Conceptions of God

Christian Islamic Hindu Buddhist Sikh Jewish Mormon Bahá'í Image File history File linksMetadata Download high-resolution version (3543x3489, 2027 KB) Summary Description: Solar eclipse 1999 in France view 4 Additional noise reduction performed by Diliff. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... Topics in Christianity Movements · Denominations Ecumenism · Relation to other religions Preaching · Prayer Music · Liturgy · Calendar Symbols · Art · Criticism Important figures Apostle Paul · Church Fathers Constantine · Athanasius · Augustine Anselm · Aquinas · Palamas Luther · Calvin · Wesley Arius · Marcion of Sinope Archbishop of Canterbury · Pope Coptic Pope · Ecumenical Patriarch Christianity Portal This box:      // In... Islam reveres the One and Only God, known as Allah (الله) in Arabic. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... Buddhism is usually regarded as a religion without an absolute God who created the universe ex nihilo (from nothing) and to whom devotion and worship are due (although veneration and worship of the Buddhas do play a major role in both Theravada and Mahayana Buddhism). ... 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 prepare to dedicate the time and energy to become perceptive to His persona. ... The Conception of God in Judaism is henotheistic or (as Rabbinic Judaism) monotheistic. ... Mormonism, depending on era and denomination within the Latter Day Saint movement, has accommodated a diverse range of views of the concept of the Christian Godhead including forms of modalism, binitarianism, tritheism, henotheism, and trinitarianism. ... Baháís believe in a single, imperishable God, the creator of all things, including all the creatures and forces in the universe. ...

Central^[1] to Christianity, Trinity is the doctrine that God is one being who exists, simultaneously and eternally, as a mutual indwelling of three persons (not to be confused by "person"): the Father, the Son (incarnate as Jesus of Nazareth), and the Holy Spirit. Since the 4th century, in both Eastern and Western Christianity, this doctrine has been stated as "three persons in one God," all three of whom, as distinct and co-eternal persons, are of one indivisible Divine essence, a simple being. The doctrine also teaches that the Son Himself has two distinct natures, one fully divine and the other fully human. Supporting the doctrine of the Trinity is known as Trinitarianism. Most divisions of Christianity are Trinitarian, and regard belief in the Trinity as a test of Christian orthodoxy. Topics in Christianity Movements · Denominations · Other religions Ecumenism · Preaching · Prayer Music · Liturgy · Calendar Symbols · Art · Criticism Important figures Apostle Paul · Church Fathers Constantine · Athanasius · Augustine Anselm · Aquinas · Palamas · Luther Calvin · Wesley Arius · Marcion of Sinope Archbishop of Canterbury · Catholic Pope Coptic Pope · Ecumenical Patriarch Christianity Portal This box:      Christianity is... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... This article discusses the term God in the context of monotheism and henotheism. ... For the Celtic Frost album, see Monotheist (album) In theology, monotheism (from Greek one and god) is the belief in the existence of one deity, or in the oneness of God. ... While in the popular mind, eternity often simply means existing for an infinite, i. ... Perichoresis in theology, referred to the mutual inter-penetration and indwelling of the Father and the Son. ... Look up three in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... In Christianity, the Greek word hypostasis [1] is usually translated into Latin as natura and then into English as nature, although the specific Greek word for nature and substance is physis. ... In many religions, the supreme God is given the title and attributions of Father. ... Topics in Christianity Movements · Denominations · Other religions Ecumenism · Preaching · Prayer Music · Liturgy · Calendar Symbols · Art · Criticism Important figures Apostle Paul · Church Fathers Constantine · Athanasius · Augustine Anselm · Aquinas · Palamas · Luther Calvin · Wesley Arius · Marcion of Sinope Archbishop of Canterbury · Catholic Pope Coptic Pope · Ecumenical Patriarch Christianity Portal This box:      Son of... This article concerns critical reconstructions of the Historical Jesus. ... Topics in Christianity Movements · Denominations · Other religions Ecumenism · Preaching · Prayer Music · Liturgy · Calendar Symbols · Art · Criticism Important figures Apostle Paul · Church Fathers Constantine · Athanasius · Augustine Anselm · Aquinas · Palamas · Luther Calvin · Wesley Arius · Marcion of Sinope Archbishop of Canterbury · Catholic Pope Coptic Pope · Ecumenical Patriarch Christianity Portal This box:      In mainstream... This article or section contains information that has not been verified and thus might not be reliable. ... In theology, the doctrine of divine simplicity says that God is without parts. ... “Orthodox” redirects here. ...

Opposing nontrinitarian positions held by some groups include Binitarianism (two deities/persons/aspects), Unitarianism (one deity/person/aspect), the Godhead (Latter Day Saints) (three separate beings, one in purpose) and Modalism (Oneness). Nontrinitarianism or antitrinitarianism is the doctrinal description applied to rejection of the Trinitarian doctrine that God subsists as three distinct persons in the Holy Trinity. ... Binitarianism is a theology of two in one God, as opposed to one (unitarianism) or three (trinitarianism). ... Topics in Christianity Movements · Denominations Ecumenism · Preaching · Prayer Music · Liturgy · Calendar Symbols · Art · Criticism Important figures Apostle Paul · Church Fathers Constantine · Athanasius · Augustine Anselm · Aquinas · Palamas · Luther Calvin · Wesley Arius · Marcion of Sinope Archbishop of Canterbury · Catholic Pope Coptic Pope · Ecumenical Patriarch Christianity Portal This box:      Unitarianism is the belief... Mormonism, depending on era and denomination within the Latter Day Saint movement, has accommodated a diverse range of views of the concept of the Christian Godhead including forms of modalism, binitarianism, tritheism, henotheism, and trinitarianism. ... In Christianity, Sabellianism (also known as modalism) is the second-century belief that the three persons of the Trinity are merely different modes or aspects of God, rather than three distinct persons. ... Oneness (concept) is related to Enlightenment and is referring to the experience of oneness and nonduality. ...

Historically, the post-New Testament^[1] doctrine of Trinitarianism is of particular importance. The conflict with Arianism, as well as other competing theological concepts during the fourth century, became the first major doctrinal confrontation in Church history. It had a particularly lasting effect within the Western Roman Empire where the Germanic Arians and Nicene Christians formed a segregated social order. Topics in Christianity Movements · Denominations Ecumenism · Relation to other religions Preaching · Prayer Music · Liturgy · Calendar Symbols · Art · Criticism Important figures Apostle Paul · Church Fathers Athanasius · Augustine · Constantine Anselm · Aquinas · Palamas Arminius · Calvin · Luther · Wesley Arius · Marcion of Sinope Archbishop of Canterbury · Pope Coptic Pope · Ecumenical Patriarch Christianity Portal This box... Motto Senatus Populusque Romanus The Western Roman Empire in 395. ...

Etymology

The concept came to be called the "Trinity" in later years. The word comes from "Trinitas," a Latin abstract noun that means "three-ness," "the property of occurring three at once" or "three are one." The Greek term used for the Christian Trinity, "Τριάς" ("Trias," gen. "Triados") means "a set of three" or "the number three,"^[2] and has given the English word triad. For other uses, see Latin (disambiguation). ...

The doctrine of the Trinity is the result of continuous exploration by the church of the biblical data, argued in debate and treatises.^[3] 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 it, however, to refer to a "triad" of three days: the first three days of Creation, which he then compared to "God, his Word, and his Wisdom."^[4][5] He compared the fourth day to humanity, as a needy recipient of the first three, forming a tetrad. The creations in the fourth, fifth, and sixth days are said to intimate both righteous and unrighteous members of humanity. God rested in the seventh day, the Sabbath. Theophilus, Patriarch of Antioch (Eusebius Ecclesiastical History iv. ...

Tertullian, a Latin theologian who wrote in the early third century, is credited with using the words "Trinity" and "person" to explain that the Father, Son and Holy Spirit were "one in essence— not one in Person."^[6] Quintus Septimius Florens Tertullianus, anglicised as Tertullian, (ca. ...

About a century later, in AD 325, the Council of Nicea 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." Icon depicting the Holy Fathers of the First Council of Nicaea holding the Nicene Creed. ...

Trinity in Scripture

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. Various passages from both have been cited as supporting this doctrine, while other passages are cited as opposing it. Image File history File linksMetadata Download high-resolution version (1536x2048, 1175 KB) File links The following pages on the English Wikipedia link to this file (pages on other projects are not listed): Holy Trinity Column in Olomouc User:Jan. ... Image File history File linksMetadata Download high-resolution version (1536x2048, 1175 KB) File links The following pages on the English Wikipedia link to this file (pages on other projects are not listed): Holy Trinity Column in Olomouc User:Jan. ... To the glory of God the Almighty, the Virgin Mary and the saints I will build a column that in its height and splendour will be unrivalled in any other town. ... Topics in Christianity Movements · Denominations · Other religions Ecumenism · Preaching · Prayer Music · Liturgy · Calendar Symbols · Art · Criticism Important figures Apostle Paul · Church Fathers Constantine · Athanasius · Augustine Anselm · Aquinas · Palamas · Luther Calvin · Wesley Arius · Marcion of Sinope Archbishop of Canterbury · Catholic Pope Coptic Pope · Ecumenical Patriarch Christianity Portal This box:      Note: Judaism... This article is about the Christian scriptures. ...

Summarizing the role of Scripture

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Many Christians believe the Trinity concept is introduced by Jesus Christ himself, including in Matthew 28:19-20. "Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them "in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you." they believe Jesus thus not only defines the Trinity, but appears to indicate that there is one name that encompasses the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Image File history File links Emblem-important. ...

The Apostle John is identified as the "one whom Jesus loved" thus perhaps being the closest Apostle to Jesus. In John 19:26, Jesus also instructed John to adopt Jesus' mother Mary as John's own in Mary's old age, [2] such that John would have had the entire knowledge of Jesus' family when writing his Gospel. John opens the Gospel of John by declaring "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made." The rest of John Chapter 1 makes it clear that "the Word" refers to Jesus the Christ.

Thus John introduces a seemingly impossible contradiction, that Jesus both "was with God" and "was God" at the same time, and that from the beginning of creation. John also portrays Jesus Christ as the Creator of the Universe, such that "without him nothing was made that has been made." [3] Such a paradox is fundamentally impossible, and it is thus believed that it could only be fulfilled by a divine being to be both with God and to be God at the same time. John also argues for the divine nature of Jesus. For other uses, see Universe (disambiguation). ...

