On Not Three Gods

work by Gregory of Nyssa

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July 1, 2026

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Gregory of Nyssa's work, On Not Three Gods, addresses the Christian doctrine of the Trinity. This doctrine posits that God is one essence, yet exists as three distinct persons: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. This concept was a central point of theological debate in the 4th century, particularly in distinguishing it from polytheism (belief in multiple gods) and modalism (belief that God manifests in different modes rather than distinct persons).

Gregory, along with other Cappadocian Fathers, sought to articulate this complex idea, emphasizing God's essential unity while affirming the distinctiveness of the three persons. His work aimed to reconcile the biblical revelation of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit with the monotheistic principle of one God, drawing parallels with philosophical concepts of the One and the Many.123

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Saint Gregory of Nyssa
His brief treatise On Not Three Gods relates the Cappadocian Fathers’ theology of three Persons in the Godhead (i.e., the Trinity) to Plato’s teachings of the One and the Many. As a Christian Platonist, Gregory followed the great Alexandrian theologian Origen, though not slavishly. Most notably, he shared…
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His brief treatise On Not Three Gods relates the Cappadocian Fathers’ theology of three Persons in the Godhead (i.e., the Trinity) to Plato’s teachings of the One and the Many. As a Christian Platonist, Gregory followed the great Alexandrian theologian Origen, though not slavishly. Most notably, he shared…
Read More