Sabellianism and the Trinity in Early Christianity

Gregory Thaumaturgus, A Sectional Confession of Faith Direct teaching

But some treat the Holy Trinity in an awful manner when they confidently assert that there are not three persons, and introduce the idea of a person devoid of subsistence. Therefore we clear ourselves of Sabellius, who says that the Father and the Son are the same. For he holds that the Father is He who speaks, and that the Son is the Word that abides in the Father, and becomes manifest at the time of creation, and afterward returns to God when all things are fulfilled. He makes the same claim also about the Spirit. We forswear this, because we believe that three persons—namely, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit—are declared to possess the one Godhead. For the one divinity, showing itself according to nature in the Trinity, establishes the oneness of the nature. And so there is a divinity that is the property of the Father, according to the word, "There is one God the Father," 1 Corinthians 8:6. And there is a divinity hereditary in the Son, as it is written, "The Word was God," John 1:1. And there is a divinity present according to nature in the Spirit, namely, what subsists as the Spirit of God, according to Paul's statement, "You are the temple of God, and the Spirit of God dwells in

Tertullian, Against Praxeas Direct teaching

..., when all the Scriptures testify to the clear existence of, and distinction in, the Persons of the Trinity, and indeed give us our Rule of faith: that He who speaks, and He of whom He speaks, and to whom He speaks, cannot possibly seem to be One and the Same. So absurd and misleading a statement would be unworthy of God: that, when it was Himself to whom He was speaking, He speaks rather to another, and not to His very self. Hear, then, other sayings also of the Father concerning the Son through the mouth of Isaiah: "Behold my Son, whom I have chosen; my beloved, in whom I am well pleased: I will put my Spirit upon Him, and He shall bring forth judgment to the Gentiles." Isaiah 42:1 Hear also what He says to the Son: "Is it a great thing for You, that You should be called my Son to raise up the tribes of Jacob, and to restore the dispersed of Israel? I have given You for a light to the Gentiles, that You may be their salvation to the end of the earth." Isaiah 49:6 Hear now also the Son's sayings about the Father: "The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because He has anointed me to preach the gospel to men." He likewise speaks of Himself to the Father in the Psalm: "Forsake me not

Novatian, Treatise Concerning the Trinity Direct teaching

...l come to him and make our dwelling with him." Moreover, He also added this: "But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send, He will teach you and bring all things to your remembrance, whatever I have said to you." He also speaks that passage in which He shows Himself to be the Son, and rightly adds, "If you loved me, you would rejoice because I go to the Father, for the Father is greater than I." But what shall we say when He also continues with these words: "I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. Every branch in me that does not bear fruit He takes away, and every branch that bears fruit He prunes, so that it may bear more fruit"? He still continues and adds, "As the Father has loved me, so I also have loved you. Remain in my love. If you have kept my commandments, you will remain in my love, just as I have kept the Father's commandments and remain in His love." Further, He also says, "I have called you friends, for all things that I have heard from my Father I have made known to you." Moreover, He adds to all this, "But they will do all these things to you for my name's sake, because they do not know Him who sent me." Since these statements, followi

Novatian, Treatise Concerning the Trinity Direct teaching

Moreover, Against the Sabellians He Proves that the Father is One, the Son Another.

Dionysius of Rome, Against the Sabellians Direct teaching

For he blasphemes in saying that the Son Himself is the Father, and vice versa;

Gregory Thaumaturgus, A Sectional Confession of Faith Supporting witness

Wherefore we clear ourselves of Sabellius, who says that the Father and the Son are the same.

Novatian, Treatise Concerning the Trinity Supporting witness

and thus by such as these, as we have said, the sacrilegious heresy of Sabellius is embodied.

Victorinus, Commentary on the Apocalypse Supporting witness

Moreover, Against the Sabellians He Proves that the Father is One, the Son Another.

Gregory Thaumaturgus, A Sectional Confession of Faith Direct teaching

We forswear this, because we believe that three persons— namely, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit— are declared to possess the one Godhead: for the one divinity showing itself forth according to nature in the Trinity establishes the oneness of the nature;

Gregory Thaumaturgus, A Sectional Confession of Faith Direct teaching

But if they say, "How can there be three persons, and yet only one Divinity?" we will give this reply: There are indeed three persons, since there is one person of God the Father, one of the Lord the Son, and one of the Holy Spirit. And yet there is only one Divinity, since the Son is the Image of God the Father, who is One. That is, He is God of God. In the same way, the Spirit is called the Spirit of God, and that by nature according to the very substance, not by a simple participation in God. And there is one substance in the Trinity. This is not also the case with things that are made. For there is not one substance in God and in the things that are made, because none of these is God in substance. Nor indeed is the Lord one of these in substance. But there is one Lord, the Son, and one Holy Spirit. And we also speak of one Divinity, one Lordship, and one Sanctity in the Trinity, because the Father is the Cause of the Lord, having begotten Him eternally, and the Lord is the Prototype of the Spirit. For in this way the Father is Lord, and the Son also is God. And of God it is said that God is a Spirit. John 4:24

