From whom does the Holy Spirit proceed—just God the Father or the Father and the Son? And does it matter? This debate would go on to play a pivotal role in fracturing two halves of the church, into West (Roman Catholic) and East (Eastern Orthodox).
Background and Summary
The separation of West (Roman Catholic) from East (Eastern Orthodox) was a process beginning in A.D. 330 and ending with the final ecclesiastical separation known as the “Great Schism” in A.D. 1054.
The first step in the process took place when Constantine moved the capital from Rome to Constantinople in 330.[1] The political division was made official in 800 when the Frankish King Charlemagne was crowned emperor of the west by Pope Leo III.[2] Among the factors that led to the final ecclesiological split, the most prominent were the iconoclastic movement, the dating of the Easter celebration, and the so-called “filioque” controversy.[3]
The latter controversy centered on the western addition to the Nicene Creed that the Holy Spirit proceeded not only from the Father but also from the Son.[4] The roots of the western addition seems to have been Augustine’s emphasis on the “complementarity” between Father and Son, with each conditioning the other as Father or Son.[5] Another contributing factor was the need to fully convert the conquering Visigoths from the errors of Arianism (which denied Christ’s essential unity with the Father).
“Among the factors that led to the final ecclesiological split, the most prominent were the iconoclastic movement, the dating of the Easter celebration, and the so-called ‘filioque’ controversy.”
Eventually, many in the western church were taking the statement “Holy Spirit, the Lord and giver of life…proceeds from the Father” and adding the phrase “and the Son” (or, in Latin, “filioque” which combines filius [son] and que [and]). Although the West saw this as further solidifying the “consubstantiality” of the Son with the Father, the East saw in this addition a diminishing of the Holy Spirit. The addition also seemed to confuse the functions of the Father and Son. Furthermore, the fact that the West would tamper with the creed from an ecumenical creed was seen as an insult.[6] In the Eastern tradition, the Father was considered the “Source of Divinity.” Thus, to add the Son as a co-sender was seen to diminish the divinity of the Spirit.[7]
Of course, the theological issue was confused and overrun with politics. The primary Eastern opponent of the filioque clause, Photius, the bishop of Constantinople, was already engaged in a rivalry with Pope Nicholas I.[8] This came to a head when, in 867, Photius actually excommunicated Nicholas I for the insertion.[9] The western theologians countered Photius by claiming that only if the Holy Spirit proceeds from both Father and Son can it be said that they are truly consubstantial. Photius answered that the sending forth of the Spirit is only a personal act, one that distinguishes only person, not essence.
Each side remains entrenched in their contentions today, with reconciliation seemingly impossible. It seems that the debate for which both sides claim the scriptures goes beyond what Scripture itself makes clear.[10]
“Each side remains entrenched in their contentions today, with reconciliation seemingly impossible.”
Proponent of the Filioque Clause
Pope Nicholas I, head of the “filioque” church, was the primary recipient of the eastern Photius’s fury, as a result of which he was excommunicated by a council at Constantinople in 867. At the same time, the entire Roman church was found to be heretical on certain doctrinal points as well as unauthorized to interfere in matters in the East.[11]
Opponent of the Filioque Clause
Photius, bishop of Constantinople, was the primary opponent of the western “filioque” addition.[12]
Biblical Basis
The question of who sends the Holy Spirit isn’t the same as the question of whom the Holy Spirit proceeds from (ontologically, in their essence), but they could be related. With that said, here are some scriptures that have been used within the debate.
“But the Counselor, the Holy Spirit—the Father will send Him in My name—will teach you all things and remind you of everything I have told you.” (John 14:26, HCSB)
“When the Counselor comes, the One I will send to you from the Father—the Spirit of truth who proceeds from the Father—He will testify about Me.” (John 15:26, HCSB)
“And because you are sons, God has sent the Spirit of His Son in to our hearts, crying, ‘Abba, Father!’” (Galatians 4:6, HCSB)
“When the Counselor comes, the One I will send to you from the Father—the Spirit of truth who proceeds from the Father—He will testify about Me.”
Excerpt
From Photius:
“If the procession of the Spirit from the Father is perfect, and it is, because it is a perfect God who proceeds from a perfect God, what then does the procession from the Son add? If it adds something, it is necessary to state what it adds.…This theory is absolutely of no usefulness, neither for the Son, nor for anyone…there is no way he can gain from it.”[13]
[1] Earle Cairns, Christianity through the Centuries: A History of the Christian Church (Grand Rapids: Academie Books), 203.
[2] Harold O. J. Brown, Heresies: Heresy and Orthodoxy in the History of the Church (Peabody: Hendrickson Publishers, 1988), 220.
[9] Henry Bettenson and Chris Maunder, ed., Documents of the Christian Church, 3rd ed. (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1999), 28.
[11] Bettenson and Maunder, 105.
[13] Brown, 219.
