One God, Relational Trinity, No Modalism

Question #27: Can divine simplicity (holding that God is utterly one) truly accommodate the relational dimension of Trinitarian theology–Father, Son, and Holy Spirit–without lapsing into modalism or subordinationism (cf. DS 804)?

Yes. Catholic theology insists that divine simplicity (God being utterly one and without composition) and Trinitarian relationality (Father, Son, and Holy Spirit as real, distinct Persons) do not contradict each other, nor do they collapse into modalism or subordinationism (cf. DS 804). The Church has historically reconciled these teachings by clarifying how the three Persons relate to the one divine essence.

1. Relations of Origin, Not Parts or Roles

According to the classical tradition–drawing on Augustine, Aquinas, and other Doctors–Trinitarian distinctions rest on eternal relations of origin rather than on “parts” or “separate beings.” The Father begets the Son, and the Holy Spirit proceeds from the Father (and from the Son in Western theology). These “processions” do not introduce additional elements into God’s essence; rather, they are intrinsic, subsistent relations in the single, simple divine substance. Thus, each Person is the one essence fully possessed in a distinct relational mode (Father as unbegotten, Son as begotten, Spirit as proceeding).

2. Avoiding Modalism

Modalism would say that Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are merely “modes” or “roles” of one Person, denying any real distinction. Catholic theology rejects this by affirming that each Person is truly distinct as “who,” yet shares the entire “what” (the divine essence). The Church’s teaching (DS 804) is unequivocal that Father, Son, and Spirit are not just different names for the same “divine actor.” Instead, relational opposition (begetter vs. begotten vs. proceeding) guarantees that the Persons are genuinely not each other, even though each is wholly God.

3. Refuting Subordinationism

Subordinationism would subordinate the Son or Spirit as “lesser” or derivative in essence compared to the Father. But because Catholic doctrine holds that all three Persons fully are the same divine essence, none is less divine than the others. Their distinction lies purely in relation, not in nature or rank. The Father, Son, and Spirit exist in mutual, eternal communion, each possessing the fullness of the Godhead without remainder.

4. Preserving Simplicity in the Midst of Relation

Divine simplicity indicates there is no metaphysical composition in God–no “essence plus extra parts.” Yet the Church teaches that relational plurality can exist in a “simple” being if those relations are the essence expressed in distinct modes of origin. Each Person is thus identical to the one essence from a unique relational standpoint. This upholds DS 804’s insistence on real Trinitarian distinction without dividing the divine substance.

• No Composition Introduced: Because the relational distinctions do not break the essence into fragments, simplicity is preserved.

• No Multiple Gods: There remains a single divine nature.

Hence, divine simplicity and the fullness of Trinitarian relations coexist coherently within Catholic theology. While God is “utterly one,” He is also three real Persons–not via separate parts or subordinate beings, but through eternal, subsistent relations that express the single, simple essence in distinct modes. This approach safeguards the personal plurality of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit while avoiding both modalism (one Person wearing three masks) and subordinationism (an unequal hierarchy of “lesser gods”).


(see #11, #12, #15, #30)