Explain the nature and importance of the Cappadocian fathers' contributions to reflection on the

Trinity after Nicaea.

Inshal Chenet
Dr. Robert J. Matava
God the Father Essay E

After the first Ecumenical Council of the Church, the Council of Nicea, Christianity set. They

have a creed which gives the formula for understanding the greatly debated trinity:

“We believe in one God, the Father Almighty, Maker of all things visible and invisible.And in

one Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God, begotten of the Father [the only-begotten; that is, of the

essence of the Father, God of God,] Light of Light, very God of very God, begotten, not made,

homoousian with the Father;

With this creed we are able to weed through the various simplifications that were previously

attempted. But this creed alone is not enough, there are many ways it can be misunderstood. We

thank the Cappadocian fathers for reflecting upon this creed and the Trinity and further refining

our understanding.

The first big hurdle the Cappadocian fathers deal with is a problem of language. Ousia is a greek

word that basically means “thing” or “substance.” Hypostasis is a greek word that also basically

means “thing.” So when the church declares one ousia after having long accepted three

hypostasis we run into a great problem: how can God be three things and one thing? Does that

not break the law of non-contradiction!? This is when we have the Cappadocian fathers,

primarily Basil the Great, Gregory of Nyssa, and Gregory of Nazianzus, work to explain the

situation.
In the Council of Nicea Athanasius works hard to stress how the three are one but it is amongst

the