The doctrine of divine simplicity: historical forms and contemporary discussions

The article reveals the philosophical origins of the classical doctrine of divine simplicity, and also examines various opinions of Patristic authors on this issue. The author proposes four basic types (or versions) of this doctrine: the Pre-Nicean, Arian, Western and Eastern types, investigates characteristic features of each type, and different connections between them. Particular attention has been paid to the formation of the Western-type doctrine by Marius Victorinus, St. Augustine and Boethius, which later became classical in the Western philosophical and theological tradition and was known as the “doctrine of identity”, where God’s substance is identical to all His attributes, which are also identical to each other. No less attention is paid to the alternative version - the doctrine of the Eastern type, developed by the Great Cappadocians and inherited by subsequent Byzantine theologians, who placed simplicity and unity to the level of the Divine substance (or essence), while complexity and diversity were placeed to the level of Divine names, powers and energies, thus not violating the simplicity of the Divine nature