Who is the Holy Spirit?

The work of Christ for salvation is the basis of the work of the Holy Spirit in the Church, which allows us to partake of the Father through the crucified Christ. At the same time, without the Holy Spirit, “No one can say that Jesus is Lord” (1 Cor. 12:3). And without Him,

405 St. Cyril of Jerusalem, Catechetical Lectures 11.2, 4 (NPNF II/7:64–65).

406 St. Cyril of Jerusalem, Catechetical Lectures 10.1 (NPNF II/7:57) amended.

407 St. Cyril of Jerusalem, Catechetical Lectures 10.12 (NPNF II/7:60) amended.

the Church cannot have Christ as her Head. So, the Lord says, “It is to your advantage that I go away; for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you; but if I depart, I will send Him to you” (John 16:7). Therefore, the history of the Church can only be understood as the work of the Holy Spirit. The Church was born as the body of Christ on the day of Pentecost and continues to be nourished by the Holy Spirit, who leads her, guides her, sanctifies her, and helps her in worship and evangelism; for He gives life to the body of the Church and builds it up.

For the Fathers of the Church of Alexandria, the titles given to the Holy Spirit reveal His divinity, as well as His works.

St. Didymus says that the One who fills all creation must be of an essence that is different to all the creation.⁴⁰⁸ St. Athanasius says, “If the Holy Spirit were a creature, we should have no participation of God in him. If indeed we were joined to a creature, we should be strangers to the divine nature … If he [the Holy Spirit] makes men divine, it is not to be doubted that his nature is of God.”⁴⁰⁹ St. Cyril⁴¹⁰ says that the Holy Spirit is the One who makes sinners righteous and perfects the elect, performing that which pertains only to the exceedingly glorious divine nature. And he also says that if the Spirit who makes us gods is different from the nature of God then we would have lost all hope.⁴¹¹