In the name of the father and son of the holy spirit, which means. Churches and cathedrals of the Holy Trinity. Image discrepancies. The incomprehensibility of the mystery of the Holy Trinity

What do Christians believe about the Holy Trinity?

Speaking most in simple words, Christians believe that there is only one God, and that God exists in three Persons. These three Persons are God the Father, God the Son, God the Holy Spirit.

Some Christians use this diagram to explain the Trinity. The Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit are one God, and not three names of the same Person. The persons are distinct from each other: the Father is not the Son, the Son is not the Holy Spirit, and the Holy Spirit is not the Father.

Trinity and the Bible

God is one absolutely perfect divine Being in three Persons. We call the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit Persons because they have personal properties. There is a personal relationship between them.

When Christians speak of their belief in one God in three Persons (the Trinity), they do not mean one God in three Gods, or one Person in three Gods.

They believe in one God, known in three Persons.

The Father is God, the first Person of the Trinity; The Son is God, the second Person of the Trinity; The Holy Spirit is God, the third Person of the Trinity.

Why do Christians believe in the Trinity?

The Bible is clear that there is only one God, but all three Persons are called God.

There is only one God:

· Listen, Israel: The Lord our God, there is one Lord ().

· There was no God before Me, and there won’t be after Me ()

Father - God:

· Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ ().

Son - God:

· ...The Word was God (). Jesus is called the Word.

· I and the Father are one ().

· Thomas, a disciple of Jesus, turned to Him: “My Lord and my God” ().

Jesus did not rebuke Thomas for his mistake. On the contrary, Jesus accepted this conversion. Other people in Scripture, such as Paul and Barnabas (), forbade people to worship them as gods.

· And about the Son: “Thy throne, O God, is for ever and ever; The rod of Your kingdom is the rod of righteousness...” ().

· Therefore God has exalted Him and given Him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven, on earth and under the earth, and every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father ().

The Divinity of Jesus is also spoken of in the following verses: ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; .

Holy Spirit - God:

· But Peter said: Ananias! Why did you allow Satan to invest in your heart the thought of lying to the Holy Spirit and hiding from the price of the land? ...you lied not to people, but to God ().

More than 60 times Scripture simultaneously mentions the Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

· -17: “And having been baptized, Jesus immediately came out of the water, and behold, the heavens were opened to Him, and John saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and descending on Him. And behold, a voice from heaven said: This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.”

· Matthew 28:19: “...go therefore and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit...”

· 2 Corinthians 13:13: “The grace of (our) Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God (the Father), and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit, be with you all.”

· -6: “There is one body and one spirit, just as you were called to one hope of your calling; one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in us all.”

· -6: “When the grace and love for mankind of our Savior God appeared, He saved us, not by works of righteousness that we had done, but according to His mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit, whom He poured out on us richly through Jesus Christ the Savior ours..."

See also ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; And .

Misconceptions about the Trinity

ZMisconception #1:“The word Trinity is not in the Bible; This doctrine was invented by Christians in the 4th century."

Truth: Indeed, the word “Trinity” is not in the Bible, however, belief in the Trinity has a biblical basis. The term “Bible” is also not in the Bible.

The word "Trinity" was used to explain the eternal relationship between the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. The Trinity is reflected in many biblical passages (see below). False ideas flourished in the first centuries of Christianity, and there are many of them today. The first Christians constantly had to defend their beliefs. Listed below are the thinkers (and writers) of the early Church who advocated the doctrine of the Trinity long before 300 AD. e.

Misconception #2:"Christians believe that there are three Gods."

Truth: Christians believe there is only one God.

Some may consider Christians to be polytheists (those who believe in multiple gods) because they call the Father God, the Son God, and the Holy Spirit God. But Christians believe in only one God. The Bible says there is only one God. But she also uses the word "God" to refer to three distinct Persons. For centuries people have tried to come up with a simple explanation for the Trinity. Each illustration has its limitations, but some may be helpful. For example, they said that:

God is not 1 + 1 + 1 = 3

God is 1 x 1 x 1 = 1

It is traditionally believed that St. Patrick used the clover shamrock to illustrate the Trinity. He asked: “Is there one leaf here or three? If there is one, then why does it have three petals of the same size? And if there are three, then why only one stem? If you can't explain this a simple riddle, like clover, how can you hope to understand such a deep mystery as the Holy Trinity?”

Misconception #3:"Jesus is not God."

Truth: Jesus is God, the second Person of the Holy Trinity.

1. The Words of Jesus Himself · He forgave sins. We can forgive sin committed against us, but we cannot forgive sin committed against others. Jesus forgave all sins. (; ) · He accepted worship as God, therefore He is equal to the Father. (; ) · He called Himself the Son of God - this title of the Jews from with good reason perceived as a claim to equality with God. ()

Misconception #4:“The Divinity of Jesus is less than the Divinity of the Father.”

Truth: Jesus is equal to God the Father. Those who reject this truth can rely on the following arguments and verses. (These heresies go back to the time of Arius, 319 AD)

Verses erroneously used to support the doctrine that Christ was created:

1. Col. 1:15: if Christ was “the first born of every creation,” was He created?

Answer: The expression "firstborn" (lit., "firstborn") cannot mean that Christ was created, since Paul says that all creation was created by Him and for Him, and also that He existed before all creation, and that all They should (). Traditionally, the "firstborn" was the main heir. In the context of the first chapter of Colossians, Paul says that Christ, being the Son of God, is the chief heir of all creation ().

