Perichoresis

Definition and Meaning

Perichoresis (Greek perichōrēsis) is a compound of a word meaning "around" and a word meaning "to make room" or "to advance." In theology it refers to the relationship in which the three persons of the Trinity (the personal subjects distinguished from one another within God) dwell fully in one another without being mixed or merged. In Latin it is called circumincessio or circuminsessio. In Korean the most widely used rendering is sangho naeju, "mutual indwelling" (naeju meaning "dwelling within"), while renderings meaning "mutual interpenetration" and "mutual circulation" are also used.

The concept serves to hold together both the oneness of God and the distinctness of the three persons. It is intended to distinguish the doctrine both from modalism, which regards the three persons merely as three modes of one being, and from tritheism, which posits three separate gods.

Biblical and Historical Background

The word itself does not appear in Scripture. However, passages such as John 14:10–11 ("I am in the Father, and the Father in me"), John 10:38, John 10:30, and John 17:21 are frequently cited as the biblical basis for the concept.

In church history, the term was first used to explain the two natures of Christ, that is, how the divine and human natures relate within one person. Gregory of Nazianzus and Maximus the Confessor are known to have used it in this sense. John of Damascus, in the eighth century, is regarded as the first to apply the term systematically to the doctrine of the Trinity. In the twentieth century the concept drew renewed attention as Jürgen Moltmann and others extended it to describe the relationships between God and humanity and within the church community.

Use in the Korean Church

Perichoresis is a technical term treated mainly in systematic theology textbooks and seminary lectures rather than in preaching or congregational teaching. The expression "mutual indwelling" is used across denominations to explain the Trinity.

Views differ, however, depending on theological position, as to how far the concept should be applied. One side takes the mutual indwelling of the Trinity as a model for understanding the church community and the communion of saints. This position employs the concept in discussions of ecclesiology that emphasize horizontal relationships, service, and unity. The other side, particularly some theologians in the Reformed tradition, has expressed concern. They argue that transferring a concept describing God's inner mode of being directly to human community risks blurring the distinction between Creator and creature, and they urge that the concept be used cautiously, within the bounds of traditional Trinitarian doctrine.