The Catholic Truth of the Most Holy Trinity
The Baltimore Catechism succinctly states, “In God there are three Divine persons, really distinct, and equal in all things – the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost.”
As Catholics, we are not polytheists. We do not believe in three gods but in one God. The Athanasian Creed,[1] one of the earliest professions of faith, confessed since at least the fifth century, declares:
“Thus the Father is God, the Son is God, and the Holy Ghost is God. But there are not three gods, but one God. The Father is Lord, the Son is Lord, and the Holy Ghost is Lord. There are not three lords, but one Lord. For according to Christian truth, we must profess that each of the Persons individually is God; and according to Christian religion, we are forbidden to say that there are three gods or three lords.”
How is it, then, that there is a God the Father, a God the Son, and a God the Holy Ghost, but only one God? There is one divine substance, and three divine Persons. You and I are each only one substance and one person, but God is one substance and three Persons. Each of the Persons is fully divine and wholly possesses the divine substance. As Jesus Himself said, “I and the Father are one” (John 10:30).
Because God is perfect in and of Himself, He cannot become any more perfect. The Greek Church Fathers taught that God’s substance is all perfection; the substance of God is being and existence itself. God is He Who is (cf. Exodus 3:14). There cannot be two substances that contain all of reality within themselves, because they would at least not contain each other. Therefore, God must be One, because if there were Two Supreme Beings, one of them could not possibly be completely supreme without being in charge of or superior to the other. If two different deities were exactly equal, neither of them would then truly be supreme because there would be at least one thing – the other ‘god’ – that one did not control.
We know that there must be a Supreme Being from which everything else derives its existence, and we also know that there cannot be more than one Supreme Being. The Baltimore Catechism again states for our edification, “There can be but one God because God, being supreme and infinite, cannot have an equal.” Thus, we can say with absolute certitude that God is One, and because of that, God necessarily has only one substance.
The Trinity is One. We do not confess three gods, but one God in three Persons, the “consubstantial Trinity.” The divine Persons do not share the one divinity among Themselves but each of Them is God whole and entire: “The Father is that which the Son is, the Son that which the Father is, the Father and the Son that which the Holy Ghost is, i.e., by nature one God.” In the words of the Fourth Lateran Council (1215): “Each of the persons is that supreme reality, viz., the divine substance, essence or nature.”
Those who deny the ability of God to become man or to exist as a trinity of divine Persons – whether they be Arians or Muslims – deny the ability of Almighty God to do what He pleases. God Himself can do all things, and this is what makes Him supreme. To claim, as heretics and pagans do, that God could not become a man, blasphemes the power of God Who can do all things whatsoever except commit sin (i.e., offend Himself).
Heresies Against the Trinity
After this brief recap of the truths of the Holy Trinity, let’s briefly identify six key heresies against the Trinity. Some of these same errors still come up, so study this carefully in order to refute them when you encounter them.
Arianism: Arianism is named after the heretic Arius (c. 250-336), a priest in Alexandria. Arians view Our Lord Jesus Christ as a special creation by God for man’s salvation. Arians do not believe that Our Lord Jesus Christ is equal to the Father. Some Arians were willing to say Jesus was “divine” but held He was less than the Father. The basic Arian position was that “there was a time when he [the Son] was not.” Thus, they believe that the Son is not eternal and not of the same substance as the Father.[2] They cling to monotheism but place their reason above Catholic Faith.
Arianism was the form of Christianity that the Goths adhered to, and it was popular in all the areas they conquered, including Italy, Spain, and North Africa. It is still very alive in the world today by people who say that Jesus is the “son of God,” as if the title meant that He is inferior to God the Father. Some would also say that Islam borrowed this false error as well.
Apollinarianism: Named after Apollinaris of Laodicea (+390), a bishop in Asia Minor who opposed Arius. This heresy implicitly claims that Jesus Christ is neither fully man nor fully divine. Apollinarians suggested that Our Lord had a human soul with a human mind that was taken over by God. This again denies the full divinity of Our Lord as the Second Person of the Blessed Trinity. Although Apollinaris was initially respected by many orthodox Church leaders, including St. Athanasius, his heresy was condemned at the First Council of Constantinople (381 A.D.). This error is contrary to the clear teaching of the Church that Our Lord had two complete natures: human and divine, which was dogmatically defined by Pope Leo the Great at the Council of Chalcedon (451 A.D.).
Nestorianism: Named after Nestorius, a Patriarch of Constantinople who believed that Jesus Christ had two natures — man and God — which remained separate throughout His time on earth. As a result, they believed that Christ was not identical to the divine Son of God. This denies the true nature of Christ, Who is one complete, fully divine Person Who has two natures, one divine and one human. This heresy was authoritatively condemned at the First Council of Ephesus in 431 A.D. and at the Council of Chalcedon in 451 A.D.
Some Nestorian places of worship can still be found in Iran. Interestingly, Nestorius’ heresy was first identified because he refused to honor Our Blessed Mother as the Mother of God (in Greek, Theotokos, or “the God-bearer”). Nestorians would argue that the Virgin Mary was the Mother of “Jesus the Man” but not of “God the Son.” This heresy is still vigorously promoted by Protestant heretics.