2. John 3:16: Does the expression “only begotten Son” mean that Jesus had a beginning?

Answer: “only begotten” ( monogenes) does not mean that Jesus had a temporal beginning; this means that Jesus is the only, “unique” Son of God. In the Old Testament on Greek Isaac is called the “unique” son of Abraham, although he had other children (). Jesus is the Only Begotten Son of God because He is perfect God and the only eternal Son of the Father ().

Verses erroneously used to support the doctrine that Christ is in His nature less than the Father:

1. John 14:28: If the “Father is greater” than Jesus, how can Jesus be God?

Answer: During His human life on earth, Jesus willingly shared our natural limitations in order to save us. Therefore, the words “My Father is greater than I” must be applied to Christ as a Man.

2. 1 Corinthians 15:28: If Jesus is God, why is He subject to the Father?

Answer: here we are talking about the will of Christ as a Man.

3. Mark 13:32: If Jesus is God, how could He not know the time of His return?

Answer: Jesus voluntarily emptied Himself in order to test the limitations of human life. Paradoxically, Jesus remained the omniscient God (). These are precisely the paradoxes one would expect if, as the Bible says, God chose to live a full life. human life ().

Misconception #5:“Father, Son and Spirit are just different titles for Jesus, or three different ways by whom God revealed Himself to people."

Truth: The Bible makes it clear that the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are distinct persons.

Some believe that the doctrine of the Trinity contradicts the truth that there is only one God. They claim that Jesus alone is the only true God, and therefore Jesus is “the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit” (), and not just the name of the Son. There is no doubt that there is only one God, but we must let the Bible explain what that means. And the Bible clearly says that the Father, Son and Holy Spirit are three persons:

· The Father sends the Son (; )

· The Father sends the Spirit (; )

· The Son speaks not on His own behalf, but on behalf of the Father ()

· The Spirit speaks not on His own behalf, but on behalf of Jesus ()

· The Father loves the Son, and the Son loves the Father ()

· Father and Son - two witnesses ()

· The Father and the Son glorify each other (), and the Spirit glorifies Jesus the Son ()

· The Son intercedes for us before the Father (; Greek - parakletos); Jesus the Son sent the Holy Spirit, another Intercessor (in the Russian translation of the Comforter, ; 26)

· Jesus Christ is not the Father, but the Son of the Father ()

B Jesus does not call Himself Father, Son and Holy Spirit. He says that Christian baptism demonstrates a person's faith in the Father, the Son whom the Father sent to die for our sins, and the Holy Spirit.

Misconception #6:“Jesus was not really a perfect God and a perfect man.”

Many people have long rejected the idea that Jesus is both a perfect God and a perfect man. They tried to resolve this paradox by calling Jesus a simple person, through whom God spoke, or by God, Who only took on the form of a man, or some other “simple” theories were proposed. Indeed, we cannot fully comprehend with our minds how God became man in Jesus. But the incarnation - the truth that God became flesh - is the ultimate confirmation that nothing is impossible for God (; ). And the Bible makes this truth clear.

The Bible makes it clear that Jesus was a perfect man:

As a child He developed physically, intellectually, socially and spiritually ().

He was tired; He slept; He was sweating; He was hungry and thirsty; He shed blood and died; His body was buried (; With His blood ().

Paul also said that the rulers of this age ignorantly crucified the Lord of glory ().

All the fullness of the Godhead resides in Jesus ().

The response of the early Christians to these errors

Early Christian theologians of the first two centuries AD wrote many books defending Christianity against dangers:

· persecution by the Roman Empire. Until the beginning of the 4th century, Christianity was outlawed, and Christians were often subjected to brutal persecution.
· heresies that distort the basic teachings of Christianity, especially the divinity of Jesus Christ and the nature of God.

Apostles' Creed was one of the earliest statements of faith compiled to explain the fundamental teachings of Christianity. He emphasizes the true humanity of Jesus, which was denied by the heretics of his time.

I believe in God the Father almighty, Creator of heaven and earth.
And in Jesus Christ our Lord, conceived of the Holy Spirit, born of the virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, crucified, died and buried, descended into the pit, rose from the dead on the third day, ascended into heaven and sits at the right hand of God the Father almighty, from where He will come to judge the living and the dead.
I believe in the Holy Spirit, in the one, holy universal church, in the communion of saints, in the remission of sins, in the resurrection of the flesh and in eternal life.

Nicene Creed was written by Church leaders in 325 AD. e., and subsequently supplemented. It was written to defend the Church's belief in the perfect deity of Christ and to formally reject the teaching of Arius, who said that Jesus was a created, inferior deity.

We believe in one God, the Father, Almighty, Creator of heaven and earth, everything visible and invisible.

And in one Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God, the only begotten, begotten of the Father before all ages, light from light, true God from true God, begotten, not made, consubstantial with the Father, through whom all things were created; for the sake of us, people, and our salvation, for the sake of him who came down from heaven and took flesh from the Holy Spirit and the Virgin Mary, and became a man, was crucified for us under Pontius Pilate, suffered and was buried; and who rose again on the third day according to the scriptures, and ascended into heaven, and sits at the right hand of the Father, and comes again in glory to judge the living and the dead; There will be no end to his reign.

And in the Holy Spirit, the Life-Giving Lord, who proceeds from the Father, worshiped and glorified equally with the Father and the Son, who spoke in the prophets. Into the one holy universal and Apostolic Church. We confess one baptism for the remission of sins. We look forward to the resurrection of the dead and the life of the next century. Amen.

