Letter 5

From: Ferrandus, deacon of Carthage To: Severus the Scholastic Date: ~540 AD Context: Ferrandus writes to a layman named Severus on theological questions, engaging in the kind of scholarly correspondence that was central to the intellectual life of the African church. Ferrandus, servant of God, to the learned Severus, greetings in Christ. Your question about the relationship between the Trinity and creation — specifically, whether the act of creation involved all three persons of the Trinity equally or whether different aspects of creation can be attributed to different persons — is one I find genuinely interesting and want to engage with carefully. The orthodox answer, which I believe is correct, is that all the works of God external to the Trinity — creation, redemption, sanctification — are works of the entire Trinity acting as one. The Father does not create while the Son and Spirit watch; the Son does not redeem while the Father and Spirit observe; the Spirit does not sanctify independently of the Father and Son. The actions are common. This does not prevent the tradition from appropriating certain characteristics or activities to individual persons: creation to the Father, redemption to the Son, sanctification to the Spirit. This appropriation is based on the relations within the Trinity and is pedagogically useful. But it does not mean that the person to whom an act is appropriated is the only one involved. The practical consequence for prayer: when we pray to the Father, we address the Trinity; when we pray through the Son, we address the Trinity; when we invoke the Spirit, we address the Trinity. The distinctions are real; the unity is more real. Your servant in the faith, Ferrandus