The Council of Antioch held in AD 268 was a regional synod convened to address serious doctrinal and ecclesiastical controversies arising from the teaching and conduct of Paul of Samosata, who at the time served as bishop of Antioch, one of the most important sees of the Eastern Church. The synod represents one of the most significant pre-Nicene attempts to articulate orthodox Christology in response to teachings perceived as undermining the divinity of Christ.
Paul of Samosata was accused of promoting a form of dynamic monarchianism (also called adoptionism), according to which Jesus Christ was regarded as a mere man who was indwelt or empowered by the divine Logos, rather than being the eternal Son of God existing personally before the incarnation. This teaching was seen as incompatible with the Church’s inherited confession of Christ as pre-existent, divine, and actively involved in creation.
This final formally deposed Paul of Samosata, condemned his doctrine, and produced doctrinal statements affirming the preexistence, divinity, and real personal subsistence of the Son of God.
I will provide both the Greek and English translation of the Council.
Here is a summary of the council:
- The Son existed before the ages as God in essence
- Anyone who asserts otherwise is not a Christian.
- The Son and Father are not 2 Gods but 1.
- Genesis 1:26 is the Father and the Son
- All creation was made by the Son.
- Proverbs 8 is about the Son.
- Jesus is the subsisting activity (power) of the Father.
- The 2 YHWH’s of Genesis 19:24 is the Father and he Son.
- The Son is the Angel of the Lord who appeared to the Patriarchs.
- The Son is the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.
- The YHWH in Exodus 33:22 is the Son.
- The Son became incarnate.
- The Son is both God and Man.
First, here’s the Greek text in Hahn’s Bibliothek der Symbole und Glaugensregeln der Alten Kirche, pp.178-182. [Please note, the numbers added to each paragraph are all my additions].
1. Ἔδοξεν ἡμῖν ἐγγράφως τὴν πίστιν, ἣν ἐξ ἀρχῆς παρελάβομεν καὶ ἔχομεν, παραδοθεῖσαν καὶ τηρουμένην ἐν τῇ καθολικῇ καὶ ἁγίᾳ Ἐκκλησίᾳ μέχρι τῆς σήμερον ἡμέρας, ἐκ διαδοχῆς τῶν μακαρίων ἀποστόλων, οἳ καὶ αὐτόπται καὶ ὑπηρέται γεγόνασι τοῦ λόγου, καταγγελλομένην ἐκ νόμου καὶ προφητῶν καὶ τῆς καινῆς διαθήκης, αὐτὴν ἐκθέσθαι.
1. It seemed good to us to set forth in writing the faith which we have received from the beginning and which we possess, handed down and preserved in the catholic and holy Church up to the present day, through the succession of the blessed apostles, who were both eyewitnesses and ministers of the Word, proclaimed from the Law and the Prophets and from the New Covenant, to set this forth.2. Ὅτι ὁ Θεὸς ἀγέννητος, εἷς, ἄναρχος, ἀόρατος, ἀναλλοίωτος, ὃν εἶδεν οὐδεὶς ἀνθρώπων οὐδὲ ἰδεῖν δύναται, οὗ τὴν δόξαν ἢ τὸ μέγεθος νοῆσαι ἢ ἐξεικάσαι καθὼς ἐστὶν ἀξίως τῆς ἀληθείας, ἀνθρωπίνῃ φύσει ἀνέφικτον, ἔννοιαν δὲ καὶ ὅπως ἂν μετρίαν περὶ αὐτοῦ λαβεῖν, ἀγαπήτου ἀποκαλύπτοντος τοῦ Υἱοῦ αὐτοῦ, καθά φησιν· Οὐδεὶς ἔγνω τὸν Πατέρα εἰ μὴ ὁ Υἱός, καὶ ᾧ ἐὰν ὁ Υἱὸς ἀποκαλύψῃ.
2. That God is unbegotten, one, without beginning, invisible, unchangeable—whom no human being has seen nor is able to see—whose glory or magnitude to comprehend or to depict as it truly is, in a manner worthy of the truth, is impossible for human nature; yet to receive some limited understanding concerning Him is possible when His beloved Son reveals Him, as He says: “No one has known the Father except the Son, and anyone to whom the Son may reveal Him.” (Mat 11:27)3. Τοῦτον δὲ τὸν Υἱόν, γεννητόν, μονογενῆ Υἱόν, εἰκόνα τοῦ ἀοράτου Θεοῦ τυγχάνοντα, πρωτότοκον πάσης κτίσεως, σοφίαν καὶ λόγον καὶ δύναμιν Θεοῦ, πρὸ αἰώνων ὄντα, οὐ προγνώσει ἀλλ’ οὐσίᾳ καὶ ὑποστάσει Θεόν, Θεοῦ Υἱόν, ἐν τε παλαιᾷ καὶ νέᾳ διαθήκῃ ἐγνωκότες ὁμολογοῦμεν καὶ κηρύσσομεν.