Afanasyevsky Creed, written around 400 AD. e. and named after Athanasius, the great defender of the doctrine of the Trinity, says that the three Persons are not three Gods, but one God.

And the universal faith is this: we honor the one God in the Trinity, and the Trinity in unity, without confusing the hypostases and without dividing the divine essence into parts.

For one is the hypostasis of the Father, the second is the Son, and the third is the Holy Spirit.

But the divinity of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit is one, the glory is equal, and the greatness is equally eternal. As is the Father, so is the Son, so is the Holy Spirit.

The Father is not created, the Son is not created, and the Holy Spirit is not created. The Father is incomprehensible, and the Son is incomprehensible, and the Holy Spirit is incomprehensible. The Father is eternal, and the Son is eternal, and the Holy Spirit is eternal.

However, there are not three eternal, but one eternal; nor are there three uncreated or three incomprehensible, but one uncreated and one incomprehensible.

In the same way, the Father is omnipotent, and the Son is omnipotent, and the Holy Spirit is omnipotent. However, there are not three omnipotent ones, but one omnipotent one.

Thus, the Father is God, the Son is God, and the Holy Spirit is God. However, there are not three Gods, but one God.

And also the Father is Lord, the Son is Lord, and the Holy Spirit is Lord. However, there are not three Lords, but one Lord.

For just as Christian truth encourages us to confess each Hypostasis individually as God and Lord, so universal piety forbids us to talk about three Gods or three Lords.

The Father is not created, created or begotten by anyone.

The Son was not created by the Father alone, not created, but begotten.

The Holy Spirit is not created, created, or begotten from the Father (and the Son), but proceeds.

So there is one Father, not three Fathers; one Son, not three Sons; one Holy Spirit, not three Holy Spirits.

In this Trinity there is no first and last, there is no greater or lesser, but the three Hypostases are equally eternal and equal among themselves; therefore, as has already been said, the Trinity must be worshiped in unity and unity in the Trinity.

Therefore, whoever wants to be saved, think about the Trinity in this way.

But for eternal salvation one must also unconditionally believe in the incarnation of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Thus, true faith consists in believing and confessing that our Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God, is both God and man. God, born from the nature of the Father before all times, and man, born from the nature of the mother in time; perfect God and perfect man, in whom there is a rational soul and human body, equal to the Father in divinity, and less than the Father in humanity. But although he is both God and man, he is not two Christs, but one Christ.

He is united not by the transformation of the divine into the human, but by the perception of the human into the deity.

He is completely united, however, not by the fusion of natures, but by the unity of personality.

For just as the rational soul and body together are one man, so God and man are one Christ, who suffered for our salvation, descended into hell, rose from the dead on the third day, ascended into heaven and is seated at the right hand of the Father, from whence He will come to judge the living and the dead.

At His coming, all people will rise from the dead with their bodies to give an account of their deeds.

And those who do good will go into eternal life, and those who do evil will go into eternal fire.

This is universal faith. Whoever does not adhere to it faithfully and firmly cannot be saved.

Dogma formulated at the Council of Chalcedon 451 in defense of the truth against false teachers, asserts that Jesus is perfect God and perfect Man.

Following the holy fathers, we unanimously teach to confess one and the same Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, perfect in divinity and perfect in humanity; true God and true man, having soul and body; consubstantial with the Father in divinity and consubstantial with us in humanity, similar to us in everything except sin; born before the ages from the Father according to divinity, in these last days born for our sake and our salvation for the sake of Mary the Virgin Mother of God according to humanity; one and the same Christ, Son, Lord, only begotten, in two natures, unmerged, unchangeable, inseparably, inseparably cognizable (the difference between the two natures will in no way be abolished by their union, but the properties of each nature are preserved, united in one Person and in one Hypostasis); into two Persons, not cut or divided, but one and the same Son and only begotten God the Word, the Lord Jesus Christ; how the prophets spoke of Him from ancient times, and how the Lord Jesus Christ Himself taught us, and how he conveyed to us the symbol of our fathers.

*) In the Greek text of this verse the Holy Spirit is called the “Eternal Spirit.”

The Holy Trinity is a theological term reflecting the Christian teaching about the Trinitarian nature of God. This is one of the most important concepts of Orthodoxy.

The Holy Trinity

From lectures on dogmatic theology at the Orthodox St. Tikhon's Theological Institute

The Dogma of the Holy Trinity is the foundation of the Christian religion

God is one in essence, but trinity in persons: Father, Son and Holy Spirit, the Trinity is consubstantial and indivisible.

The word “Trinity” itself, of non-biblical origin, was introduced into the Christian lexicon in the second half of the 2nd century by St. Theophilus of Antioch. The doctrine of the Holy Trinity is given in Christian Revelation.

The dogma of the Holy Trinity is incomprehensible, it is a mysterious dogma, incomprehensible at the level of reason. For the human mind, the doctrine of the Holy Trinity is contradictory, because it is a mystery that cannot be expressed rationally.

It is no coincidence that Fr. Pavel Florensky called the dogma of the Holy Trinity “a cross for human thought.” In order to accept the dogma of the Most Holy Trinity, the sinful human mind must reject its claims to the ability to know everything and rationally explain, that is, in order to understand the mystery of the Most Holy Trinity, it is necessary to reject its understanding.

