noun
- a Christian theological doctrine holding that the three persons of the Trinity (Father, Son, and Holy Spirit) are different modes or manifestations of a single divine being rather than distinct persons
Usage: theology; also called Sabellianism
Examples
- Modalism was condemned as heretical by the early Christian church councils.
- The theologian argued that modalism failed to account for the simultaneous presence of all three persons of the Trinity.
- Early church fathers rejected modalism because it seemed to deny the distinct personhood of Christ and the Holy Spirit.
- Modalism represents one of the major alternative interpretations of the nature of God in Christian history.