According to the Catechism of the Catholic Church, the Holy Trinity is defined as the mystery of one God in three persons. Although the Holy Trinity is at the base of the Catholic faith, the Catechism also states that the Holy Trinity is “inaccessible to the human mind” . The Catholic Church practices monotheism, the belief that there is only one supreme God. Within this Godhead, there is an undivided trinity of three divine persons. The foundation of the Holy Trinity within the Catholic Church is found within the sacred scriptures in both the Old and New Testament. Writings from the early church fathers such as St. Augustine of Hippo, and Tertullian have influenced the apprehension of the divine nature of the Holy Trinity. Encyclicals from …show more content…
In the Catholic Church, the Holy Trinity is the most fundamental mystery of faith. The Church does not see the trinity as three separate gods, but as one whom embodies three different personalities. This concept of believing in one God who is composed of three persons is unattainable to the human mind, it is beyond human intelligence and comprehension. St. Augustine of Hippo who lived in years A.D. 354-430, was an early church father just like many others who spent many years attempting to encompass the mystery if the Holy Trinity. Augustine spent many years developing a dissertation on The Holy Trinity called De Trinitate. St. Augustine constantly contemplated on this great Mystery. According …show more content…
God’s essence is to exist, from him comes all things and he forms all things. God made his name know to his people in the beginning of time through the Prophets. He reveals himself as the way truth and love. He was merciful to the people, and for that same reason, the Son reveals the Father; this is read in Matthew chapter eleven verses twenty-five to twenty-seven . The Father becomes known because of the Son. God’s love and truth are truly known when he sends his beloved Son to save the
Trinity: The Trinity was a key feature of Christianity. The Trinity symbolized the three persons of God, the father, the son, and the Holy
Though the Church began as a positive force to help those in need, the corruption of greed and power eventually took over the Church. The corruption and wealth had “the popes [using] their powers to grant dispensations, create ecclesiastic offices, levy tithes, and elevate favorites to continually replenish coffers drained by debauchery and excess (32). Furthermore, nobody could stop the church because of one concept, the Trinity. The Trinity states that “God [is] to be a unity of three entities; Father, Son, and Holy Spirit” (67). The Church was the Holy Spirit and acted as a bridge between the person and god which gave them immense control. Michael Servetus did not believe in the Trinity, he said that it was not in any of the original scriptures and should not exist. He instead believed that Jesus became divine through good acts and thus every man could reach
We believe that there is one, and only one, living and true God. He is an infinite, intelligent Spirit, the Maker and Supreme Ruler of heaven and earth, glorious in holiness, and worthy of all possible worship, trust, and love. In the unity of the Godhead there are three persons: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, equal in every divine perfection, and executing distinct but complimentary offices in the great work of redemption.
The essential trinity focuses on the relationship of the Son and Holy Spirit within God Himself. Augustine of Hippo taught the basis of essential trinity using his analysis of love: to love, there must be a lover, a beloved and their sharing a mutual love. On this basis of his psychological analogy, Augustine argues for a threefold understanding of the Godhead, in terms of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit (McGrath, pg 195). Augustine states that just as there are three entities of the mind, there can be three persons of God.
Saint Augustine, one of the best scholars of the early church, portrayed the Trinity as practically identical to the three sections of an individual: personality, soul, and will. They are three unmistakable viewpoints, yet they are conjoined and together constitute one bound together individual. The purpose of this research paper is to further emphasize, highlight, and defend St. Augustine’s conclusion that the Holy Trinity is one God existing in three persons according to the meeting at the Council of Nicea 325.
Both Roman Catholics and the Eastern Orthodox Church comprehended God to exist in three structures, known as the Trinity. God is three in one, the Father, the Son, and Holy Spirit.
