THE HOLY SPIRIT - HopeFaithPrayer

436 Pages·2009·8.33 MB·English

THE HOLY
SPIRIT
THE ANCIENT CHURCH
IN
A STUDY OF CHRISTIAN TEACHING
IN THE AGE OF THE FATHERS
BY
HENRY BARCLAY SWETE, D.D., D.Litt.
REGIUS PROFESSOR OF DIVINITY IN THE UNIVERSITY OF CAMBRIDGE
HON. CANON OF ELY HON. CHAPLAIN TO THE KING
:
TO TTvev/ia Kol Jj vv/KJiri
MACMILLAN AND LIMITED
CO.,
MARTIN'S STREET, LONDON
ST.
1912
S
TO THE MEMORY OF
ERNEST STEWART ROBERTS, M.A.
—
MASTER OF GONVILLE AND CAIUS (1903 1912)
PREFACE
* I ""HIS book is asequelto a Studyofprimitive Christian
A- teaching upon the Holy Spirit which was published
three years ago. Like its predecessor, it is not a formal
contribution to the HistoryofDoctrine,and does not claim
the attention of professed students of theology. Some
attempt was made to supply the needs of students in my
two early books, On the Early History of the Doctrine of
the Holy Spirit (1873), and On the History of the Doctrine
of the Procession (1876). Both are now out of print, but
their substance is accessible in an article (HOLY Ghost)
which may be found in the third volume of the Dictionary
of Christian Biography (1882); and to that article I must
refer those who desire a fuller or more exact treatment of
certain aspects ofthe subject than this book can offer.
In the present Study I have had in view chiefly those
readers of The Holy Spirit in tlieNew Testament who may
wish to pursue thesubject into post-apostolic times, but for
various reasons are unable to examine the original docu-
ments for themselves. With the view ofpreparing for this
book I have read again all the more important Greek and
Latin patristic authorities of the first five centuries, and
a few which belong to the sixth, seventh, and eighth, and
have sought to form my impressions afresh. For the
viii Preface
translations I am myselfresponsible, except in a few speci-
fied instances. I have purposely adopted a somewhat free
rendering, and occasionally I have preferred a paraphrase
or a summary to a more exact reproduction of the original
words the footnotes, however, give the latter when they
;
are of special importance, and references are added in all
cases, so that readers who may wish to verify or to push
their enquiries further will always be able to do so.
My friend the Dean of Lichfield (Dr H. E. Savage) has
done me the great kindness of reading the proofs of this
book at an early stage of its passage through the press,
and verifying a large proportion of the references. To his
lists ofcorrigenda he has added from time to timevaluable
suggestions,mostofwhich I havegladlyaccepted. I desire
also once more to place on record my indebtedness to the
unfailing attention of the officers of the University Press.
Nearly forty years have passed since the Press printed my
first book upon this subject, and I am thankful that it has
been permitted to me to entrust to the same careful and
efficient hands that which in all probability will be my
last.
H. B. S.
Cambridge,
St Peter's Day, 1912.
CONTENTS
PAGE
FOREVlfORD
. 3
Part
I. II
Part
II. 163
Part III. . 359
Appendix of Additional Notes
. . . . 411
Indices
421
s. a. c.
ecTiN...TTNeYMik NoepoN,AfioN,MONopeNec,TToAyMepec, AenroN,
eyKfNHTON, Tp&NON, AMOAyNTON, Ca.(t>eC, ATT^MANTON, <i>tKd,fd,dON,
ol-i, (jJKtiAYTON, eyeprsTiKON, 4)iAANepconoN, BeBAiON, ACcjjaiAec,
AMeplMNON, TTANTOAyNAMON, TTANeTTfCKOTTON, Kdkl Ali TTANTCON
XWpOyN nNeyM&TOiN NOeptON K&eAptON AeTTTOTATWN.
Wisdom of Solomon.
FOREWORD.
When
the student of early Christian literature
passes from the New Testamenttothepost-canonical
writers, he becomes aware of a loss of both literary
and spiritual power. There is no immediate change
in the form of the writings the earliest remains of
;
the sub-apostolic age consist of letters addressed to
churches or individuals after the model of the
Apostolic Epistles. But the note ofauthority which
is heard in the Epistles of St Peter, St Paul, and
St John has no place in those of Clement of Rome
and Ignatius of Antioch^ ; and there is little evidence
in the latter of the originality or the inspiration by
which the leaders of the first generation were dis-
tinguished. The spiritual giants ofthe Apostolic age
are succeeded by men of lower stature and poorer
capacity. Nor does the fresh power of the first
century altogether return to the Church in the
A
years that follow. higher literary standard is
reached in the second century the third is adorned
;
by the great name of Origen the fourth and fifth
;
centuries can boast of an Athanasius, a Basil, a
Gregory Nazianzen, a Chrysostom, an Augustine.
