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Letters concerning the Establishment of the Holy Synod (1723)
Eastern Patriarchs, tr. King, 1865
3. Article 3
’ We believe that God, who is exceedingly good, from eternity ordained to glory those whom he has chosen, and gave up to condemnation those whom he rejected; but not that he thus willed to justify those, (the former,) and give up to condemnation these (the latter) without cause; for this would be unfitting for God, the Father of all, who has no respect of persons, and who wills that all men should be saved, and come to the knowledge of the truth. (1 Tim. 2: 4.) But foreseeing that those (the former) would use their free-will well, but these (the latter) ill, he foreordained, or condemned. But we understand the use of the free-will thus: That divine and enlightening grace, which also we call inceptive, by the divine goodness, affords light to all in darkness who are disposed to obey it, (because it does not benefit those not willing to obey it, but those willing,) and who are disposed to assent to the most important things which that commands for salvation; subsequently there is given to them a special grace, which, co-working, and strengthening, and rendering firm their love toward God, that is to say, to do the works which God wills us to do, which things the inceptive grace enjoins upon us to accomplish, justifies and renders them foreordained. But those who are not willing to obey, and consent to this grace, and who for this reason do not do what God wishes us to perform, and, by the artifices of Satan, abuse the free-will which they received from God, for the purpose of willingly performing what was good, are given up to everlasting condemnation. But for the execrable heretics to say that God foreordains or condemns without reference to the works of those foreordained or condemned, we know is impious and profane. For thus would Holy Writ be inconsistent with itself, which teaches the faithful that salvation is through works, and supposes that God alone is the cause, according to the enlightening grace which he gives previous to the supposed works; to show to man the truth of divine things, and teach so that he, if he should wish, may consent to it, and do what is good and pleasing, and thus attain salvation; it does not take away the act of willing or not willing to obey him. But that the divine will should be the cause of those who are condemned thus simply, and without reason, what madness does it not show! what sycophancy does it not bring against God! and what injustice and blasphemy does it not most loudly proclaim! For Divinity is not tempted of evil, and equally desires the salvation of all; as we know that respect of persons has no place with him, and we acknowledge as right the giving up to condemnation those vessels which have become profane, by their own wicked choice and impenitent heart. But we never say that God is the cause of eternal punishment, of cruelty, and unmercifulness, and misanthropy; as he has declared that there is joy in heaven over one sinner that repenteth. God forbid that we should so believe or understand while we exist; and we would subject to eternal anathema those saying and believing such things, and we know them to be worse than all infidels.