The Quarterly Journal of St. Philaret’s Institute

This article considers the issue of using the concept of “consciousness” in interpreting the late-antique and medieval Christian triadology. The author demonstrates how the content of biblical, patristic and liturgical texts generates this theological-philosophical problem. A phenomenological method is used: the reader is invited to follow the inner logic and problems of trinitarian theology. The article points out the limitations of the traditional trinitarian terminology. In the author’s opinion, the presentation of classical theology in modern language has an important theoretical and practical significance for the formation of Christian identity nowadays. The article shows what conceptual conclusions follow from the development of the trinitarian and antitrinitarian positions on the issue of consciousness within the Trinity. It is also emphasized that, in solving this problem, it is important to understand the difference in the New European interpretation of “consciousness” from the late-antique and medieval understanding of this phenomenon. In general, the article allows for some conclusions about the specifics of the interaction between church and secular languages.