That the father is the son of the holy spirit. What does it mean - "In the Name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit

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The chronicle of the Glinsky monastery contains such a case. Lieutenant Colonel of the Guards Artillery Vasily Milonov was an unbeliever in his youth. Serving in the guards, he was distinguished by a licentiousness of disposition, he laughed at Christian piety and shrines. Once, after a feast with his comrades, Milonov returned to his apartment and lay down to rest. Before he could close his eyes, he hears a voice from behind the stove: "Take the pistol and shoot yourself." Milonov looked around the room, found no one and thought it was a game of imagination. But again the same voice from the same place demanded to take the pistol and shoot himself.

Alarmed, Milonov shouted at the orderly and told him everything. The orderly was a believer, said that it was an unclean, demonic obsession and advised to cross and pray to God. The lieutenant colonel scolded the orderly for such "superstition", but when he again heard a voice from behind the stove, he crossed himself. “In the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Amen". The voice ceased instantly. This amazed Milonov, such a revolution took place in his soul that he soon resigned and went as a novice to the Glinsky monastery.

For millennia, the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit has performed miracles.

Why? Because this is the name of God.

God is the Most Holy Trinity: Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

But first, let us once again remember the immutable truth that God is one in essence.

God is one in essence

V Holy Scripture it is said: "The Lord our God is one Lord" (Mark 12: 29). That is, God is one and only. This truth is inherent in common sense and does not require special arguments for itself. After all, the Creator owns the fullness of the most perfect being. And there can be only one fullness of all-perfection.

If there were two or more all-perfections, then they would thereby already limit each other, would not have complete freedom, and therefore would not be all-perfection. In this sense, the ancient Christian writer Tertullian said: "If God is not alone, then there is no God." And St. Athanasius the Great adds: "Polytheism is atheism."

So, the Lord God in His being is one and only.

At the same time, God is Trinity in Persons.

God is Trinity in Persons

Among all the mysteries that the Lord wished to reveal to people, there is one especially superior ability of the human mind and logic. What is this secret? In the fact that God is one in essence and threefold in Persons.

Are philosophy or the path of natural knowledge of God capable of reaching this mystery by itself? No. Belief in the Holy Trinity is an exclusively Divine Revelation. Moreover, the doctrine of the Trinity is given only to the Christian religion, in no other religion there is no such idea of ​​God.

The persons of the Holy Trinity - Father, Son and Holy Spirit - are also called Hypostases. They are not simply properties, powers, manifestations, or actions of God. But three Hypostases are three different Persons one Deity.

It is this faith that Christians profess at the sign of the cross, folding their fingers right hand into the familiar to you three fingers, - in which three fingers are added into one whole, because the Holy Trinity: Father, Son and Holy Spirit is one God, not three.

How to comprehend this?

In the 4th century, a famous theologian blessed Augustine, being a bishop in the African city of Ippon, wrote the book "On the Holy Trinity". Tired of the extreme strain of his mind, he went to the seashore. Augustine enjoyed the evening air, but he did not stop thinking about the subject of his research. Suddenly he noticed a strange youth on the shore, who scooped water from the sea with a small silver spoon and poured it into a depression.

What are you doing? Augustine asked him.
- I want to scoop up the sea and fit it into a hole.
- But this is unreal! said Augustine.
- Of course, it is impossible, but I would rather scoop out this sea with my spoon and fit it into a hole, than with your mind you will penetrate into the unknown mystery of the Holy Trinity and fit it into your book.

Our mind comes to a dead end before the knowledge of the mystery of the Divine life. How can the Lord God be simultaneously One and Trinity? The category of number familiar to us is generally inapplicable to God. After all, only objects separated by space, time and forces can be counted. And between the Persons of the Holy Trinity there is no gap, nothing inserted, no section or division. Therefore, in general, such real numbers as 1 and 3 are inapplicable to God. The Divine Trinity is an absolute Unity. Each Person of the Holy Trinity possesses a Divine Being in fullness.

The poet P.A.Vyazemsky wrote the following lines:
Our mind, darkened by blind arrogance,
Ready to admit to a dream and a childish superstition
Everything that he cannot bring under his own calculation.
But isn't he a hundred times more superstitious
Who believes in himself, but a mystery to himself,
Who proudly leaned on their wobbly mind
And in him worships his own idol,
Who has concentrated the world in his personality,
Takes to prove how two two is four,
Everything inaccessible to him in the soul and in the world?

