BETWEEN SUBORDINATION AND KOINONIA: TOWARD A NEW READING OF THE CAPPADOCIAN THEOLOGY1

Abstract

Abstract This article argues that it is inappropriate to read Cappadocian theology exclusively from the angle of Basil of Caesarea's identification of the Godhead with the Father alone. As an alternative to the Basilian‐based reading that undermines the view that the three persons are together co‐constitutive of the Godhead and restricts the Godhead to the Father alone, this article calls for a more comprehensive reading of the theology of the Cappadocian fathers that takes into consideration the trinitarian perspective of Gregory of Nazianzus, and claims that his understanding of the Godhead as the reciprocal koinonia of the three persons together not only completes and corrects Basil's view and presents a more coherent view of the Cappadocian theology, but also salvages the theology of the Trinity from any possible semi‐monarchical logic that could undermine one of the divine persons for the sake of, or at the expense of, the others.

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