NOTE: — 27 —

The spiritual religion of our Christianity teacheth us to hold and to make a twofold confession of mysteries: the one, the confession of sins, and the other, the confession of the orthodox faith. "And the same Yovhannēs had his raiment of camel's hair, and a leathern girdle about his loins; and his meat was locusts and wild honey . . . they came and confessed their sins" (Matt. 3:4–6; Mark 1:5). "And many that believed came, and confessed, and shewed their deeds" (Acts 19:18). "Confess your faults one to another" (Jas. 5:16). "If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins," etc. (1 John 1:9). All these testimonies are concerning the confession of sins before the presbyters, the spiritual ministers of the Church. After the same manner are also the confessions of faith in Christian truth: "Whosoever therefore shall confess me before men, him will I confess also before my Father which is in heaven" (Matt. 10:32). Many other words of Holy Scripture confirm this (see Rom. 10:9–10; John 9:22; 1 John 2:23; 4:2, 3, 15; 2 John 7; and in many other places of Holy Scripture). Their second error is plainly proved, in that they write thus: "We confess the holy Council of K‘aghkedon [Chalcedon] to be in agreement with the three holy-assembled former councils, namely, of Nikia [Nicaea], of Ep‘esos [Ephesus], [and] of Kostandnupolits‘ [Constantinople]." For if their mind were one of rectitude, and they had not in mind to devise some deceit, or to resort to these and those impostures and contrive new, self-willed religions, what need had they to compare the Council of K‘aghkedon with the three councils, and to show it in agreement with them? For the examinations and acts of each of the three Spirit-gathered councils were entirely diverse, and they were assembled on account of various, distinct heresies and errors. For the holy Council of Nikia was held on account of the ill-famed Arios [Arius], whose error our father of poets, the holy Movsēs Khorenats‘i, demonstrateth, writing thus: "About that time appeared Arios the Alexandrian, who taught grievously to blaspheme, [saying] that the Son is not equal to the Father, nor of the nature and essence of the Father, nor begotten of the Father before all ages, but a certain alien and..."