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Triad (religion)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

A triad, in a religious context, refers to a grouping of three gods, usually by importance or similar roles. A triad of gods were usually not considered to be one in the same being, or different aspects of a single deity as in a Trinity or Triple deity.

Triads of three closely associated deities were commonly found throughout the ancient world, and in particular in the religious traditions of Ancient Greece and Egypt.[1]

List of deity triads

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This part of a 12th-century Swedish tapestry has been interpreted to show, from left to right, the one-eyed Odin, the hammer-wielding Thor and Freyr holding up an ear of corn.[2]

Historical polytheism

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Christian Trinity

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The Holy Trinity by Fridolin Leiber

The Christian doctrine of the Trinity (Latin: Trinitas, lit.'triad', from Latin: trinus "threefold")[12] defines God as being one god existing in three coequal, coeternal, consubstantial persons:[13][14] God the Father, God the Son (Jesus Christ) and God the Holy Spirit — three distinct persons sharing one essence.[15] In this context, the three persons define who God is, while the one essence defines what God is.[16] This doctrine is called Trinitarianism and its adherents are called trinitarians, while its opponents are called antitrinitarians or nontrinitarians. Nontrinitarian positions include Unitarianism, Binitarianism and Modalism.

Dharmic religions

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Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva seated on lotuses with their consorts: Saraswati, Lakshmi, and Paravati respectively. ca 1770.

Other Eastern religions

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Neopaganism

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Esotericism

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See also

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References

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  1. ^ Ancient Egyptian religion: The Gods. Encyclopaedia Britannica Online.
  2. ^ Leiren, Terje I. (1999). From Pagan to Christian: The Story in the 12th-Century Tapestry of the Skog Church.
  3. ^ Chambers's Encyclopedia Volume 1
  4. ^ "The Biblical Astronomy of the Birth of Moses". Try-god.com. Archived from the original on 2013-08-01. Retrieved 2013-02-03.
  5. ^ The twelve gods of Greece and Rome, Charlotte R. Long, p. 11
  6. ^ Religion in Hellenistic Athens Por Jon D. Mikalson, p. 210
  7. ^ The twelve gods of Greece and Rome Por Charlotte R. Long, p. 11
  8. ^ The Mythological Trinity or Triad Osiris, Horus and Isis, Wikicommons
  9. ^ Manfred Lurker, Lexikon der Götter und Symbole der alten Ägypter, Scherz 1998, p. 214f.
  10. ^ Encyclopedia of Religion and Ethics, Volume 6. Fiction - Hyksos. Part 2. God - Heraclitus, James Hastings, John A. Selbie and others (Ed.s), p. 381
  11. ^ Os Principais Deuses e Deusas da Lusitânia - Panteão Lusitano Archived 2016-01-01 at the Wayback Machine, Revvane.com
  12. ^ "Definition of trinity in English". Oxford Dictionaries - English. Archived from the original on December 26, 2012.
  13. ^ Daley, Brian E. (2009). "The Persons in God and the Person of Christ in Patristic Theology: An Argument for Parallel Development". God in Early Christian Thought. Leiden & Boston: Brill. pp. 323–350. ISBN 978-9004174122.
  14. ^ Ramelli, Ilaria (2012). "Origen, Greek Philosophy, and the Birth of the Trinitarian Meaning of Hypostasis". The Harvard Theological Review. 105 (3): 302–350. doi:10.1017/S0017816012000120. JSTOR 23327679. S2CID 170203381.
  15. ^ Definition of the Fourth Lateran Council quoted in Catechism of the Catholic Church §253. Latin: substantia, essentia seu natura divina (DS 804).
  16. ^ "Frank Sheed, Theology and Sanity". Ignatiusinsight.com. Retrieved 3 November 2013.