Sabellius Facts for Kids

This page is about the third-century theologian. For the Finnish composer, see Jean Sibelius.

Sabellius (who lived around 215 AD) was a priest and theologian in the third century. He probably taught in Rome, but some people think he might have been from Libya in North Africa. Most of what we know about Sabellius comes from the writings of people who disagreed with him.

History of Sabellius
Sabellius's Beliefs About God
Opposing Sabellius's Views
Similar Ideas Today
See also

History of Sabellius

Sabellius had different ideas about God compared to the growing belief in the Trinity (God as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit). Because of his views, he was removed from the church (called excommunication) by Pope Callixtus I in 220 AD. Some historians believe Pope Callixtus wanted to keep the church united, which was why he took action against Sabellius.

Sabellius's Beliefs About God

Sabellius taught that God is one single being who cannot be divided. He believed that the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit were not separate persons, but rather different ways or "modes" that this one God showed himself.

God's Different "Modes"

This idea is called Sabellianism or modalistic monarchianism. A follower of Sabellius would say that the One God appeared to people in different ways over time:

As the Father when He created the world.
As the Son (Jesus) when He came to save people.
As the Holy Spirit when He made people holy and gave them new life.

This idea was different from the teaching that God was one being made of three distinct persons. Sabellius saw the Father, Son, and Spirit as different "modes," "aspects," "faces," or "roles" that God presented to the world.

The Greek word "homoousios" was used by Athanasius of Alexandria to describe God. This word means "of the same essence." It was also a term that Sabellius was said to have liked. However, Athanasius used it to mean that the Father and Son were distinct persons but shared the same divine nature. Sabellius used it to mean that God was one person appearing in different ways.

Later, at the Council of Nicaea in 325 AD, the term "homoousios" was accepted. It was used to explain that the Father and Son are distinct persons but are equally God and share the same divine nature. This helped clarify that it was not being used in the way Sabellius understood it.

God as the Sun

Epiphanius of Salamis, an early church writer, said that Sabellius used the sun as an example to explain God's nature. Just like the sun has "three powers" (warmth, light, and its round shape), God has three aspects:

The warming power is like the Holy Spirit.
The illuminating (lighting) power is like the Son.
The form or shape is like the Father.

Sabellius used the Greek word "prosopa," which means "faces," to describe how God has three "faces" or ways of showing Himself.

Understanding Sabellius's Ideas

Historians have had different ideas about exactly what Sabellius taught because his original writings were lost. We mostly know about his ideas from what his opponents wrote.

One historian, Johann Lorenz von Mosheim, explained Sabellius's views in the 1800s. He said that Sabellius believed God was a "perfectly simple unity." To avoid the idea of "many Gods," Sabellius did not believe in separate persons within God.

However, Sabellius still believed that the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit were truly different, not just different names. He thought that just as a person is one being but has a body, soul, and spirit, God is one being but has the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit as different parts or ways of acting.

Opposing Sabellius's Views

Sabellius's teachings were strongly opposed by other church leaders like Tertullian in North Africa and Hippolytus in Rome. They believed in a Trinity where the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit were distinct persons, with the Son and Spirit being somewhat "lower" than the Father.

Tertullian gave Sabellius's teaching the name Patripassianism. This means "the Father suffered." He used this term because Sabellius's ideas seemed to suggest that the Father Himself suffered on the cross, since there was no true distinction between the Father and the Son in Sabellius's view. Tertullian wrote that Sabellius's ideas meant "he crucified the Father."

Even after Sabellius's time, his followers were still found in places like Mesopotamia and Rome. An old inscription found in Rome in 1742 confirms that Sabellian Christians lived there.

Similar Ideas Today

Some modern Christian groups, like Oneness Pentecostals, have beliefs that share some similarities with Sabellius's ideas. They also believe that the Biblical God is one Person, not three. They see the Father, Son, and Spirit as different aspects or ways that this one Person shows Himself, rather than three distinct persons.

However, it's hard to be completely sure if Sabellius taught the exact same things as these modern groups, because all of his original writings were destroyed. We only have what his opponents wrote about him.

Some early Christians who followed Sabellius were also known to experience glossolalia (speaking in tongues) and used a "shorter formula" for baptism, not mentioning the Trinity. However, the main reason Sabellians were debated was their understanding of Jesus (their Christology), not these practices.

Sabellius facts for kids

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