This was the question that popped up in my head after reading the first chapter of The Orthodox Way, God as Mystery. More ironically, before they answered my question did they tell me that Jesus Christ is God and Holy Spirit is God as well. Usually multi-identities are not an issue for me or for anyone, but this time is a little, or a lot, different when it comes to God. In the chapter, God as Trinity, “The Christian God is not just a unit but a union, not just unity but a community… He is Trinity: three equal persons, each one dwelling in the other two by virtue of an unceasing movement of mutual love” said Ware (P. 27). Ono thing that needs to be confirmed first is that there is only One God, and God is the one essence embracing three persons. Secondly, in the case of Trinity a person is not just an individual, as opposed to that three human persons always “retain their own will and own energy no matter how closely they co-operate together” (P. 30). This indicates the property of “distinction but never separation” within the three persons; they are distinct as in differentiation and they are never separate because of the relationship formed by the shared one will and one energy. As a consequence, we surely have to turn to the Father, the Son, the Holy Spirit if we want to know God holistically, especially the Oneness of God (Jones,
The definition of the Trinity according to the Merriam-Webster dictionary is “the unity of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit as three persons in one Godhead according to Christian dogma.” The basis of the Trinity is that there is God the Father, Jesus the Son, and the Holy Spirit. There are three separate parts, yet they make up one. While this is confusing to the naked ear, it actually makes logical sense on a deeper level. Scholars and philosophers struggled for years to give a valid explanation of the Trinity. It was not until Tertullian in the 2nd or 3rd century AD that a satisfactory explanation was given. Tertullian came up with the Trinitarian Doctrine, which basically
The Holy Trinity is a difficult thing to understand, much less to explain. This is true not just for non-Christians, but Christians themselves. The best explanation many young Christians get when they are growing up is that God is God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit are all one, but are different in their own ways (such was the case with my own upbringing in a Catholic household, so I speak from experience). This doesn’t seem to make much sense, especially considering that it is similar to another Holy Mystery that is often brought up: that of Jesus Christ being wholly man and wholly God at the same time. The answers are more often than not unsatisfying, seemingly feeling like placeholders, and this frustration is only
I will like to crave your indulgence to the fact that "Nicene concept of Trinity" is never stated in the Bible, and it is that early Christians as well as the scriptures clearly points out the fact that Jesus was fully divine and pre-existent. For the fact that, none of the early Christian theologians fully asserted the doctrine of the Trinity, not even a speculation about the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. According to the father of the paganism description of Trinity "God can in no way be described." (Schindler 148).
Some of these central beliefs include the belief in the “Holy Trinity,” or three elements in one God. “God the Father” is a one part of God who Jesus taught was the “Father.” “God the Son” is Jesus, who is also referred to as “The Son of God,” was sent to save us from death and sin and taught of God’s love. He came to fulfill God’s law rather than to teach it. Lastly, “The Holy Spirit” is God in a mystical form who guides, comforts, and encourages Christians, completing the third part of the “Holy Trinity.” Another key figure in Christianity is the Pope who is at the top of the Roman Catholic hierarchy, and he follows the line of succession of Peter, the first Pope. Starting at the top, there is the Pope, then the cardinals, archbishops, bishops, priests, deacons, and laity.
Christ is part of the Trinity and is recognized as God in creation-John 1:3, judge of all things in the future-john 5:27, and he has omniscience-Matthew 9:4. Charles Ryre proves Christ's deity and involvement in the Trinity in Basic Theology, as he writes,
Trinity is one God. Each of the persons of the trinity, Father, Son, and Spirit “is God whole and entire”. I believe that the trinity of persons consists of one substance and one essence. Each of the persons is that supreme reality, the divine substance, essence or nature. Each of the three persons are distinct from one another, but known to be related to one another.
Mary Ann Fatula’s The Triune God of Christian Faith provides for the reader the inner life of God as well as insight into the human reality. Fatula’s writing draws the devotional discussion of the Trinity as the present-day effect of the Trinitarian faith is called to support attempts to articulate and live the Trinitarian mystery. The Trinity in a human’s life is the content of our definition of our human meaning and for an infinite gift: love. Each of us has a desire for achieving meaning, for love, and for wholeness. Fatula in her book develops the study of the divine ‘persons’ and states the importance of understanding what it is to be truly a ‘person’ of both human and divine potential.
The Holy Trinity is the doctrine of Christianity believes God the Father, the Son Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit is one, but it's the underlying belief for Christians because it’s an intricate part of Christianity. It’s my opinion, it’s the basic principles of Christians obedience and faith. It inspires significant principles about connection and commonality. (Fisher, 2017) “Christianity is based on the life, teachings, death, and the resurrection of Jesus. Jesus lived about 2,000 years ago in the Roman-occupied Palestine. He taught for three years and was crucified by the Roman government on charges of sedition. Since then his death is celebrated throughout the world since the sixth century and has been used as a major point from which society is measured.”