Since the 4th century, in both Eastern and Western Christianity, this doctrine has been stated as "three persons in one God," all three of whom, as distinct and co-eternal persons, are of one indivisible Divine essence, a simple being.

Can you remember back in the Annunciation painting when the Holy Spirit, “Touched” the Virgin Mary during the Immaculate Conception? And indeed it was the representation of the Holy Spirit that caused the confusion?

Well, it's much of the same here, for people unfamiliar with the story the premise of it is John The Baptist baptising Jesus Of Nazareth. John acquired his name from his practice of preaching and baptizing Jews in the River Jordan. John The Baptist is the one who recognized Jesus as the Messiah, and, on Jesus' request, baptised him. This pivotal point (the baptism) marked the beginning of Jesus' life as a teacher.

Anyway, back to the painting, in other images of Jesus' baptism, the Dove is often used to represent the part of the Holy Trinity, and in the painting at hand the dove is shrouded within a bright light.

The dove is placed in a dark night sky purely to emphasize this fact. Have another look at a rarer (on the internet) and larger version of the painting (to the right) and yet again, this quickly becomes obvious.

MADONNA COL BAMBINO E SAN GIOVANNINO

And lastly we have another famous (or should that be infamous?) painting of, “ Madonna and Child with the Infant Saint John.”