33. Further the whole of the above statement
has drawn no distinction whatever between the essence and nature of the
Father and the Son. For when it is said, God of God, whole God
of whole God, there is no room for doubting that whole God is born
of whole God. For the nature of God who is of God admits of no
difference, and as whole God of whole God He is in all in which the
Father is. One of One excludes the passions of a human
birth and conception, so that since He is One of One, He comes from no
other source, nor is different nor alien, for He is One of One, perfect
God of perfect God. Except in having a cause of its origin His
birth does not differ from the birthless nature since the perfection of
both Persons is the same. King of King. A power that
is expressed by one and the same title allows no dissimilarity of
power. Lord of Lord. In ‘Lord’ also the
lordship is equal: there can be no difference where domination is
confessed of both without diversity. But plainest of all is the
statement appended after several others, unable to change or alter,
the unvarying image of the Godhead and essence and might and
glory. For as God of God, whole God of whole God, One of One,
perfect God of perfect God, King of King and Lord of Lord, since in all
that glory and nature of Godhead in which the Father ever abides, the
Son born of Him also subsists; He derives this also from the
Father’s substance that He is unable to change. For in His
birth that nature from which He is born is not changed; but the Son has
maintained a changeless essence since His origin is in a changeless
nature. For though He is an image, yet the image cannot alter,
since in Him was born the image of the Father’s essence, and
there could not be in Him a change of nature caused by any unlikeness
to the Father’s essence from which He was begotten. Now
when we are taught that He was brought into being as the first of all
creation, and He is Himself said to have always been in the beginning
with God as God the Word, the fact that He was brought into being shews
that He was born, and the fact that He always was, shews that He is not
separated from the Father by time. Therefore this Council by
dividing the three substances, which it did to exclude a monad God with
a threefold title, did not introduce any separation of substance
between the Father and the Son. The whole exposition of faith
makes no distinction between Father and Son, the Unborn and the
Only-begotten, in time, or name, or essence, or dignity, or
domination. But our common conscience demands that we should gain
a knowledge of the other creeds of the same Eastern bishops, composed
at different times and places, that by the study of many confessions we
may understand the sincerity of their faith.