Trinity
Father, Son, Holy Ghost"; Holy Trinity"; and Trinitar-
ian redirect here. For the related liturgical observance,
see Trinity Sunday. For the album, see Father, Son,
Holy Ghost (album). For other uses, see Holy Trinity
(disambiguation), Trinitarian (disambiguation), and
Trinity (disambiguation).
Holy Trinity, depicted by Szymon Czechowicz (17561758)
The Christian doctrine of the Trinity (Latin: Trinitas, lit.
'triad', from trinus, threefold)[2] holds that God is three
consubstantial persons[3] or hypostases[4] the Father, the
Son (Jesus Christ), and the Holy Spiritas one God in
three Divine Persons. The three persons are distinct, yet
are one substance, essence or nature (homoousios).[5] In
this context, a nature is what one is, whereas a person
is who one is.[6][7][8]
According to this central mystery of most Christian faiths,
The Holy Trinity, by Masaccio (1425)
there is only one God in three persons: while distinct
from one another in their relations of origin (as the Fourth
Lateran Council declared, it is the Father who gener-
ates, the Son who is begotten, and the Holy Spirit who
proceeds)[9] and in their relations with one another, they
are stated to be one in all else, co-equal, co-eternal and
consubstantial, and each is God, whole and entire.[10]
Accordingly, the whole work of creation and grace is seen
as a single operation common to all three divine persons,
in which each shows forth what is proper to him in the
Trinity, so that all things are from the Father, through
the Son and in the Holy Spirit.[11]
While the Fathers of the Church saw even Old Testament
elements such as the appearance of three men to Abra-
ham in Book of Genesis, chapter 18, as foreshadowings
of the Trinity, it was the New Testament that they saw as
a basis for developing the concept of the Trinity. One of
the most inuential of the New Testament texts seen as
implying the teaching of the Trinity was Matthew 28:19,
which mandated baptizing in the name of the Father,
and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Another New
Testament text pointing to the Trinity was John 1:1-14,
in which the inter-relationships of the Triune God are re-
ected in the gospel authors description of the Word,
1
2 2 HISTORY
The Heavenly Trinity joined to the "Earthly Trinity" through the
Incarnation of the Son, by Murillo, c. 1677[1]
again showing the elements of the Triune God and their
eternal (always was, always is, and always shall be) exis-
tence. Reection, proclamation, and dialogue led to the
formulation of the doctrine that was felt to correspond to
the data in the Bible. The simplest outline of the doctrine
was formulated in the 4th century, largely in terms of re-
jection of what was considered not to be consonant with
general Christian belief. Further elaboration continued
in the succeeding centuries.[12]
Scripture contains neither the word Trinity,[13] nor an ex-
pressly formulated doctrine of the Trinity. Rather, ac-
cording to the Christian theology, it bears witness to the
activity of a God who can only be understood in Trini-
tarian terms.[14] The doctrine did not take its denitive
shape until late in the fourth century.[15] During the in-
tervening period, various tentative solutions, some more
and some less satisfactory, were proposed.[16] Trinitar-
ianism contrasts with nontrinitarian positions which in-
clude Binitarianism (one deity in two persons, or two
deities), Unitarianism (one deity in one person, analogous
to Jewish interpretation of the Shema and Muslim belief
in Tawhid), Oneness Pentecostalism or Modalism (one
deity manifested in three separate aspects). Additionally,
the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints believes
the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost are three sepa-
rate deities, two of which possess separate bodies of esh
and bones, while the Holy Ghost has only a body of spirit;
and that their unity is not physical, but in purpose. [17]
1 Etymology
The word trinity is derived from Latin trinitas, meaning
the number three, a triad. This abstract noun is formed
from the adjective trinus (three each, threefold, triple),[18]
as the word unitas is the abstract noun formed from unus
(one).
The corresponding word in Greek is t, meaning a
set of three or the number three.[19] The rst recorded
use of this Greek word in Christian theology was by
Theophilus of Antioch in about 170. He wrote:[20][21]
In like manner also the three days which
were before the luminaries, are types of the
Trinity [], of God, and His Word, and
His wisdom. And the fourth is the type of man,
who needs light, that so there may be God, the
Word, wisdom, man.[22]
Tertullian, a Latin theologian who wrote in the early 3rd
century, is credited as being the rst to use the Latin
words Trinity,[23] person and substance[24] to ex-
plain that the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are one in
essencenot one in Person.[25]
2 History
Further information: Trinitarianism in the Church Fa-
thers
The Ante-Nicene Fathers asserted Christs deity and
spoke of Father, Son and Holy Spirit, even though their
language is not that of the traditional doctrine as for-
malised in the fourth century. Trinitarians view these
as elements of the codied doctrine.[27] Ignatius of Anti-
och provides early support for the Trinity around 110,[28]
exhorting obedience to Christ, and to the Father, and
to the Spirit.[29] Justin Martyr (AD 100c. 165) also
writes, in the name of God, the Father and Lord of
the universe, and of our Saviour Jesus Christ, and of
the Holy Spirit.[30] The rst of the early church fathers
to be recorded using the word Trinity was Theophilus
of Antioch writing in the late 2nd century. He denes
the Trinity as God, His Word (Logos) and His Wisdom
(Sophia)[31] in the context of a discussion of the rst three
days of creation. The rst defence of the doctrine of the
Trinity was in the early 3rd century by the early church
father Tertullian. He explicitly dened the Trinity as Fa-
ther, Son, and Holy Spirit and defended the Trinitarian
theology against the Praxean heresy.[32] St. Justin and
Clement of Alexandra used the Trinity in their doxologies
and St. Basil likewise, in the evening lighting of lamps.[33]
Another early, and already more philosophic, formula-
tion of the Trinity (again without usage of that term) is
attributed to the Gnostic teacher Valentinus (lived c.100
c.160), who according to the fourth century theologian
 3

Sabellianism taught that the Father, the Son, and the Holy
Spirit are essentially one and the same, the dierence be-
ing simply verbal, describing dierent aspects or roles of
a single being.[38] For this view Sabellius was excommu-
nicated for heresy in Rome c. 220.
In the fourth century, Arius, as traditionally
understood,[note 1] taught that the Father existed prior
to the Son who was not, by nature, God but rather a
changeable creature who was granted the dignity of
becoming Son of God.[39] In 325, the Council of
Nicaea adopted the Nicene Creed which described
Christ as God of God, Light of Light, very God of very
God, begotten, not made, being of one substance with
the Father.[40][41] The creed used the term homoousios
(of one substance) to dene the relationship between
the Father and the Son. After more than fty years of
debate, homoousios was recognised as the hallmark of
orthodoxy, and was further developed into the formula
of three persons, one being.
The third Council of Sirmium, in 357, was the high point
of Arianism. The Seventh Arian Confession (Second
Sirmium Confession) held that both homoousios (of one
substance) and homoiousios (of similar substance) were
unbiblical and that the Father is greater than the Son.
The earliest known depiction of the Trinity, Dogmatic Sarcoph-
agus, AD 350.[26] Vatican Museums
(This confession was later known as the Blasphemy of
Sirmium)

