How the Cappadocians Understood the Trinity By Edwin Ramos Jr.

The Council of Nicaea Began in 325 The council was called for to deal with the Arian controversy over whether God the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit were three persons in one or one person in three. The council’s edict failed to satisfy Eastern bishops, who did not fully grasp the homoousios theology and feared that it would erase any distinctions between God the Father and the Son. In response, they began to favor a homoiousios theology to differentiate the Father and the Son but also contradicted the Council of Nicaea’s edict.

Important Terms The following terms are brought up in the discussion of the triune nature of God. Ousia : Greek for “substance” or “essence.” Homoousious : Greek for “of same substance.” Homoiousious : Greek for “of similar substance.” Hypostaseis (or Hypostases): Literally means something that stands beneath or provides a foundation for something else. Heteroousius: Greek for “of different substance.”

Semi-Arian Party The eastern bishops were supported by an Arian movement (the theology was still popular, despite being declared heretical). Constantius II ( ): Became co-emperor of Rome in 337. Often declared an Arian Christian, he instead preferred Semi- Arianism. Semi-Arianism: Theology similar to strict Arianism in that its doctrine states that God the Son is not of the same substance as God the Father. Instead, God the Son and God the Father are of similar substance. Semi-Arians are pro- homoiusius, NOT pro- heteroousius.

Athanasius To oppose the Semi-Arians, Athanasius (c ) (Bishop of Alexandria in 328) led the Nicene Christians from Athanasius was the prime defender of Trinitarianism and the main opponent against Arius. Arius’ supporters framed Athanasius of treason, which made Emperor Constantine banished the bishop in 335 to 337. Athanasius was allowed to return in 338… only to be banished in the next year in 339 to 346 by Emperor Constantius II. The bishop was exiled three more times by Constantius II and two more emperors.

Nicene Party After the death of Athanasius, three theologians from Cappadocia (modern-day Northern Turkey) led the Nicene Christians. Together, they were known as the Cappadocian Fathers. Basil (“the Great”) of Caesarea: Wrote On the Holy Spirit and Against Eunomius, which both supported Trinitarian theology. Gregory of Nyssa: Brother of Basil the Great, Gregory wrote On “Not Three Gods.” This text uses an analogy of humanity, Peter, James, and John to explain homoousius. Gregory of Nazianzus: Contributed to pneumatology (theology concerning the Holy Spirit).

Cappadocian Beliefs The Cappadocian Fathers stated that there was one divine “substance” and three “ways” to express said “substance” Gregory of Nyssa presented an analogy to explain this idea using the terms humanity as the “substance” and Peter, James, and John as the three “ways.” Like Tertullian before him, Gregory’s analogy was flawed for two reasons. One: The number of humans can change from three to infinity. Two: Peter, James, and John act differently as well as being distinct.

Apollinaris Apollinaris (or Apollinarius) of Laodicea: (ca ca. 390) was Bishop of Syria and a noted opponent of Arianism. His belief attempted to explain God the Son’s nature as human and divine by stating that these two natures are both complete and competing. Furthermore, God the Son has a human body and soul but the mind consists of the Logos (the “Word”). Gregory of Nyssa and Nazianzus opposed him, stating that the “Word” took on human nature for human beings to take on divine nature, thus completing salvation.

Cappadocian Effects The Cappadocian understanding of the triune nature of God was formulated around 375. The number of divine hypostaseis is eternally three. Before 375, the Latin West understood God’s triune nature as oneness; the Greek east understood it as three hypostaseis. Augustine later claims that the triune nature of God is beyond human understanding. However, the Cappadocian understanding of it gained widespread acceptance and is fundamental to Christian doctrine.

The End