Fragments of a letter from Alexander of Alexandria to Sylvester of Rome
| Reference | Dok. 18; Urk. 16; CPG 2003 |
| Incipit | Τοῦ θεοῦ ὁ λόγος ὁ ἀληθινός + Manent litterae Alexandri |
| Date | 323-324 |
| Ancient sources | Latin: Hilary: Fragmenta historia, (CPL 436), A, 7 (VII) Syriac: Musée national d’Ochrid (North Macedonia), Ms. 86 (cat. 84) |
| Modern editions | Latin: A. Feder, S. Hilarii episcopi Pictaviensis Opera 4 (Vienna: F. Tempsky, 1916) CSEL 65.4:91-92 Greek retroversion of Marcel Richard, “Quelques nouveaux fragments des Pères anténicéens et nicéens,” Symbolae Osloensis 38 (1963), p. 82 [reprint as art. 5 in Marcel Richard, Opera Minora 1, (Turnhout: Brepols, 1976)]. |
In his Fragmentary history (CPL 436), Hilary of Poitiers mentions a letter of Alexander of Alexandria to Silvester of Rome. It states that in Alexander’s period as bishop, eleven priests and deacons were deposed for supporting Arius (some of whom were said to be still alive when the Fragmentary history was written and in communion with the Arian appointee bishop of Alexandria, George (i.e., c. 360). Opitz included this notice as Urkunde 16 (AW 3.1:31; translated without comment by Heil in AW 3.3:99). In 1963 Marcel Richard published what appears to be a sentence from that letter (although he says it is from a “festal” letter). It has been preserved in a Syriac anthology of patristic texts in a North Macedonian manuscript. AW 3.3 does not take cognizance of this second text.
The Latin text below is that of A. Feder in CSEL 65,4:91-92 (reprinted by Opitz in AW 3.1:31). The Greek text below is the retroversion of Marcel Richard as published in Symbolae Osloensis 38:82 (reprinted in his Opera Minora 1). The translation for FCC is by Aaron West.
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| Hilary: Fragmenta historia, A, 7 (VII) | |
| 1. Manent litterae Alexandri episcopi olim ad Siluestrum sanctae memoriae destinatae, | 1. A letter of Bishop Alexander survives which was once sent to Sylvester, of blessed memory. |
| quibus significauit ante ordinationem Athanasii undecim tam presbyteros quam etiam diaconos, quod Arii heresim sequerentur, ecclesia eiecisse. | It indicates that before the consecration of Athanasius there were already eleven priests and deacons who had been removed from the church because they were followers of the heresy of Arius. |
| ex quibus nunc quidam extra ecclesiam catholicam foris positi dicuntur sibi conciliabula inuenisse, quibus adseueratur etiam Georgius in Alexandria <presbyter> per litteras communicare. | Some of these, although they have been put outside the catholic church, are apparently now holding their own public meetings, whom George in Alexandria is confirmed to have given letters of fellowship. |
| Musée national d’Ochrid Ms. 86 | |
| 2. [Τοῦ ἁγίους Ἀλεξάνδρου Ἀλεξανδρείας ἐκ τῆςπρὸς Σίλβεστρον ἑορταστικῆς ἐπισστολῆς·] | 2.[From a festal letter of the holy Alexander of Alexandria to Sylvester:] |
| Τοῦ θεοῦ ὁ λόγος ὁ ἀληθινός, ἡ ζωή, ἡ εἰκὼν τοῦ θεοῦ τοῦ ἀοράτου, ὁ πρωτότοκος πασῆς κτίσεως, ὁ κύριος καὶ σωτὴρ ἡμῶν Ἰησοῦς Χριστὸς ἑαυτὸν ἐκένωσεν ὑπὲρ ἡμῶν μορφὴν δούλου λαβὼν καὶ σχήματι εὑρεθεὶς ὡς ἅνθρωπος, ἐταπείνωσεν ἑαυτὸν μέχρι θανάτου. | The true Word of God, the Life, the image of the unseen God, the firstborn of all creation [cf. Col 1:15], our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ emptied himself on our behalf, taking the form of a slave, and being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself to the point of death [cf. Phil 2:5-7]. |
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