Gourt Home::Gourt :: Trinitarian formula
The trinitarian formula is the phrase "in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit" (original Greek εις το ονομα του πατρος και του υιου και του αγίου πνεύματος, eis to onoma tou patros kai tou huiou kai tou hagiou pneumatos), or words to that form and effect referring to the persons of the Holy Trinity.
Biblical origin
These words are quoted from a command of Jesus in Matthew 28:19, commonly called the Great Commission: "Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit."
Use in baptism
According to Roman Catholicism, Eastern Orthodoxy and most forms of Protestantism, a baptism is not valid if the trinitarian formula is not used in the administration of that sacrament. Consequently, they may not recognize religious communities that baptize without the trinitarian formula—e.g.
Unitarians, Branhamists, Frankists, all of whom deny the Trinity—as Christian religions. Some of these other religions (Frankists and Branhamists in particular) use the formula In the name of Jesus (based on Acts 2:38) for baptism, and in their turn re-baptize converts baptized under the trinitarian formula. They claim that previously these would not have been aware that 'Jesus is the Lord', Jesus being the name of the Son, Father and Holy Ghost).
Jehovah's Witnesses baptize “in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit" but deny the Trinity. They believe Jesus is the "Son of God" not "God the Son" and that the Holy Spirit is God's active power not "God the Holy Spirit".
Other uses
As well as baptism, the formula is used in other prayers, rites, liturgies, and sacraments. One of the most common uses of the Trinitarian invocation is when Catholics, Eastern Orthodox Christians, Anglicans, Lutherans, and others make the Sign of the Cross while reciting the formula.
Views from historical criticism
Biblical scholars from the Jesus Seminar, a group of textual critics (including figures like Robert W. Funk, John Dominic Crossan, Marcus Borg, Bruce D. Chilton, and John S. Kloppenborg), have stated that the whole of chapter 28 is the result of later editorial work on the Gospels and was never uttered by Jesus or his immediate disciples.
These scholars further acknowledge the passage as a valid expression of Trinitarian sentiment reflective of the development of the Trinity idea, and as such still has significance within Christian doctrine, while rejecting the historical connection of the words to the historical figure of Jesus of Nazareth.
They argue, however, that this denial of connection to Jesus does not affect the validity of the passage in such thinking, since it remains in the canon and has been proved through the Christian experience of a Tripartite Monotheist diety. Luke Timothy Johnson, often a critic of the methods of the Jesus Seminar, states in his book The Writings of the New Testament: An Interpretation that his research affirms a view of Matthew 28:19 as apocryphal.
In other words, these scholars' belief that the passage has no historical foundation (i.e., that Jesus said it) is not to claim that it is irrelevant, since it has shaped the development of Christianity through time.
Others have challenged the work of the Jesus Seminar, arguing that the scholars working on the project began with a conclusion and worked to justify it through their research and exegesis.
Fears of patriarchal influence
From the late twentieth century onwards, many in liberal Christianity have become uncomfortable with the traditional male representation of God and have sought to de-emphasise or eliminate altogether gender-specific references to God.
Some of these indiviuals and groups prefer the formula "in the name of the Creator, the Redeemer, and the Sanctifier." The traditionalists respond that all persons of the Trinity are involved in creation, redemption and sanctification, and that attempting to redefine the Trinity in terms of "functions" is essentially a form of Sabellianism, or modalism.
Because of this, the Roman Catholic Church has declared that baptisms carried out under such a formula are not only illicit, but also invalid.
See also
Christian liturgy, rites, and worship services | Christianity
"Trinitarian formula"