Citation Phan, Peter C. Grace.

Grace and the Human Condition: Message of the Fathers of

the Church vol 15. USA: Michael Glazier Inc., 1988.

Summary This book aims to expound the biblical teaching on grace, charis as God´s
gratuitous gift to save the humankind, and the human condition which the early
Christian writers reflected upon and communicated through their writings.
The author explored the different cultural movements of the patristic era that
influenced the formation of theological understanding of that time like the
Gnostics, Platonism, Plotonian Neo-platonism and Stoicism.
The author concluded the points of the indwelling Trinitarian which is called now
as the Uncreated Grace, and the divinization or theosis as the Created Grace.

Evaluation This book is filled with significant points on the understanding of the Trinity by
the Cappadocian Fathers. This will be a great help to elaborate the Trinitarian
work of salvation and restoration of man to its original nature.
From man´s fallen condition, the unique way Cappadocians identifies this
restoration through the concept of theosis, or a life in the Spirit or deification.
This book will point out the Eastern fathers´ view on the Trinitarian plan for a
Universal restoration.

Citation Torrance T.F. The Trinitarian Faith. Edinburgh: T.&T. Clark Ltd, 1988

Summary This book offers the general perspective and devotion within the Nicene and
Constantinopolitan theology which gave the implicit and definite expression of
the Trinitarian dogmas. The Nicene- Constantinopolitan creed, which was the
fruit of Eastern Catholic theology, will be discussed through the works of the
Greek fathers dissecting the crucial points of debate on the Trinity.
The author concludes by bringing together the different emphases of the
Cappadocian fathers on the doctrine of the Holy Trinity.

Evaluation This book shows an ample discussion on the Trinity by the great Cappadocian
doctors. The main idea of the Nicene-Constantinopolitan creed is the homoousion
which became the key to the Triunity of God. Basil´s great emphasis to the
distinguishing properties of the three divine persons while preserving the unity of
the Trinity will be beneficial. The doctrine of unity sought to established by the
Cappadocians anchoring Father as the principle and origin of the Son and the
Spirit.
Citation Ratzinger, Joseph. Principles of Catholic Theology: Building Stones for a
Fundamental Theology. San Francisco: Ignatius Press, 1987.

Summary Pope Emeritus Bemedict XVI presents the theological perspective of Vatican
Council II on ecumenical dimension. It draws from the inner core of the Catholic
tradition which involves the historical perspective and contents of the Nicene and
Constantinople Creeds. Ratzinger elaborates the inseparable relationship
between scripture and tradition in the ¨building stones for a fundamental
theology¨.
The author concludes that Vatican II is a rediscovery of the relationship between
plurality and unity that has its effect in the ecclesial life of the Church, turning to
the theology of the Fathers.

Evaluation The book will help to elaborate the creeds of the Nicene and Constantinople
Councils from its historical context, the structure and content. The political and
philosophical acumen played part in the debate of the times. Finally, the value of
this book is highly acknowledged due to the author´s credibility as great modern
theologian.

Citation Emery, Gilles OP. Trinity, Church, and the Human Person: Thomistic essays.
Florida: Sapientia Press of Ave Maria University, 2007.

Summary This book offers the concise, academic theology of St Thomas Aquinas on Trinity.
It presents the most important concerns of the Trinitarian theology from St
Thomas treatises. His doctrine helps to analyze the great connection between the
¨immanent Trinity¨ and the ¨economic Trinity¨.
The book concludes with the two essays concerning on the question of evil and
the general views on man´s cultural-linguistic aspect and how St Thomas doctrine
treated them by his vivid perception of God´s transcendence.

Evaluation This book will be of great help to show the influence of the Eastern fathers to
treatises and doctrines of St Thomas especially St John Chrysostom and St
Damascene. The author presents that St Thomas Christology is fundamentally a
Greek structure. The significance his theological sources will be of great help to
build of path of convergence to the Eastern and Western´ Trinitarian dogmas.
St Thomas was not intending to compose a Latin Theology but a Christian
¨ecumenical¨ theology, an integration with the reflections and doctrines of the
Eastern Fathers on Trinity.
Citation Letham, Robert. The Holy Trinity: In Scripture, Theology and Worship. New Jersey:
P&R Publishing Company, 2004.

Summary The book offers a reformed perspective of the doctrine of the Trinity. The
recovering of the doctrine through the supreme authority of the Scripture, the
orthodoxy of the East and West. It also interacts with the Protestant theologians.
The book captures the biblical foundations of the revelation of the Father in the
Old testament and Jesus in the New Testament. It deals also with the historical
development of the Dogma of Trinity from the threat that Arian controversy
brought and the filioque controversy. The book concludes with the Trinity´s
sharing of Nature is found in Love.

