Modalism

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A theological doctrine asserting that the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are not distinct persons but rather different modes or aspects of one God
2. A belief system in Christian theology that denies the traditional Trinity by teaching that God manifests in three different forms or roles rather than existing as three separate persons
3. The concept in religious thought that the one God expresses himself in varied modes or manifestations, rather than coexisting as distinct entities within a triune Godhead

Etymology: Modalism is a textbook coinage built from two ordinary English parts. The first, "modal," comes from the Latin "modus," meaning measure, manner or mode, and in theology it describes God appearing in different modes rather than as distinct persons. The suffix "-ism" marks a doctrine or system of belief, so the whole word names the view that the Father, Son and Holy Spirit are three modes of one divine being rather than three co-equal persons. The idea itself is older than the label. Early Christian thinkers debated how one God could be both Father and Son without becoming two gods, and the modal view was one of the answers that was rejected as the doctrine of the Trinity took shape. The word was built later to name that position, so it works more as a label for a historical argument than as a term from the period it describes.

Synonyms: Sabellianism, modalistic monarchianism

Antonyms: trinitarianism