# Consubstantiality

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Christian theology of the Trinity

Not to be confused with [Consubstantiation](/source/Consubstantiation).

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**Consubstantiality**, a term derived from [Latin](/source/Latin_language): *consubstantialitas*, denotes identity of substance or essence in spite of difference in [aspect](/source/Aspect_(religion)).[1]

It appears most commonly in its adjectival form, "consubstantial",[2] from Latin *consubstantialis*,[3] and its best-known use is in regard to an account, in [Christian theology](/source/Christian_theology), of the relation between [Jesus Christ](/source/Jesus_Christ) and [God the Father](/source/God_the_Father).

## Theological use

The affirmation that Jesus Christ is "consubstantial with the Father" appears in the [Nicene Creed](/source/Nicene_Creed).[4] [Greek](/source/Greek_language) was the language in which the Nicene Creed was originally enunciated. The word used was [Greek](/source/Greek_language): ὁμοούσιος[5] (*[homoousios](/source/Homoousios)*) and means "of the same substance."[6][7] This may be contrasted with the term ὁμοιούσιος (*[homoiousios](/source/Homoiousian)*), meaning "of like substance" and, therefore, not the "same substance," as was proposed, for example, at a later church council (the [Council of Seleucia](/source/Council_of_Seleucia) regarding the [Arian controversy](/source/Arian_controversy)) in the year 359.

The term οὐσία ([ousia](/source/Ousia)) is an [Ancient Greek](/source/Ancient_Greek) noun, formed on the [feminine](/source/Grammatical_gender) present [participle](/source/Participle) of the verb [εἰμί](https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/%CE%B5%E1%BC%B0%CE%BC%CE%AF#Ancient_Greek), *eimí*, meaning "to be, I am", so similar grammatically to the English noun "being". There was no equivalent grammatical formation in [Latin](/source/Latin), and it was translated as *essentia* or *substantia* and then indirectly into English as "essence" or "substance". [Cicero](/source/Cicero) coined *essentia*[8] and the philosopher [Seneca](/source/Seneca_the_Younger) and rhetorician [Quintilian](/source/Quintilian) used it as equivalent for οὐσία, while [Apuleius](/source/Apuleius) rendered οὐσία both as *essentia* or *substantia*. In order to designate οὐσία, [early Christian](/source/Early_Christian) theologian [Tertullian](/source/Tertullian) favored the use of *substantia* over *essentia*, while [Augustine of Hippo](/source/Augustine_of_Hippo) and [Boethius](/source/Boethius) took the opposite stance, preferring the use of *essentia* as designation for οὐσία.[9][10]

The word "consubstantial" was used by the [Council of Chalcedon](/source/Council_of_Chalcedon) (451) to declare that Christ is "consubstantial with the Father in respect of the Godhead, and the same consubstantial with us in respect of the manhood".[11]

In contemporary Christian theology, the [Holy Spirit](/source/Holy_Spirit) is also described as consubstantial with the [Father](/source/God_the_Father) and [Son](/source/God_the_Son).[12]

## Alternative translations of the Nicene-Creed term

In the [1662 *Book of Common Prayer*](/source/Book_of_Common_Prayer_(1662)) of the [Church of England](/source/Church_of_England), the adjective "consubstantial" in the Nicene Creed is rendered by the phrase "being of one substance".[13] The same phrase appeared already in the [Book of Common Prayer (1549)](/source/Book_of_Common_Prayer_(1549))[14] and continues to be used, within "Order Two", in *[Common Worship](/source/Common_Worship)*, which within "Order One" gives the ecumenical [English Language Liturgical Consultation](/source/English_Language_Liturgical_Consultation) version, "of one Being".[15]

The [Eastern Orthodox Church](/source/Eastern_Orthodox_Church) use "of one essence".[16][17][18]

