Trinitarian heresies

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Trinitarian heresies

Some theories of the Trinity are so wrong that they have been declared heretical.

Modalism

The proponents of Modalism were Noetus and Praxeas (late 2nd century CE) and Sabellius (3rd century CE).

Modalism teaches that Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit are not distinct personalities, but different modes of God's self-revelation.

The idea is that there is only one God, but that this one God reveals himself in different ways and different forms - sometimes as Father, sometimes as Son, sometimes as Holy Spirit.

• Father: The creator and the law giver
• Son: The revealer, the Messiah and the redeemer
• Holy Spirit: The sanctifier and giver of eternal life

One of the standard analogies for the Trinity is a good example of modalism: The Trinity is like water because water comes in three forms - ice, water, steam. This is Modalism because these are three states or modes of the substance water.

Some modalists believe that God revealed himself differently at different times in history, others believe that during any particular period of history God can reveal himself in different ways; so when God is acting as redeemer, that's God the Son, and so on.

Warning: Some modern writers refer to the different persons of the Trinity as different "modes of being", but they aren't guilty of Modalism because they are not referring to different modes in which God appears to humanity, but different internal ways in which God is to him/herself.

Tritheism

Tritheism portrays Father, Son and Holy Spirit as three independent divine beings; three separate gods who are linked together in some special way - most commonly by sharing the 'same substance' or being the same sort of thing.

People often make this mistake because they misunderstand the use of the word 'persons' in defining the Trinity; it does not mean that Father, Son and Holy Spirit are three separate personalities.

Partialism

This is the idea that Father, Son and Holy Spirit together make up God. This would suggest that each of the persons of the Trinity is only part God, only becoming fully God when they are together.

Monarchianism

Monarchianism stresses God as One and downgrades the idea of the Trinity; it comes in various versions:

Adoptionism

Christ was born human and adopted by God at his resurrection (or baptism).

Arianism

This isn't a strictly Trinitarian heresy but it's relevant because it's the idea that the Son is in some way less fully God than the Father.