3. And this Son—begotten, the only-begotten Son—being the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation, the wisdom and Word and power of God, existing before the ages, not by foreknowledge but in essence and in hypostasis God, the Son of God—known in both the Old and the New Covenant, we confess and proclaim.4. Ὁ δ’ 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.
4. But whoever opposes this, saying that the Son of God was not God before the foundation of the world, while claiming that belief and confession of two gods is proclaimed if the Son of God is preached as God, we regard such a person as alien to the ecclesiastical rule.5. Περὶ γὰρ τούτου γέγραπται· ὁ θρόνος σου, ὁ Θεός… καὶ πάλιν· Ἠσαΐας· ὁ Θεὸς ἡμῶν κρίσιν ἀνταποδώσει… καὶ πάλιν· ἐν σοὶ προσκυνοῦνται, ὅτι ἐν σοὶ ὁ Θεός ἐστι, καὶ οὐκ ἔστι Θεὸς πλὴν σοῦ…
5. For concerning this it is written: “Your throne, O God …”; (Heb 1:8) and again: Isaiah: “Our God will repay judgment …” (Isa 35:4); and again: “They worship in you, because in you God is, and there is no God except you …” (Isa 45:14)6. καὶ παρὰ τῷ ἀποστόλῳ· ἐξ ὧν ὁ Χριστὸς τὸ κατὰ σάρκα, ὁ ὢν ἐπὶ πάντων Θεὸς εὐλογητὸς εἰς τοὺς αἰῶνας· ἀμήν.
6. And again from the Apostle: “From whom is the Christ according to the flesh, who is over all, God blessed forever. Amen.” (Rom 9:5)7. τοῦ ὁ ὢν ἐπὶ πάντων, καὶ τοῦ πλὴν σοῦ, νοουμένου ἐπὶ πάντων γεννητῶν, καὶ ἐν τῷ Ὡσηὲ· διότι ὁ Θεὸς ἐγώ εἰμι…
7. The expressions “who is over all” and except you (are understood as referring to all created beings; and again in Hosea: “For I am God …”8. καὶ πᾶσαι αἱ θεόπνευστοι γραφαὶ Θεὸν τὸν Υἱὸν τοῦ Θεοῦ μηνύουσιν, ἃς καθ’ ἑκάστην παρατιθέμεθα τὸν Υἱόν (?), ὃ προτιθέμεθα.
8. And all the God-inspired Scriptures make known God the Son of God, which we set forth one by one, presenting the Son (?), which is what we intend to do.9. Τοῦτον πιστεύομεν οὖν τῷ Πατρὶ ἀεὶ ὄντα ἐκπεπληρωκέναι τὸ πατρικὸν βούλημα πρὸς τὴν κτίσιν τῶν ὅλων· αὐτὸς γὰρ εἶπεν, καὶ ἐγενήθησαν· αὐτὸς ἐνετείλατο, καὶ ἐκτίσθησαν. ὁ δὲ ἐντελλόμενος ἑτέρῳ ἐντέλλεται τινί, ὃν οὐκ ἄλλον πεπείσμεθα ἢ τὸν μονογενῆ Υἱὸν τοῦ Θεοῦ, Θεόν, ᾧ καὶ εἶπεν· ποιήσωμεν ἄνθρωπον κατ’ εἰκόνα καὶ καθ’ ὁμοίωσιν ἡμετέραν.
9. We therefore believe that this one, being always with the Father, has fulfilled the Father’s will with respect to the creation of all things. For he himself spoke, and they came to be; he himself commanded, and they were created. Now the one who gives commands gives them 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 the human being according to our image and according to our likeness.” (Gen 1:26)10. ἐν κεφαλαίῳ δὲ κατὰ τὸ εὐαγγέλιον· πάντα δι’ αὐτοῦ ἐγένετο, καὶ χωρὶς αὐτοῦ ἐγένετο οὐδὲ ἕν· καὶ κατὰ τὸν ἀπόστολον· ἐν αὐτῷ ἐκτίσθη τὰ πάντα, τὰ ἐν τοῖς οὐρανοῖς καὶ τὰ ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς, εἴτε ὁρατὰ εἴτε ἀόρατα, εἴτε θρόνοι εἴτε ἀρχαὶ εἴτε κυριότητες εἴτε ἐξουσίαι, πάντα δι’ αὐτοῦ καὶ εἰς αὐτὸν ἔκτισται.
