A triad, in a

religious Religion is a range of social- cultural systems, including designated behaviors and practices, morals, beliefs, worldviews, texts, sanctified places, prophecies, ethics, or organizations, that generally relate humanity to supernatural ...

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 The Trinity (, from 'threefold') is the Christian doctrine concerning the nature of God, which defines one God existing in three, , consubstantial divine persons: God the Father, God the Son (Jesus Christ) and God the Holy Spirit, thr ...

Triple deity A triple deity is a deity with three apparent forms that function as a singular whole. Such deities may sometimes be referred to as threefold, tripled, triplicate, tripartite, triune, triadic, or as a trinity. The number three has a long history ...

. Triads of three closely associated deities were commonly found throughout the ancient world, and in particular in the religious traditions of

Ancient Greece Ancient Greece () was a northeastern Mediterranean civilization, existing from the Greek Dark Ages of the 12th–9th centuries BC to the end of classical antiquity (), that comprised a loose collection of culturally and linguistically r ...

and

Egypt Egypt ( , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country spanning the Northeast Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to northe ...

List of deity triads

Historical polytheism

* The

Classical Greek Ancient Greek (, ; ) includes the forms of the Greek language used in ancient Greece and the ancient world from around 1500 BC to 300 BC. It is often roughly divided into the following periods: Mycenaean Greek (), Dark Ages (), the Archa ...

Olympic triad of

Zeus Zeus (, ) is the chief deity of the List of Greek deities, Greek pantheon. He is a sky father, sky and thunder god in ancient Greek religion and Greek mythology, mythology, who rules as king of the gods on Mount Olympus. Zeus is the child ...

( king of the gods),

Athena Athena or Athene, often given the epithet Pallas, is an ancient Greek religion, ancient Greek goddess associated with wisdom, warfare, and handicraft who was later syncretism, syncretized with the Roman goddess Minerva. Athena was regarde ...

(goddess of war and intellect) and

Apollo Apollo is one of the Twelve Olympians, Olympian deities in Ancient Greek religion, ancient Greek and Ancient Roman religion, Roman religion and Greek mythology, Greek and Roman mythology. Apollo has been recognized as a god of archery, mu ...

(god of the sun, culture and music) * The Delian chief triad of

Leto In ancient Greek mythology and Ancient Greek religion, religion, Leto (; ) is a childhood goddess, the daughter of the Titans Coeus and Phoebe (Titaness), Phoebe, the sister of Asteria, and the mother of Apollo and Artemis.Hesiod, ''Theogony' ...

(mother),

Artemis In ancient Greek religion and Greek mythology, mythology, Artemis (; ) is the goddess of the hunting, hunt, the wilderness, wild animals, transitions, nature, vegetation, childbirth, Kourotrophos, care of children, and chastity. In later tim ...

(daughter) and Apollo (son) and second Delian triad of Athena, Zeus and

Hera In ancient Greek religion, Hera (; ; in Ionic Greek, Ionic and Homeric Greek) is the goddess of marriage, women, and family, and the protector of women during childbirth. In Greek mythology, she is queen of the twelve Olympians and Mount Oly ...

* The

Eleusinian Mysteries The Eleusinian Mysteries () were initiations held every year for the Cult (religious practice), cult of Demeter and Persephone based at the Panhellenic Sanctuary of Eleusis in ancient Greece. They are considered the "most famous of the secret rel ...

centered on

Persephone In ancient Greek mythology and Ancient Greek religion, religion, Persephone ( ; , classical pronunciation: ), also called Kore ( ; ) or Cora, is the daughter of Zeus and Demeter. She became the queen of the Greek underworld, underworld afte ...

(daughter),

Demeter In ancient Greek religion and Greek mythology, mythology, Demeter (; Attic Greek, Attic: ''Dēmḗtēr'' ; Doric Greek, Doric: ''Dāmā́tēr'') is the Twelve Olympians, Olympian goddess of the harvest and agriculture, presiding over cro ...

