Doctrine of the Trinity - Essay Example

Orthodox Church had believed in certain doctrines but a dialogue to establish proper ecumenical principles was necessary. Trinitarianism exists on the divinity of Father, Son and the Holy Spirit, who are the Godheads, with rather unclear entities. One opinion said they are One, representing substance, power and eternity; but the controversy prevailed. The early Church Fathers had diverse views about the doctrine of Trinity. Some of them had difficulty in accepting that Jesus was not the only God.

Some were reluctant to say that he was not the God, but only the Son of the God. "To us there is but one God, the Father, of whom are all things, and for whom we live; and one Lord, Jesus Christ, by whom are all things, and through whom we live." (1 Cor. 8:6, KJV and NIV). "There is not a single controversy with regard to the Nature of the Trinity, as far as we know, which does not involve the doctrine that Christ is the Wisdom of God as its starting point, and the Old Testament definitions of that Wisdom as its proof-test," p.

31, Harris. There were confusions with some saying that Jesus represented all the three, or Jesus himself is God and all the three represented Jesus himself. In the scripture the word trinity is not mentioned and its origin remains a bit mysterious In 382, Pope St. In 382, Pope St. Damascus called a local council in Rome to discuss the doctrine of trinity and a papal commentary is still available with strict terms while laying down rules and regulations of being a heretic."Understanding the nature of orthodoxy and heresy during the fourth century is further complicated by the need to note not only shifts in the content of Christian belief concerning Trinitarian and Christological issues, but also considerable change in the structures and practices within which right belief is assessed," Ayres, p.79. From there, Trinity went through resistance and Fathers like SS.

Athanasius, Gregory of Nyssa and Augustine shaped the doctrine in many stages by writing commentaries and defences based on the Council of Constantinople. Athanasius wrote before the council, but says that the Triad is the creator of all things and emphasises that Father and Son work as the principal force behind creation, protection, life, and they are more or less one. St Gregory wrote after the Council and was clearly influenced by the Council's proceedings. He sees the doctrine on the Blessed Trinity's ad extra as Johannine Theology and of biblical origin.

In 390, he wrote Concerning We Should Think of Saying that There are not Three Gods to Ablabius where he upholds the Doctrine and says that Father, Son and the Holy Spirit are one and insists that 'no activities of the Godhead are unique to any one'. Around 399 St. Augustine started his work De Trinitate where he cites Gospel of St. John many times and according to him the Doctrine of Trinity could be found in the Gospel of St. John. "Prior to the Cappadocians there scarcely was a concept of person in ancient philosophy.

Moreover, the Cappadocians provided a rather complex concept of person" p.14. Turcescu, 2005. Within a period of 264 years from the Council of Nice in 325 AD, a clear definition emerged as the basis of doctrine of the Trinity. In the year 589 AD, the Third Synod at Toledo proclaimed