or separated from each other. In this Trinity, therefore, there is nothing created or servile, nothing ad 42 Expos. Fid. (p. I a.) ap. Greg. Nyss. (t. 3. p. 546.) Εἷς Θεὸς, Πατὴρ Λόγου ζῶντος, σοφίας ὑφεστώσης, καὶ δυνάμεως, καὶ χαρακτῆρος ἀιδίου· τέλειος τελείου Γεννήτωρ, Πατὴρ Υἱοῦ μονογενοῦς. Εἷς Κύριος, μόνος ἐκ μόνου, Θεὸς ἐκ Θεοῦ· χαρακτὴρ καὶ εἰκὼν τῆς θεότητος Λόγος ἐνεργής σοφία τῆς τῶν ὅλων συστάσεως περιεκτική· καὶ δύναμις τῆς ὅλης κτίσεως ποιητική. Υἱὸς ἀληθινὸς ἀληθινοῦ Πατρός ἀόρατος τοῦ ἀοράτου· καὶ ἄφθαρτος ἀφθάρτου· καὶ ἀθάνατος ἀθανάτου καὶ ἀἴδιος ἀϊδίου. Καὶ ἐν Πνεῦμα ἅγιον, ἐκ Θεοῦ τὴν ὕπαρξιν ἔχον· καὶ διὰ Υἱοῦ πεφηνὸς δηλαδὴ τοῖς ἀνθρώποις· εἶν ventitious or extraneous, that did not exist before, but afterward came into it. The Father was never without the Son, nor the Son without the Spirit, but the Trinity abides the same, unchangeable and invariable for ever.' This Creed is not a complete summary of the faith, but only so far as relates to the doctrine of the Holy Trinity, of which it is one of the most convincing testimonies that is to be met with in any of the Ante-Nicene Fathers; it being particularly designed against the two opposite heresies of the Samosatenians and Sabellians, the one of which denied the divinity of our Saviour, and the other his personal subsistence. Some modern Arians, following Sandius 42, have objected against it, as not genuine; but the learned Bp. Bull 43 has abundantly vindicated 42 [Nucleus Historiæ Ecclesiasticæ exhibitus in Historia Arianorum, Colon. 1676. 4to. Vid. cap. de S. Gregorio Thaumaturgo. (p. 39.) ED.] 43 Defens. Fid. Nicæn. s. 2. c. 12. n. 3. (p. 152.).... Formulam illam confessionis Catholicæ de SS. Trinitate a Gregorio revera profectam fuisse constat. Nam eidem illam tribuit non modo Ruffinus, sed et ipsius cognominis Gregorius Nyssenus, qui viri admirabilis res gestas et scripta accurate perspecta habuit, adeoque vitam ejus descripsit. Quin et rem hanc ita narrat vir eximius, ut vix quisquam cordatus de ea dubitare possit. Nimirum confessionem illam recitaturus, hæc verba præmittit: Δι ̓ ἧς μυσταγωγεῖται μέ χρι τοῦ νῦν ὁ ἐκεῖνος λαὸς, πάσης αἱρετικῆς κακίας διαμείνας ἀπείρα OTOS. i. e. Per quam (confessionem) usque in præsentem diem instituitur plebs illa, (nempe Neocæsareensis,) quæ ab omni hæretica malitia intacta remansit. Scilicet adeo certum erat, confessionem illam fidei a Gregorio Thaumaturgo profectam, ut plebs omnis civitatis Neocæsareensis, cujus episcopus et immortale decus ille fuit, illam, ut Gregorii indubie genuinam, amplexa, perque ipsam a patrum memoria usque ad Nysseni ætatem institui solita fuerit: indeque factum, ut ecclesia Neocasareensis, cum totus mundus Arianus feret, ab hæretica malitia se illæsam conservaverit. Postquam vero confessionem recitasset Nyssenus, hæc subjungit: Οτῳ δὲ φίλον περὶ τούτου