But since many persons are disturbed by

Marcellus of Ancyra, was the rst to devise the notion questions concerning what is called in Latin
of three subsistent entities (hypostases), in a work that substantia, but in Greek ousia, that is, to make
he entitled On the Three Natures. The highly allegori- it understood more exactly, as to 'coessential,'
cal exegesis of the Valentinian school inclined it to inter- or what is called, 'like-in-essence,' there ought
pret the relevant scriptural passages as arming a Divin- to be no mention of any of these at all, nor ex-
ity that, in some manner, is threefold. The Valentinian position of them in the Church, for this rea-
Gospel of Phillip, which dates to approximately the time son and for this consideration, that in divine
of Tertullian, upholds the Trinitarian formula. Whatever Scripture nothing is written about them, and
his inuence on the later fully formed doctrine may have that they are above mens knowledge and above
been, however, Valentinus school is rejected as heretical mens understanding;[42]
by orthodox Christians.
Although there is much debate as to whether the beliefs Athanasius (293373), who was present at the Council as
of the Apostles were merely articulated and explained one of the Bishop of Alexandrias assistants, stated that
in the Trinitarian Creeds,[34] or were corrupted and re- the bishops were forced to use this terminology,[43] which
placed with new beliefs,[35][36] all scholars recognize that
is not found in Scripture, because the biblical phrases that
the Creeds themselves were created in reaction to dis- they would have preferred to use were claimed by the
agreements over the nature of the Father, Son, and Holy Arians to be capable of being interpreted in what the bish-
Spirit. These controversies took some centuries to be re- ops considered to be a heretical sense.[44] Moreover, the
solved. meanings of "ousia" and "hypostasis" overlapped then, so
Of these controversies, the most signicant developments that "hypostasis" for some meant "essence" and for others
were articulated in the rst four centuries by the Church "person".
Fathers[34] in reaction to Adoptionism, Sabellianism, and The Confession of the Council of Nicaea said little about
Arianism. Adoptionism was the belief that Jesus was the Holy Spirit.[45] The doctrine of the divinity and per-
an ordinary man, born of Joseph and Mary, who be- sonality of the Holy Spirit was developed by Athanasius in
came the Christ and Son of God at his baptism. In the last decades of his life.[46] He defended and rened the
269, the Synods of Antioch condemned Paul of Samosata Nicene formula.[45] By the end of the 4th century, under
for his Adoptionist theology, and also condemned the the leadership of Basil of Caesarea, Gregory of Nyssa,
term homoousios (, of the same being) in the and Gregory of Nazianzus (the Cappadocian Fathers), the
sense he used it.[37] doctrine had reached substantially its current form.[45]
4 3
Gregory of Nazianzus would say of the Trinity, No
sooner do I conceive of the One than I am illumined by
the splendour of the Three; no sooner do I distinguish
Three than I am carried back into the One. When I think
of any of the Three, I think of Him as the Whole, and my
eyes are lled, and the greater part of what I am think-
ing escapes me. I cannot grasp the greatness of that One
so as to attribute a greater greatness to the rest. When I
contemplate the Three together, I see but one torch, and
cannot divide or measure out the undivided light.[47]
Devotion to the Trinity centered in the French monaster-
ies at Tours and Aniane where Saint Benedict dedicated
the abbey church to the Trinity in 872.[48] Feast Days
were not instituted until 1091 at Cluny and 1162 at Can-
terbury and papal resistance continued until 1331.[49]
3 Theology
3.1 Trinitarian baptismal formula
The Baptism of Christ, by Piero della Francesca, 15th century
Main article: Trinitarian formula
In the synoptic Gospels the baptism of Jesus is often in- Gods) nor even two. God is one, and that God is a sin-
terpreted as a manifestation of all three persons of the gle being is strongly declared in the Bible:
Trinity: And when Jesus was baptized, he went up im-
mediately from the water, and behold, the heavens were
opened and he saw the spirit of God descending like a
THEOLOGY
dove, and alighting on him; and lo, a voice from heaven,
saying, 'This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well
pleased.'"[Mt 3:1617] Baptism is generally conferred with
the Trinitarian formula, in the name of the Father, and
of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.[Mt 28:19] Trinitarians
identify this name with the Christian faith into which bap-
tism is an initiation, as seen for example in the state-
ment of Basil the Great (330379): 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. The
First Council of Constantinople (381) also says, This is
the Faith of our baptism 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.
Matthew 28:19 may be taken to indicate that baptism was
associated with this formula from the earliest decades of
the Churchs existence.
Nontrinitarian groups, such as Oneness Pentecostals, de-
mur from the Trinitarian view on baptism. For them,
the formula in the Book of Acts denes and arms that
all other considerations, alike,[50] are to be used in the
name of Jesus Christ. For this reason, they often focus
on the baptisms in Acts. Those who place great empha-
sis on the baptisms in Acts often likewise question the
authenticity of Matthew 28:19 in its present form. Most
scholars of New Testament textual criticism accept the
authenticity of the passage, since there are no variant
manuscripts regarding the formula, and the extant form
of the passage is attested in the Didache[51] and other
patristic works of the 1st and 2nd centuries: Ignatius,[52]
Tertullian,[53] Hippolytus,[54] Cyprian,[55] and Gregory
Thaumaturgus.[56]
Commenting on Matthew 28:19, Gerhard Kittel states:
This threefold relation [of Father, Son and
Spirit] soon found xed expression in the tri-
adic formulae in 2 Cor. 13:14 and in 1 Cor.
12:46. The form is rst found in the bap-
tismal 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 three-
fold relationship.[57]
3.2 Fundamental monotheism
Main article: Monotheism
Christianity, having emerged from Judaism, is a
monotheistic religion. Never in the New Testament
does the Trinitarian concept become a "tritheism" (three
[58]
The Shema of the Hebrew Scriptures: Hear, O Is-
rael: the LORD our God, the LORD is one.[Deut 6:4]
3.4 Perichoresis 5

The rst of the Ten Commandments"Thou shalt

have no other gods before me.[5:7]
And Thus saith the LORD the King of Israel and
his redeemer the LORD of hosts: I am the rst and
I am the last; and beside me there is no God.[Isa 44:6]
In the New Testament: The LORD our God is
one.[Mk 12:29]

In the Trinitarian view, the Father and the Son and the
Holy Spirit share the one essence, substance or being.
The central and crucial armation of Christian faith is
that there is one savior, God, and one salvation, manifest
in Jesus Christ, to which there is access only because of
the Holy Spirit. The God of the Old Testament is still the
same as the God of the New. In Christianity, statements
about a single God are intended to distinguish the Hebraic
understanding from the polytheistic view, which see di-
vine power as shared by several beings, beings which can
and do disagree and have conicts with each other.

3.3 One God as Three Persons

The image above contains clickable links

Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit are not names for
dierent parts of God, but one name for God[61] because
three persons exist in God as one entity.[62] They cannot
be separate from one another. Each person is understood
as having the identical essence or nature, not merely sim-
ilar natures.[63]
For Trinitarians, emphasis in Genesis 1:26 is on the plu-
rality in the Deity, and in 1:27 on the unity of the divine
Essence. A possible interpretation of Genesis 1:26 is that
Gods relationships in the Trinity are mirrored in man by
the ideal relationship between husband and wife, two per-
The sons becoming one esh, as described in Eve's creation
Father later in the next chapter.[2:22]
Son
Holy
Spirit 3.4 Perichoresis

Main article: Perichoresis

The "Shield of the Trinity" or Scutum Fidei diagram of Perichoresis (from Greek, going around, envelop-
traditional medieval Western Christian symbolism ment) is a term used by some theologians to describe
the relationship among the members of the Trinity. The
In Trinitarian doctrine, God exists as three persons or Latin equivalent for this term is circumincessio. This con-
hypostases, but is one being, having a single divine cept refers for its basis to John 1417, where Jesus is in-
nature.[59] The members of the Trinity are co-equal and structing the disciples concerning the meaning of his de-
co-eternal, one in essence, nature, power, action, and will. parture. His going to the Father, he says, is for their sake;
As stated in the Athanasian Creed, the Father is uncre- so that he might come to them when the other comforter
ated, the Son is uncreated, and the Holy Spirit is uncre- is given to them. Then, he says, his disciples will dwell in
ated, and all three are eternal without beginning.[60] The him, as he dwells in the Father, and the Father dwells in
6 3 THEOLOGY

