MONARCHIANISM OPEN MIC : The Holy Spirit in the early church

Описание: In the first letter to Timothy (5:21), the apostle gives his disciple solemn instructions in which he says:

“I solemnly charge you before God and Christ Jesus and the holy elect angels to observe these things.”

These passages reference God and Jesus, his beloved Son, while angels are present in specific roles. Notably, the Holy Spirit is not explicitly mentioned. Given the contexts of Clement of Rome and the author of the Epistle to Timothy, this absence might appear unexpected. By the mid-second century, the Holy Spirit did not have an explicit role in Christian life. This apparent absence raises questions about the evolving understanding of the Holy Spirit.

However, it is necessary to clarify that this absence was only apparent. The Holy Spirit was, in fact, venerated, though under another designation. As long as the Holy Spirit was considered the breath of God, it was identified with the divine being producing it; it possessed no distinct individuality. Even when the concept shifted away from breath, it still lacked individuality, being identified with the Word or the Son. Consequently, the Trinity, or the threefold divine society, did not exist in practice: the third person was essentially a name for one of the first two. Thus, the nature of the Holy Spirit's role required further development in early doctrine.

In Rome, for her, the Holy Spirit was the divine substance considered in itself and apart from its entry into Mary's womb. As Rome remained faithful to the doctrine of the incarnate Father, Justin's disciples said: "The Holy Spirit who impregnated Mary's womb is the Word, that is, the minister of God." Rome, on the contrary, said: "The Holy Spirit who procured motherhood for the Virgin is the divine substance itself, or more precisely, a fragment of that substance, which became the Father of Jesus." This is what Pope Callixtus teaches in the text we read above (p. 42). This is also the thought of Dionysius of Rome in the following fragment of a letter, where he condemns the theology of hypostases:

“They want us to believe, in a way, in three gods, because they divide the holy Monad into three substances completely separate from one another. The divine Word must necessarily be ONE WITH THE SUPREME GOD; the Holy Spirit necessarily dwells in God. From this it follows that the divine Trinity is reduced, so to speak, to a single summit, WHICH IS ALMIGHTY GOD.”

When Damasus, beginning in 375, introduced the eternal generation of the Son into Roman theology, he simultaneously attributed to the Holy Spirit a distinct individuality, made him a person like the Father and the Son, and granted this person eternal existence. This result is particularly clear in the Confessio fidei, where we read:

“10. If anyone says that the Son and the Holy Spirit have not always existed, let him be anathema.”

“16. If anyone says that the Holy Spirit is not truly and immediately of the substance of the Father like the Son, let him be anathema.”

This crystallization of doctrine resulted in the Roman Trinity: three persons sharing the same eternal substance, aligning the West with the standards already established in the East. Thus, the evolution of the Trinity reflects not just theological innovation but a complex process shaped by diverse influences and centuries of debate. This journey toward doctrinal clarity ultimately became foundational for much of future Christian thought, demonstrating how dynamic interaction and reinterpretation solidified one of Christianity’s most enduring beliefs.


🎙️ Nouveau dans le streaming ou cherchant à passer au niveau supérieur ? Découvrez StreamYard et obtenez $10 de réduction ! 😍 https://streamyard.com/pal/d/62919549...