10. And in summary, according to the Gospel: “All things came to be through him, and apart from him not one thing came to be”; (John 1:3) and according to the Apostle: “In him all things were created, the things in the heavens and the things on the earth, whether visible or invisible, whether thrones or rulers or dominions or authorities— all things have been created through him and for him.” (Col 1:16)11. οὕτω δὲ ὡς ἀληθῶς ὄντος καὶ ἐνεργοῦντος, ὡς Λόγου ἅμα καὶ Θεοῦ, δι’ οὗ ὁ Πατὴρ πάντα πεποίηκεν, οὐχ ὡς δι’ ὀργάνου, οὐδ’ ὡς δι’ 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.
11. Thus, as one who truly exists and truly acts, as both Word and God together—through whom the Father has made all things—not as through an instrument, nor as through an impersonal or unsubstantial faculty of knowledge, but the Father having begotten the Son as a living and subsistent activity, active in all things and in all— not merely observing, nor merely being present, but actively working toward the creation of all things, as it is written: “I was beside him, fitting things together.”12. τοῦτον λέγομεν καταβάντα καὶ ὀφθέντα τῷ Ἀβραὰμ πρὸς τῇ δρυῒ τῇ Μαμβρῇ, ἕνα τῶν τριῶν, ᾧ ὡς Κυρίῳ καὶ Κριτῇ ὁ πατριάρχης διελέγετο, ἅτε τὴν κρίσιν ἅπασαν εἰληφότος παρὰ τοῦ Πατρός· περὶ οὗ γέγραπται· Κύριος ἔβρεξεν ἐπὶ Σόδομα καὶ Γόμορρα πῦρ καὶ θεῖον παρὰ Κυρίου ἐκ τοῦ οὐρανοῦ.
12. This one, we say, descended and appeared to Abraham by the oak of Mamre, as one of the three, with whom the patriarch conversed as with Lord and Judge, since he had received all judgment from the Father; concerning whom it is written: “The Lord rained upon Sodom and Gomorrah fire and brimstone from the Lord out of heaven.” (Gen 19:24)13, τοῦτον λέγομεν εἶναι, ὃς ἐκπληρῶν τὴν πατρικὴν βουλήν τοῖς πατριάρχαις φαίνεται καὶ διαλέγεται ἐν ταῖς αὐταῖς περικοπαῖς καὶ τοῖς αὐτοῖς κεφαλαίοις, ποτὲ μὲν ὡς ἄγγελος, ποτὲ δὲ ὡς Κύριος, ποτὲ δὲ Θεὸς μαρτυρούμενος.
13. This one we say is he who, while fulfilling the Father’s will, appears to the patriarchs and speaks with them in the same passages and the same narratives—at one time being witnessed as an angel, at another as Lord, and at another as God.14. τὸν μὲν γὰρ Θεὸν τῶν ὅλων ἀσεβὲς ἄγγελον νομίσαι καλεῖσθαι· ὁ δὲ ἄγγελος τοῦ Πατρὸς ὁ Υἱός ἐστιν, αὐτὸς Κύριος καὶ Θεὸς ὤν. γέγραπται γὰρ· Μεγάλης βουλῆς ἄγγελος, ὡς καὶ ἐν ἄλλοις πρὸς τὸν Ἀβραάμ· καὶ ἐκάλεσεν αὐτὸν ἄγγελος Κυρίου ἐκ τοῦ οὐρανοῦ, καὶ ἑξῆς· νῦν γὰρ ἔγνων ὅτι φοβῇ σὺ τὸν Θεόν, καὶ οὐκ ἐφείσω τοῦ Υἱοῦ σου τοῦ ἀγαπητοῦ δι’ ἐμέ.
14. For it would be impious to think that the God of all is called an angel; rather, the Angel of the Father is the Son, who himself is Lord and God. For it is written: “Angel of great counsel,” (Isa 9:6 LXX) as also in other passages concerning Abraham: “And the angel of the Lord called to him from heaven,” and what follows: “Now I know that you fear God, since you have not withheld your beloved son for my sake.” (Gen 22:12)15. καὶ ἐκάλεσεν τὸ ὄνομα τοῦ τόπου· Κύριος εἶδεν· ἵνα εἴπωσι σήμερον· ἐν τῷ ὄρει Κύριος ὤφθη.
