ORTHODOX UNDERSTANDING OF THE HOLY SPIRIT
SUBMITTED TO CHRIS LOHRSTORFER, PH.D
IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF
PM601: THE WORK AND MINISTRY OF THE HOLY SPIRIT
BY
CHARLES W AYCOCK JR
SEPTEMBER 15, 2025
ORTHODOX UNDERSTANDING OF THE HOLY SPIRIT
Like most generations since Christ, the church in the 4th century faced challenges from heretical groups. One of these groups proposed that Jesus was created and attempted to separate the Son and the Father, and another group denied the divinity of the Holy Spirit, trying to separate Him as well. These two groups were the Arians and the Pneumatomachi. The heresy known as "Tropicism" accepted the Son but denied the divinity of the Holy Spirit. This demanded swift and immediate retaliation from the church in an effort to protect the truth and the teaching of sound doctrine; The Holy Spirit is coequal and coeternal with the Father and the Son.
The first to respond to this heresy was Athanasius, per the request of Bishop Serapion of Thmuis. Athanasius' letters on the Holy Spirit were the most powerful apologetic defense of the Holy Spirit’s divinity that had been written to date. I do believe that his work laid the foundation for the Cappadocian Fathers’ responses to heresy and confirmations of the divinity of the Son and the Holy Spirit. All were brilliant, and each man’s work stood on its own in defense of the Trinity, but Athanasius was first, and his passion for truth was strong. His letters were the shock and awe treatment of the 4th century, with the intent not just to respond but to silence any further teachings that challenged the Triad.
You cannot put straight in others what is warped in yourself.
Saint Athanasius of Alexandria
Years ago, my wife and I purchased an RV to visit our daughter while she was serving in the military. We took many small local trips and drove the 43’ Jayco across the country to graduations and special events. The local trips were good, but they weren’t the same. When we had a destination with a purpose, the trip was exponentially better. Athanasius could have easily written a letter concerning the Holy Spirit that would have been equally brilliant and concise. Still, he chose the Arian heresy as his destination with a purpose. The heresy fueled Athanasius’ passion for truth, and he unleashed a relentless assault on the Arians with dozens of rhetorical questions and detailed scriptural support for the Triad that both shut down the Arian teachings and humiliated them, even attacking the thought process that led them to their conclusions. Athanasius’ passion reminds me of the church patriarchs in later generations, such as Luther and Wesley.
In the following excerpt from Athanasius’ letter, there are four questions, and he closes with a sentence that poses a question. (20 How, when the Spirit is in us, the Son is said to be in us? How, when the Son is in us, the Father is said to be in us? Or how, when it is truly a Triad, the Triad is described as one? 3 Or why, when the One is in us, the Triad is said to be in us? — let him first divide 4 the radiance from the light, or wisdom from the wise, or let him tell how these things are.)[1] Though he was a Bishop, he held no official office when he wrote these letters. Despite his current position in the world, he wrote with the Apostolic authority of the Kingdom. This is the kind of authority needed in apologetics today. It was a letter of instruction, but it also served as a public rebuke and warning against any further public heretical positions.
The Cappadocian Fathers
Following Athanasius in battling the Arian heresies were the Cappadocian Fathers, Basil the Great, his brother Gregory of Nyssa, and Gregory of Nazianzus. They were a powerhouse trio that defended the Nicene orthodox understanding of the Trinity. Each was credited for their foundational work in the early church, but Nazianzen the theologian was the most prominent. He wrote the following passage in his defense of the Sons’ divinity. “I had a share in the image; I did not keep it; He partakes of my flesh that He may both save the image and make the flesh immortal. He communicates a second communion far more marvelous than the first, inasmuch as then He imparted the better nature... This is more godlike than the former action; this is loftier in the eyes of all men of understanding. 28”[2] This passage is, to say the least, poetic with rich imagery and deeply profound in original sin while personalizing the salvation experience by writing in the first person. He starts with humanity's share in God’s image, and the following statement, “I did not keep it,”[3] describes the fall. God’s restoration and the new covenant established by the Son are as follows: “He partakes of my flesh that He may both save the image and make the flesh immortal.”[4] The following lines describe the first and second communion, with the second referring to a far greater covenant (Heb 8:6), established by Jesus' full restoration of the sons and daughters to the Father. Nazianzen's defense of Jesus’ equality to God was as strong as Athanasius’ defense of the Holy Spirit.
Conclusion
Athanasius and the Cappadocian Fathers played a crucial role in defending and maintaining the Church’s position on the Trinity. With the boldness and passion that you expect from the Apostles, they publicly defended the Son and the Spirit as coequal and coeternal with the Father. Their writings continue to inspire and encourage theologians today to take a stand for truth in the face of opposition. May we all have the courage and inspiration to lead our generation to Truth.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Saint Athanasius, "The Letters of Saint Athanasius: Concerning the Holy Spirit," (No Title) (1951).
Translated by Charles Gordon Browne and James Edward Swallow, "Nazianzen (Oration 38)," 7, no. Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, Second Series (1894), https://www.newadvent.org/fathers/310238.htm.
[1] Athanasius, "The Letters of Saint Athanasius: Concerning the Holy Spirit".(Athanasius 1951, 114)
[2] "Nazianzen (Oration 38)".Translated by Charles Gordon Browne and James Edward Swallow (1894)
[3] Ibid.