Jesus frequently referred to the "Father" as God as distinct from Himself, but also discussed "The Holy Spirit" as a being distinct from either God the Father or Jesus Himself. ' "These things I have spoken to you while abiding with you. But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all that I said to you." John 14:25-26 [4] In this passage, Jesus portrays the Father sending the Holy Spirit -- that is the Father and the Holy Spirit are two distinctly different persons, and portrays both the Father and the Holy Spirit as distinct from Jesus Himself. Thus even apart from whether Jesus was God, Jesus tells us that the Father and the Holy Spirit are two different persons, both of them Divine.

Many passages from the Old Testament have been cited as supporting the Trinity. The very first chapters of the Bible in Genesis portray God discussing His plans of creation with Himself as a committee: ' 26 Then God said, "Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; ...." ' Genesis 1:26 [5] Topics in Christianity Movements · Denominations · Other religions Ecumenism · Preaching · Prayer Music · Liturgy · Calendar Symbols · Art · Criticism Important figures Apostle Paul · Church Fathers Constantine · Athanasius · Augustine Anselm · Aquinas · Palamas · Luther Calvin · Wesley Arius · Marcion of Sinope Archbishop of Canterbury · Catholic Pope Coptic Pope · Ecumenical Patriarch Christianity Portal This box:      Note: Judaism... For other uses, see Genesis (disambiguation). ...

The Old Testament depicts God as the father of Israel and refers to (possibly metaphorical) divine figures such as Word, Spirit, and Wisdom. Some biblical scholars have said that "it would go beyond the intention and spirit of the Old Testament to correlate these notions with later Trinitarian doctrine."^[7] According to the Catholic Encyclopedia, a few of the Fathers "found what would seem to be the sounder view" that "no distinct intimation of the doctrine was given under the Old Covenant." ^[8][9] "Some of these, however, claimed that a knowledge of the mystery was granted to the Prophets and saints of the Old Dispensation.^[10] The matter seems to be correctly summed up by Epiphanius, when he says: "The One Godhead is above all declared by Moses, and the twofold personality (of Father and Son) is strenuously asserted by the Prophets. The Trinity is made known by the Gospel".^[11][9] Topics in Christianity Movements · Denominations · Other religions Ecumenism · Preaching · Prayer Music · Liturgy · Calendar Symbols · Art · Criticism Important figures Apostle Paul · Church Fathers Constantine · Athanasius · Augustine Anselm · Aquinas · Palamas · Luther Calvin · Wesley Arius · Marcion of Sinope Archbishop of Canterbury · Catholic Pope Coptic Pope · Ecumenical Patriarch Christianity Portal This box:      Note: Judaism... This article needs additional references or sources for verification. ...

The New Testament also does not use the word "Τριάς" (Trinity), nor explicitly teach it.^[12] The Trinity article in Encyclopedia Britannica states: "Neither the word Trinity nor the explicit doctrine appears in the New Testament, nor did Jesus and his followers intend to contradict the Shema in the Old Testament: "Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God is one Lord" (Deuteronomy 6:4)."^[13]Encyclopedia of Religion, for example, argues that "God the Father is source of all that is (Pantokrator) and also the father of Jesus Christ. Early liturgical and creedal formulas speak of God as "Father of our Lord Jesus Christ"; praise is to be rendered to God through Christ (see opening greeting in Paul and deutero-Paul). There are other binitarian texts (e.g., 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), and a few triadic texts (the strongest are 2 Corinthians 13:14 and Matthew 28:19)."^[7] This article is about the Christian scriptures. ... Shema Yisrael (or Shma Yisroel or just Shema) (Hebrew: שמע ישראל; Hear, [O] Israel) are the first two words of a section of the Torah (Hebrew Bible) that is used as a centerpiece of all morning and evening Jewish prayer services and closely echoes the monotheistic message of Judaism. ...

According to Encyclopedia Britannica, while Trinity does not explicitly appear in the New Testament, its basis is established by the New Testament: The coming of Jesus Christ and the presumed presence and power of God among them had implications for the early Christians. "The Holy Spirit, whose coming was connected with the celebration of the Pentecost. The Father, Son, and Holy Spirit were associated in such New Testament 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 in the apostolic benediction: "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)."^[13] The Great Commission reflects the baptismal practice at Matthew's time (or later if this line is interpolated, according to The Oxford Companion of the Bible). Aside from this verse, although "Matthew records a special connection between God the Father and Jesus the Son (e.g., Matthew 11:27), but he falls short of claiming that Jesus is equal with God (cf. 24:36)."^[14] In Christian tradition, the Great Commission is the instruction of the resurrected Jesus Christ to his disciples, that they spread the faith to all the world. ...

According to The Oxford Companion of the Bible, 2 Corinthians 13:14 is the earliest evidence for a tripartite formula. The Oxford Companion of the Bible states that it is possible that this three-part formula was later added to the text as it was copied. However, there is support for the authenticity of the passage since its phrasing "is much closer to Paul's understandings of God, Jesus and the Holy Spirit than to a more fully developed concept of the Trinity. Jesus, referred to not as Son but as Lord and Christ, is mentioned first and is connected with the central Pauline theme of grace. God is referred to as a source of love, not as father, and the Spirit promotes sharing within community."^[14]

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)."^[14] There is no significant tendency among modern scholars to deny that either of these two verses identifies Jesus with God.^[15]

Furthermore, the last Gospel elaborates on the role of Holy Spirit being sent as an advocate for believers.^[14] 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.^[14]

Summarizing the role of Scripture in the formation of Trinitarian belief, Gregory Nazianzen argues in his Orations that the revelation was intentionally gradual: Saint Gregory Nazianzus (AD 329 - January 25, 389), also known as Saint Gregory the Theologian, was a 4th century Christian bishop of Constantinople. ...

The Old Testament proclaimed the Father openly, and the Son more obscurely. 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.^[16]

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:

• Matthew 3:16–17: "As soon as Jesus Christ was baptized, he went up out of the water. At that moment heaven was opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and landing on him. ¹⁷And a voice from heaven said, 'This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased.' " (also Mark 1:10–11; Luke 3:22; John 1:32)
• Matthew 28:19: "Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit" (see Trinitarian formula).
• 2 Corinthians 13:14: "The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with all of you."
• 1 John 5:7–8: "For there are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost: and these three are one. And there are three that bear witness in earth, the Spirit, and the water, and the blood: and these three agree in one." (This is the controversial Comma Johanneum, which did not appear in Greek texts before the sixteenth century.)
• Luke 1:35: "The angel answered and said to her, 'The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; and for that reason the holy Child shall be called the Son of God.' "
• Hebrews 9:14: "How much more, then, will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself unblemished to God, cleanse our consciences from acts that lead to death, so that we may serve the living God!"

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 του πατρος και του υιου και του αγίου πνεύματος, eis to onoma tou patros kai tou huiou kai tou hagiou pneumatos), or words to that form and effect referring to the persons of the Holy Trinity. ... Topics in Christianity Movements · Denominations · Other religions Ecumenism · Preaching · Prayer Music · Liturgy · Calendar Symbols · Art · Criticism Important figures Apostle Paul · Church Fathers Constantine · Athanasius · Augustine Anselm · Aquinas · Palamas · Luther Calvin · Wesley Arius · Marcion of Sinope Archbishop of Canterbury · Catholic Pope Coptic Pope · Ecumenical Patriarch Christianity Portal This box:      The Comma... (15th century - 16th century - 17th century - more centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 16th century was that century which lasted from 1501 to 1600. ...

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. The Gospel of John in particular supports Jesus' divinity. This is a partial list of supporting Bible verses: Revelation of the Last Judgment by Jacob de Backer Revelation is an uncovering or disclosure via communication from the divine of something that has been partially or wholly hidden or unknown, which could not be known apart from the unveiling (Goswiller 1987 p. ...

• John 1:1 "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God." together with John 1:14 "The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth." and John 1:18 "No one has ever seen God, but God the One and Only, who is at the Father's side, has made him known."^[17]The Bible says "God the One and Only" in NIV.
• John 5:21 "For just as the Father raises the dead and gives them life, even so the Son gives life to whom he is pleased to give it."
• John 8:23–24: "But he continued,'You are from below; I am from above. You are of this world; I am not of this world. I told you that you would die in your sins; if you do not believe that I am [the one I claim to be], you will indeed die in your sins.'"
• John 8:58 "I tell you the truth," Jesus answered, "before Abraham was born, I am!"^[18]
• John 10:30: "I and the Father are one."
• John 10:38: "But if I do it, even though you do not believe me, believe the miracles, that you may know and understand that the Father is in me, and I in the Father."
• John 12:41: "Isaiah said this because he saw Jesus' glory and spoke about him."—As the context shows, this implied the Tetragrammaton in Isaiah 6:10 refers to Jesus.
• John 20:28: "Thomas said to him, 'My Lord and my God!'"
• Philippians 2:5–8: "Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus: Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death—even death on a cross!"
• Colossians 1:15: "He [Jesus] is the image of the invisible God"
• Colossians 1:16: "For by him [Jesus] all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created by him and for him."
• Colossians 1:17: "He [Jesus] is before all things, and in him all things hold together."
• Colossians 2:9: "For in Christ all the fullness of the Deity lives in bodily form"
• Titus 2:13: "while we wait for the blessed hope—the glorious appearing of our great God and Saviour, Jesus Christ."
• 1 Timothy 3:16: "And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifest in the flesh, justified in the Spirit, seen of angels, preached unto the Gentiles, believed on in the world, received up into glory."
• Hebrews 1:8: "But about the Son he [God] says, "Your throne, O God, will last for ever and ever, and righteousness will be the scepter of your kingdom."
• 1 John 5:20: "We know also that the Son of God has come and has given us understanding, so that we may know him who is true. And we are in him who is true—even in his Son Jesus Christ. He is the true God and eternal life."
• Revelation 1:17–18: "When I saw him, I fell at his feet as though dead. Then he placed his right hand on me and said: "Do not be afraid. I am the First and the Last. I am the Living One; I was dead, and behold I am alive for ever and ever! And I hold the keys of death and Hades." This is seen as significant when viewed with Isaiah 44:6: "This is what the LORD says—Israel's King and Redeemer, the LORD Almighty: I am the first and I am the last; apart from me there is no God."