3.5 Eternal generation and procession

Further information: Filioque

Trinitarianism arms that the Son is begotten (or gen-

erated) of the Father and that the Spirit proceeds from
the Father, but the Father is neither begotten nor pro-
ceeds. The argument over whether the Spirit proceeds
from the Father alone, or from the Father and the Son,
was one of the catalysts of the Great Schism, in this case
concerning the Western addition of the Filioque clause to
the Nicene Creed. The Roman Catholic Church teaches
that, in the sense of the Latin verb procedere (which
does not have to indicate ultimate origin and is therefore
compatible with proceeding through), but not in that of
the Greek verb (which implies ultimate
origin),[65] the Spirit proceeds from the Father and the
Son, and the Eastern Orthodox Church, which teaches
that the Spirit proceeds from the Father alone, has made
no statement on the claim of a dierence in meaning be-
tween the two words, one Greek and one Latin, both of
which are translated as proceeds. The Eastern Ortho-
dox Churches object to the Filioque clause on ecclesio-
A depiction of the Council of Nicaea in AD 325, at which the logical and theological grounds, holding that from the
Deity of Christ was declared orthodox and Arianism condemned Father means from the Father alone.
This language is often considered dicult because, if
used regarding humans or other created things, it would
imply time and change; when used here, no beginning,
him, and the Father will dwell in them. This is so, accord- change in being, or process within time is intended and
ing to the theory of perichoresis, because the persons of is excluded. The Son is generated (born or begot-
the Trinity reciprocally contain one another, so that one ten), and the Spirit proceeds, eternally. Augustine of
permanently envelopes and is permanently enveloped by, Hippo explains, Thy years are one day, and Thy day is
the other whom he yet envelopes. (Hilary of Poitiers, not daily, but today; because Thy today yields not to to-
Concerning the Trinity 3:1).[64] morrow, for neither does it follow yesterday. Thy today
Perichoresis eectively excludes the idea that God has is eternity; therefore Thou begat the Co-eternal, to whom
parts, but rather is a simple being. It also harmonizes Thou saidst, 'This day have I begotten Thee.'"[Ps 2:7]
well with the doctrine that the Christians union with the Most Protestant groups that use the creed also include
Son in his humanity brings him into union with one who the Filioque clause. Its controversial use is addressed
contains in himself, in the Apostle Paul's words, all the in several confessions: the Westminster Confession 2:3,
fullness of deity and not a part. (See also: Divinization the London Baptist Confession 2:3, and the Lutheran
(Christian)). Perichoresis provides an intuitive gure of Augsburg Confession 1:16.
what this might mean. The Son, the eternal Word, is from
all eternity the dwelling place of God; he is the Fathers
house, just as the Son dwells in the Father and the Spirit; 3.6 Economic and immanent Trinity
so that, when the Spirit is given, then it happens as Je-
sus said, I will not leave you as orphans; for I will come The term immanent Trinity focuses on who God is; the
to you.[John 14:18] term economic Trinity focuses on what God does.
According to the words of Jesus, married persons are in According to the Catechism of the Catholic Church,
some sense no longer two but are joined into one. There-
fore, Orthodox theologians also see the marriage relation- The Fathers of the Church distinguish
ship between a man and a woman to be an example of between theology (theologia) and economy
this sacred union. Therefore shall a man leave his fa- (oikonomia). Theology refers to the mys-
ther and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and tery of Gods inmost life within the Blessed
they shall be one esh. Gen. 2:24. Wherefore they Trinity and economy to all the works by
are no more twain but one esh. What therefore God which God reveals himself and communicates
hath joined together, let no man put asunder. Matt. 19: his life. Through the oikonomia the theologia
6.[image or icon 17:22] is revealed to us; but conversely, the theologia
3.7 Political aspect 7

illuminates the whole oikonomia. Gods works

reveal who he is in himself; the mystery of his
inmost being enlightens our understanding of
all his works. So it is, analogously, among hu-
man persons. A person discloses himself in his
actions, and the better we know a person, the
better we understand his actions.[66]

The ancient Nicene theologians argued that everything

the Trinity does is done by Father, Son, and Spirit work-
ing in unity with one will. The three persons of the Trin-
ity always work inseparably, for their work is always the
work of the one God. The Sons will cannot be dierent
from the Fathers because it is the Fathers. They have but
one will as they have but one being. Otherwise they would
not be one God. According to Phillip Cary, 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.[67] On this point St. Basil observes When
then He says, 'I have not spoken of myself', and again, 'As
the Father said unto me, so I speak', and 'The word which
ye hear is not mine, but [the Fathers] which sent me', and
in another place, 'As the Father gave me commandment,
even so I do', it is not because He lacks deliberate purpose
or power of initiation, nor yet because He has to wait for
the preconcerted key-note, that he employs language of
this kind. His object is to make it plain that His own will A Greek fresco of Athanasius of Alexandria, the chief architect
is connected in indissoluble union with the Father. Do not of the Nicene Creed, formulated at Nicaea.
then let us understand by what is called a 'commandment'
a peremptory mandate delivered by organs of speech, and
giving orders to the Son, as to a subordinate, concerning thority in the Trinity with the Son being subordinate to
what He ought to do. Let us rather, in a sense betting the Father. The Gospel of John makes this clear as Je-
the Godhead, perceive a transmission of will, like the re- sus repeatedly mentions that he came to do the Fathers
exion of an object in a mirror, passing without note of will.[72] Olsen cautions, however, that the hierarchy in
time from Father to Son.[68] the economic Trinity should be distinguished from the
immanent Trinity. He cites the Cappadocian Fathers,
Athanasius of Alexandria explained that the Son is eter- the Father is the source or fount of divinity within the
nally one in being with the Father, temporally and volun- Godhead; the Son and the Spirit derive their deity from
tarily subordinate in his incarnate ministry.[69] Such hu- the Father eternally (so there is no question of inequality
man traits, he argued, were not to be read back into the of being). Their favorite analogy was the sun and its light
eternal Trinity. Likewise, the Cappadocian Fathers also and heat. There is no imagining the sun without its light
insisted there was no economic inequality present within and heat and yet it is the source of them.[72]
the Trinity. As Basil wrote: We perceive the opera-
tion of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit to be one and Benjamin B. Wareld saw a principle of subordination in
the same, in no respect showing dierences or variation; the modes of operation of the Trinity, but was also hes-
from this identity of operation we necessarily infer the itant to ascribe the same to the modes of subsistence in
unity of nature.[70] relation of one to another. While noting that it is natural
to see a subordination in function as reecting a similar
The traditional theory of appropriation consists in at- subordination in substance, he suggests that this might be
tributing certain names, qualities, or operations to one the result of "...an agreement by Persons of the Trinity -a
of the Persons of the Trinity, not, however, to the ex- Covenant as it is technically called -by virtue of which
clusion of the others, but in preference to the others. a distinct function in the work of redemption is assumed
This theory was established by the Latin Fathers of the by each.[73]
fourth and fth centuries, especially by Hilary of Poitiers,
Augustine, and Leo the Great. In the Middle Ages, the
theory was systematically taught by the Schoolmen such 3.7 Political aspect
as Bonaventure.[71]
Roger E. Olson says that a number of evangelical the- Richard E. Rubenstein says that Emperor Constantine
ologians hold the view that there is a hierarchy of au- and his advisor Hosius of Corduba were aware of the
8 4 BIBLICAL BACKGROUND

usefulness of having a divinely ordained church in which heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost: and
the church authority, and not the individual, was able to these three are one. However, this passage is not consid-
determine individual salvation, and threw their support ered to be part of the genuine text,[84] and most scholars
toward the homoousion Nicene formula.[74] According agree that the phrase was a gloss.[85]
to Eusebius, Constantine suggested the term homoousios
at the Council of Nicaea, though most scholars have
doubted that Constantine had such knowledge and have 4.1 Jesus as God
thought that most likely Hosius had suggested the term
to him.[75] Constantine later changed his view about the
Arians, who opposed the Nicene formula, and supported
the bishops who rejected the formula,[76] as did several
of his successors, the rst emperor to be baptized in the
Nicene faith being Theodosius the Great, emperor from
379 to 395.[77]

