This book was born many years ago, in one of the simplest and holiest classrooms a father could ever have-the family dining table.
My daughter Mary was still a child when she looked at me with the kind of sincerity only children possess and asked about the meaning of the Holy Trinity.
We were sitting together at that familiar table in our home, sunlight streaming through the back window, and our eyes happened to rest on the tree in our backyard. Its branches were full, its leaves moving gently in the breeze-an ordinary sight, yet on that day it became the doorway to a mystery.
As I searched for a way to explain the Trinity to her young heart, the words of our Lord came suddenly to mind: "I am the true Vine" (John 15:1).
Looking at the tree, I found myself reflecting on its unseen root, hidden beneath the ground yet giving life to everything above-the perfect image of God the Father, the invisible Source of all. The trunk, strong and visible, reminded me of the Son, the One through whom the Father is made known. And the life flowing within the tree-the sap that gives nourishment and vitality-became for me a simple image of the Holy Spirit, the life-giving presence of God.
That quiet moment with Mary became the seed of a lifelong reflection. Our conversation formed the basis of my first small book, "The Meaning of the Holy Trinity." Years later, sensing the need to affirm more deeply the biblical confession of God's oneness, I wrote "The Oneness of God: A Biblical Perspective." Yet the more I reflected, the more I realized that both oneness and Trinity must be held together-not in competition, but in harmony, as Scripture and the Fathers teach.
And so, this present work, "The Oneness and Trinity: A Biblical Perspective," is the fruit of that journey. It expands upon the earlier works, integrating the faith proclaimed at the Council of Nicaea and the rich theological clarifications of the post-Nicene Fathers, who gave us the enduring language of the Church: one essence, three hypostases; the Father as the eternal Source, the Son eternally begotten, and the Spirit eternally proceeding.
What began as a simple conversation with a child has become a lifelong study, a pastoral reflection, and now this book. My prayer is that every reader may rediscover, with childlike wonder, the beauty of the one God who reveals Himself as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit-the God who is love, unity, and life.
Hegumen Abraam Sleman
St. Mark Coptic Orthodox Church
Jersey City, NJ