(mother), and

Triptolemus Triptolemus (), also known as Buzyges (), was a hero of Eleusis (Boeotia), Eleusis in Greek mythology, central to the Eleusinian Mysteries and is worshipped as the inventor and patron of agriculture. Triptolemus is credited with being the fir ...

(to whom Demeter taught agriculture) * In ancient Egypt there were many triads: ** The Osirian (or Abydos) triad of

Osiris Osiris (, from Egyptian ''wikt:wsjr, wsjr'') was the ancient Egyptian deities, god of fertility, agriculture, the Ancient Egyptian religion#Afterlife, afterlife, the dead, resurrection, life, and vegetation in ancient Egyptian religion. He was ...

(husband),

Isis Isis was a major goddess in ancient Egyptian religion whose worship spread throughout the Greco-Roman world. Isis was first mentioned in the Old Kingdom () as one of the main characters of the Osiris myth, in which she resurrects her sla ...

(wife), and

Horus Horus (), also known as Heru, Har, Her, or Hor () in Egyptian language, Ancient Egyptian, is one of the most significant ancient Egyptian deities who served many functions, most notably as the god of kingship, healing, protection, the sun, and t ...

(son) ** The

Theban triad The Theban Triad is a triad of Egyptian gods most popular in the area of Thebes, Egypt. The triad The group consisted of Amun, his consort Mut and their son Khonsu. They were favored by both the 18th and 25th Dynasty. At the vast Karnak Te ...

Amun Amun was a major ancient Egyptian deity who appears as a member of the Hermopolitan Ogdoad. Amun was attested from the Old Kingdom together with his wife Amunet. His oracle in Siwa Oasis, located in Western Egypt near the Libyan Desert, r ...

Mut Mut (; also transliterated as Maut and Mout) was a mother goddess worshipped in ancient Egypt. Her name means ''mother'' in the ancient Egyptian language. Mut had many different aspects and attributes that changed and evolved greatly over th ...

and

Khonsu Khonsu (; also transliterated Chonsu, Khensu, Khons, Chons, Khonshu, or Konshu; ) is an ancient Egyptian god of lunar deity, the Moon. His name means 'traveller', and this may relate to the perceived nightly travel of the Moon across the sky. Al ...

** The Memphite triad of

Ptah Ptah ( ; , ; ; ; ) is an ancient Egyptian deity, a creator god, and a patron deity of craftsmen and architects. In the triad of Memphis, he is the husband of Sekhmet and the father of Nefertem. He was also regarded as the father of the ...

Sekhmet In Egyptian mythology, Sekhmet ( or Sachmis , from ; ) is a warrior goddess as well as goddess of medicine. Sekhmet is also a solar deity, sometimes given the epithet "the Eye of Ra, eye of Ra". She is often associated with the goddesses Hatho ...

and

Nefertem Nefertem (; possibly "beautiful one who closes" or "one who does not close"; also spelled Nefertum or Nefer-temu) was, in Egyptian mythology, originally a lotus flower at the creation of the world, who had arisen from the primal waters.Nefertem pa ...

** The

Elephantine Elephantine ( ; ; ; ''Elephantíne''; , ) is an island on the Nile, forming part of the city of Aswan in Upper Egypt. The archaeological site, archaeological digs on the island became a World Heritage Site in 1979, along with other examples of ...

triad of

Khnum Khnum, also romanised Khnemu (; , ), was one of the earliest-known Egyptian deities in Upper Egypt, originally associated with the Nile cataract. He held the responsibility of regulating the annual inundation of the river, emanating from the ca ...

(god of the source of the

Nile The Nile (also known as the Nile River or River Nile) is a major north-flowing river in northeastern Africa. It flows into the Mediterranean Sea. The Nile is the longest river in Africa. It has historically been considered the List of river sy ...

Satet Satet, Satit or Satjet, Satjit in Ancient Egyptian ( or ', ."Pourer" or "Shooter"), Greek: Satis, also known by numerous related names, was an Upper Egyptian goddess who, along with Khnum and Anuket, formed part of the Elephantine Triad. A pro ...

