The Holy Trinity
Our human minds cannot comprehend the infinite that is God. God is ineffable and so high above our understanding. We cannot express Him. The very moment we try to define Him, we limit Him within the boundaries of our finite intelligence.
The paradox of God is that He is both transcendent and beyond our comprehension, a mystery that cannot be expressed, but also accessible and present everywhere and at every time with us. So far away and very near to us.
God has chosen to reveal Himself to us. The doctrine of the Holy Trinity is anchored in the Holy Scripture and amplifies and describes God more fully, to the extent this is humanly possible. Out of the many forms of God’s revelations to us, the highest and most perfect form is through His Son, our Lord, Jesus Christ. Through Christ and the various events of His life, God has revealed Himself to us as the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.
Three major events depicted in the Holy Scripture are at the heart of God’s manifestation to humankind.
First, during the baptism of Jesus Christ (or the Theophany, celebrated by the Orthodox Church on January 6th): And when Jesus was baptized, He went up immediately from the water, and behold, the heavens were opened, and He saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and resting upon Him. And with that, a voice came from heaven, saying “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased” (Matthew 3:16-17). Second, during the transfiguration of Jesus Christ (celebrated by the Orthodox Church on August 6th): After six days, Jesus took with Him Peter and James and John his brother and led them up a high mountain apart. And He was transfigured before them, and His face shone like the sun, and His garments became white as light. […] when lo, a bright cloud overshadowed them, and a voice from the cloud said “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased; listen to Him” (Matthew 17:1-5). The third and most eloquent manifestation is during the Great Commission (Matthew 28:19) when Jesus said: “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you […]”.
For Orthodox Christians, God is three persons (from the Greek word hypostasis) in total unity. These persons (the Father, the Son - Jesus Christ, and the Holy Spirit) are separate persons with individual attributes, yet all in one essence. The Son and the Holy Spirit are not mere creations of God – the Father. The Son, begotten of the Father, and the Holy Spirit, proceeding from the Father, share the same divine nature with the Father, being uncreated and "of one essence" with God – the Father.
God means the Father who loves us, the Son who saves and the Holy Spirit who abides within us. God the Creator. God the Redeemer. God the Comforter.
During the First Ecumenical Council of Nicaea, Saint Spyridon, Bishop of Tremithus (celebrated by the Orthodox Church on December 12th) opposed the heretical views of priest Arius of Alexandria (defended by a Greek philosopher) that negated the divinity of Jesus Christ, considering Him the highest creature of God – the Father but different from God in His nature. It is said that, when it came the time for the Saint to speak in favor of the Triune being of God, he held out a brick, made the sign of the Cross over it in the name of the Father, the Son and Holy Spirit and squeezed it. At that moment, fire shot up from it, water flowed from the bottom, while the dry clay remained in the Saint’s hand. Using plain language (as he was a mere shepherd before becoming a Bishop), he said that there was only one brick, but it was composed of three elements. As such, in the Holy Trinity there are three Persons, but only one God.
My hope is the Father,
My refuge is the Son,
My protection is the Holy Spirit,
Blessed Trinity,
Glory to Thee.