Ousia
Ousia (; Ancient Greek: οὐσία) is a philosophical and theological term, originally used in ancient Greek philosophy, then later in Christian theology. It was used by various ancient Greek philosophers, especially Aristotle, as a primary designation for philosophical concepts of essence or substance. It is analogous to concepts of being and the ontological in contemporary philosophy. In Christian theology, the concept of θεία ουσία (divine essence) is one of the most important doctrinal concepts, central to the development of trinitarian doctrine.
The Ancient Greek term θεία ουσία (theia ousia; divine essence) was translated in Latin as essentia or substantia, and hence in English as essence or substance.
Ousia is an ancient Greek term that translates to “substance,” “essence,” or “being” and was used in both ancient Greek philosophy and later in Christian theology. Philosophically, it refers to the fundamental nature or reality of a thing, with thinkers like Aristotle defining it as the underlying subject of properties. Theologically, it became a key term in discussions of the Trinity, where it describes the divine essence or substance that is shared by God the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
In ancient Greek philosophy
- Original meaning: The term was first used in ordinary Greek to mean “wealth” or “property”.
- Plato: He used ousia to refer to the essence or being of a thing.
- Aristotle: He developed a more technical definition of ousia as the fundamental substance or individual object that exists independently, which is the subject of its own properties but is not itself a property of anything else.
- English translation: The term is often translated as “Substance” or “essence,” although modern philosophers sometimes argue that a better translation is simply “being”.
In Christian theology
- Trinitarian doctrine: Ousia is central to the Christian understanding of God as one substance (ousia) in three persons (hypostases), as affirmed by the Council of Nicaea with the term homoousios (“same substance”).
- New Testament: In the New Testament, the word ousia appears in the parable of the Prodigal Son and is translated as “goods” or “substance,” referring to material possessions.
- Early Christianity: Theologians like Origen used ousia to describe God as one genus of ousia in three hypostases, or distinct persons.
AI responses may include mistakes.
[1] https://dbpedia.org/page/Ousia
[2] https://www.encyclopedia.com/humanities/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-maps/ousia
[4] https://religion.fandom.com/wiki/Ousia
[5] https://biblehub.com/greek/3776.htm