(personification of the floods of the Nile), and

Anuket Anuket was the ancient Egyptian goddess of the cataracts of the Nile and Lower Nubia in general, worshipped especially at Elephantine near the First Cataract. Etymology In ancient Egyptian, she was known as Anuket, Anaka, or Anqet. Her name ...

(goddess of the Nile) ** The sun god Ra, whose form in the morning was

Khepri Khepri (Egyptian language, Egyptian: ''ḫprj,'' also transliterated Khepera, Kheper, Khepra, Chepri) is a scarab-faced Egyptian pantheon, god in ancient Egyptian religion who represents the rising or morning sun. By extension, he can also repres ...

, at noon Re-Horakhty and in the evening

Atum Atum (, Egyptian: ''jtm(w)'' or ''tm(w)'', ''reconstructed'' ; Coptic ''Atoum''), sometimes rendered as Atem, Temu, or Tem, is the primordial God in Egyptian mythology from whom all else arose. He created himself and is the father of Shu and ...

, and many others * The

Hellenistic Egypt The Ptolemaic Kingdom (; , ) or Ptolemaic Empire was an ancient Greek polity based in Ancient Egypt, Egypt during the Hellenistic period. It was founded in 305 BC by the Ancient Macedonians, Macedonian Greek general Ptolemy I Soter, a Diadochi, ...

triad of Isis, Alexandrian

Serapis Serapis or Sarapis is a Egyptian Greeks, Graeco-Egyptian god. A Religious syncretism, syncretic deity derived from the worship of the Egyptian Osiris and Apis (deity), Apis, Serapis was extensively popularized in the third century BC on the ord ...

and

Harpocrates Harpocrates (, Phoenician language, Phoenician: 𐤇𐤓𐤐𐤊𐤓𐤈, romanized: ḥrpkrṭ, ''harpokratēs'') is the god of silence, secrets and confidentiality in the Hellenistic religion developed in History of Alexandria#Ptolemaic era ...

Hellenized Hellenization or Hellenification is the adoption of Greek culture, religion, language, and identity by non-Greeks. In the ancient period, colonisation often led to the Hellenisation of indigenous people in the Hellenistic period, many of the te ...

version of the already referred Isis-Osiris-Horus triad), though in the early

Ptolemaic Ptolemaic is the adjective formed from the name Ptolemy, and may refer to: Pertaining to the Ptolemaic dynasty *Ptolemaic dynasty, the Macedonian Greek dynasty that ruled Egypt founded in 305 BC by Ptolemy I Soter *Ptolemaic Kingdom Pertaining t ...

period Serapis, Isis and Apollo (who was sometimes identified with Horus) were preferred. * The Roman

Capitoline Triad The Capitoline Triad was a group of three deities who were worshipped in ancient Roman religion in an elaborate temple on Rome's Capitoline Hill (Latin ''Capitolium''). It comprised Jupiter, Juno and Minerva. The triad held a central place in th ...

Jupiter Jupiter is the fifth planet from the Sun and the List of Solar System objects by size, largest in the Solar System. It is a gas giant with a Jupiter mass, mass more than 2.5 times that of all the other planets in the Solar System combined a ...

(father), Juno (wife), and

Minerva Minerva (; ; ) is the Roman goddess of wisdom, justice, law, victory, and the sponsor of arts, trade, and strategy. She is also a goddess of warfare, though with a focus on strategic warfare, rather than the violence of gods such as Mars. Be ...

(daughter) * The Roman pleibian triad of Ceres,

Liber Pater In ancient Roman religion and mythology, Liber ( , ; "the free one"), also known as Liber Pater ("the free Father"), was a god of viticulture and wine, male fertility and freedom. He was a patron deity of Rome's plebeians and was part of the ...

and Libera (or its Greek counterpart with

Dionysos In ancient Greek religion and myth, Dionysus (; ) is the god of wine-making, orchards and fruit, vegetation, fertility, festivity, insanity, ritual madness, religious ecstasy, and theatre. He was also known as Bacchus ( or ; ) by the Greek ...

and Kore) * The Julian triads of the early Roman

Principate The Principate was the form of imperial government of the Roman Empire from the beginning of the reign of Augustus in 27 BC to the end of the Crisis of the Third Century in AD 284, after which it evolved into the Dominate. The principate was ch ...