4 Biblical background
From the Old Testament the early church retained the
conviction that God is one.[78] The New Testament does
not use the word (Trinity)[79] nor explicitly teach
the Nicene Trinitarian doctrine, but it contains several
passages that use twofold and threefold patterns to speak
of God. Binitarian passages include Rom. 8:11, 2 Cor.
4:14, Galatians 1:1, Eph. 1:20, 1 Tim. 1:2, 1 Pet. 1:21,
and 2 John 1:13. Passages which refer to the Godhead
with a threefold pattern include Matt. 28:19, 1 Cor. 6:11
and 12:4., Gal. 3:1114, Heb. 10:29, and 1 Pet. 1:2.
These passages provided the material with which Chris-
tians would develop doctrines of the Trinity.[78] Reec-
tion by early Christians on passages such as the Great
Commission: Go therefore and make disciples of all na-
tions, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the
Son and of the Holy Spirit[Matt 28:19] and Paul the Apos-
tle's blessing: The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and
the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be
God in the person of the Son confronts Adam and Eve, by Master
with you all,[2 Cor. 13:14] while at the same time the Jewish Bertram (d. c.1415)
Shema Yisrael: Hear, O Israel: the Lord our God, the
Lord is one[Deuteronomy 6:4][80] led the early Christians to
The Gospel of John has been seen as especially aimed
question how the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are one. at emphasizing Jesus divinity, presenting Jesus as the
Later, the diverse references to God, Jesus, and the Spirit
Logos, pre-existent and divine, from its rst words, In
found in the New Testament were systematized into a the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God,
Trinityone God subsisting in three persons and one
and the Word was God.[John 1:1][86] The Gospel of John
substanceto combat heretical tendencies of how the ends with Thomass declaration that he believed Jesus
three are related and to defend the church against charges was God, My Lord and my God!"[John 20:28][81] There is
of worshiping two or three gods.[81] no signicant tendency among modern scholars to deny
Some scholars dispute the idea that support for the Trinity that John 1:1 and John 20:28 identify Jesus with God.[87]
can be found in the Bible, and argue that the doctrine is John also portrays Jesus as the agent of creation of the
the result of theological interpretations rather than sound universe.[88]
exegesis of scripture.[82][83] The concept was expressed There are also a few possible biblical supports for the
in early writings from the beginning of the 2nd century divinity of Jesus found in the Synoptic Gospels. The
forward, and other scholars hold that the way the New Gospel of Matthew, for example, quotes Jesus as say-
Testament repeatedly speaks of the Father, the Son, and ing, All things have been handed over to me by my
the Holy Spirit is such as to require one to accept a Trini- Father.[Mt 11:27] This is similar to John, who wrote that
tarian understanding.[58] Jesus said, All that the Father has is mine.[John 16:15]
The Comma Johanneum, 1 John 5:7, is a disputed text These verses have been quoted to defend the omnipotence
which states: For there are three that bear record in of Christ, having all power, as well as the omniscience of
4.3 God is Love
Christ, having all wisdom.
Expressions also in the Pauline epistles have been in-
terpreted as attributing divinity to Jesus. They include:
For by him 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 1:16] and For in Christ all
the fullness of the Deity lives in bodily form,[Colossians 2:9]
and in Paul the Apostle's claim to have been sent not
from men nor by man, but by Jesus Christ and God the
Father.[Galatians 1:1][89]
Some have suggested that John presents a hierarchy
when he quotes Jesus as saying, The Father is greater
than I,[14:28] a statement which was appealed to by
nontrinitarian groups such as Arianism.[90] However,
Church Fathers such as Augustine of Hippo argued this
statement was to be understood as Jesus speaking in the
form of a man.[91]
4.2 Holy Spirit as God
As the Arian controversy was dissipating, the debate
moved from the deity of Jesus Christ to the equality of
the Holy Spirit with the Father and Son. On one hand, the
Pneumatomachi sect declared that the Holy Spirit was an
inferior person to the Father and Son. On the other hand,
the Cappadocian Fathers argued that the Holy Spirit was
an equal person to the Father and Son.
Although the main text used in defense of the deity of
the Holy Spirit was Matthew 28:19, Cappadocian Fathers
such as Basil the Great argued from other verses such as
But Peter said, 'Ananias, why has Satan lled your heart
to lie to the Holy Spirit and to keep back for yourself part
of the proceeds of the land? While it remained unsold,
did it not remain your own? And after it was sold, was
it not at your disposal? Why is it that you have contrived
this deed in your heart? You have not lied to men but to
God.'"[Acts 5:34][92]
Another passage the Cappadocian Fathers quoted from
was By the word of the Lord the heavens were made,
and by the breath of his mouth all their host.[Psalm 33:6]
According to their understanding, because breath and
spirit in Hebrew are both "( "ruach), Psalm 33:6 13:8[100] (Vulgate: agni qui occisus est ab origine mundi,
is revealing the roles of the Son and Holy Spirit as co-
creators. And since, according to them,[92] because only
the holy God can create holy beings such as the angels,
the Son and Holy Spirit must be God.
Yet another argument from the Cappadocian Fathers to
prove that the Holy Spirit is of the same nature as the
Father and Son comes from For who knows a persons
thoughts except the spirit of that person, which is in him?
So also no one comprehends the thoughts of God except
the Spirit of God.[1Cor. 2:11] They reasoned that this pas-
sage proves that the Holy Spirit has the same relationship
to God as the spirit within us has to us.[92]
9
The Cappadocian Fathers also quoted, Do you not know
that you are Gods temple and that Gods Spirit dwells
in you?"[1Cor. 3:16] and reasoned that it would be blasphe-
mous for an inferior being to take up residence in a temple
of God, thus proving that the Holy Spirit is equal with the
Father and the Son.[93]
They also combined the servant does not know what his
master is doing[John 15:15] with 1 Corinthians 2:11 in an
attempt to show that the Holy Spirit is not the slave of
God, and therefore his equal.[94]
The Pneumatomachi contradicted the Cappadocian Fa-
thers by quoting, Are they not all ministering spirits
sent out to serve for the sake of those who are to in-
herit salvation?"[Hebrews 1:14] in eect arguing that the Holy
Spirit is no dierent from other created angelic spirits.[95]
The Church Fathers disagreed, saying that the Holy Spirit
is greater than the angels, since the Holy Spirit is the one
who grants the foreknowledge for prophecy[1Cor. 12:810]
so that the angels could announce events to come.[92]
The usage of the word paraclete (Greek: parakletos) for
the Holy Spirit in John 14:16, which can be translated as
advocate, intercessor, counsellor or protector,[96] and the
Holy Spirits essence and action characterized by truth, as
all three persons of the Trinity are linked with truth (see
v. 17),[97] are seen as arguments that he is a divine person;
especially that Jesus calls him another counsellor, in this
way expressing that the Holy Spirit is similar to himself
in regard to our counsel.[98]
4.3 God is Love
More than saying God does love, the Bible declares
God is love. Love is bound up into the very nature of
the Trinity. God cannot be God without love, because
God is love (1 John 4:8;16). Without creatures and with-
out the economic Trinity, God would have once had
no objects for his love. There has never been a time
when God was not love, for the love among God, i.e. the
immanent Trinity of the Father, God the Son and God
the Holy Spirit, has been eternal.[99] However Hans Urs
von Balthasar, in the Preface to the Second Edition of
his 1970 book Theologie der Drei Tage (English transla-
tion: Mysterium Paschale), takes a cue from Revelation
NIV: the Lamb who was slain from the creation of the
world) to explore the God is love idea as an "eternal
super-kenosis".[101][102]
4.4 Old Testament parallels
In addition, the Old Testament has also been interpreted
as foreshadowing the Trinity,[103] by referring to Gods
word,[Ps 33:6] his spirit,[Isa 61:1] and Wisdom,[Prov 9:1] as well
as narratives such as the appearance of the three men
to Abraham.[Gen 18][104] However, it is generally agreed
10 5 IMPACT OF STOIC PHILOSOPHY

