Trinitarian Theology

Questions concerning Who is the Holy Trinity?, Who is the Father?, Who is the Son? And Who is the Holy Spirit?

Course on the Holy Trinity - HG Bishop Raphael
Fundamentals: Fr Daniel Ava Moses

Course on the Holy Trinity - HG Bishop Raphael

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yOBsSh97QNo&list=PLroBJmBsb1QhimgHdoIAli7PeP2eQdfBQ

Fundamentals: Fr Daniel Ava Moses

Essence
- That which all Subjects of a Common Group are constituted or made up of
  - Essence is what causes a Being to be what it is
- A being is not said to POSSESS the Essence but IS the Essence
- Complete definition of an essence includes All its natural attributes
  - Removing natural attributes from an essence destroys the definition of that essence
- Definition of an essence is made clear by stating what an essence is and not by stating what it is not
- This definition is NOT impacted by Accidents (Contingent attributes)
  - It can also be viewed that contingent attributes are included in the definition of an essence
- Using secular methods of categorizing existence is NOT wrong
- Synonyms
  - Being or Existence
  - Concrete Reality
  - Hypostasis (archaic)
  - Nature
  - Substance
- Divine Essence
  - Synonyms for the Divine Essence
    - Divinity
    - Godhead
  - Principles of the Divine Essence
    - Able to be Imitated
    - Able to be Partaken of
    - Able to be taught by faith and pious reasoning
    - Eternal, Uncreated, Unoriginate
    - Incommunicable
      - NO created being can EVER become constituted of the Divine Essence
    - Incomprehensible
      - NOT possible to know WHAT the Divine Essence is
      - Seeking the definition of the Divine Essence is NOT to be pursued
      - ONLY the Trinity know WHAT the Divine Essence is
    - Indivisble
      - Cannot be broken up into parts
      - Division of Divine Essence would necessitate that It be incomplete
    - One
      - This necessitates that there be One God
      - This One God is a Triad
        
        It is NOT wrong to confess belief in One God, but better to unfold or expand our confession to clearly note each of the Three Divine Hypostases
        
        This is the Fullness of the Godhead
        
        This is the Perfect Doctrine of the Only True Religion
        
        The Holy Trinity is Father, Son, Holy Spirit
      - Multiple divine essences would necessitate multiple gods
    - The Divine Essence is Referred to when naming individual Divine Hypostasis
    - The Divine Essence is not able to exist or energize contrary to Itself
Hypostasis
- Essence (archaic)
- Individual Subject
  - In Most cases, each hypostasis is a portion of essence distinct from another hypostasis constituted of the same essence
    - MW: This is NOT the case with the Divine Essence
- Synonyms
  - Person
  - Individual or Personal Existence
  - Subsistence
- An Individual Hypostasis is NOT the same thing as a commonly shared essence
- Divine Hypostases
  - Father
  - Son
  - Holy Spirit
- Principles of the Divine Hypostases
  - The Divine Hypostases are all able to be partaken of or participated in
  - Partaking of One Divine Hypostasis is the same as partaking of any of Them
  - NO Created Being can cause another created being to partake of God
  - Divine Hypostases do NOT partake of anything created
  - The Divine Hypostases are all coessential, connatural, consubstantial, being constituted of the One and Only Divine Essence
    - This precludes Them from not being equal
    - This causes Them to be equal in all things
  - The Divine Hypostases are all complete, perfect or whole
  - The Divine Hypostases are all constituted of the One Undivided or Unpartitioned Divine Essence
  - The Divine Hypostases are all coworkers in any and all things
    - They will NEVER do anything separately EVER
    - Abilities or Energizations are not divided up among the Divine Hypostases
    - Assigning specific abilities or energies to individual divine hypostases leads to polytheism
    - If something is ascribed to a specific Divine Hypostasis, it should be understood as From the Father, Through the Son and In the Holy Spirit
    - Each Divine Hypostasis can be understood to energize the same energy in a way that varies from the other Divine Hypostases
    - The formula of HOW They work together is that each Divine Hypostasis has His own Preposition that describes its relationship to the work
      - From the Father
      - Through the Son (sometimes By the Son)
      - In the Holy Spirit
      - Each Divine Hypostasis having Its own preposition allows for differences and variation for the same energization
      - Being able to do the same works testifies to the Son being the Father’s Image and Imprint
      - Being able to do the same works testifies to their being coessential
      - Each Divine Hypostasis is completely sufficient of Itself to completely accomplish any work
      - They are equal in all things
      - Examples
        
