Trine-God Controversy In the churches over which Hincmar (q.v.), archbishop of Rheims, presided, he forbade the singing of the last words of a very ancient hymn- Te trina Deitas, unaque poscimus ("Of thee, trine Deity, yet one, we ask") on the ground that this phraseology subverted the simplicity of the Divine Nature, and implied the existence of three Gods. The Benedictine monks would not obey this mandate-of Hincmar; and one of their number, Ratramnus, wrote in defense of a trine Deity. Godeschalcus, hearing of this dissension while in prison, sent forth a paper, in which he defended the cause of his fellow-monks. For this he was accused by Hincmar of Tritheism, and was confuted in a book written expressly for that purpose. But this controversy soon subsided; and, in spite of Hincmar's efforts, the words retained their place in the hymn. See Mosheim, Ch. Hist. bk. 5, ch. 2, p. 94.
The Cyclopedia of Biblical, Theological, and Ecclesiastical Literature was edited by John McClintock and James Strong. It contains nearly 50,000 articles pertaining to Biblical and other religious literature, people, creeds, etc. It is a fantastic research tool for broad Christian study.
John McClintock was born October 27, 1814 in Philadelphia to Irish immigrants, John and Martha McClintock. He began as a clerk in his father's store, and then became a bookkeeper in the Methodist Book Concern in New York. Here he converted to Methodism and considered joining the ministry. McClintock entered the University of Pennsylvania in 1832 and graduated with high honors three years later. Subsequently, he was awarded a doctorate of divinity degree from the same institution in 1848.WikipediaRead More