Acacius of Beroea to Cyril (CPG 6479/8626)
| Reference: | CPG 6479/8626 |
| Incipit: | Ἐνέτυχον γράμμασι |
| Date: | mid-430 |
| Greek Text: | ACO 1.1.1:99-100 |
| Latin Text: | ACO 1.3:39-40 |
| English Translation: | FCC: J. Winkel; Price, CE #6; McEnerney, FC 76:75-77 |
The English translation below was produced by J. Winkel for FCC. For information about the historical context of this letter and its connection to the escalating Christological controversy of the time, click here.
| A letter of Acacius, bishop of Beroea, written to Cyril, archbishop of Alexandria, concerning the disorder of the churches which wicked Nestorius, who teaches erroneously, has introduced to them. | Acacii Episcopi Beroeae epistula scripta ad Cyrillum archiepiscopum Alexandriae de turba ecclesiarum quam intulit eis impius Nestorius male docens. | |
| Τῷ δεσπότῃ μου τῷ τὰ πάντα ἁγιωτάτῳ καὶ θεοφιλεστάτῳ ἐπισκόπῳ Κυρίλλῳ Ἀκάκιος ἐν κυρίῳ χαίρειν. | To my lord, the highly devout and most God-beloved bishop Cyril, Acacius sends greetings in the Lord. | Domino meo per omnia sancto et deoamantissimo episcopo Cyrillo Acacius in domino salutem. |
| Ἐνέτυχον γράμμασι τῆς σῆς θεοσεβείας ἐκ τοῦ σύνεγγυς ἡμῖν ἀποδοθεῖσιν ἀπευκτοῖς, δακρύων καὶ θρήνου μεστοῖς, τῶν κατὰ Κωνσταντινούπολιν θρυλουμένων ἕνεκεν, καὶ κρατεῖ τὸ βάθος τῆς κατὰ Χριστὸν πίστεως, καθὸ δεῖ, μετέχουσιν, ὡς περιττὸν ἦν τοῦτο καὶ τὴν ἀρχὴν εἰς μέσον ἀχθῆναι. | I read the unhappy letters of your piety which were recently given to us, full of tears and lament because of those who chatter in Constantinople, and strongly participating in the profundity of faith in Christ, as is necessary, so that it was strange to bring this to the center of attention even in the beginning. | Legi litteras tuae reuerentiae quae proxime nobis datae sunt non optandis lacrimis et lamentatione plenas causa horum quae Constantinopolim diuulgata sunt, et tenent profunditatem fidei Christianae secundum quod participatis, quoniam superfluum fuit hoc ab initio ad medium deduci. |
| τί γὰρ ὤνησεν Ἀπολινάριος ὁ Λαοδικεύς, εἷς ὢν ἐν τοῖς ἔμπροσθεν ὁ μέγας ἀγωνιστὴς ὁ ὑπὲρ τῆς ὀρθῆς πίστεως κραταιῶς πρὸς τοὺς ἐχθροὺς μαχεσάμενος θαρσήσας ἑαυτοῦ τῇ σοφίᾳ καὶ ἐθελήσας παρεισαγαγεῖν ἐξ ἀπόρων πόρους τινὰς τῇ καθαρᾷ καὶ ἀδόλῳ τοῦ Χριστοῦ πίστει; οὐ παρεσκεύασεν ἐν τοῖς σχισματικοῖς ἑαυτὸν παρὰ τῇ καθόλου ἐκκλησίᾳ λογισθῆναι; | What good did it do for Apollinaris the Laodicean, who was one of those in the front, the great competitor fighting strongly for the right faith against its enemies, to have confidence in his own wisdom and to be willing to introduce to the spotless and honest faith of Christ certain paths from places where there are none? Didn’t he prepare himself to be counted among the schismatics by the universal church? | Quid enim profuit Apollinaris Laodicenus, unus existens in prioribus magnus decertator pro recta fide, qui fortiter contra inimicos dimicauit, praesumens de propria sapientia et uolens introducere ex incomprehensilibus comprehensiones quasdam purae et sine dolo fidei Christi? Nonne praeparauit inter schismaticos semet ipsum apud catholicam ecclesiam reputari? |
