Retrieving Nicaea: The Development and Meaning of Trinitarian Doctrine

Khaled Anatolios, a noted expert on the development of Nicene theology, offers a historically informed theological study of the development of the doctrine of the Trinity, showing its relevance to Christian life and thought today. According to Anatolios, the development of trinitarian doctrine involved a global interpretation of Christian faith as a whole. Consequently, the meaning of trinitarian doctrine is to be found in a reappropriation of the process of this development, such that the entirety of Christian existence is interpreted in a trinitarian manner. The book provides essential resources for this reappropriation by identifying the network of theological issues that comprise the "systematic scope" of Nicene theology, focusing especially on the trinitarian perspectives of three major theologians: Athanasius, Gregory of Nyssa, and Augustine. It includes a foreword by Brian E. Daley.

Contents

Introduction: Development as Meaning in Trinitarian Doctrine

1. Fourth-Century Trinitarian Theology: History and Interpretation

• Before Nicaea
• The Early Stages of Controversy
• Crisis and Resolution
• Categories and Interpretation

2. Development of Trinitarian Doctrine: A Model and Its Application

• Common Experience at the Threshold of Nicaea
• Trinitarian Theologians of Unity of Will
• Trinitarian Theologians of Unity of Being

3. Athanasius: The Crucified Lord and Trinitarian Deification

• The Divinity of the Crucified and the Christian Story of Salvation
• Constructing a Trinitarian Hermeneutics
• Nicaea and the Dialectic of Scripture and Doctrine
• Theology of the Holy Spirit
• Christian Life in the Trinity

4. Gregory of Nyssa: The Infinite Perfection of Trinitarian Life

• The Doctrine of Against Eunomius
• A Trinitarian Systematic Theology of the Catechetical Oration
• Theology of the Holy Spirit
• Defining the Trinity? Three Hypostaseis, One Ousia
• Christian Life in the Trinity

5. Augustine's De Trinitate: Trinitarian Contemplation as Christological Quest

• Augustine's Trinitarian Epistemology
• Scriptural Exposition of God as Trinity
• The Trinitarian Image in Humanity
• Human Certainty and Seeing the Trinity

Conclusion: Retrieving the Systematic Scope of Nicene Theology

Indexes