        Creating
        
        Sharing Grace (Divine Attributes)
        
        Judging
        
        Purifying
        
        Sanctifying
  - The Divine Hypostases are all distinct from one another
  - The Divine Hypostases are all Eternal, Uncreated, Unoriginate
    - This means before or outside of time
    - The Son and Holy Spirit are Simultaneously Originate (the Father is their Origin) and yet, NOT Temporally
  - The Divine Hypostases are all IN each other
    - The Father is In the Son
    - The Son is in the Father
    - The Son is in the Holy Spirit
    - The Holy Spirit is in the Father
    - The Holy Spirit is in the Son
  - The Divine Hypostases are all indivisible or inseparable from each other
    - Division of any Divine Hypostasis from each other…
      - Causes one to be Divided from Life
      - Causes the Divine Essence to be more than one
      - Destroys the perfection of the Trinity
      - Destroys the unity of the Trinity
      - Necessitates that the Divine Essence has mixed with it an essence that is created and different
      - Precludes there being only One True God
  - The Divine Hypostases are all said to be possessed by those who participate in Them
  - The Divine Hypostases are all simultaneously individually existent with the other Divine Hypostases
  - The Divine Hypostases are the ONLY Hypostases that can COMPLETELY know each Other.
  - The Divine Hypostases are all united to each other
    - Father <—> Son
    - Father <—> Holy Spirit
    - Son <—> Holy Spirit
  - They are NOT able to go above or below Three
  - They are NOT the Divine Essence
  - They are NOT duplicates of each Other
Attributes
- Descriptive capacities possessed by an essence or individual
- Energies
  - The supplying of an effect
  - The effect itself
- Principles
  - Attributes can be categorized as:
    - Essential, Natural, Substantial
      - Shared and possessed by any and all things constituted of a given essence
      - These attributes are rooted in the nature and cannot be lost by that nature
      - These can grow dull if they are not used
    - Hypostatic
      - Belonging to specific individuals of a group that is coessential
      - Hypostatic Attributes of the Holy Trinity
        
