Prosopon

Person in Christian theology

Prosopon is a theological term used in Christian theology as designation for the concept of a divine person. The term has a particular significance in Christian triadology (study of the Trinity), and also in Christology. In English language, the form prosopon is used mainly in scholarly works, related to theology, philosophy or history of religion, while it is also commonly translated as person, both in scholarly or non scholarly writings. The term prosopon should not be confused with the term hypostasis, which is related to similar theological concepts, but differs in meaning. The Latin term for prosopon, traditionally used in Western Christianity, and from which the English term person is derived, is persona.

In Ancient Greek, term prosopon originally designated one's "face" or "mask". In that sense, it was used in Greek theatre, since actors wore specific masks on stage, in order to reveal their character and emotional state to the audience. The term prosopon was important in the development of the Doctrine of the Trinity. It was the subject of many theological debates and disputes, particularly through early centuries of Christian history. It was an important issue in the Meletian Schism; a dispute between two pro Nicene groups. “The doctrinal difference between the Meletians and the old Nicenes consisted chiefly in this: that the latter acknowledged three hypostases in the divine trinity, the former only three prosopa; the one laying the stress on the triplicity of the divine essence, the other on its unity.” (Philip Schaff)

While prosopon can mean hypostasis, it can also indicate a role played in a theatre. Applied to the Trinity, it can indicate different roles played by a single Person. For that reason, the Sabellians accepted the term but Basil of Caesarea rejected it. Basil, insisted that each Person (Father, Son, and Spirit) must be described as a hypostasis. He wrote:"It is not enough to count differences in the Persons (prosōpa). It is necessary also to confess that each Person (prosōpon) exists in a true hypostasis. The mirage of persons (prosōpa) without hypostaseis is not denied even by Sabellius, who said that the same God, though he is one subject, is transformed according to the need of each occasion and is thus spoken of now as Father, now as Son, and now as Holy Spirit.”As another example of the distinction, Jerome, writing in Latin, strongly opposed Basil's three hypostaseis and explained "the tri unity as ‘one substance, three persons' (una substantia, tres personae)." In other words, for Jerome, there was a real and important distinction between hypostasis and prosopon (Greek)/persona (Latin). Paul the Apostle uses the term when speaking of his direct apprehension in the heart of the face (prosopon) of Christ .

In the Mandaean scripture of the Ginza Rabba (in Right Ginza books 1 and 2.1), the face or countenance of Hayyi Rabbi is referred to as the "Great Countenance of Glory" (; pronounced parṣufa in Modern Mandaic; also cognate with , attested in the Peshitta including in Matthew 17:2). This Aramaic term is a borrowing from the Greek word prosopon.