Gilles Emery - The Trinity: An Introduction to Catholic Doctrine on the Triune God

As an introduction to the Trinity, this book presents the origins and development of a Trinitarian Christian culture. Gilles Emery provides the reader with the background not only to appreciate this culture, but also to enter into it. At every stage (biblical, patristic, and systematic) he pays particular attention to doxology and prayer, showing how the historical and contemplative dimensions of Trinitarian doctrine are inseparable. The mark of vibrant Trinitarian culture consists in its ability to appropriate the witness of the Scriptures to the triune God by means of the interweaving of doxological praise, creedal confession, and intellectual precision. Not surprisingly, the early Church developed a vibrant Trinitarian culture.

With particular attention to the Niceno-Constantinopolitan Creed, Emery skillfully presents the patristic doctrine of the Trinity and the lineaments of analogous discourse about God. His discussion of the personal relations of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit draws especially upon Thomas Aquinas. In Emery's hands, Thomas Aquinas's work of intellectual precision is shown to be a spiritual exercise that fosters the Church's liturgical union with God the Trinity. In order to appreciate the Trinity's creative and salvific acts, the Church must be able to speak about the eternal and transcendent Trinity in its inner life.

Rather than being merely a historical or a systematic introduction, Emery's book is a model of what it means to have a fully cultivatedTrinitarian sensibilitybiblically, liturgically, dogmatically. In clear and accessible prose, Emery moves from the witness of Scripture and faith, to doctrinal formulation of the Trinity in itself, to the creative and saving act of the Trinity. Each chapter can be read on its own as an introduction to its subject. Even so, students would do best to read the book as a whole, starting from the biblical witness to the Trinitarian economy of salvation and returning to this economy in the final chapter, enriched by the fruits of Trinitarian culture. Read in this way, the book not only teaches about the doctrine of the Trinity, but also cultivates Trinitarian wisdom in its readers.

This book first appeared in French. The present English version contains some new elements. After the publication of the French version, the author revised and updated the text, and these valuable emendations have been integrated into this English edition. My thanks to Gilles Emery and Dominic Legge, O.P., for carefully reading and correcting the translation.

Matthew Levering