Drieeenheid

Drieeenheid, in Dutch often translated as the Trinity, is the Christian doctrine that there is one God expressed in three distinct but coequal and consubstantial persons (hypostases): the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. The Father is not the Son or the Spirit, yet all three share the same divine essence (ousia). The doctrine aims to maintain monotheism while affirming a complex, triune God.

In theological terminology, "person" refers to the distinct hypostases within the one divine essence, rather than three separate gods. The distinction between essence (ousia) and persons helps prevent both modalism (one person appearing in three modes) and tritheism (three separate gods).

Historically, the doctrine was developed in the first centuries of Christianity and was formalized in the creeds produced at the Councils of Nicaea (325) and Constantinople (381). The Nicene Creed affirmed that the Son is of the same essence as the Father, and the Nicene–Constantinopolitan Creed extended this to the Holy Spirit. The Filioque clause, affirming that the Spirit proceeds from the Father and the Son, became a major point of contention between Western and Eastern churches, contributing to later church division.

Practically, the Trinity is a central element of Catholic, Orthodox, and most Protestant confessions. They uphold that God is one in being, yet three coequal persons who participate in creation, revelation, and salvation. Contemporary theology continues to explore the relationships among the three persons, including discussions of social Trinitarian models and the distinction between ontological and economic aspects of the Trinity.