Trinity

The Trinity is God, according to the teaching of the churches which represent the majority of Christians. According to this doctrine, God is a single being existing simultaneously as three distinct persons: the Father, the Son (Jesus), and the Holy Spirit.

Historical view and usage

Historically, the Trinitarian view has been affirmed as an article of faith by the Nicene (325) 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, some involving the nature of the Trinity, and Christ's position in it. The Nicene-Constantinopolitan Creed (381 version) is still affirmed by the Orthodox Church; it is affirmed with one change by the Roman Catholic Church, and has been retained in some form by most Protestant denominations.

Related Topics:
Trinitarian - Nicene - 325 - Athanasian - Creed - 500 - Church - Third - Fourth - Centuries - Heterodox - Christ's - 381 - Protestant - Denominations

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The Nicene Creed, which is a classic formulation of this doctrine, used "homoousia" (Greek: of same substance). The spelling of this word differs by a single Greek letter, "one iota", from the word used by non-trinitarians at the time, "homoiousia" (Greek: of similar substance): a fact which has since become proverbial, representing the deep divisions occasioned by seemingly small imprecisions, especially in theology. The term was condemned at the Council of Antioch in 264-268 at the same time that Paul of Samosata was condemned for his Adoptionist theology, since it was then ambiguous and could easily be interpreted in a heretical sense. According to the Catholic Encyclopedia article on Paul of Samosata: "The objectors to the Nicene doctrine in the fourth century made copious use of this disapproval of the Nicene word by a famous council."

Related Topics:
Nicene Creed - Homoousia - Greek - Iota - Paul of Samosata - Adoptionist - Catholic Encyclopedia

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Though often used interchangeably with the concept of the Trinity, the terminology of Godhead is broader and includes other ideas of how the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are interrelated.

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