Adoptionism: Adoptionism is a heresy which says that Jesus was a human being Who was “adopted” by God at His conception or at His baptism, at which point God induced Him with a divine nature. This heresy has progressed in the modern world and is present when some falsely believe that Jesus did not always know of His divinity, even as a young child. These heretics claim that Our Lord was not divine until later in life when He was given the mission of becoming the Christ.[3]
This heresy contradicts the truth that Our Lord was always a divine Person Who “became man of the Virgin Mary.” Note how this creedal statement denies He existed beforehand. Many Adoptionists further believe that just as Jesus was “adopted” when the Divine Spirit ‘descended’ upon Him, so too the Divine Spirit left Him when He suffered and died. They too place reason above Faith and refuse to believe that God can suffer and die for man’s sins.
Monophysitism: Monophysite comes from the Greek words for “one nature.” This heresy says that Jesus Christ was a joining of the Godhead with the human person Jesus, which occurred at the Incarnation. Monophysitism was a reaction against Nestorianism, which emphasized Jesus’ two natures to the point where He was basically two Persons. Monophysitism held that the divinity of Christ essentially dominated His human nature so that Jesus was one Person who effectively only had one nature – the divine nature.
Eutyches, a monk from Constantinople, advanced this heresy and was excommunicated in 448 A.D. Monophysitism was condemned at the Council of Chalcedon in 451. Nevertheless, it received much imperial support over the following centuries, led to several eastern schisms with Rome, and caused many political, social and ecclesial problems. Various monophysite groups were in schism when the Muslims overran the Middle East and North Africa in the 7th century. Thus, these groups never reunited with Rome and this heresy lingered. In fact, it is still very much alive in several present-day Egyptian and Middle Eastern sects of Christianity.
Sabellianism: Sabellianism is sometimes called ‘modalism’ or ‘monarchianism’ or even ‘modalistic monarchianism’. In this heresy, the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost are three modes, roles, or faces of a single Person: God. This heresy is strictly monotheistic, rejecting the truth that there are three divine Persons. They often conceive of God ‘acting’ as the Creative Father in the Old Testament, then ‘acting’ as the Redeeming Son in the New Testament, and subsequently ‘acting’ as the Sanctifying Spirit in this latter age following Christ’s Ascension.
This heresy implies that Jesus Christ was purely divine and did not have a human nature. What does this mean? It would mean that Our Lord could not truly have suffered or died. This heresy denies the Redemption of Man and the Incarnation. Sabellius was condemned by Pope Callistus.
Conclusion
Trinitarian Theology requires precise terminology which safeguard the Church’s dogmatic definitions regarding the saving truths which God has revealed concerning Himself. In humility, man should always acknowledge that his reason can never exhaust or comprehend the full mystery of the Blessed Trinity, yet willingly render the obedience of divine faith to the Church’s teachings. It is best not to attempt to write or speak (instruct) on the Trinity without careful study and prayer beforehand. When in doubt, study the Baltimore Catechism or the Catholic Catechism available here from The Fatima Center.
As we profess in the Athanasian Creed: “[T]he Unity is to be worshiped in Trinity and the Trinity in Unity. He, therefore, who wishes to be saved, must believe thus about the Trinity.”
May Our Lady, Exterminatrix of All Heresies, pray for us!
Editor’s Note: For those interested in studying more about the Holy Trinity, we recommend “Building on a Firm Foundation,” a video series on the Basics of Our Catholic Faith by David Rodríguez. Audio-only versions of these talks are also available on The Fatima Center Podcast.
Three episodes deal specifically with the Mystery of the Blessed Trinity: [#16] “The True God Is a Trinity,” [#17] “The Holy Trinity at Mass,” and [#18] “Are Humans Like the Blessed Trinity?”.
Other episodes address God’s Divine Attributes as well as how we can prove God exists using human reason.
[1] You can download a copy of The Athanasian Creed from our website.
[2] The Nicene Creed, which Catholics profess every Sunday at Holy Mass, was specifically written to refute the Arian heresy. This is why we profess that the Son is eternally begotten of the Father, not made (created), and that He is consubstantial with the Father. In Greek, this true teaching is expressed by the word homoousious, which means ‘of the same substance.’ Those who had Arian leanings, often called semi-Arians, preferred to use the word homoiousious to relate the Father and Son. This term means ‘of a similar substance.’ Yet, just the addition of this one “i” (iota) changes the meaning and is condemned as heretical. This is also the origin of such phrases as “one iota makes all the difference” or “don’t change one iota.”
[3] People often think the word “Christ” is akin to a last name of Our Lord. Actually it is a specific title by which we profess our faith in Him. “Christ” is the Greek word by which the Hebrew term “Messiah” is translated. The closest translation we have in English is “Savior.” When we refer to the Second Person of the Trinity as Jesus Christ, we are in effect saying “Jesus the Savior”. Naturally the word means much more, especially since the Hebrew concept of Messiah includes the 4000-year-long wait, the fulfillment of all God’s promises, the establishment of an everlasting covenant, and how the Son of David’s kingship shall last forever.