Trinity. Archbishop John

THE HOLY TRINITY
ONE IN ESSENCE AND UNDIVIDED

FATHER, SON, AND HOLY SPIRIT have One Nature, One Essence. Thus the Three Persons are the Trinity, One in Essence.

Men have also one nature. But whereas God is a Trinity One in Essence, in men there constantly occur divisions... In Father, Son, and Holy Spirit there are One Thought, One Will, One Activity. What the Father desires, that also the Son desires, and that the Holy Spirit desires. What the Son loves, that also the Father loves, and the Holy Spirit. What is pleasing to the Holy Spirit, is pleasing also to the Father and to the Son. Their Activity is likewise one, everything is done jointly and harmoniously.

It is not thus with men. With them there are constant disagree- ments, diverse desires. A small child already has his own desires, self- will, disobedience to his parents who love him. The older he grows, the more he separates himself from them and, not uncommonly in our times, becomes a complete stranger to them. In general among people there is almost no unanimity of opinion; on the contrary, there are con- stant divisions in everything, animosities, quarrels between separate per- sons, wars between peoples. Adam and Eve before the Fall were in every- thing in agreement between themselves, one in soul. After their sin, however, they immediately felt an estrangement. Justifying himself before God, Adam placed the blame on Eve. Sin divided them and has continued to divide and divide the human race. In freeing ourselves from sin we draw near to God and, being filled with grace from Him, we sense our unity with other men. This unity is far from being complete and full, since in everyone there remains some portion of sin. The closer we are to God, the closer we are to each other, in the same way that the rays of the sun become closer to each other the closer they come to the sun. In the coming Kingdom of God there will be unity, mutual love, and harmony. But the Holy Trinity is always unchanging, All-perfect, One in Essence and Undivided.

The Trinity One and Undivided always remains the Trinity. The Father always remains Father, the Son Son, the Holy Spirit Holy Spirit. Apart from Their personal characteristics, everything in Them is one and common. Thus the Holy Trinity is One God.

Holy, Holy, Holy we cry out to God. The triple repetition of Holy indicates the Trinity, that God is the Holy Trinity. But one cannot say Holy (in the plural), for They are not three, but One God.

+Archbishop John Maximovitch
San Francisco, California

May, 1963