Works on the Spirit (Popular Patristics)

The works of the Fathers are relevant for today. A good example is this volume from St. Vladimir's Seminary Press. It contains three letters from Saint Athanasius of Alexandria to Serapion of Thmuis (another Egyptian bishop) on the Holy Spirit. Athanasius is better known as the staunch defender of the divinity of the Son but here he is doing the same thing for the Holy Spirit. It seems there was a sect in Egypt called the Tropikoi who were having doubts. It was also widespread in Asia Minor under the name Pneumatomachians.Didymus the Blind was a respected theologian who was condemned as an origenist in the 6th century. The result was the loss of most of his works. Fortunately, Jerome translated Didymus's treatise on the Holy Spirit into Latin (mainly to embarrass Ambrose of Milan) and this is what is translated in this volume. I should point out that Didymus is not an Orthodox saint but, apparently, he is venerated amongst the Copts of Egypt.One of the great things about the Popular Patristics series is that they are affordable. I own nearly all of them and I will continue to buy them as they are such great value for money.

pleased with this book

I brought the Kindle Edition, and is more economical that the printed copy, and it's nice to read on my kindle PC; the only thing some Greek words with alphabets that are not readable, and I have to copy the word to Notepad or MS Word to read those Greek Words, and hope that Amazon will improve this in future. And is bearable since only some "additional notes" provided by the author are in Greek words for reference of the original work written by Athanasius.