The [Catholic Church](/source/Catholic_Church), in its official translation of the Nicene Creed, uses the term "consubstantial"[19] as a translation of "consubstantialem" (in [Greek](/source/Greek_language) “[ὁμοούσιον](/source/%E1%BD%89%CE%BC%CE%BF%CE%BF%CF%8D%CF%83%CE%B9%CE%BF%CE%BD)"), instead of "of one Being with the Father" (or, in the United States only, "one in Being with the Father"), which were the English translations used until November 2011.[20]

## In rhetoric

In [rhetoric](/source/Rhetoric), "consubstantiality", as defined by [Kenneth Burke](/source/Kenneth_Burke), is "a practice-related concept based on stylistic identifications and symbolic structures, which persuade and produce acceptance: an acting-together within, and defined by, a common context".[21] To be consubstantial with something is to be identified with it, to be associated with it; yet at the same time, to be different from what it is identified with.[22] It can be seen as an extension or in relation to the subject.[*[citation needed](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Citation_needed)*]

Burke explains this concept with two entities, A and B. He goes on to explain that "A is not identical with his colleague, B. But insofar as their interests are joined, A is identified with B. Or he may identify himself with B even when their interests are not joined, if he assumes they are, or is persuaded to believe so...In being identified with B, A is 'substantially one' with a person other than himself. Yet at the same time, he remains unique, an individual locus of motives. Thus he is both joined and separate, at once a distinct substance and consubstantial with another."[22]

"Consubstantiality may be necessary for any way of life, Burke says. And thus rhetoric, as he sees it, potentially builds community. It can tear it down as well. In the end, rhetoric relies on an unconscious desire for acting-together, for taking a 'sub-stance' together".[23][24]

## See also

Look up ***[consubstantiality](https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/consubstantiality)*** in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

- [Adoptionism](/source/Adoptionism)

- [Arianism](/source/Arianism)

- [Chalcedonian Definition](/source/Chalcedonian_Definition)

- [Eutychianism](/source/Eutychianism)

- [Glossary of rhetorical terms](/source/Glossary_of_rhetorical_terms)

- [Hypostatic union](/source/Hypostatic_union)

- [Identification in Burkean rhetoric](/source/Identification_in_Burkean_rhetoric)

- [Jesus in Christianity](/source/Jesus_in_Christianity)

- [Miaphysitism](/source/Miaphysitism)

- [Subordinationism](/source/Subordinationism)

- [Trinity](/source/Trinity)

## References

1. **[^](#cite_ref-1)** [Collins English Dictionary: "consubstantial"](https://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/english/consubstantial)

1. **[^](#cite_ref-2)** [Chamber's Twentieth Century Dictionary: "of the same substance, nature, or essence, esp. of the Trinity", "united in one common substance"](http://www.finedictionary.com/consubstantial.html)

1. **[^](#cite_ref-3)** [Charlton T. Lewis, Charles Short, *A Latin Dictionary*: consubstantialis](https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.04.0059%3Aentry%3D%2310664&redirect=true)

1. **[^](#cite_ref-4)** [*Encyclopædia Britannica*: "Nicene Creed"](https://www.britannica.com/topic/Nicene-Creed)

1. **[^](#cite_ref-5)** [Henry George Liddell, Robert Scott, *A Greek-English Lexicon*: ὁμοούσιος](https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.04.0057%3Aalphabetic+letter%3D*o%3Aentry+group%3D38%3Aentry%3Do%28moou%2Fsios)

1. **[^](#cite_ref-6)** ["Definition of HOMOOUSIAN"](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/homoousian). [Merriam-Webster](/source/Merriam-Webster). Retrieved 2021-09-06.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-7)** ["homousian"](https://www.thefreedictionary.com/homousian), *[The Free Dictionary](/source/The_Free_Dictionary)*, retrieved 2021-09-06

