ት Tergwame Greek · Coptic · Ethiopic · Syriac · Armenian · Georgian · Latin

Latin · Other ·

Trinae Unitatis Et Trinitatis Confessio

Martinus Episcopus Turonensis · ogl-pl

BothSourceEnglish
JSON Dossier
machine-draft · no human review 2 passages · 441 words

Work dossier · summary and historical context

Summary

The 'Trinae Unitatis Et Trinitatis Confessio' is a short Latin theological text attributed to Martin of Tours (c. 316–397), but this attribution is unsupported by contemporary evidence and is likely pseudepigraphal. The work employs post-Nicene Trinitarian language such as 'trina unitas' and 'trinitas', suggesting a date no earlier than the late 4th century, possibly later. It survives only in modern printed editions of spuria, with no known manuscript basis or citation in medieval sources. The text's authenticity and accuracy are unverifiable due to the lack of a critical edition.

The 'Confessio' illustrates the persistence of pseudepigraphal attributions to authoritative figures like Martin of Tours in later theological writing. Its rare expressions (e.g., 'Clemens Trinitas', 'corpus praescientiae') and apophatic rhetoric contribute to the study of Trinitarian language and its reception. The work's uncertain provenance highlights the challenges of verifying spuria in patristic corpora.

Historical context

The work's theological vocabulary—'trina unitas' and 'trinitas'—reflects the post-Nicene Trinitarian debates that intensified after the Council of Constantinople (381). The phrase 'ex nihilo' creation doctrine aligns with Latin anti-Arian polemic. The text is absent from early medieval Martinian hagiography (e.g., Sulpicius Severus, Gregory of Tours) and from medieval liturgy, canon law, or florilegia. Its transmission is limited to modern printed collections of spurious works, with no trace in manuscript tradition. The source edition 'ogl-pl' is not a standard critical edition, and no editorial method or manuscript basis is provided. The work likely originated in a later theological milieu, possibly medieval or early modern, as a doctrinal exercise rather than a genuine patristic text.

Apparatus · what the pipeline recorded

Annotation and terms

12 commentary units 2 term2 background2 structure2 reception2 caution1 sense1 scripture 0 derived notes 2 open questions 2 narrative
What the kinds mean

Pipeline notes

  • coverageNo English translation could be identified: a language model asked twice could not name one, though it could not rule one out either. That is not proof that none exists — translations in dissertations, recent books and other modern languages are easily missed.
  • limitThe English is a machine draft produced passage by passage from the transcribed Coptic; no human has verified it. The commentary is model-written and cites only keys the pipeline could resolve.
  • registerRegister: other in Latin; the English keeps the liturgical formulae and the vocatives rather than normalising them.
  • structurePassages: 2 narrative.
  • sourceSource edition: ogl-pl — Available under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License

