This letter, written in 376 or 377
A.D., illustrates Jerome's attitude towards the see of Rome at this
time held by Damasus, afterwards his warm friend and admirer.
Referring to Rome as the scene of his own baptism and as a church
where the true faith has remained unimpaired, and laying down
the strict doctrine of salvation only within the pale of the church, Jerome asks the successor of the fisherman two questions,
viz.: (1) who is the true bishop of the three claimants of the see of
Antioch, and (2) which is the correct terminology, to speak of three
hypostases in the Godhead, or of one? On the latter question he
expresses fully his own opinion.
1. Since the East, shattered as it is
by the long-standing feuds, subsisting between its peoples, is bit by
bit tearing into shreds the seamless vest of the Lord, woven from the
top throughout, John 19:23 since the foxes are destroying the
vineyard of Christ, Song of Songs 2:15 and since among the broken
cisterns that hold no water it is hard to discover the sealed
fountain and the garden inclosed, Song of Songs 4:12 I think it my
duty to consult the chair of Peter, and to turn to a church whose
faith has been praised by Paul. I appeal for spiritual food to the
church whence I have received the garb of Christ. The wide space of
sea and land that lies between us cannot deter me from searching for
the pearl of great price. Matthew 13:46 Wheresoever the body is,
there will the eagles be gathered together. Matthew 24:28 Evil
children have squandered their patrimony; you alone keep your
heritage intact. The fruitful soil of Rome, when it receives the pure
seed of the Lord, bears fruit an hundredfold; but here the seed grain
is choked in the furrows and nothing grows but darnel or oats.
Matthew 13:22-23 In the West the Sun of righteousness Malachi 4:2 is
even now rising; in the East, Lucifer, who fell from heaven, Luke
10:18 has once more set his throne above the stars. Isaiah 14:12 You
are the light of the world, Matthew 5:14 you are the salt of the
earth, Matthew 5:13 you are vessels of gold and of silver. Here are
vessels of wood or of earth, 2 Timothy 2:20 which wait for the rod of
iron, Revelation 2:27 and eternal fire.
2. Yet, though your greatness terrifies
me, your kindness attracts me. From the priest I demand the
safe-keeping of the victim, from the shepherd the protection due to
the sheep. Away with all that is overweening; let the state of Roman
majesty withdraw. My words are spoken to the successor of the
fisherman, to the disciple of the cross. As I follow no leader save
Christ, so I communicate with none but your blessedness, that is with
the chair of Peter. For this, I know, is the rock on which the church
is built! Matthew 16:18 This is the house where alone the paschal
lamb can be rightly eaten. Exodus 12:22 This is the ark of Noah, and
he who is not found in it shall perish when the flood prevails.
Genesis 7:23 But since by reason of my sins I have betaken myself to
this desert which lies between Syria and the uncivilized waste, I
cannot, owing to the great distance between us, always ask of your
sanctity the holy thing of the Lord. Consequently I here follow the
Egyptian confessors who share your faith, and anchor my frail craft
under the shadow of their great argosies. I know nothing of Vitalis;
I reject Meletius; I have nothing to do with Paulinus. He that
gathers not with you scatters; Matthew 12:30 he that is not of Christ
is of Antichrist.
3. Just now, I am sorry to say, those
Arians, the Campenses, are trying to extort from me, a Roman
Christian, their unheard-of formula of three hypostases. And this,
too, after the definition of Nicæa and the decree of Alexandria, in
which the West has joined. Where, I should like to know, are the
apostles of these doctrines? Where is their Paul, their new doctor of
the Gentiles? I ask them what three hypostases are supposed to mean.
They reply three persons subsisting. I rejoin that this is my belief.
They are not satisfied with the meaning, they demand the term. Surely
some secret venom lurks in the words. If any man refuse, I cry, to
acknowledge three hypostases in the sense of three things
hypostatized, that is three persons subsisting, let him be anathema.
Yet, because I do not learn their words, I am counted a heretic. But,
if any one, understanding by hypostasis essence, deny that in the
three persons there is one hypostasis, he has no part in Christ.
Because this is my confession I, like you, am branded with the stigma
of Sabellianism.
4. If you think fit enact a decree; and
then I shall not hesitate to speak of three hypostases. Order a new
creed to supersede the Nicene; and then, whether we are Arians or
orthodox, one confession will do for us all. In the whole range of
secular learning hypostasis never means anything but essence. And can
any one, I ask, be so profane as to speak of three essences or
substances in the Godhead? There is one nature of God and one only;
and this, and this alone, truly is. For absolute being is derived
from no other source but is all its own. All things besides, that is
all things created, although they appear to be, are not. For there
was a time when they were not, and that which once was not may again
cease to be. God alone who is eternal, that is to say, who has no
beginning, really deserves to be called an essence. Therefore also He
says to Moses from the bush, I am that I am, and Moses says of Him, I
am has sent me. Exodus 3:14 As the angels, the sky, the earth, the
seas, all existed at the time, it must have been as the absolute
being that God claimed for himself that name of essence, which
apparently was common to all. But because His nature alone is
perfect, and because in the three persons there subsists but one
Godhead, which truly is and is one nature; whosoever in the name of
religion declares that there are in the Godhead three elements, three
hypostases, that is, or essences, is striving really to predicate
three natures of God. And if this is true, why are we severed by
walls from Arius, when in dishonesty we are one with him? Let
Ursicinus be made the colleague of your blessedness; let Auxentius be
associated with Ambrose. But may the faith of Rome never come to such
a pass! May the devout hearts of your people never be infected with
such unholy doctrines! Let us be satisfied to speak of one substance
and of three subsisting persons— perfect, equal, coeternal. Let us
keep to one hypostasis, if such be your pleasure, and say nothing of
three. It is a bad sign when those who mean the same thing use
different words. Let us be satisfied with the form of creed which we
have hitherto used. Or, if you think it right that I should speak of
three hypostases, explaining what I mean by them, I am ready to
submit. But, believe me, there is poison hidden under their honey;
the angel of Satan has transformed himself into an angel of light. 2
Corinthians 11:14 They give a plausible explanation of the term
hypostasis; yet when I profess to hold it in the same sense they
count me a heretic. Why are they so tenacious of a word? Why do they
shelter themselves under ambiguous language? If their belief
corresponds to their explanation of it, I do not condemn them for
keeping it. On the other hand, if my belief corresponds to their
expressed opinions, they should allow me to set forth their meaning
in my own words.
5. I implore your blessedness,
therefore, by the crucified Saviour of the world, and by the
consubstantial trinity, to authorize me by letter either to use or to
refuse this formula of three hypostases. And lest the obscurity of my
present abode may baffle the bearers of your letter, I pray you to
address it to Evagrius, the presbyter, with whom you are well
acquainted. I beg you also to signify with whom I am to communicate
at Antioch. Not, I hope, with the Campenses; for they— with their
allies the heretics of Tarsus — only desire communion with you to
preach with greater authority their traditional doctrine of three
hypostases.
No comments:
Post a Comment