159 (387). To Eupaterius and His Daughter
SAINT BASIL
to accomplish the desire which I have long had of meeting you, I am at least consoling myself for the failure by means of letters. And we urge you not to cease remembering us in your prayers, in order that, if we live, we may be considered worthy of enjoying your company; if not, that through the assistance of your prayers we may depart from this world with great hope. We recommend to you the brother who is in charge of the camels.
159. To Eupaterius and His Daughter1 How much pleasure the letter of your Modesty afforded me you surely can imagine from the very contents. For, to a man who makes it his prayer that he may always associate with those who fear God and receive some advantage from them, what could be sweeter than such a letter through which knowledge of God is sought? For, if 'to us to live is Christ,'2 it follows that our speech ought to be about Christ, and our every thought and act should depend upon His commands, and our soul should be formed to His image. Accordingly, I rejoice at being asked about such matters and I congratulate those asking. In one word, then, we honor the Creed of the Fathers assembled at Nicaea before all those that were formulated later. In it the Son is confessed to be consubstantial with the Father and of the same nature as He who has begotten Him. For, as Light of Light, and God of God, and Good of Good, and all such identities, He has been confessed by those holy Fathers and is now attested by us also who pray to walk in their footsteps.
1 Eupaterius and his daughter are otherwise unknown. This letter was written in 373.
2 Cf. Phil. 1.21.
LETTERS
Since the question which has at present arisen among those who are always attempting to make innovations, but which had been passed over in silence by the men of earlier times because the doctrine was not contradicted, has been left unexplained (I mean, of course, that concerning the Holy Spirit), we are adding the explanation of it in conformity with the meaning of the Scriptures-that as we are baptized, so, also, do we believe; as we believe, so, also, do we give glory. Therefore, since baptism has been given to us by the Saviour in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, we offer .a confession of faith consistent with our baptism, and also the doxology consistent with our faith, glorifying the Holy
Spirit with the Father and the Son in the conviction that He is not separated from the divine nature. For, that which is different according to its nature would not share the same honors.
And we pity those who say that the Holy Spirit is a creature on the ground that by such a statement they have fallen into the unpardonable sin of blasphemy against Him. Now, the fact that a creature is distinct from the Divinity needs no further explanation to those who are even a little familiar with the Scriptures. For, the creature is subject, but the Spirit sets free; 3 the creature is in need of life, 'it is the Spirit that gives life';4 the creature also needs teaching, the Spirit is the Teacher;5 the creature is sanctified, the Spirit is the Sanctifier. 6 Even if you would mean angels, or archangels, or all the heavenly powers, it is through the Spirit that they receive their holiness. For, the Spirit of Himself has a natural sanctity not received through grace but joined essentially to Him, whence also He has gained in a special manner the name of 'Holy.' Accordingly, what is holy by nature, as the Father is
3 Cf. Rom. 8.2.
4 John 6.64.
5 Cf. John 14.26.
6 Cf. Rom. 15.16.