The Mystery of the Trinity: Part 2

 

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

The Mystery of the Trinity: Part 2

The mystery of the Holy Trinity stands at the heart of the Christian faith, revealing God as one in essence and three in Persons. In this second part of The Mystery of the Trinity, the focus is placed on the mystery of the Threeness (የሦስትነት ምስጢር), confessing the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit as three distinct Persons (ሦስት አካላት) who act, live, and are known in perfect unity. Drawing from the Holy Scriptures and the liturgical and theological tradition of the Church, this essay seeks to articulate how the Trinity is three in personal distinction and work, yet one God in being, life, and glory.

The Mystery of the Threeness (የሦስትነት ምስጢር) - Three Persons (ሦስት አካላት)

The Trinity is three in the works they perform (በግብር), while remaining one God. The Father’s specific work is to beget (መውለድ / በመንፈስ ቅዱስ) and to cause procession (ማስረጽ); the Son’s specific work is to be begotten (መወለድ); and the Holy Spirit’s specific work is to proceed (መስረጽ). Thus, the Father is the begetter (ወላዲ), the Son is the begotten (ተወላዲ), and the Holy Spirit is the one who is proceeded (ሠራፂ / which refers to የወጣ፣ የተገኘ). The Father (አብ) is truly Father (አባት), the Son (ወልድ) is truly Son (ልጅ), and the Holy Spirit (መንፈስ ቅዱስ) proceeds only from the Father (ከአብ ብቻ የሠረፀ / John 14:26). However, the three Persons are one God, as Abba Hiryaqos proclaims in the Liturgy of the Theotokos: “The three names one God” “ሠለስቱ ስም አሐዱ እግዚአብሔር” እንዳለ አባ ሕርያቆስ በቅዳሴው::

The Father is the one who begets the Son and causes the Holy Spirit to proceed. Yet He does not precede them (አይቀድማቸውም) nor surpass them (አይበልጣቸውም). He is eternal, without beginning or end, and Himself the source of all beginnings and endings (መጀመሪያና መጨረሻ የሌለው መጀመሪያውና መጨረሻው እርሱ የሆነ ዘላለማዊ አምላክ ነው). The Father begets (ይወልዳል) but is not begotten (አይወለድም), He causes procession (ያሰርጻል) but is not proceeded (አይሰርጽም). He is known as “God above us” (ከእኛ በላይ ያለው አምላክ)  (Ephesians 4:6 ).

The Son is called the Son of God or the Word (ቃል). Scholars also describe the Son as “the arm/hand of the Father.” When it is said that the Son was born of the Father, this does not mean that the Father existed before the Son. The Father is also called God, who is with us (ከእኛ ጋር ያለው አምላክ) (Matt. 28:20). The Son’s birth is not like human birth, but “light from light” (ከብርሃን የተገኘ ብርሃን) (John 1:1–5, 9, John 8:12 )

The Holy Spirit is God the Lord, the Giver of life. He proceeds from the Father and is worshiped and glorified together with the Father and the Son. He is the one who spoke through the prophets long ago (ከአብ የሠረፀ ከአብና ከወልድ ጋራ በአንድነት የምንሰግድለትና የምናመሰግነው አምላክ ነው፡፡ እርሱም በነቢያት አድሮ የተናገረ ነው) (2 Corinthians 3:17, John 6:63, 2 Peter 1:21, John 15:26) . He is called the breath (እስትንፋስ) and proceeds only from the Father (Job 33:4, John 15:26). We do not say that the Holy Spirit proceeds from a certain point of time (የሚሰርጸውም ከዚህ ጊዜ ጀምሮ ነው አይባልለትም) ። Even though He proceeds from the Father, the Father did not exist before Him (Hebrews 9:14). The Holy Spirit is also called “the God who is within us” (በውስጣችን ያለው አምላክ) (1 Cor. 3:16, Rom. 8:10–11).