[4] Ibid.
SUBMITTED TO CHRIS LOHRSTORFER, PH.D
IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF
PM601: THE WORK AND MINISTRY OF THE HOLY SPIRIT
BY
CHARLES W AYCOCK JR
SEPTEMBER 15, 2025
ORTHODOX UNDERSTANDING OF THE HOLY SPIRIT
Like most generations since Christ, the church in the 4th century faced challenges from heretical groups. One of these groups proposed that Jesus was created and attempted to separate the Son and the Father, and another group denied the divinity of the Holy Spirit, trying to separate Him as well. These two groups were the Arians and the Pneumatomachi. The heresy known as "Tropicism" accepted the Son but denied the divinity of the Holy Spirit. This demanded swift and immediate retaliation from the church in an effort to protect the truth and the teaching of sound doctrine; The Holy Spirit is coequal and coeternal with the Father and the Son.
The first to respond to this heresy was Athanasius, per the request of Bishop Serapion of Thmuis. Athanasius' letters on the Holy Spirit were the most powerful apologetic defense of the Holy Spirit’s divinity that had been written to date. I do believe that his work laid the foundation for the Cappadocian Fathers’ responses to heresy and confirmations of the divinity of the Son and the Holy Spirit. All were brilliant, and each man’s work stood on its own in defense of the Trinity, but Athanasius was first, and his passion for truth was strong. His letters were the shock and awe treatment of the 4th century, with the intent not just to respond but to silence any further teachings that challenged the Triad.
You cannot put straight in others what is warped in yourself.
Saint Athanasius of Alexandria
Years ago, my wife and I purchased an RV to visit our daughter while she was serving in the military. We took many small local trips and drove the 43’ Jayco across the country to graduations and special events. The local trips were good, but they weren’t the same. When we had a destination with a purpose, the trip was exponentially better. Athanasius could have easily written a letter concerning the Holy Spirit that would have been equally brilliant and concise. Still, he chose the Arian heresy as his destination with a purpose. The heresy fueled Athanasius’ passion for truth, and he unleashed a relentless assault on the Arians with dozens of rhetorical questions and detailed scriptural support for the Triad that both shut down the Arian teachings and humiliated them, even attacking the thought process that led them to their conclusions. Athanasius’ passion reminds me of the church patriarchs in later generations, such as Luther and Wesley.
In the following excerpt from Athanasius’ letter, there are four questions, and he closes with a sentence that poses a question. (20 How, when the Spirit is in us, the Son is said to be in us? How, when the Son is in us, the Father is said to be in us? Or how, when it is truly a Triad, the Triad is described as one? 3 Or why, when the One is in us, the Triad is said to be in us? — let him first divide 4 the radiance from the light, or wisdom from the wise, or let him tell how these things are.)[1] Though he was a Bishop, he held no official office when he wrote these letters. Despite his current position in the world, he wrote with the Apostolic authority of the Kingdom. This is the kind of authority needed in apologetics today. It was a letter of instruction, but it also served as a public rebuke and warning against any further public heretical positions.
The Cappadocian Fathers
Following Athanasius in battling the Arian heresies were the Cappadocian Fathers, Basil the Great, his brother Gregory of Nyssa, and Gregory of Nazianzus. They were a powerhouse trio that defended the Nicene orthodox understanding of the Trinity. Each was credited for their foundational work in the early church, but Nazianzen the theologian was the most prominent. He wrote the following passage in his defense of the Sons’ divinity. “I had a share in the image; I did not keep it; He partakes of my flesh that He may both save the image and make the flesh immortal. He communicates a second communion far more marvelous than the first, inasmuch as then He imparted the better nature... This is more godlike than the former action; this is loftier in the eyes of all men of understanding. 28”[2] This passage is, to say the least, poetic with rich imagery and deeply profound in original sin while personalizing the salvation experience by writing in the first person. He starts with humanity's share in God’s image, and the following statement, “I did not keep it,”[3] describes the fall. God’s restoration and the new covenant established by the Son are as follows: “He partakes of my flesh that He may both save the image and make the flesh immortal.”[4] The following lines describe the first and second communion, with the second referring to a far greater covenant (Heb 8:6), established by Jesus' full restoration of the sons and daughters to the Father. Nazianzen's defense of Jesus’ equality to God was as strong as Athanasius’ defense of the Holy Spirit.
Conclusion
Athanasius and the Cappadocian Fathers played a crucial role in defending and maintaining the Church’s position on the Trinity. With the boldness and passion that you expect from the Apostles, they publicly defended the Son and the Spirit as coequal and coeternal with the Father. Their writings continue to inspire and encourage theologians today to take a stand for truth in the face of opposition. May we all have the courage and inspiration to lead our generation to Truth.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Saint Athanasius, "The Letters of Saint Athanasius: Concerning the Holy Spirit," (No Title) (1951).
Translated by Charles Gordon Browne and James Edward Swallow, "Nazianzen (Oration 38)," 7, no. Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, Second Series (1894), https://www.newadvent.org/fathers/310238.htm.
[1] Athanasius, "The Letters of Saint Athanasius: Concerning the Holy Spirit".(Athanasius 1951, 114)
[2] "Nazianzen (Oration 38)".Translated by Charles Gordon Browne and James Edward Swallow (1894)
[3] Ibid.
[4] Ibid.
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