The Mystery of the Trinity: Part 1

Exploring the Foundations of the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church’s Faith

The Mystery of the Trinity: Part 1

The mystery of the Trinity stands at the heart of Orthodox Christian faith and theology. The Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church confesses one God who is perfectly one and uniquely three in person—Father, Son, and Holy Spirit—without confusion or division. This essay offers a concise theological reflection on the mystery of divine oneness and Threeness, as received from Holy Scripture, articulated by the Fathers, and faithfully preserved in the Apostolic tradition of the Church.

Belief in the perfect oneness and unique Threeness of God comes before all other beliefs of the EOTC. We believe in a God who is invisible (የማይታይ) (1 Timothy 1:17, Colossians 1:15) and beyond human understanding (የማይመረመር) (Job 11:7), who can do all things (Luke 1:37), created everything (Colossians 1:16), has no beginning or end, and lives forever (Psalm 90:2, Isaiah 44:6, Revelation 1:8) . He exists as three, in name (በስም), in work (በግብር), and in person (በአካል), yet is one in essence (በባሕርይ), divinity (በመለኮት), existence (በሕልውና), and will (በፈቃድ). Likewise, He is one in giving (በመስጠት), taking (በመንሳት), creating (በመፍጠር), passing (በማሳለፍ), ruling (በመግዛት), and living (በአኗኗር).

The term “Trinity” (ሥላሴ) is derived from the Geʽez verb “ሠለሰ,” meaning three, and thus signifies Threeness. The Church refers to the Trinity as the Holy Trinity (ቅድስት ሥላሴ), indicating a special Threeness: when God is three, He is one, and when He is one, He is also three. The term Trinity was first used to describe the living and existing God (ያለና የሚኖረውን አምላክ) by Theophilus of Antioch in 169 AD, and was later affirmed by the 318 Fathers at the Council of Nicaea. These Fathers did not introduce new doctrines; rather, they confirmed the perfect oneness and special Threeness of God as revealed in the Holy Scriptures, expressing it in language accessible to the faithful. In doing so, they clarified the mystery of the Trinity against heretical misunderstandings that claimed differences in glory (በክብር) and pre-existence (በመቀዳደም) within the Trinity, and they faithfully upheld the true belief (የቀናች ሃይማኖት) of the Apostolic Church (ሐዋርያዊት ቤተክርስቲያን).

The Mystery of the Trinity is the mystery of God’s oneness and Threeness. It is called a mystery because it is known through faith and cannot be understood apart from faith. The Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit are three in name (በስም), in work (በግብር), and in person (በአካል), yet one in essence (በባሕርይ), existence (በሕልውና), and divinity (በመለኮት). In this wondrous reality, God is called three while remaining one, and one while remaining three. This special Threeness is called a mystery since it is deep and beyond the limits of the human mind. Therefore, we believe in one God and in three persons.

The dogma of Christianity is grounded in the mystery of the Trinity, which stands as the central pillar of our faith and holds first place in the doctrine of salvation. Indeed, it is the very foundation of our salvation. All Christians are baptized in the name of the Trinity—Father, Son, and Holy Spirit (Matthew 28:19). Likewise, when we begin our work in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, we bear witness to our faith in the Trinity, and when we conclude, we glorify the same Trinity, saying: “Glory be to the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, who is one God, now and forever and ever. Amen.” Yet, because the mystery of the Trinity surpasses human understanding, the human mind can grasp it only to the extent that God Himself reveals it to the believers.

The Mystery of Oneness – One God (የአንድነት ምስጢር)

When we speak of the oneness and Threeness of the Trinity, we begin with oneness, not because oneness is greater than Threeness, but because one is the beginning of number. In affirming that the Trinity is three, we do not mean a separation like Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, nor do we imply any difference in glory or pre-existence. Rather, when the Trinity is three, it is one. Likewise, when we say that the Trinity is one, we do not mean like Adam, who was created first and encompasses (የሚጠቀልል) all humanity; rather, when the Trinity is one, it is also three. The Trinity is called the Holy Trinity (ቅድስት ሥላሴ), using the feminine article to signify that the Trinity is the parent of the world and the source of creation. Just as a mother grieves for and has compassion (ርኅራኄ) on her child, the Trinity is called Holy (ቅድስት) because their mercy toward creation is eternal.

Essence (ባሕርይ) is the nature of God and manifested in His divinity. What we call a person (አካል) refers to the identity (ማንነት) of God; therefore, when we speak of the three persons (ሦስቱ አካላት), we express the identity of the one God. The term Essence (ባሕርይ) is derived from the verb meaning “to spread out (ብሕረ፣ ተንጣለለ), to become wider (ሰፋ), to stretch out (ዘረጋ).” In theology, Essence (ባሕርይ) refers to that which unifies—“that unify, (ሥርው (ሥር)፥ ነቅዕ (ምንጭ)፣ አዋሃጅ /የሚያዋሕድ/ አስተገባኢ/ የሚሰበስብ).” Essence (ባሕርይ) is the instrument by which the person (አካል) acts. Essence (ባሕርይ) and persons (አካላት) are one as a single root; they are inseparable, and neither can exist without the other.