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. It has been suggested that Yahweh be merged into this article or section. ... 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.) The Tetragrammaton in Phoenician (1100 BC to 300 CE), Aramaic (10th Century BC to 0) and modern Hebrew scripts. ...

• Isaiah 43:11: "'I, even I, am the LORD, and apart from me there is no savior.'"
• Titus 2:10: "and not to steal from them, but to show that they can be fully trusted, so that in every way they will make the teaching about God our Savior attractive."
• Titus 3:4: "But when the kindness and love of God our Savior appeared," in regard with:
• Luke 2:11: "'Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord.'"
• Titus 2:13: "while we wait for the blessed hope-the glorious appearing of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ,"
• John 4:42: "They said to the woman, "We no longer believe just because of what you said; now we have heard for ourselves, and we know that this man [Jesus] really is the Savior of the world.'"
• Titus 3:6: "whom he poured out on us generously through Jesus Christ our Savior,"

History

Pope Clement I prays to the Trinity, in a typical post-Renaissance depiction by Gianbattista Tiepolo.

Image File history File links Size of this preview: 307 × 599 pixelsFull resolution‎ (1,256 × 2,452 pixels, file size: 260 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) File historyClick on a date/time to view the file as it appeared at that time. ... Image File history File links Size of this preview: 307 × 599 pixelsFull resolution‎ (1,256 × 2,452 pixels, file size: 260 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) File historyClick on a date/time to view the file as it appeared at that time. ... Saint Clement I, the bishop of Rome also called Clement of Rome and Clemens Romanus, was either the third or fourth pope, before or after Anacletus. ... Giovanni Battista Tiepolo, also known as Gianbattista or Giambattista Tiepolo (March 5, 1696 - March 27, 1770) was an Venetian painter and printmaker, considered among the last Grand Manner fresco painters from the Venetian republic. ...

The Origin of the Formula

Main article: Trinity of the Church Fathers

The importance for the first Christians of their faith in God whom they called Father; in Jesus Christ whom they saw as the Son of God, the Word of God,^[19] King, Saviour,^[20] Master;^[21] and in the Holy Spirit is expressed in formulas that link all three together, such as those in the Gospel according to Matthew, 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 in the Second Letter of St Paul to the Corinthians: "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 Trinity formula occurred very early in the history of the Christian Church. ... In Christian tradition, the Great Commission is the instruction of the resurrected Jesus Christ to his disciples, that they spread the faith to all the world. ... Paul of Tarsus (b. ...

The doctrine of the divinity and personality of the Holy Spirit was developed by Athanasius in the last decades of his life.^[22] 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. 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." Athanasius of Alexandria (also spelled Athanasios) was a Christian bishop of Alexandria in the fourth century. ... The First Council of Nicaea, held in Nicaea in Bithynia (present-day Iznik in Turkey), convoked by the Roman Emperor Constantine I in 325, was the first Ecumenical council[1] of the early Christian Church, and most significantly resulted in the first uniform Christian doctrine, called the Nicene Creed. ... This article or section contains information that has not been verified and thus might not be reliable. ...

The Council of Nicaea was reluctant to adopt language not found in Scripture, and ultimately did so only after Arius showed how all strictly biblical language could also be interpreted to support his belief that there was a time when the Son did not exist. In adopting non-biblical language, the council's intent was to preserve what they thought the Church had always believed: that the Son is fully God, coeternal with God the Father and God the Holy Spirit. Arius (AD/CE 256 - 336, poss. ...

One explicit trinitarian passage often quoted from the King James translation of the Bible is the result of an interpolation of a later date. The passage now known as the Comma Johanneum or 1 John 5:7 from the King James Version; In the mathematical subfield of numerical analysis, interpolation is a method of constructing new data points from a discrete set of known data points. ... Topics in Christianity Movements · Denominations · Other religions Ecumenism · Preaching · Prayer Music · Liturgy · Calendar Symbols · Art · Criticism Important figures Apostle Paul · Church Fathers Constantine · Athanasius · Augustine Anselm · Aquinas · Palamas · Luther Calvin · Wesley Arius · Marcion of Sinope Archbishop of Canterbury · Catholic Pope Coptic Pope · Ecumenical Patriarch Christianity Portal This box:      The Comma...

"For there are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost: and these three are one."

may have begun as a marginal note quoting a homily of Cyprian that was inadvertently taken into the main body of the text by a copyist.^[23] The Comma found its way into several later copies, and was eventually back-translated into Greek and included in the third edition of the Textus Receptus which formed the basis of the King James Version. Erasmus, the compiler of the Textus Receptus, 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.^[24] Isaac Newton, known mainly for his scientific and mathematical discoveries, noted that many ancient authorities failed to quote the Comma when it would have provided substantial support for their arguments, suggesting it was a later addition.^[25] Modern textual criticism has since concurred with his findings; many modern translations now either omit the passage, or make it clear that it is not found in the early manuscripts. This page is about Cyprian, bishop of Carthage. ... Textus Receptus (Latin: received text) is the name given to the first Greek-language text of the New Testament to be printed on a printing press. ... This page is about the version of the Bible; for the Harvey Danger album, see King James Version (album). ... Desiderius Erasmus in 1523 Desiderius Erasmus Roterodamus (also Desiderius Erasmus of Rotterdam) (October 27, probably 1466 – July 12, 1536) was a Dutch humanist and theologian. ... Sir Isaac Newton FRS (4 January 1643 – 31 March 1727) [ OS: 25 December 1642 – 20 March 1727][1] was an English physicist, mathematician, astronomer, natural philosopher, and alchemist. ... Carmina Cantabrigiensia, Manuscript C, folio 436v, 11th century Textual criticism or lower criticism is a branch of philology or bibliography that is concerned with the identification and removal of errors from texts and manuscripts. ...

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.^[26] 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.^[26] 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.^[26] As a means of recording the passage of time, the 4th century was that century which lasted from 301 to 400. ... Theology is literally rational discourse concerning God (Greek θεος, theos, God, + λογος, logos, rational discourse). By extension, it also refers to the study of other religious topics. ... Topics in Christianity Movements · Denominations Ecumenism · Preaching · Prayer Music · Liturgy · Calendar Symbols · Art · Criticism Important figures Apostle Paul · Church Fathers Constantine · Athanasius · Augustine Anselm · Aquinas · Palamas · Luther Calvin · Wesley Arius · Marcion of Sinope Pope · Archbishop of Canterbury Patriarch of Constantinople Christianity Portal This box:      The Church Fathers, Early Church Fathers...

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.^[26] Topics in Christianity Movements · Denominations Ecumenism · Relation to other religions Preaching · Prayer Music · Liturgy · Calendar Symbols · Art · Criticism Important figures Apostle Paul · Church Fathers Athanasius · Augustine · Constantine Anselm · Aquinas · Palamas Arminius · Calvin · Luther · Wesley Arius · Marcion of Sinope Archbishop of Canterbury · Pope Coptic Pope · Ecumenical Patriarch Christianity Portal This box... The Trinity formula occurred very early in the history of the Christian Church. ...

Depiction of Trinity from Saint Denis Basilica in Paris.

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. 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. 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. Image File history File links France_Paris_St-Denis_Trinity-CROPPED.jpg‎ File links The following pages on the English Wikipedia link to this file (pages on other projects are not listed): Trinity ... Image File history File links France_Paris_St-Denis_Trinity-CROPPED.jpg‎ File links The following pages on the English Wikipedia link to this file (pages on other projects are not listed): Trinity ... West façade of Saint Denis Depiction of the Trinity over the main entrance The Basilica of Saint Denis (French: Basilique de Saint-Denis, or simply Basilique Saint-Denis) is the famous burial site of the French monarchs, comparable to Westminster Abbey in England. ... This article is about the capital of France. ... Trinitarianism is the Christian doctrine that God, although one being, exists in three distinct persons (hypostases) known collectively as the Holy Trinity. ... Icon depicting the Holy Fathers of the First Council of Nicaea holding the Nicene Creed. ... The Athanasian Creed (Quicunque vult) is a statement of Christian doctrine traditionally ascribed to St. ... For other uses, see Creed (disambiguation). ... For the architectural structure, see Church (building). ... Heterodox literally means pertaining to other doctrines or other worship. ... Topics in Christianity Movements · Denominations Ecumenism · Preaching · Prayer Music · Liturgy · Calendar Symbols · Art · Criticism Important figures Apostle Paul · Church Fathers Constantine · Athanasius · Augustine Anselm · Aquinas · Palamas · Luther Calvin · Wesley Arius · Marcion of Sinope Pope · Archbishop of Canterbury Patriarch of Constantinople Christianity Portal This box:      Christology is a field of study... Topics in Christianity Movements · Denominations Ecumenism · Relation to other religions Preaching · Prayer Music · Liturgy · Calendar Symbols · Art · Criticism Important figures Apostle Paul · Church Fathers Constantine · Athanasius · Augustine Anselm · Aquinas · Palamas Luther · Calvin · Wesley Arius · Marcion of Sinope Archbishop of Canterbury · Pope Coptic Pope · Ecumenical Patriarch Christianity Portal This box:      The... In Christian theology the filioque clause or filioque controversy (filioque meaning and [from] the son in Latin) is a heavily disputed addition to the Nicene Creed, that forms a divisive difference in particular between the Catholic and Eastern Orthodox traditions. ... The Roman Catholic Church, most often spoken of simply as the Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with over one billion members. ... Main article: Anglicanism The Anglican Communion is a world-wide affiliation of Anglican Churches. ... Protestantism encompasses the forms of Christian faith and practice that originated with the doctrines of the Reformation. ... For other senses of this word, see denomination. ...

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. 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. Icon depicting the Holy Fathers of the First Council of Nicaea holding the Nicene Creed. ... This article or section contains information that has not been verified and thus might not be reliable. ... Look up Ι, ι in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ...

