Trinitarian monotheism: three qnome in one Being (ituta) in Syriac tradition
The Assyrian Church of the East fully affirms the doctrine of the Holy Trinity as a fundamental component of Apostolic faith. God is one divine essence (ituta) subsisting in three distinct persons (qnome)—Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. This formulation, using Syriac theological terminology, expresses the same truth as the Greek homoousios of Nicaea while maintaining the church's distinctive East Syrian linguistic and conceptual framework.
The church accepted the Council of Nicaea (325 AD) and the Council of Constantinople (381 AD) as valid Ecumenical Councils and maintains their Trinitarian definitions. However, the church rejected the Council of Ephesus (431 AD) because it condemned Nestorius, whose Christological method the East Syrian tradition valued. The Syriac terminology reflects the church's theological independence from Greek-speaking Christendom, with qnome denoting the distinct hypostases and parsopa denoting the single unified person of Christ.
Key Distinctions
- Persons ontology:
- three qnome (persons/hypostases) in one Being (ituta)
- Spirit procession:
- from Father (Eastern position; filioque not affirmed)
- Creed stance:
- rejects Council of Ephesus 431 AD; pre-Chalcedonian Syriac theology
Scripture References
Sources
- Council of Nicaea I (325)
- Council of Constantinople I (381)
- Bab. Quid Erat Scriptum, Syriac theological commentary tradition
- Theodore of Mopsuestia, Commentary on the Epistle to the Hebrews