Augustine, in contrast, held that the three visitors to Abra-

ham were the three persons of the Trinity.[109] He saw no
indication that the visitors were unequal, as would be the
case in Justins reading. Then in Genesis 19, two of the
visitors were addressed by Lot in the singular: Lot said
to them, 'Not so, my lord.'"[Gen 19:18 KJV][109] Augustine
saw that Lot could address them as one because they had
a single substance, despite the plurality of persons.[note 2]
According to Swedenborg, the three angels which ap-
peared to Abraham do represent the Trinity, but a Trinity
of one being: the Divine Itself, the Divine Human and the
Divine Proceeding. That one being is represented is in-
dicated by the fact that they are referred to in the singular
as Jehovah and Lord.[110] The reason why only two of the
angels went to visit Sodom and Gomorrah is that they rep-
resent the Divine Human and the Divine Proceeding, and
to those aspects of the Divine belongs judgment, as Jesus
declared that all judgment was entrusted by the Father to
the Son.[John 5:22][111] The three angels did indeed appear
to Abraham as three men, but they are only a symbolic
representation of the Trinity, which should not be taken
literally as three distinct persons. In the Old Testament,
Russian icon of the Old Testament Trinity by Andrey Rublev, be- Swedenborg nds the earliest direct reference to a Trine
tween 1408 and 1425 in the Divinity in the account of Moses encounter with
the Lord in Exodus which states, And Jehovah passed
by upon his face, and called, Jehovah, Jehovah, a God
[Exodus 34:6][112]
among Trinitarian Christian scholars that it would go merciful and gracious.
beyond the intention and spirit of the Old Testament Some Christians interpret the theophanies or appearances
to correlate these notions directly with later Trinitarian of the Angel of the Lord as revelations of a person dis-
doctrine.[105][106] tinct from God, who is nonetheless called God.[113] This
Some Church Fathers believed that a knowledge of the interpretation is found in Christianity as early as Justin
mystery was granted to the prophets and saints of the Old Martyr and Melito of Sardis, [114]
and reects ideas that were
Testament, and that they identied the divine messenger already present in Philo. The Old Testament theopha-
of Genesis 16:7,21:17, 31:11, Exodus 3:2 and Wisdom nies were thus seen as Christophanies, each a preincar-
[115]
of the sapiential books with the Son, and the spirit of nate appearance of the Messiah.
the Lord with the Holy Spirit.[105] Other Church Fathers,
such as Gregory Nazianzen, argued in his Orations that
the revelation was gradual, claiming that the Father was 5 Impact of Stoic Philosophy
proclaimed in the Old Testament openly, but the Son only
obscurely, because it was not safe, when the Godhead of In his Introduction to the 1964 book Meditations, the An-
the Father was not yet acknowledged, plainly to proclaim glican priest Maxwell Staniforth discussed the profound
the Son.[107] inuence of Stoic philosophy on Christianity. In particu-
Genesis 1819 has been interpreted by Christians as a lar:
Trinitarian text.[108] The narrative has the Lord appear-
ing to Abraham, who was visited by three men.[Gen 18:12] Again in the doctrine of the Trinity, the
Then in Genesis 19, the two angels visited Lot at ecclesiastical conception of Father, Word, and
Sodom. The interplay between Abraham on the one hand Spirit nds its germ in the dierent Stoic names
and the Lord/three men/the two angels on the other was of the Divine Unity. Thus Seneca, writing
an intriguing text for those who believed in a single God in of the supreme Power which shapes the uni-
three persons. Justin Martyr, and John Calvin similarly, verse, states, 'This Power we sometimes call
interpreted it such that Abraham was visited by God, who the All-ruling God, sometimes the incorporeal
was accompanied by two angels.[109] Justin supposed that Wisdom, sometimes the holy Spirit, sometimes
the God who visited Abraham was distinguishable from Destiny.' The Church had only to reject the last
the God who remains in the heavens, but was nevertheless of these terms to arrive at its own acceptable
identied as the (monotheistic) God. Justin appropriated denition of the Divine Nature; while the fur-
the God who visited Abraham to Jesus, the second person ther assertion 'these three are One', which the
of the Trinity. modern mind nds paradoxical, was no more
6.1 Image gallery 11

than commonplace to those familiar with Stoic 6.1 Image gallery

notions.[116]

6 Artistic depictions
Main article: Trinity in art

The Trinity is most commonly seen in Christian art with Depiction of Trinity from Saint Denis
the Spirit represented by a dove, as specied in the Gospel Basilica in Paris (12th century)
accounts of the Baptism of Christ; he is nearly always
shown with wings outspread. However depictions using
three human gures appear occasionally in most periods
of art.[117]
The Father and the Son are usually dierentiated by age,
and later by dress, but this too is not always the case.
The usual depiction of the Father as an older man with
a white beard may derive from the biblical Ancient of
Days, which is often cited in defense of this sometimes Father, The Holy Spirit, and Christ
controversial representation. However, in Eastern Ortho- Crucied, depicted in a Welsh manuscript. c.
doxy the Ancient of Days is usually understood to be God 13901400
the Son, not God the Father (see below)early Byzantine
images show Christ as the Ancient of Days,[118] but this
iconography became rare. When the Father is depicted
in art, he is sometimes shown with a halo shaped like an
equilateral triangle, instead of a circle. The Son is often
shown at the Fathers right hand.[Acts 7:56] He may be rep-
resented by a symboltypically the Lamb (agnus dei) or
a crossor on a crucix, so that the Father is the only
human gure shown at full size. In early medieval art,
God the Father, God the Son, and
the Father may be represented by a hand appearing from
God the Holy Spirit as a dove, by Lucas Cranach
a cloud in a blessing gesture, for example in scenes of
the Elder (d. 1553)
the Baptism of Christ. Later, in the West, the Throne
of Mercy (or Throne of Grace) became a common de-
piction. In this style, the Father (sometimes seated on a
throne) is shown supporting either a crucix[119] or, later,
a slumped crucied Son, similar to the Piet (this type
is distinguished in German as the Not Gottes)[120] in his
outstretched arms, while the Dove hovers above or in be-
tween them. This subject continued to be popular until
the 18th century at least.
By the end of the 15th century, larger representations, God the Father (top), and the
other than the Throne of Mercy, became eectively stan- Holy Spirit (represented by a dove) depicted above
dardised, showing an older gure in plain robes for the Jesus. Painting by Francesco Albani (d. 1660)
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. Some-
times the Father alone wears a crown, or even a papal
tiara.
In the later part of the Christian Era, in Renaissance
European iconography, the Eye of Providence began to
be used as an explicit image of the Christian Trinity God the Father (top), the Holy
and associated with the concept of Divine Providence. Spirit (a dove), and child Jesus, painting by
Seventeenth-century depictions of the Eye of Providence Bartolom Esteban Murillo (d. 1682)
sometimes show it surrounded by clouds or sunbursts.[121]
12 8 ISLAMIC VIEWS

of the Trinity doctrine in AD 325, 360, and 431, at

the Councils of Nicaea, Constantinople, and Ephesus,
respectively.[122] Following the nal victory of orthodoxy
at Constantinople in 381, Arianism was driven from the
Empire, retaining a foothold amongst the Teutonic tribes.
When the Franks converted to Catholicism in 496, how-
ever, it gradually faded out.[123] Nontrinitarianism was
Pope Clement I prays to the Trinity, in a later renewed in the Gnosticism of the Cathars in the 11th
typical post-Renaissance depiction by Gianbattista through 13th centuries, in the Age of Enlightenment of
Tiepolo (d. 1770) the 18th century, and in some groups arising during the
Second Great Awakening of the 19th century.
Modern nontrinitarian groups or denominations include
Christadelphians, Christian Scientists, The Church of Je-
sus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Dawn Bible Students,
Friends General Conference, Iglesia ni Cristo, Jehovahs
Witnesses, Living Church of God, Members Church of
God International, Oneness Pentecostals, the Seventh
Day Church of God, Unitarian Universalist Christians,
Atypical depiction. The Son is
United Church of God, The Shepherds Chapel and
identied by a lamb, the Father an Eye of Provi-
Spiritism.
dence, and the Spirit a dove, painting by Fridolin
Leiber (d. 1912)
8 Islamic views
Islam considers Jesus to be a prophet, but not divine,[124]
and Allah to be absolutely indivisible (a concept known
as tawhid).[125] Several verses of the Qur'an state that the
doctrine of the Trinity is blasphemous.[126][127]

Say: He is God, the One and Only; God,

13th Century depiction of the
the Eternal, Absolute; He begetteth not, nor is
Trinity from a Roman de la Rose manuscript
He begotten; And there is none like unto Him.
Qur'an, sura 112 (Al-Ikhlas), ayat 14[128]