| οὐκ εἴρηται τινὶ τῶν πρὸ ἡμῶν ἐπισκόπων ἀναστεῖλαι βουλομένῳ τὰ ὑπὲρ ἄνθρωπον μὴ περιεργάζεσθαι τοὺς εὖ διακειμένους, ἐρρωμένῃ τῇ διανοίᾳ καὶ ἐντελεῖ συνέσει ταύτην ῥήξαντι τὴν φωνήν· | Has this not been said by one of the bishops before us, healthy of mind and perfect in intelligence, who wanted to restrain those who are well-intentioned from wasting their labor on that which is above man when he said it: | Nonne dictum est a quodam praecedentium nos episcopoporum reprimere uolente ut ea quae ultra hominem sunt, non perscrutentur bene cogitantes, sano sensu et perfecta sapienta hanc erumpente uocem: |
| “Πῶς ὁ πατὴρ τὸν μονογενῆ ἐγέννησε, σιωπῇ τιμάσθω”; καὶ προϊόντος τοῦ λόγου ἀπηριθμήσατο ὡς διαλανθάνει ἥδε ἡ ἔρευνα κατὰ μικρὸν πάσας ὁμοῦ τὰς κατ’ οὐρανὸν δυνάμεις, μήτι γε ἀνθρώπους καὶ ἔννοιαν ἀνθρώπων. πῶς δὲ οὐκ ἀναγκαία καὶ πρέπουσα ἡ παραίνεσις τῶν θείων γραφῶν ἐκδιδάσκουσα· | “However the Father begot the only-begotten, let him be honored with silence”? And as his quote went on he recounted how the object of inquiry all but escapes notice of all the heavenly powers together, not to mention men and the mind of men. Is the exhortation of the Holy Scriptures not necessary and clear which taught: | “Quomodo pater unigenitum genuit, taciturnitate honoretur”? Et procedente sermone dinumerauit quomodo lateat haec perscrutatio paulatim omnes simul caelestes uirtutes, quanto magis homines et sensum humanum. quomodo autem non est necessaria atque decens praesens ammonitio diuinarum scripturarum docens: |
| “Βαθύτερά σου μὴ ζήτει καὶ ἰσχυρότερά σου μὴ περιεργάζου· ἃ προσετάγη σοι, ταῦτα διανοοῦ, οὐ γὰρ ἔστι σοι χρεία τῶν κρυπτῶν”; | “Do not seek that which is deeper than you, and do not waste effort on things stronger than you. That which is assigned to you, keep that in mind, for you have no need of the hidden things”?1 | “Altiora te ne quaesieris et fortiora te ne perscrutatus fueris. quae tibi praecepta sunt, ea cogita; non enim tibi opus sunt quae abscondita sunt”? |
| οἱ δὲ ὑπεραπολογεῖσθαι ζητοῦντες τῶν ταῦτα ἐννοῆσαι καὶ φράσαι ἐπιχειρησάντων παρόμοιόν τι λέγουσι πεπονθέναι ὧν ὑπέμεινεν ὁ μακάριος Παυλῖνος ὁ ἐπίσκοπος, ὃς παρῃτεῖτο τρεῖς ὑποστάσεις λέγειν ῥητῶς, δυνάμει καὶ ἀληθῶς ταῦτα φρονῶν, ταῦτα μετιών, ἠκολούθησε δὲ τοῖς Δυτικοῖς θεοφιλέσιν ἐπισκόποις τῷ ἐστενῶσθαι τὴν Ῥωμαϊκὴν φωνὴν καὶ μὴ δύνασθαι πρὸς τὴν ἡμετέραν τῶν Γραικῶν φράσιν τρεῖς ὑποστάσεις λέγειν. | But those who seek to defend people who try to understand and explain these things say that they undergo something closely resembling the things blessed Bishop Paulinus endured. He avoided explicitly saying three substances [ὑποστάσεις], although he truly and powerfully thought these things and pursued these things. He followed the God-loving bishops of the West in being limited to the Roman language and not being able to speak about three substances [ὑποστάσεις], in contrast to our Greek language. | Qui uero satisfacere quaerunt pro his qui haec cogitare et dicere conantur, simile quiddam dicunt pati horum quae sustinuit beatus Paulinus episcopus, qui refutabat tres subsistentias dicere expressim, uirtute et uere haec ipsa sapiens, haec ipsa sentiens, secutus autem est Occidentales deo amabiles episcopos, eo quod angusta sit Latina uox et non possit ad nostrum Graecorum elocutionem tres subsistentias dicere. |
| πλὴν ὅτι χρὴ πάντας ἡμᾶς τοὺς δυναμένους συναλγεῖν καὶ συμπάσχειν τῇ ἐκκλησίᾳ τοῦ θεοῦ περὶ πολλοῦ ποιεῖσθαι καταστεῖλαι τὴν ἐξαγγελθεῖσαν φωνήν, ὅπως μὴ πρόφασις δοθῇ τοῖς διασχίζειν καὶ διατέμνειν τὴν ἐκκλησίαν τοῦ θεοῦ ἑτοίμως ἔχουσι. | Nevertheless it is necessary for all of us who are able to sympathize and suffer with the church of God to consider it important to put to rest the reported speech, so that an excuse not be given to those who are prepared to cut apart and divide the church of God. | Tamen opus est omnes nos, qui possumus condolere et conpati ecclesiae dei, plurimim laborare et reprimere enuntiatam uocem, ne occasio detur scindere et diuidere dei ecclesiam praeparatis. |