The mystery of the Divine life for us seems to be something illogical, but in the Divine life itself there are no contradictions. What conclusion can be drawn from this? Only the one that is impossible to cognize the Holy Trinity by the rational means. Only by cleansing the mind and heart of all earthly impressions can one ascend to the contemplation of the Trinity.

To some extent, the spiritual truth that “God is love” (1 John 4: 8) brings us closer to the knowledge of the Holy Trinity.

God is the most perfect Love, and this means that the Three Persons of the Holy Trinity - Father, Son and Holy Spirit - are eternally with each other in the unity of continuous love.

What does the Scripture say about this?

The pages of the Book of Life testify to the trinity of Persons in God. But the human mind is down-to-earth and rude, so many of the testimonies are of a hidden nature. It takes spiritual discernment to understand them. However, there are also such testimonies in Scripture that openly point to the trinity of Persons in God. We will stop at them.

In the old testament

Genesis reports miraculous phenomenon to the forefather Abraham: “And the Lord appeared to him by the oak grove of Mamre, when he was sitting at the entrance to his tent, in the heat of the day. He lifted up his eyes and looked, and, behold, three men stood opposite him. Seeing, he ran to meet them from the entrance to his tent and bowed to the ground, and said: Master! if I have found favor in your sight, do not pass by your servant ”(Gen. 18: 1-3).

In the form of three Angels, Abraham saw the visit of God; the saint understood who had come to him. This image Trinity is reflected worldwide famous icon St. Andrew(Rublev).

And Blessed Augustine specially draws attention to this passage of Scripture and offers the following remark: "You see, Abraham meets Three, but worships the One ... Having seen the Three, he understood the mystery of the Trinity, and having worshiped as One, he confessed the One God in Three Persons."

The truth of the Trinity is clearly revealed in the New Testament.

In the new testament

During the Baptism in Jordan of the Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God in the flesh, when “Jesus was baptized and prayed, the heavens were opened, and the Holy Spirit descended upon Him in bodily form, like a dove, and there was a voice from heaven, saying: You are my Son beloved; My good pleasure is in You! " (Luke 3: 21-22).

So God the Son in human nature receives water Baptism. God the Father testifies of Him as His Son. And God the Holy Spirit descends on Him in the form of a dove, confirming the truth of the Father's testimony.

After the Resurrection, the Lord Himself commands the apostles: "So go, teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit" (Matt. 28:19). In these words of the Lord there is a direct indication of the Trinity of the Godhead.

The beloved disciple of Jesus Christ, the Apostle John the Theologian, writes about the same: “Three testify in heaven: the Father, the Word and the Holy Spirit; and these three are one ”(1 John 5: 7).

And the Apostle Paul in his greeting uses the following expression: "The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God the Father and the communion of the Holy Spirit with you all" (2 Cor. 13:13).

These are just some of the evidences among many others. As you can see, for the Holy Scriptures and the Old and New Testaments, the trinity of Persons in God is an obvious truth.

Angelic song to the Holy Trinity

In the 5th century, a strong earthquake occurred in Constantinople, from which houses and villages were destroyed. The Byzantine Emperor Theodosius II gathered the people and turned to God with common prayer... During this prayer, one boy suddenly, in full view of everyone, was raised to heaven by an invisible force. After a while, he also made his way down unharmed.

Since then, the angelic song to the Holy Trinity has been introduced into church services. It is used in almost every prayer. It is read three times: - Holy God, Holy Mighty, Holy Immortal, have mercy on us. In this prayer we call God the first Person of the Holy Trinity - God the Father; Strong - God the Son, because He is as Almighty as God the Father, and it is through the Son that the salvation of people is accomplished (we will talk about this later); To the immortal - the Holy Spirit, because He is not only eternal, like the Father and the Son, but also gives life to everything that exists, and immortality to people.

Since the Trinity is one God, the song ends with an address in the singular - "have mercy on us." And since the name Holy (that is, Holy) is mentioned in this prayer three times, it is also called "Trisagion".

In the church, after the "Trisagion", the doxology to the Most Holy Trinity is always read or sung:

Glory to the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, both now and ever, and forever and ever.