Certainly they disbelieve who say: Surely

A Christian version of the Eye
of Providence, emphasizing the triangle represent-
ing the Trinity
Allah is the third (person) of the three;
and there is no god but the one Allah, and if
they desist not from what they say, a painful
chastisement shall befall those among them
who disbelieve.
Qur'an, sura 5 (Al-Ma'idah), ayat 73[129]

And when Allah will say: O Isa son of

Marium! did you say to men, Take me and
7 Nontrinitarianism my mother for two gods besides Allah he
will say: Glory be to Thee, it did not bet me
that I should say what I had no right to (say); if
Main article: Nontrinitarianism
I had said it, Thou wouldst indeed have known
it; Thou knowest what is in my mind, and I do
Nontrinitarianism (or antitrinitarianism) refers to Chris- not know what is in Thy mind, surely Thou art
tian belief systems that reject the doctrine of the Trin- the great Knower of the unseen things.
ity as found in the Nicene Creed as not having a scrip- Qur'an, sura 5 (Al-Ma'idah), ayat 116[130]
tural origin. Nontrinitarian views dier widely on the
nature of God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit. Various non-
trinitarian views, such as Adoptionism, Monarchianism Interpretation of these verses by modern scholars has
and Arianism existed prior to the formal denition been varied.[131][132] Verse 5:73 has been interpreted as

a potential criticism of Syriac literature that references
Jesus as the third of three and thus an attack on the
view that Christ was divine.[133]
Edward Hulmes writes:
The Qur'anic interpretation of trinitarian
orthodoxy as belief in the Father, the Son, and
the Virgin Mary, may owe less to a misunder-
standing of the New Testament itself than to a
recognition of the role accorded by local Chris-
tians (see Choloridians) to Mary as mother in
a special sense.[134]
There is also debate about whether this verse should be
taken literally.[135] For example, Thomas states that verse
5:116 need not be seen as describing actually professed
beliefs, but rather, giving examples of shirk (claiming di-
vinity for beings other than God) and a warning against
excessive devotion to Jesus and extravagant veneration
of Mary, a reminder linked to the central theme of the
Qur'an that there is only one God and He alone is to be
worshipped.[131] When read in this light, it can be un-
derstood as an admonition, Against the divinization of
Jesus that is given elsewhere in the Qur'an and a warning
against the virtual divinization of Mary in the declara-
tion of the fth-century church councils that she is 'God-
bearer'.[131]
9 Other views
Judaism traditionally maintains a tradition of monotheism
to the exclusion of the possibility of a Trinity.[124]
10 See also
Ahura, the Zoroastrian Trinity
Ayyavazhi Trinity
Cult of the Holy Spirit
Hendiatris gure of speech expressing a unity with
three nouns
Islamic view of the Trinity
Shituf
Social Trinity
Thomas F. Torrance, contemporary theologian
Trikaya, the three Buddha bodies
Trinitarian Order
Trinitarian Universalism
Trinity Sunday, a day to celebrate the doctrine
13
11 Extended notes
[1] Very little of Arius' own writings have survived. We de-
pend largely on quotations made by opponents which re-
ect what they thought he was saying. Furthermore, there
was no single Arian party or agenda but rather various crit-
ics of the Nicene formula working from distinct perspec-
tives.(see Williams, Rowan. Arius SPCK (2nd edn, 2001)
p.95 & pp.247)
[2] Augustine had poor knowledge of the Greek language,
and no knowledge of Hebrew. So he trusted the LXX
Septuagint, which dierentiates between [Gen 19:2]
('lords, vocative plural) and[Gen 19:18] ('lord', voca-
tive singular), even if the Hebrew verbal form,-( na-
adoni), is exactly the same in both cases.
12 Endnotes and references
[1] The Heavenly and Earthly Trinities on the site of the
National Gallery in London.
[2] Oxford Dictionaries
[3] The Family Bible Encyclopedia (1972). p. 3790.
[4] See Geddes, Leonard (1911). Person. In Herbermann,
Charles. Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Ap-
pleton.
[5] Denition of the Fourth Lateran Council quoted in
Catechism of the Catholic Church, 253
[6] Frank Sheed, ''Theology and Sanity''". Ignatiusin-
sight.com. Retrieved 3 November 2013.
[7] Understanding the Trinity. Credoindeum.org. 16 May
2012. Retrieved 16 Aug 2016.
[8] Baltimore Catechism, No. 1, Lesson 7. Quizlet.com.
Retrieved 3 November 2013.
[9] CCC 254; Latin: Est Pater, qui generat, et Filius, qui gi-
gnitur, et Spiritus Sanctus, qui procedit (DS 804, CCC
254).
[10] Coppens, Charles, S.J. (1903). A Systematic Study of the
Catholic Religion. St. Louis: B. HERDER.
[11] Catechism of the Catholic Church, 253267: The dogma
of the Holy Trinity.
[12] Trinity, doctrine of in The Oxford Dictionary of the
Christian Church (Oxford University Press 2005 ISBN
978-0-19-280290-3)
[13] Matt Slick, The word Trinity is not found in the Bible
[14] McGrath Alister E. Christian Theology: An Introduction
Blackwell, Oxford (2001) p.321
[15] McGrath, Alister E. Christian Theology: An Introduction
Blackwell, Oxford (2001) p.324
[16] Kelly, J.N.D. Early Christian Doctrines A & G Black
(1965) p. 88
14
[17] Godhead. www.mormon.org. Retrieved 2017-01-15.
[18] Lewis and Short: ''trinus'". Perseus.tufts.edu. Retrieved
2 January 2012.
[19] Liddell & Scott, A Greek-English Lexicon. entry for
, retrieved 19 December 2006
[20] Theophilus of Antioch, To Autolycus, II.XV (retrieved on
19 December 2006).
[21] W.Fulton in the "Encyclopedia of Religion and Ethics"
[22] Aboud, Ibrahim (Fall 2005). Theandros an online Journal
of Orthodox Christian Theology and Philosophy. 3, num-
ber 1.
[23] Against Praxeas, chapter 3. Ccel.org. 1 June 2005. Re-
trieved 2 January 2012.
[24] Against Praxeas, chapter 2 and in other chapters
[25] History of the Doctrine of the Trinity. Accessed 15
September 2007.
[26] See Elizabeth Lev, Dimming the Pauline Spotlight; Ju-
bilee Fruits, 2009
[27] Orthodox Outlet for Dogmatic Enquiries: On God.
Oodegr.com. Retrieved 2 January 2012.
[28] Eusebius of Caesarea, Church History iii.36
[29] St. Ignatius of Antioch to the Magnesians (Shorter Re-
cension), Roberts-Donaldson translation. Earlychristian-
writings.com. Retrieved 3 November 2013.
[30] First Apology, LXI. Ccel.org. 13 July 2005. Retrieved
3 November 2013.
[31] Theophilus, Apologia ad Autolycum, Book II, Chapter 15
[32] Tertullian Against Praxeas
[33] Mulhern, Philip F. (1967) Trinity, Holy, Devotion, in
New Catholic encyclopedia. Prepared by an editorial
sta at the Catholic University of America. New York:
McGraw-Hill, 14. 306
[34] Bingham, Jerey, HT200 Class Notes, Dallas Theolog-
ical Seminary, (2004).
[35] The Encyclopedia Americana (1956), Vol. XXVII, p.
294L
[36] Nouveau Dictionnaire Universel (Paris, 18651870), Vol.
2, p. 1467.
[37] Catholic Encyclopedia: article:''Paul of Samosata''".
Newadvent.org. 1 February 1911. Retrieved 2 January
2012.
[38] Chadwick, Henry. The Early Church Pelican/Penguin
(1967) p.87
[39] Arianism in Cross, F.L. & Livingstone, E.A. (eds) The
Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church (1974)
[40] Creeds of Christendom
[41] Greek texts of 325 and 381
12 ENDNOTES AND REFERENCES
[42] Second Creed of Sirmium or The Blasphemy of Sir-
mium"". www.fourthcentury.com. Retrieved 2017-03-
09.
[43] Athanasius, Bishop of Alexanria, Theologian, Doctor.
Justus.anglican.org. Retrieved 2 January 2012.
[44] Athanasius: De Decretis or Defence of the Nicene Def-
inition, Introduction, 19. Tertullian.org. 6 August 2004.
Retrieved 2 January 2012.
[45] Trinity. Britannica Encyclopaedia of World Religions.
Chicago: Encyclopdia Britannica. 2006.
[46] On Athanasius, Oxford Classical Dictionary, Edited by Si-
mon Hornblower and Antony Spawforth. Third edition.
Oxford; New York: Oxford University Press, 1996.
[47] Gregory of Nazianzus, Orations 40.41
[48] Mulhern, 306.
[49] Mulhern, p.306
[50] Matthew 28:19
[51] 7:1, 3 online
[52] Epistle to the Philippians, 2:13 online
[53] On Baptism 8:6 online, Against Praxeas, 26:2 online
[54] Against Noetus, 1:14 online
[55] Seventh Council of Carthage online
[56] A Sectional Confession of Faith, 13:2 online
[57] Kittel, 3:108.
[58] Stagg, Frank. New Testament Theology. Broadman Press,
1962. ISBN 978-0-8054-1613-8, pp. 38 .
[59] Grudem, Wayne A. 1994. Systematic theology an intro-
duction to biblical doctrine. Leicester, England: Inter-
Varsity Press. Page 226.
[60] Athanasian Creed. Ccel.org. Retrieved 2 January 2012.
[61] Barth, Karl, and Georey William Bromiley. 1975. The
doctrine of the word of God prolegomena to church dog-
matics, being volume I, 1. Edinburgh: T. & T. Clark.
Pages 3489.
[62] Thomas, and Anton Charles Pegis. 1997. Basic writings
of Saint Thomas Aquinas. Indianapolis, Indiana: Hackett
Pub. Pages 3079.
[63] For 'person', seeRichard De Smet, A Short History of
the Person, available in Brahman and Person: Essays by
Richard De Smet, ed. Ivo Coelho (Delhi: Motilal Banar-
sidass, 2010).
[64] NPNF2-09. Hilary of Poitiers, John of Damascus |
Christian Classics Ethereal Library. Ccel.org. 13 July
2005. Retrieved 2 January 2012.

