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The Trinity is a Christian doctrine, stating that God is one being who exists, simultaneously and eternally, as a mutual indwelling of three persons:[1] the Father, the Son (incarnate as Jesus Christ), and the Holy Spirit. Christianity ( Greek Χριστιανισμός from the word Xριστός ( Christ)is a monotheistic Religion centered on the life and teachings Jesus of Nazareth (7–2 BC / BCE —26–36 AD / CE) Christ is the English term for the Greek ( Khristós) meaning "the anointed " The virgin birth of Jesus is a religious Tenet of Christianity and Islam which holds that Mary miraculously conceived Jesus while The crucifixion of Jesus is an event recorded in all four Gospels (;;) which takes place after his arrest and trial and includes his scourging Within the body of Christian beliefs the resurrection of Jesus is a core event on which much of Christian doctrine and theology depend Church (disambiguation Christian Church and the word church are used to denote both a Christian association of people and a Place of worship The term New Covenant (; Greek:, diathēkē kainē is used in the Bible (both in the Hebrew Bible and the Greek New Testament) to refer The Twelve Apostles (Greek apostolos, "someone sent out" e This article is about the canonical books of the New Testament The purpose of this timeline is to give a detailed account of Christianity from the beginning of the current era ( AD) to the present Etymology According to the Online Etymology Dictionary, the word bible is from Latin biblia, traced from the same word through Medieval Latin and Late Latin In Western Christianity, the Old Testament refers to the books that form the first of the two-part Christian Biblical canon. Books of the Bible are listed differently in the canons of Jews and Catholic, Protestant, Greek Orthodox Slavonic Orthodox Georgian Armenian Apostolic A Biblical canon or canon of scripture is a list or Set of Biblical books considered to be authoritative as Scripture by a particular religious The biblical apocrypha (from the Greek word ἀπόκρυφος meaning hidden) are books published in an edition of the Bible whose canonicity Christian Theology is discourse concerning Christian faith Christian theologians use biblical Exegesis, rational analysis and argument In many religions the supreme Deity ( God) is given the title and attributions of Father. Christian views of Jesus consist of the teachings and beliefs held by Christian groups about Jesus including his divinity humanity and earthly life In mainstream Christianity, the Holy Spirit or Holy Ghost is one of the three entities of the Holy Trinity which make up the single substance This is an overview of the History of Christian Theology from the time of Christ to the present Christian Theology is discourse concerning Christian faith Christian theologians use biblical Exegesis, rational analysis and argument Christian apologetics is a field of Christian theology that aims to present a rational basis for the Christian faith, defend the faith against objections Christian tradition is a collection of Traditions of practice or belief associated with Christianity. Early Christianity is commonly defined as the Christianity of the three centuries between the Crucifixion of Jesus ( c This is a general introduction to ecumenical councils For the Roman Catholic councils, see Catholic Ecumenical Councils. A creed is a statement of Belief — usually Religious belief — or Faith often recited as part of a religious service See also Evangelism, Christianization A Christian mission has been widely defined since the Lausanne Congress of 1974 as that which The East-West Schism, or the Great Schism, divided medieval Christendom into Eastern (Greek and Western (Latin branches which later became known as the The Crusades were a series of military campaigns of a religious character waged by much of Christian Europe against external and internal opponents The Protestant Reformation was a reform movement in Europe that began in 1517 though its roots lie further back in time Denominationalism|List of Christian denominations|Church (disambiguation A Christian denomination is an identifiable religious body under a common name structure and doctrine within A sermon is an oration by a Prophet or member of the Clergy. Sermons address a Biblical, theological, or religious topic Prayer is an important theme in Christianity, and there are several different forms of prayer Ecumenism (also oecumenism, œcumenism) refers to initiatives aimed at greater Religious unity or cooperation Christianity and other religions appear to share some elements Christian movements are theological, political or philosophical interpretations of Christianity that are not generally represented by a specific church Christian music is music that is written to express either personal or a communal belief regarding Christian life A Liturgy is a set form of ceremony or pattern of worship Christian liturgy is a pattern for worship used (whether recommended or prescribed by a Christian congregation or The liturgical year, also known as the Christian year, consists of the cycle of liturgical seasons in Christian churches which determines when Christian symbolism is defined as the investing of outward things or actions with an inner meaning the expression of Christian ideas Christian art is Art produced in an attempt to illustrate supplement and portray in tangible form the principles of Christianity. Throughout the History of Christianity, a wide range of Christians and non-Christians alike have offered criticisms of Christianity, the Church, and Christians See also God Conceptions of God can vary widely despite the use of the same term for them all Bahá'ís believe in a single, imperishable God, the creator of all things including all the creatures and forces in the universe Since the time of the Buddha the refutation of the existence of a creator has been seen as a key point in distinguishing Buddhist from non-Buddhist views In Islam, God is believed to be the only real supreme being all-powerful and all knowing Creator Sustainer Ordainer and Judge of the universe Islam puts a heavy emphasis The conception of God in Judaism is Monotheistic. The God of Israel was known by two principal names in the Bible In Hinduism the concept of God is complex and depends on a particular tradition In the Latter Day Saint movement, the Godhead are the objects of worship and devotion within the faith The fundamental belief of Sikhism is that God exists not merely as an idea or concept but as a Real Entity indescribable yet knowable and perceivable to anyone who is prepared to dedicate Christianity ( Greek Χριστιανισμός from the word Xριστός ( Christ)is a monotheistic Religion centered on the life and teachings Doctrine (Latin doctrina) is a codification of beliefs or "a body of teachings quot or "instructions" taught principles or positions as the God is the principal or sole Deity in Religions and other belief systems that worship one deity. For the Celtic Frost album see Monotheist (album In Theology, monotheism (from Greek grc [[wiktμόνος μόνος]] While in the popular mind eternity often simply means existing for a limitless amount of Time, many have used it to refer to a timeless existence altogether outside of Perichoresis in Christian theology, refers to the mutual inter-penetration and indwelling of the Father and the Son. ---- In mathematics Three is the first odd Prime number, and the second smallest prime In many religions the supreme Deity ( God) is given the title and attributions of Father. God the Son is the second person of the Trinity in Christian Theology. Jesus of Nazareth (7–2 BC / BCE —26–36 AD / CE) In mainstream Christianity, the Holy Spirit or Holy Ghost is one of the three entities of the Holy Trinity which make up the single substance Since the beginning of the third century[2] the doctrine of the Trinity has been stated as "that the one God exists in three Persons and one substance, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit". Ousia () is the Ancient Greek noun formed on the feminine present participle of ( to be) it is analogous to the English participle [3] Trinitarianism, belief in the Trinity, is a mark of Oriental and Eastern Orthodoxy, Roman Catholicism and all the mainstream traditions arising from the Protestant Reformation, such as Anglicanism, Lutheranism and Presbyterianism; and the Trinity has been described as "the central dogma of Christian theology". Oriental Orthodoxy is the communion of Eastern Christian Churches that recognize only three Ecumenical councils — the First Council of Nicaea, the The Eastern Orthodox Church is the second largest single Christian Communion in the world The Protestant Reformation was a reform movement in Europe that began in 1517 though its roots lie further back in time Anglicanism is a tradition of Christian faith Churches in this tradition either have historical connections to the Church of England or have similar beliefs Lutheranism is a major branch of Western Christianity that identifies with the teachings of the sixteenth-century German reformer Martin Luther Presbyterianism is a family of Christian denominations within the Reformed branch of Protestant Western Christianity [3]

Opposing nontrinitarian positions held by some groups include Binitarianism (two deities/persons/aspects), Unitarianism (one deity/person/aspect), the Latter Day Saints view of the Godhead as three separate beings, one in purpose, and Modalism (Oneness). Nontrinitarianism includes all Christian belief systems that reject as non-scriptural wholly or partly the doctrine of the Trinity; the Doctrine Binitarianism is a Christian theology of two personae two individuals or two aspects in one Godhead (or God as opposed to one ( Unitarianism Unitarianism as a theology is the belief in the single personality of God in contrast to the doctrine of the Trinity (three persons in one God In the Latter Day Saint movement, the Godhead are the objects of worship and devotion within the faith In Christianity, Sabellianism (also known as modalism, modalistic monarchianism, or modal monarchism) is the Nontrinitarian belief

The doctrine of the Trinity was of particular importance historically. The conflict with Arianism and other competing theological concepts during the fourth century became the first major doctrinal confrontation in Church history. Arianism is the theological teaching of Arius (c AD 250-336 who was ruled a heretic by the Christian church at the Council of Nicea. It had a particularly lasting effect within the Western Roman Empire where the Germanic Arians and the Nicene Christians formed segregated social orders. The Western Roman Empire refers to the western half of the Roman Empire, from its division by Diocletian in 285 the other half of the Roman Empire was the Eastern

Contents

Etymology

The "Shield of the Trinity" or "Scutum Fidei" diagram of traditional Western Christian symbolism.
The "Shield of the Trinity" or "Scutum Fidei" diagram of traditional Western Christian symbolism. The Shield of the Trinity or Scutum Fidei is a traditional Christian visual symbol which expresses many aspects of the doctrine of the Trinity

For the concept the word "Trinity" (in Latin, Trinitas) began to be used around the year 200. Latin ( lingua Latīna, laˈtiːna is an Italic language, historically spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. This Latin word means "the number three, a triad",[4] an abstract noun formed from the adjective trinus (three each, threefold, triple),[5] as the word unitas is the abstract noun formed from unus (one). The Greek term used for the Christian Trinity, "Τριάς" ("Trias", gen. Greek (el ελληνική γλώσσα or simply el ελληνικά — "Hellenic" is an Indo-European language, spoken today by 15-22 million people mainly "Triados") means "a set of three" or "the number three",[6] and has given the English word triad. The word "trinity" itself is not found in the Christian Bible, any more than is the word "monotheism", but Christians in general believe that what is meant by these two words is taught in the Bible.

The doctrine of the Trinity is the result of continuous exploration of the Bible by the church, argued in debate and treatises. [7] The concept was expressed in early writings from the beginning of the second century forward.

The first recorded use of the word "Trinity" in Christian theology was in about AD 180 by Theophilus of Antioch who used the corresponding word in Greek (Τριάς) to refer to "the Trinity, of God, and His Word, and His wisdom", of which he considered the first three days of creation to be types. There is also a Theophilus of Alexandria ( c AD 412 Theophilus, Patriarch of Antioch, succeeded Eros c [8][9] He did not apply the word to the Trinity of Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

Tertullian, a Latin theologian who wrote in the early third century, is credited with using the words "Trinity",[10] "person" and "substance"[11] to explain that the Father, Son and Holy Spirit were "one in essence – not one in Person". Quintus Septimius Florens Tertullianus, Anglicised as Tertullian, (ca [12]

About a century later, the First Council of Nicaea (325) established the doctrine of the Trinity as orthodoxy and adopted the Nicene Creed that described Christ as "God of God, Light of Light, very God of very God, begotten, not made, being of one substance (homoousios) with the Father". The First Council of Nicaea, held in Nicaea in Bithynia (present-day İznik in Turkey) convoked by the Roman Emperor Constantine The Nicene Creed (ˈnaɪsiːn is an ecumenical Christian statement of faith accepted in the Eastern Orthodox Church, Assyrian Church of

Trinity in Scripture

Sculptural group from the Holy Trinity Column in Olomouc, Czech Republic, 18th century
Sculptural group from the Holy Trinity Column in Olomouc, Czech Republic, 18th century

Neither of the words "Trinity" nor "Triunity" appear in the Old Testament or New Testament. The Holy Trinity Column in Olomouc is a magnificent Baroque monument in the Czech Republic, built in 1716&ndash 1754 in honour of God. The Czech Republic ( ˈt͡ʃɛskaː ˈrɛpuˌblɪka short form in Česko ˈt͡ʃɛskɔ also called Czechia, In Western Christianity, the Old Testament refers to the books that form the first of the two-part Christian Biblical canon. Various passages from both have been cited as supporting this doctrine, while other passages are cited as opposing it.