Glory means praise, glory; now - now, now; always - always; forever and ever - forever, that is, forever; Amen is the truth, really, so be it. In this prayer, Christians glorify the Most Holy Trinity, which gives people life and all the blessings and to whom the same eternal glory always belongs.

Therefore, when you wake up in the morning or are about to go to bed, if you are going on the road or want to have lunch, as well as before anything else, do not forget to dazzle yourself. sign of the cross(right to left only) with the words:

In the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Speak with sincere faith, then God Himself will be with you and will protect you from troubles, as he protected the aforementioned lieutenant colonel.

Solovetsky novice M. (later hieromonk), performing work in the household yard, was severely mutilated by a wild cow. In an insensitive state, with a broken head, wounds on the face and injuries on the body, he was sent to the monastery for healing. On arrival, before treatment, he went to Elder Naum, and as soon as he entered the corridor where the Elder's cell was located, the Elder himself went out to meet him and received him with a cheerful look. Not allowing himself to speak about the misfortune, Nahum immediately asked the novice:
- What, brother, do you believe that everything is possible for God, that He can heal your ailments too?
In response to an affirmative answer, he again asked:
- Do you firmly and with all your heart believe that nothing is impossible for God?
After a second confirmation, the elder Naum poured water into a wooden ladle and, crossing himself, filed, saying:
- Drink in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. The novice drank.
- Drink some more.
The novice drank, but decidedly refused the third meal, saying:
- I can't drink anymore.
Then the elder poured the third ladle over his head, saying:
- In the name of the Holy Trinity, be healthy.
Water poured from the head onto the neck and all over the body, and at the same time the sufferer felt completely healthy. The wounds on the head soon healed, and after a few days the novice returned to his work.

What is important to know about the Persons of the Holy Trinity

Three Persons have the same Divine dignity. Between Them there is no elder, no younger, no more, no less. And God the Father, and God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit are the only true God. Three Persons have one Divine being, They cannot be represented in a gap between One and the other.

Father, Son and Holy Spirit are consubstantial and indivisible Trinity. Consider what the Holy Scripture says, revealing the mystery of the Trinity incomprehensible to the human mind.

God the Father

Scripture expresses in such words about the Deity of the First Person: “We have one God the Father, of whom all things ...” (1 Cor. 8: 6); "Grace to you and peace from God the Father" (Rom. 1: 7). God the Father is not born. He does not have any beginning to His being. This is the personal property of God the Father as the First Hypostasis of the Holy Trinity. God the Father is the Source of eternal blessings.

God the Son

The Holy Scripture says about the Deity of the Second Person: “The Son of God came and gave us light and intelligence ... This is the True God and Eternal Life” (1 John 5:20). Like God the Father, the Son of God is the All-Perfect True God.

Often the Second Person of the Holy Trinity is called the Word of God: “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God” (John 1: 1). Why was this name given to the Son of God? As in a person a word is born from thought, so in the Trinity from the Father is born His Word - God the Son. His birth is pre-eternal, that is, outside of time. New Testament calls the Son of God the Only Begotten (John 1:14; 3:16, etc.), because God the Son is the only one who is born of God the Father by nature.

As St. Basil the Great wrote, one should not represent the birth of God the Son from the Father in the image of a human being. Nothing human is applicable to God. Why is the concept of the birth of the Son given to us? It points to the deep closeness of the Father and the Son, to the unity of Their Divine nature. Just as in humans, only man is born from man, so the real, true God is born from God.

The birth of God the Son from the Father is a personal property of the Son as the Second Hypostasis of the Holy Trinity.

God the Holy Spirit

The Holy Spirit, just like the Father and the Son, according to the testimony of Holy Scripture, is the All-Perfect, True God. The book of Acts quotes the words of the Apostle Peter, addressed to the man who lied: "Why did you allow Satan to put in your heart the idea of ​​lying to the Holy Spirit? .. You did not lie to men, but to God" (Acts 5: 3-4).

The Holy Spirit is called the Comforter (John 14: 16-17, 26), the Spirit of Truth (John 16:13), the Spirit of God (1 Cor 3:16). The difference between the Holy Spirit and God the Father and God the Son lies only in the fact that the Holy Spirit eternally proceeds from God the Father. “The Spirit of Truth, which proceeds from the Father,” says the Holy Scriptures. This is the personal property of God the Holy Spirit as the Third Hypostasis of the Holy Trinity.