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. Fourth-century Christians who objected to the Nicene trinity made copious use of this condemnation by a reputable council.^[27] Paul of Samosata, patriarch of Antioch (260-269), Life Paul was born at Samosata into a family of humble origin. ... Adoptionism is a view held by some early medieval Christians, that Jesus was born a human only, and was not divine until his baptism, at which point he was adopted as the Son by God the Father. ...

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.^[28] In Christianity, the Greek word hypostasis [1] is usually translated into Latin as natura and then into English as nature, although the specific Greek word for nature and substance is physis. ... Athanasius of Alexandria (Greek: Αθανάσιος, Athanásios; c 293 – May 2, 373) was a Christian bishop, the Bishop of Alexandria, in the fourth century. ...

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 identical to God the Father, or an illusion). 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. 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. 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 Plotinus and based on the teachings of Plato and earlier Platonists. ... Topics in Christianity Movements · Denominations Ecumenism · Relation to other religions Preaching · Prayer Music · Liturgy · Calendar Symbols · Art · Criticism Important figures Apostle Paul · Church Fathers Athanasius · Augustine · Constantine Anselm · Aquinas · Palamas Arminius · Calvin · Luther · Wesley Arius · Marcion of Sinope Archbishop of Canterbury · Pope Coptic Pope · Ecumenical Patriarch Christianity Portal This box... Adoptionism is 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 [dokeō], to seem) is the belief that Jesus physical body was an illusion, as was his crucifixion; that is, Jesus only seemed to have a physical body and to physically die, but in reality he was incorporeal, a pure spirit, and hence could not... In Christianity, Sabellianism (also known as modalism) is the belief that the Father, Son and Holy Spirit are different modes or aspects of one God, rather than three distinct persons. ... Augustinus redirects here. ... 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 and explicit over the centuries, while later statements of doctrine remain consistent with earlier statements. ... The Cappadocian Fathers are the 4th century church fathers Basil the Great, Gregory Nazianzen, and Basils brother Gregory of Nyssa, who made major contributions to the definition of the Trinity finalized at the First Council of Constantinople in 381 and the Nicene Creed. ... Basil (ca. ... Gregory of Nyssa ( 335 – after 394) was a Christian bishop and saint. ... An icon of Saint Gregory Nazianzen the theologian holding a Gospel Book Saint Gregory Nazianzen (AD 329 - January 25, 389), also known as Saint Gregory the Theologian, was a 4th century Christian bishop of Constantinople. ... The Athanasian Creed (Quicunque vult) is a statement of Christian doctrine traditionally ascribed to St. ...

These controversies were for most purposes settled at the Ecumenical councils, whose creeds affirm the doctrine of the Trinity. Topics in Christianity Movements · Denominations Ecumenism · Preaching · Prayer Music · Liturgy · Calendar Symbols · Art · Criticism Important figures Apostle Paul · Church Fathers Constantine · Athanasius · Augustine Anselm · Aquinas · Palamas · Luther Calvin · Wesley Arius · Marcion of Sinope Pope · Archbishop of Canterbury Patriarch of Constantinople Christianity Portal This box:      An Ecumenical Council (also sometimes Oecumenical...

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 Almighty. 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. Trinitarianism insists that the Father, Son and Spirit simultaneously exist, each fully the same God. In Christianity, Sabellianism (also known as modalism) is the second-century belief that the three persons of the Trinity are merely different modes or aspects of God, rather than three distinct persons. ... In Christianity, Sabellianism (also known as modalism) is the belief that the Father, Son and Holy Spirit are different modes or aspects of one God, rather than three distinct persons. ... Heresy, as a blanket term, describes a practice or belief that is labeled as unorthodox. ... For other senses of this word, see denomination. ...

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. The doctrine of the Trinity is therefore symbolic, somewhat paradoxically, of both division and unity. The term Oriental Orthodoxy refers to the churches of Eastern Christian traditions that keeps the faith of only the first three ecumenical councils of the undivided Church - the councils of Nicea, Constantinople and Ephesus. ... Topics in Christianity Movements · Denominations Ecumenism · Preaching · Prayer Music · Liturgy · Calendar Symbols · Art · Criticism Important figures Apostle Paul · Church Fathers Constantine · Athanasius · Augustine Anselm · Aquinas · Palamas · Luther Calvin · Wesley Arius · Marcion of Sinope Pope · Archbishop of Canterbury Patriarch of Constantinople Christianity Portal This box:      The Assyrian Church of the East...

The Trinity in art

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. However depictions using three human figures appear occasionally in most periods of art.^[29] 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 oldish man may derive from the Biblical Ancient of Days, which is often cited in defence of this sometimes contoversial representation. The Son is often represented by a symbol, typically the Lamb or a cross or crucifix, so that the Father is the only human figure shown at full size. 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. Later the Throne of Mercy (or "Grace") subject, with the Father supporting either a crucifix^[30] or, later, a slumped crucified Son (this distinguished in German as the Not Gottes)^[31], whilst the Dove hovers above or in between them, became common in Western art. This subject continued until the eighteenth century at least. The baptism of Jesus is an event recounted in the New Testament in which Jesus is baptised by John the Baptist. ... Ancient of Days is a name for God in Aramaic (Atik Yomin); in the Greek Septuagint: (Palaios Hemeron); and in the Vulgate: (Antiquus Dierum). ... The Crucifix, a cross with corpus, a symbol used in Catholicism in contrast with some other Christian communions, which use only a cross. ... The baptism of Jesus is an event recounted in the New Testament in which Jesus is baptised by John the Baptist. ...

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.

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 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 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:18.1-15). The subject long remained sensitive, and a Russian church council in Moscow in 1667 finally forbad depictions of the Father as a man; a Russian icon-type called "The Saviour old with days", showing an aged Christ, was also declared, and remains, heretical in Russian Orthodoxy.^[32] Eastern Orthodoxy (also called Greek Orthodoxy and Russian Orthodoxy) is a Christian tradition which represents the majority of Eastern Christianity. ... The Second Council of Nicaea was the seventh ecumenical council of Christianity; it met in 787 AD in Nicaea (site of the First Council of Nicaea) to restore the honoring of icons (or, holy images), which had been suppressed by imperial edict inside the Byzantine Empire during the reign of... Holy trinity is one of important Eastern Orthodoxy iconography subjects. ... For other uses, see Genesis (disambiguation). ... Look up icon in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ...

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. 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. 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.^[33] Agnolo Gaddis version is typical of the smaller Gothic depictions 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 until the 18th century and beyond. ... The Christian icon of Christ in Majesty, in the Greek-speaking East the Deesis, was developed under Imperial patronage and survives, in its earliest examples, in Byzantine mosaics. ... Image:Michelangelo - Fresco of the Last Judgment. ...

Gallery

"Throne of Mercy", Gothic, Sweden Image File history File links Metadata Size of this preview: 253 × 598 pixelsFull resolution‎ (964 × 2,279 pixels, file size: 518 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) File historyClick on a date/time to view the file as it appeared at that time. ...

"Throne of Mercy", Albrecht Dürer, 1511 Image File history File links Size of this preview: 539 × 599 pixelsFull resolution‎ (2,024 × 2,250 pixels, file size: 517 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) Albrecht Dürer, Allerheiligenbild (Landauer Altar), 1509/16 (1511?). File historyClick on a date/time to view the file as it appeared at that... Albrecht Dürer (pronounced /al. ...

"Gottes Not", Jan Polack (Polish artist working Germany), 1491 Image File history File links Size of this preview: 499 × 600 pixelsFull resolution‎ (2,024 × 2,433 pixels, file size: 635 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) File historyClick on a date/time to view the file as it appeared at that time. ...

"Gottes Not", Jusepe de Ribera, ca. 1635 Image File history File links Size of this preview: 479 × 600 pixelsFull resolution‎ (2,024 × 2,534 pixels, file size: 387 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) File historyClick on a date/time to view the file as it appeared at that time. ... Giuseppe Ribera (January 12, 1591 - 1652) was the name given in Italian to Jusepe (de) Ribera or José (de) Ribera, also called Lo Spagnoletto, or the Little Spaniard, a leading painter of the Neapolitan or partly of the Spanish school, who was born near Valencia, Spain at Xátiva, now...

Unusual Trinities: four 15th century versions of the Coronation of the Virgin show the conventional approach, and less usual ones Agnolo Gaddis version is typical of the smaller Gothic depictions 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 until the 18th century and beyond. ...

Conventional depiction of the Trinity, with Christ showing the wounds of his Passion Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ...

Enguerrand Quarton with Christ and God the Father as identical figures, as specified by the cleric who commissioned the work Image File history File links Metadata Size of this preview: 711 × 600 pixelsFull resolution‎ (812 × 685 pixels, file size: 359 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) File historyClick on a date/time to view the file as it appeared at that time. ... The Avignon Pieta in the Louvre, ca. ...

Page from Book of Hours, with three human figures for the Trinity Image File history File links Size of this preview: 392 × 599 pixelsFull resolution‎ (432 × 660 pixels, file size: 48 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) Folio 55 verso from a Book of Hours (British Library, Royal 2 B XV), Coronation of the Virgin, Apostles, Male Saints and Female Saints Faithful reproductions... A illuminated page from the Très Riches Heures showing the day for exchanging gifts from the month of January A book of hours from the late 1470s. ...

Jean Fouquet, also with three human figures. Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Virgin and Child Surrounded by Angels (c. ...

Trinitarian Theology

Baptism as the beginning lesson

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); and Basil the Great (330–379) declared: "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." "This is the Faith of our baptism," the First Council of Constantinople declared (382), "that teaches us to believe in the Name of the Father, of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. According to this Faith there is one Godhead, Power, and Being of the Father, of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit." Image File history File links Download high resolution version (1576x2256, 414 KB) Description: Title: de: Taufe Christi Technique: de: Holz Dimensions: de: 168 × 116 cm Country of origin: de: Italien Current location (city): de: London Current location (gallery): de: National Gallery Other notes: Source: The Yorck Project: DVD-ROM, 2002. ... Image File history File links Download high resolution version (1576x2256, 414 KB) Description: Title: de: Taufe Christi Technique: de: Holz Dimensions: de: 168 × 116 cm Country of origin: de: Italien Current location (city): de: London Current location (gallery): de: National Gallery Other notes: Source: The Yorck Project: DVD-ROM, 2002. ... The Baptism of Christ, 1450 (National Gallery, London). ... 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 του πατρος και του υιου και του αγίου πνεύματος, eis to onoma tou patros kai tou huiou kai tou hagiou pneumatos), or words to that form and effect referring to the persons of the Holy Trinity. ... Basil (ca. ... The First Council of Constantinople (second ecumenical council) was called by Theodosius I in 381 to confirm the Nicene Creed and deal with other matters of the Arian controversy . ...