The three Persons of the Trinity (የአካል ሦስትነታቸው) are confessed as follows: the Father possesses a perfect body (ፍጹም አካል), a perfect form (ፍጹም መልክ), and a perfect face (ፍጹም ገጽ); likewise, the Son has a perfect body (ፍጹም አካል), a perfect form (ፍጹም መልክ), and a perfect face (ፍጹም ገጽ); and the Holy Spirit also has a perfect body (ፍጹም አካል), a perfect form (ፍጹም መልክ), and a perfect face (ፍጹም ገጽ). Yet, they are not divided (አይከፋፈሉም) nor separated (አይነጣጠሉም), but exist in perfect unity. The body (አካል) denotes the complete form (ምሉእ ቁመና); the face (ገጽ) refers to what is above the neck (ከአንገት በላይ ያለው ፊት); and the form (መልክ) encompasses the various organs—eyes, ears, hands, feet, and all the rest. This, however, does not imply that the body of the Trinity is limited (ውሱን), huge (ግዙፍ), or narrow (ጠባብ) like a human body. Rather, it is complete (ምሉዕ), vast (ስፉሕ), and abstract (ረቂቅ). When questions arise concerning the fullness (ምሉዕነታቸው) and scope (ስፋታቸው) of the Trinity, it is understood as that the height above the Ariyam (አርያም / the last part of the heaven), the foundation beneath the berbanos (በርባኖስ / the lowest depth of the earth), and the breadth from horizon to horizon (ከአድማስ እስከ አድማስ ስፋቱ) cannot be measured or examined. Similarly, the Trinity defines the world, but the world does not define the Trinity (ሥላሴ ዓለሙን ይወስኑታል እንጂ ዓለሙ ሥላሴን አይወስናቸውም)::

In being (በኩነት / በመሆን), the Father is the heart (ልብነት); the heart of the Son and of the Holy Spirit is the Father (የወልድና የመንፈስ ቅዱስ ልባቸው አብ ነው). In being (በኩነት / በመሆን), the Son is the Word (ቃልነት); the Word of the Father and of the Holy Spirit is the Son (ለአብና ለመንፈስ ቅዱስ ቃላቸው ወልድ ነው). In being (በኩነት / በመሆን), the Holy Spirit is life (ሕይወትነት); the life of the Father and of the Son is the Holy Spirit (የአብና የወልድ ሕይወታቸው መንፈስ ቅዱስ ነው). Therefore, in the heart of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit think (ያስቡበታል); in the Word of the Son, the Father and the Holy Spirit speak (ይናገሩበታል); and in the life of the Holy Spirit, the Father and the Son live as being alive (ሕያዋን) and dwell together.

The Trinity—the three Persons—know in the one heart of the Father, speak in the one Word of the Son, and live in the one life of the Holy Spirit. Our Lord revealed this mystery to the apostles, saying, “እኔ በአብ እንዳለሁ አብም በእኔ እንዳለ” (John 14:11). Likewise, the Evangelist Saint John declares, “ቃልም በእግዚአብሔር ዘንድ ነበረ፤ እግዚአብሔርም ቃል ነበረ፤ ይህ አስቀድሞ በእግዚአብሔር ዘንድ ነበረ” (John 1:1–2). By saying that the Word was with God (ቃልም በእግዚአብሔር ዘንድ ነበረ), Saint John teaches that the Son lives in the Father. When it says, “in the beginning He was with God” (ይህ አስቀድሞ በእግዚአብሔር ዘንድ ነበረ), it also affirms the living presence of the Holy Spirit. God is also known in His Threeness as the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, and in their works (በግብራቸው/ በስራቸው) as the Father who begets (ወላዲ), the Son who is begotten (ተወላዲ), and the Holy Spirit who proceeds (ሠራፂ).

As discussed in the previous part, we confess the oneness of God through His attributes, such as creator (ፈጣሪነት), Godship (አምላክነት), divinity (በመለኮት), essence (በባሕርይ), governance (አገዛዝ), will (ፈቃድ), authority (ሥልጣን), and others of the same kind. We also confess His trinity through His name (በስም), work (በግብር), and person (በአካል). To understand these teachings, we must turn to the Holy Scriptures, which are the breath of God. The name “Trinity” did not arise by chance; it is a glorious name by which God is known in both His oneness and Threeness. The forthcoming essays will therefore be devoted to examining the biblical basis for the doctrine of the Holy Trinity.

Conclusion

In contemplating the mystery of the Threeness, we confess not three gods, but one God—Father, Son, and Holy Spirit—perfectly united in essence, will, life, and action. The Father begets, the Son is begotten, and the Holy Spirit proceeds, yet none precedes or surpasses the other. As revealed in Scripture and confessed by the Church, the Trinity knows in one heart, speaks in one Word, and lives in one divine life. Thus, God is known both in His oneness and in His Threeness, not as a human assumption, but as a divine mystery made known through revelation. This confession calls us to trust, worship, and reflect thoughtfully on God, leading our hearts to honor the one eternal God who is Three in Person.

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