A small note

So, God the Father is without beginning and is not begotten, God the Son is eternally begotten of the Father, God the Holy Spirit eternally proceeds from the Father. In God the Father is a single beginning for the Son and the Holy Spirit. It is important to take into account the remark of St. John of Damascus: "Although we have been taught that there is a difference between birth and procession, but what is the birth of the Son and the procession of the Holy Spirit from the Father, we do not know this." Such concepts as "birth" and "procession" were revealed by God the Trinity Himself in Holy Scripture, and what is revealed to us is what we are talking about. It is impossible for anyone to penetrate into the inner mystery of the Persons of the Holy Trinity.

The visible world speaks of the Trinity

However, the properties and relationships of the Persons of the Holy Trinity can be partially comprehended by looking at the phenomena of the surrounding nature. You all see the sun in the sky, how light emanates from it, you feel how it gives its warmth. The saint drew attention to this Equal to the Apostles Cyril(869), enlightener of the Slavs: “Do you see a brilliant circle (the sun) in the sky, and from it light is born and heat emanates? God the Father is like a solar circle, without beginning or end. From Him the Son of God is eternally born, as from the sun - light. And just as warmth comes from the sun along with light rays, the Holy Spirit proceeds. Each individual distinguishes separately and the solar circle, and light, and heat (but these are not three suns), but one sun in the sky. So is the Holy Trinity: there are three Persons in It, and God is one and indivisible. "

The example of fire, which also gives light and warmth, having unity and difference among themselves, testifies to the same.

You will find some similarity in the source of water, which is hidden under the ground, but from it the spring gushes and then the water stream flows. Source, key and stream are inextricably linked and, nevertheless, differ.

You will notice an analogy in your own nature. According to many Holy Fathers, the mind is inherent in the human soul, the spoken word is thought) and spirit (the totality of heart feelings). These three forces, without mixing, constitute one soul being in man, just as in the Trinity three Persons constitute one Divine being.

However, it is always necessary to remember the insufficiency of any earthly analogies. In this respect, the warning of Saint Hilarius is important: “If we, when discussing the Divine, use comparisons, let no one think that this is an accurate depiction of an object. There is no equality between the earthly and God ... ”Analogies from the surrounding nature or from our own human nature are only some aids in the knowledge of the Holy Trinity, but they do not reveal to us the very essence of the Divine.

Saint righteous john Kronstadt, touching the depths of spiritual contemplation, prayed: “Oh, the most perfect Deity, existing in three equal, equal-glorious, equivalent Faces of the Divine! Oh, Trinity Kindness! Oh, Trinity Beauty! Oh, the Unity is all-perfect, firm, inseparable, indivisible! O all-perfect Deity! Oh, all-life Being! .. Enlighten me with Your Light and take away the darkness of sin. "

Many centuries earlier Saint Gregory the Theologian sang the praises of God-Trinity:

“I sing to You, Living Trinity, One and the only one-originality, Unchangeable Nature, beginningless, Nature of the inexpressible Essence, Mind incomprehensible in wisdom, heavenly Power, infallible, unbeginning, limitless, The radiance is not visible, but overlooking everything, from the earth to the abyss knowing no depth for Himself! "

I prayed about the same and Reverend Simeon New Theologian:

"About the Father, Son and Soul, Holy Trinity, inexhaustible blessing, flowing for all, Beauty, many-loving, without saturation, Through faith alone and beyond hope, save me."

Questions:

• How, in your opinion, is it possible to comprehend the mystery of the Trinity of Persons in God?
• What testimonies from Holy Scripture about the Holy Trinity do you remember?
• In what sense does the Holy Scripture call the Son of God the Word?
• What does the name of the Son of God the Only Begotten mean?
• What are the Trinity analogies from the visible world do you especially remember?

Valery Dukhanin

The real difference between the Divine Faces

How to understand that Divine Persons are really different between Themselves ?

— Not only three different names but also real faces

The teaching of the Church emphasizes the reality of the existence of Divine Persons who truly differ from each other. So, although God is one, there are three Persons in Him who really differ from Himself. This means that "Father", "Son", "Holy Spirit" are not only three different names, but real Persons.

