THE CHRISTIAN TRANSFORMATION OF GREEK PHILOSOPHICAL CONCEPTS – THE DISTINCTION OF OUSIA AND HYPOSTASIS IN THE FORMATION OF THE TRINITARIAN FORMULA “ONE OUSIA AND THREE HYPOSTASES”

Abstract

THE TRINITY, I.E., ONE GOD IN THREE PERSONS (FATHER, SON, AND HOLY SPIRIT), IS THE CORE DOCTRINE OF CHRISTIANITY. IT CONFESSES THAT GOD TRULY EXISTS AS ONE, AND THE THREE PERSONS TRULY EXIST EACH IN THEMSELVES. THE SEEMINGLY PARADOXICAL DOCTRINE WAS FROM THE BEGINNING OF THE CHURCH IMPRINTED ON THE POPULAR FAITH WITNESSED IN THE NEW TESTAMENT, THE LITURGY, ESPECIALLY THE RITE OF BAPTISM, AND THE CATECHETICAL PRACTICE. (KELLY, 1960/1968, PP. 88-90) YET IT TOOK FOUR CENTURIES OF CONTROVERSIES AND SYNODS TO TRANSFORM THE INITIAL FAITH INTO A DOCTRINE. THE MAIN ACHIEVEMENTS WERE MADE IN THE 4TH CENTURY: FIRST, THE ECUMENICAL COUNCIL OF NICAEA I IN 325 ACKNOWLEDGED THE COMMON SUBSTANCE OF THE TRINITARIAN PERSONS BY ACCEPTING THE GREEK TERM HOMOOUIOS (HOMO MEANS SAME, AND OUSIOS MEANS BEING, SUBSTANCE, OR ESSENCE)||SECOND, IN THE DECADES AFTER NICAEA I, THE COMMON SUBSTANCE OF THE THREE AND THE DISTINCTIVENESS OF EACH PERSON ARE EXPRESSED AS “MIA OUSIA, TREIS HYPOSTASEIS” (ONE SUBSTANCE, THREE PERSONS).  三一论,即一体三位,是基督教的核心教义。它意味着天主为一、真实存在,同时天主拥有三个真实存在的位格,即圣父、圣子、圣神。这一看似自相矛盾的教义从教会建立之初就蕴含在《新约圣经》、礼仪(尤其是圣洗圣事)和信仰实践中。然而,这一原初的信仰要经过四个世纪的理论争辩和教会会议才被转化为教会教义。其中至关重要的是325年的尼西亚大公会议通过接受希腊词“同一体性(HOMOOUIOS)”一词来表述圣父和圣子之间的关系,认定了天主圣三的共同体性;以及尼西亚大公会议之后,卡帕多西亚教父用希腊语中两个同为表示存在、体质的近义词OUSIA和HYPOSTASIS分别指代天主的同一体性和三位各自的独特存在,由此提出了“MIA OUSIA, TREIS HYPOSTASEIS”(一体三位)这一三一论的经典表述。本文将根据哲学所提供的术语框架,阐述卡帕多西亚教父在三一论神学中对OUSIA和HYPOSTASIS的区分,然后阐释这种区分的神学意义。