The Emperors’ Letter to Asia on the Faith of One Substance

Valentinian ordered a council to be held in Illyricum, and sent the disputants the decrees ratified by the bishops assembled there. They had decided to hold fast to the creed put forth at Nicaea, and the emperor himself wrote to them, joining his brother with him in the letter, and urged that the decrees be kept. [a]

The edict plainly proclaims the emperor’s piety, and likewise shows how sound Valens was at that time in divine doctrine. I will therefore give it in full. The mighty emperors, ever august, augustly victorious, Valentinian, Valens and Gratian, to the bishops of Asia, Phrygia, and Carophrygia Pacatiana, greeting in the Lord. [c] A great council has met in Illyricum, and after much discussion concerning the word of salvation, the thrice-blessed bishops have declared that the Trinity of Father, Son and Holy Spirit is of one substance. This Trinity they worship, in no way slackening the service that has rightly fallen to their lot, the worship of the great King. It is our imperial will that this Trinity be preached, so that no one may say, “We accept the religion of the sovereign who rules this world, without regard to him who has given us the message of salvation.” For as the gospel of our God, which contains this judgment, says, “We should render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.” [e]

What do you say, you bishops, you champions of the word of salvation? If these are your professions, then go on loving one another in this way, and stop abusing the imperial dignity. No longer persecute those who diligently serve God, by whose prayers wars cease on the earth and the assaults of apostate angels are driven back. These men, striving by prayer to drive back all harmful demons, know how to pay tribute as the law commands. They do not speak against the power of their sovereign, but with pure minds they keep the command of the heavenly King and are subject to our laws. But you have been shown to be disobedient. We have tried every means, but you have given yourselves up. We, however, wish to be clean of you, as Pilate was at the trial of Christ when he lived among us. Pilate did not wish to kill him, and when they begged for his death, he turned to the east, asked for water for his hands, and washed his hands, saying, “I am innocent of the blood of this righteous man.” [g]

So our Majesty has always given orders that those who work in the field of Christ are not to be persecuted, oppressed or ill-treated, nor the stewards of the great King driven into exile. Otherwise you may seem today to flourish and abound under our Sovereign, and then, together with your evil counselor, trample on his covenant, as in the case of the blood of Zechariah. But he and his were destroyed by our heavenly King Jesus Christ at his coming, handed over to the judgment of death, they and the deadly fiend who urged them on. We have given these orders by word of mouth to Amegetius, to Ceronius, to Damasus, to Lampon and to Brentisius, and we have sent you the decrees themselves as well, so that you may know what was enacted in the honorable synod. [i]

To this letter we add the decrees of the synod, which are briefly as follows.

In agreement with the great and orthodox synod, we confess that the Son is of one substance with the Father. And we do not understand the term “of one substance” as some once interpreted it, who signed their names while only pretending to agree. Nor do we understand it as some do nowadays, who call the drafters of the old creed fathers but make the meaning of the word of no effect. They follow those who said that “of one substance” means “like,” on the reasoning that since the Son is comparable to none of the creatures made by him, he is like the Father alone. For those who think in this way irreverently define the Son as “a special creation of the Father.” But we, with the present synods both at Rome and in Gaul, hold that there is one and the same substance of Father, Son and Holy Spirit, in three persons, that is, in three perfect essences. And we confess, according to the creed of Nicaea, that the Son of God, being of one substance, was made flesh of the holy Virgin Mary and dwelt among men. He fulfilled the whole plan of salvation for our sakes, in his birth, his passion, his resurrection and his ascension into heaven. And he will come again on the day of judgment to repay each of us according to his way of life, being seen in the flesh and showing forth his divine power: God bearing flesh, and not man bearing Godhead. [j]

Those who think otherwise we condemn. We also condemn those who do not honestly condemn the man who said that before the Son was begotten he was not, but wrote that even before he was actually begotten he was potentially in the Father. For this is true of all creatures, which are not forever with God in the sense in which the Son is ever with the Father, being begotten by an eternal birth.

Such was the emperor’s short summary. I will now add the actual letter of the synod.