Than Faces Holy Trinity differ from each other?

If the Divine Persons, as the Church teaches, really differ from each other, the question arises as to what is the basis of this real difference.

- Bogoslavian terminology

To define the unity of God and His trinity, the Church uses the concepts:

- Individuals differ not in nature, but in relationships

According to the teachings of the Church, in God, nature (essence, being) is one, and Persons really differ between Themselves only in relationships in which the so-called opposition of relationship takes place. "All is one in God" where it is not about oppositional attitudes. " In other words, everything is one and common in God with the exception of the relationship of the Father to the Son, the Son to the Father, and the Holy Spirit to the Father and the Son. Only in these three interpersonal relationships is there opposition.

- God is one in His essence

Divine Persons do not differ between Themselves by their nature. "The Father is the same as the Son, the Son is the same as the Father, the Son and the Father is the same as the Holy Spirit, that is, one God by nature." "Each of the three persons is this reality, that is, the Divine essence, being or nature." There is only one Divine Being in common for all Persons of the Holy Trinity.

When Jesus said: "I and the Father are one" (Jn 10:30), He meant the one Divine nature, which is common and one for all Persons of the Most Holy Trinity. "Divine Persons do not share the same Divinity, but each of Them is God as a whole." (Catechism Catholic Church, 253)

God the Father

How is the Father different from the Son and from the Holy Spirit?

The Father differs from the Son and from the Holy Spirit not by His Divine nature, but by the fact that He is not born or emanated from anyone. Only the Father gives birth to the Son, who for the sake of our salvation became a man.

God's Son

How is the Son of God different from the Father and from the Holy Spirit?

- Son born of the Father

The Son of God is eternally born of God the Father and in this way He really differs from Him and from the Holy Spirit. This is the only difference. Neither the Father nor the Holy Spirit is born as a Son.

- Word

St. John calls the Son God's Word: "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God" (John 1: 1). In this Word, the Father eternally and completely expresses Himself, that is, gives birth to the Son.

- Niceo - Constantinople

The faith of the Church in the true Deity of the Son of God, born from eternity of the Father, is expressed by Nicaeo - the Creed of Constantinople:

I believe "and in the One Lord Jesus Christ, the Only Begotten Son of God, from the Father born before all ages, God from God, Light from the Light, true God from true God, born, uncreated, consubstantial with the Father, through whom everything was created."

Holy Spirit

How is the Holy Spirit different from the Father and from the Son of God?

- From the Father and the Son descending (Catholic doctrine)

The Holy Spirit differs from other Divine Persons in that He comes from the Father and the Son. The Nicene Creed of Constantinople expresses this in the words: "And in the Holy Spirit (I believe), the Lord Life-giving, from the Father and the Son outgoing; Who, together with the Father and the Son, deserves worship and glory." The Holy Spirit is love with its own personality, which the Father loves the Son and the Son loves the Father.

How the Catechism of the Catholic Church relates to doctrine Orthodox Church about the procession of the Holy Spirit from the Father through the Son?

- From the Father through the Son descending (Orthodox teaching)

The Orthodox Church teaches that the Holy Spirit does not proceed from the Father and the Son (on Latin Filioque), but from the Father through the Son. According to the teachings of the Catechism of the Catholic Church, these two ways of understanding the procession of the Holy Spirit, Eastern and Latin traditions, do not contradict each other, but are complemented.

“The Eastern tradition primarily reflects the nature of the Father's primary cause in relation to the Spirit. The Father and the Son, saying that the Spirit proceeds from the Father and the Son (Filioque). She says this "in accordance with the law and reason", for the eternal order of the Divine Persons in their consubstantial communion implies that the Father is the first cause of the Spirit as "beginning without beginning", but also that, as the Father of the Only Begotten Son, He together with Him constitutes “the one origin from which the Holy Spirit proceeds.” This legitimate complementarity, if it does not become an object of sharpening, does not affect the essence of faith in the reality of the same confessed mystery. (Catechism of the Catholic Church, 248)

How will the Catholic Church justify its belief in the procession of the Spirit from the Father and the Son (Filioque)?

- The Only Begotten Son received everything from the Father

The Catholic Church believes that the Son, born from eternity of the Father, received absolutely everything from Him, also that the Holy Spirit can proceed from Him, as He proceeds from the Father.