The Old Testament refers to God's Word, his Spirit, and Wisdom. In Western Christianity, the Old Testament refers to the books that form the first of the two-part Christian Biblical canon. These have been interpreted as adumbrations of the doctrine of the Trinity, as have been also narratives such as the appearance of the three men to Abraham in Genesis 18. [3] Some Church Fathers believed that a knowledge of the mystery was granted to the Prophets and saints of the Old Dispensation, and they identified the divine messenger of Genesis 16:7, 21:17, 31:11, Exodus 3:2, and Wisdom of the sapiential books with the Son, and "the spirit of the Lord" with the Holy Spirit. [13] However, it is generally agreed that it would go beyond the intention and spirit of the Old Testament to correlate these notions directly with later Trinitarian doctrine. [14][13]

The New Testament does not use the word "Τριάς" (Trinity) nor explicitly teach it, but provided the material on which the doctrine of the Trinity is based. [15] It required reflection by the earliest Christians on the coming of Jesus Christ and of what they believed to be the presence and power of God among them, which they called the Holy Spirit; and it associated the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit in such passages as the Great Commission: "Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit" (Matthew 28:19) and Paul the Apostle"s blessing: "The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all" (2 Corinthians 13:14), while at the same time not contradicting the Jewish Shema Yisrael: "Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God is one Lord" (Deuteronomy 6:4). Paul the apostle (שאול התרסי Šaʾul HaTarsi, meaning " Saul of Tarsus " Σαούλ Saul and Σαῦλος Saulos and Shema Yisrael (or Sh'ma Yisroel or just Shema) ( Hebrew: שמע ישראל "Hear Israel" are the first two words of a section of [16][17]

The diverse references to God, Jesus, and the Spirit found in the New Testament were later systematized into the idea of a Trinity – one God subsisting in three persons and one substance – in order to combat heretical tendencies of how the three are related and to defend the church against charges of worshipping two or three gods. [18] The doctrine itself was not explicitly stated in the New Testament and no New Testament writer expounds on the relationship among the three in the detail of that later writers do. Thus, while Matthew records a special connection between God the Father and Jesus the Son (e. g. 11:27), he falls short of claiming that Jesus is equal with God. (cf. 24:36) . [18] The Gospel of John was referred to for the presentation of Jesus as equal with the Father. The Gospel of John (literally According to John; Greek, Κατὰ Ἰωάννην Kata Iōannēn) is the fourth Gospel in the canon [19]

The Gospel of John does suggest the equality and unity of Father and Son. ("I and the Father are one" John 10:30). This Gospel starts with "the affirmation that in the beginning Jesus as Word "was with God and . . . was God" (John 1:1) and ends with Thomas's confession of faith to Jesus, "My Lord and my God!" (John 20:28). [18] There is no significant tendency among modern scholars to deny that these two verses identify Jesus with God. [20]

Furthermore, the fourth Gospel elaborates on the role of Holy Spirit being sent as an advocate for believers. [18] The immediate context of these verses was providing "assurance of the presence and power of God both in the ministry of Jesus and the ongoing life of the community". Beyond this immediate context, these verses caused questions of relation between Father, Son and the Holy Spirit, their distinction and yet unity. These questions have been hotly debated over the following centuries, although mainstream Christianity has generally resolved the issue through the writing of creeds. [18]

Summarizing the role of scripture in the formation of Trinitarian belief, Gregory Nazianzen argues in his Orations that the revelation was intentionally gradual:

The Old Testament proclaimed the Father openly, and the Son more obscurely. Gregory of Nazianzus (329 – January 25 389) (also known as Gregory the Theologian or Gregory Nazianzen) was a 4th-century Archbishop The New manifested the Son, and suggested the deity of the Spirit. Now the Spirit himself dwells among us, and supplies us with a clearer demonstration of himself. For it was not safe, when the Godhead of the Father was not yet acknowledged, plainly to proclaim the Son; nor when that of the Son was not yet received to burden us further. [21]

Scriptural texts cited as implying support

To support Trinitarianism, Bible exegetes cite references to the Trinity, to Jesus as God, and both to God alone and to Jesus as the Savior.

References to the Trinity

A few verses directly reference the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit:

Jesus as God

Many verses in John, the epistles, and Revelation imply support for the doctrine that Jesus Christ is God and the closely related concept of the Trinity. Revelation is the act of revealing or disclosing (see etymology or in the theological perception making something obvious and clearly understood through active or passive communication The Gospel of John in particular supports Jesus' divinity. This is a partial list of supporting Bible verses:

The Bible also refers to Jesus as a man, which is in line with the Trinitarian concept that Jesus was fully human as well as fully divine which is expressed through the theological concept of kenosis. Kenosis is a Greek word for Emptiness, which is used as a theological term

God alone is the Savior and the Savior is Jesus

The Old Testament identifies the LORD as the only savior, and the New Testament identifies Jesus Christ as God and Savior. These verses are consistent with Trinitarianism, as well as various nontrinitarian beliefs (binitarianism, modalism, the Latter-Day Saints' Godhead, Arianism, etc. )

History

Pope Clement I prays to the Trinity, in a typical post-Renaissance depiction by Gianbattista Tiepolo.
Pope Clement I prays to the Trinity, in a typical post-Renaissance depiction by Gianbattista Tiepolo. Saint See also Giovanni Domenico Tiepolo (or Giandomenico Tiepolo) or Lorenzo Baldissera Tiepolo, both sons of Giovanni Battista

The Origin of the Formula

Main article: Trinity of the Church Fathers

The basis for the doctrine of the Trinity is found in New Testament passages that associate the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. The Trinity formula occurred very early in the history of the Christian Church [24] Two such passages[24] are Matthew's Great Commission: "Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit" (Matthew 28:19) and St Paul's: "The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all" (2 Corinthians 13:14). The Great Commission, in Christian tradition is the instruction of the resurrected Jesus Christ to his disciples, that they spread his teachings Paul the apostle (שאול התרסי Šaʾul HaTarsi, meaning " Saul of Tarsus " Σαούλ Saul and Σαῦλος Saulos and

In 325, the Council of Nicaea adopted a term for the relationship between the Son and the Father that from then on was seen as the hallmark of orthodoxy; it declared that the Son is "of the same substance" (ὁμοούσιος) as the Father. The First Council of Nicaea, held in Nicaea in Bithynia (present-day İznik in Turkey) convoked by the Roman Emperor Constantine Ousia () is the Ancient Greek noun formed on the feminine present participle of ( to be) it is analogous to the English participle This was further developed into the formula "three persons, one substance". The answer to the question "What is God?" indicates the one-ness of the divine nature, while the answer to the question "Who is God?" indicates the three-ness of "Father, Son and Holy Spirit". [25]

Saint Athanasius, who was a participant in the Council, stated that the bishops were forced to use this terminology, which is not found in Scripture, because the Biblical phrases that they would have preferred to use were claimed by the Arians to be capable of being interpreted in what the bishops considered to be a heretical sense. Arianism is the theological teaching of Arius (c AD 250-336 who was ruled a heretic by the Christian church at the Council of Nicea. [26] They therefore "commandeered the non-scriptural[27] term homoousios ('of one substance') in order to safeguard the essential relation of the Son to the Father that had been denied by Arius. "[28]

The Confession of the Council of Nicaea said little about the Holy Spirit. [24] The doctrine of the divinity and personality of the Holy Spirit was developed by Athanasius (c 293 - 373) in the last decades of his life. [29] He both defended and refined the Nicene formula. [24] By the end of the 4th century, under the leadership of Basil of Caesarea, Gregory of Nyssa, and Gregory of Nazianzus (the Cappadocian Fathers), the doctrine had reached substantially its current form. Basil of Caesarea, also called Saint Basil the Great (c 330 – January 1, 379) (Άγιος Βασίλειος ο Μέγας Latin Gregory of Nyssa ( Greek: Άγιος Γρηγόριος Νύσσης Latin: Gregorius Nyssenus; Arabic: غريغوريوس النيصي Gregory of Nazianzus (329 – January 25 389) (also known as Gregory the Theologian or Gregory Nazianzen) was a 4th-century Archbishop The Cappadocians (or Cappadocian philosophers, Cappadocian Fathers) are significant figures in the history of the Church Fathers, who significantly [24]

Comma Johanneum

Main article: Comma Johanneum

One explicit Trinitarian passage often quoted from the King James Version of 1 John 5:7 is an addition to the original: "For there are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost: and these three are one. The Comma Johanneum is a comma (a short clause contained in most translations of the First Epistle of John published from 1522 until the latter part of the nineteenth "

Though this passage, known as the Comma Johanneum is commonly found in Latin manuscripts, it is totally absent from the Greek manuscripts, except for a few late examples, where the passage appears to have been back-translated from the Latin. The Comma Johanneum is a comma (a short clause contained in most translations of the First Epistle of John published from 1522 until the latter part of the nineteenth Erasmus, the compiler of the Textus Receptus, on which the King James Version was based, noticed that the passage was not found in any of the Greek manuscripts at his disposal and refused to include it until presented with an example containing it, which he rightly suspected was concocted after the fact. Textus Receptus ( Latin: "received text" is the name subsequently given to the succession of printed Greek texts of the New Testament which constituted [30] Although the Latin Church Father, Saint Cyprian, is thought to have referred to the passage,[31] it is now considered not to have been part of the original text, and is omitted from modern translations of the Bible, even from the revision of the Vulgate that is now the official Latin text of the Roman Catholic Church. This page is about Cyprian bishop of Carthage For other Cyprians see Cyprian (disambiguation. The Vulgate is an early Fifth Century version of the Bible in Latin, and largely the result of the labours of Jerome, who was commissioned by [32]

Formulation of the Doctrine

The most significant developments in articulating the doctrine of the Trinity took place in the 4th century, with a group of men known as the Theologians. Theology is the study of a god or the gods from a religious perspective [33] Although the earliest Church Fathers had affirmed the teachings of the Apostles, their focus was on their pastoral duties to the Church under the persecution of the Roman Empire. The Church Fathers, Early Church Fathers, or Fathers of the Church are the early and influential theologians and writers in the Christian Church [33] Thus the early Fathers were largely unable to compose doctrinal treatises and theological expositions. With the relaxing of the persecution of the church during the rise of Constantine, the stage was set for ecumenical dialogue. [33]

Trinitarians believe that the resultant councils and creeds did not discover or create doctrine, but rather, responding to serious heresies such as Arianism, articulated in the creeds the truths that the orthodox church had believed since the time of the apostles. Arianism is the theological teaching of Arius (c AD 250-336 who was ruled a heretic by the Christian church at the Council of Nicea. The Trinity formula occurred very early in the history of the Christian Church [33]

Depiction of Trinity from Saint Denis Basilica in Paris.
Depiction of Trinity from Saint Denis Basilica in Paris. The Basilica of Saint Denis ( French: Basilique de Saint-Denis, or simply Basilique Saint-Denis) is the burial site of almost all the French Paris (ˈpærɨs in English; in French) is the Capital of France and the country's largest city

The Trinitarian view has been affirmed as an article of faith by the Nicene (325/381) and Athanasian creeds (circa 500), which attempted to standardize belief in the face of disagreements on the subject. SSC RF "Troitsk Institute of Innovative and Termonuclear Research" or TRINITY for shprt Троицкий Институт инновационных и термоядерных The Nicene Creed (ˈnaɪsiːn is an ecumenical Christian statement of faith accepted in the Eastern Orthodox Church, Assyrian Church of The Athanasian Creed ( Quicumque vult) is a statement of Christian Trinitarian doctrine and Christology which has been used in A creed is a statement of Belief — usually Religious belief — or Faith often recited as part of a religious service These creeds were formulated and ratified by the Church of the third and fourth centuries in reaction to heterodox theologies concerning the Trinity and/or Christ. Heterodoxy includes "any opinions or doctrines at variance with an official or orthodox position" Christology (from Christ and Greek grc -λογία -logia) is a field of study within Christian theology which is concerned with The Nicene-Constantinopolitan Creed, revised in 381 by the second of these councils, is professed by the Eastern Orthodox Church and, with one addition (Filioque clause), the Roman Catholic Church, and has been retained in some form in the Anglican Communion and most Protestant denominations. The Eastern Orthodox Church is the second largest single Christian Communion in the world Filioque, a Latin phrase meaning "and (from the Son" In Western Christianity, it was added to the Nicene-Constantinopolitan Creed See also Anglicanism The Anglican Communion is an international association of national Anglican churches Protestantism refers to the forms of Christian faith and practice that originated in the 16th century Protestant Reformation. Church (disambiguation A religious denomination is a subgroup within a Religion that operates under a common name tradition and identity

The Nicene Creed, which is a classic formulation of the doctrine of the Trinity, uses "homoousios" (Greek: of the same essence) of the relation of the Son's relationship with the Father. The Nicene Creed (ˈnaɪsiːn is an ecumenical Christian statement of faith accepted in the Eastern Orthodox Church, Assyrian Church of Ousia () is the Ancient Greek noun formed on the feminine present participle of ( to be) it is analogous to the English participle Greek (el ελληνική γλώσσα or simply el ελληνικά — "Hellenic" is an Indo-European language, spoken today by 15-22 million people mainly This word differs from that used by non-Trinitarians of the time, "homoiousios" (Greek: of similar essence), by a single Greek letter, "one iota", a fact proverbially used to speak of deep divisions, especially in theology, expressed by seemingly small verbal differences. Iota (uppercase &Iota, lowercase ι Ιώτα Yota is the ninth letter of the Greek alphabet.