The mystery of the Most Holy Trinity is comprehended, and only partially, in the experience of spiritual life. This comprehension is always associated with ascetic feat. V.N. Lossky says: “The apophatic ascent is an ascent to Golgotha, therefore no speculative philosophy could ever rise to the mystery of the Holy Trinity.”

Belief in the Trinity distinguishes Christianity from all other monotheistic religions: Judaism, Islam. The doctrine of the Trinity is the basis of all Christian faith and moral teaching, for example, the doctrine of God the Savior, God the Sanctifier, etc. V.N. Lossky said that the doctrine of the Trinity is “not only the basis, but also the highest goal of theology, for ... to know the mystery of the Most Holy Trinity in its fullness means to enter into Divine life, into the very life of the Most Holy Trinity.”

The doctrine of the Triune God comes down to three points:
1) God is trinity and trinity consists in the fact that in God there are Three Persons (hypostases): Father, Son, Holy Spirit.

2) Each Person of the Holy Trinity is God, but They are not three Gods, but are one Divine being.

3) All three Persons differ in personal or hypostatic properties.

Analogies of the Holy Trinity in the world

The Holy Fathers, in order to somehow bring the doctrine of the Holy Trinity closer to the perception of man, used various kinds of analogies borrowed from the created world.
For example, the sun and the light and heat emanating from it. A source of water, a spring coming from it, and, in fact, a stream or river. Some see an analogy in the structure of the human mind (St. Ignatius Brianchaninov. Ascetic experiences): “Our mind, word and spirit, by the simultaneity of their beginning and by their mutual relationships, serve as the image of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit.”
However, all these analogies are very imperfect. If we take the first analogy - the sun, outgoing rays and heat - then this analogy presupposes some temporary process. If we take the second analogy - a source of water, a spring and a stream, then they differ only in our imagination, but in reality they are a single water element. As for the analogy associated with the abilities of the human mind, it can only be an analogy of the image of the Revelation of the Most Holy Trinity in the world, but not of intra-Trinity existence. Moreover, all these analogies place unity above trinity.
Saint Basil the Great considered the rainbow to be the most perfect analogy borrowed from the created world, because “the same light is both continuous in itself and multi-colored.” “And in the multicoloredness a single face is revealed - there is no middle and no transition between colors. It is not visible where the rays demarcate. We clearly see the difference, but we cannot measure the distances. And together, the multicolored rays form a single white one. The one essence reveals itself in a multi-colored radiance.”
The disadvantage of this analogy is that the colors of the spectrum are not independent individuals. In general, patristic theology is characterized by a very wary attitude towards analogies.
An example of such an attitude is the 31st Word of St. Gregory the Theologian: “Finally, I concluded that it is best to abandon all images and shadows, as deceptive and far from reaching the truth, and adhere to a more pious way of thinking, focusing on a few sayings.” .
In other words, there are no images to represent this dogma in our minds; all images borrowed from the created world are very imperfect.

A Brief History of the Dogma of the Holy Trinity

Christians have always believed that God is one in essence, but trinity in persons, but the dogmatic teaching about the Holy Trinity itself was created gradually, usually in connection with the emergence of various kinds of heretical errors. The doctrine of the Trinity in Christianity has always been connected with the doctrine of Christ, with the doctrine of the Incarnation. Trinitarian heresies and trinitarian disputes had a Christological basis.

In fact, the doctrine of the Trinity became possible thanks to the Incarnation. As they say in the troparion of Epiphany, in Christ “Trinitarian worship appears.” The teaching about Christ is “a stumbling block to the Jews, and foolishness to the Greeks” (1 Cor. 1:23). Also, the doctrine of the Trinity is a stumbling block for both “strict” Jewish monotheism and Hellenic polytheism. Therefore, all attempts to rationally comprehend the mystery of the Holy Trinity led to errors of either a Jewish or Hellenic nature. The first dissolved the Persons of the Trinity in a single nature, for example, the Sabellians, while others reduced the Trinity to three unequal beings (Arians).
The condemnation of Arianism occurred in 325 at the First Ecumenical Council of Nicaea. The main act of this Council was the compilation of the Nicene Creed, into which non-biblical terms were introduced, including special role in the Trinitarian disputes of the 4th century, the term “omousios” - “consubstantial” - played a role.
To reveal the true meaning of the term “homousios” it took enormous efforts of the great Cappadocians: Basil the Great, Gregory the Theologian and Gregory of Nyssa.
The great Cappadocians, primarily Basil the Great, strictly distinguished between the concepts of “essence” and “hypostasis”. Basil the Great defined the difference between “essence” and “hypostasis” as between the general and the particular.
According to the teachings of the Cappadocians, the essence of the Divine and its distinctive properties, i.e., the non-beginning of existence and Divine dignity, belong equally to all three hypostases. The Father, Son and Holy Spirit are its manifestations in Persons, each of which possesses the fullness of the divine essence and is in inextricable unity with it. The Hypostases differ from each other only in their personal (hypostatic) properties.
In addition, the Cappadocians actually identified (primarily the two Gregory: Nazianzen and Nyssa) the concept of “hypostasis” and “person”. “Face” in the theology and philosophy of that time was a term that did not belong to the ontological, but to the descriptive plane, that is, a face could be called the mask of an actor or the legal role that a person performed.
Having identified “person” and “hypostasis” in trinitarian theology, the Cappadocians thereby transferred this term from the descriptive plane to the ontological plane. The consequence of this identification was, in essence, the emergence of a new concept that the ancient world did not know: this term is “personality”. The Cappadocians managed to reconcile the abstractness of the Greek philosophical thought with the biblical idea of ​​a personal Godhead.
The main thing in this teaching is that personality is not part of nature and cannot be thought of in the categories of nature. The Cappadocians and their direct disciple St. Amphilochius of Iconium called the Divine hypostases “ways of being” of the Divine nature. According to their teaching, personality is a hypostasis of being, which freely hypostasizes its nature. Thus, the personal being in its specific manifestations is not predetermined by the essence that is given to it from the outside, therefore God is not an essence that would precede Persons. When we call God an absolute Person, we thereby want to express the idea that God is not determined by any external or internal necessity, that He is absolutely free in relation to His own being, always is what He wants to be and always acts as He wants to be. as he wants, that is, he freely hypostasizes His triune nature.