: ** Venus Genetrix,

Divus Iulius The vocabulary of ancient Roman religion was highly specialized. Its study affords important information about the religion, traditions and beliefs of the ancient Romans. This legacy is conspicuous in European cultural history in its influence on ...

, and Clementia Caesaris ** Divus Iulius,

Divi filius ''Divi filius'' is a Latin phrase meaning "son of a god", and was a title much used by the emperor Augustus, the grand-nephew and adopted son of Julius Caesar. Octavian On 1 January 42 BC, nearly two years after the assassination of Julius Caes ...

and

Genius Augusti Genius is a characteristic of original and exceptional insight in the performance of some art or endeavor that surpasses expectations, sets new standards for the future, establishes better methods of operation, or remains outside the capabilitie ...

** Eastern variants of the Julian triad, e.g. in

Asia Minor Anatolia (), also known as Asia Minor, is a peninsula in West Asia that makes up the majority of the land area of Turkey. It is the westernmost protrusion of Asia and is geographically bounded by the Mediterranean Sea to the south, the Aegean ...

: Dea Roma, Divus Iulius and Genius Augusti (or Divi filius) * The Matres (Deae Matres/

Dea Matrona In Celtic mythology, Dea Matrona ('Divine Mother') was the goddess who gives her name to the river Marne (ancient ''Matrŏna'') in Gaul Gaul () was a region of Western Europe first clearly described by the Roman people, Romans, encompassin ...

) in

Roman mythology Roman mythology is the body of myths of ancient Rome as represented in the literature and visual arts of the Romans, and is a form of Roman folklore. "Roman mythology" may also refer to the modern study of these representations, and to th ...

* The Fates,

Moirai In ancient Greek religion and Greek mythology, mythology, the Moirai ()often known in English as the Fateswere the personifications of fate, destiny. They were three sisters: Clotho (the spinner), Lachesis (mythology), Lachesis (the allotter ...

Furies The Erinyes ( ; , ), also known as the Eumenides (, the "Gracious ones"), are chthonic goddesses of vengeance in ancient Greek religion and mythology. A formulaic oath in the ''Iliad'' invokes them as "the Erinyes, that under earth take v ...

Greek Greek may refer to: Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor of all kno ...

and Roman mythology:

Clotho Clotho (; ) or Klotho, is a mythological figure. She was one of the Three Fates or Moirai. In ancient Greek mythology, she spins the thread of human life, her sisters draw out ( Lachesis) and cut ( Atropos) the thread. She also made major dec ...

or Nona the Spinner,

Lachesis Lachesis ( ; ; from , 'to obtain by lot, by fate, or by the will of the gods'), in ancient Greek religion, was the middle of the Three Fates, or Moirai; the others were her sisters, Clotho and Atropos. Normally seen clothed in white, Laches ...

or Decima the Weaver, and

Atropos Atropos (; "without turn"), in Greek mythology, was the third of the Three Fates or Moirai, goddesses of fate and destiny. Her Roman equivalent was Morta. Atropos was one of the Three Fates and was known as "the Inflexible One." It was Atro ...

or Morta the Cutter of the Threads of Life. One's Lifeline was Spun by Clotho, Woven into the tapestry of Life by Lachesis, and the thread Cut by Atropos. * The

Hooded Spirits The Hooded Spirits or ''Genii Cucullati'' are figures found in religious sculpture across the Gallo-Roman, Romano-Celtic region from Roman Britain, Britain to Pannonia, depicted as "cloaked scurrying figures carved in an almost abstract manner". ...