1. **[^](#cite_ref-8)** Conte, G.B.: "Latin Literature: a history" (1987) p. 199

1. **[^](#cite_ref-FOOTNOTEOwens1951137–154_9-0)** [Owens 1951](#CITEREFOwens1951), pp. 137–154.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-FOOTNOTEBrown1996276_10-0)** [Brown 1996](#CITEREFBrown1996), p. 276.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-11)** David M. Gwynn. *[Christianity in the Later Roman Empire: A Sourcebook](https://books.google.com/books?id=UaNOBAAAQBAJ&pg=PA256)*. Bloomsbury Publishing; 20 November 2014. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [978-1-4411-3735-7](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-1-4411-3735-7). p. 256.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-12)** Steven D. Cone. *[Theology from the Great Tradition](https://books.google.com/books?id=NGFNDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA417)*. Bloomsbury Publishing; 22 February 2018. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [978-0-567-67002-1](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-0-567-67002-1). p. 417.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-13)** [The Order of the Administration of the Lord's Supper or Holy Communion](http://www.eskimo.com/~lhowell/bcp1662/communion/index.html).

1. **[^](#cite_ref-14)** [The Book of Common Prayer – 1549](http://justus.anglican.org/resources/bcp/1549/Communion_1549.htm)

1. **[^](#cite_ref-15)** ["Holy Communion Service"](https://www.churchofengland.org/prayer-and-worship/worship-texts-and-resources/common-worship/holy-communion#na). churchofengland.org. Retrieved 2020-08-16.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-16)** ["Common Prayers - The Creed: The Symbol of Faith"](http://oca.org/orthodoxy/prayers/symbol-of-faith). *oca.org*. Retrieved 2020-08-16.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-17)** ["The Nicene Creed"](https://www.goarch.org/-/the-nicene-creed). *goarch.org*. Retrieved 2020-08-16.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-18)** ["Morning Prayers"](http://ww1.antiochian.org/orthodox-prayers/morning-prayers). *antiochian.org*. Retrieved 2021-08-26.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-19)** ["What We Believe"](http://www.usccb.org/beliefs-and-teachings/what-we-believe/). *www.usccb.org*. Retrieved 2020-08-16.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-20)** ["Frequently Asked Questions"](https://web.archive.org/web/20111124041129/http://old.usccb.org/romanmissal/consubstantial.shtml). *In the Niceno-Constantinopolitan Creed*. [United States Conference of Catholic Bishops](/source/United_States_Conference_of_Catholic_Bishops). Archived from [the original](http://old.usccb.org/romanmissal/consubstantial.shtml) on 24 November 2011. Retrieved 27 November 2011.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-21)** Dousset, Laurent (April 2005). "Structure and substance: combining 'classic' and 'modern' kinship studies in the Australian Western Desert". *The Australian Journal of Anthropology*. **16**: 18. [doi](/source/Doi_(identifier)):[10.1111/j.1835-9310.2005.tb00107.x](https://doi.org/10.1111%2Fj.1835-9310.2005.tb00107.x).

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-Craig_22-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-Craig_22-1) Robert T. Craig (2007). *Theorizing Communication: Readings Across Traditions*. Los Angeles: Sage Publications.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-23)** David Blakesley. *[The Elements of Dramatism](https://books.google.com/books?id=gasNAAAACAAJ)*. Longman; 2002. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [978-0-205-33425-4](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-0-205-33425-4). p. 15–16.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-24)** [Same in pdf form](http://www.unm.edu/~sromano/english540/Blakesley%20Elements%20all.pdf)

## Sources

Wikiquote has quotations related to ***[Consubstantiality](https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Special:Search/Consubstantiality)***.

- Brown, Stephen F. (1996). "Theology and Philosophy". [*Medieval Latin: An Introduction and Bibliographical Guide*](https://books.google.com/books?id=Bb32Th4WAK0C). Washington, D.C.: CUA Press. pp. 267–287. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [978-0813208428](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-0813208428).

- [Owens, Joseph](/source/Joseph_Owens_(Redemptorist)) (1951). [*The Doctrine of Being in the Aristotelian Metaphysics: A Study in the Greek Background of Mediaeval Thought*](https://books.google.com/books?id=xl-zAAAAMAAJ). Toronto: Pontifical Institute of Mediaeval Studies.

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