The Mystery of the Trinity: Part 5

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

The Mystery of the Trinity: Part 5

The mystery of the Holy Trinity stands at the very heart of Orthodox Christian faith. From the earliest centuries, however, this sacred doctrine has been misunderstood and distorted by various false teachings. Some denied the distinction of the three Persons; others divided the one essence (ባሕርይ); still others rejected the full divinity of the Son or the Holy Spirit. In this final part, we briefly examine these heretical teachings and present the steadfast testimony of the Holy Scriptures, the Ecumenical Councils, and the ancient Fathers, who preserved and proclaimed the true confession of the Church: one God in three co-eternal Persons, undivided in essence ( በባሕርይ).

False or Heretical Teachings Thought on the Mystery of the Holy Trinity

Modalism (መለዋወጥ): This heresy is associated with the Sabellians. It affirms the existence of one God but denies the reality of the three Persons. Instead, it teaches that the one God manifests Himself in different modes or forms. According to this view, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit are not distinct Persons, but merely different ways in which God appears. Consequently, Modalism distorts the mystery of the Holy Trinity by claiming that God appeared at one time as the Father, at another time as the Son, and at another time as the Holy Spirit. To explain this idea, Modalism often uses the analogy of water appearing as liquid, ice (snow), and vapor. However, God does not change in His nature (essence) (በባሕርይ), as the Scripture clearly testifies: “እኔ እግዚአብሔር አልለወጥም።” (Malachi 3:6). For this reason, the early Church firmly condemned Modalism as a heretical teaching.

Tri-theism (መነጣጠል): This heresy arises from a misunderstanding of the oneness and Threeness of the Holy Trinity. It claims that the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit are three gods (ሦስት አማልክት), united only in a special manner. Such a view fails to properly understand the meaning of the three Persons and their oneness in essence. Tri-theism closely resembles the common accusation that “Christians worship three gods.” However, the Trinity is not divided or separate (አይነጣጠሉም). The Church Fathers clearly refuted (disproved)  this teaching by affirming: “We do not say three gods, but one God,” / “አንድ አምላክ እንጂ ሦስት አማልክት አንልም።” (refer to the previous parts).

Partialism (መከፋፈል): This heresy teaches that the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit are God only when they are together, which means each is a part of God and not fully God in Himself. To claim that the three are God only when they are together is a grave error, for it reduces each divine Person to a “part of God” rather than confessing the fullness of divinity in each. We, however, affirm that the Holy Trinity is indivisible (አይከፋፈሉም). As St. Athanasius declares, “The Father is God, the Son is God, and the Holy Spirit is God” / “አብ አምላክ ነው፣ ወልድም አምላክ ነው፤ መንፈስ ቅዱስም አምላክ ነው፡፡

Arianism (የአርዮስ ክህደት): This heresy denies the full divinity of the Son, claiming that He was created by the Father and that the Father therefore precedes Him. In other words, it asserts that there was a time when the Son did not exist. Arius supported his teaching by misinterpreting passages such as Proverbs 8:22–25, Colossians 1:15, and John 14:28. His doctrine was condemned at the Council of Nicaea in 325 AD. Following the Fathers, we uphold the Council of Nicea’s declaration: “The Word was God (ቃልም እግዚአብሔር ነበረ።” and affirm, “He was begotten, not created (የተወለደ እንጂ ያልተፈጠረ)።”

Macedonianism (የመቅዶንዮስ ክህደት): The Macedonian heresy, a continuation of Arianism, denies the full divinity of the Holy Spirit. It teaches that the Holy Spirit is a creature (ፍጡር / ሕፁፅ) and therefore inferior to the Father and the Son. In contrast, the Orthodox faith confesses that there is no inferiority or inequality among the three divine Persons; the Holy Spirit is consubstantial (of the same divine nature) and co-eternal with the Father and the Son. This heresy was formally condemned at the Council of Constantinople in 381 AD. At that council, the Fathers clearly affirmed the true doctrine of the Church, proclaiming:

“We believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the giver of life, who proceeded from the Father, and we bow to Him, and give thanks to Him with the Father and the Son, and He is who spoke long ago through the prophets.” “በመንፈስ ቅዱስም እናምናለን ፤ እርሱ ጌታ ሕይወትን የሚሠጥ ከአብ የሰረፀ ከአብና ከወልድ ጋር እንሰግድለታለን ፤ እናመሰግነዋለንም ፤ እርሱም በነቢያት አድሮ የተናገረው ነው።”

Dual Procession (የሁለት ሥርፀት ትምህርት): This is a later Western addition that teaches that the Holy Spirit proceeds from both the Father and the Son. It was not part of the original Creed formulated by the Ecumenical Councils, nor was it known in the ancient Churches. Rather, it was introduced subsequently in the West and inserted into the Creed without conciliar authority.

