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Consubstantiality

 

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Consubstantiality



 
 
Consubstantiality is a term used in Latin
Latin

Latin is an Italic language, historically spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. Through the Military history of the Roman Empire, Latin spread throughout the Mediterranean and a large part of Europe....
 Christian
Christian

A Christian is a person who adheres to Christianity, a Monotheism#Christian view religion centered on the life and teachings of Jesus and interpreted by Christians to have been prophesied in the Hebrew Bible/Old Testament....
 christology
Christology

Christology is a field of study within Christian theology which is concerned with the nature of Jesus the Christ, particularly with how the divine and human are related in his person....
, coined by Tertullian
Tertullian

Quintus Septimius Florens Tertullianus, anglicised as Tertullian, was a prolific and controversial early Christian author, and the first to write Christian Latin literature....
 in Against Hermogenes 44, used to translate the Greek term homoousios
Homoousian

Homoousian is a technical theological term used in discussion of the Christian understanding of God as Trinity. The Nicene Creed describes Jesus as being homoo?sios with God the Father — that is, they are of the "same substance" and are equally God....
. "Consubstantiality" describes the relationship among the Divine persons of the Christian Trinity
Trinity

In Christianity doctrine, the Trinity is the unity of God the Father, God the Son, and Holy Spirit as three persons in monotheism. The doctrine states that God is the Triune God, existing as three persons, or in the Greek hypostasis , but one being....
 and connotes that God the Father
God the Father

In many religions, the supreme deity is given the title and attributions of Father. In many forms of polytheism, the highest god has been conceived as a "father of gods and of men"....
, God the Son
God the Son

File:Jesus Icon - JIW.jpegGod the Son is the second person of the Trinity in Christian theology. The doctrine of the Trinity identifies Jesus of Nazareth as God the Son, united in essence but distinct in person with regard to God the Father and God the Holy Spirit ....
, and God the Holy Spirit
Holy Spirit

In Christianity, the Holy Ghost or Holy Spirit is the spirit of God. The term Christ , is also used to refer to this presence. That is, the Spirit is considered to act in concert with and share an essential nature with God the Father and God the Son ....
 are "of one being" in that the Son is "generated" ("born" or "begotten") "before all ages" or "eternally" of the Father's own being, from which the Spirit also eternally "proceeds."

Since the Latin language lacks a present active participle for the verb "to be," Tertullian and other Latin authors rendered the Greek noun ""(being) as "," and the Greek adjective "homoousios" (of the same being) as "." Unlike the Greek words, which are etymologically related to the Greek verb "to be" and connote one's own personal inherent character, "substantia," connotes matter as much as it connotes being.

The term is also used to describe the common humanity which is shared by all human persons.






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Consubstantiality is a term used in Latin
Latin

Latin is an Italic language, historically spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. Through the Military history of the Roman Empire, Latin spread throughout the Mediterranean and a large part of Europe....
 Christian
Christian

A Christian is a person who adheres to Christianity, a Monotheism#Christian view religion centered on the life and teachings of Jesus and interpreted by Christians to have been prophesied in the Hebrew Bible/Old Testament....
 christology
Christology

Christology is a field of study within Christian theology which is concerned with the nature of Jesus the Christ, particularly with how the divine and human are related in his person....
, coined by Tertullian
Tertullian

Quintus Septimius Florens Tertullianus, anglicised as Tertullian, was a prolific and controversial early Christian author, and the first to write Christian Latin literature....
 in Against Hermogenes 44, used to translate the Greek term homoousios
Homoousian

Homoousian is a technical theological term used in discussion of the Christian understanding of God as Trinity. The Nicene Creed describes Jesus as being homoo?sios with God the Father — that is, they are of the "same substance" and are equally God....
. "Consubstantiality" describes the relationship among the Divine persons of the Christian Trinity
Trinity

In Christianity doctrine, the Trinity is the unity of God the Father, God the Son, and Holy Spirit as three persons in monotheism. The doctrine states that God is the Triune God, existing as three persons, or in the Greek hypostasis , but one being....
 and connotes that God the Father
God the Father

In many religions, the supreme deity is given the title and attributions of Father. In many forms of polytheism, the highest god has been conceived as a "father of gods and of men"....
, God the Son
God the Son

File:Jesus Icon - JIW.jpegGod the Son is the second person of the Trinity in Christian theology. The doctrine of the Trinity identifies Jesus of Nazareth as God the Son, united in essence but distinct in person with regard to God the Father and God the Holy Spirit ....
, and God the Holy Spirit
Holy Spirit

In Christianity, the Holy Ghost or Holy Spirit is the spirit of God. The term Christ , is also used to refer to this presence. That is, the Spirit is considered to act in concert with and share an essential nature with God the Father and God the Son ....
 are "of one being" in that the Son is "generated" ("born" or "begotten") "before all ages" or "eternally" of the Father's own being, from which the Spirit also eternally "proceeds."

Since the Latin language lacks a present active participle for the verb "to be," Tertullian and other Latin authors rendered the Greek noun ""(being) as "," and the Greek adjective "homoousios" (of the same being) as "." Unlike the Greek words, which are etymologically related to the Greek verb "to be" and connote one's own personal inherent character, "substantia," connotes matter as much as it connotes being.

The term is also used to describe the common humanity which is shared by all human persons. Thus, Jesus
Jesus

Jesus of Nazareth , also known as Jesus Christ, is the central figure of Christianity and is revered by most Christian churches as the Son of God and the Incarnation ....
 Christ
Christ

Christ is the English language term for the Greek meaning "the anointing", which is a title given to the Reigning Messiah in the given age of the Zodiac....
 is said to be consubstantial with the Father in his divinity and consubstantial with "us" in his humanity.

Some English-speaking translators and authors still prefer the words "substance" and "consubstantial" to describe the nature of the Christian God. For example, in the Church of England
Church of England

The Church of England is the State religion Christianity Ecclesia in England, the Mother Church of the worldwide Anglican Communion and the oldest among the communion's thirty-eight independent national and regional churches....
 it is used to describe the relationship between the sacred elements and the body of Christ as distinct from the Roman Catholic transubstantial
Transubstantiation

In Roman Catholic theology, transubstantiation is the change of the Substance theory of Host and Sacramental wine into the Body of Christ and Blood of Christ occurring in the Eucharist while all that is accessible to the senses remain as before....
 relationship. Unless the reader has knowledge of the history and special ecclesiastical meaning of these terms, their use might problematize the understanding of the Christian God as transcendent, that is, being above matter rather than consisting of matter. Recent translations of the Nicene Creed
Nicene Creed

The Nicene Creed is the creed or profession of faith that is most widely used in Christianity liturgy. It is called Nicene because, in its original form, it was adopted in the city of Iznik by the first ecumenical council, which met there in 325....
 into English reflect the preference of using "of the same being" rather than "consubstantial" to describe the relationship of the Son to the Father.

See also

  • Hypostatic Union
    Hypostatic union

    Hypostatic union is a technical term in Christianity theology employed in mainstream Christology to describe the presence of both human and divine natures in Jesus Christ....
  • Filioque


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