Indications of the trinity (plurality) of Persons in God in the Old and New Testaments

In the Old Testament there is a sufficient number of indications of the trinity of Persons, as well as hidden indications of the plurality of persons in God without indicating a specific number.
This plurality is already spoken of in the first verse of the Bible (Gen. 1:1): “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.” The verb “bara” (created) is in singular, and the noun “elohim” is plural, which literally means “gods.”
Life 1:26: “And God said: Let us make man in our image and after our likeness.” The word “let us create” is in plural. Same thing Gen. 3:22: “And God said, Behold, Adam has become as one of Us, knowing good and evil.” “Of Us” is also plural.
Life 11, 6 – 7, where we are talking about the Babylonian pandemonium: “And the Lord said: ... let us go down and confuse their language there,” the word “let us go down” is in the plural. St. Basil the Great in Shestodnevo (Conversation 9) comments on these words as follows: “It is truly strange idle talk to assert that someone sits and orders himself, supervises himself, compels himself powerfully and urgently. The second is an indication of actually three Persons, but without naming the persons and without distinguishing them.”
XVIII chapter of the book of Genesis, the appearance of three Angels to Abraham. At the beginning of the chapter it is said that God appeared to Abraham; in the Hebrew text it is “Jehovah”. Abraham, coming out to meet the three strangers, bows to Them and addresses Them with the word “Adonai,” literally “Lord,” in the singular.
In patristic exegesis there are two interpretations of this passage. First: the Son of God, the Second Person of the Holy Trinity, appeared, accompanied by two angels. We find this interpretation in martyr. Justin the Philosopher, St. Hilary of Pictavia, St. John Chrysostom, and Blessed Theodoret of Cyrrhus.
However, the majority of the fathers are Saints Athanasius of Alexandria, Basil the Great, Ambrose of Milan, St. Augustine, - they believe that this is the appearance of the Holy Trinity, the first revelation to man about the Trinity of the Divine.
It was the second opinion that was accepted by the Orthodox Tradition and found its embodiment, firstly, in hymnography, which speaks of this event precisely as the appearance of the Triune God, and in iconography (the well-known icon of the “Old Testament Trinity”).
Blessed Augustine (“On the City of God,” book 26) writes: “Abraham meets three, worships one. Having seen the three, he understood the mystery of the Trinity, and having worshiped as if one, he confessed the One God in Three Persons.”
An indication of the trinity of God in the New Testament is, first of all, the Baptism of the Lord Jesus Christ in the Jordan by John, which received the name Epiphany in Church Tradition. This event was the first clear Revelation to humanity about the Trinity of the Divine.
Further, the commandment about baptism, which the Lord gives to His disciples after the Resurrection (Matthew 28:19): “Go and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit.” Here the word “name” is singular, although it refers not only to the Father, but also to the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit together. St. Ambrose of Milan comments on this verse as follows: “The Lord said “in the name,” and not “in names,” because there is one God, not many names, because there are not two Gods and not three Gods.”
2 Cor. 13:13: “The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God the Father, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.” With this expression, the Apostle Paul emphasizes the personality of the Son and the Spirit, who bestow gifts on an equal basis with the Father.
1, In. 5, 7: “Three bear witness in heaven: the Father, the Word and the Holy Spirit; and these three are one.” This passage from the letter of the apostle and evangelist John is controversial, since this verse is not found in ancient Greek manuscripts.
Prologue of the Gospel of John (John 1:1): “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” By God here we mean the Father, and the Word is called the Son, that is, the Son was eternally with the Father and was eternally God.
The Transfiguration of the Lord is also the Revelation of the Most Holy Trinity. This is how he comments on this event gospel history V.N. Lossky: “That is why the Epiphany and Transfiguration are celebrated so solemnly. We celebrate the Revelation of the Most Holy Trinity, for the voice of the Father was heard and the Holy Spirit was present. In the first case, in the guise of a dove, in the second, as a shining cloud that overshadowed the apostles.”