Evaluation This book will give central points on the teachings of the Eastern Fathers’ doctrine
of the Trinity from the contexts of Arian controversy and the filioque controversy
with the Western fathers. This will also capture the major differences between
the East and the West on clarifying the divine nature of God. Moreover, the book
will help to show the crucial issue for the council of Constantinople to address on,
the opposing views of pneumatomachii and how it will further develop the
dogma on the Holy Spirit. Lastly, the point of Gregory Palamas on the Triad will
help to expound the idea of ¨energies of God¨.

Citation O´Collins Gerald SJ. The Tripersonal God: Understanding and Interpreting the
Trinity. Chippenham: Antony Rowe Ltd., 1999.
Citation Hunt, Anne. Trinity: Nexus of the Mysteries of Christian Faith. New York: Orbis
Books, 2005.

Summary This book presents the Trinitarian doctrine in its roots in the Scriptures, in the
historical developments before Nicaea to the great theologians of the 4 th century
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doctrine initiated by Arius provoked the calling of the council of
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Evaluation The chapter on The
Constantinople. the development
chapter on of Trinitarian
councils will Theology in the Patristic
help to analyze will
the credal
greatly help in the articulation of the trinitarian doctrines from the
statements and the contributions of the Cappadocians and Athanasius in defining perspective of
Eastern fathers.
the trinitarian faith. A short yet rich content on the article about the
Cappadocians will be useful for the paper to express the geniuses of that time to
use Greek terminologies to provide definition on the Trinitarian faith.
Citation Meredith, Anthony SJ. The Cappadocians. New York: St Vladimir´s Seminary Press,
1995.

Summary This book presents a more elaborative and central discussions on the major
theologians of the Eastern Church, the Cappadocians. The author treated them,
Basil of Caesarea, Gregory of Nazianzus and Gregory of Nyssa, individually and
offered a relative background to understand the development of their doctrines.
The roots of the Cappadocian theology were influenced by Platonic concepts and
Origen´s works. The political and cultural structure played important role in the
formulations of the Trinitarian theology, that is the Hellenistic influences. The
book concludes with the Cappadocian achievements.

Evaluation The book has given an individual presentation of the Cappadocian fathers and it
will be a good material to elaborate the development of their trinitarian theology,
The discussion on the influences of Hellenism and the lengthy work on the core of
Cappadocian achievements will be substantial to the research paper. For example
the arguments on the terms ousia and hypostases, the Christological debate on
humanity and divinity and other points.
Citation Athanasopoulus, Constantinos and Schneider, Christoph. Divine Essence and
Divine Energies: Ecumenical Reflections on the Presence of God in eastern
Orthodoxy. Cambridge: James Clarke & Co, 2013.

Summary Essence-energy tradition is a key doctrine in the Orthodox tradition. This book
offers the traces of this key points, its meaning from the usage of Aristotle
through Plotinus. The understanding of these concepts of energeia and ousia
used by St Paul, the Apostolic Fathers to the Cappadocians. This collection
assesses and tackles the essence-energy distinction from historical, theological
and philosophical perspectives.

Evaluation This is a collection of essays and research, which focuses on the central theme of
Eastern tradition, ousia and energeia. This material will help deepen the core of
the research that is mentioned. The discussion on the energeia will be significant
in the contents of the research and how did the Cappadocians explained it
beyond mere a Divine operation. It will further explain how the gift of the Holy
Spirit as a form of divine energy, and the imitation of God through the divine
energies in the Eastern concept of deification. St Basil´s distinction of ousia and
energies will also help to clarify the Trinitarian doctrine.
Citation St Basil the Great. On the Holy Spirit, trans. David Anderson. New York: St Vladimir
´s Seminary Press, 1980.

Summary The work of St Basil, one of the most important dogmatic works from the early
church, provides a clear explanation of the prepositions used in the traditional
formula of the Doxology of the Holy Trinity. St Basil expressed the dist9nct levels
of glory appropriate to the three persons. The treatise greatly serves as a defense
on the denial of the full divinity of the Holy Spirit. The authority of the Holy
Scripture becomes the powerful defense tool to demonstrate the doctrine on the
Holy Spirit. St Basil concluded his work by clarifying through Paul and post-
apostolic fathers the orthodox understanding of the Triune God.

Evaluation The treatise will help on the discussion of the divinity of the Holy Spirit and the
demonstration of the divinity by St Basil using Paul´s theology and the early
apostolic fathers like Dionysius and Clemet of Rome. The major points of Basil on
the Holy Spirit will be explained on the paper to give emphasis on a seemingly set
aside Person of the Holy Spirit and acclaim the dignity and glory of the Paraclete.
The use of the preposition ¨in¨ will be explored also to understand how the Spirit
works in the Trinity´s life.

Citation Kelly, J.N.D. ed., Early Christian Doctrines. London: A&C Ltd., 1977.