"The Latin tradition of the Creed confesses that the Spirit proceeds" from the Father and the Son (Filioque). " of one beginning and one breath ... And since everything that the Father has, the Father Himself gave to the Only Begotten Son, giving birth to Him - everything except for His Fatherhood - insofar as the Son itself this procession of the Holy Spirit from the Son eternally receives from the Father, from Whom forever born "." (Catechism of the Catholic Church, 246)

Indivisibility of Divine Faces

Why are the Persons of the Most Holy Trinity inseparable?

- Divine Faces - one God

Differing really between Themselves, the Persons of the Holy Trinity are inseparable, since They have one and only Divine nature. They are one God. "Because of this oneness, the Father is wholly in the Son, wholly in the Holy Spirit, the Holy Spirit is wholly in the Father, wholly in the Son." (Catechism of the Catholic Church, 255)

- "I am in the Father and the Father is in me" (Jn 14:11)

Where Jesus Christ is the Son of God, the Father and the Holy Spirit are also present. Jesus meant this mystery about the inseparability of Divine Persons when he said: "Believe me that I am in the Father and the Father is in me" (Jn 14:11); "I and the Father are one" (Jn 10:30); "He who sees Me sees Him who sent Me" (Jn 12:45).

Keeping in mind that the question of the hierarchy of the celestials is not salutary, let's look at the Bible texts about the Holy Trinity.

The Holy Trinity is not mentioned in the Bible itself. This concept was introduced by the church in order to unite the three Divine persons mentioned in the Holy Scriptures with one name: God the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. The meaning of the word "saint" was discussed in detail in the chapter "" of my book. Let us recall, in brief, that everything that is separated from the ordinary and close to God, as well as sinlessness, are called saints in the Bible. The Lord in Holy Scripture is called a saint: "Holy Father"(John 17:11, see also Hos. 1: 9), "Jesus ... Holy"(Mark 1:24, see also Acts 4:27), "Holy Spirit"(Acts 13: 2; see also Luke 12:12). Therefore, the word Trinity has acquired an almost continuous adjective “Holy”.

The Holy Trinity is already mentioned in Old testament... It is worth being fair and saying that we see three faces only in one text of the Old Testament Scripture:

Is. 48:12 Listen to Me ... Israel ...: I am the same, I am the first and I am the last... … 13 My hand founded the earth, and My right hand stretched out the heavens… 16 Come to Me, listen to this: I did not speak secretly at first; from the time it happens I AM was there; and now sent Me(1 person) God(2 person) and His Spirit(3 personality).

The fact that this is about Christ is clear both from the context and from the New Testament. The Book of Revelation calls us directly Jesus "First and Last":

Open 1:17 And when I saw Him, I fell at His feet as dead. And He put His right hand on me and said to me: Do not be afraid; I am First and last, 18 and alive; and he was dead, and behold, he is alive forever and ever.

The New Testament tells us that Jesus was directly involved in the creation of the earth and heaven:

Qty. 1:16 for by Him was created everything in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible: whether thrones, dominions, rulers, or powers - everything was created by Him and for Him(see also John 1: 3).

And in the Gospel of Matthew it is confirmed that, as shown in the book of the prophet Isaiah, the Spirit could send the Son. The Spirit of Jesus sent into the wilderness to be tested before responsible ministry:

Matt. 4: 1 Then Jesus was erected (in the original - to bring, to send) was the Spirit into the wilderness, to be tempted by the devil.

That is, Isa. 48:12 we see the mention of the Holy Trinity - together simultaneously three persons of the Divine inhabitants of heaven. Also, several persons of God with His unity (as we today perceive the Holy Trinity) are always mentioned when it comes to the Creator. Starting from the first page of the Bible, the word God in the original is used everywhere in the plural, and the verb that describes His actions is in the singular. Jewish theologians still do not find complete unity in explaining this fact, assuming that God here speaks of Himself together with the Angels. Although then it seems necessary to recognize that Angels and God have the same nature, after all, the Scriptures say that God created man "In our likeness"…

Genesis 1:26 And God said (plural): Let us make (singular) man in our image in our likeness

Thus, seeing in the Old Testament the clear “plurality” of God with His unity, and delving into the message of the New Testament, it is not difficult to come to the conclusion that the Bible teaches about the Divine Holy Trinity.