The names by which God is known in His oneness include Creator (ፈጣሪ) (Psalm 149:2), God (አምላክ) (Genesis 2:4), Lord (ጌታ) (Psalm 110:1), Divinity (መለኮት) (2 Peter 1:4), God (እግዚአብሔር), Sabaoth (ጸባዖት) (Romans 9:29), Adonai (አዶናይ; in Hebrew), El Shaddai (ኤልሻዳይ) (Genesis 17:1), and others. The Trinity is abstract (ረቂቅ) in nature (John 4:24). To illustrate the depth of this abstract nature (ርቀት), the human soul is more abstract than the wind, and angels are more abstract than the human soul. Even the concise (ኅሊና) of both is more abstract. These consciences of humans and angels are truly known and clearly observed in the sight of the Trinity. Because of their deeply abstract nature (ርቀታቸው), the Trinity is not confined by distance; they are omnipresent (ሁሉም ቦታ የሚገኙ) and abide in all creation (Jeremiah 23:23–24, Isaiah 66:1, Psalm 139:7–10, Proverbs 15:3). Their nature is never hungry (የማይራብ) (Psalm 50:12–13), never thirsty (የማይጠማ) (Jeremiah 2:13), never tired (የማይደክም) (Isaiah 40:28, Psalm 121:3–4), never sick (የማይታመም) (Psalm 102:26–27), and never dying (የማይሞት ሕያው) (1 Timothy 6:16, Daniel 6:26) , as it is written: “ስምከ ሕያው ዘኢይመውት ትጉህ ዘኢይዴቅስ ፈጣሪ ዘኢይደክም” “ስምህ የማይሞት ሕያው ፣ የማይተኛ ትጉህ ፣ የማይደክም ፈጣሪ” እንዳለ (ቅዱስ ባስልዮስ በማክሰኞ ሊጦን)፡፡

God is one divine nature and an eternal God. The term “Divine (መለኮት)” derives from the Ge’ez verb “መለከ – ገዛ,” meaning “to rule.” In Hebrew usage, Divine (መለኮት) conveys the sense of kingdom (መንግሥት), while in Ge’ez it signifies nature (ባሕርይ), rule (አገዛዝ), and authority (ሥልጣን). Accordingly, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit are one in divinity—one in rule (በግዛት) and one in kingdom.

The Father was not created, the Son was not created, and the Holy Spirit was not created; all three persons are eternal and cannot be said to have begun at any moment in time. These names do not denote parts or divisions, but the one God Himself. The three persons exist together without separation or division, each fully sharing the one divine nature. The Apostle teaches, “ከአንዱም በቀር ማንም አምላክ እንደሌለ እናውቃለን” (1 Cor. 8:4). Thus, the Trinity is one in nature while three in person, existing in unity without the oneness absorbing the three (አንድነቱ ሦስትነቱን ሳይጠቀልለው), and without the Threeness dividing the oneness (ሦስትነቱ አንድነቱን ሳይከፋፍለው). The Trinity is three in person, yet one in nature (በባሕርይ) and divinity (በመለኮት); therefore, they are called One God, and never called three Gods. Scripture affirms this clearly: “እስራኤል ሆይ ስማ እግዚአብሔር አምላካችን አንድ እግዚአብሔር ነው፡፡” (ዘጸ.6÷4) and “እግዚአብሔር (ጌታ) አንድ ነው፡፡” (ኤፌ. 4÷5). God is three in name, yet one God in His divinity.

The Trinity is one in existence (ሕልውና). Existence refers to dwelling (ነዋሪነት), living (ኑሮ), and being (አነዋወር). Theologically, it expresses the mutual indwelling (በጋራ መኖር) of the three Persons: the Father dwelling in the Son and the Holy Spirit (አብ በወልድና በመንፈስ ቅዱስ ኅልው ሆኖ), the Son dwelling in the Father and the Holy Spirit (ወልድም በአብና በመንፈስ ቅዱስ ኅልው ሆኖ), and the Holy Spirit dwelling in the Father and the Son (መንፈስ ቅዱስም በአብና በወልድ ኀልው ሆኖ በመኖር) they are one. Thus, the Trinity exists as one—without the oneness absorbing the Threeness (አንድነቱ ሦስትነቱን ሳይጠቀልለው), and without the Threeness dividing the oneness (ሦስትነቱ አንድነቱን ሳይከፋፍለው). In this shared existence (ሕልውና), the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit live eternally in one divine nature, in perfect harmony.

Conclusion

The mystery of the Trinity reveals a God who is one in essence, divinity, existence, and will, yet three in person—Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. This oneness does not absorb the Threeness, nor does the Threeness divide the oneness (አንድነቱ ሦስትነቱን ሳይጠቀልለው፣ ሦስትነቱ አንድነቱን ሳይከፋፍለው). Known not by human reasoning but through faith and divine revelation, the Trinity remains the foundation of Orthodox Christian belief, worship, and salvation. To confess the Holy Trinity is to confess the true God—one God, eternally glorified in three persons.

May God grant us understanding of this resource and enable us to continue in the next part.