Distinction of Divine Persons by Hypostatic Properties

According to church teaching, Hypostases are Persons, and not impersonal forces. Moreover, the Hypostases have a single nature. Naturally the question arises, how to distinguish them?
All divine properties belong to general nature, they are characteristic of all three Hypostases and therefore cannot express the differences of the Divine Persons by themselves. It is impossible to give an absolute definition of each Hypostasis using one of the Divine names.
One of the features of personal existence is that personality is unique and inimitable, and therefore, it cannot be defined, it cannot be subsumed under a certain concept, since the concept always generalizes; impossible to lead to common denominator. Therefore, a person can only be perceived through his relationship to other individuals.
This is exactly what we see in Holy Scripture, where the concept of Divine Persons is based on the relationships that exist between them.
Starting approximately from the end of the 4th century, we can talk about generally accepted terminology, according to which hypostatic properties are expressed in the following terms: in the Father - ungeneracy, in the Son - birth (from the Father), and procession (from the Father) in the Holy Spirit. Personal properties are incommunicable properties, eternally remaining unchanged, exclusively belonging to that or another of the Divine Persons. Thanks to these properties, Persons differ from each other, and we recognize them as special Hypostases.
At the same time, distinguishing three Hypostases in God, we confess the Trinity to be consubstantial and indivisible. Consubstantial means that the Father, Son and Holy Spirit are three independent Divine Persons, possessing all divine perfections, but these are not three special separate beings, not three Gods, but One God. They have a single and indivisible Divine nature. Each of the Persons of the Trinity possesses the divine nature perfectly and completely.

The next thing the Bible says about God is this: God is Triune.

God is the Holy Trinity: Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

But what does this mean? Let's look at this issue in more detail.

First, the Bible says there is only one God. Not two, not three, but only one.

I am the Lord, and there is no other; there is no God besides Me. (Bible, Is.45:5)

Secondly, the Bible also says that there are Three Divine Persons: God the Father, God the Son Jesus Christ and God the Holy Spirit. Here are several texts in which Each of Them is called God.

We have one God the Father, from whom are all things, and we are to Him. (Bible, 1 Cor. 8:6)
Christ, existing above everything God, blessed forever, amen. (Bible, Rom.9:5)
Why did you allow Satan to put the thought of lying in your heart? Holy Spirit? You lied not to people, but to God. (Bible, Acts 5:3,4)

And these Three Divine Persons are so united among themselves that They constitute one essence - God. Therefore there is only one God, not three.

Jesus answered them: I and the Father are one... so that we may know and believe that the Father is in Me and I in Him. (Bible, Gospel of John 10:30,38)

For three bear witness in heaven: the Father, the Word and the Holy Spirit; and these three are one. (Bible, 1 John 5:7)

Go and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. (Bible, Matthew 28:19)

You can read other quotes from the Bible about God as the Holy Trinity in the article

The Trinity of God cannot be fully imagined, because God is beyond our understanding. Although there are some analogies that help to somehow understand this very concept: three in one.

For example, imagine a glass of water, an ice cube and morning fog. What do they have in common? At its core, it is still the same water, only in liquid, solid and gaseous states. But, at the same time, all three of its manifestations are so different, so unique.

This example, of course, does not fully explain God; it only helps to slightly imagine the very idea of ​​the trinity. The Bible speaks of the essence of God as a mystery. After all, we humans will never be able to fully comprehend with our minds the One who created us. By the way, in the story of the creation of people, at the very beginning of the Bible, the trinity of God is also mentioned:

And God said: Let us make man in the image Our in the likeness Our and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the birds of the air, and over the livestock, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that moves on the earth. And God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female he created them. (Bible, Genesis 1:26-27)

In addition to the fact that God is Spirit and He is Triune, the Bible also reveals to us other qualities of God.

Trinity Holy– God, one in essence and threefold in Persons (Hypostases); Father, Son and Holy Spirit. God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit are the One and only God, cognizable in three equal-glorious, equal-sized ones, not merging with each other, but also inseparable in a single Being, Persons, or Hypostases.

The Father is beginningless, not created, not created, not begotten; The Son is pre-eternally (timelessly) born of the Father; The Holy Spirit eternally comes from the Father. Knowledge of the Trinity of God is possible only in mystical revelation through the action of Divine grace, to a person whose heart is cleansed of passions.

The Holy Fathers experienced the contemplation of the One Trinity, among them we can particularly highlight the Great Cappadocians (Basily the Great, Gregory the Theologian, Gregory of Nyssa), St. Gregory Palamu, St. Simeon the New Theologian, St. Seraphim of Sarov, St. Alexander Svirsky, Rev. Silouan of Athos.

How can the Lord God be simultaneously One and Trinity?

We must not forget that the earthly measurements familiar to us, including the category of number, are not applicable to God. After all, only objects separated by space, time and forces can be counted. And between the faces of the Holy Trinity there is no gap, nothing inserted, no section or division. The Divine Trinity is absolute unity. The mystery of the Trinity of God is inaccessible to the human mind (see more details). Some visible examples, rough analogies of It can be: the sun - its circle, light and warmth; the mind that gives birth to the ineffable word (thought), expressed by breathing; a source of water, a spring and a stream hidden in the earth; the mind, word and spirit inherent in the godlike human soul.

To clarify the mystery of the Holy Trinity, the Holy Fathers pointed to human soul, which is the Image of God.

“Our mind is the image of the Father; our word (we usually call the unspoken word a thought) is the image of the Son; spirit is the image of the Holy Spirit,” teaches Saint Ignatius Brianchaninov. – Just as in the Trinity-God the three Persons unfused and inseparably constitute one Divine Being, so in the Trinity-Man the three Persons constitute one being, without mixing with each other, without merging into one person, without dividing into three beings. Our mind has given birth to and does not cease to give birth to a thought; a thought, having been born, does not cease to be born again and at the same time remains born, hidden in the mind. The mind cannot exist without thought, and thought cannot exist without the mind. The beginning of one is certainly the beginning of the other; the existence of the mind is necessarily the existence of thought. In the same way, our spirit comes from the mind and contributes to thought. That is why every thought has its own spirit, every way of thinking has its own separate spirit, every book has its own spirit. Thought cannot exist without spirit; the existence of one is certainly accompanied by the existence of the other. In the existence of both is the existence of the mind.”