One of the (probably three) Church councils that in 264–266 condemned Paul of Samosata for his Adoptionist theology also condemned the term "homoousios" in the sense he used it. Paul of Samosata (lived from 200 to 275 AD was Bishop of Antioch from 260 to 268 Adoptionism, also called dynamic Monarchianism, was a minority Christian belief that Jesus was born merely human and that he became divine later in his life Fourth-century Christians who objected to the Nicene trinity made copious use of this condemnation by a reputable council. [34]

Moreover, the meanings of "ousia" and "hypostasis" overlapped at the time, so that the latter term for some meant essence and for others person. Athanasius of Alexandria (293–373) helped to clarify the terms. [35]

Because Christianity converts cultures from within, the doctrinal formulas as they have developed bear the marks of the ages through which the church has passed. The rhetorical tools of Greek philosophy, especially of Neoplatonism, are evident in the language adopted to explain the church's rejection of Arianism and Adoptionism on one hand (teaching that Christ is inferior to the Father, or even that he was merely human), and Docetism and Sabellianism on the other hand (teaching that Christ was an illusion, or that he was identical to God the Father). Neoplatonism (also Neo-Platonism) is the modern term for a school of religious and mystical Philosophy that took shape in the 3rd century AD founded by Arianism is the theological teaching of Arius (c AD 250-336 who was ruled a heretic by the Christian church at the Council of Nicea. Adoptionism, also called dynamic Monarchianism, was a minority Christian belief that Jesus was born merely human and that he became divine later in his life In Christianity, Docetism (from the Greek, "to seem" is the belief that Jesus ' physical body was an illusion as was his Crucifixion In Christianity, Sabellianism (also known as modalism, modalistic monarchianism, or modal monarchism) is the Nontrinitarian belief Augustine of Hippo has been noted at the forefront of these formulations; and he contributed much to the speculative development of the doctrine of the Trinity as it is known today, in the West; the Cappadocian Fathers (Basil the Great, Gregory of Nyssa, and Gregory Nazianzus) are more prominent in the East. Development of doctrine is a term used by John Henry Newman and other theologians influenced by him to describe the way Catholic teaching has become more detailed The Cappadocians (or Cappadocian philosophers, Cappadocian Fathers) are significant figures in the history of the Church Fathers, who significantly Basil of Caesarea, also called Saint Basil the Great (c 330 – January 1, 379) (Άγιος Βασίλειος ο Μέγας Latin Gregory of Nyssa ( Greek: Άγιος Γρηγόριος Νύσσης Latin: Gregorius Nyssenus; Arabic: غريغوريوس النيصي Gregory of Nazianzus (329 – January 25 389) (also known as Gregory the Theologian or Gregory Nazianzen) was a 4th-century Archbishop The imprint of Augustinianism is found, for example, in the western Athanasian Creed, which, although it bears the name and reproduces the views of the fourth century opponent of Arianism, was probably written much later. The Athanasian Creed ( Quicumque vult) is a statement of Christian Trinitarian doctrine and Christology which has been used in

These controversies were for most purposes settled at the Ecumenical councils, whose creeds affirm the doctrine of the Trinity. This is a general introduction to ecumenical councils For the Roman Catholic councils, see Catholic Ecumenical Councils.

According to the Athanasian Creed, each of these three divine persons is said to be eternal, each almighty, none greater or less than another, each God, and yet together being but one God, So are we forbidden by the Catholic religion to say; There are three Gods or three Lords. —Athanasian Creed, line 20.

Modalists attempted to resolve the mystery of the Trinity by holding that the Father, the Son and the Holy Ghost are merely modes, or roles, of God. In Christianity, Sabellianism (also known as modalism, modalistic monarchianism, or modal monarchism) is the Nontrinitarian belief This anti-Trinitarian view contends that the three "persons" are not distinct persons, but titles which describe how humanity has interacted with or had experiences with God. In the role of the Father, God is the provider and creator of all. In the mode of the Son, man experiences God in the flesh, as a human, fully man and fully God. God manifests himself as the Holy Spirit by his actions on Earth and within the lives of Christians. This view is known as Sabellianism, and was rejected as heresy by the Ecumenical Councils although it is still prevalent today among denominations known as "Oneness" and "Apostolic" Pentecostal Christians, the largest of these sects being the United Pentecostal Church. In Christianity, Sabellianism (also known as modalism, modalistic monarchianism, or modal monarchism) is the Nontrinitarian belief Heresy, as a blanket term describes a practice or belief that is labeled as unorthodox Church (disambiguation A religious denomination is a subgroup within a Religion that operates under a common name tradition and identity Trinitarianism insists that the Father, Son and Spirit simultaneously exist, each fully the same God.

The doctrine developed into its present form precisely through this kind of confrontation with alternatives; and the process of refinement continues in the same way. Even now, ecumenical dialogue between Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox, Roman Catholic, the Assyrian Church of the East, Anglican and Trinitarian Protestants, seeks an expression of Trinitarian and Christological doctrine which will overcome the extremely subtle differences that have largely contributed to dividing them into separate communities. Oriental Orthodoxy is the communion of Eastern Christian Churches that recognize only three Ecumenical councils — the First Council of Nicaea, the The Holy Apostolic Catholic Assyrian Church of the East (ܥܕܬܐ ܩܕܝܫܬܐ ܘܫܠܝܚܝܬܐ ܩܬܘܠܝܩܝ ܕܡܕܢܚܐ ܕܐܬܘܪ̈ܝܐ ‘Ittā Qaddishtā wa-Shlikhāitā Qattoliqi The doctrine of the Trinity is therefore symbolic, somewhat paradoxically, of both division and unity.

Trinitarian Theology

Baptism as the beginning lesson

Baptism of Christ, by Piero della Francesca, 15th century
Baptism of Christ, by Piero della Francesca, 15th century

Baptism itself is generally conferred with the Trinitarian formula, "in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit" (Matthew 28:19). Piero della Francesca (c 1412 &ndash October 12, 1492) was an Italian artist of the Early Renaissance. The trinitarian formula is the phrase " in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit " (original Greek εις το ονομα Trinitarians identify this name with the Christian faith into which baptism is an initiation, as seen for example in the statement of Basil the Great (330–379): "We are bound to be baptized in the terms we have received, and to profess faith in the terms in which we have been baptized. Basil of Caesarea, also called Saint Basil the Great (c 330 – January 1, 379) (Άγιος Βασίλειος ο Μέγας Latin " "This is the Faith of our baptism", the First Council of Constantinople also says (382), "that teaches us to believe in the Name of the Father, of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. The Second Ecumenical Council the first held in Constantinople was called by Theodosius I in 381 which confirmed the Nicene Creed and dealt with other matters such According to this Faith there is one Godhead, Power, and Being of the Father, of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. " Matthew 28:19 may be taken to indicate that baptism was associated with this Trinitarian formula from the earliest decades of the Church's existence.

Some groups, such as Oneness Pentecostals, demur from the Trinitarian view on baptism. Overview Although both Oneness and Trinitarian denominations acknowledge the God of the Bible as the only God in existence and that Jesus was For them, the fact that Acts does not mention the formula outweighs all other considerations, and is a liturgical guide for their own practice. For this reason, they often focus on the baptisms in Acts, citing many authoritative theological works. For example, Kittel is cited where he is speaking of the phrase "in the name" (Greek: εἰς τὸ ὄνομα) as used in the baptisms recorded in Acts:

The distinctive feature of Christian baptism is that it is administered in Christ (εἰς Χριστόν), or in the name of Christ (εἰς τὸ ὄνομα Χριστοῦ). Koine Greek (Κοινὴ Ἑλληνική, "common Greek" or, ciˈni ðiˈale̞kto̞s "the common dialect" is the popular form of Greek which emerged in (Gerhard Kittel, Theological Dictionary of the New Testament (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1977), 1:539. )
The formula (εἰς τὸ ὄνομα) seems rather to have been a tech. term in Hellenistic commerce ("to the account"). In both cases the use of the phrase is understandable, since the account bears the name of the one who owns it, and in baptism the name of Christ is pronounced, invoked and confessed by the one who baptises or the one baptised (Acts 22:16) or both. (Kittel, 1:540. )

Those who place great emphasis on the baptisms in Acts often likewise question the authenticity of Matthew 28:19 in its present form. A. Ploughman, apparently following F. C. Conybeare, has questioned the authenticity of Matthew 28:19, but the majority of scholars of New Testament textual criticism accept the authenticity of the passage, since there are no variant manuscripts regarding the formula, and the extant form of the passage is attested in the Didache[36] and other patristic works of the first and second centuries: Ignatius,[37] Tertullian,[38] Hippolytus,[39] Cyprian,[40] and Gregory Thaumaturgus. Frederick Cornwallis Conybeare (1856 - 1924 was a British orientalist Fellow of University College Oxford, and Professor of Theology at the University of Oxford Textual criticism (or lower criticism) is a branch of Literary criticism that is concerned with the identification and removal of Transcription errors in The Didache ( Koine Greek:, Didachē, meaning "Teaching" ˈdɪdəkiː in English ðiðaˈxi in Modern Greek) is the common name of a brief The Church Fathers, Early Church Fathers, or Fathers of the Church are the early and influential theologians and writers in the Christian Church Saint Ignatius of Antioch (also known as Theophorus) (ca 35-110 was the third Bishop and Patriarch of Antioch and possibly a student of the Apostle John Quintus Septimius Florens Tertullianus, Anglicised as Tertullian, (ca For places named after the saint see Saint-Hippolyte Saint Hippolytus of Rome (c This page is about Cyprian bishop of Carthage For other Cyprians see Cyprian (disambiguation. Saint Gregory of Neocaesarea, also known as Gregory Thaumaturgus or Gregory the Wonderworker, (ca [41] The Acts of the Apostles only mentions believers being baptized "in the name of Jesus Christ" (Acts 2:38, 10:48) and "in the name of the Lord Jesus" (Acts 8:16, Acts 19:5). The Acts of the Apostles is a book of the Bible, which now stands fifth in the New Testament. There are no biblical references to baptism in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit outside of Matthew 28:19, nor references, biblical or patristic, to baptism in the name of (the Lord) Jesus (Christ) outside the Acts of the Apostles. [42]

Commenting on Matthew 28:19, Gerhard Kittel states:

This threefold relation [of Father, Son and Spirit] soon found fixed expression in the triadic formulae in 2 C. 13:13, and in 1 Corinthians 12:4–6. The form is first found in the baptismal formula in Matthew 28:19; Did. , 7. 1 and 3. . . . [I]t is self-evident that Father, Son and Spirit are here linked in an indissoluble threefold relationship. [43]

In the synoptic Gospels the baptism of Jesus himself is often interpreted as a manifestation of all three persons of the Trinity: "And when Jesus was baptized, he went up immediately from the water, and behold, the heavens were opened and he saw the spirit of God descending like a dove, and alighting on him; and lo, a voice from heaven, saying, This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased" (Matthew 3:16–17). The synoptic gospels are the first three Gospels of the New Testament in the Christian Bible. In the Synoptic gospels, Jesus is baptised by John the Baptist.

