| St Basil the Great
Number 5 of Popular Patristics Series
“[...]St. Basil realized that by writing a book affirming the equality of the Spirit with the Father and the Son, he could make a water-tight case for orthodoxy: if we are bound to confess the divinity of the Spirit, we must confess the Trinity to be three persons sharing the same divine nature; once this is accomplished, it is much easier to determine what is orthodoxy and what is not. So his primary objective in this treatise is to clear up the muddle—a muddle which he denounces as the end-product of vanity and pride, caused by those who dare to utter clever-sounding words about God without loving truth in their hearts, who refuse to measure their own opinions with the yardstick of the Church’s living faith, who admit of no absolute standard outside themselves.”
—“Introduction”
CONTENTS
Introduction
Chapter 1. Introductory comment concerning the necessity of examining even the smallest theological questions.
Chapter 2. The origin of the way heretics closely observe the use of prepositions.
Chapter 3. How technical discussion of prepositions originated in pagan philosophy.
Chapter 4. How such a use of prepositions cannot be observed in Scripture.
Chapter 5. How “through whom” is also said concerning the Father, and “from whom” for the Son and Spirit.
Chapter 6. He disputes with those who assert that the Son is not with, but after the Father. Also concerning the equal glory of the Father and the Son.
Chapter 7. Against those who say that it is not suitable for “with whom” to be used in the Doxology concerning the Son, but that the proper phrase is “through whom.”
Chapter 8. The many ways “through whom” is used, and the occasions when “with whom” is more suitable. Explanation of how the Son receives a commandment, and how He is sent.
Chapter 9. Distinctive ideas concerning the Spirit which follow the teachings of Scripture.
Chapter 10. Against those who say that it is not right to rank the Holy Spirit with Father and the Son.
Chapter 11. Those who deny the Spirit are transgressors.
Chapter 12. Against those who maintain that baptism in the Lord’s name alone is sufficient.
Chapter 13. Why St. Paul associates the angels with the Father and the Son.
Chapter 14. An answer to the objection that some were baptized into Moses, and believed in him. Also, some remarks concerning typology.
Chapter 15. Reply to the objection that we are baptized into water. Concerning baptism in general.
Chapter 16. The Holy Spirit cannot be separated from the Father and the Son in any way, whether it be in the creation of perceptible objects, the ordering of human affairs, or the coming judgment.
Chapter 17. Against those who say that the Holy Spirit must not be numbered with the Father and the Son, but under them. A summary of the correct way of numbering them together.
Chapter 18. How belief in three persons upholds the true doctrine of divine unity. Against those who subordinate the Spirit.
Chapter 19. Against those who say that the Spirit should not be glorified.
Chapter 20. Against those who claim that the Spirit should not be ranked as a master or a slave, but as a freeman.
Chapter 21. Scriptural testimony that the Spirit is called Lord.
Chapter 22. Like the Father and the Son, the Spirit is incomprehensible, since He partakes of the same nature.
Chapter 23. The Spirit is glorified through the recounting of His unique wonders.
Chapter 24. Considering that many created things are glorified proves the absurdity of refusing to glorify the Spirit.
Chapter 25. The preposition in or by is used the same way as with; and also has the same force as with.
Chapter 26. There are many ways in may be suitably used in reference to the Spirit.
Chapter 27. How did the word with begin to be used? What is its strength? Also concerning the unwritten laws of the Church.
Chapter 28. Although Scripture describes men as reigning together with Christ, our opponents will not allow this word to be used concerning the Spirit.
Chapter 29. Enumeration of well-known men in the Church who have used the word with in their writings.
Chapter 30. Description of the present conditions of the Churches.
Item Number: BKV197
Publication data: Crestwood, NY: St Vladimir’s Seminary Press, 1980
Format: softcover
Number of pages: 118
Dimensions (l × w × h): 18.4 cm × 12.7 cm × 0.9 cm
ISBN: 0‒913836‒74‒5
$12.95 (USD)
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