The very doctrine of the Holy Trinity is the doctrine of “Mind, Word and Spirit - one co-nature and divinity,” as St. Gregory the Theologian. “The First Existing Mind, God, who is consubstantial in Himself, has the Word with the Spirit co-essential, never being without the Word and the Spirit,” teaches St. Nikita Studiysky.

According to the definition given by the Apostle and Evangelist John the Theologian, God is love. But God is love not because He loves the world and humanity, that is, His creation - then God would not be completely Himself outside and apart from the act of creation, would not have perfect being in Himself, and the act of creation would not be free, but forced by the very “nature” of God. According to the Christian understanding, God is love in Himself, because the existence of the One God is the co-existence of the Divine Hypostases, being among themselves in “ perpetual motion love,” according to the 7th century theologian St. Maximus Confessor. The doctrine of the Holy Trinity is the basis of Christianity. According to St. Gregory the Theologian, the dogma of the Holy Trinity is the most important of all Christian dogmas. St. Athanasius of Alexandria defines the Christian faith itself as faith “in the unchangeable, perfect and blessed Trinity.”

All the dogmas of Christianity rest on the doctrine of God, one in essence and trinity in Persons, the Trinity Consubstantial and Indivisible. The doctrine of the Most Holy Trinity is the highest goal of theology, since to know the mystery of the Most Holy Trinity in its fullness means to enter into Divine life. The Christian doctrine of the Holy Trinity is the doctrine of the Divine Mind (Father), the Divine Word (Son) and the Divine Spirit (Holy Spirit) - Three Divine Persons possessing one and indivisible Divine Being. God has an all-perfect Mind (Reason). The Divine Mind is beginningless and infinite, limitless and unlimited, omniscient, knows the past, present and future, knows the non-existent as already existing, knows all creations before their existence. In the Divine Mind there are ideas of the entire universe, there are plans for all created beings. “Everything from God has its own being and existence, and everything before being is in His creative Mind,” says St. Simeon New Theologian . The Divine Mind eternally gives birth to the Divine Word, with which He creates the world. The Divine Word is “the Word of the Great Mind, surpassing every word, so that there was not, is not, and will not be a word that is higher than this Word,” teaches St. St. Maximus the Confessor. The Divine Word is All-perfect, immaterial, soundless, does not require human language and symbols, beginningless and endless, eternal. It is always inherent in the Divine Mind, born from Him from eternity, which is why the Mind is called the Father, and the Word the Only Begotten Son. The Divine Mind and the Divine Word are spiritual, because God is immaterial, incorporeal, immaterial. He is the All-Perfect Spirit. The Divine Spirit resides outside of space and time, has no image or form, and is above any limitation. His All-Perfect Being is limitless, “incorporeal, and without form, and invisible, and indescribable” (St. John of Damascus). The Divine Mind, Word and Spirit are entirely Personal, which is why They are called Persons (Hypostases). Hypostasis or Person is the personal way of being of the Divine essence, which equally belongs to the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. The Father, Son and Holy Spirit are one in Their Divine nature or essence, consummate in nature and consubstantial. The Father is God, and the Son is God, and the Holy Spirit is God. They are completely equal in Their Divine dignity. Each Person has omnipotence, omnipresence, perfect holiness, the highest freedom, uncreated and independent of anything created, uncreated, eternal. Each Person carries within Himself all the properties of the Divine. The doctrine of three Persons in God means that the relationship of the Divine Persons for each Person is threefold. It is impossible to imagine one of the Divine Persons without the existence of two Others at once. The Father is Father only in relation to the Son and the Spirit. As for the birth of the Son and the procession of the Spirit, one presupposes the other. God is “Mind, the Abyss of Reason, the Parent of the Word and through the Word the Maker of the Spirit Who reveals Him,” teaches St. John of Damascus. The Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit are three full-fledged Persons, each of Whom has not only the fullness of being, but is also fully God. One Hypostasis is not a third of the total essence, but contains within itself the entire fullness of the Divine essence. The Father is God, and not a third of God, the Son is also God and the Holy Spirit is also God. But all Three together are not three Gods, but one God. We confess “the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit - the Trinity, consubstantial and indivisible” (from the Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom). That is, the three Hypostases do not divide a single essence into three essences, but the single essence does not merge or mix three Hypostases into one. Can a Christian address each of the three Persons of the Holy Trinity? Undoubtedly: in the prayer “Our Father” we turn to the Father, in the Jesus prayer to the Son, in the prayer “Heavenly King, Comforter” - to the Holy Spirit. Who does each of the Divine Persons recognize Himself as and how can we correctly recognize our conversion so as not to fall into the pagan confession of three gods? Divine Persons do not realize themselves as separate Personalities. We turn to the Father, who eternally gives birth to the Son, whose spokesman is the Holy Spirit, who eternally emanates from the Father. We turn to the Son, eternally begotten from the Father, whose spokesman is the Holy Spirit eternally proceeding from the Father. We turn to the Holy Spirit as the exponent of the Son, who is eternally born of the Father. Thus, our prayers do not contradict the teaching about the unity (including will and action) and inseparability of the Persons of the Holy Trinity.