One God

God is one, and the Godhead a single being: The Hebrew Scriptures lift this one article of faith above others, and surround it with stern warnings against departure from this central issue of faith, and of faithfulness to the covenant God had made with them. In Western Christianity, the Old Testament refers to the books that form the first of the two-part Christian Biblical canon. "Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God is one LORD" (Deuteronomy 6:4) (the Shema), "Thou shalt have no other gods before me" (Deuteronomy 5:7) and, "Thus saith the LORD the King of Israel and his redeemer the LORD of hosts: I am the first and I am the last; and beside me there is no God. God is the principal or sole Deity in Religions and other belief systems that worship one deity. Shema Yisrael (or Sh'ma Yisroel or just Shema) ( Hebrew: שמע ישראל "Hear Israel" are the first two words of a section of " (Isaiah 44:6). Any formulation of an article of faith which does not insist that God is solitary, that divides worship between God and any other, or that imagines God coming into existence rather than being God eternally, is not capable of directing people toward the knowledge of God, according to the Trinitarian understanding of the Old Testament. In Western Christianity, the Old Testament refers to the books that form the first of the two-part Christian Biblical canon. The same insistence is found in the New Testament: "Why do you call me good? Jesus answered. No one is good—except God alone" (Mark 10:18), and, as other so-called gods are merely mythological, "there is no God but one" (1 Corinthians 8:4-6).

In the Trinitarian view, the Father and Christ share the one essence, substance or being. The central and crucial affirmation of Christian faith is that there is one savior, God, and one salvation, manifest in Jesus Christ, to which there is access only because of the Holy Spirit. The God of the Old Testament is still the same as the God of the New. In Christianity, it is understood that statements about a solitary God are intended to distinguish the Hebraic understanding from the polytheistic view, which see divine power as shared by several beings, beings which can, and do, disagree and have conflicts with each other. Polytheism is belief in or worship of multiple Gods (usually assembled in a pantheon) together with associated Mythology and Rituals

God in three persons

According to the Trinity doctrine, God exists as three persons, or in the Greek hypostases, but is one being. [44] God has but a single divine nature. Chalcedonians—Roman Catholics, Orthodox Christians, Anglicans and Protestants—hold that, in addition, the second person of the Trinity—God the Son, Jesus—assumed human nature, so that he has two natures (and hence two wills), and is really and fully both true God and true human. Chalcedonian refers to churches and theologians which accept the definition given at the Council of Chalcedon (451 AD of how the divine and human relate in the person of The Eastern Orthodox Church is the second largest single Christian Communion in the world Anglicanism is a tradition of Christian faith Churches in this tradition either have historical connections to the Church of England or have similar beliefs Protestantism refers to the forms of Christian faith and practice that originated in the 16th century Protestant Reformation. In the Oriental Orthodox theology, the Chalcedonian formulation is rejected in favor of the position that the union of the two natures, though unconfused, births a third nature: redeemed humanity, the new creation. Oriental Orthodoxy is the communion of Eastern Christian Churches that recognize only three Ecumenical councils — the First Council of Nicaea, the

The members of the Trinity are said to be co-equal and co-eternal, one in essence, nature, power, action, and will. As stated in the Athanasian Creed, the Father is uncreated, the Son is uncreated, and the Holy Spirit is uncreated, and all three are eternal with no beginning. The Athanasian Creed ( Quicumque vult) is a statement of Christian Trinitarian doctrine and Christology which has been used in [45] The Roman Catholic Church teaches that, in the sense of the Latin verb procedere, but not in that of the Greek verb ἐκπορεύεσθαι, the Spirit "proceeds" from the Father and the Son (see Filioque). Latin ( lingua Latīna, laˈtiːna is an Italic language, historically spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. Filioque, a Latin phrase meaning "and (from the Son" In Western Christianity, it was added to the Nicene-Constantinopolitan Creed

It has been stated that because three persons exist in God as one unity,[46] "The Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit" are not three different names for different parts of God but one name for God,[47] because the Father can not be divided from the Son or the Holy Spirit from the Son. God has always loved, and there has always existed perfectly harmonious communion between the three persons of the Trinity. One consequence of this teaching is that God could not have created man in order to have someone to talk to or to love: God "already" enjoyed personal communion; being perfect, he did not create man because of any lack or inadequacy he had. Another consequence, according to Rev. Fr. Thomas Hopko, an Eastern Orthodox theologian, is that if God were not a Trinity, he could not have loved prior to creating other beings on whom to bestow his love. Thus we find God saying in Genesis 1:26-27, "Let us make man in our image, in our likeness, and let them rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock, over all the earth, and over all the creatures that move along the ground. So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them. " For Trinitarians, emphasis in Genesis 1:26 is on the plurality in the Deity, and in 1:27 on the unity of the divine Essence. A possible interpretation of Genesis 1:26 is that God's relationships in the Trinity are mirrored in man by the ideal relationship between husband and wife, two persons becoming one flesh, as described in Eve's creation later in the next chapter. In Genesis, Eve is the first woman the wife of Adam. God created her from Adam's rib as his helpmate Genesis 2:22 Some Trinitarian Christians support their position with the Comma Johanneum described above, even though it is widely regarded as inauthentic. The Comma Johanneum is a comma (a short clause contained in most translations of the First Epistle of John published from 1522 until the latter part of the nineteenth

Mutually indwelling

Trinity from a Book of Hours, an untypical depiction, with symbols of the Four Evangelists)
Trinity from a Book of Hours, an untypical depiction, with symbols of the Four Evangelists)

A useful explanation of the relationship of the distinct divine persons is called "perichoresis", from Greek going around, envelopment (written with a long O, omega—some mistakenly associate it with the Greek word for dance, which however is spelled with a short O, omicron). A book of hours is the most common type of surviving Medieval Illuminated manuscript. The Four Evangelists refers to the authors of the four Gospel accounts in the New Testament that bear the following ancient titles Gospel according Perichoresis in Christian theology, refers to the mutual inter-penetration and indwelling of the Father and the Son. Greek (el ελληνική γλώσσα or simply el ελληνικά — "Hellenic" is an Indo-European language, spoken today by 15-22 million people mainly This concept refers for its basis to John 14–17, where Jesus is instructing the disciples concerning the meaning of his departure. His going to the Father, he says, is for their sake; so that he might come to them when the "other comforter" is given to them. At that time, he says, his disciples will dwell in him, as he dwells in the Father, and the Father dwells in him, and the Father will dwell in them. This is so, according to the theory of perichoresis, because the persons of the Trinity "reciprocally contain one another, so that one permanently envelopes and is permanently enveloped by, the other whom he yet envelopes". (Hilary of Poitiers, Concerning the Trinity 3:1). Hilarius or Saint Hilary (ca 300 – 368 was Bishop of Poitiers ('Pictavium' and considered an eminent doctor of the Western Christian [1]

This co-indwelling may also be helpful in illustrating the Trinitarian conception of salvation. The first doctrinal benefit is that it effectively excludes the idea that God has parts. Trinitarians affirm that God is a simple, not an aggregate, being. In Theology, the doctrine of divine simplicity says that God is without parts The second doctrinal benefit is that it harmonizes well with the doctrine that the Christian's union with the Son in his humanity brings him into union with one who contains in himself, in St. Paul's words, "all the fullness of deity" and not a part. (See also: Theosis). In Eastern Orthodoxy, Oriental Orthodoxy and Eastern Catholic theology theosis (written also theiosis, theopoiesis, theōsis Perichoresis provides an intuitive figure of what this might mean. The Son, the eternal Word, is from all eternity the dwelling place of God; he is, himself, the "Father's house", just as the Son dwells in the Father and the Spirit; so that, when the Spirit is "given", then it happens as Jesus said, "I will not leave you as orphans; for I will come to you" (John 14:18)

Some forms of human union are considered to be not identical but analogous to the Trinitarian concept, as found for example in Jesus' words about marriage: "For this cause shall a man leave his father and mother, and cleave to his wife; And they twain shall be one flesh: so then they are no more twain, but one flesh" (Mark 10:7–8). According to the words of Jesus, married persons are in some sense no longer two, but joined into one. Therefore, Orthodox theologians also see the marriage relationship as an image, or "icon" of the Trinity, relationships of communion in which, in the words of St. An icon (from Greek εἰκών eikōn, "image" is a religious work of art most commonly a painting from Eastern Christianity. Paul, participants are "members one of another". As with marriage, the unity of the church with Christ is similarly considered in some sense analogous to the unity of the Trinity, following the prayer of Jesus to the Father, for the church, that "they may be one, even as we are one". John 17:22

Eternal generation and procession

Trinitarianism affirms that the Son is "begotten" (or "generated") of the Father and that the Spirit "proceeds" from the Father, but the Father is "neither begotten nor proceeds". SSC RF "Troitsk Institute of Innovative and Termonuclear Research" or TRINITY for shprt Троицкий Институт инновационных и термоядерных The argument over whether the Spirit proceeds from the Father alone, or from the Father and the Son, was one of the catalysts of the Great Schism, in this case concerning the Western addition of the Filioque clause to the Nicene Creed. The East-West Schism, or the Great Schism, divided medieval Christendom into Eastern (Greek and Western (Latin branches which later became known as the Filioque, a Latin phrase meaning "and (from the Son" In Western Christianity, it was added to the Nicene-Constantinopolitan Creed The Nicene Creed (ˈnaɪsiːn is an ecumenical Christian statement of faith accepted in the Eastern Orthodox Church, Assyrian Church of

This language is often considered difficult because, if used regarding humans or other created things, it would necessarily imply time and change; when used here, no beginning, change in being, or process within time is intended and is in fact excluded. The Son is generated ("born" or "begotten"), and the Spirit proceeds, eternally. Augustine of Hippo explains, "Thy years are one day, and Thy day is not daily, but today; because Thy today yields not to tomorrow, for neither does it follow yesterday. Thy today is eternity; therefore Thou begat the Co-eternal, to whom Thou saidst, 'This day have I begotten Thee. " {Psalm 2:7}

Son begotten, not created

Because the Son is begotten, not made, the substance of his persona is that of Yahweh, of deity. See also Yahweh Tetragrammaton (from the Greek, meaning ' of four letters' (tetra "four" + gramma (gen The creation is brought into being through the Son, but the Son himself is not part of it except through his incarnation.

The church fathers used a number of analogies to express this thought. Analogy is both the cognitive process of transferring Information from a particular subject (the analogue or source to another particular subject (the target and St. Irenaeus of Lyons was the final major theologian of the second century. Saint Irenaeus (Greek Ειρηναίος (2nd century AD - c 202 was Bishop of Lugdunum in Gaul, Roman Empire (now Lyons France He writes "the Father is God, and the Son is God, for whatever is begotten of God is God. "

Extending the analogy, it might be said, similarly, that whatever is generated (procreated) of humans is human. Thus, given that humanity is, in the words of the Bible, "created in the image and likeness of God", an analogy can be drawn between the Divine Essence and human nature, between the Divine Persons and human persons. However, given the fall, this analogy is far from perfect, even though, like the Divine Persons, human persons are characterized by being "loci of relationship". For Trinitarian Christians, this analogy is particularly important with regard to the Church, which St. Paul calls "the body of Christ" and whose members are, because they are "members of Christ", also "members one of another".

However, any attempt to explain the mystery to some extent must break down, and has limited usefulness, being designed, not so much to fully explain the Trinity, but to point to the experience of communion with the Triune God within the Church as the Body of Christ. The difference between those who believe in the Trinity and those who do not, is not an issue of understanding the mystery. Rather, the difference is primarily one of belief concerning the personal identity of Christ. It is a difference in conception of the salvation connected with Christ that drives all reactions, either favorable or unfavorable, to the doctrine of the Holy Trinity. As it is, the doctrine of the Trinity is directly tied up with Christology. Christology (from Christ and Greek grc -λογία -logia) is a field of study within Christian theology which is concerned with

Economic and Ontological Trinity

Or more simply—the ontological Trinity (who God is) and the economic Trinity (what God does). Most Christians believe the economic reflects and reveals the ontological. Catholic theologian Karl Rahner went so far as to say "The 'economic' Trinity is the 'immanent' Trinity, and vice versa. Karl Rahner, SJ ( March 5, 1904 &mdash March 30, 1984) was a German theologian one of the most influential Roman "[48]

The ancient Nicene theologians argued that everything the Trinity does is done by Father, Son, and Spirit working together with one will. The three persons of the Trinity always work inseparable, for their work is always the work of the one God. Because of this unity of will, the Trinity cannot involve the eternal subordination of the Son to the Father. Eternal subordination can only exist if the Son's will is at least conceivably different from the Father's. But Nicene orthodoxy says it is not. The Son's will cannot be different from the Father's because it is the Father's. They have but one will as they have but one being. Otherwise they would not be one God. If there were relations of command and obedience between the Father and the Son, there would be no Trinity at all but rather three gods. [49]

In explaining why the Bible speaks of the Son as being subordinate to the Father, the great theologian Athanasius argued that scripture gives a "double account" of the son of God – one of his temporal and voluntary subordination in the incarnation, and the other of his eternal divine status. [50] For Athanasius, the Son is eternally one in being with the Father, temporally and voluntarily subordinate in his incarnate ministry. Such human traits, he argued, were not to be read back into the eternal Trinity.