Dont buy unless school makes you

Athanasius was the young deacon of Alexander, Bishop of Alexandria.In 318 AD, conflict erupted between Alexander and a presbyter Arius over the relationship between the Father and the Son. In 325, Emperor Constantine called together a council at Nicaea. Athanasius favored the use of the word "homoousios" to refer to the Son having the substance or nature as the Father. Later in 381, the Council at Constantinople declared the Holy Spirit to have the same nature as the Son and the Father.Athanasius wrote three letters to Serapion, the Bishop of Thmuis in lower Egypt. Serapion had written him about certain people who believed that not only was the Holy Spirit a created being, but that He was a type of angel. Athanasius calls these people Tropikoi meaning "misinterpreters" of Scripture.Didymus the Blind was born in 313 and blinded at the age of four. He learned by having texts read to him which he would retain by memory. He was perhaps a teacher at a school in Alexandria. He developed a reputation for erudition and virtue. He wrote to correct some who "brandish certain things concerning the Holy Spirit which are neither read in the Scripture nor taken from any of the old ecclesiastical writers,...so we set forth our opinion on the Holy Spirit by means of proof-texts from the Scriptures."ATHANSIUS' LETTER ONE to SERAPIONTHE TROPIKOI SAY THE SPIRIT IS A CREATED BEING BASED ON AMOS 4:13God says, "Therefore I am the one who gives strength to thunder and who creates spirit and who proclaims his Christ to humanity, and who makes the dawn and foggy mist, and who mounts upon the high places of the earth: the Lord God Almighty is His name!" (Amos 4:12-13).IN SCRIPTURE, THE HOLY SPIRIT IS ALWAYS QUALIFIED OR USED WITH THE DEFINITE ARTICLEAmos is not talking about the Holy Spirit. Whenever the Holy Spirit is mentioned in Scripture, He is qualified by "of God," "of the Father," "my," "his," "of Christ," "of the Son," or "from Me."That is, the Spirit is from God, or used with the definite article ("the").Old Testament Examples1. At creation, "THE Spirit OF GOD was moving over the water" (Gen 1:2).2. (Moses) "Would that all the people of the Lord were prophets, when the Lord bestows HIS Spirit upon them!" (Num 11:29).3. Concerning Sampson, "The child grew, and the Lord blessed him. And THE Spirit OF THE LORD began to stir him" (Judges 13:24,25).4. David says, "Do not take YOUR HOLY Spirit away from me!" (Ps 50:13).5. Isaiah said, "THE Spirit OF THE LORD is upon Me, because He has anointed me" (Isa 61:1). And again, "This is My covenant with them, said the Lord, MY Spirit which is upon you" (Isa 59:21).6. Ezekiel said, "And THE Spirit took me, and led me into the land of the Chaldaeans, into captivity, in a vision, in THE Spirit OF GOD (Ezek 11:24).7. Micah said, "The house of Jacob provoked THE Spirit OF THE LORD" (Micah 2:7).8. Joel said, "And it shall come to pass after these things that I will pour out upon all flesh from MY Spirit" (Joel 3:1).Examples from New Testament1. When Jesus was baptized, "THE HOLY Spirit descended upon Him" (Lk 3:22)2. Jesus told His apostles, "But the PARACLETE, THE HOLY Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things" (Jn 14:26).3. "When THE PARACLETE comes, whom I will send you from the Father, THE Spirit OF TRUTH, who proceeds from the Father, He will bear witness about Me" (Jn 15:26).4. "But if THE Spirit OF HIM who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Jesus Christ from the dead will give life to your mortal bodies through HIS Spirit who dwells in you" (Rom 8:11).5. "Do you not know that you are a temple of God, and that THE Spirit OF GOD dwells in you?" (1 Cor 3:16).6. "Since you are sons, God has sent THE Spirit OF HIS SON into your hearts, crying out, 'Abba, Father!'" (Gal 4:6)AMOS MEANS "WIND," NOT THE HOLY SPIRITAmos did not use the definite article.In Scripture, when "spirit" is not used with the definite article or a qualifier, it refers to1. our human spirit (Ps 76:7).2. the wind (Jonah 1:4).3. the meaning in Scripture (2 Cor 3:6)The word "spirit" in Amos 4:13 should be interpreted as "wind," to remain in context with the other elements of nature which God created (thunder, the dawn, foggy mist, high places of the earth)."Therefore I am the one who gives strength to thunder and who creates WIND and who proclaims his Christ to humanity, and who makes the dawn and foggy mist, and who mounts upon the high places of the earth: the Lord God Almighty is His name!" (Amos 4:12-13).[Note]"His Christ" was misconstrued as mashiakho from the original Masoretic Text of mahsekho, which means "what he is thinking." So the original (correct) wording "proclaims His thoughts to humanity."EZEKIEL DECLARED THAT GOD WOULD RENEW OUR HUMAN SPIRITS THROUGH THE HOLY SPIRIT"A new heart I shall give you, and a new spirit I shall give you; and I shall take out of your flesh the stony heart and give you a fleshly heart; and I shall put MY Spirit within you" (Ezek 36:26-27).Likewise,"You take away their spirit, and they die, and return to the dust from which they came. You send forth YOUR Spirit, and they are created, and you renew the face of the earth" (Ps 103:29,30).If we are renewed by the Spirit of God, then the spirit in this passage which is said to be created is not the Holy Spirit, but our spirit.Zechariah said, "He stretched out the heavens, and founded the earth, and formed the spirit of man in him" (Zech 12:1).THE HOLY SPIRIT IS NOT AN ANGEL1. The Tropikoi say that the Holy Spirit is a created angel based on 1 Timothy 5:21."In the presence of God and Jesus Christ and the elect angels, I charge you to observe these things without prejudice, doing nothing out of partiality."Because the apostle Paul listed the angels only after he mentioned God and Christ, the Tropikoi claim that the Spirit must be classified with the angels, and also that He is greater than the other angels.No where in Scripture is the Holy Spirit ever called an angel.He is called, Paraclete, Spirit of adopted sonship, Spirit of sanctification, Spirit of God, and Spirit of Christ.2. The Tropikoi say that Zechariah 4:5 confirms that the Holy Spirit is an angel."Thus says the angel who speaks within me" (Zech 4:5).However, they took this phrase out context, which makes it obvious that the angel who speaks within Ezekiel is not the Holy Spirit."And the angel who speaks within me answered and said, 'Don't you know what these things are?'And I said, "No, lord.'And he answered, and said to me, saying, 'This is the word of the Lord to Zerubbabel, saying,"Not by great power, nor by strength, but by MY Spirit," says the Lord Almighty'" (Zech 4:5-6).The Tropikoi need to answer some questions.1. If the Spirit is an angel, which of them descended upon Christ in the form of a dove when He was baptized? (Lk 3:22)For the ministering angels are "a thousand thousands and ten thousand times ten thousand" (Dan 7:10).2. If the Spirit is an angel, why did Jesus distinguish between them?Of angels, Jesus said, "The Son of Man will send His angels" (Mt 13:41).Of the Spirit, Jesus told His apostles to, "Go, make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit" (Mt 