This teaching stands in contradiction to the Church’s understanding of the mystery of the Holy Trinity, particularly the monarchy of the Father as the sole source within the Godhead, meaning that the Son is eternally begotten of the Father and the Holy Spirit eternally proceeds from the Father. Our Lord Himself clearly taught that the Holy Spirit proceeds from the Father, not from the Father and the Son: “ዳሩ ግን እኔ ከአብ ዘንድ የምልክላችሁ አጽናኝ እርሱም ከአብ የሚወጣ የእውነት መንፈስ በመጣ ጊዜ፥ እርሱ ስለ እኔ ይመሰክራል።” (John 15:2)

Some Testimonies of Ancient Scholars on the Mystery of the Trinity

“God is one; the indivisible (የማትከፈል) and unbroken (የማትፋለስ) kingdom (መንግስት) is one; There is nothing created within the Trinity; among the Three, there is no subjection of one to another. There was never a time when the Father existed apart from the Son, nor the Son apart from the Holy Spirit, nor the Holy Spirit apart from the Father and the Son. Rather, the Holy Trinity lives eternally—throughout all time and ages—without change.”(Haymanote Abew Zeselestu Meit, Chapter 19:5–6, (ሃይማኖተ አበው ዘሰለስቱ ምእት ምዕራፍ 19:5–6).

Our brothers, we confess this faith: The unbegotten God the Father (ያልተወለደ እግዚአብሔር አብ) is one in His distinct Person; the begotten God the Son, Jesus Christ, is one in His distinct Person; and the Breath of the Father and the Son, who dwells in the one He loves, is one in His distinct Person. Thus, the Father is God, the Son is God, and the Holy Spirit is God. Yet they are not proclaimed as three Gods, but as one God.” (The Faith of the Fathers, St. Athanasius the Apostolic, Chapter 25:2–4, (ሃይማኖተ አበው ዘቅዱስ አትናቴዎስ ሐዋርያዊ ምዕራፍ 25፡2-4)

“There is no creature among the Three; they are not created beings. Let not the heretics—those separated from true knowledge and faith—attempt to divide the divinity or to confuse the Persons of the Holy Trinity. We do not worship three Gods, but one God. We confess three by name—the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit—yet one in nature (በባሕርይ) and in power (በሥልጣን). They are three Persons abiding in one Godhead and nature (ባሕርይ); none is greater or less than another, but all are incomprehensibly equal in one glory (በማይመረመር በአንድ ክብር የተካከሉ ናቸው).” (The Faith of the Fathers, St. Gregory of Nyssa, Chapter 60 : 6–7, (ሃይማኖተ አበው ዘቅዱስ ጎርጎርዮስ ዘእንዚናዙ ምዕራፍ 60፡6-7))

The Father never existed in time without the Son, nor did the Son ever exist without the Holy Spirit. They are three distinct Persons, perfect in form (በገጽ) and appearance (በመልክ), without beginning and without end, eternally existing beyond and throughout all time.” (The Faith of the Fathers, Saint Theophilus, Chapter 68:5, ሃይማኖተ አበው ዘቅዱስ ቴዎፍሎስ ምዕራፍ 68፡5)

“This is the confession of the Church: that the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit are three in Person and one in Nature. The Father, who is uninvestigatable (የማይመረመር), who was in the beginning, is perfect in His form (በገጹ) and in His personhood (በአካሉ). The Son, who is likewise uninvestigatable and was in the beginning, is perfect in His form (በገጹ) and in His personhood (በአካሉ). The Holy Spirit, also uninvestigatable and who was in the beginning, is perfect in His form (በገጹ) and in His personhood (በአካሉ). This is according to the Scriptures that were taught by the Apostles and faithfully received by the Holy Church.” (The Faith of the Fathers, Cyril of Alexandria, Chapter 70:14–17; ሃይማኖተ አበው ዘቅዱስ ቄርሎስ ምዕራፍ 70፡14–17)

“But we confess that there is neither inferiority nor superiority within the Holy Trinity; rather, they are one in divinity.” (Abba Giyorgis of Gasicha, አባ ጊዮርጊስ ዘጋስጫ ተግሳጽ ዘሰባልዮስ)

Summary

The Orthodox Tewahedo Church understands the mystery of the Trinity as this: “the Trinity is one while They are three (አንድ ሲሆኑ ሦስት) and three while They are one (ሦስት ሲሆኑ አንድ).” The Church teaches that They exist in harmonious unity (በሕልውና ተገናዝበው), without the oneness absorbing the threeness (አንድነቱ ሦስትነቱን ሳይጠቀልለው), and without the threeness dividing the oneness (ሦስትነቱ አንድነቱን ሳይከፋፍለው). This is the mystery by which God revealed Himself to humanity, witnessed by the prophets, manifested through the incarnation of the Son, and proclaimed by the apostles throughout the world, as has been shown in the preceding parts.

Final Closure

The Mystery of the Trinity is the faith revealed by God, proclaimed by the prophets, manifested in the incarnation of the Son, preached by the apostles, defined by the Councils of Nicaea (325) and Constantinople (381), and safeguarded by the holy Fathers. Therefore, together with them, we confess not three Gods, but one God—Father, Son, and Holy Spirit—to whom be glory forever.

Thank You, Lord, for granting us the courage and strength to explore Your mystery as far as You have revealed it, even though our human nature is limited and cannot fully explore it.