Questions tagged [homoousion]

the Homoousion (τὸ ὁμοούσιον), the term the Council of Nicaea (325) used "to express the doctrine that the Son is ‘of one substance’ with the Father (τῳ̑ πατρί)".

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Why and when did the meanings of hypostasis and ousia change?

One of the most striking aspects of the Nicene Creed is the terms ousia and hypostasis. These terms were not found in any previous creed. In the Trinity doctrine, God is one “ousia who existed as ...
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Why was homoousios not mentioned for 20 years after Nicaea?

In the “centuries-old account of the Council of Nicaea: … The whole power of the mysterious dogma is at once established by the one word homoousios … with one pronouncement the Church identified a ...
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Is consubstantiality and homoousis the same thing?

Is consubstantiality and homoousis the same thing? Or are they different concepts?
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Why was homoousios used in the Nicene Creed?

The word homoousios is not in the Bible. It also was not a standard part of the Christian confession immediately before Nicaea. Rowan Williams described it as “the radical words of Nicaea” (RW, 236) ...
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Why has the phrase "from the ousia of the Father" been omitted from the Nicene Creed?

There seems to be a logical sequence in the Nicene Creed of 325: The Son is “begotten from the Father, only-begotten,” Therefore, He is “from the substance of the Father,” Therefore, He is “of one ...
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Should a Protestant accept the Nicene Creed? [closed]

In chapter 24.1 of his authoritative book on the fourth century Arian Controversy - The Search for the Christian Doctrine of God - Bishop RPC Hanson discusses how the various parties in that ...
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According to Trinitarianism, is God - strictly speaking - a person?

Perhaps Trinitarianism's most defining feature is the idea of God being '3 persons'. Typically this is described as '3 persons in 1 substance'. Yet some say God is a person, such as Is God a person? ...
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What evidence is there that the original framers of the 325 Nicene Creed intended it to be read in subordinationist ways?

“’Subordinationism’, it is true was pre-Nicene orthodoxy” [Henry Bettenson, The Early Christian Fathers p. 239.]. RPC Hanson (The Search for the Christian Doctrine of God, p. xix.) even wrote: “With ...
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Did the Cappadocians teach one or two substances?

"One substance" means that Father and Son are one single substance. That is known as numerical sameness. But if homoousios in the Nicene Creed is translated as "same substance," it ...
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Should homoousion in the Nicene Creed be translated as "same substance" or as “one substance?”

Literally, homoousion means "same substance" from homos (same) and ousia (essence) (The Free Dictionary). But it is often translated as “one substance” (e.g., Merriam-Webster). The word “...
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Where did substance language enter the Trinity debate?

The Bible does not describe God and His Son in terms of substance. The closest we get is Hebrews 1:3, where the Son is described as the mirror image of the hypostasis of God. At the time, hypostasis ...
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In the 325 Nicene Creed, what is the meaning of "of" in the phrase, "He is of another substance or essence?"

The views that are condemned in the last part of the Nicene Creed may be divided as follows: There was a time when he was not (Wikipedia). Or probably more literally, “There was when He was not” (...
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