πεισθῆναι, ἀκουέτω τῆς ἐκκλησίας, ἐν ᾗ τὸν λόγον ἐκήρυττεν, παρ ̓ οἷς αὐτὰ τὰ χαράγματ τα τῆς μακαρίας ἐκείνης χειρὸς εἰς ἔτι kai vov diaow¿erai, i. e. Quod si quis sibi fidem de hac re fieri cupit, audiat ecclesiam, in qua sermonem prædicabat, apud quam illa ipsa verba, a beata illa manu exarata, adhuc etiam nunc conservantur. Appellat ipsum Thaumaturgi avToypadov, a Neocæsareensibus usque ad suam ætatem religiose custoditum. Nescio sane, an ad ejusmodi traditionem aliquam confirmandam quicquam amplius desiderari possit. Ceterum Gregorii Nysseni testimonio aperte suffragari mihi videtur Basilius Magnus, ipsius frater, qui Epist. 75. ad Neocæsareenses testatur, se ab avia sua, in tenera ætate, Gregorii Thaumaturgi ipsa verba didicisse, quibus recte de fide in SS. Trinitatem institutus fuerit. Verba ejus sunt: Πίστεως δὲ τῆς ἡμετέρας τίς ἂν γένοιτο ἐναργεστέρα ἀπόδειξις, ἢ ὅτι τραφέντες ἡμεῖς ὑπὸ τίτθῃ μακαρίᾳ γυναικὶ, παρ' ὑμῶν ὁρμημένῃ· Μακαρίαν [leg. Μακρίναν] λέγω τὴν περιβόητον παρ' ἧς ἐδιδάχθημεν τὰ τοῦ μακαριωτάτου Γρηγορίου ῥήματα, ὅσα πρὸς αὐτὴν ἀκολουθίᾳ μνήμης διασωθέντα αὐτή τε ἐφύλασσε, καὶ ἡμᾶς ἔτι νηπίους ὄντας ἔπλαττε καὶ ἐμόρ the credit of it from the undeniable evidences of Gregory Nyssen and St. Basil, to whose excellent dissertation I refer the reader. 6. In the same age with Gregory Thaumaturgus lived Lucian The Creed the martyr, who suffered in the last persecution under Diocle- of Lucian the Martyr. tian. He was presbyter of the Church of Antioch, where he wrote a confession of faith in opposition to the Sabellians. The form is recorded both by Athanasius 44, and Socrates 45, and οὐδενὶ χρόνῳ ἀμαυρουμένη οὐκοῦν οὐ φου τοῖς εὐσεβείας δόγμασι. i. e. 44 De Synodis, t. I. p. 892. (t. I. part. 2. p. 587 e. n. 23.) Πιστεύομεν, ἀκολούθως τῇ εὐαγγελικῇ καὶ ἀποστολικῇ παραδόσει, εἰς ἕνα Θεόν, Πατέρα παντοκράτορα, τὸν τῶν ὅλων δημιουρ γόν τε, καὶ ποιητὴν, καὶ προνοητήν· ἐξ οὗ τὰ πάντα. Καὶ εἰς ἕνα Κύριον Ἰησοῦν Χριστὸν, τὸν Υἱὸν αὐτοῦ τὸν μονογενῆ, Θεὸν, δι' οὗ τὰ πάντα, τὸν γεννηθέντα πρὸ τῶν αἰώνων ἐκ τοῦ Πατρὸς, Θεὸν ἐκ Θεοῦ, ὅλον ἐξ ὅλου, μόνον ἐκ μόνου, τέλειον ἐκ τελείου, βασιλέα ἐκ βασι σοφίαν ζῶσαν, φῶς ἀληθινὸν, ὁδὸν, Hilary, who comments upon it, and vindicates it from the objections, which some made against it, because it was produced by the Arians in the Council of Antioch under Constantius, anno 34r: as if it had favoured their opinion; which Hilary shows it did not, though there were some expressions in it against the Sabellians, that might be wrested to an heretical sense, as any Catholic words may be, contrary to the mind of the author. The form, as delivered by St. Hilary 46, Καὶ Θεὸς ἦν ὁ Λόγος· δι ̓ οὗ τὰ πάντα ἐγένετο, καὶ ἐν ᾧ τὰ πάντα συνέστηκε" τὸν ἐπ ̓ ἐσχάτων τῶν ἡμερῶν κατελθόντα ἄνωθεν, καὶ γεννηθέντα ἐκ παρθένου, κατὰ τὰς Γραφὰς, καὶ ἄνθρωπον