Like Athanasius, the Cappadocian Fathers also insisted there was no economic inequality present within the Trinity. As Basil wrote: "We perceive the operation of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit to be one and the same, in no respect showing differences or variation; from this identity of operation we necessarily infer the unity of nature. "[51]

Augustine also rejected the idea of an economic hierarchy within the Trinity. He claimed that the three persons of the Trinity "share the inseparable equality one substance present in divine unity". [52] Because the three persons are one in their inner life, this means that for Augustine their works in the world are one. For this reason, it is an impossibility for Augustine to speak of the Father commanding and the Son obeying as if there could be a conflict of wills within the eternal Trinity.

John Calvin also spoke at length about the doctrine of the Trinity. Like Athanasius and Augustine before him, he concluded that Philippians 2:4-11 prescribed how scripture was to be read correctly. For him the Son's obedience is limited to the incarnation. It is indicative of his true humanity assumed for our salvation. [53]

Much of this work is summed up in the Athanasian Creed. This creed stresses the unity of the Trinity and the equality of the persons. It ascribes equal divinity, majesty, and authority to all three persons. All three are said to be "almighty" and "Lord" (no subordination in authority; "none is before or after another" (no hierarchical ordering); and "none is greater, or less than another" (no subordination in being or nature). Thus, since the divine persons of the Trinity act with one will, there is no possibility of hierarchy-inequality in the Trinity.

Since the 1980's, some evangelical theologians have come to the conclusion that the members of the Trinity may be economically unequal while remaining ontologically equal. This theory was put forward by George W. Knight III in his 1977 book The New Testament Teaching on the Role Relationship of Men and Women, states that the Son of God is eternally subordinated in authority to God the Father. [54] This conclusion was used as a means of supporting the main thesis of his book: that women are permanently subordinated in authority to their husbands in the home and to male leaders in the church, despite being ontologically equal. Subscribers to this theory insist that the Father has the role of giving commands and the Son has the role of obeying them.

Old Testament evidence

Old Testament theophanies

In the Old Testament, several theophanies are recorded in which "God appeared" to one or more human beings in a physical manifestation that could be seen and heard. In Western Christianity, the Old Testament refers to the books that form the first of the two-part Christian Biblical canon. Theophany, from the Greek, theophaneia (meaning "appearance/showing of God" refers to the appearance of a Deity to a human or to a divine disclosure Jews will reply that "God appearing" does not signify his being in human form since the Jewish bible states in Numbers 23:19 that "God is not a man that He should lie" and that "none is like Him".

The Angel (Messenger) of the Lord

God identified as "the Father" in the Old Testament

God identified as "the Son" in the Old Testament

God in the form of Jesus confronts Adam and Eve
God in the form of Jesus confronts Adam and Eve

God is not directly identified as "the Son" in the Old Testament. Israel (and, poetically Ephraim) are called God's first born son, representing an aspect of the Jewish nation's relationship with God. There are, however, what many Christians believe are foreshadowings of Jesus as God the Son.

Psalm 2 [2] is widely considered a Messianic psalm (Jewish Messianic Interpretations of Psalm 2) prophetically describing the Lord's "Anointed One" (verse 2). It contains in verse 7 the divine decree: "You are my Son, today I have become your Father. " Verse 12 contains the words "Kiss the Son". While in verse 7 the Hebrew word for son is used, in verse 12 a Chaldean word is used. Support for the translation of the Chaldean word as "Son" is found in its other appearances, such as Ezra 5:2 [3]. This psalm denotes a Father Son relationship between God and the Messiah, who as the Son would be the heir (verse 8). Isaiah 9, also considered a Messianic prophecy, describes the coming Messiah as "Mighty God" (verse 6). Psalm 110 describes the LORD (understood as God the Father) sharing his eternal glory with the psalmist's Lord (understood to be the Son, the Messiah).

In Daniel chapter 7 the prophet records his vision of "one like a son of man, coming with the clouds of heaven" (Daniel 7:13 [4]), who "was given authority, glory and sovereign power; all peoples, nations and men of every language worshipped him. " (v14 [5]) Christians believe worship is only properly given to God, and that in the light of other Bible passages this "son of man" can be identified as the second person of the Trinity. Parallels may be drawn between Daniel's vision and Jesus' words to the Jewish high priest that in the future those assembled would see "the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the Mighty One and coming on the clouds of heaven". (Matthew 26:64-65 [6]). Jesus was immediately accused of blasphemy, as at other times when he had identified his oneness with God[7]. Christians also believe that John saw the resurrected, gloried Jesus and described him as "One like the Son of Man" (Revelation 1:13 [8]) [9].

God the Spirit in the Old Testament

Deity of the Holy Spirit in the Old Testament:

Words of the Holy Spirit called the words of God:

Orthodox, Roman Catholic, Anglican, and Protestant distinctions

The Western (Roman Catholic) tradition is more prone to make positive statements concerning the relationship of persons in the Trinity. Explanations of the Trinity are not the same thing as the doctrine itself; nevertheless the Augustinian West is inclined to think in philosophical terms concerning the rationality of God's being, and is prone on this basis to be more open than the East to seek philosophical formulations which make the doctrine more intelligible. The Eastern Orthodox Church is the second largest single Christian Communion in the world

Eastern Christianity, for its part, correlates ecclesiology and Trinitarian doctrine, and seeks to understand the doctrine of the Trinity via the experience of the Church, which it understands to be "an icon of the Trinity". Families of churches Eastern Christians have a shared tradition but they became divided ( Schism) during the early centuries of Christianity in disputes about Ecclesiology (from Greek grc ἐκκλησίᾱ ekklēsiā, "congregation church" and grc -λογία -logia) is the study of the An icon (from Greek εἰκών eikōn, "image" is a religious work of art most commonly a painting from Eastern Christianity. Therefore, when St. Paul writes concerning Christians that all are "members one of another", Eastern Christians in turn understand this as also applying to the Divine Persons.

The principal disagreement between Western and Eastern Christianity on the Trinity has been the relationship of the Holy Spirit with the other two hypostases. The original credal formulation of the Council of Constantinople was that the Holy Spirit proceeds "from the Father". The Nicene Creed (ˈnaɪsiːn is an ecumenical Christian statement of faith accepted in the Eastern Orthodox Church, Assyrian Church of The Second Ecumenical Council the first held in Constantinople was called by Theodosius I in 381 which confirmed the Nicene Creed and dealt with other matters such While this phrase is still used unaltered both in the Eastern Churches, including the Eastern Catholic Churches, and, when the Nicene Creed is recited in Greek, in the Latin Church, it became customary in the Latin-speaking Church, beginning with the provincial Third Council of Toledo in 589, to add "and the Son" (Latin Filioque). This article refers to Eastern Churches in full communion with the Holy See Greek (el ελληνική γλώσσα or simply el ελληνικά — "Hellenic" is an Indo-European language, spoken today by 15-22 million people mainly The Latin Rite is one of the 23 Sui iuris Particular Churches within the Catholic Church. Latin ( lingua Latīna, laˈtiːna is an Italic language, historically spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. The Third Council of Toledo (589 marks the entry of Catholic Christianity into the rule of Visigothic Spain, and the introduction into Western Christianity Filioque, a Latin phrase meaning "and (from the Son" In Western Christianity, it was added to the Nicene-Constantinopolitan Creed Although this insertion into the Creed was explicitly rejected by Pope Leo III, who equally explicitly approved the doctrine it expressed, it was finally used in a Papal Mass by Pope Benedict VIII in 1014, thus completing its spread throughout Western Christianity. Pope Leo III (died June 12, 816) was Pope from 795 to 816 Protected by Charlemagne from his enemies in Rome he subsequently strengthened A Papal Mass is the Solemn Pontifical High Mass when celebrated by the Pope. Benedict VIII (born in Rome, died April 9, 1024) born Theophylactus, Pope from 1012 to 1024 of the noble family of the Western Christianity is a term used to cover the Latin Rite of the Roman Catholic Church, the Churches of the Anglican Communion, the Lutheran Church The Eastern Orthodox Churches object to it on both ecclesiological and theological grounds. The Eastern Orthodox Church is the second largest single Christian Communion in the world

Anglicans have made a commitment in their Lambeth Conference, to provide for the use of the creed without the Filioque clause in future revisions of their liturgies, in deference to the issues of Conciliar authority raised by the Orthodox. Anglicanism is a tradition of Christian faith Churches in this tradition either have historical connections to the Church of England or have similar beliefs Most Protestant groups that use the creed also include the Filioque clause. However, the issue is usually not controversial among them because their conception is often less exact than is discussed above (exceptions being the Presbyterian Westminster Confession 2:3, the London Baptist Confession 2:3, and the Lutheran Augsburg Confession 1:1–6, which specifically address those issues). The Westminster Confession of Faith is a Reformed Confession of faith, in the Calvinist theological tradition The Augsburg Confession, also known as the "Augustana" from its Latin name Confessio Augustana is the primary confession of faith of the Lutheran The clause is often understood by Protestants to mean that the Spirit is sent from the Father, by the Son, a conception which is not controversial in either Catholicism or Eastern Orthodoxy. A representative view of Protestant Trinitarian theology is more difficult to provide, given the diverse and decentralized nature of the various Protestant churches.

Naming the Persons

Some feminist theologians refer to the persons of the Holy Trinity with gender-neutral language, such as "Creator, Redeemer, and Sustainer (or Sanctifier)". Feminist Theology is a movement generally in Christianity, Judaism and New Thought, to reconsider the traditions practices Scriptures Gender comprises a range of differences between men and women extending from the biological to the social This is a recent formulation, which seeks to redefine the Trinity in terms of three roles in salvation or relationships with us, not eternal identities or relationships with each other. In Theology, salvation can mean three related things being saved from or Liberation from something such as Suffering or the punishment of Since, however, each of the three divine persons participates in the acts of creation, redemption, and sustaining, traditionalist Christians reject this formulation as suggesting a new variety of Modalism. In Christianity, Sabellianism (also known as modalism, modalistic monarchianism, or modal monarchism) is the Nontrinitarian belief Some theologians prefer the alternate terminology of "Source, and Word, and Holy Spirit".

Responding to feminist concerns, orthodox theology has noted the following: a) the names "Father" and "Son" are clearly analogical, since all Trinitarians would agree that God is beyond all gender; b) that, in translating the Creed, for example, "born" and "begotten" are equally valid translations of the Greek word "gennao", which refers to the eternal generation of the Son by the Father: hence, one may refer to God "the Father who gives birth"; this is further supported by patristic writings which compare the "birth" of the Divine Word "before all ages" (i. A creed is a statement of Belief — usually Religious belief — or Faith often recited as part of a religious service Greek (el ελληνική γλώσσα or simply el ελληνικά — "Hellenic" is an Indo-European language, spoken today by 15-22 million people mainly The Church Fathers, Early Church Fathers, or Fathers of the Church are the early and influential theologians and writers in the Christian Church e. , eternally) from the Father with his birth in time from the Virgin Mary; c) Using "Son" to refer to the Second Divine Person is most proper only when referring to the Incarnate Word, Jesus, who is clearly male; d) in Semitic languages, such as Hebrew and Aramaic, the noun translated "spirit" is grammatically feminine. Aramaic is a Semitic language with Images of God's Spirit in scripture are also often feminine, as with the Spirit "brooding" over the primordial chaos in Genesis 1, or grammatically feminine, such as a dove.