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.^[34] The formula is found in the Didache,^[35] Ignatius,^[36] Tertullian,^[37] Hippolytus,^[38] Cyprian,^[39] and Gregory Thaumaturgus.^[40] Though the formula has early attestation, 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). 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 to baptism in the name of (the Lord) Jesus (Christ) outside the Acts of the Apostles.^[41] The Didache (, Koine Greek for Teaching[1]) is the common name of a brief early Christian treatise ( 70–160), containing instructions for Christian communities. ... Saint Ignatius of Antioch (also known as Theophorus)(c. ... Quintus Septimius Florens Tertullianus, anglicised as Tertullian, (ca. ... Statue of Hippolytus, 3rd century. ... This page is about Cyprian, bishop of Carthage. ... Gregory Thaumaturgus (c. ... For the literature genre, see Acts of the Apostles (genre). ...

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.^[42]

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 Gospels of Mark, Matthew, and Luke. ... 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. "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." (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. The same insistence is found in the New Testament: "...there is none other God but one..." (1 Corinthians 8:4). The "other gods" warned against are therefore not understood as gods at all, but as substitutes for God, and so are, according to St. Paul, simply mythological (1 Corinthians 8:5). Topics in Christianity Movements · Denominations · Other religions Ecumenism · Preaching · Prayer Music · Liturgy · Calendar Symbols · Art · Criticism Important figures Apostle Paul · Church Fathers Constantine · Athanasius · Augustine Anselm · Aquinas · Palamas · Luther Calvin · Wesley Arius · Marcion of Sinope Archbishop of Canterbury · Catholic Pope Coptic Pope · Ecumenical Patriarch Christianity Portal This box:      Note: Judaism... The Tetragrammaton in Phoenician (1100 BC to 300 CE), Aramaic (10th Century BC to 0) and modern Hebrew scripts. ... Shema Yisrael (שמע ישראל) are the first two words of a section of the Hebrew Bible that is used as a centerpiece of all morning and evening Jewish prayer services and closely echoes the monotheistic message of Judaism. ... Topics in Christianity Movements · Denominations · Other religions Ecumenism · Preaching · Prayer Music · Liturgy · Calendar Symbols · Art · Criticism Important figures Apostle Paul · Church Fathers Constantine · Athanasius · Augustine Anselm · Aquinas · Palamas · Luther Calvin · Wesley Arius · Marcion of Sinope Archbishop of Canterbury · Catholic Pope Coptic Pope · Ecumenical Patriarch Christianity Portal This box:      Note: Judaism... This article is about the Christian scriptures. ...

In Trinitarian view, the common conception which thinks of the Father and Christ as two separate beings is viewed as incorrect by many but not all groups in Christianity and Messianicism. 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 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. The Gospel of John depicts the Father as united with Jesus as Jesus is united with his followers (John 17:20–23). Polytheism is belief in or worship of multiple gods or deities. ... For other uses, see Gospel of John (disambiguation). ...

God exists in three persons

The "Shield of the Trinity" or "Scutum Fidei" diagram of traditional Western Christian symbolism.

This one God however exists in three persons, or in the Greek hypostases. God has but a single divine nature. Chalcedonians—Roman Catholics, Orthodox Christians, Anglicans and Protestants—hold that, in addition, the Second Persona 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. 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. Image File history File links Basic minimal (equilateral triangular) version of the Shield of the Trinity or Scutum Fidei diagram of traditional Christian symbolism, with translated English-language captions (in place of original Latin) See Shield of the Trinity for further explanation. ... The Shield of the Trinity or Scutum Fidei is a traditional Christian visual symbol which expresses many aspects of the doctrine of the Trinity, summarizing the first part of the Athanasian Creed in a compact diagram. ... In Christianity, the Greek word hypostasis [1] is usually translated into Latin as natura and then into English as nature, although the specific Greek word for nature and substance is physis. ... The Chalcedonian churches are those Christian churches who follow the Christological teachings of the Council of Chalcedon, in contradistinction to Nestorians, Monophysites and Monothelites. ... The Roman Catholic Church, most often spoken of simply as the Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with over one billion members. ... Topics in Christianity Movements · Denominations Ecumenism · Relation to other religions Preaching · Prayer Music · Liturgy · Calendar Symbols · Art · Criticism Important figures Apostle Paul · Church Fathers Constantine · Athanasius · Augustine Anselm · Aquinas · Palamas Luther · Calvin · Wesley Arius · Marcion of Sinope Archbishop of Canterbury · Pope Coptic Pope · Ecumenical Patriarch Christianity Portal This box:      The... The term Anglican describes those people and churches following the religious traditions of the Church of England, especially following the Reformation. ... Protestantism is a general grouping of denominations within Christianity. ... The term Oriental Orthodoxy refers to the churches of Eastern Christian traditions that keeps the faith of only the first three ecumenical councils of the undivided Church - the councils of Nicea, Constantinople and Ephesus. ...

In the Trinity, the Three are said to be co-equal and co-eternal, one in essence, nature, power, action, and will. However, as laid out in the Athanasian Creed, only the Father is unbegotten and non-proceeding. The Son is begotten from (or "generated by") the Father. The Spirit proceeds from the Father (or from the Father and through the Son—see filioque clause for the distinction). The Roman Catholic Church teaches that the Spirit proceeds from the Father and the Son. The Athanasian Creed (Quicunque vult) is a statement of Christian doctrine traditionally ascribed to St. ... In Christian theology the filioque clause or filioque controversy (filioque meaning and [from] the son in Latin) is a heavily disputed addition to the Nicene Creed, that forms a divisive difference in particular between the Catholic and Eastern Orthodox traditions. ...

It has been stated that because God exists in three persons, 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. Genesis 2:22 Some Trinitarian Christians support their position with the Comma Johanneum described above, even though it is widely regarded as inauthentic and was not used patristically. Michelangelos The Creation of Eve, a fresco on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel, shows God creating Eve from the side of Adam. ... Topics in Christianity Movements · Denominations · Other religions Ecumenism · Preaching · Prayer Music · Liturgy · Calendar Symbols · Art · Criticism Important figures Apostle Paul · Church Fathers Constantine · Athanasius · Augustine Anselm · Aquinas · Palamas · Luther Calvin · Wesley Arius · Marcion of Sinope Archbishop of Canterbury · Catholic Pope Coptic Pope · Ecumenical Patriarch Christianity Portal This box:      The Comma...

Mutually indwelling

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). 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). [6] Image File history File links Size of this preview: 407 × 599 pixelsFull resolution‎ (439 × 646 pixels, file size: 55 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) Folio 10 verso from a Book of Hours (British Library, Royal 2 B XV), The Trinity Faithful reproductions of two-dimensional original works cannot attract copyright... Image File history File links Size of this preview: 407 × 599 pixelsFull resolution‎ (439 × 646 pixels, file size: 55 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) Folio 10 verso from a Book of Hours (British Library, Royal 2 B XV), The Trinity Faithful reproductions of two-dimensional original works cannot attract copyright... A illuminated page from the Très Riches Heures showing the day for exchanging gifts from the month of January A book of hours from the late 1470s. ... The symbols of the four Evangelists are here depicted in the Book of Kells The Four Evangelists are the four followers of Jesus to whom are ascribed the writings forming the four Gospels of the New Testament: the Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. ... Perichoresis in theology, referred to the mutual inter-penetration and indwelling of the Father and the Son. ... Hilarius or Hilary (c. ...

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. 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). 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) In theology, the doctrine of divine simplicity says that God is without parts. ... Topics in Christianity Movements · Denominations Ecumenism · Preaching · Prayer Music · Liturgy · Calendar Symbols · Art · Criticism Important figures Apostle Paul · Church Fathers Constantine · Athanasius · Augustine Anselm · Aquinas · Palamas · Wycliffe Tyndale · Luther · Calvin · Wesley Arius · Marcion of Sinope Pope · Archbishop of Canterbury Patriarch of Constantinople Christianity Portal This box:      In Eastern Orthodox and...

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 "ikon" of the Trinity, relationships of communion in which, in the words of St. 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." 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. Trinitarianism is the Christian doctrine that God, although one being, exists in three distinct persons (hypostases) known collectively as the Holy Trinity. ... Topics in Christianity Movements · Denominations · Other religions Ecumenism · Preaching · Prayer Music · Liturgy · Calendar Symbols · Art · Criticism Important figures Apostle Paul · Church Fathers Constantine · Athanasius · Augustine Anselm · Aquinas · Palamas · Luther Calvin · Wesley Arius · Marcion of Sinope Archbishop of Canterbury · Catholic Pope Coptic Pope · Ecumenical Patriarch Christianity Portal This box:      For the... In Christian theology the filioque clause or filioque controversy (filioque meaning and [from] the son in Latin) is a heavily disputed addition to the Nicene Creed, that forms a divisive difference in particular between the Catholic and Eastern Orthodox traditions. ... Icon depicting the Holy Fathers of the First Council of Nicaea holding the Nicene Creed. ...

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} Augustinus redirects here. ...

Son begotten, not created

Because the Son is begotten, not made, the substance of his persona is that of Yahweh, of deity. The creation is brought into being through the Son, but the Son Himself is not part of it except through His incarnation. It has been suggested that Yahweh be merged into this article or section. ...

The church fathers used a number of analogies to express this thought. St. Irenaeus of Lyons was the final major theologian of the second century. He writes "the Father is God, and the Son is God, for whatever is begotten of God is God." Analogy is both the cognitive process of transferring information from a particular subject (the analogue or source) to another particular subject (the target), and a linguistic expression corresponding to such a process. ... St. ...

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. Topics in Christianity Movements · Denominations Ecumenism · Preaching · Prayer Music · Liturgy · Calendar Symbols · Art · Criticism Important figures Apostle Paul · Church Fathers Constantine · Athanasius · Augustine Anselm · Aquinas · Palamas · Luther Calvin · Wesley Arius · Marcion of Sinope Pope · Archbishop of Canterbury Patriarch of Constantinople Christianity Portal This box:      Christology is a field of study...