        Fatherhood
        
        Only-Begottenness or Sonship
        
        Procession
        
        These are the ONLY differences between the Divine Hypostases
        
        If these are removed, the Divine Hypostases will contract into One
    - Conditional, Contingent, Dependent or Impermanent (Accidents)
      - These type of attributes are not inherent to the Essence which they are attached
      - These can be lost by the Essence or Individual they were in
      - Losing these does not do any harm to the Essence or Subject
  - Mutually Exclusive Attributes CANNOT exist simultaneously in the same subject
  - Attributes are not:
    - Essences
    - Individual Hypostases
    - Self-existent or able to exist independent of an essence or hypostasis
- Divine Attributes of the Holy Trinity
  - All-encompassingness
  - Authority or Sovereignty
  - Calmness, Peace, Serenity, Tranquility
  - Compassion
  - Completeness, Perfection, Wholeness
  - Creativity
    - How God creates is not able to be comprehended
    - Only the Trinity is able to possess this attribute
    - Causing something to exist in a given state and restoring this thing back to this state are the same thing
    - Whatever God wants to create is created immediately in its entirety
  - Energizing (Able to bring something about)
  - Eternity or Timelessness
  - Existence
    - God can NEVER not exist
    - His existence is beyond all understanding
  - Fearlessness
  - Formlessness or Shapelessness
  - Freedom
  - Gentleness
  - Glory
  - Godhood (Being Divine)
  - Goodness
  - Graciousness (Kindness)
  - Holiness, Righteousness, Sanctity
  - Honesty
  - Humility
  - Immateriality, Impalpability or Intangibility
  - Immeasurability
  - Immortality
  - Immutability, Inalterability, Unchangeability
  - Impartiality
  - Immovability or Impassibility
  - Imperishability
  - Incomprehensibility
  - Incorporeality
  - Incorruption or Indestructibility
  - Indescribability, Ineffability, Inexpressibility
  - Indivisibility
  - Infiniteness, Limitlessness or Unquantifiability
  - Invisibility
    - Only the Trinity can truly see Itself
    - The Divinity can appear to created beings through Accomodation
    - This is NOT seeing the Divine Essence itself
    - The Divine Nature CAN be seen with the soul
    - This is NOT possible with bodily eyes
    - This is what it means to gain knowledge of God
  - Invulnerability
  - Judgmental (Having the capacity to judge)
  - Leniency
  - Life
  - Light
  - Longsuffering or Patient
  - Lordship
  - Love
  - Manliness
  - Mercy
  - Nobility
  - Omnipotence
  - Omnipresence
  - Omniscience
  - Purity
  - Self-existence, Originateness, Subsistence
  - Self-sufficiency
  - Sinlessness
  - Supraessentiality
  - Supremacy or Transcendence
  - Truth
  - Uncompoundedness (Simplicity)
  - Uncreatedness
  - Unoriginateness
  - Unweariedness
  - Will
  - Wisdom
- Principles of Divine Attributes
  - The Divine Attributes are a means to contemplate and gain knowledge of God
  - The Divine Attributes are able to be actualized or not by the Trinity at will
  - The Divine Attributes are able to be discovered through Holy Scripture
  - The Divine Attributes are able to be divided up
  - The Divine Attributes are able to be guarded
  - The Divine Attributes are able to be increased by those who receive them
  - The Divine Attributes are able to be manifested:
    - through an object
    - towards an object
  - The Divine Attributes are able to be shared with created beings and become conditional attributes in them
    - This process is called partaking or participating in
    - Not ALL of the Divine Attributes are able to be shared with created beings
  - The Divine Attributes are difficult or hard to innumerate/explain
  - The Divine Attributes are eternal and uncreated
  - The Divine Attributes are from God as their Source
  - The Divine Attributes are immutable or unchangeable
  - The Divine Attributes are infinite or immeasurable
  - The Divine Attributes are possessed by the Trinity
  - The Divine Attributes are said to exist
  - The Divine Attributes are revealed in Holy Scripture
  - The Divine Attributes are a Single Instance of each divine attribute and not separate instances of the same divine attribute for each divine Hypostasis
  - The Divine Attributes are NOT:
    - The Divine Essence
      - If the Divine Attributes are the Divine Essence, then it is composite!!!
    - Divine Hypostases
- Principles about energization, partaking, participation or sharing
  - It cannot occur if one is already constituted of that essence or inherently possesses that essence’s attributes
  - It can cause one to gain a new title or description
  - It enables one to escape one’s natural state
  - Created beings are not able to grant participation in the Divine Nature
    - Created beings can share some divine attributes with another being THROUGH themselves (e.g. teaching)
    - A human is not able to share every divine attribute it receives with others
  - Does NOT change the definition of an essence or its natural state UNLESS these new attributes become inherent in the essence
  - Is Passive
    - God shares
  - Is Active
    - Accomplished through Free will
  - Is Reversible (can be lost)
  - Maintained via
    - Attentiveness or Watchfulness
    - Faith
    - Humility
    - Holiness, keeping God’s commandments or Love
    - Purity
  - Disrupted via
    - Disbelief
    - Disobedience or Sin
    - Negligence
    - Turning to what is worse
  - No Created being can EVER inherently possess Divine Attributes
Humans Did NOT exist prior to being created