Logical Coherency

On the face of it, the doctrine of the Trinity seems to be logically incoherent as it appears to imply that identity is not transitive—"for the Father is identical with God, the Son is identical with God, and the Father is not identical with the Son. " Recently, there have been two philosophical attempts to defend the logical coherency of Trinity, one by Richard Swinburne and the other by Peter Geach et al. Richard G Swinburne (born December 26, 1934) is an eminent British Professor and Philosopher primarily interested in the Peter Thomas Geach (giːtʃ born 29 March 1916) is a British philosopher The formulation suggested by Swinburne is free from logical incoherency, but it is debatable whether this formulation is consistent with historical orthodoxy. Regarding the formulation suggested by Geach, not all philosophers would agree with its logical coherency. Swinburne has suggested that "the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit be thought of as numerically distinct Gods". Geach suggested that "a coherent statement of the doctrine is possible on the assumption that identity is "always relative to a sortal term". [55]

Some Messianic groups, the Branch Davidian Seventh Day Adventists, and even some scholars within (but not necessarily representing) denominations such as Southern Baptist Convention view the Trinity as being comparable to the concept of a family, hence the familial terms of Father, Son, and the implied role of Mother for the Holy Spirit. The Branch Davidians are a Sect that originated from a schism in 1955 from the Davidian Seventh Day Adventists, themselves former members of the The Southern Baptist Convention ( SBC) is a United States -based mostly conservative Christian denomination The Hebrew word for "God", Elohim, which has an inherent plurality, has the function as a surname as in "Yahweh Elohim". The seeming contradiction of Elohim being "one" is solved by the fact that the Hebrew word for "one", "echad", can describe a compound unity, harmonious in direction and purpose; unlike "yachid" which means singularity. [56]

If God has compositional parts, they are either finite or infinite parts. If finite, then God is finite. If infinite, then there are multiple infinities. Each case becomes a denial of monotheism. By definition, therefore, the belief in compositional parts has been regarded as a heresy since the establishment of the Nicene Creed, and reaffirmed in Protestant Creeds such as the Westminster Confession of Faith and 1689 Baptist Confession of Faith which state "God has no parts". The Westminster Confession of Faith is a Reformed Confession of faith, in the Calvinist theological tradition [57] Louis Berkhof describes the doctrine of the Trinity requiring belief in a "simplex unity" and not a complex (or composite) being. Louis Berkhof (1873 - 1957 was a Reformed systematic theologian whose written works have been influential in seminaries and Bible colleges in "There is in the Divine Being but one indivisible essence" and "The whole undivided essence of God belongs equally to each of the three persons. "[58]

The Trinity in art

Holy Trinity, fresco by Luca Rossetti da Orta, 1738-9 (St. Gaudenzio Church at Ivrea, Torino).
Holy Trinity, fresco by Luca Rossetti da Orta, 1738-9 (St. Fresco (plural either frescos or frescoes) is any of several related Painting types done on Plaster on walls or Gaudenzio Church at Ivrea, Torino).

The Trinity is most commonly seen in Christian art with the Spirit represented by a dove, as specified in the Gospel accounts of the Baptism of Christ; it is nearly always shown with wings outspread. In the Synoptic gospels, Jesus is baptised by John the Baptist. However depictions using three human figures appear occasionally in most periods of art. [59]

The Father and the Son are usually differentiated by age, and later by dress, but this too is not always the case. The usual depiction of the Father as an older man with a white beard may derive from the biblical Ancient of Days, which is often cited in defense of this sometimes controversial representation. Ancient of Days is a name for God in Aramaic Atik Yomin; in the Greek Septuagint: Palaios Hemeron; and in the Vulgate: Antiquus However, in Eastern Orthodoxy the Ancient of Days is understood to be God the Son, not God the Father. The Eastern Orthodox Church is the second largest single Christian Communion in the world When the Father is depicted in art, he is sometimes shown with a halo shaped like an equilateral triangle, instead of a circle. HaLo ( Ayako Hirakata) is a Japanese J-Pop Musician. Hirakata can be heard on Lori Carson 's The Finest Thing. Properties The area of an equilateral triangle with sides of length a\\! The Son is often shown at the Father's right hand (Acts 7:56). He may be represented by a symbol—typically the Lamb or a cross—or on a crucifix, so that the Father is the only human figure shown at full size. A crucifix (from Latin cruci fixus meaning "(one fixed to a cross" is a cross with a representation of Jesus ' body or corpus In early medieval art, the Father may be represented by a hand appearing from a cloud in a blessing gesture, for example in scenes of the Baptism of Christ. In the Synoptic gospels, Jesus is baptised by John the Baptist. Later, in the West, the "Throne of Mercy" (or "Throne of Grace") became a common depiction. In this style, the Father (sometimes seated on a throne) is shown supporting either a crucifix[60] or, later, a slumped crucified Son, similar to the Pieta (this type is distinguished in German as the Not Gottes)[61] in his outstretched arms, whilst the Dove hovers above or in between them. This article is about royal thrones for the order of Angels by the same name see Thrones. A crucifix (from Latin cruci fixus meaning "(one fixed to a cross" is a cross with a representation of Jesus ' body or corpus The Pietà (pl same Italian for pity) is a subject in Christian art depicting The Virgin Mary cradling the dead body of Jesus, most This subject continued to be popular until the eighteenth century at least.

By the end of the fifteenth century, larger representations, other than the Throne of Mercy, became effectively standardised, showing an older figure in plain robes for the Father, Christ with his torso partly bare to display the wounds of his Passion, and the dove above or around them. In earlier representations both Father, especially, and Son often wear elaborate robes and crowns. Sometimes the Father alone wears a crown, or even a papal tiara. The Papal Tiara, also known as the Triple Tiara, or in Latin as the ' Triregnum', and in Italian as the ' Triregno', is the three-tiered

Eastern Orthodox tradition

Old Testament Trinity icon by Andrey Rublev, c. 1400 (Tretyakov Gallery, Moscow)
Old Testament Trinity icon by Andrey Rublev, c. An icon (from Greek εἰκών eikōn, "image" is a religious work of art most commonly a painting from Eastern Christianity. Andrei Rublev (Andrew Rublev Andrey Rublev Andrey Roublyov Russian: Андре́й Рублёв (c 1400 (Tretyakov Gallery, Moscow)

Direct representations of the Trinity are much rarer in Eastern Orthodox art of any period -reservations about depicting the Father remain fairly strong, as they were in the West until the high Middle Ages. The State Tretyakov Gallery (Государственная Третьяковская Галерея ГТГ in Moscow, Russia, is the foremost depository Moscow (Москва́ romanised: Moskvá, IPA: see also other names) is the Capital and the largest city of The Eastern Orthodox Church is the second largest single Christian Communion in the world The Second Council of Nicea in 787 confirmed that the depiction of Christ was allowed because he became man; the situation regarding the Father was less clear. The Second Council of Nicaea was the seventh Ecumenical council of Christianity; it met in 787 AD in Nicaea (site of the First Council The usual Orthodox representation of the Trinity was through the "Old Testament Trinity" of the three angels visiting Abraham - said in the text to be "the Lord" (Genesis:18. The Holy Trinity is an important subject of iconographic representation in Eastern Orthodox Christianity. 1-15). However post-Byzantine representations similar to those in the West are not uncommon in the Greek world. The term Cretan School describes an important school of Icon painting also known as Post-Byzantine art, which flourished while Crete was under Venetian The subject long remained sensitive, and the Russian Orthodox Church at the Great Synod of Moscow in 1667 finally forbade depictions of the Father in human form. See also Eastern Orthodox Church Structure and organization The Slavic Orthodox Church is organized in a hierarchical structure The canon is quoted in full here because it explains the Russian Orthodox theology on the subject:

Chapter 2, §44: It is most absurd and improper to depict in icons the Lord Sabaoth (that is to say, God the Father) with a grey beard and the Only-Begotten Son in His bosom with a dove between them, because no-one has seen the Father according to His Divinity, and the Father has no flesh, nor was the Son born in the flesh from the Father before the ages. An icon (from Greek εἰκών eikōn, "image" is a religious work of art most commonly a painting from Eastern Christianity. In Judaism, the name of God is more than a distinguishing title In many religions the supreme Deity ( God) is given the title and attributions of Father. And though David the prophet says, "From the womb before the morning star have I begotten Thee" (Ps. David, Arabic: داوود or داود dawud, "beloved" was the second king of the united Kingdom of Israel according to the Hebrew Bible In Religion, a prophet (or prophetess) is a person who has encountered the Supernatural or the divine and serves as an intermediary 109:3), that birth was not fleshly, but unspeakable and incomprehensible. For Christ Himself says in the holy Gospel, "No man hath seen the Father, save the Son" (cf. John 6:46). And Isaiah the prophet says in his fortieth chapter: "To whom have ye likened the Lord? and with what likeness have ye made a similitude of Him? Has not the artificier of wood made an image, or the goldsmiths, having melted gold, gilt it over, and made it a similitude?"(40:18-19). Isaiah (; Greek:, Ēsaiās; Arabic: اشعیاء, Ash-ee-yaa; "Salvation of/is YHWH " is In like manner the Apostle Paul says in the Acts (17:29), "Forasmuch then as we are the offspring of God, we ought not to think that the Godhead is like unto gold or silver or stone, graven by art of man's imagination". Paul the apostle (שאול התרסי Šaʾul HaTarsi, meaning " Saul of Tarsus " Σαούλ Saul and Σαῦλος Saulos and And John Damascene says: "But furthermore, who can make a similitude of the invisible, incorporeal, uncircumscribed and undepictable God? It is, then, uttermost insanity and impiety to give a form to the Godhead" (Orthodox Faith, 4:16). Chrysorrhoas redirects here For the river see Barada. Saint John of Damascus ( Arabic: يوحنا الدمشقي In like manner St. Gregory the Dialogist prohibits this. For this reason we should only form an understanding in the mind of Sabaoth, which is the Godhead, and of that birth before the ages of the Only-Begotten-Son from the Father, but we should never, in any wise depict these in icons, for this, indeed, is impossible. And the Holy Spirit is not in essence a dove, but in essence He is God, and "No man hath seen God," as John the Theologian and Evangelist bears witness (1:18) and this is so even though, at the Jordan at Christ's holy Baptism the Holy Spirit appeared in the likeness of a dove. John of Patmos is the name given to the author of the Book of Revelation (or Book of the Apocalypse) in the New Testament. This article is about the Jordan River and its valley in western Asia In the Synoptic gospels, Jesus is baptised by John the Baptist. For this reason, it is fitting on this occasion only to depict the Holy Spirit in the likeness of a dove. But in any other place those who have intelligence will not depict the Holy Spirit in the likeness of a dove. For on Mount Tabor, He appeared as a cloud and, at another time, in other ways. Mount Tabor ( הר תבור, Greek:) is located in Lower Galilee, at the eastern end of the Jezreel Valley, 17 kilometres (11 mi west of the Furthermore, Sabaoth is the name not only of the Father, but of the Holy Trinity. According to Dionysios the Areopagite, Lord Sabaoth, translated from the Jewish tongue, means "Lord of Hosts". Dionysius the Areopagite ( Greek) was the Judge of the Areopagus who as related in the Acts of the Apostles, ( This Lord of Hosts is the Holy Trinity, Father, Son and Holy Spirit. And although Daniel the prophet says that he beheld the Ancient of Days sitting on a throne, this should not be understood to refer to the Father, but to the Son, Who at His second coming will judge every nation at the dreadful Judgment. Daniel (; Persian: دانيال, Dâniyal or Danial, also Dani, داني; Arabic: دانيال Ancient of Days is a name for God in Aramaic Atik Yomin; in the Greek Septuagint: Palaios Hemeron; and in the Vulgate: Antiquus [62]

Scenes that depict the Trinity

Trefoil and triangle interlaced.
Trefoil and triangle interlaced.