The Christian Trinity is perhaps one of the most controversial issues faith. The ambiguity of interpretation introduces a lot of doubts into the classical understanding. "three", triangles, cups and other signs are interpreted differently by theologians and researchers. Some associate this symbol with the Freemasons, others with paganism.

Opponents of Christianity hint that this faith cannot be integral, and blame it for the presence of three main branches - Orthodoxy, Catholicism and Protestantism. Opinions agree on one thing - the symbol itself is one and indivisible. And God should be given a place in the soul, and not in the mind.

What is the Holy Trinity

The Holy Trinity is the three hypostases of the one Lord: the Holy Spirit, the Father and the Son. However, this does not mean that God is incarnate in three different creatures. These are all faces of one that merge into one.

It is worth noting that the usual categories do not apply to the Almighty, in in this case- numbers. It is not divided by time and space, like other objects and beings. There are no gaps, intervals or distances between the three hypostases of the Lord. Therefore, the Holy Trinity represents unity.

Material embodiment of the Holy Trinity

It is generally accepted that the human mind is not able to comprehend the secret of this trinity, but analogies can be drawn. Just as the Holy Trinity is formed, the sun also exists. His hypostases are the form of the absolute: circle, heat and light. Water serves as the same example: a source hidden underground, the spring itself and the stream as a form of existence.

For human nature, the trinity lies in the mind, spirit and word, which are inherent in people as the main spheres of existence.

Although the three beings are one, they are still separated by origin. Spirit is without beginning. It comes from, not is born. Son implies birth, and Father implies eternal existence.

The three branches of Christianity perceive each of the hypostases differently.

Trinity in Catholicism and Orthodoxy

The interpretation of the threefold nature of God in different branches of the Christian faith is due to historical milestones development. The Western direction was not long influenced by the foundations of the empire. Rapid transition to feudalization social order life eliminated the need to connect the Almighty with the first person of the state - the emperor. Therefore, the procession of the Holy Spirit was not tied exclusively to God the Father. There is no leader in the Catholic Trinity. The Holy Spirit now emanated not only from the Father, but also from the Son, as evidenced by the word “filioque” added to the second decree. The literal translation means the whole phrase: “And from the son.”

The Orthodox branch was for a long time under the influence of the cult of the emperor, because the Holy Spirit, according to priests and theologians, was directly connected with the Father. Thus, God the Father stood at the head of the Trinity, and from him came the Spirit and the Son.

But at the same time, the origin of the Spirit from Jesus was not denied. But if it comes from the Father constantly, then from the Son it comes only temporarily.

Trinity in Protestantism

Protestants place God the Father at the head of the Holy Trinity, and it is he who is credited with the generation of all people as Christians. Thanks to “His mercy, will, love,” it is customary to consider the Father to be the center of Christianity.

But even within one direction there is no consensus; they all differ in some aspects of understanding:

Lutherans, Calvinists and other conservatives adhere to the doctrine of the Trinity;

Western Protestants divide the holidays of Trinity and Pentecost as two different ones: on the first, divine services are held, while the second is a “civil” version, during which mass celebrations are held.

Trinity in ancient beliefs

As already mentioned, the origins of the trinity go back to pre-Christian beliefs. To find the answer to the question “what is the Holy Trinity in Orthodoxy/Catholicism/Protestantism,” you need to look into pagan mythology.

It is known that the idea of ​​​​the divinity of Jesus is taken from the filthy faith. In fact, only names were subject to reform, since the very meaning of the trinity remained unchanged.

The Babylonians, long before the advent of Christianity, divided their pantheon into the following groups: Earth, Sky and Sea. The three elements that the inhabitants worshiped did not fight, but interacted equally, therefore the main and subordinate ones did not stand out.

There are several manifestations of the Trinity in Hinduism. But this was not polytheism either. All hypostases were embodied in one being. Visually, God was depicted as a figure with common body and three heads.

The Holy Trinity among the ancient Slavs was embodied in the three main gods - Dazhdbog, Khors and Yarilo.

Churches and cathedrals of the Holy Trinity. Image discrepancies

There are such cathedrals everywhere Christendom multitude, because they were erected to the glory of the Lord in any of his manifestations. The Cathedral of the Holy Trinity was built in almost every city. The most famous are:

Trinity-Sergius Lavra.

Church Life-Giving Trinity.

Stone Trinity Church.

Holy Trinity or Trinity-Sergius, built in 1342 in the city of Sergiev Posad. The Church of the Holy Trinity was almost razed to the ground by the Bolsheviks, but in the end it was simply deprived of its status as a historical heritage. It was closed in 1920. The Lavra resumed its work only in 1946 and is open to visitors to this day.

The Church of the Life-Giving Trinity is located in the Basmanny district of Moscow. It is not known for certain when the Holy Trinity was founded. The first written memories of her date back to 1610. For 405 years now, the temple has not stopped working and is open to visitors. This Church of the Holy Trinity, in addition to services, also holds a number of events to introduce people to the Bible and the history of the holidays.

The Church of the Holy Trinity existed no longer than until 1675. Since it was built of wood, it has not survived to this day. Instead of the old building, from 1904 to 1913, a new temple with the same name was built. During the fascist occupation, it did not stop working. You can still visit the temple today.

Partially the embodiment of the glory and greatness of the Holy Trinity is conveyed by cathedrals and churches. But about graphic image the triumvirate still differs in opinion. Many priests argue that it is impossible to depict the Holy Trinity, since man is not given the ability to comprehend the nature of the creature and see the material personification.