| διὸ χρὴ τὴν σὴν ἐντελῆ καὶ ἀπηρτισμένην σύνεσιν, εἰ καί τι τοιοῦτον τὴν ἀρχὴν ἐλέχθη τὸ λυπεῖν καὶ διαταράττειν πολλοὺς τῶν εὐλαβῶν καὶ φιλοχρίστων δυνάμενον, καταστεῖλαι τὸ κινηθέν, εἰ καὶ τὰ μάλιστα, ὡς φθάσας ἔφην, πολλοὶ τῶν ἀπὸ Κωνσταντινουπόλεως εἰς τὴν Ἀντιόχειαν ἀφικνουμένων, ἔτι μὴν καὶ πρὸς ἡμᾶς, τοῦτο μὲν κληρικῶν, τοῦτο δὲ λαϊκῶν, συνηγορεῖν δοκοῦσι τῷ ῥηθέντι ῥητῷ οὐκ ἐναντίως ἔχοντι κατὰ διάνοιαν τῇ ἀποστολικῇ πίστει, προσέτι δὲ καὶ τῇ τῶν ἁγίων πατέρων τῶν ἐν Νικαίᾳ συνελθόντων περὶ τοῦ ὁμοουσίου θεσπισθείσῃ καὶ διαδοθείσῃ εἰς πᾶσαν τὴν καθόλου ἐκκλησίαν. | Because of this it is necessary for your full and complete intelligence to put to rest the disturbance, if it was even said to be such in the beginning, which is able to grieve and to throw into confusion many of those who are devout and Christ-loving, maybe even most of them. As I was saying before, many of those arriving from Constantinople to us in Antioch, some belonging to the clerics, some belonging to the laity, seem to advocate for the stated statements not being contrary in thought to the apostolic faith, nor furthermore to that of the holy fathers who gathered in Nicaea about the homoousios, the faith divinely established and distributed to all the universal church. | Quapropter conuenit tuam integram perfectamque sapientiam, etsi aliquid tale a principio dictum est quod contristare et perturbare plurimos uenerabilium et Christo amabilium possit, reprimere quod commotum est, quamuis, sicuti praedixi, plurimi de Constantinopolim ad Antiochiam uenientium nec non et ad nos tam clericorum quam etiam laicorum defendere uideantur prolatum sermonem non contrarie habentem secundum sensum ad apostolicam fidem, insuper et sanctorum patrum in Nicaea conuenientium de consubstantialitate sancitam et traditam in omnem catholicam ecclesiam. |
| τὸ τοίνυν συνετὸν καὶ συμπαθητικὸν καὶ ἐντελὲς τῆς σῆς ἱερωσύνης καιροῦ καλοῦντος ἐπιδείξασθαι καταξίωσον, μεσιτευούσης σου τῆς ἁγιωσύνης τῷ ῥηθέντι ῥητῷ πρὸς τοὺς ἀκούσαντας καὶ διαρραγέντας, ὥστε σου τὴν ἁγιωσύνην ἐκεῖνα φρονῆσαί τε καὶ ἐπιτελέσαι, ἃ δυνήσεται, χειμαζομένης ἐπὶ τοῦ παρόντος τῆς καθόλου ἐκκλησίας, ἔτι μᾶλλον καὶ μᾶλλον εἰς ὕψος ἀναπεμφθῆναι, δεσποτικῇ τινι φωνῇ χρώμενον καὶ ἐπινοοῦντα τῇ νοητῇ θαλάττῃ ἐπὶ τοῦ παρόντος δοκούσῃ διαταράττεσθαι καὶ ἐπάγοντα τὸ “Σιώπα, πεφίμωσο.” | Therefore consider it right to show the wisdom and sympathy and maturity of your priesthood when the time calls for it. Let your holiness mediate the stated statement for those listening who have been broken, so that your holiness will both understand and complete those things that it can, while the universal church is being tossed into a storm at the present. You will be sent up to higher and higher heights by using the master’s voice, seeing the spiritual sea which at present seems to be thrown into confusion, and applying the words, “Quiet! Be still” [Mark 4:39]. | Sapientiam igitur et compassionem et perfectionem tui sacerdotii, tempore uocante, demonstrare dignare, mediante tua sancitate prolato sermoni apud eos qui audierunt et dirupti sunt, ut tua sanctitas illa sapiat atque agat quae possint fluctuantem in praesenti catholicam ecclesiam magis ac magis dum mare in praesenti uideretur turbari, et adiciens illud quod ait: “Quiesce, ommutesce.” |