Only a few of the standard scenes in Christian art normally included a representation of the Trinity. The accounts in the Gospels of the Baptism of Christ were considered to show all three persons as present with a separate role. Sometimes the other two persons are shown at the top of a crucifixion. The Coronation of the Virgin, a popular subject in the West, often included the whole Trinity. The Coronation of the Virgin or Coronation of Mary is a subject in Christian art, especially popular in Italy in the 13th to 15th centuries but continuing in popularity But many subjects, such as Christ in Majesty or the Last Judgement, which might be thought to require depiction of the deity in the most amplified form, only show Christ. Christ in Majesty, or Christ in Glory, in Latin Majestas Domini, is the Western Christian image of Christ seated on a throne as ruler of the world always In Christian eschatology, the Last Judgment or Day of the Lord is the judgment by God of every human who ever lived There is a rare subject where the persons of the Trinity make the decision to incarnate Christ, or God sending out the Son. Even more rarely, the Angel of the Annunciation is shown being given the mission. [63]

Less common types of depiction

The depiction of the Trinity as three identical persons is rare, because each Person of the Trinity is considered to have distinct attributes. Even rarer is the depiction of the Trinity as a single anthropoid fiugre with three faces, because the Trinity is defined as three persons in one Godhead, not one Person with three attributes (this would imply Modalism, which is defined as heresy in traditional Christian orthodoxy). In Christianity, Sabellianism (also known as modalism, modalistic monarchianism, or modal monarchism) is the Nontrinitarian belief Heresy is an introduced change to some system of belief especially a religion that conflicts with the previously established canon of that belief The term Orthodox Christianity may refer to The Eastern Orthodox Church: the Eastern Christian churches of Byzantine

The Trinity may also be represented abstractly by symbols, such as the triangle (or three triangles joined together), trefoil or the triquetra—or a combination of these. The musical instrument is spelled Cymbal. A symbol is something --- such as an object, Picture, written word a sound a piece A triangle is one of the basic Shapes of Geometry: a Polygon with three corners or vertices and three sides or edges which are Line Trefoil (from Latin trifolium, "three-leaved plant" French trèfle, German Dreiblatt and Dreiblattbogen) is a graphic form composed Triquetra (tɹaɪ'kw&epsilontɹə is a word derived from the Latin tri- ("three" and quetrus ("cornered" Sometimes a halo in incorporated into these symbols. The use of such symbols are often found not only in painting but also in needlework on tapestries, vestments and antependia, in metalwork and in architectural details. Tapestry is a form of Textile art. It is woven by hand on a vertical Loom. Vestments are liturgical garments and articles associated primarily with the Christian religions especially the Latin Rite and other Roman Catholics An antependium (Latin "to hang before" pl antependia) more commonly known as a hanging, or when speaking specifically of the hanging Metalworking is craft and practice of working with Metals to create individual parts assemblies or large scale structures The term architecture (from Greek αρχιτεκτονικήarchitektoniki) can be used to mean a process a profession or documentation

Gallery

Different depictions

Four 15th century depictions of the Coronation of the Virgin show the main ways of depicting the persons of the Trinity. The Coronation of the Virgin or Coronation of Mary is a subject in Christian art, especially popular in Italy in the 13th to 15th centuries but continuing in popularity

The conventional depiction, with older Father, dove, and Christ showing the wounds of his Passion

Enguerrand Quarton with Christ and God the Father as identical figures, and a dove, as specified by the cleric who commissioned the work

Page from Book of Hours, with three diferentiated human figures for the Trinity

Jean Fouquet, also with three human figures, but identical. Enguerrand Quarton or Charonton (c 1410 - c 1466 was a French painter and manuscript illuminator whose few surviving works are among the first A book of hours is the most common type of surviving Medieval Illuminated manuscript. Jean Fouquet or Jehan Fouquet (1420 - 1481 was the most important French painter of the 15th century a master of both panel painting and manuscript


Depictions using two different human figures and a dove

"Throne of Mercy", Gothic, Sweden

Not Gottes, Bernt Notke c. (born c 1435 in Lassan in Pomerania; died winter 1508/1509 in Lübeck) was the most important German painter and sculptor in Northern Europe 1483 (St. -Annen-Kloster, Lübeck)

"Throne of Mercy", Albrecht Dürer, 1511

"Gottes Not", Jan Polack (Polish artist working Germany), 1491

"Gottes Not", Jusepe de Ribera, ca. Lübeck ( is the second largest City in Schleswig-Holstein, in Northern Germany, and one of the major Albrecht Dürer (ˈalbʀɛçt ˈdyʀɐ ( May 21, 1471 &ndash April 6, 1528) was a German painter, Printmaker Jusepe de Ribera ( January 12, 1591 - 1652 was a Spanish Tenebrist painter and Printmaker, also known as José de Ribera in Spanish 1635

Icon of the Holy Trinity at Vatopedi Monastery, Mount Athos

Michael Damaskenos Icon of the Holy Liturgy, from the 16th century Cretan school, showing Western stylistic influence. The Holy and Great Monastery of Vatopedi (Βατοπέδι or Βατοπαίδι on the Mount Athos was built during the second half of the 10th century by three monks Athanasius Mount Athos (Όρος Άθως is a mountain on the Peninsula of the same name in Macedonia, of northern Greece, called in Greek Άγιον Michael Damaskenos or Michail Damaskenos (Greek 1530/35-1592/93 was a leading post-Byzantine Cretan painter of the 16th century AD The term Cretan School describes an important school of Icon painting also known as Post-Byzantine art, which flourished while Crete was under Venetian

Baroque Trinity, Hendrick van Balen, 1620, (Sint-Jacobskerk, Antwerp)

Other depictions

Holy Trinity by Fridolin Leiber (1853–1912)

Allegory of the Holy Trinity, painted as three faces fused in one, medieval fresco in Perugia

La Trinidad by Jeronimo Cosida, 1570, another trimurti style representation, Cistercians Monastery of Tulebras, Spain. Hendrik van Balen (1575 - 1632 was a Flemish painter, who was born and died in Antwerp. ||-||-||-||} Antwerp ( Dutch:, French: Anvers) is a City and Municipality in Belgium and the capital of the Fresco (plural either frescos or frescoes) is any of several related Painting types done on Plaster on walls or Perugia is the capital City of the region of Umbria in central Italy, near the Tiber river and the capital of the Province of Perugia The Trimurti ( English: ‘three forms’ Sanskrit: trimūrti) is a concept in Hinduism "in which the cosmic functions of creation Tulebras is a town and Municipality located in the province and autonomous community of Navarre, northern Spain.

Trinity, XV century fresco, Castelletto Cervo (Vercelli, Italy), St Peter and St. Vercelli ( Varséj in Piedmontese) is a City of about 50000 inhabitants in the Province of Vercelli in Piedmont in northern Italy (Italia officially the Italian Republic, (Repubblica Italiana is located on the Italian Peninsula in Southern Europe, and on the two largest Paul Church

Later drawing of a Trinity in a 14th century French miniature

Ambivalence to Trinitarian doctrine

Some Protestant Christians, particularly some members of the restoration movement, are ambivalent about the doctrine of the Trinity. This article is about the Stone-Campbell Restoration Movement and churches that have a historical and/or theological connection to it (e While not specifically rejecting Trinitarianism or presenting an alternative doctrine of the Godhead and God's relationship with humanity, they are neither dogmatic about the Trinity nor hold it as a test of true Christian faith. Some, like the Society of Friends (Quakers) and Christian Unitarians, may reject all doctrinal or creedal tests of true faith. Unitarianism as a theology is the belief in the single personality of God in contrast to the doctrine of the Trinity (three persons in one God Others, like some members of the restorationist Churches of Christ, in keeping with a distinctive understanding of "Scripture alone", say that since the doctrine of the Trinity is not clearly articulated in the Bible, it cannot be required for salvation. The Churches of Christ discussed Sola scriptura ( Latin ablative, "by scripture alone" is the assertion that the Bible as God's written word is self-authenticating Still others may look to church tradition and say that there has always been a Christian tradition that faithfully followed Jesus without such a doctrine.

Non-orthodox Trinitarianism

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormons) identify the Trinity (or Godhead) as the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost, but with a different intention than the Nicene faith. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is the fourth largest Christian denomination in the United States and the largest and most well-known They regard these three as individual members of a heavenly triumvirate, completely united with one another in purpose - each member of the Godhead being a distinct being of physical form (God the Father, Jesus Christ) or spiritual form (The Holy Ghost. )

The Trinity in Christian Science is found in the unity of God, the Christ, and the Holy Ghost or—"God the Father-Mother; Christ the spiritual idea of sonship; divine Science or the Holy Comforter". Christian Science is believed by its supporters to be a system of spiritually scientific truths which are summed up in the two commandments having one God one Mind one Life Truth The same in essence, the Trinity indicates "the intelligent relation of God to man and the universe". [64]

Nontrinitarianism

Main article: Nontrinitarianism

Some Christian traditions either reject the doctrine of the Trinity, or consider it unimportant. Nontrinitarianism includes all Christian belief systems that reject as non-scriptural wholly or partly the doctrine of the Trinity; the Doctrine Persons and groups espousing this position generally do not refer to themselves as "Nontrinitarians". They can vary in both their reasons for rejecting traditional teaching on the Trinity, and in the way they describe God.

Nontrinitarian groups

Since Trinitarianism is central to so much of church doctrine, nontrinitarians were mostly groups that existed before the Nicene Creed was codified in 325 or are groups that developed after the Reformation, when many church doctrines came into question[65]

In the early centuries of Christian history Adoptionists, Arians, Ebionites, Gnostics, Marcionites, and others held nontrinitarian beliefs. Adoptionism, also called dynamic Monarchianism, was a minority Christian belief that Jesus was born merely human and that he became divine later in his life The Ebionites ( Greek: grc Ἐβιωναῖοι Ebionaioi from Hebrew; he '''אביונים''' he-Latn ''Ebyonim'' "the Poor Ones" were an Gnosticism (γνώσις gnōsis, Knowledge) refers to a diverse Syncretistic Religious movement consisting of various Belief systems Marcionism is the dualist Belief system that originates in the teachings of Marcion of Sinope at Rome around the year 144. The Nicene Creed raised the issue of the relationship between Jesus' divine and human natures. Monophysitism ("one nature") and monothelitism ("one will") were early attempts, considered heretical by trinitarians, to explain this relationship. Monophysitism (from the Greek monos meaning 'one alone' and physis meaning 'nature' or Monophysiticism is the Christological position that Monothelitism (a Greek Loanword meaning "one will" is a particular teaching about how the divine and human relate in the person of Jesus, known as a

During more than a thousand years of Trinitarian orthodoxy, formal nontrinitarianism, i. e. , a doctrine held by a church, group, or movement, was rare, but it did appear. For example, among the Cathars of the 13th century. The Protestant Reformation of the 1500s also brought tradition into question. At first, nontrinitarians were executed (such as Servetus), or forced to keep their beliefs secret (such as Isaac Newton). Michael Servetus (also Miguel Servet or Miguel Serveto; 29 September, 1511 &ndash 27 October, 1553) was a Spanish Sir Isaac Newton, FRS (ˈnjuːtən 4 January 1643 31 March 1727) Biography Early years See also Isaac Newton's early life and achievements The eventual establishment of religious freedom, however, allowed nontrinitarians to more easily preach their beliefs, and the 19th century saw the establishment of several nontrinitarian groups in North America and elsewhere. These include Christadelphians, Jehovah's Witnesses, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and Unitarians. Christadelphians (from the Greek for Brothers of Christ / Christ's Brethren: Christou Adelphoi; cf Jehovah's Witnesses is a restorationist, millenialist Christian denomination The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is the fourth largest Christian denomination in the United States and the largest and most well-known Unitarianism as a theology is the belief in the single personality of God in contrast to the doctrine of the Trinity (three persons in one God Some groups espousing Binitarianism such as the Living Church of God claim that Binitarianism was the majority view of those that professed Christ in the second century. Binitarianism is a Christian theology of two personae two individuals or two aspects in one Godhead (or God as opposed to one ( Unitarianism Church of GodThe Living Church of God (LCG is one of the church groups formed by followers of the teachings of the late Herbert W Binitarianism is a Christian theology of two personae two individuals or two aspects in one Godhead (or God as opposed to one ( Unitarianism

Twentieth-century nontrinitarian movements include Iglesia ni Cristo and the Unification Church. The Iglesia ni Cristo (ɪˈgleʃɐ ni ˈkɾisto Tagalog for Church of Christ; also known as INC, formerly called Iglesya ni Kristo or The Unification Church is a New religious movement founded by Korean religious leader Sun Myung Moon. Nontrinitarian groups differ from one another in their views of Jesus Christ, depicting him variously as a divine being second only to God the Father (e. g. , Jehovah's Witnesses), Yahweh of the Old Testament in human form, God (but not eternally God), Son of God but inferior to the Father (versus co-equal), prophet, or simply a holy man.

