The Trinity and Communal Spirituality: Understanding The Nicene Creed in The Asian Context

Petrus Simarmata(1*),

(1) Sekolah Tinggi Pastoral St. Bonaventura Delitua Medan
(*) Corresponding Author

Abstract


The Nicene Creed (325), which affirms the Trinity as the core of Christian faith with profound theological, spiritual, and social ramifications, holds particular significance within the Asian context. This qualitative study employs a literature review to analyse the intricate relationship between the doctrine of the Trinity and communal spirituality in Asia. A comprehensive review of theological sources was undertaken, and the results demonstrate how the Trinitarian understanding of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit's relationality inspires a communal ethos characterised by solidarity, harmony, and togetherness. Within Asian traditions, which are deeply rooted in values of collectivity and interrelational spirituality, the doctrine of the Trinity emerges as a potent paradigm for an inclusive and dialogical expression of faith. The study thus substantiates the conclusion that the Nicene Creed, in addition to its dogmatic function, possesses the power to effect transformation in the practical realm of Christian communal life throughout Asia.


Keywords


Trinity; Nicene Creed; communal spirituality; Asian context;dialogue

Full Text:

PDF

References


Alvarez, Francis D. 2020. “Christianity in East and Southeast Asia.” In Christianity in East and Southeast Asia, edited by Kenneth R. Ross, Francis D. Alvarez Sj, and Todd M. Johnson. Vol. 16–37. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press.

Amaladoss, Michael. 1990. Making All Things New: Dialogue, Pluralism, and Evangelization in Asia. Orbis Books.

Aquinas, Thomas. 1947. Summa Theologiae. Translated by Fathers of the English Dominican and Province. Summa Theologiae. New York: Benzinger Brothers, Inc.

Archives, Vatican. 2010. “Catechism of the Catholic Church.” Nd Http://Www. Vatican. va/Archive/ENG0015/__P37. HTM.

Arevalo, C. 1997. SCCs in Asia: A Church of the People. Manila: East Asian Pastoral Institute.

Armstrong, Karen. 2022. Sacred Nature: How We Can Recover Our Bond with the Natural World. Random House.

Bevans, Stephen B. 2002. Models of Contextual Theology. Maryknoll, NY: Orbis Books.

Boff, Leonardo. 1988. “Trinity and Society (Maryknoll.” Orbis, 6–7.

Buck, Richard. 2020. “Community and the Holy Trinity.” The Furrow 71 (3): 156–59.

Busquet, Cinto. 2012. “A Buddhist-Catholic Dialogue of Life in Japan Finding Shared Values for Global Collaboration for the Common Good.” Claritas: Journal of Dialogue and Culture, 1 (1): 85–97.

Cheah, Joseph. 2020. “An Asian Pneumatology of the FABC and the Re-Imagining of Spirituality in Asia.” QUEST: Studies on Religion & Culture in Asia.

Cheu, Hock-Tong. 2021. Chinese Beliefs and Practices in Southeast Asia. Partridge Publishing Singapore.

Chia, Edmund. 2004. “Theology of Dialogue: Vision of the Catholic Church in Asia.” CTC Bulletin 20 (1): 72–81.

Christensen, Torben. 1973. The Divine Order: A Study in FD Maurice’s Theology. Vol. 11. Brill.

Chu, Irene, and Mai Chi Vu. 2022. “The Nature of the Self, Self-Regulation and Moral Action: Implications from the Confucian Relational Self and Buddhist Non-Self.” Journal of Business Ethics 180 (1): 245–62.

Coffey, David Michael. 1999. Deus Trinitas: The Doctrine of the Triune God. Oxford University Press.

Corpuz, Jeff Clyde G. 2025. “Toward Grassroots Interfaith Dialogue: The Role of a Faith-Based Movement.” Religions 16 (3): 345.

Cress, Graydon. 2019. “Perichoresis and Participation: Union between the Persons of God and between God and Humanity.” University of St Andrews.

Cua, A.S. n.d. “Confucian Philosophy, Chinese.” In Routledge Encyclopedia of Philosophy. London: Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9780415249126-G003-1.

Dagmang, Ferdinand. 2022. “Geography, Society, and Culture: Enablers (or Inhibitors) of Basic Ecclesial Community Development.” MST Review 24 (1): 1–36.

Evers, Georg. 2019. “Challenges to the Churches in Asia Today.” Asia Pacific Mission Studies 1 (2): 3.

Federation of Asian Bishops’ Conferences. 2023. The Final Document of the Asian Continental Assembly on Synodality.