15. And he called the name of that place: “The Lord has seen,” so that they may say today: “On the mountain the Lord [YHWH in Hebrew] was seen.” (Gen 22:14)16. καὶ ἐπὶ τοῦ Ἰακώβ· καὶ εἶπέ μοι, φησίν, ὁ ἄγγελος τοῦ Θεοῦ καθ’ ὕπνον· Ἰακώβ· ἐγὼ εἶπα· Τί ἐστιν; καὶ εἶπεν· Ἀνάβλεψον τοῖς ὀφθαλμοῖς σου καὶ τὰ ἑξῆς· Ἐγώ εἰμι ὁ Θεὸς ὁ ὀφθείς σοι ἐν τόπῳ Θεοῦ, οὗ ἤλειψάς μοι ἐκεῖ στήλην καὶ ηὔξω μοι ἐκεῖ εὐχήν.
16. And concerning Jacob: “And the angel of God said to me in a dream, ‘Jacob.’ I said, ‘What is it?’ And he said, ‘Lift up your eyes and see… I am the God who appeared to you at the place of God, where you anointed a pillar for me and made a vow to me there.’” (Gen 31:13)17. καὶ μετὰ τὴν πάλην ἐπάγεται· καὶ ἐκάλεσεν Ἰακὼβ τὸ ὄνομα τοῦ τόπου ἐκείνου Εἶδος Θεοῦ· εἶδον γὰρ Θεὸν πρόσωπον πρὸς πρόσωπον, καὶ ἐσώθη μου ἡ ψυχή.
17. And after the wrestling it continues: “And Jacob called the name of that place ‘Vision of God,’ for I have seen God face to face, and my life has been preserved.” (Gen 32:30)18. Ἀνθρώπων δὲ τὸν προγεγραμμένον λέγομεν ὄντα Υἱὸν τοῦ Θεοῦ· ὃν Θεὸν ἡ αὐτὴ γραφὴ μεμήνυκεν. ἀλλὰ μὴν καὶ τὸν νόμον ὁμοίως Μωϋσεῖ φαμὲν δεδοσθαι, διακονοῦντος τοῦ Υἱοῦ τοῦ Θεοῦ, ὡς ὁ ἀπόστολος διδάσκει λέγων·
18. But among human beings we say that the one previously written about is the Son of God—
whom the same Scripture has made known to be God.
And indeed we also say that the Law likewise was given to Moses through the ministry of the Son of God, as the Apostle teaches when he says:19. Τί οὖν ὁ νόμος; τῶν παραβάσεων χάριν προσετέθη, ἄχρις οὗ ἔλθῃ τὸ σπέρμα ᾧ ἐπήγγελται, διαταγεὶς δι’ ἀγγέλων ἐν χειρὶ μεσίτου.
19. “Why then the Law? It was added because of transgressions, until the seed should come to whom the promise had been made, having been ordained through angels by the hand of a mediator.” (Gal 3:19)20. μεσίτην γὰρ ἄλλον οὐκ ἴσμεν Θεοῦ καὶ ἀνθρώπων, ἢ τοῦτον.
20. For we know of no other mediator between God and human beings except this one.21. διδασκόμεθα δὲ καὶ ταῦτα διὰ τοῦ Μωϋσέως· ὤφθη δὲ αὐτῷ ἄγγελος Κυρίου ἐν φλογὶ πυρὸς ἐκ τῆς βάτου· καὶ ἐκάλεσεν αὐτὸν Κύριος ἐκ τῆς βάτου.
21. And we are taught these things also through Moses:
an Angel of the Lord appeared to him in a flame of fire out of the bush, and the Lord called to him from the bush. (Exodus 3:2)22. καὶ πάλιν· εἰσελθὼν σύναγε τὴν γερουσίαν τῶν υἱῶν Ἰσραήλ, καὶ ἐρεῖς πρὸς αὐτούς· Κύριος ὁ Θεὸς τῶν πατέρων ἡμῶν ὤφθη μοι, ὁ Θεὸς Ἀβραὰμ καὶ ὁ Θεὸς Ἰσαὰκ καὶ ὁ Θεὸς Ἰακώβ, καὶ τὰ ἑξῆς.
