Holy Spirit in Christianity

The Holy Spirit as a dove in The Annunciation, by Philippe de Champaigne, 1644.

In most Christian churches, the Holy Spirit, or Holy Ghost, is the third person of the Trinity. The Trinity is a God made up of three persons: God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit, who share the same qualities and essence and are therefore One God.^[1] Christians who don't believe in the Trinity have a big difference in their beliefs about the Holy Spirit.

In Christian theology, pneumatology is the study of the Holy Spirit.

Since Christianity does indeed have a historical relationship with Judaism, theology experts often identify the Holy Spirit with the concept of the Ruach Hakodesh found in Jewish scripture, suggesting that Jesus may have just been expanding upon these Jewish concepts.

Names

Hebrew Bible

Source:^[2]

וְר֣וּחַ קָדְשׁ֑וֹ (Ruah qadesow) – His Holy Spirit (Isaiah 63:10)^[3]
וְר֣וּחַ קָ֝דְשְׁךָ֗ (Ruah qadseḵa) – Your Holy Spirit (Psalm 51:11)^[4]
וְר֣וּחַ אֱלֹהִ֔ים (Ruah Elohim) – Spirit of God (Genesis 1:2)^[5]
נִשְׁמַת־ר֨וּחַ חַיִּ֜ים (Nismat Ruah hayyim) – The Breath of the Spirit of Life (Genesis 7:22)^[6]
ר֣וּחַ יְהוָ֑ה (Ruah YHWH) – Spirit of YHWH (Isaiah 11:2)^[7]
ר֧וּחַ חָכְמָ֣ה וּבִינָ֗ה (Ruach hakmah ubinah) – Spirit of Wisdom and Understanding (Isaiah 11:2)^[7]
ר֤וּחַ עֵצָה֙ וּגְבוּרָ֔ה (Ruah esah ugeburah) – Spirit of Counsel and Might (Isaiah 11:2)^[7]
ר֥וּחַ דַּ֖עַת וְיִרְאַ֥ת יְהוָֽה (Ruah daat weyirat YHWH) – Spirit of Knowledge^[8] and Fear of YHWH (Isaiah 11:2)^[7]

New Testament

πνεύματος ἁγίου (Pneumatos Hagiou) – Holy Spirit (Matthew 1:18)^[9]
πνεύματι θεοῦ (Pneumati Theou) – Spirit of God (Matthew 12:28)^[10]
ὁ παράκλητος (Ho Paraclētos) – The Comforter, cf. Paraclete John 14:26 (John 16:7)^[11]
πνεῦμα τῆς ἀληθείας (Pneuma tēs Alētheias) – Spirit of Truth (John 16:13)^[12]
Πνεῦμα Χριστοῦ (Pneuma Christou) – Spirit of Christ (1 Peter 1:11)^[13]

Depending on context:

πνεῦμα (Pneuma) – Spirit (John 3:8)^[14]
Πνεύματος (Pneumatos) – Spirit (John 3:8)

Holy Spirit In Christianity Media

The Holy Spirit as a dove in the Heavenly Trinity joined to the Holy Family through the Incarnation of the Son, in The Heavenly and Earthly Trinities by Murillo, c. 1677
The Holy Spirit as a dove in The Annunciation, by Philippe de Champaigne, 1644.
Stained glass representation of the Holy Spirit as a dove, c. 1660.
In the Farewell Discourse Jesus promised to send the Holy Spirit to his disciples after his departure, depiction from the Maesta by Duccio, 1308–1311.
A depiction of the Trinity consisting of God the Holy Spirit along with God the Father and God the Son (Jesus).
St. Josaphat Cathedral in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, is shaped as a cross with seven copper domes representing the Seven Gifts of the Holy Spirit.
Icon of the Fathers of the Council holding the Nicene Creed.
The Holy Spirit as a dove on a stamp from Faroe Islands.
The Holy Spirit as a dove in the Annunciation by Rubens, 1628.