or ''Genii Cucullati'' in

Gallo-Roman Gallo-Roman culture was a consequence of the Romanization (cultural), Romanization of Gauls under the rule of the Roman Empire in Roman Gaul. It was characterized by the Gaulish adoption or adaptation of Roman culture, Roman culture, language ...

times * The main supranational triad of the ancient

Lusitanian mythology Lusitanian mythology is the mythology of the Lusitanians, an Indo-European languages, Indo-European speaking people of western Iberian Peninsula, Iberia, in what was then known as Lusitania. In present times, the territory comprises the central p ...

and

religion Religion is a range of social system, social-cultural systems, including designated religious behaviour, behaviors and practices, morals, beliefs, worldviews, religious text, texts, sanctified places, prophecies, ethics in religion, ethics, or ...

and Portuguese

Neopagan Modern paganism, also known as contemporary paganism and neopaganism, spans a range of new religious movements variously influenced by the beliefs of pre-modern peoples across Europe, North Africa, and the Near East. Despite some common simila ...

s made up of the couple Arentia and Arentius and Quangeius and Trebaruna, followed by a minor

Gallaeci The Gallaeci (also Callaeci or Callaici; ) were a Celtic tribal complex who inhabited Gallaecia, the north-western corner of Iberia, a region roughly corresponding to what is now the Norte Region in northern Portugal, and the Spanish regions ...

an- Lusitanian triad of Bandua (under many natures), Nabia and Reve female nature: Reva * The sisters Uksáhkká, Juksáhkká and Sáhráhkká in Sámi mythology. *

Odin Odin (; from ) is a widely revered god in Norse mythology and Germanic paganism. Most surviving information on Odin comes from Norse mythology, but he figures prominently in the recorded history of Northern Europe. This includes the Roman Em ...

, Vili and Ve in

Norse mythology Norse, Nordic, or Scandinavian mythology, is the body of myths belonging to the North Germanic peoples, stemming from Old Norse religion and continuing after the Christianization of Scandinavia as the Nordic folklore of the modern period. The ...

* The

Norns The Norns ( , plural: ) are a group of deities in Norse mythology responsible for shaping the course of human destinies.''Nordisk familjebok'' (1907) The Norns are often represented as three goddesses known as Urd ( Urðr), Verðandi, and S ...

Freyr Freyr (Old Norse: 'Lord'), sometimes anglicized as Frey, is a widely attested Æsir, god in Norse mythology, associated with kingship, fertility, peace, prosperity, fair weather, and good harvest. Freyr, sometimes referred to as Yngvi-Freyr, was ...

, and

Thor Thor (from ) is a prominent list of thunder gods, god in Germanic paganism. In Norse mythology, he is a hammer-wielding æsir, god associated with lightning, thunder, storms, sacred trees and groves in Germanic paganism and mythology, sacred g ...

in Norse mythology. Odin is the god of wisdom and knowledge, Freyr is the god of fertility and prosperity, and Thor is the god of thunder and strength. * The

Triglav Triglav (; ; ), with an elevation of , is the highest mountain in Slovenia and the highest peak of the Julian Alps. The mountain is the pre-eminent symbol of the Slovene nation, appearing on the Coat of arms of Slovenia, coat of arms and Flag ...

Slavic mythology Slavic paganism, Slavic mythology, or Slavic religion refer to the Religion, religious beliefs, myths, and ritual practices of the Slavs before Christianisation of the Slavs, Christianisation, which occurred at various stages between the 8th and ...

Perkūnas Perkūnas (, , Old Prussian: ''Perkūns'', ''Perkunos'', Sudovian language, Yotvingian: ''Parkuns'', Latgalian language, Latgalian: ''Pārkiuņs'') was the common Baltic languages, Baltic List of thunder gods, god of thunder, and the second m ...

(god of heaven),

Patrimpas Potrimpo (also ''Potrimpus'', ''Autrimpo'', ''Natrimpe'') was a god of seas, earth, grain, and crops in the pagan Baltic region, Baltic, and Prussian mythology. He was one of the three main gods worshiped by the Old Prussians. Most of what is know ...