22. And again:
“Go in, gather the council of the sons of Israel, and you shall say to them:
‘The Lord, the God of our fathers, appeared to me—the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob,’” and what follows. (Exo 3:16)23. ἐὰν οὖν μὴ πιστεύσωσί μοι μηδὲ εἰσακούσωσι τῆς φωνῆς μου (ἐροῦσι γάρ· Οὐκ ὤφθη σοι Κύριος ὁ Θεός), τί ἐρῶ πρὸς αὐτούς;
23. “If therefore they do not believe me nor listen to my voice (for they will say, ‘The Lord God did not appear to you’), what shall I say to them?” (Exo 4:9)24. καὶ ἐν ταῖς εὐλογίαις· κατὰ τὰ δικαιώματα τῷ ὀφθέντι ἐν τῇ βάτῳ ἐλθόντι ἐπὶ τὸν λόγον σου τοῦτον ὃν εἴρηκας ποιήσω.
24. And in the blessings:
“According to the ordinances, to the one who appeared in the bush—who came in response to your word—this I will do, which you have spoken.”25. καὶ εἶπεν· Δεῖξόν μοι τὴν δόξαν σου. καὶ εἶπεν· Ἐγὼ παρελεύσομαι πρότερός σου τῇ δόξῃ μου, καὶ καλέσω ἐν ὀνόματι Κυρίου ἐναντίον σου, καὶ ἐλεήσω ὃν ἂν ἐλεῶ, καὶ οἰκτειρήσω ὃν ἂν οἰκτείρω.
25. And he said: “Show me your glory.”
And he said: “I will pass before you in my glory, and I will proclaim the name of the Lord before you; and I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion.” (Exo 33:22)26. ὅπερ τελειοῦται οὕτως· καὶ κατέβη Κύριος ἐν νεφέλῃ καὶ παρέστη αὐτῷ ἐκεῖ, καὶ ἐκάλεσεν ἐν ὀνόματι Κυρίου.
26. Which is fulfilled thus:
the Lord came down in a cloud and stood there with him, and he proclaimed the name of the Lord.27. καὶ παρῆλθε Κύριος πρὸ προσώπου αὐτοῦ καὶ ἐκάλεσε· Κύριος ὁ Θεός.
27. And the Lord passed before him and proclaimed: “The Lord God.”28. ὁ γὰρ ἄνω παρελεύσεσθαι ἐπαγγειλάμενος Υἱὸς τοῦ Θεοῦ Κύριος, καὶ ἐκάλεσεν ἐν ὀνόματι Κυρίου τοῦ Πατρός.
28. For the Son of God—the Lord—who above had promised that he would pass by, proclaimed in the name of the Lord, that is, of the Father.29. οὗτός ἐστιν ὁ καὶ ἀληθεύει λέγων· οὐχ ὅτι τὸν Πατέρα τις ἑώρακεν, εἰ μὴ ὁ ὢν παρὰ τοῦ Πατρός, οὗτος ἑώρακεν τὸν Πατέρα.
29. This is the one who also speaks truthfully, saying:
“Not that anyone has seen the Father, except the one who is from the Father—he has seen the Father.” (Matt 11:27)30. καὶ ἐν τῷ αὐτῷ εὐαγγελίῳ· οὔτε φωνὴν αὐτοῦ πώποτε ἀκηκόατε, οὔτε εἶδος αὐτοῦ ἑωράκατε.
30. And in the same Gospel:
“You have neither ever heard his voice nor seen his form.” (John 5:37)31. καὶ· Θεὸν οὐδεὶς ἑώρακεν πώποτε· ὁ μονογενὴς Υἱός, ὁ ὢν εἰς τὸν κόλπον τοῦ Πατρός, ἐκεῖνος ἐξηγήσατο· τῷ βασιλεῖ τῶν αἰώνων, ἀφθάρτῳ, ἀοράτῳ, μόνῳ σοφῷ Θεῷ.
31. And:
“No one has ever seen God; the only-begotten Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, he has made him known— (John 1:18)
to the King of the ages, incorruptible, invisible, the only wise God.”32. Τὸν δὲ Υἱὸν παρὰ τῷ Πατρὶ ὄντα, Θεὸν μὲν καὶ Κύριον τῶν γεννητῶν ἁπάντων, ὑπὸ δὲ τοῦ Πατρὸς ἀποσταλέντα ἐξ οὐρανῶν καὶ σαρκωθέντα ἐνηνθρωπημένον σῶμα, χωρῆσαν πᾶν τὸ πλήρωμα τῆς θεότητος σωματικῶς, τῇ θεότητι ἀτρέπτως ἡνῶσθαι καὶ τεθεοποιῆσθαι.