Economic and Ontological Trinity

• Economic Trinity: This refers to the acts of the triune God with respect to the creation, history, salvation, the formation of the Church, the daily lives of believers, etc. and describes how the Trinity operates within history in terms of the roles or functions performed by each of the Persons of the Trinity—God's relationship with creation.
• Ontological (or essential or immanent) Trinity: This speaks of the interior life of the Trinity "within itself" (John 1:1–2, note John 1:1)—the reciprocal relationships of Father, Son and Spirit to each other.

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."^[43] Image File history File links Unbalanced_scales. ... Karl Rahner in 1975. ...

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.^[44]

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.^[45] 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.”^[46]

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.”^[47] 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.^[48]

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.^[49] 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. 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." Topics in Christianity Movements · Denominations · Other religions Ecumenism · Preaching · Prayer Music · Liturgy · Calendar Symbols · Art · Criticism Important figures Apostle Paul · Church Fathers Constantine · Athanasius · Augustine Anselm · Aquinas · Palamas · Luther Calvin · Wesley Arius · Marcion of Sinope Archbishop of Canterbury · Catholic Pope Coptic Pope · Ecumenical Patriarch Christianity Portal This box:      Note: Judaism... Look up theophany in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ...

• Genesis 12:7,18:1 — God appeared to Abraham
• Genesis 26:2,24 — God appeared to Isaac
• Genesis 35:1,9,48:3 — God appeared to Jacob
• Exodus 3:16,4:5 — God appeared to Moses
• Exodus 6:3 — God appeared to Abraham, Isaac, Jacob
• Leviticus 9:4,16:2 — God appeared to Aaron
• Deuteronomy 31:15 — God appeared to Moses and Joshua
• 1Samuel 3:21 — God appeared to Samuel
• 1Kings 3:5,9:2,11:9 — God appeared to Solomon
• 2Chronicles 1 — God appeared to David
• 2Chronicles 7:12 — God appeared to Solomon

The Angel (Messenger) of the Lord

• Genesis 16:7–14
• Genesis 22:9–14
• Exodus 3:2
• Exodus 23:20,21
• Numbers 22:21–35
• Judges 2:1–5
• Judges 6:11–22
• Judges 13:3

God identified as "the Father" in the Old Testament

• Deuteronomy 32:6 (Moses' time)
• Isaiah 63:15,64:8 (pre-exile)
• Malachi 2:10 (post-exile)

God identified as "the Son" in the Old Testament

God is never identified as "the Son" in the Old Testament. Israel is called God's first born son. Others are referred to as God's son, but the various references pointed to by Christians in the Old Testament are either mistranslations or taken out of context.

Trinitarians will point to Psalm 2 and state that it includes the phrase "kiss his Son." This is a mistranslation into English as the word in Psalm 2 is "bar" which means son in Aramaic, but not Hebrew. The Psalm is written in Hebrew and the Hebrew word for son is "ben" which does not appear in the psalm. From the Catholic Bible (note no "son"):

“Serve the Lord with fear; with trembling bow down in homage, Lest God be angry and you perish from the way in a sudden blaze of anger. Happy are all who take refuge in God”. (The New American Bible – Catholic)

"bow down in homage" is the correct translation, not "kiss the son."

Isaiah 9 (often used by Christians to speak of Jesus) is actually in past tense, the same is true for Proverbs 30:4 and other "proof texts."

God the Spirit in the Old Testament

• 1Samuel 10:10,19:20,23
• 2Samuel 23:1
• 1Kings 22:24
• Nehemiah 9:30
• Psalms 51:11
• Isaiah 63:10,11
• Micah 2:7

Deity of the Holy Spirit in the Old Testament:

• Job 33:4
• Psalms 104:30
• Psalms 139:7

Words of the Holy Spirit called the words of God:

• 1Samuel 10:10
• 2Samuel 23:2
• Zechariah 7:12,12:10

Orthodox, Roman Catholic, Anglican, and Protestant distinctions

The Holy Trinity by Andrei Rublev, using the theme of the "Hospitality of Abraham." The three angels symbolize the Trinity, which is rarely depicted directly in Orthodox art.

The Western (Roman Catholic) tradition is more prone to make positive statements concerning the relationship of persons in the Trinity. It should be noted that 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. Image File history File links Download high resolution version (2024x2497, 683 KB) Description: Title: de: Heilige Dreifaltigkeit Technique: de: Tempera, grundiertes Holz Dimensions: de: 112 × 141 cm Country of origin: de: Rußland Current location (city): de: Moskau Current location (gallery): de: Tretjakow-Galerie Other notes: de: Ikonenmalerei Source: The... Image File history File links Download high resolution version (2024x2497, 683 KB) Description: Title: de: Heilige Dreifaltigkeit Technique: de: Tempera, grundiertes Holz Dimensions: de: 112 × 141 cm Country of origin: de: Rußland Current location (city): de: Moskau Current location (gallery): de: Tretjakow-Galerie Other notes: de: Ikonenmalerei Source: The... Andrei Rublev (Andrey Rublev, Andrey Roublyov, Russian: Андре́й Рублёв) (1360? – 1430?) is considered to be the greatest Russian iconographer. ... Catholic Church redirects here. ... Topics in Christianity Movements · Denominations Ecumenism · Relation to other religions Preaching · Prayer Music · Liturgy · Calendar Symbols · Art · Criticism Important figures Apostle Paul · Church Fathers Constantine · Athanasius · Augustine Anselm · Aquinas · Palamas Luther · Calvin · Wesley Arius · Marcion of Sinope Archbishop of Canterbury · Pope Coptic Pope · Ecumenical Patriarch Christianity Portal This box:      The...

The Christian East, 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 ikon of the Trinity" and 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." While this phrase is still used unaltered in the Eastern Churches, it became customary in parts of the Western Church, beginning with the provincial Third Council of Toledo in 589, to add the clause "and the Son" (Latin filioque) into the Creed. Although this was explicitly rejected by Pope Leo III, it was finally used in a Papal Mass by Pope Benedict VIII in 1014, thus becoming official throughout the Roman Catholic Church. The Eastern Churches object to it on both ecclesiological and theological grounds. marks the entry of Catholic Christianity into the rule of Visigothic Spain. ... In Christian theology the filioque clause or filioque controversy (filioque meaning and [from] the son in Latin) is a heavily disputed addition to the Nicene Creed, that forms a divisive difference in particular between the Catholic and Eastern Orthodox traditions. ... Infobox Pope| English name=Leo III| image= | birth_name=Unknown| term_start=December 27, 795 | term_end=June 12, 816| predecessor=Adrian I| successor=Stephen IV| birth_date=Date of birth unknown| birthplace=Rome, Italy| dead=dead|death_date=June 12, 816| deathplace=Place of death unknown| other=Leo}} Pope Leo III (died June 12... Benedict VIII, né Theophylactus (born in Rome, died April 9, 1024), pope (1012-1024), of the noble family of the counts of Tusculum (son of Gregory, Count of Tusculum, and Maria, and brother of John XIX), descended from Theophylact, Count of Tusculum like his predecessor Benedict VI, was opposed by...

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. This box:      Anglicanism most commonly refers to the beliefs and practices of the Anglican Communion, a world-wide affiliation of Christian Churches, most of which have historical connections with the Church of England. ...

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 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. The Westminster Confession of Faith is the chief doctrinal product of the Protestant Westminster Assembly. ... The 1689 Baptist Confession of Faith was written by Calvinistic Baptists in England to give a formal expression of the Reformed and Protestant Christian faith with an obvious Baptist perspective. ... Wikisource has original text related to this article: Augsburg Confession The Augsburg Confession, also known as the Augustana from its Latin name, Confessio Augustana, is the primary confession of faith of the Lutheran Church and one of the most important documents of the Lutheran reformation. ...

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)." 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. 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. Some theologians prefer the alternate terminology of "Source, and Word, and Holy Spirit." Feminist theology is a movement, generally in Christianity and Judaism, to reconsider the traditions, practices, scriptures, and theologies of their religion from a feminist perspective. ... Gender in common usage refers to the sexual distinction between male and female. ... For other uses, see Salvation (disambiguation). ... In Christianity, Sabellianism (also known as modalism) is the second-century belief that the three persons of the Trinity are merely different modes or aspects of God, rather than three distinct persons. ...

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.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. 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. For other uses, see Creed (disambiguation). ... The Church Fathers or Fathers of the Church are the early and influential theologians and writers in the Christian Church, particularly those of the first five centuries of Christian history. ... The term Virgin Mary has several different meanings: Mary, the mother of Jesus, the historical and multi-denominational concept of Mary Blessed Virgin Mary, the Roman Catholic theological and doctrinal concept of Mary Marian apparitions shrines to the Virgin Mary Virgin Mary in Islam, the Islamic theological and doctrinal concept... The word Hebrew most likely means to cross over, referring to the Semitic people crossing over the Euphrates River. ... Aramaic is a Semitic language with a four-thousand year history. ... For other uses, see Genesis (disambiguation). ... Subfamilies see article text Feral Rock Pigeon beside Weiming Lake, Peking University Dove redirects here. ...

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. The formulation suggested by the former philosopher is free from logical incoherency, but it is debatable whether this formulation is consistent with historical orthodoxy. Regarding the formulation suggested by the latter philosopher, not all philosophers would agree with its logical coherency. Richard Swinburne has suggested that "the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit be thought of as numerically distinct Gods." Peter Geach suggested that "a coherent statement of the doctrine is possible on the assumption that identity is "always relative to a sortal term."^[50] Christians admit that the Trinity is beyond our finite understanding to understand completely, as God is beyond our finite understanding. Richard G. Swinburne (born December 26, 1934) is an eminent British professor and philosopher primarily interested in the philosophy of religion and philosophy of science. ... Peter Thomas Geach (born 1919) is one of the foremost contemporary British philosophers. ...