But none of these classical authors of Christian
^ Cf. Ign. Rom. 4 ov\ us IleTpos koI naCXos huxraa-trofuxi. i5yu,as'
eKeivotairo<rTo\ot.
4 The Holy Spirit in the ancient Church
antiquity profess to originate or to reveal all
;
recognize in the Apostolic writers their masters,
and their best work is done in the field of New
Testament exposition or in expressing New Testa-
ment doctrine in the terms of a later theology.
It may be asked whether it is needful to pursue
the study of the doctrine of the Holy Spirit into a
period which cannot claim to teach with either the
authority or the creative power of the Apostolic
age. The answer is that no Christian doctrine, as
it is now expressed, can be rightly understood
without some knowledge of the history of Christian
thought. The Christianity of the present day has
not been evolved directly out of the New Testa-
ment, but is the product of the gradual assimilation
of the original deposit by a long succession of
Christian generations. Nor is this fact to be
regretted. Those who accept the teaching of the
fourth Gospel will not doubt that the process of
assimilation has been guided as a whole by the
same Power that inspired the first age. The
world-long experience of the universal Church, of
which her literature is the abiding record, is the
best interpretation of the Apostolic tradition. It
has taken the original tradition, written and un-
written, out of the setting which belonged to a
single age and to conditions that have long
vanished, and has brought it into relation with
successiye developements of thought and life, by
which it has been prepared for the use of still later
generations.
;
Foreword
5
In this volume the history of the doctrine of
the Holy Spirit is carried to the end ofthe Patristic
period, which is generally held to terminate with
Gregory the Great in the West and John of
Damascus in the East. This period falls naturally
into two large sections, divided by the rise of
Arianism ; the former is dealt with in the first part
A
of the book, and the latter in the second. third
part collects the teaching of the whole period under
its principal heads.
It may be convenient to readers who are not
familiar with the general history of doctrine if a
sketch is given here of the results reached in each
of the two subdivisions ofour period, so far as they
relate to the doctrine of the Holy Spirit.
I. In the pre-Arian age the question of the
relation of the Holy Spirit to the Father and the Son
does not become acute. The nature of the Spirit,
which in the New Testament had received little
direct treatment, continues to be unexplored with a
few partial exceptions. In early creeds and doxolo-
gies, as in the form of Baptism on which they are
based. He is associatedwith the Father and the Son
and His place in the Divine Trinity is vindicated by
great writers such as Tertullian and Origen, each of
whom endeavours, moresua, to formulate some state-
ment ofthe relation ofthe Third Person to the First
and the Second. Pre-Arian heresy also attempted to
find a place for the Spirit in the schemes ofdoctrine
by which it sought to protect belief in the Unity of
God. But throughout the Ante-Nicene age the
6 The Holy Spirit in the ancient Church
Person of the Son was chiefly discussed, and the
question ofthe Godhead and personal distinctness of
the Holy Spirit continued to be subordinate. Mean-
while the Christian consciousness realized the para-
mount importance of the work fulfilled by the Spirit
A
in the life of the Church and her members. rapidly
growing Christian society interpreted afresh in the
light of its own experience the teaching of the New
Testament on the grace ofthe Sacraments, the rela-
tion of the Spirit to the Body of Christ, and the
mystery of the inner life. But there was an uneasy
sense that questions remained which the Church
could not leave unanswered, and for which as yet
no answer had been found.
2. Arianism, if carried to its logical conclusion,
would from the first have attributed a created nature
to the Holy Spirit ; and there is reason to believe
that Arius definitely took up this position. But
once again the question of the Spirit's nature was
postponed in view of the immediate necessity for
arriving at a settlement on the subject ofthe Person
of the Son. After this had been gained, as it seemed,
by the action of the Council of Nicaea, fresh compli-
cations arose which delayed the consideration of the
Person of the Spirit for more than thirty years.
Even then the subject might not have come to the
front, had not the Church been called to action by
a challenge from the Arian side. But once aroused
she'spared no effort to vindicate the uncreated nature
of the Spirit of God and in a series ofgreat works,
;
partly polemical, partly constructive in character, the