Orations against the Arians

Name: Orations against the Arians
Author: Eustathius of Antioch

Orationes contra Arianos

Eustathius of Antioch (fl. c. 320–337 AD) · PG 18

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Contents4 passages

1How the Arians cut Scripture, and why begotten is not created
2The Arians' selective quotation
3The Arians as mutilating false accusers
4Lawful contenders must not mutilate; created and begotten exclude each other; what has a beginning admits corruption

Author

Eustathius of Antioch (fl. c. 320–337 AD) — Bishop of Antioch at the Council of Nicaea in 325 and a firm opponent of Arius. He was deposed a few years later and died in exile.

All works by Eustathius of Antioch

About this text

Orations against the Arians attributed to Eustathius of Antioch.

Eustathius of Antioch (fl. c. 320–337) wrote this treatise against the Arians, followers of the presbyter Arius. He had been bishop of Beroea before becoming bishop of Antioch, and he was one of the most prominent opponents of Arianism at the Council of Nicaea. The surviving fragments come from a larger work in eight books, written to refute Arian claims about Christ.

The occasion is a dispute over how to read Scripture. Eustathius accuses the Arians of quoting dishonestly: they say that Christ committed sin, but they suppress the words that God was in Christ reconciling the world to himself. He calls them false accusers and says they are mutilating the biblical passage. A reader will meet Arius himself only as the named source of the movement, while the Arians appear as quoted or paraphrased opponents whose words Eustathius reports and argues against.

The argument turns on two pairs of terms. Eustathius insists that created and begotten are mutually exclusive: if Christ is created, he is not begotten, and if begotten, not created, since both cannot apply to the same nature. He then reasons that whatever has a beginning also admits an end, and whatever admits an end is capable of corruption, implying that a created Christ would be corruptible. Readers should know that the scriptural allusion is to 2 Corinthians 5:19, and that the terms created and begotten carry the technical sense of made versus begotten as rendered here.

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Translated from PG 18 (Greek)

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How the Arians cut Scripture, and why begotten is not created§1

Eustathius opens his treatise by attacking how the Arians quote Scripture about Christ, then moves to the logical incompatibility of 'created' and 'begotten.'

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1But the Arians, followers of Arius, say—as they claim—that Christ committed sin. Yet the words that God was in Christ reconciling the world to himself (2 Corinthians 5:19) they neither hold in memory nor utter aloud. Instead, like crafty false accusers and prosecutors, they mutilate the passage and then make their case for the accusation. But lawful contenders must love the truth and embrace all things without omission, not silence one part and tear away another part to present it for deception. For if Christ is created, then he is not begotten; and if he is begotten, he is not created, since both categories cannot apply to the same nature. Everything that has a beginning also admits an end, and everything that admits an end is capable of corruption.

Greek · §1

The Greek is on each section page: §1

The Arians' selective quotation§2

Eustathius is describing how the Arians quote only part of a scriptural passage about Christ, saying he committed sin while omitting the words that God was in Christ reconciling the world to himself.

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2The strange mid-chorus members of Arius's troupe say that Christ committed sin. But the words that God was in Christ reconciling the world to himself (2 Corinthians 5:19) they neither hold in memory nor speak with the instruments of the tongue.

Greek · §2

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The Arians as mutilating false accusers§3

Eustathius continues his accusation that the Arians quote Scripture dishonestly, now describing how they cut up the passage to make their case.

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3But like clever false accusers and prosecutors, they mutilate the passage and then stage their contest of accusation.

Greek · §3

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Lawful contenders must not mutilate; created and begotten exclude each other; what has a beginning admits corruption§4

Eustathius is concluding his refutation of the Arians, first stating the rule for honest use of Scripture, then arguing that 'created' and 'begotten' cannot both apply to Christ, and finally that whatever has a beginning is capable of corruption.

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4Lawful contenders who love the truth must embrace all things without omission, not silence one part and tear away another part to present it for deception. For if Christ is created, then he is not begotten; and if he is begotten, then he is not created, since both categories cannot revolve around the same nature. Everything that has a beginning also admits an end, and everything that admits an end is capable of corruption.

Greek · §4

The Greek is on each section page: §4

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