Catholic Church

===Nature of God===
{{Main|Trinity}}
[[File:PetrusPictaviensis CottonFaustinaBVII-folio42v ScutumFidei early13thc.jpg|thumb|left|{{Circa|1210}} manuscript version of the traditional [[Shield of the Trinity]] theological diagram]]The Catholic Church holds that there is one [[Attributes of God in Christianity#Eternity|eternal]] God, who exists as a ''[[perichoresis]]'' ("mutual indwelling") of three ''[[Hypostasis (philosophy and religion)|hypostases]]'', or "persons": [[God the Father#Christianity|God the Father]]; [[God the Son]]; and [[Holy Spirit in Christianity|God the Holy Spirit]], which together are called the "Holy Trinity".<ref name="232_252">{{Cite CCC|2.1|232–237,252}}</ref>

Catholics believe that Jesus Christ is the "Second Person" of the Trinity, God the Son. In an event known as the [[Incarnation (Christianity)|Incarnation]], through the power of the Holy Spirit, God became united with human nature through the conception of Christ in the womb of the [[Veneration of Mary in the Catholic Church|Blessed Virgin Mary]]. Christ, therefore, is understood as being both fully divine and fully human, including possessing a human [[soul]]. It is taught that Christ's mission on earth included giving people his teachings and providing his example for them to follow as recorded in the four [[Gospel]]s.<ref name="McGrath">McGrath, pp. 4–6.</ref> Jesus is believed to have remained sinless while on earth, and to have allowed himself to be unjustly executed by [[Crucifixion of Jesus|crucifixion]], as a sacrifice of himself to reconcile humanity to God; this reconciliation is known as the [[Paschal Mystery]].<ref>{{Cite CCC|2.1|595}}</ref> The Greek term "Christ" and the Hebrew "Messiah" both mean "anointed one", referring to the Christian belief that Jesus' death and resurrection are the fulfilment of the Old Testament's [[Jesus and messianic prophecy|messianic prophecies]].<ref name="Kreeft71">Kreeft, pp. 71–72</ref>

The Catholic Church teaches dogmatically that "the Holy Spirit proceeds eternally from the Father and the Son, not as from two principles but as from one single principle".<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ewtn.com/library/curia/pccufilq.htm|title=Greek and Latin Traditions on Holy Spirit|work=ewtn.com|access-date=12 February 2015|archive-date=3 September 2004|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20040903132523/http://www.ewtn.com/library/CURIA/PCCUFILQ.HTM}}</ref> It holds that the Father, as the "principle without principle", is the first origin of the Spirit, but also that he, as Father of the only Son, is with the Son the single principle from which the Spirit proceeds.<ref>{{Cite CCC|2.1|248}}</ref> This belief is expressed in the {{lang|la|[[Filioque]]}} clause which was added to the Latin version of the Nicene Creed of 381 but not included in the Greek versions of the creed used in Eastern Christianity.<ref name="245_248">{{Cite CCC|2.1|245–248}}</ref>