Summary The book presents the principal Christian doctrines from the patristic epoch. It
follows the development of the doctrines on the Trinity from the influences of the
socio-political environment; from the significant movement of Nicene Theology to
Chalcedon. There are two important dividing lines cut across the period: the
theological temperament between East and the West and the reconciliation
between the Church and the Empire. The book concludes epilogue on the
Christian hope concerning the resurrection and the Parousia and judgment.

Evaluation The part III of the book which investigates the period of Nicaea to Chalcedon
offers a wide-view and rich content on Trinitarian theology. The Nicene crisis will
explain further the action and response of the Eastern Fathers to formulating and
establishing Trinitarian doctrine. Athanasius´ pioneer contribution on the
Homoousion of the Spirit and the Cappadocians treatises on this will be
substantial.
Citation Quasten, Johannes. Patrology, vol 3, The Golden Age of Greek Patristic Literature.
Marryland: Christian Classics Inc, 1984.

Summary The book offers the voluminous writings of the Greek fathers and their doctrines.
The period when the great Church Fathers begins the golden age of the
ecclesiastical literature. The Cappadocians among the Greek patristics were able
to combine the excellent theological science with Hellenistic culture. The school
of Alexandria flourished and names like Origen manifested such mastery in
doctrines. The School of Antioch including Athanasius and the Cappadocians
became the protagonist and defender of the orthodoxy.

Evaluation This compilation of the central doctrinal points of the Greek fathers will be
advantageous. The background of the Greek writers, the summary of each
important documents and the highlight doctrines developed will be an easy tool
to understand the connection, development, and trajectory of their theology. The
works of John Chrysostom will be seen as an influential Greek theologian.

Citation Dunzl, Franz. A Brief History of the Doctrine of the Trinity in the Early Church. New
York: T&T Clark, 2007.

Summary The book explains the formation of the Trinitarian doctrine in a narrative based
on current sources. It describes the dynamics of the Trinitarian disputes, the
beginning of Christology, the first models of the relationship between Father and
Son, the controversies leading to Council of Nicaea and the unsettled questions
that led the Council of Constantinople. The book concludes with the prospect of
the author that the very terminology of the Neo Nicene doctrine must today be
framed with hermeneutical explanations; to bring the modern concept to clarify
the terms used since the Nicene vocabulary is not immediately comprehensible
today.

Evaluation The book has elaborated the Trinitarian doctrinal development with a systematic
approach. The historical presentation of Dunzl was clear, concise, and accessible.
Points from the theological split in the empire and the assembling of the neo-
Nicenes will be an additional ground for understanding the trinitarian faith of the
Greek fathers. The question on the Holy Spirit as major player in the divine plan of
 salvation according to Athanasius will be helpful.

Citation Reid, Duncan. Energies of the Spirit: Trinitarian Models in the Eastern Orthodox
and Western Theology. USA: Scholars Press, 1997.

Summary The book presents and elaborates the doctrine of the ¨energeia¨ of the Spirit,
which is a unique work and theological reflections of the Eastern Fathers, and the
relation to the doctrine of charisms. The author also placed this ¨uncreated
energies¨, a Palamite doctrine as means for an ecumenical dialogue. The book
concludes with an ecumenical fellowship, a need to address a common
theological understanding which does not point a struggle beween the eastern
and Western theologies but a mutual support for the growth in knowledge of
God.

Evaluation As I find it interesting to make use of the theme of the energies in the research.
Such material will be helpful to elaborate the points on this doctrine and
understand deeper the realities of God. The Eastern orthodox teaches the
approach or movement of doxology which is ¨from the world to God¨. In this
sense, to understand the connection among the Persons of the Trinity presented
by the Eastern Fathers and developing the ideas that would find the epicenter of
such reality, would make us find the very truth of our being.
Citation Maloney, George. Abiding in the Indwelling Trinity. New Jersey: Paulist Press,
1924.

Summary This book presents a deep theological understanding of the life of the Trinity in
itself and in the soul. Fr Maloney approaches this mystery as a dynamic
movement of God through Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit. It also shows the
Trinitarian community and finds that force, that harmony present in Them. The
Eastern Fathers developed doctrines and teachings on the indwelling Trinity that
lived with and transformed Christians into divinized children of God. The book
concludes with the vision of God in a soul as invading love.

Evaluation The Chapter two of the book, entitled ¨The Community of Divine Love¨, is a
deepening and reflection of that divine energies present to God and that which
must be the energies of every man on Earth. The energies, as presented by the
author, is that which unites man to God, a union with God and all human beings,
or in other word participants of the divine nature. The reflection of the author
would be a very valuable material to show how this Greek Patrisitcs develop the
core of the Trinitarian life, and how it relates to the life of all creation.
¨Deification involves the union of divine and human wills or the uncretaed and
created energeia.