Gregory Thaumaturgus, On the Trinity Direct teaching

I see in all three essentials: substance, genus, and name. We speak of man, servant, and curator. Man, because of substance. Servant, because of genus or condition. Curator, because of denomination. We also speak of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. However, these are not names that only came later, but they are subsistences. Again, the denomination of man is not in actual fact a denomination, but a substance common to men, and it is the denomination proper to all men. Moreover, names are such as these: Adam, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob. These, I say, are names. But the Divine Persons are names indeed, and the names are still the persons. And the persons signify that which is and subsists, which is the essence of God. The name of the nature also signifies subsistence, as if we should speak of the man. All the persons are one nature, one essence, one will, and are called the Holy Trinity. These also are subsistent, one nature in three persons, and one genus. But the person of the Son is composite in its oneness, being one made up of two, that is, of divinity and humanity together. These two constitute one. Yet the divinity does not therefore receive any increment, but the Trinity remains as i

Gregory Thaumaturgus, On the Trinity Direct teaching

We speak also of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit: these, however, are not names which have only supervened at some after period, but they are subsistences.

Origen, Commentary on John Direct teaching

...that the Son is second beside the Father, He being the same as the Father, while a distinction is clearly drawn between the Spirit and the Son in the passage, Matthew 12:32: “Whoever shall speak a word against the Son of Man, it shall be forgiven him; but whoever shall blaspheme against the Holy Spirit, he shall not have forgiveness, either in this world or in the world to come.” We consider, therefore, that there are three hypostases: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. At the same time, we believe that nothing is uncreated except the Father. Therefore, as the more pious and truer course, we admit that all things were made by the Word, and that the Holy Spirit is the most excellent and the first in order of all that was made by the Father through Christ. And this, perhaps, is the reason why the Spirit is not called God’s own Son. The Only-begotten alone is by nature and from the beginning a Son, and the Holy Spirit seems to need the Son to minister His essence to Him, so as to enable Him not only to exist, but also to be wise and reasonable and just, and all that we must think of Him as being. All this He has by participation in the character of Christ, of which we have s

Origen, Commentary on John Supporting witness

We consider, therefore, that there are three hypostases, the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit;

Athenagoras, A Plea for the Christians Direct teaching

For, as we acknowledge a God, and a Son his Logos, and a Holy Spirit, united in essence — the Father, the Son, the Spirit, because the Son is the Intelligence, Reason, Wisdom of the Father, and the Spirit an effluence, as light from fire;

Dionysius of Alexandria, Miscellaneous Fragments Supporting witness

So, indeed, we extend the indivisible Unity into a Trinity; and again, we draw the Trinity, which cannot be diminished, back into a Unity.

Dionysius of Alexandria, Miscellaneous Fragments Supporting witness

15. If, from the fact that there are three hypostases, they say that they are divided, there are three whether they like it or no, or else let them get rid of the divine Trinity altogether.

Didache, The Teaching of the Twelve Apostles Direct teaching

And concerning baptism, baptize this way: Having first said all these things, baptize into the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, Matthew 28:19 in living water.

Didache, The Teaching of the Twelve Apostles Supporting witness

But if you have not either, pour out water thrice upon the head into the name of Father and Son and Holy Spirit.

Cyprian, Epistles Direct teaching

... baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost.” He points to the Trinity, in whose sacrament the nations were to be baptized. Does Marcion, then, uphold the Trinity? Does he confess the same Father, the Creator, as we do? Does he know the same Son, Christ born of the Virgin Mary, who as the Word was made flesh, who bore our sins, who conquered death by dying, who by Himself first began the resurrection of the flesh, and showed His disciples that He had risen in the same flesh? Marcion’s faith is completely different, and so is that of the other heretics. No, with them there is nothing but treachery, blasphemy, and strife, which is opposed to holiness and truth. How then can someone who is baptized among them seem to have received remission of sins and the grace of divine mercy by his faith, when he does not have the truth of the faith itself? For if, as some think, a person could receive anything outside the Church according to his faith, then he certainly has received what he believed. But if he believes what is false, he could not receive what is true. Rather, he has received things corrupted and profane, according to what he believed.

Apostolic Constitutions, Apostolic Constitutions Supporting witness

for the Lord did not say, Baptize into my death, but, Go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them into the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost.

