TRINITY
Nature of the Trinity
1. What is the central mystery of the Christian
faith?
The
mystery of the Holy Trinity is the central mystery of the Christian faith. God alone can make it known to us by
revealing himself as Father, Son and Holy Spirit. [261*].
2. Who is the
Trinity?
The
Trinity is the mystery of one God in three divine persons: Father, Son and Holy
Spirit. The revealed truth of the Holy
Trinity is at the very root of the Church's living faith as expressed in the
Creed. The mystery of the Holy Trinity
in itself is inaccessible to the human mind, and is the object of faith only
because it was revealed by Jesus Christ, the divine son of the eternal Father. [glossary, 232, 237,
249, 253-256].
3. How do the Fathers of the Church distinguish
between theology and economy in reference to the Blessed Trinity?
To these Fathers of the Church
"theology" refers to the mystery of God's inmost life within the
Blessed Trinity, and "economy" alludes to all the works by which God
reveals himself and communicates his life.
Through the economy the theology is revealed to us; but conversely, the
theology illuminates the entire economy. A person discloses himself in his actions,
and the better we know a person, the better we understand his actions. [236].
Divine Persons
4. What is a divine person?
Divine
person is the term used to describe the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit in
their real relation to, and distinction from, one another within the unity of
the Blessed Trinity. Each of the three
divine persons is truly God. [glossary, 252].
5. How are the divine persons distinct from
each other?
The
Trinity is one. The divine persons do
not share the one divinity among themselves, but each of them is God whole and
entire. Nevertheless the divine persons
are absolutely distinct from one another, and the real distinction between them
resides in their relationships with each other.
The mission of the Holy Spirit, sent by the Father in the name of the
Son (Jn
Our Knowledge of the Trinity
6. How and when did the Church formulate the
doctrines of the Trinity?
Our
basic beliefs about the Blessed Trinity were established at the ecumenical
councils of
7. How is the Apostles' Creed trinitarian?
The
Apostles' Creed is divided into three parts:
the first part speaks of the first divine person and the work of
salvation, the next part speaks of the second divine person and the mystery of
his redemption, and the final part speaks of the third
divine person, the origin and source of our sanctification. These are the three "chapters" of
our Baptismal seal. The Nicene, Athanasian, and other
creeds are also trinitarian in their emphases. [190].
8. What does the Athanasian
Creed say about the Trinity?
"Now
this is the Catholic faith: We worship one God in the Trinity and the Trinity
in unity, without either confusing the persons or dividing the substance; for
the person of the Father is one, the Son's is another, the Holy Spirit's is
another; but the Godhead of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit is one, their glory
is equal, their majesty coeternal". [266*].
9. How clearly
are the three divine persons of the Trinity revealed in the Old and New
Testaments?
St.
John of Nazianzus says "The Old Testament
proclaimed the Father clearly, but the Son more obscurely. The New Testament revealed the Son and gave
us a glimpse of the Holy Spirit."
[684].
10. How is the sacrament of Baptism trinitarian?
The
first "profession of faith" is made during baptism, and the first
symbol of faith is the baptismal creed.
Baptism is given "in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of
the Holy Spirit" (Mt 28:19),
thereby making direct reference to the three persons of the Blessed
Trinity. Thus we are called to share in
the life of the Blessed Trinity. [265*, 189].
Technical Terminology
11. What technical terms are used by the Church
to clarify the unitarian and
trinitarian nature of God?
The
Church Councils and many theologians use the technical terms substance, essence
and nature to designate the divine being in its unity, they employ the terms person and hypostasis
to designate the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit in the real distinction between
them, and they adopt the term relation to designate the fact that their
distinction lies in the relationships of each to the others. The Latin
word filioque, meaning "and from
the Son", was added to the Nicene Creed to clarify the Latin tradition
that the Holy Spirit proceeds from the Father and the Son. [glossary,
252].