Francesco, Papa. 2020. Fratelli Tutti: Lettera Enciclica Sulla Fraternità e l’amicizia Sociale. Edizioni Dehoniane Bologna.

Francis, Pope. 2014. Evangelii Gaudium-the Joy of the Gospel. Word Among Us Press.

H.Denzinger-A. Schönm. 1973. Enchiridion Symbolorum Definitorum et Declarationum de Rebus Fidei et Morum,. Barcelona-Freiburg im Breisgau-Roma: Herder.

Harefa, Julitinus. 2023. “Studi Kritis Terhadap Konsep Suhento Liauw Tentang Keterpisahan Pribadi Tritunggal Secara Lokal.” Jurnal Teologi Dan Pelayanan Kerusso 8 (1): 44–52.

Hodgson, Leonard. 1943. The Doctrine of the Trinity. Welwyn UK: Nisbet.

Horsthuis, Jim. 2022. A Perichoretic Pastoral Theology: In Cadence with God. Routledge.

John Paul II. 1981. “Familiaris Consortio. Apostolic Exhortation to the Episcopate to the Clergy and to the Faithful of the Whole Catholic Church Regarding the Role of the Christian Family in the Modern World,.”

Kärkkäinen, Veli-Matti. 2017. Trinity and Religious Pluralism: The Doctrine of the Trinity in Christian Theology of Religions. Routledge.

Kasimow, H., & Sherwin, B. L. 2005. John Paul II and Interreligious Dialogue. Michigan: Orbis Books.

Kelly, John Norman Davidson. 2000. Early Christian Doctrines. A&C Black.

Lee, Jung Young. 1996. The Trinity in Asian Perspective. Abingdon Press.

Markham, Ian S. 2017. Understanding Christian Doctrine. John Wiley & Sons.

Mary Ho. 2020. “The Future of Christianity in East and Southeast Asia.” In Christianity in East and Southeast Asia, edited by Francis D. Alvarez sj and Kenneth R. Ross and Todd M. Johnson, 479–91. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press Ltd.

Moe, David Thang. 2019a. “Conceptualizing and Contextualizing with and beyond Paul Hiebert’s Anthropological Models: Toward a Contextual Trinitarian Missiology in Myanmar.” Missiology 47 (2): 153–72.

———. 2019b. “From a Trinitarian Theology of Religion to a Trinitarian Theology of Religions: Bridging ‘First Theology’and ‘Second Theology.’” The Expository Times 130 (7): 285–304.

Moltmann, Jurgen. 1981. The Trinity and the Kingdom of God. Translated by M. Kohl. London UK: SCM Press.

Mowry LaCugna, Catherine. 1991. “God for Us: The Trinity and Christian Life.” San Francisco, Ca.

Nicholls, David. 1984. “Divine Analogy: The Theological Politics of John Donne.” Political Studies 32 (4): 570–80.

Olson, Roger E, and Christopher Hall. 2002. The Trinity. Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing.

Pandaiya, Delvia, Marthinus Ngabalin, and Lindra Yolanda Camerling. 2021. “Pengaruh Budaya ‘Satu Tungku Tiga Batu’ Terhadap Toleransi Beragama Masyarakat Werba Fakfak Papua.” Jurnal Misioner 1 (1): 18–40.

Panikkar, Raimundo. 1981. The Unknown Christ of Hinduism: Towards an Ecumenical Christophany. Darton, Longman and Todd.

———. 1987. “The Jordan, the Tiber, and the Ganges: Three Kairological Moments of Christic Self-Consciousness.” The Myth of Christian Uniqueness: Toward a Pluralistic Theology of Religions, 89–116.

Paul VI. 1964. “Lumen Gentium, Dogmatic Constitution on the Church.” Vatican.

Pelikan, Jaroslav. 1971. The Christian Tradition: A History of the Development of Doctrine, Volume 2: The Spirit of Eastern Christendom (600-1700). Vol. 2. University of Chicago Press.

Phan, Peter C. 2015a. Being Religious Interreligiously: Asian Perspectives on Interfaith Dialogue. Orbis Books.

———. 2015b. Christianity with an Asian Face: Asian American Theology in the Making. Orbis Books.

———. 2015c. In Our Own Tongues: Perspectives from Asia on Mission and Inculturation. Orbis Books.

Pieris, Aloysius. 1996. “Fire and Water: Basic Issues in Asian Buddhism and Christianity.”

Prestige, George Leonard. 1936. “God in Patristic Thought.”

Rahner, K. 1997. The Trinity. New York: Crossroad Publishing.