In the text of the New Testament itself, the Holy Trinity is also repeatedly mentioned together. Look, Jesus asks to baptize believers in the name of the Father, Son and Spirit:

Matt. 28:19 So go teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit

The Apostle Paul also specifically points to the division of functions in the Holy Trinity, although in his epistles he does not dwell on the concept of the Trinity:

2 Cor. 13:13 The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God the Father, and the communion of the Holy Spirit with you all. Amen.

Jehovah's Witnesses do not recognize the Holy Trinity. They do not regard the Holy Spirit as a person, but perceive Him simply as Divine energy, which naturally excludes the concept of the Trinity. I will write about the Holy Spirit later, but first we will speculate about Jesus ...

Valery Tatarkin

Holy Trinity- God, one in essence and threefold in Persons (Hypostases); Father, Son and Holy Spirit. God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit is the One and only God, cognizable in three equal, equal sizes, not merging with each other, but indivisible in one Being, Persons, or Hypostases.

The Father is beginningless, not created, not created, not born; The Son is eternally (timelessly) born of the Father; The Holy Spirit - eternally comes from the Father. Cognition of the Trinity of God is possible only in mystical revelation by the action of Divine grace, to a person whose heart is cleansed of passions.

The Holy Fathers experienced contemplation of the One Trinity, among them the Great Cappadocians (Basil the Great, Gregory the Theologian, Gregory of Nyssa), St. Gregory Palamu, Venerable Simeon the New Theologian, St. Seraphim of Sarov, Venerable Alexander Svirsky, Venerable Silouan the Athonite.

How can the Lord God be simultaneously One and Trinity?

We must not forget that earthly dimensions, familiar to us, are inapplicable to God, including the category of number. After all, only objects separated by space, time and forces can be counted. And between the persons of the Holy Trinity there is no gap, nothing inserted, no section or division. The Divine Trinity is absolute unity. The Mystery of the Trinity of God Is Inaccessible human mind(see details). Some visible examples, rough analogies of It can serve: the sun - its circle, light and warmth; mind, giving birth to an ineffable word (thought), expressed by breath; a source of water hidden in the earth, a spring and a stream; the mind, word and spirit inherent in the godlike human soul.

To clarify the mystery of the Holy Trinity, the Holy Fathers pointed to human soul which is the Image of God.

“Our mind is the image of the Father; our word (we usually call the unspoken word thought) is the image of the Son; spirit is the image of the Holy Spirit, ”teaches St. Ignatius Brianchaninov. - As in the Trinity-God the three Persons are non-merged and inseparably one Divine Being, so in the Trinity-man three persons make up one being, without mixing with each other, without merging into one person, without dividing into three beings. Our mind has given birth and does not cease to give birth to a thought, a thought, having been born, does not cease to be born again, and at the same time it remains born, intimate in the mind. Mind without thought cannot exist, and thought is without mind. The beginning of the one is certainly the beginning of the other; the existence of the mind is also the existence of thought. Likewise, our spirit proceeds from the mind and cooperates with thought. That is why every thought has its own spirit, every way of thinking has its own separate spirit, every book has its own spirit. Thought cannot be without spirit, the existence of one is inevitably accompanied by the existence of the other. In the existence of both, the existence of the mind is. "

The very teaching about the Holy Trinity is the teaching of "Mind, Word and Spirit - one co-nature and divinity," as St. Gregory the Theologian. "The First Existing Mind, God consubstantial in Himself has the Word with the co-essence Spirit, never being without the Word and Spirit" - teaches St. Nikita Studiyskiy.

According to the definition given by the Apostle and Evangelist John the Theologian, God is love. But God is love not because He loves the world and humanity, that is, His creation - then God would not be completely Himself outside and apart from the act of creation, would not have perfect being in Himself, and the act of creation would not be free, but forced by the very "nature" of God. According to Christian understanding, God is love Himself in Himself, because the existence of the One God is the co-existence of the Divine Hypostases, who are among themselves in the "eternal movement of love", according to the theologian of the 7th century Rev. Maximus Confessor. The doctrine of the Holy Trinity is the foundation of Christianity. According to the word of St. Gregory the Theologian, the dogma of the Holy Trinity is the most important of all Christian dogmas. St. Athanasius of Alexandria defines herself Christian faith as faith "in the unchanging, perfect and blessed Trinity."

