O Thou Who doest all things

whereby to bring again our race to Thee,
that it may be partaker

of Thy divine nature and eternal glory,
Who hast borne witness

to the truth of Thy Gospel

by many and various wonders;

in the ever-memorable converse of Thy saints; in their supernatural endurance of torments; in the overwhelming conversion of all lands to the obedience of faith,

without might, or persuasion, or compulsion; end the schisms of the Churches; quench the haughty cries of the nations; restore the wanderers ;

knit them to Thy holy Catholic Apostolic
Church;

and receive us into Thy kingdom,
acknowledging us as sons of Light.
And Thy peace and love

vouchsafe to us, O LORD our GOD.

THE FATHER : OF AN INFINITE MAJESTY.

There is but one kind (eldos) of Godhead, which is in the Word (as well as in the FATHER) also; and one GOD, the FATHER, existing by Himself according as He is above all, and appearing in the Son according as He pervades all things, and (appearing) in the SPIRIT according as in Him He acts in all things through the Word. As S. Paul tells us that the invisible things of GOD, from the creation of the world, are clearly seen, being understood by the things which are made, we may draw an analogy of this from the material sun in the

1

1 S. Athanasius, III. Serm. in Arian. xxv. 9. 2 Romans i. 20.

heavens, wherein we have its substance, or disk, its light, and its heat. These are three in one; we cannot abstract one of these without destroying the rest. In the substance of the sun, then, let us observe a similitude of the FATHER; in its light, of the SON; in its heat, of the HOLY SPIRIT. Or, as in water, there is the fountain, the spring, and the stream, so the FATHER is the Fountain of DEITY, the SON the Spring boiling up therefrom, and the HOLY SPIRIT which proceeds from both, the Stream. And yet each Person is eternally distinct from the others; and though of one substance, yet not mere aspects of the same. They are One in will, One in operation, but each, God wholly and absolutely; "yet there are not three GODS, but one GOD." Thus, "if I

1 S. Athan. Quest. and Rufinus.

say the FATHER, the SON, and the HOLY GHOST be three, and every one distinctly, God, it is true; but if I say they be three, and every one a distinct GOD, it is false. I may say the divine persons are distinct in the divine nature, but I cannot say the divine nature is divided in those divine persons. I may say, GOD the FATHER is not the SON, GOD the SON is not the FATHER, and GOD the HOLY GHOST is neither FATHER nor SON; yet I cannot say the FATHER is not the same GOD with the SON, or the SON is not the same GOD with the FATHER, or the HOLY GHOST is not the same GOD with the FATHER and the SON. I may say in the sacred TRINITY, or among the Divine Persons, there is one before another, and one greater than another; but I cannot say in the sacred DEITY, or in the divine nature, there is one greater

than another, or one before another. I can say, GOD the FATHER is eternal, GOD the SON is eternal, GOD the HOLY GHOST is eternal; yet I cannot say there are three eternals. I may say the FATHER is one God, the SoN is one GOD, the HOLY GHOST is one GOD; yet I cannot say, the FATHER is one GOD, the SON another God, and the HOLY GHOST is a third GOD. For all this while, though their nature be the same, yet their persons are distinct; and though their persons be distinct, yet their nature is the same. So hard a thing is it to word so great a mystery aright."

The FATHER is the real and true Life, and He, through the Son in the HOLY SPIRIT, pours forth as from a fountain His heavenly gifts to all; for through

1 Bev. Eccl. Ang. Eccl. Cath. p. 80.