On the other hand, 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 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" is "echad" meaning compound unity, harmonious in direction and purpose; not "yachid" which means singularity. The MIAs logo. ... The Branch Davidians are a religious sect which originated from a schism in 1955 from the Davidian Seventh Day Adventists, themselves former members of the Seventh-day Adventist Church who were disfellowshipped during the 1930s. ... The Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) is a United States-based Christian denomination that consists of numerous agencies including six seminaries, two mission boards and a variety of other organizations such as: the Executive Committee of the Southern Baptist Convention, which can act for the SBC ad interim between annual meetings...

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."^[51] Louis Berkhof describes the doctrine of the Trinity requiring belief in a "simplex unity" and not a complex (or composite) being. "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."^[52] The Westminster Confession of Faith is a Reformed confession of faith, in the Calvinist theological tradition. ... The 1689 Baptist Confession of Faith was written by Calvinistic Baptists in England to give a formal expression of the Reformed and Protestant Christian faith with an obvious Baptist perspective. ... This page may meet Wikipedias criteria for speedy deletion. ...

Ambivalence to Trinitarian doctrine

Some Protestant Christians, particularly some members of the restoration movement, are ambivalent about the doctrine of the Trinity. 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. 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. 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. Topics in Christianity Movements · Denominations Ecumenism · Preaching · Prayer Music · Liturgy · Calendar Symbols · Art · Criticism Important figures Apostle Paul · Church Fathers Constantine · Athanasius · Augustine Anselm · Aquinas · Palamas Luther Calvin · Wesley Arius · Marcion of Sinope Pope · Archbishop of Canterbury Patriarch of Constantinople Christianity Portal This box:      This article is about the Stone... The Religious Society of Friends, commonly known as Quakers, or Friends, is a religious community founded in England in the 17th century. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... Church of Christ redirects here. ... Topics in Christianity Movements · Denominations Ecumenism · Preaching · Prayer Music · Liturgy · Calendar Symbols · Art · Criticism Important figures Apostle Paul · Church Fathers Constantine · Athanasius · Augustine Anselm · Aquinas · Palamas · Luther Calvin · Wesley Arius · Marcion of Sinope Pope · Archbishop of Canterbury Patriarch of Constantinople Christianity Portal This box:      This article is about theological concept. ...

Unorthodox 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 they regard these three as one in purpose and unity, but not in identity. For other uses, see Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (disambiguation). ...

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." The same in essence, the Trinity indicates "the intelligent relation of God to man and the universe." ^[53] Christian Science is a religious teaching regarding the efficacy of spiritual healing according to the interpretation of the Bible by Mary Baker Eddy, in her book Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures (first published in 1875). ...

Nontrinitarianism

Main article: Nontrinitarianism

Some Christian traditions either reject the doctrine of the Trinity, or consider it unimportant. 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. Topics in Christianity Movements · Denominations Ecumenism · Preaching · Prayer Music · Liturgy · Calendar Symbols · Art · Criticism Important figures Apostle Paul · Church Fathers Constantine · Athanasius · Augustine Anselm · Aquinas · Palamas · Wycliffe Tyndale · Luther · Calvin · Wesley Arius · Marcion of Sinope Pope · Archbishop of Canterbury Patriarch of Constantinople Christianity Portal This box:      Nontrinitarianism refers to Christian...

Criticism and Debate

Following is an outline of basic objections raised by critics of the Trinity and a theologian's defense of each:^[54]

1. The word Trinity is not found in the Bible. Response: This has no bearing on whether or not the Bible teaches the doctrine. The word "monotheism" is also not in the Bible and yet the concept is clearly taught in scripture.
2. There is no verse in the Bible that teaches the Trinity. Response: Various verses teach that the Father is God Phil. 1:2, the Son is God (John 1:1,14, and the Holy Spirit is God (Acts 5:3-4). There are verses that suggest the Trinity since they mention all three together: Matt. 3:16-17. Matt. 28:19, 2 Cor.13:14
3. The Trinity is three separate Gods. Response: The Trinity doctrine, by definition, is monotheistic. The Shema of the Old Testament (Deut. 6:4) is seen in the New Testament ("The Lord our God is one." Mark 12:29). The New Testament knows God as Father, as Son, and as Holy Spirit.
4. Three gods cannot be one God. Response: The Trinity is not three gods. The Trinity is one God in three persons, or three aspects of a single God.
5. Three persons cannot be one person. Response: The Doctrine of the Trinity does not state that God is one person. The Trinity is one God in three Personal dimensions.
6. The Trinity is illogical. Response: There is no logical contradiction in the orthodox doctrine. A physical analogy to the spiritual concept would be a sphere: 100% is wide, 100% tall, 100% deep; they are not parts, but individual dimensions of a single essence. Width is not depth, depth is not height, and height is not width, and yet the single sphere is all three. The logical problems that humans have with the doctrine are not in Trinitarianism itself, but in our inability to grasp infinite Being.
7. The Trinity is a pagan idea. Response: Other religions have included triads (three separate gods) in their theology. The Trinity is one God. Moreover, to avoid all similarity would require us to abandon all ideas we have in common with other religions: theism, justice, morality, etc. Each would intersect with paganism at some point, giving us nothing left to believe in. The objection, at it's core, is thus both irrelevant and invalid.
8. Jesus cannot be God because He did not know all things, slept, grew in wisdom, said the Father is greater than I, etc. Response: This objection fails to take into consideration the Hypostatic Union which states that Jesus had two natures: divine and human. As a man, Jesus cooperated with the limitations of His humanity. Jesus would sleep, grow in wisdom, and say the Father was greater than He. These do not negate that Jesus was divine since they refer to His humanity and not His Deity. God the Son, as Son of Man, demonstrates and models the obedience that each of us should exhibit towards God.
9. Jesus cannot be God because this would mean that God died and God can't die. Response: God cannot die. Humans can, and do, die. Jesus was both, and though His Deity did not cease to exist, he did, as the Son of Man, die.

The hypostatic union (also known as the mystical union), in Christian theology, refers to the dual nature of Jesus Christ as being simultaneously God and Man. ...

Nontrinitarian groups

Since Trinitarianism is central to so much of church doctrine, nontrinitarians have mostly been 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^[55]

In the early centuries of Christian history adoptionists, Arians, Ebionites, Gnostics, Marcionites, and others held nontrinitarian beliefs. The Nicene Creed raised the issue of the relationship between Jesus' divine and human natures. Monophysitism ("one nature") and monothelitism ("one will") were heretical attempts to explain this relationship. 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). 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. Twentieth-century nontrinitarian movements include Iglesia ni Cristo and the Unification Church. 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. Adoptionism or adoptianism is an attempt to explain how Jesus is related God (that is, it was one option that arose in the Trinitarian controversies of the early church). ... This article is about the theological doctrine of Arius. ... The Ebionites (Greek: Ebionaioi from Hebrew; , , the Poor Ones) were an early Jewish Christian sect that lived in and around the land of Israel in the 1st to the 5th century CE.[1] Without authenticated archaeological evidence for the existence of the Ebionites, their views and practices can only be... Gnosticism is a blanket term for various religions and sects most prominent in the first few centuries A.D. General characteristics The word gnosticism comes from the Greek word for knowledge, gnosis (γνῶσις), referring to the idea that there is special, hidden mysticism (esoteric knowledge... Marcionism is a sect founded in A.D. 144 at Rome by Marcion of Sinope. ... Monophysitism (from the Greek monos meaning one, alone and physis meaning nature) is the christological position that Christ has only one nature, as opposed to the Chalcedonian position which holds that Christ has two natures, one divine and one human. ... 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 Christological doctrine. ... Cathars being expelled from Carcassonne in 1209. ... Michael Servetus. ... Sir Isaac Newton FRS (4 January 1643 – 31 March 1727) [ OS: 25 December 1642 – 20 March 1727][1] was an English physicist, mathematician, astronomer, natural philosopher, and alchemist. ... Christadelphians (From the Greek Brothers in Christ) are a religious group that developed in the United Kingdom and North America in the 19th century. ... For other uses, see Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (disambiguation). ... Historic Unitarianism believed in the oneness of God as opposed to traditional Christian belief in the Trinity (Father, Son, and Holy Spirit). ... The Iglesia ni Cristo (IPA: ) (also known as INC or Iglesya ni Kristo ; literally Tagalog for Church of Christ) is a non-Trinitarian Christian church that originated in the Philippines[1] The INC was incorporated in the Philippines by Felix Y. Manalo on July 27, 1914;[2] The church professes... The Unification Church is a new religious movement started by Sun Myung Moon in Korea in the 1940s. ...

Of notable exception are Oneness Pentecostals, who affirm that God came to Earth as man (i.e., manifested Himself) in the man Jesus Christ. Oneness Pentecostals fully affirm, like Trinitarians, that Jesus Christ is fully God and fully man. One can understand Oneness Pentecostals by replacing the Trinitarian term 'person' with the term 'mode' or 'manifestation' when discussing the Christian Godhead. Many Oneness Pentecostals can recite the first Nicene Creed, as it rejects Arianism, yet preserves the oneness of God and divinity of Jesus Christ. An offshoot of the Pentecostal branch of Christianity, Oneness Pentecostals believe that there is one God with no essential divisions in His nature (such as a trinity) . He is not a plurality of persons, but He does have a plurality of manifestations, roles, titles, attributes, or relationships to man. ... An offshoot of the Pentecostal branch of Christianity, Oneness Pentecostals believe that there is one God with no essential divisions in His nature (such as a trinity) . He is not a plurality of persons, but He does have a plurality of manifestations, roles, titles, attributes, or relationships to man. ... An offshoot of the Pentecostal branch of Christianity, Oneness Pentecostals believe that there is one God with no essential divisions in His nature (such as a trinity) . He is not a plurality of persons, but He does have a plurality of manifestations, roles, titles, attributes, or relationships to man. ... An offshoot of the Pentecostal branch of Christianity, Oneness Pentecostals believe that there is one God with no essential divisions in His nature (such as a trinity) . He is not a plurality of persons, but He does have a plurality of manifestations, roles, titles, attributes, or relationships to man. ...