| Ἐποίησα δὲ ἀναγνωσθῆναι τὴν ἐπιστολὴν τῆς σῆς θεοσεβείας τῷ τὰ πάντα ἁγιωτάτῳ καὶ θεοφιλεστάτῳ Ἰωάννῃ τῷ τῆς Ἀντιοχέων ἐπισκόπῳ, καὶ κατακούσας μετὰ πολλῆς τῆς συναισθήσεως καὶ συμπαθείας, τὰ αὐτὰ ἡμῖν πρεσβυτικὴν ἄγουσιν ἡλικίαν νεωστὶ εἰς ἐπισκοπὴν ἐληλυθώς (ὃς τῇ τοῦ θεοῦ χάριτι ἀκμάζει ἐν τοῖς τῇ ἐπισκοπῇ προσεῖναι ὀφείλουσιν ἐπάθλοις, ὡς μέγα ἐπ’ αὐτῷ φρονεῖν καὶ σεμνύνεσθαι πάντας τοὺς τῆς Ἀνατολικῆς διοικήσεως θεοφιλεστάτους ἐπισκόπους) παρακαλῶν σου τὴν θεοσέβειαν καταλαμβάνεται ὥστε σου τὴν ἁγιωσύνην τῇ προσούσῃ αὐτῇ συνέσει χρησαμένην μεταχειρίσασθαι τὸ ἐπισυμβὰν οὐκ ἀνεκτὸν ῥῆμα, ὡς δι’ ὧν λαλεῖς, δι’ ὧν πράττεις, τὸ ἀποστολικὸν καιροῦ καλοῦντος ἐπιδείξῃ τὸ φάσκον· | I made sure that the letter of your piety was read to John, bishop of Antioch, who is most holy in every way and very God-loving, and he heard it with much awareness and sympathy, being in the same old age as us, though having recently come into the bishopric (he, by the grace of God, is thriving on the rewards which ought to come to the bishop, as all the most God-fearing bishops from the Anatolian dioceses think highly of him and exalt him). Taken by your piety, he encourages that your holiness, using the intelligence present to it, handle the intolerable occurrence, as to demonstrate, through what you speak and through how you act, the apostolic words when the time calls for it. | Feci uero legi epistulam tuae religiositatis per omnia sanctissimo et deo amabili Iohanni Antiochenorum episcopo, et audiens cum multa consensione et compassione eadem ipsa nobiscum senilem agentibus aetatem nuper ad episcopatum ueniens, qui dei gratia floret in triumphis qui inesse debent episcopatui, ita ut magne super eo sapiant atque glorientur omnes Orientalis diocesis deo amabiles sapientia utens mitiget quod emersit inportabile uerbum, quatenus per ea quae loqueris, per ea quae agis, illud apostolicum tempore uocante demonstres quod ait: |
| ἐὰν γὰρ θέλω χρήσασθαι τῇ ἐξουσίᾳ, ᾗ ἔδωκεν ἡμῖν ὁ θεὸς εἰς οἰκοδομὴν καὶ οὐκ εἰς καθαίρεσιν, οὐκ αἰσχυνθήσομαι. τὸν δὲ ποθεινότατον τὸν τὰ γράμματα ἡμῶν ἐπαγόμενον πιστὸν ὄντα καὶ Χριστιανὸν ἐκ προγόνων καταξίωσον τῇ ἐνούσῃ καὶ ἐνυπαρχούσῃ σοι φιλαγαθίᾳ προσέσθαι καὶ ἐν οἷς ἂν δεηθείη, προνοίας αὐτὸν ἀξιῶσαι τῆς σοι πρεπούσης. | For if I wish to use the authority which God gave to us for building up and not for tearing down, I will not be ashamed.2 As for the beloved trustworthy one bringing our words, who is also a Christian thanks to his ancestors, deem him worthy to be received by the goodness existing in and inherent to you. And if he lacks something, deem him worthy of the foresight that is fitting for you. | Si enim uoluero uti potestate quam dedit nobis deus ad aedificandum et non ad destruendum, non confundar. Desiderantissimum autem uirum nostras litteras deferentem, fidelem existentem et Christianum a progenitoribus, dignare inserta et cohaerenti tibi bonitate suscipere et in quibuscumque opus habuerit, eius habere prouidentiam te decentem. |
| Πᾶσαν τὴν σὺν σοὶ ἀδελφότητα ἐγώ τε καὶ οἱ σὺν ἐμοὶ πλεῖστα προσαγορεύομεν. | I and those with me warmly greet all the brotherhood with you. | Omnem tecum fraternitatem ego et qui mecum sunt, plurimum salutamus. |
Last updated 9/25/24 by JSW
No Responses yet