All the dogmas of Christianity rest on the doctrine of God, one in essence and threefold in Persons, Consubstantial and Inseparable Trinity. The doctrine of the Most Holy Trinity is the highest goal of theology, since to cognize the mystery of the Most Holy Trinity in its fullness means to enter the Divine life. Christian teaching about the Holy Trinity there is a teaching about the Divine Mind (Father), the Divine Word (Son) and the Divine Spirit (Holy Spirit) - Three Divine Persons possessing one and indivisible Divine Being. God has an all-perfect Mind (Reason). The Divine Mind is beginningless and endless, limitless and unlimited, omniscient, knows the past, present and future, knows what does not exist as already existing, knows all creations before their existence. The Divine Mind contains the ideas of the entire universe, there are plans for all created beings. "Everything from God has its being and existence, and everything before being is in His creative Mind," says St. Symeon the New Theologian. The Divine Mind pre-eternally generates the Divine Word With whom He creates the world. The Divine Word is "The Word of the Great Mind, surpassing every word, so that there was, is not, and will not be a word that is higher than this Word," St. Maximus the Confessor teaches. The Divine Word is All-perfect, immaterial, soundless, does not require human language and symbols, beginningless and endlessly, eternal. It is always inherent in the Divine Mind, born of Him from eternity, why the Mind is called the Father, and the Word is called the Only Begotten Son. The Divine Mind and the Divine Word are spiritual, because God is immaterial, incorporeal, immaterial . He is the All-perfect Spirit. The Divine Spirit dwells outside space and time, has no image and form, above any limitation. His All-perfect Being is b infinitely, "incorporeal, and formless, and invisible and indescribable" (St. John Damascene). Divine Mind, Word and Spirit are completely Personal, therefore They are called Persons (Hypostases). The hypostasis or Person is the personal way of being of the Divine essence, which equally belongs to the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. The Father, Son and Holy Spirit are one in their Divine nature or essence, they are one in nature and consubstantial. The Father is God, and the Son is God, and the Holy Spirit is God. They are completely equal in their Divine dignity. Each Person has omnipotence, omnipresence, perfect holiness, the highest freedom, uncreated and independent of anything created, uncreated, eternal. Each Person carries in Himself all the properties of the Divine. The doctrine of three Persons in God means that the relationship of the Divine Persons for each Person is threefold. It is impossible to imagine one of the Divine Persons without the fact that two Others do not exist at once. The Father is the Father only in relation to the Son and the Spirit. As for the birth of the Son and the procession of the Spirit, one presupposes the other. God is “the Mind, the Abyss of the Reason, the Parent of the Word and through the Word the Revealer of the Spirit, Who reveals Him,” teaches St. John Damascene. The Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit are three full-fledged Personalities-persons, each of whom possesses not only the fullness of being, but is also the whole God. One Hypostasis is not a third of the total essence, but contains in Itself the entire fullness of the Divine essence. The Father is God, not a third of God, the Son is also God and the Holy Spirit is also God. But all Three together are not three Gods, but one God. We confess "the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit - the Trinity, consubstantial and inseparable" (from the Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom). That is, the three Hypostases do not divide a single essence into three essences, but a single essence does not merge or mix three Hypostases into one. Can a Christian address each of the three Persons of the Holy Trinity? Undoubtedly: in the prayer "Our Father" we turn to the Father, in the Jesus prayer to the Son, in the prayer "Heavenly King, Comforter" - to the Holy Spirit. Who does each of the Divine Persons recognize Himself and how can we correctly realize our conversion in order not to fall into a pagan confession? three gods? Divine Persons are not aware of Themselves as separate Persons. We turn to the Father, who eternally gives birth to the Son, whose exponent is the Holy Spirit eternally emanating from the Father. We turn to the Son, who is eternally born of the Father, whose exponent is the Holy Spirit eternally emanating from the Father. We turn to the Holy Spirit as the spokesman for the Son, who is eternally born of the Father. Thus, our prayers do not contradict the doctrine of the unity (including will and action) and the inseparability of the Persons of the Holy Trinity.