Notes

Stephen L Harris is Professor and Chair, Department of Humanities and Religious Studies at California State University, Sacramento. ... Alister E. McGrath (b. ... Encyclopedia of Religion and Ethics is an extensive work by James Hastings, written between 1908 and 1927, covering religion, comprised of entries by many contributors. ... Carmina Cantabrigiensia, Manuscript C, folio 436v, 11th century Textual criticism or lower criticism is a branch of philology or bibliography that is concerned with the identification and removal of errors from texts and manuscripts. ... Bart D. Ehrman is a New Testament scholar and an expert on early Christianity. ... Textus Receptus (Latin: received text) is the name given to the first Greek-language text of the New Testament to be printed on a printing press. ... For other uses, see Yahweh (disambiguation). ... The Martyrdom of Polycarp is one of the works of the Apostolic Fathers, and as such is one of the very few genuine such writings from the actual age of the persecutions. ... is the 47th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2006 (MMVI) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... An Historical Account of Two Notable Corruptions of Scripture is a dissertation by the English Mathematician and Scholar Isaac Newton. ... An offshoot of the Pentecostal branch of Christianity, Oneness Pentecostals believe that there is one God with no essential divisions in His nature (such as a trinity) . He is not a plurality of persons, but He does have a plurality of manifestations, roles, titles, attributes, or relationships to man. ... Frederick Cornwallis Conybeare (1856-1924) was a British orientalist, Fellow of University College, Oxford, and Professor of Theology at the University of Oxford. ... Carmina Cantabrigiensia, Manuscript C, folio 436v, 11th century Textual criticism or lower criticism is a branch of philology or bibliography that is concerned with the identification and removal of errors from texts and manuscripts. ... The Church Fathers or Fathers of the Church are the early and influential theologians and writers in the Christian Church, particularly those of the first five centuries of Christian history. ... The Westminster Confession of Faith is a Reformed confession of faith, in the Calvinist theological tradition. ... The 1689 Baptist Confession of Faith was written by Calvinistic Baptists in England to give a formal expression of the Reformed and Protestant Christian faith with an obvious Baptist perspective. ... In the theology of Roman Catholicism, an indulgence is the remission of the temporal punishment due to God for a Christians sins. ... In Christian eschatology, particular judgment is the doctrine that immediately after death the eternal destiny of each separated soul is decided by the just judgment of God. ... Topics in Christianity Movements · Denominations Ecumenism · Preaching · Prayer Music · Liturgy · Calendar Symbols · Art · Criticism Important figures Apostle Paul · Church Fathers Constantine · Athanasius · Augustine Anselm · Aquinas · Palamas · Wycliffe Tyndale · Luther · Calvin · Wesley Arius · Marcion of Sinope Pope · Archbishop of Canterbury Patriarch of Constantinople Christianity Portal This box:      The Pope (from Latin... Illustration for Dantes Purgatorio (18), by Gustave Doré, an imaginative picturing of Purgatory. ... Main article: Eucharist (Catholic Church) Transubstantiation (in Latin, transsubstantiatio) is the change of the substance of bread and wine into the body and blood of Christ occurring in the Eucharist according to the teaching of some Christian Churches, including the Roman Catholic Church. ...

See also

• God
• God the Father
• Godhead
• Jesus
• Christ
• Nontrinitarianism
• Arianism
• Fleur de lys
• Holy Trinity Icon
• Oneness Pentecostal
• Social Trinity
• Trikaya
• Trimurti, the Hindu Trinity
• Trinitarian Universalism
• Tritheism
• Unitarianism

Wikimedia Commons has media related to:

Holy Trinity

• Ahura, the Zoroastrian Trinity
• Ayyavazhi Trinity
• Holy Trinity columns

This article discusses the term God in the context of monotheism and henotheism. ... In many religions, the supreme God is given the title and attributions of Father. ... In Christianity, the Godhead is a unit consisting of God the Father, Jesus Christ (the Son), and the Holy Spirit. ... This article is about Jesus of Nazareth. ... This page is about the title, office or what is known in Christian theology as the Divine Person. ... Topics in Christianity Movements · Denominations Ecumenism · Preaching · Prayer Music · Liturgy · Calendar Symbols · Art · Criticism Important figures Apostle Paul · Church Fathers Constantine · Athanasius · Augustine Anselm · Aquinas · Palamas · Wycliffe Tyndale · Luther · Calvin · Wesley Arius · Marcion of Sinope Pope · Archbishop of Canterbury Patriarch of Constantinople Christianity Portal This box:      Nontrinitarianism refers to Christian... Topics in Christianity Movements · Denominations Ecumenism · Relation to other religions Preaching · Prayer Music · Liturgy · Calendar Symbols · Art · Criticism Important figures Apostle Paul · Church Fathers Athanasius · Augustine · Constantine Anselm · Aquinas · Palamas Arminius · Calvin · Luther · Wesley Arius · Marcion of Sinope Archbishop of Canterbury · Pope Coptic Pope · Ecumenical Patriarch Christianity Portal This box... Fleurs-de-lys on the flag of Quebec The fleur-de-lis (also spelled fleur-de-lys; plural fleurs-de-lis or -lys) is used in heraldry, where it is particularly associated with the France monarchy (see King of France). ... Holy trinity is one of important Eastern Orthodoxy iconography subjects. ... Oneness Pentecostalism is a movement of Pentecostal Christianity that teaches the atoning death of Jesus Christ, His resurrection, His soon return, and the inerrancy of the word of God. ... 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) is an important Buddhist teaching both on the nature of reality, and what a Buddha is. ... This article is about the Hindu gods. ... Rublevs Trinity Trinitarian Universalism is a formulation of Universalism, the belief that every person will be saved, that is centered and based on the Christian Trinitarianism of Athanasius, Karl Barth and T. F. Torrance. ... Tritheism is the belief that there are three equally powerful gods who form a triad. ... Topics in Christianity Movements · Denominations Ecumenism · Preaching · Prayer Music · Liturgy · Calendar Symbols · Art · Criticism Important figures Apostle Paul · Church Fathers Constantine · Athanasius · Augustine Anselm · Aquinas · Palamas · Luther Calvin · Wesley Arius · Marcion of Sinope Archbishop of Canterbury · Catholic Pope Coptic Pope · Ecumenical Patriarch Christianity Portal This box:      Unitarianism is the belief... Image File history File links Commons-logo. ... Ahura is the Avestan language designation for a class of divinity, adopted by Zarathustra (Zoroaster) from prehistoric proto-Indo-Iranian religion. ... The Ayyavazhi Trinity is the Incarnation of God in this Kali Yukam. ... The plague Column of the Virgin Mary Immaculate in Kutná Hora, the Czech Republic, built between 1713 and 1715 Erecting religious monuments in the form of a column surmounted by a figure or a Christian symbol was a gesture of public faith that flourished in the Catholic countries of Europe...

External links

• Doctrine of the Trinity
• The Blessed Trinity Article in the Catholic Encyclopedia
• The Trinity at WikiChristian
• Trinity article at Theopedia
• Discussion of how God is triune and how God reaches man and works in man in His Trinity
• The Biblical Concept of the Triune God
• The Doctrine of the Trinity By James Montgomery Boice
• Eastern Orthodox Trinitarian Theology
• trinities.org - Summaries and discussions of present and past trinitarian theories
• The Jewish Trinity: When Rabbis Believed in the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit by Yoel Natan at Google Books

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Religious belief systems	Acosmism · Animism · Ditheism · Gnosticism · Mysticism · New Age · New Thought · Theism · Thelema · Theosophy · Transcendentalism · more James Montgomery Boice Dr. James Montgomery Boice (July 7, 1938 – June 15, 2000) was a Reformed theologian and pastor of Tenth Presbyterian Church in Philadelphia from 1968 until his death. ... Below are words that designate a set or subset of beliefs. ... Various Religious symbols, including (first row) Christian, Jewish, Hindu, Bahai, (second row) Islamic, tribal, Taoist, Shinto (third row) Buddhist, Sikh, Hindu, Jain, (fourth row) Ayyavazhi, Triple Goddess, Maltese cross, pre-Christian Slavonic Religion is the adherence to codified beliefs and rituals that generally involve a faith in a spiritual... Acosmism, in contrast to pantheism, denies the reality of the universe, seeing it as ultimately illusory, (the prefix a- in Greek meaning negation; like un- in English), and only the infinite unmanifest Absolute as real. ... The term Animism is derived from the Latin anima, meaning soul.[1][2] In its most general sense, animism is simply the belief in souls. ... The term dualism is the state of being dual, or having a twofold division. ... This article or section is in need of attention from an expert on the subject. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... New Age describes a broad movement characterized by alternative approaches to traditional Western culture. ... The New Thought Movement or New Thought is comprised of a loosely allied group of denominations, organizations, authors, philosophers, and individuals who share a set of metaphysical beliefs concerning healing, life force, visualization, and personal power. ... Theism is the belief in the existence of one or more divinities or deities. ... Thelema is the English transliteration of the Ancient Greek noun : will, from the verb θέλω: to will, wish, purpose. ... Theosophy is a word and a concept known anciently, commonly understood in the modern era to describe the studies of religious philosophy and metaphysics originating with Helena Petrovna Blavatsky from the 1870s. ... In religion, transcendence is a condition or state of being that surpasses, and is independent of, physical existence. ... Below are words that designate a set or subset of beliefs. ...	Religion Portal
Non-religious positions	Agnosticism · Antireligion · Atheism · Deism · Determinism · Esotericism · Humanism · Libertarianism · Monism · Nondualism · more Image File history File links Portal. ... Agnosticism (from the Greek a, meaning without, and gnosticism or gnosis, meaning knowledge) is the philosophical view that the truth value of certain claims—particularly metaphysical claims regarding theology, afterlife or the existence of God, gods, deities, or even ultimate reality—is unknown or, depending on the form of agnosticism... Antireligion is opposition to some or all religions in some or all contexts. ... “Atheist” redirects here. ... For other uses, see Ceremonial Deism. ... Determinism is the philosophical proposition that every event, including human cognition and behavior, decision and action, is causally determined by an unbroken chain of prior occurrences. ... Look up Esotericism in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... This article discusses Humanism as a non-theistic life stance. ... In philosophical debates about free will and determinism, libertarianism is generally held to be the combination of the following beliefs: that free will is incompatible with determinism that human beings do possess free will, and that determinism is false All libertarians subscribe to the philosophy of incompatibilism which states that... For other uses, see Monist (disambiguation). ... The term nondual is a literal translation of the Sanskrit term advaita, (meaning not two). ... Below are words that designate a set or subset of beliefs. ...

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