(god of earth) and Pikuolis (god of death) in

Prussian mythology The Prussian mythology was a polytheistic religion of the Old Prussians, indigenous peoples of Prussia before the Prussian Crusade waged by the Teutonic Knights. It was closely related to other Baltic faiths, the Lithuanian and Latvian mytho ...

* The

Zorya Zorya (Literal translation, lit. "Dawn"; also many variants: Zarya, Zaria, Zorza, Zirnytsia, Zaranitsa, Zoryushka, etc.) is a figure in Slavic folklore, a feminine personification of dawn, possibly goddess. Depending on tradition, she may appear ...

or Auroras in

* The

Charites In Greek mythology, the Charites (; ), singular Charis (), also called the Graces, are goddesses who personify beauty and grace. According to Hesiod, the Charites were Aglaia (Grace), Aglaea, Euphrosyne, and Thalia (Grace), Thalia, who were the ...

or Graces in

Greek mythology Greek mythology is the body of myths originally told by the Ancient Greece, ancient Greeks, and a genre of ancient Greek folklore, today absorbed alongside Roman mythology into the broader designation of classical mythology. These stories conc ...

* The One, the Thought (or Intellect) and the Soul in

Neoplatonism Neoplatonism is a version of Platonic philosophy that emerged in the 3rd century AD against the background of Hellenistic philosophy and religion. The term does not encapsulate a set of ideas as much as a series of thinkers. Among the common id ...

Judaism

Jewish

orthodoxy Orthodoxy () is adherence to a purported "correct" or otherwise mainstream- or classically-accepted creed, especially in religion. Orthodoxy within Christianity refers to acceptance of the doctrines defined by various creeds and ecumenical co ...

emphatically believes in the oneness of an infinite God, This understanding is rooted in the core belief of "

Shema ''Shema Yisrael'' (''Shema Israel'' or ''Sh'ma Yisrael''; , “Hear, O Israel”) is a Jewish prayer (known as the Shema) that serves as a centerpiece of the morning and evening Jewish prayer services. Its first verse encapsulates the monothe ...

" (Hear, O Israel): "The Lord our God, the Lord is one". Yet some have suggested, for various reasons, that this is not the case. They conclude that because the words

Adonai Judaism has different names given to God in Judaism, God, which are considered sacred: (), (''Adonai'' ), (''El (deity), El'' ), ( ), (''El Shaddai, Shaddai'' ), and ( ); some also include I Am that I Am.This is the formulation of Josep ...

and

Elohim ''Elohim'' ( ) is a Hebrew word meaning "gods" or "godhood". Although the word is plural in form, in the Hebrew Bible it most often takes singular verbal or pronominal agreement and refers to a single deity, particularly but not always the Go ...

are both plural, it must refer to a plurality or compound unity of the Jewish God. However, this assumption is often made from those who have no formal background in Hebrew and ancient Jewish works. For example, the cited encounter of Abraham in Gen 18 with the three men or angels is often anachronistically used to leverage the Christian dogma of the Trinity. Also, the word "Adonai" in the chapter is used to bolster these claims of plurality. However, Jewish scholarship has repeatedly refuted these claims linguistically and doctrinally. Further, other critics of Judaism attempt to utilize kabbalistic works as proof of Jews hiding the true nature of Judaism. These detractors, often conspiratorial in nature, dissect passages and piece them back together without any connection to the original author’s intent or meaning. While

Kabbalah Kabbalah or Qabalah ( ; , ; ) is an esoteric method, discipline and school of thought in Jewish mysticism. It forms the foundation of Mysticism, mystical religious interpretations within Judaism. A traditional Kabbalist is called a Mekubbal ...

explores different aspects of God's presence, it does not depict God as a Trinity or Triad. It is true, Kabbalists use the concept of the

Sefirot Sefirot (; , plural of ), meaning '' emanations'', are the 10 attributes/emanations in Kabbalah, through which Ein Sof ("infinite space") reveals itself and continuously creates both the physical realm and the seder hishtalshelut (the chained ...