32. And the Son, being with the Father—God indeed and Lord of all created beings—sent by the Father from the heavens and made flesh, having become truly human in a body that contained the whole fullness of the Godhead bodily, is united to the Godhead without change and has been deified.33. 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 ἴσα Θεῷ, ἄνθρωπος δὲ καὶ ἐκ σπέρματος Δαυὶδ τὸ κατὰ σάρκα.
33. For this reason the same Jesus Christ, God and man, was foretold in the Law and the Prophets, and is believed in throughout the whole Church under heaven: God, having emptied himself from being equal with God (Phil 2:5-11), and man, being of the seed of David according to the flesh.34. τὰ μὲν σημεῖα καὶ τὰ τέρατα τὰ ἐν τοῖς Εὐαγγελίοις ἀναγεγραμμένα Θεὸς ἦν ἐπιτελέσας, τὸ δὲ σαρκὸς καὶ αἵματος μετεσχηκέναι τὸν αὐτὸν πεπειραμένον κατὰ πάντα καθ’ ὁμοιότητα χωρὶς ἁμαρτίας.
34. The signs and wonders recorded in the Gospels were performed by him as God, yet the sharing in flesh and blood belonged to the same one who was tested in every respect according to likeness, apart from sin.35. αὐτὸς καὶ ὁ Χριστὸς πρὸ τῆς σαρκώσεως ἐν ταῖς θείαις γραφαῖς ὡς εἷς ὠνομάσθη.
35. This same Christ was also named as one even before the incarnation in the divine Scriptures.36. ἐν μὲν Ἰερεμίᾳ· Πνεῦμα προσώπου ἡμῶν Χριστὸς Κύριου.
36. In Jeremiah: “The Spirit of our face, Christ our Lord.” (Lam 4:20 LXX)37. ὁ δὲ Κύριος τὸ Πνεῦμά ἐστι, κατὰ τὸν Ἀπόστολον.
37. And according to the Apostle: “The Lord is the Spirit.” (2 Cor 3:17)38. κατὰ δὲ τὸν αὐτόν· ἔπινον γὰρ ἐκ πνευματικῆς πέτρας, ἡ δὲ πέτρα ἦν ὁ Χριστός.
38. And again, according to the same: “For they drank from a spiritual rock, and the rock was Christ.” (1 Cor 10:4)39. καὶ πάλιν· μηδὲ ἐκπειράζωμεν τὸν Κύριον, καθὼς τινὲς αὐτὸν ἐξεπείρασαν καὶ ὑπὸ τῶν ὄφεων ἀπώλλυντο.
39. And again:“Let us not put the Lord to the test, as some of them tested him and were destroyed by serpents.” (1 Cor 10:9)40. καὶ περὶ Μωϋσέως· μείζονα πλοῦτον ἡγησάμενος τῶν Αἰγύπτου θησαυρῶν τὸν ὀνειδισμὸν τοῦ Χριστοῦ.
40. And concerning Moses: “He considered the reproach of Christ greater wealth than the treasures of Egypt.” (Heb 11:26)41. καὶ ὁ Πέτρος· περὶ ἧς σωτηρίας ἐξεζήτησαν καὶ ἐξηραύνησαν προφῆται, οἱ περὶ τῆς εἰς ἡμᾶς χάριτος προφητεύσαντες, ἐρευνῶντες εἰς τίνα ἢ ποῖον καιρὸν ἐδήλου τὸ ἐν αὐτοῖς Πνεῦμα Χριστοῦ.
41. And Peter says: “Concerning which salvation the prophets sought and searched diligently, who prophesied about the grace that was to come to you, searching to learn what person or time the Spirit of Christ in them was indicating.” (1 Peter 1:10)42. εἰ δὲ Χριστὸς Θεοῦ δύναμις καὶ Θεοῦ σοφία πρὸ αἰώνων ἐστίν, αὐτὸς καὶ καθ’ ἑαυτὸν Χριστὸς ἓν καὶ τὸ αὐτὸ ὢν τῇ οὐσίᾳ, εἰ καὶ τὰ μάλιστα πολλαῖς ἐπινοίαις ἐπινοεῖται.
42. And if Christ is the power of God and the wisdom of God before the ages, then he himself, being Christ in and of himself, is one and the same in essence, even though he is conceived under many distinct conceptual descriptions.
This, they say, is what has been passed down from the Apostles themselves. And it is still preserved to this very day.