[65] Pontical Council for Promoting Christian Unity: The
Greek and the Latin Traditions regarding the Procession
of the Holy Spirit (scanned image of the English trans-
lation on L'Osservatore Romano of 20 September 1995);
also text with Greek letters transliterated and text omitting
two sentences at the start of the paragraph that it presents
as beginning with The Western tradition expresses rst
...
[66] Catechism of the Catholic Church, 236
[67] Phillip Cary, Priscilla Papers Vol. 20, No. 4, Autumn
2006
[68] Basil the Great, De Spiritu Sancto, NPNF, Vol 8.
Ccel.org. 13 July 2005. Retrieved 2 January 2012.
[69] Athanasius, 3.29 (p. 409)
[70] Basil Letters, NPNF, Vol 8, 189.7 (p. 32)
[71] Sauvage, George. Appropriation. The Catholic Ency-
clopedia Vol. 1. New York: Robert Appleton Company,
1907. 20 October 2016
[72] Olsen, Roger E., Is there hierarchy in the Trinity?",
Patheos, December 8, 2011
[73] Wareld, Benjamin B., Trinity, 20, The Question
of Subordination, The International Standard Bible Ency-
clopaedia, Vol. 5, (James Orr, ed.), Howard-Severance
Company, 1915, pp.3020-3021
[74] Rubinstein, Richard. When Jesus Became God, The Strug-
gle to Dene Christianity During the Last Days of Rome.
p. 64.
[75] https://books.google.com/books?redir_esc=y&hl=id&
id=NgPI7Jt1HewC&q=Constantine+suggested+the+
initial+use+of+the+term+homoousios#v=snippet&q=
Constantine%20suggested%20the%20initial%20use%
20of%20the%20term%20homoousios&f=false
[76] N.S.Gill, The Arian Controversy and the Council of
Nicea
[77] Philip Scha, History of the Christian Church. Volume III.
Nicene and Post-Nicene Christianity, fth edition revised,
[100]
27
[101]
[78] Rusch, William G. (1980). Introduction. In Rusch,
William G. The Trinitarian Controversy. Minneapolis:
Fortress Press(subscription required). p. 2.
[79] Neither the word Trinity nor the explicit doctrine appears
in the New Testament ... the New Testament established
the basis for the doctrine of the Trinity(Encyclopdia
Britannica Online: article Trinity).
[80] Trinity. Britannica.com. Retrieved 2 January 2012.
[81] The Oxford Companion to the Bible (ed. Bruce Metzger
and Michael Coogan) 1993, p. 7823.
[82] McGrath, Alister E.Understanding the Trinity. Zonder-
van, 9789 ISBN 0-310-29681-1
[83] Harris, Stephen L. Understanding the Bible. Mayeld
Publishing: 2000. pp. 427428
15
[84] See, for instance, the note in 1 Jn 5:78.
[85] Bruce M. Metzger, The Text of the New Testament: Its
Transmission, Corruption, and Restoration, 2d ed. Oxford
University, 1968 p.101
[86] The Presentation of Jesus in Johns Gospel. Bbc.co.uk.
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[87] Brown, Raymond E. The Anchor Bible: The Gospel Ac-
cording to John (XIIIXXI), pp. 1026, 1032
[88] Hoskyns, Edwyn Clement (ed Davey F.N.) The Fourth
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out him was not any thing made that was made.[John 1:3]
[89] St. Paul helps us understand truths about Jesus Archived
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[90] Simonetti, Manlio. Matthew 1428. New Testament
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Intervarsity Press, 2002. ISBN 978-0-8308-1469-5
[91] St. Augustine of Hippo,De Trinitate, Book I, Chapter 3.
[92] St. Basil the Great,On the Holy Spirit Chapter 16.
[93] St. Basil the Great, On the Holy Spirit Chapter 19.
[94] St. Basil the Great, On the Holy Spirit Chapter 21.
[95] Catholic Encyclopedia: article ''Pneumatomachi''".
Newadvent.org. 1 June 1911. Retrieved 2 January 2012.
[96] New Jerusalem Bible, Standard Edition published 1985,
introductions and notes are a translation of those that
appear in La Bible de Jerusalemrevised edition 1973,
Bombay 2002; footnote to Joh 14:16.
[97] Zondervan NIV (New International Version) Study Bible,
2002, Grand Rapids, Michigan, USA; footnote to Joh
14:17.
[98] Trinitysee 3 The Holy Spirit As a Person.
[99] Lawrence, Michael (2010). Biblical Theology in the Life
of the Church: A Guide for Ministry (p. 147). Wheaton,
IL: Crossway, ISBN 978-1433515088
See occurrences on Google Books.
Hans Urs von Balthasar (2000) [1990]. Mysterium
Paschale. The Mystery of Easter. Translated with an In-
troduction by Aidan Nichols, O.P. (2nd ed.). San Fran-
cisco: Ignatius Press. p. 9 (Preface to the Second Edi-
tion). ISBN 0-89870804-4. ISBN 978-0-898-70804-2.
[102] Hans Urs von Balthasar (1998). Theo-Drama. Theologi-
cal Dramatic Theory, Vol. 5: The Last Act. Translated by
Graham Harrison. San Francisco: Ignatius Press. ISBN
0-89870689-0. ISBN 978-0-898-70689-5. it must be
said that this kenosis of obedience ... must be based on
the eternal kenosis of the Divine Persons one to another.
[103] See Book of Wisdom#Messianic interpretation by Chris-
tians
[104] The Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church (Oxford
University Press, 2005 ISBN 978-0-19-280290-3), article
Trinity, doctrine of the
 16 13 FURTHER READING