, which are ten emanations or aspects of God's presence. However, these are not distinct persons within God or godhead but rather different ways in which God reveals himself to the world (such as, wisdom or love). The claim that Jews are hiding a Trinitarian concept within Kabbalah is based on misunderstandings of both Kabbalah and the Christian Trinity. It is more accurate to say that Jewish and Christian understandings of God's nature are distinct and have different theological implications. This is not a new or recent debate but rather a long standing battle that has a complex history involving Jews, Christians, Muslims and Atheists. Each with its own history and motivations. Within Judaism, the concept of God being a Tiad or Trinity is not supported but many external opinions are still vigorously debated by others.

Christian Trinity

The

Christian A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a Monotheism, monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the wo ...

doctrine of the

(, from "threefold") defines

God In monotheistic belief systems, God is usually viewed as the supreme being, creator, and principal object of faith. In polytheistic belief systems, a god is "a spirit or being believed to have created, or for controlling some part of the un ...

as being

one god Monotheism is the belief that one God is the only, or at least the dominant deity.F. L. Cross, Cross, F.L.; Livingstone, E.A., eds. (1974). "Monotheism". The Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church (2 ed.). Oxford: Oxford University Press. A ...

existing in three wikt:coequal, coequal, wikt:coeternal, coeternal, Consubstantiality, consubstantial Hypostasis_(philosophy_and_religion)#Hypostases in Christology, persons: God the Father (Christianity), God the Father, God the Son (Jesus in Christianity, Jesus Christ) and Holy Spirit in Christianity, God the Holy Spirit — three distinct persons sharing one Homoousion, essence.Definition of the Fourth Lateran Council quoted in ''Catechism of the Catholic Church'
§253
(''Enchiridion symbolorum, definitionum et declarationum de rebus fidei et morum, DS'
804
. In this context, the three persons define God is, while the one essence defines God is. This doctrine is called Trinitarianism and its adherents are called trinitarians, while its opponents are called Nontrinitarianism, antitrinitarians or nontrinitarians. Nontrinitarian positions include Unitarianism, Binitarianism and Modalistic Monarchianism, Modalism.

Dharmic religions

* Amitabha triad, Amitabha Triad - Amitābha, Avalokiteśvara and Mahāsthāmaprāpta in Mahayana Buddhism * Ayyavazhi Trinity * Brahma, Vishnu, and Shiva (Trimurti) in Puranic Hinduism * Mitra (Vedic), Mitra, Aryaman, and Varuna in early vedic Hinduism * Ganga (goddess), Ganga, Yamuna in Hinduism, Yamuna, and Saraswati merged in one is the Triveni * Sahā Triad - Shakyamuni, Avalokitesvara and Ksitigarbha in Mahayana Buddhism * Shakti, Lakshmi, and Saraswati (Tridevi) in Puranic Hinduism

Other Eastern religions

* Three Pure Ones in Taoism * Fu Lu Shou in Taoism * San-shan kuo-wang, Lords of the Three Mountains in Chinese folk religion * The Ahuric Triad of Ahura Mazda, Mithra and Apam Napat in Zoroastrianism. Also, in Achaemenid times, Mazda, Mithra and Anahita. * Amaterasu, Tsukuyomi and Susanoo in Shinto. * Tản Viên Sơn Thánh, Thần Cao Sơn and Thần Quý Minh, Three mountain gods rule the Ba Vì mountain range in Vietnamese folk religion. * Mẫu Thượng Thiên, Mẫu Thoải and Mẫu Thượng Ngàn in Đạo Mẫu.

Neopaganism

* Triple Goddess (Neopaganism), the Maiden-Mother-Crone deity of Wicca and other neopagan faiths.

Esotericism

* Nuit, Hadit and Ra Hoor Khuit in the Thelema, Thelemic spiritual system

References

{{reflist 3 (number) Lists of deities Mythological archetypes

List of deity triads

Historical polytheism

Judaism

Christian Trinity

Dharmic religions

Other Eastern religions

Neopaganism

Esotericism

See also

References