Term index

CopticRenderingCountFirst
no glossary terms recorded
stoa0193b.stoa002.opp-lat1:1 · narrativemedium
Source
SANCTI MARTINI TRINAE UNITATIS ET UNIUS TRINITATIS CONFESSIO. Clemens Trinitas est una divinitas, ut autem per sacramentum cognoscatur: unitas esta ab eo qui est sanctus, et spiritus: a quo, qui est, et unigenitus sic exsistens divinae naturae, lucis, spiritus, a se, se per naturam, per substantiam majestatis, potestatis, virtutis, divinae lucis. Spiritus unus in duobus, et uterque in id ipsum: pater in filio, filius in patre, in sancto Spiritu. Sic tribus personis, confitemur corpus praescientiae: quod super omnia, cuncta concludit. In hoc mysterium ergo credimus, esse ex nullis exstantibus cuncta orta, quod mysterium mens humana concipere non potest, nec oratoria lingua enarrare, neque diffusi sermonis bibliothecarum volumina, si totum mundum libri repleant, divina scientia non possit inenarrabilis enarrari: qui est indicibilts, nullo modo possit describi, neque concludi aut verbum aut substantia propria divinitatis suae. Qui est fons divinae lucis, luminis, suae substantiae, naturae. Sileat lingua oratoria, quia deficit sermo de indicibili: cum consummaverit mens humana de divina majestate dicere, tunc incipit. Quanta sit autem divina clementia, nemo scit, nisi qui genuit: et nemo comperit secreta patris, nisi is qui per naturam, nascendi initium amisit.
English
THE CONFESSION OF SAINT MARTIN ON THE TRIPLE UNITY AND THE ONE TRINITY. The Clement Trinity is one divinity, but so that it may be known through the sacrament: unity is from him who is holy, and spirit: from whom, who is, and the only-begotten thus existing of divine nature, light, spirit, from itself, itself through nature, through the substance of majesty, power, virtue, of divine light. One spirit in two, and each in the same: the father in the son, the son in the father, in the Holy Spirit. Thus in three persons we confess the body of prescience: which is above all things, encompassing everything. In this mystery, therefore, we believe that all things have arisen from none existing, which mystery the human mind cannot conceive, nor an oratorical tongue narrate, nor the volumes of libraries of diffuse speech, if books fill the whole world, can divine knowledge, which is ineffable, be narrated: who is unspeakable, can in no way be described, nor can either the word or the proper substance of his divinity be enclosed or concluded. Who is the fountain of divine light, of his own substance and nature. Let the oratorical tongue be silent, because speech fails concerning the unspeakable: when the human mind has finished speaking about the divine majesty, then it begins. How great divine clemency is, however, no one knows, except he who begot: and no one has discovered the secrets of the father, except he who by nature has lost the beginning of being born.
stoa0193b.stoa002.opp-lat1:2 · narrativemedium
Source
Omnis ergo mansuetudo et modestia peritorum, convertatur ad prophetam: et dominica auctoritate praesumat, dicendo: Credidi, propter quod locutus sum (Psal. cxv, 10). Quod autem per mysterium simplex sit professio, ut fundamentum Ecclesiae, solidatae Apostolica auctoritate, praedestinatio sequens praesumat, dicendo. De caetero nemo mihi molestus sit, ego credo in Christum, et hunc crucifixum. Quia cum confitetur filium hominis, confitetur et sanctum Spiritum: quia e sancto Spiritu, et Maria virgine mediator nascitur: cum confitetur primogenitum, necesse est de unigenito, qui testimonium dicat, unum et solum sine origine esse: tertiam personam patrem confitetur, exsistentem divinae naturae, lucis. Spiritus ut dixi, qui secundum divinam naturam, ut supra dixi, est unus in duobus, et uterque in id ipsum; pater in filio, filius in patre, in sancto Spiritu in sancta Ecclesia. Nunc et in immortalia saecula saeculorum. Amen.
English
Therefore, all gentleness and modesty of the learned should turn to the prophet, and presume with dominical authority, saying: "I have believed, therefore I have spoken" (Ps. 115:10). But so that the profession may be simple through the mystery, as the foundation of the Church, solidified by apostolic authority, the following predestination presumes, saying: For the rest, let no one trouble me; I believe in Christ, and in this one crucified. Because when one confesses the Son of Man, one also confesses the Holy Spirit: for from the Holy Spirit and the Virgin Mary the mediator is born. When one confesses the firstborn, it is necessary that concerning the only-begotten, who bears witness, he be one and alone without origin. The third person is confessed as the Father, existing of divine nature, of light. The Spirit, as I have said, who according to the divine nature, as I have said above, is one in two, and each in the same: the Father in the Son, the Son in the Father, in the Holy Spirit in the Holy Church. Now and in the immortal ages of ages. Amen.
Citation. Tergwame, “Trinae Unitatis Et Trinitatis Confessio”, stoa0193b.stoa002.opp-lat1:1, machine-draft, 2026. https://naxiai.com/christian/works/stoa0193b.stoa002.opp-lat1#s1
Colophon. Source: ogl-pl · licence: Available under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License · model: deepseek/deepseek-v4-flash:floor · provider: Relace · cost: $0.0016 · generated 2026-11-15.