[105] Catholic Encyclopedia: article ''The Blessed Trinity''". who, after being tested, was adopted by God and invested
Newadvent.org. 1 October 1912. Retrieved 2 January with dominion, (Adoptionist Christology); or Jesus was
2012. regarded as a heavenly spiritual being (the highest after
God) who took esh, and again returned to heaven after
[106] Encyclopedia of Religion, Vol. 14, p.9360, on Trinity the completion of his work on earth (pneumatic Christol-
ogy)
[107] Gregory Nazianzen, Orations, 31.26
[123] Cross, F.L. (1958). The Oxford Dictionary of the Chris-
[108] For the two chapters as a single text, see Letellier, Robert.
tian Church. London: OUP, p. 81.
Day in Mamre, night in Sodom: Abraham and Lot in Gen-
esis 18 and 19. Brill Publishers: 1995.ISBN 978-90-04- [124] Glass, Cyril; Smith, Huston (2003). The New Encyclo-
10250-7 pp.37. Web: 9 January 2010 pedia of Islam. Rowman Altamira. pp. 239241. ISBN
0759101906.
[109] Francis Watson, Abrahams Visitors, The Journal of
Scriptural Reasoning, Number 2.3, September 2002. [125] Encyclopedia of the Qur'an. Thomas, David. 2006. Vol-
Etext.lib.virginia.edu. Retrieved 2 January 2012. ume V: Trinity.
[110] Swedenborg, Emanuel. Heavenly Arcana, 174958. [126] Quran 3:7980 (Translated by Shakir)
Rotch Edition. New York: Houghton, Miin and Com-
pany, 1907, in the Divine Revelation of the New Jerusalem [127] Quran 112:14 (Translated by Shakir)
(2012), n. 2149, 2156, 2218.
[128] Quran 112:14 (Translated by Shakir)
[111] Swedenborg, n. 23192320.
[129] Quran 5:73 (Translated by Shakir)
[112] Swedenborg, n. 10617.
[130] Quran 5:116 (Translated by Shakir)
[113] The Trinity in the Old Testament Archived 9 December
2010 at the Wayback Machine. [131] David Thomas, Trinity, Encyclopedia of the Qur'an

[114] Larry W. Hurtado, Lord Jesus Christ: Devotion to Jesus [132] Mun'im Sirry (1 May 2014). Scriptural Polemics: The
in Earliest Christianity. Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing, Qur'an and Other Religions. Oxford University Press.
2005 ISBN 0-8028-3167-2 pp. 573578
[133] S. Grith: Christians and Christianity.
[115] Bakers Evangelical Dictionary of Biblical Theology:
''Angel of the Lord''". Studylight.org. Retrieved 2 Jan- [134] Edward Hulmes: Qur'an and the Bible, The; entry in the
uary 2012. Oxford Companion to the Bible.

[116] Aurelius, Marcus (1964). Meditations. London: Penguin [135] Mun'im Sirry (1 May 2014). Scriptural Polemics: The
Books. p. 25. ISBN 0-14044140-9. ISBN 978-0-140- Qur'an and Other Religions. Oxford University Press. p.
44140-6. 47.

[117] See below and G Schiller, Iconography of Christian Art,

Vol. I, 1971, Vol II, 1972, (English trans from German),
Lund Humphries, London, gs I;516 & passim, ISBN
0-85331-270-2 and ISBN 0-85331-324-5
[118] Cartlidge, David R., and Elliott, J.K.. Art and the Chris-
tian Apocrypha, pp. 6972 (illustrating examples), Rout-
ledge, 2001, ISBN 0-415-23392-5, ISBN 978-0-415-
23392-7, Google books
[119] G Schiller, Iconography of Christian Art, Vol. II, 1972,
(English trans from German), Lund Humphries, London,
gs I;516 & passim, ISBN 0-85331-270-2 and ISBN 0-
85331-324-5, pp. 122124 and gs 409414
[120] G Schiller, Iconography of Christian Art, Vol. II, 1972,
(English trans from German), Lund Humphries, London,
gs I;516 & passim, ISBN 0-85331-270-2 and ISBN 0-
85331-324-5, pp. 219224 and gs 768804
[121] Potts, Albert M. The Worlds Eye. University Press of
Kentucky. pp. 6878.
[122] von Harnack, Adolf (1 March 1894). History of
Dogma. Retrieved 15 June 2007. [In the 2nd century,]
Jesus was either regarded as the man whom God hath cho-
sen, in whom the Deity or the Spirit of God dwelt, and
12.1 Other references
Routledge Encyclopedia of Philosophy Online,
Trinity
13 Further reading
Emery, Gilles, O.P.; Levering, Matthew, eds.
(2012). The Oxford Handbook of the Trinity. ISBN
978-0199557813.
Holmes, Stephen R. (2012). The Quest for the Trin-
ity: The Doctrine of God in Scripture, History and
Modernity. ISBN 9780830839865.
Dolezal, James. Trinity, Simplicity and the Status
of Gods Personal Relations, International Journal
of Systematic Theology 16 (1) (2014): 7998.
Fiddes, Paul, Participating in God : a pastoral doc-
trine of the Trinity (London: Darton, Longman, &
Todd, 2000).
 17

Harris, B.P. (2006). Understanding the Trinity. An
Encouragement to Abide in the Doctrine in Both Faith
and Practice (PDF).
Johnson, Thomas K., What Dierence Does the
Trinity Make?" (Bonn: Culture and Science Publ.,
2009).
A Formulation and Defense of the Doctrine of the
Trinity A brief historical survey of patristic Trini-
tarian thought
Doctrine of the Trinity
Trinity Article at Theopedia

La Due, William J., The Trinity guide to the Trinity Eastern Orthodox Trinitarian Theology
(Continuum International Publishing Group, 2003 Doctrine of the Trinity Reading Room: Extensive
ISBN 1-56338-395-0, ISBN 978-1-56338-395-3). collection of on-line sources on the Trinity (Tyndale
Letham, Robert (2004). The Holy Trinity : In Seminary)
Scripture, History, Theology, and Worship. ISBN
9780875520001.
O'Collins, Gerald (1999). The Tripersonal God:
Understanding and Interpreting the Trinity. ISBN
9780809138876.
Olson, Roger E.; Hall, Christopher A. (2002). The
Trinity. ISBN 9780802848277.
Phan, Peter C., ed. (2011). The Cambridge Com-
panion to the Trinity. ISBN 978-0-521-87739-8.
So, Damon W. K., Jesus Revelation of His Father: A
Narrative-Conceptual Study of the Trinity with Spe-
cial Reference to Karl Barth. (Milton Keynes: Pa-
ternoster, 2006). ISBN 1-84227-323-X.
Hillar, Marian, From Logos to Trinity. The Evolu-
tion of Religious Beliefs from Pythagoras to Tertul-
lian. (Cambridge University Press, 2012).
Tuggy, Dale (Summer 2014), Trinity (History of
Trinitarian Doctrines)", Stanford Encyclopedia of
Philosophy
Feazell, J. and Morrison, M. (2013). You're In-
cluded Complete List of Trinitarian Conversa-
tions, 108 Interviews With 25 Theologians: Ray S.
Anderson, Douglas A. Campbell, Elmer Colyer, Ger-
rit Scott Dawson, Cathy Deddo, Gary W. Deddo,
Gordon Fee, Trevor Hart, George Hunsinger, Chris-
tian Kettler, C. Baxter Kruger, John E. McKenna, Je
McSwain, Steve McVey, Paul Louis Metzger, Paul
Molnar, Roger Newell, Cherith Fee Nordling, Robin
Parry, Andrew Purves, Andrew Root, Alan Tor-
rance, David Torrance, Robert T. Walker, William
Paul Young. 4th ed. ebook Grace Communion In-
ternational, pp. 11279.
Webb, Eugene, In Search of The Triune God: The
Christian Paths of East and West (Columbia, MO:
University of Missouri Press, 2014)

14 External links
Trinity Entry at the Stanford Encyclopedia of Phi-
losophy
18 15 TEXT AND IMAGE SOURCES, CONTRIBUTORS, AND LICENSES

15 Text and image sources, contributors, and licenses

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