Apostolic Constitutions, Apostolic Constitutions Supporting witness

Therefore, O bishops, baptize thrice into one Father, and Son, and Holy Ghost, according to the will of Christ, and our constitution by the Spirit.

Anonymous, Treatise on Re-Baptism Supporting witness

baptize them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost.

Ignatius, Epistles of Ignatius Supporting witness

Wherefore also the Lord, when He sent forth the apostles to make disciples of all nations, commanded them to “baptize in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost,” not unto one [person] having three names, nor into three [persons] who became incarnate, but into three possessed of equal honour.

Didache, Connection to Matthew 28:19 Supporting witness

since our Lord, when He sent us, said, "Go ye, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you."

Didache, Connection to Matthew 28:19 Supporting witness

thou shalt so baptize as the Lord commanded us, saying: "Go ye, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost (teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you): "

Didache, Connection to Matthew 28:19 Supporting witness

"in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: "

Dionysius of Rome, Against the Sabellians Supporting witness

...ord be united with the God of all, and that the Holy Spirit abide and dwell in God. Thus the Divine Trinity must be brought together and gathered into one, as into a certain head, that is, into the all-powerful God of all. For the teaching of the foolish Marcion, which cuts up and divides the monarchy into three elements, is certainly from the devil, and not from Christ's true disciples or from those to whom the Savior's teaching is pleasing. For they rightly know that the Trinity is declared in the divine Scripture, but the teaching that there are three gods is taught neither in the Old Testament nor in the New Testament.

Dionysius of Rome, Against the Sabellians Direct teaching

For these indeed rightly know that the Trinity is declared in the divine Scripture, but that the doctrine that there are three gods is neither taught in the Old nor in the New Testament.

Gregory Thaumaturgus, A Sectional Confession of Faith Supporting witness

Wherefore the holy Trinity is believed to be one God, in accordance with these testimonies of Holy Scripture;

Hippolytus, Against the Heresy of Noetus Supporting witness

... someone say that he speaks of two Gods? I certainly will not speak of two Gods, but of one; of two Persons, however, and of a third divine arrangement, that is, the grace of the Holy Spirit. For the Father indeed is One, but there are two Persons, because there is also the Son; and then there is the third, the Holy Spirit. The Father decrees, the Word carries out, and the Son is manifested, through whom the Father is believed on. The harmonious divine arrangement is led back to one God, for God is One. It is the Father who commands, and the Son who obeys, and the Holy Spirit who gives understanding. The Father is above all, and the Son is through all, and the Holy Spirit is in all. And we cannot otherwise think of one God, except by truly believing in Father and Son and Holy Spirit. For the Jews glorified, or gloried in, the Father, but did not give Him thanks, for they did not recognize the Son. The disciples recognized the Son, but not in the Holy Spirit; therefore they also denied Him. The Father's Word, therefore, knowing the divine arrangement and the will of the Father, namely, that the Father seeks to be worshipped in no other way than this, gave this charge to the disci

Origen, De Principiis (On First Principles) Supporting witness

For it is one and the same thing to have a share in the Holy Spirit, which is (the Spirit) of the Father and the Son, since the nature of the Trinity is one and incorporeal.

Irenaeus, Against Heresies: Book IV Supporting witness

Wherefore, then, in all things, and through all things, there is one God, the Father, and one Word, and one Son, and one Spirit, and one salvation to all who believe in Him.

Early Liturgies, Divine Liturgy of St. Mark Supporting witness

One Father holy, one Son holy, one Spirit holy, in the unity of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Cyprian, Epistles Supporting witness

one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in us all.

Cyprian, Seventh Council of Carthage Supporting witness

one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God.

Matthew 28:19 Direct teaching

Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost:

Matthew 3:17 Direct teaching

and behold, a voice from heaven said, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.”

John 1:1 Direct teaching

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.

John 10:30 Supporting witness

I and my Father are one.

1 Corinthians 8:6 Supporting witness

But to us there is but one God, the Father, of whom are all things, and we in him; and one Lord Jesus Christ, by whom are all things, and we by him.

Luke 3:22 Direct teaching

And the Holy Spirit descended in bodily form like a dove upon Him, and a voice came from heaven which said, “You are My beloved Son; in You I am well pleased.”

Ephesians 4:6 Supporting witness

one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.

1 John 2:23 Supporting witness

Whoever denies the Son does not have the Father either; he who acknowledges the Son has the Father also.

2 John 1:9 Supporting witness

Whoever transgresses and does not abide in the doctrine of Christ does not have God. He who abides in the doctrine of Christ has both the Father and the Son.

Galatians 4:6 Supporting witness

And because ye are sons, God hath sent forth the Spirit of his Son into your hearts, crying, Abba, Father.