Ranson, Guy H. 1959. “The Trinity and Society.” Religion in Life 29 (1): 1959–60.

Ratzinger, Joseph. 2009. Truth and Tolerance: Christian Belief and World Religions. Ignatius Press.

Rayappan, Arockia. 2022. “Basic Ecclesial Communities: Fertile Ground for Religious & Social Harmony.” Journal of the Council for Research on Religion 4 (1): 36–56.

Rosales, Gaudencio B. 1970. “For All the Peoples of Asia.”

Saiyasak, Chansamone. 2022. “The Development of Asian Christian Spirituality.” In Paper Presentation, Asian Society of Missiology Forum, 24–26.

Sangma, Dipty D, and M Bharani. 2024. “Spiritual Values In Buddhism And Christianity: A Philosophical Study.” Journal of Advanced Zoology 45 (2).

Schoeman, Willem J. 2022. “Tracing the Trinity in Doing Practical Theology.” Verbum et Ecclesia 43 (1): 2671.

Sheldrake, Philip. 1999. Spirituality and Theology: Christian Living and the Doctrine of God. Orbis Books.

Simarmata, Petrus, Milda Longgeita Pinem, and Armada Riyanto. 2024. “Rethinking Christian Spirituality. Exploring Challenges and Opportunities Beyond the Global North-South Binary.” Bogoslovska Smotra 94 (5): 927–45.

Sonea, Cristian. 2024. “The Spirituality of the Nicene Creed and Its Missionary Implications in the Parish Community.” International Review of Mission 113 (2): 324–40. https://doi.org/10.1111/irom.12511.

Sumi, Ayesha Akter. 2025. “The Role of Interreligious Dialogue in Promoting Communal Harmony: Bangladesh Perspective.” © University of Dhaka.

Tan, J. Y. 2018. Asian Theology: A Contextual Approach. New York: Orbis Books.

Tanchanpongs, Natee. 2015. “Asian Reformulations of the Trinity: An Evaluation.” The Trinity among the Nations: The Doctrine of God in the Majority World, 100–119.

Tuggy, Dale. 2013. Trinity. Lulu. com.

Volf, Miroslav. 1998. “‘The Trinity Is Our Social Program’: The Doctrine of the Trinity and the Shape of Social Engagement.” Modern Theology 14 (3): 403–23.

Walter Kasper. 1977. Jesus the Christ. Translated by V. Green. London UK: Burns & Oates.

Ware, Bruce A. 2011. “The Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit: The Trinity as Theological Foundation for Family Ministry.” Journal of Discipleship and Family Ministry 1 (2): 4–11.

Warraich, Sajjad Ahmad, and Javiria Kokab. 2023. “Comparative Analysis of Major World Religions: Similarities and Differences.” Al Haqeeqah 3 (1): 1–10.

Wong, Wai Ching Angela. 2020. “Colonial and Postcolonial Context.” In Christianity in East and Southeast Asia, edited by Francis D. Alvarez SJ Kenneth R. Ross and and Todd M. Johnson, 463–75. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press.

Yang, Heejun. 2024. Asian Case Studies on Translating Christianity: Toward God’s Self-Communication and the Trinitarian End of Asian Theology. Lexington Books.

Zhang, Xunmou. 2015. “On Promoting Religious Harmony, and Helping Religion to Play an Active Role in China.” In Religion and Social Cohesion: Western, Chinese and Intercultural Perspectives, edited by C. (Eds.) van der Braak, A. F. M., Dedong, W., & Zhu, 87–92. Amsterdam: VU University Press.

Zizioulas, Jean. 2004. Being as Communion: Studies in Personhood and the Church. Darton Longman & Todd.

Zurlo, Gina A. 2020. “A Demographic Profile of Christianity in East and Southeast Asia.” In Christianity in East and Southeast Asia, edited by

Francis D Alvarez, Todd M Johnson, and Kenneth R Ross, 3–14. Edinburgh University Press.




DOI: https://doi.org/10.24071/tic.v2i2.12085

Refbacks

  • There are currently no refbacks.


Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

            

E-ISSN 3062-7745 (Validity Starting Volume 1 No. 1 Juni 2024)

P-ISSN 3062-7753 (Validity Starting Volume 1 No. 1 Juni 2024)

Kaliurang St No.KM, RW.7, Joho, Condongcatur, Depok, Sleman Regency, Special Region of Yogyakarta 55281, Indonesia

Flag Counter

Proceedings of The International Conference on Theology, Religion, Culture, and Humanities is licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0