Included in this are Oneness Pentecostals, who deny the Trinitarian doctrine, though affirming their belief that God came to Earth as man (i. Overview Although both Oneness and Trinitarian denominations acknowledge the God of the Bible as the only God in existence and that Jesus was e. , manifested himself) in the man Jesus Christ. Like Trinitarians, Oneness Pentecostals believe that Jesus Christ is fully God and fully man. Overview Although both Oneness and Trinitarian denominations acknowledge the God of the Bible as the only God in existence and that Jesus was One can understand Oneness Pentecostals by replacing the Trinitarian term "person" with the term "mode" or "manifestation" when discussing the Christian Godhead. Overview Although both Oneness and Trinitarian denominations acknowledge the God of the Bible as the only God in existence and that Jesus was Many Oneness Pentecostals can recite the first Nicene Creed, as it rejects Arianism, yet preserves the oneness of God and divinity of Jesus Christ. Overview Although both Oneness and Trinitarian denominations acknowledge the God of the Bible as the only God in existence and that Jesus was Yet Oneness Pentecostals are regarded by all orthodox Christians groups as subscribing to the heresy of Modalism, teaching that God displayed himself in the Old Testament as Father, in the Gospels as the Son, and after the Ascension as the Holy Spirit, which is not the accepted orthodox view of three distinct persons in one divine essence. Oneness Pentecostalism teaches there is only one person displaying himself in different ways.

References

  1. ^ See discussion in   "Person". Catholic Encyclopedia. The Catholic Encyclopedia, also referred to today as the Old Catholic Encyclopedia, is an English-language Encyclopedia published by The Encyclopedia (1913). New York: Robert Appleton Company.  
  2. ^ Tertullian, Against Praxeas, chapter II
  3. ^ a b c The Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church (Oxford University Press 2005 ISBN 978-0-19-280290-3), article Trinity, doctrine of the
  4. ^ Lewis and Short: trinitas
  5. ^ Lewis and Short: trinus
  6. ^ Liddell & Scott, A Greek-English Lexicon', entry for Τριάς, retrieved December 19, 2006
  7. ^ McGrath, Alister E. Understanding the Trinity. Alister E McGrath (born January 23, 1953) is a Christian theologian, with a DPhil in Molecular biophysics, noted for his work on Zondervan, 9789 ISBN 0310296811
  8. ^ Theophilus of Antioch, To Autolycus, II. XV (retrieved on December 19, 2006).
  9. ^ W. Fulton in the "Encyclopedia of Religion and Ethics"
  10. ^ Against Praxeas, chapter 3
  11. ^ Against Praxeas, chapter 2 and in other chapters
  12. ^ History of the Doctrine of the Trinity. Encyclopedia of Religion and Ethics is a 12-volume work (plus an index volume edited by James Hastings, written between 1908 and 1927 and composed of entries by many contributors Accessed September 15, 2007.
  13. ^ a b Catholic Encyclopedia: article The Blessed Trinity
  14. ^ "Encyclopedia of Religion", Vol. 14, p. 9360, on Trinity
  15. ^ "Neither the word Trinity nor the explicit doctrine appears in the New Testament . . . the New Testament established the basis for the doctrine of the Trinity" (Encyclopaedia Britannica Online: article Trinity).
  16. ^ Encyclopaedia Britannica Online, article Trinity
  17. ^ Apart from the passages that speak of Father Son and Holy Spirit, there are, of course, many passages that refer to God and Jesus without also referring to the Spirit. Examples are Romans 4:24; Romans 8:11; 2 Corinthians 4:14; Colossians 2:12; 1 Timothy 2:5–6; 1 Timothy 6:13; 2 Timothy 4:1).
  18. ^ a b c d e The Oxford Companion to the Bible (ed. Bruce Metzger and Michael Coogan) 1993, p. 782-3.
  19. ^ Cf. John 5:18
  20. ^ Raymond E. Brown, The Anchor Bible: The Gospel According to John (XIII-XXI), pp. 1026, 1032
  21. ^ Gregory Nazianzen, Orations, 31. 26
  22. ^ Textual critic Bart D. Ehrman asserts that the original text of John 1:18 referred to Jesus as "unique Son", not "God the One and Only". Textual criticism (or lower criticism) is a branch of Literary criticism that is concerned with the identification and removal of Transcription errors in Bart D Ehrman is an American New Testament scholar and textual critic of Early Christianity. See Misquoting Jesus, 2005. The "unique Son" reading is found in the textus receptus and in some modern Bible translations. Textus Receptus ( Latin: "received text" is the name subsequently given to the succession of printed Greek texts of the New Testament which constituted
  23. ^ The Trinitarian interpretation of this statement is that Jesus is claiming for himself the name of God, Yahweh, which is translated as "I am" (see Exodus 3:14
  24. ^ a b c d e "Trinity". For information about Yahweh see God in Abrahamic religions, which provides useful links Britannica encyclopaedia of world religions. Chicago: Encyclopaedia Britannica. 2006.
  25. ^ Swindal, James, and Harry J. Gensler. 2005. The Sheed & Ward anthology of Catholic philosophy. Lanham, Md: Rowman & Littlefield. Page 84.
  26. ^ Athanasius: De Decretis or Defence of the Nicene Definition, Introduction, 19
  27. ^ "The bishops were forced to use 'non-Scriptural' terminology (not 'un-Scriptural') to protect and preserve the Scriptural meaning" (The Arian Controversy).
  28. ^ Encyclopaedia Britannica Online
  29. ^ On Athanasius, Oxford Classical Dictionary, Edited by Simon Hornblower and Antony Spawforth. Third edition. Oxford; New York: Oxford University Press, 1996.
  30. ^ Bruce M. Metzger, The Text of the New Testament: Its Transmission, Corruption, and Restoration, 2d ed. Oxford University'", 1968 p. 101
  31. ^ "It is written of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, 'And these three are one'" (On the Unity of the Church, 6)
  32. ^ Nova Vulgata
  33. ^ a b c d Bingham, Jeffrey, "HT200 Class Notes", Dallas Theological Seminary, (2004).
  34. ^ Catholic Encyclopedia: article:Paul of Samosata
  35. ^ Athanasius, Bishop of Alexanria, Theologian, Doctor
  36. ^ 7:1, 3 online
  37. ^ Epistle to the Philippians, 2:13 online
  38. ^ On Baptism 8:6 online, Against Praxeas, 26:2online
  39. ^ Against Noetus, 1:14 online
  40. ^ Seventh Council of Carthage online
  41. ^ A Sectional Confession of Faith, 13:2online
  42. ^ Baptism "in the name of" need not necessarily be taken as referring to a formula used in the ceremony in either Matthew or Acts; it may merely indicate the establishment of a relationship, corresponding to the phrases "baptized into Christ Jesus" (Romans 6:3) and "baptized into Christ" (Galatians 3:27). Compare "baptized . . . into John's baptism" (Acts 19:3), "baptized in the name of Paul" (1 Corinthians 1:13), "baptized into Moses" (1 Corinthians 10:2).
  43. ^ Kittel, 3:108.
  44. ^ Grudem, Wayne A. 1994. Systematic theology an introduction to biblical doctrine. Leicester, England: Inter-Varsity Press. Page 226.
  45. ^ Athanasian Creed
  46. ^ Thomas, and Anton Charles Pegis. 1997. Basic writings of Saint Thomas Aquinas. Indianapolis, IN: Hackett Pub. Pages 307-09.
  47. ^ Barth, Karl, and Geoffrey William Bromiley. 1975. The doctrine of the word of God prolegomena to church dogmatics, being volume I, 1. Edinburgh: T. & T. Clark. Pages 348-49.
  48. ^ K Rahner, The Trinity (Herder & Herder:1970) p22
  49. ^ Phillip Cary, Priscilla Papers Vol. 20, No. 4, Autumn 2006
  50. ^ Athanasius, 3. 29 (p. 409)
  51. ^ Basil "Letters", NPNF, Vol 8, 189. 7 (p. 32)
  52. ^ Hill, De Trinitate, 2. 15
  53. ^ P. van Buren, Christ in Our Place (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1957), p. 38
  54. ^ George Knight III, New Testament Teaching on the Role Relationship of Men and Women (Grand Rapids, Mich. : Baker, 1977)
  55. ^ Routledge Encyclopedia of Philosophy Online, on Trinity, Link
  56. ^ Strong, James (1999). Strong's Hebrew Dictionary. AGES Digital Library, pp. 24, 284.  
  57. ^ Westminster Confession of Faith, 1689 Baptist Confession of Faith: "God and the holy Trinity"
  58. ^ Berkhof, Louis: Systematic Theology, pages 87-88
  59. ^ See below and G Schiller, Iconography of Christian Art, Vol. The Westminster Confession of Faith is a Reformed Confession of faith, in the Calvinist theological tradition I,1971, Vol II, 1972, (English trans from German), Lund Humphries, London, figs I;5-16 & passim, ISBN 853312702and ISBN 853313245
  60. ^ Schiller op cit II:p. 122-124 and figs 409-414
  61. ^ Schiller op cit II: pp. 219-224 and figs 768-804
  62. ^ The Tome of the Great Council of Moscow (1666-1667 A. D. ), Ch. 2, 43-45; tr. Hierodeacon Lev Puhalo, Canadian Orthodox Missionary Journal
  63. ^ for both, Schiller op cit I:pp. In Eastern Orthodox Christianity, a Hierodeacon ( Greek: Ηεροδιάκονος Ierodiákonos; Slavonic: Ierodiakón) sometimes 6-12 and figs 10-16
  64. ^ Eddy, Mary Baker; Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures
  65. ^ See indulgences, particular judgment, primacy of the Pope, purgatory, transubstantiation, etc. An indulgence, in Roman Catholic Theology, is the full or partial Remission of temporal punishment due for Sins which have already been forgiven Particular judgment, according to Christian Eschatology, is the judgement given by God a departed Soul undergoes immediately after death in History See also History of the Papacy Catholics recognize the Pope as a successor to Saint Peter, who Jesus named as the "shepherd" and See also Intermediate state Limbo|Heaven|Sheol|Hades in Christianity|Hell in Christianity Purgatory, in the original sense is the condition or process of purification See also Eucharist (Catholic Church On the related belief that Christ is present in the Eucharist in body blood soul and divinity see Real Presence.

See also

External links

Christ is the English term for the Greek ( Khristós) meaning "the anointed " Nontrinitarianism includes all Christian belief systems that reject as non-scriptural wholly or partly the doctrine of the Trinity; the Doctrine The fleur-de-lys (or fleur-de-lis, plural fleurs-de-lis ˌfləː(rdəˈliː (ˌfləː(rdəˈlɪs in Quebec) translated from French as "lily The Holy Trinity is an important subject of iconographic representation in Eastern Orthodox Christianity. Overview Although both Oneness and Trinitarian denominations acknowledge the God of the Bible as the only God in existence and that Jesus was Social Trinity is an interpretation of the Christian doctrine of the Trinity. The Trikaya doctrine ( Sanskrit, literally "Three bodies or personalities" 三身 Chinese: Sānshén, Japanese: sanjin) The Trimurti ( English: ‘three forms’ Sanskrit: trimūrti) is a concept in Hinduism "in which the cosmic functions of creation Trinitarian Universalism is a formulation of Universalism, the belief that every person will be saved that is centered and based on the Christian Trinitarianism Within Christianity, the doctrine of the Trinity states that God is a single being who exists simultaneously and eternally as a communion of three distinct persons Tritheism is the belief that there are three distinct powerful gods who form a triad Binitarianism is a Christian theology of two personae two individuals or two aspects in one Godhead (or God as opposed to one ( Unitarianism Unitarianism as a theology is the belief in the single personality of God in contrast to the doctrine of the Trinity (three persons in one God For the fictional character in the Marvel Universe series see Ahura (comics; for the river see Akhurian River. According to the Ayyavazhi religion the Ayyavazhi Trinity is the incarnation of God in the current stage of world development ( Kali Yukam) Marian columns are religious monuments built in honour of the Virgin Mary, often in thanksgiving for the ending of a plague or for some other help Subordinationism is a Doctrine in Christian theology which holds that God the Son and God the Holy Spirit are not merely relationally subordinate James Montgomery Boice ( July 7, 1938 &ndash June 15, 2000) was a Reformed theologian and Pastor of Tenth

Dictionary

trinity

-noun

  1. (Christianity) Literally, threeness: the state of being three; in Christian belief, the three persons (personae) of the Godhead: Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

Trinity

-proper noun

  1. A female given name used since the 1970s, from the religious term trinity, or translated from its long-established Spanish equivalent.
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