Editing Trinitarian formula

{{Short description|In Christianity, phrase referring to the Trinity}}
[[File:In nomine.ogg|thumb|Pronunciation of the trinitarian formula in [[Latin]]: "In nomine Patris et Filii et Spiritus Sancti, [[amen]]"]]
[[File:Shield-Trinity-Scutum-Fidei-English.svg|thumb|upright=0.9|The [[Shield of the Trinity|"Shield of the Trinity" or "Scutum Fidei" diagram]] of traditional Western Christian symbolism]]

The '''Trinitarian formula''' is the phrase "in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit" ({{langx|grc-x-koine|εἰς τὸ ὄνομα τοῦ Πατρὸς καὶ τοῦ Υἱοῦ καὶ τοῦ Ἁγίου Πνεύματος|eis to ónoma toû Patros kai toû Huioû kai toû Hagíou Pneúmatos}}; {{langx|la|in nomine Patris et Filii et Spiritus Sancti}}), or words to that form and effect, referring to the three persons of the [[Christianity|Christian]] [[Trinity]]. It is often followed by an "[[amen]]".

The Trinitarian formula is used in [[baptism]] as well as in numerous [[prayer]]s, [[Rite (Christianity)|rite]]s, [[Christian liturgy|liturgies]], and [[sacrament]]s. One of its most common uses apart from baptism is when Roman Catholics, Eastern and Oriental Orthodox, Lutherans, Anglicans, Methodists, and others make the [[sign of the cross]] while reciting the formula.

==Biblical origin==
[[File:In nomine Patris et Filii et Spiritus Sancti, amen, RP-P-1915-560(R).jpg|thumb|Calligraphy by [[Antoon Derkinderen]], 1895]]
{{Clarify section|date=April 2024|reason=This seems to be saying that both the Matthew and the Didache passages are claimed by some to be later interpolations. This needs more discussion with sources on both sides.}}

These words are quoted from a command of the risen Jesus in the [[Great Commission]]: "Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in
<ref>The Greek accusative, εἰς τὸ ὄνομα, is rendered by a minority of English translations as "''into'' the name", cf. {{cite web|title=English Standard Version (ESV) Footnote on Matthew 28:19.|url=http://www.blueletterbible.org/Bible.cfm?b=Mat&c=28&t=ESV#s=957019|access-date=9 January 2014}}</ref> the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit" ([https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=mat+28%3A19&version=NABRE Matthew 28:19]).

The formula is mentioned in the [[Didache]] (7:1-3), and it is mostly accepted as authentic due to its supporting manuscript evidence.<ref>Everett Ferguson, Baptism in the Early Church, 2013, 134-5</ref>
Nevertheless, some scholars have held the view that the passage is an interpolation as it is absent from the first few centuries of early Christian quotations, in which case it would be part of an apostolic or early Christian oral tradition from which both the received texts of Matthew and the Didache emerged.<ref>Sim, David C., and Boris Repschinski, eds. Matthew and his Christian contemporaries. Bloomsbury Publishing, 2008, 124-5.</ref>
The view of the passage as an interpolation was in recent times maintained by the [[Jesus Seminar]], a nontrinitarian movement active in the 1990s. Critics of the Jesus Seminar described this particular line of argument as [[eisegesis]] based on a preconceived conclusion.<ref>They apply the Seminar's presuppositional test, "Beware of finding a Jesus entirely congenial to you", especially to the Jesus Seminar themselves, "who ''a priori'' have determined the nature of the 'historical Jesus' by adopting biased presuppositions, thereby producing a 'Jesus' wholly 'congenial' to themselves" ([https://books.google.com/books?id=QtE1orv4Xg0C&dq=%22beware+of+finding+a+jesus+entirely+congenial+to+you%22&pg=PA204 ''The Jesus Crisis: The Inroads of Historical Criticism Into Evangelical'', by Robert L. Thomas, F. David Farnell]).</ref>

==Use in baptism==
According to the doctrines of [[Catholic Church|Roman Catholicism]], [[Oriental Orthodox Church|Oriental Orthodoxy]], [[Eastern Orthodox Church|Eastern Orthodoxy]], and most forms of [[Protestantism]], such as [[Lutheranism]], [[Calvinism]] and [[Anglicanism]], a [[baptism]] is not valid unless the Trinitarian formula is used in the administration of that [[sacrament]]. Consequently, they may not recognize religious communities that baptize without this formula – ''e.g.,'' [[Unitarianism|Unitarians]], [[William M. Branham|Branhamists]], [[Frankism|Frankists]], [[Jehovah's Witnesses]], and [[Oneness Pentecostal]]s, all of whom deny the Trinity – as Christian denominations. This is also the case with baptisms within [[The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints]] (LDS church). Although LDS members baptize with the same Trinitarian formula, they reject the [[Nicene Christianity|Nicene Trinitarian]] conception and regard the three persons of the Trinity as being distinct personages united not in substance, but in dominion and purpose.<ref>Encyclopedia of Mormonism, Godhead, http://eom.byu.edu/index.php/Godhead</ref>

Baptism according to the Trinitiarian formula is seen as being a basis for [[Christian ecumenism]], the concept of working towards the eventual unity of Christians belonging to different [[Christian denominations]].<ref name="Pizzey2019">{{cite book |last1=Pizzey |first1=Antonia |title=Receptive Ecumenism and the Renewal of the Ecumenical Movement: The Path of Ecclesial Conversion |date=15 March 2019 |publisher=[[Brill Academic Publishers]] |isbn=978-90-04-39780-4 |page=131 |language=en |quote=Baptism into Christ unites all Christians, despite their divisions. It is relationship with Christ through baptism, which enables relationship with other Christians. According to Congar, "on the basis of the baptism which incorporates us into Christ and the Word which is our Christian norm, [ecumenism's] aim is to carry out the will and the prayer of Christ, which is that his disciples should be united." The Christological foundation of Spiritual Ecumenism affirms that ecumenism is not our idea or goal, but rather Christ's will and prayer for us. Moreover, Christian unity already exists to some extent among all baptised Christians because of their relationship with Christ. Only through Christ is ecumenism possible. Kasper explains that Spiritual Ecumenism's fundamental Christological basis means that any ecumenical spirituality "will also be a sacramental spirituality." Baptism is "therefore a basic element of ecumenical spirituality."}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Becoming a Christian: The Ecumenical Implications of Our Common Baptism |url=https://www.oikoumene.org/en/resources/documents/commissions/faith-and-order/ii-worship-and-baptism/becoming-a-christian-the-ecumenical-implications-of-our-common-baptism |publisher=[[World Council of Churches]] |access-date=13 September 2020 |language=en |date=24 January 1997}}</ref>

==See also==
{{Portal|Christianity}}
*[[Sign of the cross]]
*[[Validity and liceity (Catholic Church)]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

{{Theology}}
{{Lutheran Divine Service}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Trinitarian Formula}}
[[Category:Baptism]]
[[Category:Biblical phrases]]
[[Category:Christian terminology]]
[[Category:Trinitarianism]]
[[Category:Religious formulas]]