Substance; subsistence; essence; person; personality; -- used by the early theologians to denote any one of the three subdivisions of the Godhead, the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

(Suppositum). A complete and individual substance which has subsistence, i.e., a substance which is self-contained and autonomous ( sui juris) in its operations.

any of the three persons of the Godhead constituting the Trinity especially the person of Christ in which divine and human natures are united

a singular essence (ousia) subsisting in its independent being, numerically one, separate from others by its accidents

(Plural: hypostases.) Greek word meaning subsistence or individualized manifestation, and usually translated as "person." According to the doctrine of the trinity, God exists as three hypostases. According to traditional Christology, Jesus Christ has two natures but is only one hypostasis. Hebrews 1:3 says that the Son is the express image of God's hypostasis, not a second hypostasis.

A technical theological term for "person" or something which has an individual existence. The word is used to describe the three Persons of the Godhead: the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Hypostasis is also used to describe the one Person of Christ, who is both truly divine and truly human.

Greek for "substance," the term used to describe the unity of the person of Jesus Christ in early Christological debate while accepting his two natures, divine and human (see Christology).