28:19).3. Moses understood the difference between angels and the Holy Spirit.For when God first told Moses He would "send My angel before you, and he will drive out the Canaanite" from the promised land (Ex 33:2), Moses declined His offer and exclaimed, "If You Yourself do not go along with us, do not lead me up from this place!" (Ex 33:15).God agrees to Moses' request. Isaiah then testifies that "The Spirit came down from the Lord and guided them" (Isa 63:14).YOU CANNOT ASK HUMAN QUESTIONS ABOUT GOD BECAUSE HE IS NOT LIKE A HUMAN BEINGFor example, Abraham was the father of Jacob, and he was also the son of Nahor.God has the name of Father and Son and Holy Spirit (Mt 28:19).The Father has always been just the Father. He was never a son from anyone else.The Son has always been the Son. He was never a father to anyone, nor a brother to the Holy Spirit.The Holy Spirit has always been the Holy Spirit, not a "brother" to the Son.In the Scriptures, the Holy Spirit is never called a son.Neither is He called the son of the Son, lest the Father be called His Grandfather!In Scripture, the Son is called the Son of the Father, and the Spirit is called the Spirit of the Father.If the Holy Spirit was a creature, He would not be ranked with the Trinity. For the whole Trinity is one God.LIMITS to HUMAN KNOWLEDGEThis is as far as human knowledge can go.For the traditions of the faith are not understood by human wisdom or logical demonstration and arguments but by "hearing with faith" (Gal 3:2).Paul himself said of God, "How unsearchable are His ways! For who has known the mind of the Lord? Or who has been His counselor? (Rom 11:33,34).God Himself warns us against trying to go beyond the limits of our understanding."Do not seek much wisdom, lest you be stupified" (Eccl 7:16).However, the Arians make the Son to be a creature, and the Tropikoi make the Spirit to be the same.Can anyone answer how the heavens were formed, and from what materials? Or how living things were constructed? Or how the waters were gathered together? We cannot answer these questions.For even Solomon said it was impossible for human beings to discover such things."And He has given every heart a whole lifetime, lest humanity discover the work which God has done from the beginning to the end" (Eccl 3:11).WHAT the SCRIPTURES TEACH ABOUT the TRINITY1. The Father is called Fountain (Jer 2:13) and the Son is called Living Water (Jn 4:10).2. The Father is called Light (Jn 1:5) and the Son is called "the Radiance of His glory" (Heb 1:3).3. We drink not only from the Father as Fountain and the Son as Living Water, but also "we were all made to drink of the one Spirit" (Col 12:13).4. The Spirit enlightens our eyes of our hearts (Eph 1:18) through Christ, who is "the true Light who enlightens every human being coming into the world" (Jn 1:9).5. The Father is "the only wise God" (Rom 16:27) and Jesus is "the wisdom of God" (1 Cor 1:24).6. The Father, the Son, and the Spirit live in us."I and the Father will come and make our home with him" (Jn 14:23)."Do you not know that you are a temple of the God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you? (1 Cor 3:16).WHO IS THE HOLY SPIRIT in SCRIPTURE?1. The Holy Spirit is the same as the one God in substance (homoousios).2. He regenerates, justifies, and renews (Titus 3:5).3. He gives life (Rom 8:11).4. He anoints and seals (Isa 61:1; Eph 4:30).5. The Spirit is called the same names as the Son.Wisdom (Isa 11:2; Eph 1:17), Truth (Jn 1:14; 14:17), Power of God (1 Cor 1:24; 1 Pet 4:14).6. He is immutable (James 1:17).7. He is omnipresent (Ps 138:7).8. He gives each of us spiritual gifts (1 Cor 12:4-6).9. He helped that Father and the Son create the world (Gn 1:2).10. He gives every Christian the ability to declare that Jesus is Lord."No one can say, 'Jesus is Lord,' except by the Holy Spirit" (1 Cor 12:3).THE SPIRIT GAVE GOD'S WORD to the WRITERS OF SCRIPTURE,THE PROPHETS and the APOSTLESTo Zechariah, God said, "Yet receive My words and My statutes which I commanded to My servants the prophets by My Spirit" (Zech 1:6).Peter prayed, "Sovereign Lord,...who by the mouth of our father, David, Your servant, said through the Holy Spirit" (Acts 4:24,25).Paul said in Rome, "The Holy Spirit was right to have said to your fathers through Isaiah the prophet" (Acts 28:25).Athanasius says, "What I have handed on accords with the Apostolic faith that the Fathers handed down to us. I have written only what I learned in harmony with the Scriptures." (p. 104)DIDYMUS THE BLIND1. The Holy Spirit is given to us by God."The love of God has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us" (Rom 5:5).2. He is "poured out," in great bounty and abundance.3. He is sent by the Father in the name of the Son (Jn 14:26).4. He was not sent until Jesus ascended to heaven."For the Spirit had not been given because Jesus was not yet glorified" (Jn 7:39).5. After Jesus rose from the dead and appeared to His disciples, He breathed on them and said to them, "Receive the Holy Spirit" (Jn 20:22). He was publicly given to them at Pentecost (Acts 2:4).6. The Spirit is in complete accord with the Son and the Father.He teaches us what the Son taught us, just as the Son revealed to us only what the Father was doing."He [the Spirit] will not speak on His own initiative, but He will speak as He hears. He will glorify Me [the Son], for He will take of Mine and will disclose it to you" (Jn 16:13,14).Likewise,"The Son is not able to do anything on his own initiative, but only what He sees the Father doing (Jn 5:19).7. The Holy Spirit is inseparable from Christ."But if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Christ" (Rom 8:9).8. The Spirit makes us children of God, by adopting us into God's family."For however many are led by the Spirit of God, they are children of God...The Spirit you received brought about your adoption to sonship. And by Him we cry out, 'Abba, Father!' The Spirit Himself testifies with our spirit that we are children of God" (Rom 8:14-16).

Here we have the letters of St. Athanasius and of Didymus the blind (former dean of the catechetical school of alexandria) on the Holy Spirit. Both collections are beautiful but the letters of St. Athanasius are an absolute masterpiece. From addressing the use of the definite article (or otherwise) when referencing The Spirit to the Old Testament use of the word Pnuema (Spirit or wind) and then onto the salvific importance of the Divinity of The Holy Spirit, St. Athanasius has addressed the subject from all angles and offered a beautiful account of the Divinity of The Spirit.An excerpt: "And it is through the Spirit that all of us are said to be partakers of God: ‘Do you not know that you are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you? If anyone destroys the temple of God, God will destroy him. For the temple of God is holy, which you are’ [1 Corinthians 3:16-17]. If the Holy Spirit were a creature we would not have participation in God through Him." Pg 243.

Recommend to anyone who would like to know better about the doctrine of the Holy Trinity and the Holy Spirit. Great read!