On Faith against the Arians · §1 · Eustathius of Antioch

The manhood of Christ as the way to the Father's truth and life

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Eustathius opens his treatise by presenting the manhood of Christ as the starting point of the fairest paths of righteousness, then interprets Christ's saying 'I am the way and the truth and the life.'

For the manhood of Christ has become for us the starting point of the fairest ways of righteousness, leading us to better pursuits. It fittingly joins us to the Spirit, guides us into paradise, and restores us to our proper pasture. Therefore Christ said, “I am the way and the truth and the life” (John 14:6). By the name “way” he indicates the covering according to the manhood, which belongs to bodily and visible things; for a way is a portion of earth and a perceptible ground. But the name “truth” and “life” indicates the nature of the Father; for truth is an intelligible thing that falls under neither sight nor touch.

Greek

De fide contra Arianos (fragmenta) 63 Ἀρχὴ γάρ τοι τῶν καλλίστων τῆς δικαιοσύνης ὁδῶν γεγένηται ἡμῖν ὁ ἄνθρωπος τοῦ Χριστοῦ, τοῖς κρείττοσι τῶν ἐπιτηδευμάτων προσάγων ἡμᾶς. Σεμνοπρεπῶς προσαρμόττει τῷ Πνεύματι, ξεναγεῖ εἰς τὸν παράδεισον, εἰς τὴν οἰκείαν ἀποκαθίστησι νομήν. ∆ιὸ καὶ ὁ Χριστὸς ἔλεγεν· ἐγώ εἰμι ἡ ὁδὸς καὶ ἡ ἀλήθεια καὶ ἡ ζωή. Τῷ μὲν οὖν ὀνόματι τῆς ὁδοῦ τὴν κατὰ ἄνθρωπον δηλοῖ περιβολὴν, ὅπερ ἔστι τῶν σωματικῶν καὶ τῶν ὁρατῶν· γῆς γάρ τι μόριον ἡ ὁδὸς καὶ αἰσθητὸν ἔδαφος καθέστηκε· τὸ δὲ ὄνομα τῆς ἀληθείας <καὶ> τῆς ζωῆς τὴν τοῦ Πατρὸς φύσιν· ἡ γὰρ ἀλήθεια πρᾶγμά τι νοητὸν οὔτε ὄμμασιν οὔτε ἁφῇ ὑποπίπτον.

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About this text

On Faith against the Arians attributed to Eustathius of Antioch.

Eustathius of Antioch (fl. c. 320–337) wrote this treatise in defense of the full divinity of Christ.

The controversy concerned the Arian claim that the Son of God was mutable and convertible, not from the Father's own substance, with a temporal beginning and birth from nothing. Eustathius wrote out of love for the catholic faith and initially gave the work to a friend to read, who then had it transcribed. He asked that it be circulated anonymously at first to learned and prudent men so that it could be emended by the counsel of many if anything seemed excessive or deficient.

The surviving fragment interprets Christ's saying 'I am the way and the truth and the life' from John 14:6. Eustathius argues that the name 'way' signifies the manhood of Christ, his human, bodily, visible covering, since a way is a portion of earth and a perceptible ground. The names 'truth' and 'life' signify the nature of the Father, because truth is an intelligible reality that falls under neither sight nor touch. The key terms to follow are 'way,' 'truth,' 'life,' 'the manhood of Christ,' 'covering,' 'paradise,' and 'pasture.'

Printed text used

Translated from PG 18 (Greek)

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