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you can not apply linguistic differences to the meaning of the word and derive gender from it.

In Ukrainian there is one of the synonyms of the word "road" which is female gender and in Russian the very same word ( letter to letter) is masculine.

The word dog in Russian is a feminine noun, in Ukrainina - it is masculine noun - with the very exact literal spelling.

It is correct and it is confirmed by Jesus Christ Himself - Matthew 22:30:

At the resurrection people will neither marry nor be given in marriage; they will be like the angels in heaven.

Mark 12:25:

When the dead rise, they will neither marry nor be given in marriage; they will be like the angels in heaven.


like angels in heaven means - NO GENDER.

Trinity is feminine in Latin too.

That had never occurred to me before, even though I speak Bulgarian. How interesting. Thanks for pointing it out.

Of course, in Slavic languages (as well as in many other languages) all nouns have "grammatical" gender, even if it seems to bear no relation to the nature of the object itself. So that, in Bulgarian, for exmple, "book" (kniga) is feminine gender, while "newspaper" (vestnik) is masculine, and "magazine" (spisanie) is neuter.

I don't want to read things in that are not intended, yet I would think that for a word as theologically important as "Trinity", there would be some significance to the gender of the word. Now I'm finding it interesting that in my theology studies thus far, I've never come across anything that addressed this observation of Alex's.

So now I'm curious about the etymology of the word "Trinity" in the Slavic languages. Anyone?

Also, what about in Greek? Is it feminine in Greek, too?

Also, as someone who speaks Bulgarian, I had never paid any attention to this before, nor given it any significance. Can any native speakers of Slavic languages comment on how it sounds to them?

It does not have any meaning people are implying at all.
Nouns have gender endings in Slavic languages but that does not mean anything in particular.

Trinity is feminine in Greek too. In both Latin and Greek, the word is more commonplace than the English 'Trinity.' It is the ordinary word for a 'trio' or 'threesome.'

Yes, we will be more like the angels as we accompany them in worshiping the Holy Trinity for all eternity, but unlike angels we were created with a body and a soul ("male and female He created them"...). And yes, Jesus did say that at the Resurrection, we will not be given in marriage. That doesn't mean we will cease to be either male or female.

Are you saying that Jesus Christ is no longer male? Are you saying that that the Holy Virgin, Our Lady, is no longer female? Both are in heaven bodily and have appeared physically on earth. They are the first fruits of what we all hope to inherit in the life to come. And in their glorified state they are very much man and woman.

The idea of living eternally as pure spirit or the afterlife as something separate from the body comes from Greek philosophy.

Btw, sorry if my initial post came across as rude ("No, this is incorrect") Don't know why I worded it that way.

I agree that we shouldn't apply much particular meaning to the gender of words.

That has always been my understanding, too, and how it always felt to me when I was living in Bulgaria. I never really noticed gender of nouns, other than for grammatical purposes, and never attached any meaning to it.

But Alex's post made me curious, and I think it would be interesting to know what a native speaker would say. Also, if there's anything about the etymology of the word that would be interesting.

The particular meaning is that God is as much feminine as He is masculine.

It is human language that fails here.

Alex

Actually, it means "no sex" or sexual relations i.e. purity. Nothing whatever to do with gender, Voxy.

It is no virtue to be pure when one can't or doesn't want to. It is a great virtue to be pure when one can and wants to.

Although in heaven, we won't want to . . .

Alex

No, Voxy is clearly wrong here.

Our gender will always be a part of us, now and in eternity.

Alex

Except that when you're a male . . . then we use the male gender in the language and when one is female . . .

Alex

Well, I'm a native speaker - which tribal language would you like me to use?

It is also interesting that, colloquially, we say "Bozhia dobra" or "God is good" where God is of the feminine gender.

To "feminize" God in this way is to emphasize God's merciful compassion.

Alex

Jesus Christ is GOD and as such is neither male nor female.

He is APPEARING to US as He was on Earth - but that is for our human perception, not because He still is the same way as He was on Earth while being incarnated. Same is pertinent for Our Lady.

This is a very interesting subject and I have researched it widely - there is NO CONSENSUS and the Catechism clearly states that upon resurrection we will have DIFFERENT bodies - without gender ( it says spiritual bodies).

Since Christ Himself states that we will be like angels - I do not have any reason not to believe Him. And the Catechism of the CC:

999 How? Christ is raised with his own body: "See my hands and my feet, that it is I myself";551 but he did not return to an earthly life. So, in him, "all of them will rise again with their own bodies which they now bear," but Christ "will change our lowly body to be like his glorious body," into a "spiritual body":