γενόμενον, μεσίτην Θεοῦ καὶ ἀνθρώπων, ἀπόστολόν τε τῆς πίστεως ἡμῶν, καὶ ἀρχηγὸν τῆς ζωῆς· (ὥς φησιν, "Οτι καταβέβηκα ἐκ τοῦ οὐρανοῦ, οὐχ ἵνα ποιῶ τὸ θέλημα τὸ ἐμὸν, ἀλλὰ τὸ θέλημα τοῦ πέμψαντός με) τὸν παθόντα ὑπὲρ ἡμῶν, καὶ ἀναστάντα τῇ τρίτῃ ἡμέρᾳ, καὶ ἀνελθόντα εἰς οὐρα νοὺς, καὶ καθεσθέντα ἐν δεξιᾷ τοῦ Πατρὸς, καὶ πάλιν ἐρχόμενον μετὰ δόξης καὶ δυνάμεως, κρῖναι ζῶντας καὶ νεκρούς. Καὶ εἰς τὸ Πνεῦμα τὸ ἅγιον, τὸ εἰς παράκλησιν καὶ ἁγιαστ μὸν καὶ τελείωσιν τοῖς πιστεύουσι διδόμενον, καθὼς καὶ ὁ Κύριος ἡμῶν Ἰησοῦς Χριστὸς διετάξατο τοῖς μαθηταῖς λέγων, Πορευθέντες μαθητεύσατε πάντα τὰ ἔθνη, βαπτίζοντες αὐτοὺς εἰς τὸ ὄνομα τοῦ Πατρὸς, καὶ τοῦ Υἱοῦ, καὶ ἁγίου Πνεύματος δηλονότι Πατρός ἀληθῶς Πατρὸς ὄντος, Υἱοῦ δὲ ἀληθῶς Υἱοῦ ὄντος, τοῦ δὲ ἁγίου Πνεύματος ἀληθῶς ἁγίου Πνεύματος ὄντος· τῶν ὀνομάτων οὐχ ἁπλῶς οὐδὲ ἀργῶς κειμένων, ἀλλὰ σημαινόντων ἀκριβῶς τὴν οἰκείαν ἑκάστου τῶν ὀνομαζομένων πόστασίν τε καὶ τάξιν καὶ δόξαν ὡς εἶναι τῇ μὲν ὑποστάσει Τρία, τῇ δὲ συμφωνίᾳ Εν. 45 L. 2. c. IO. (v. 2. p. 87. 37.) Where the same words are read. 46 De Synodis, p. 107. (t. 2. p. 478 b. n. 29.) Credimus consequenter evangelicæ et apostolicæ traditioni in unum Deum Patrem Omnipotentem, cunctorum quæ sunt Edificatorem et Factorem et Provisorem, ex [al. de] quo omnia. Et in unum Dominum Jesum Christum, Filium ipsius unigenitum, Deum per quem omnia, qui generatus est ex Patre, Deum ex [al. de] Deo, Totum ex Toto, Unum ex Uno, Perfectum de Perfecto, Regem de Rege, Dominum de Domino, Verbum, Sapientiam, Vitam, Lumen verum, Viam veram, Resurrectionem, Pastorem, Januam, inconvertibilem et incommutabilem, [al. immutabilem,] divinitatis essentiæque et virtutis et gloriæ incommutabilem Imaginem, primum editum totius creaturæ, qui semper fuit in principio apud Deum, Verbum Deus, juxta quod dictum est in evangelio, Et Deus erat Verbum ; per quem omnia facta sunt, et in quo omnia constant; qui in novissimis diebus descendit de summis, [al. sursum,] et natus est ex Virgine secundum Scripturas; et agnus factus est, Mediator Dei et hominum, prædestinatus fidei nostræ et dux vitæ ; dixit quippe, Non enim descendi de cœlo, ut facerem voluntatem meam, sed voluntatem ejus qui me misit. Qui passus est, et resurrexit pro nobis tertia die, et ascendit in cœlos, et sedet in dextera Patris, et iterum venturus [est] cum gloria judicare vivos et mortuos. Et in Sanctum Spiritum, qui in paraclesin et sanctificationem et consummationem credentibus datus est, juxta quod et Dominus Jesus Christus ordinavit discipulos, dicens, Pergite et docete universas gentes, baptizantes eas [al. eos] in nomine Patris et Filii et Spiritus Sancti. Manifesto [al. manifeste] utique Patris vere Patris, certaque [al. certumque] Filii vere Filii, notaque [al. et] Spiritus Sancti vere Spiritus Sancti; hisque nominibus non simpliciter, neque otiosis propositis, sed |