What the filioque? Creeds and Community

by Jennifer Hockenbery

by Jennifer Hockenbery

I laughed out loud when I saw the churchwide council of the ELCA meeting agenda in April. I read that in the first plenary, there would be a discussion of health and dental benefits and then there would be a discussion of the filioque. 

This is the work of the church–considering the practical bodily needs of its members and contemplating what we know about the Trinity. I love it!

If you don’t know Latin, filioque means “and the son.” If you are wondering why this phrase would be of importance to the ELCA church council, the issue relates to the Latin version of the Nicene Creed (originally written in Greek and recited in the vernacular language of the congregation in Lutheran churches). The specific issue is whether the Holy Spirit proceeds from the Father AND THE SON or just from the Father.

To get into the specifics of church history and the Creed, this relates to a divide between Christians about the third part of the Nicene Creed. 

Eastern Orthodox Christians recite, “I believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the Giver of Life, who proceeds from the Father and who with the Father and Son is worshipped and glorified.”  Roman Catholics and Lutheran Christians have traditionally said, “I believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the Giver of Life, who proceeds from the Father and the Son  and who with the Father and Son is worshipped and glorified.” The “and the Son” bit was not in the original Nicene Creed, penned in 381 AD, but parts of the Western (Latin-speaking) church have been debating whether or not to insert it since 447 AD. 

In 1024, Pope Benedict VIII officially added it to the Roman Catholic version, and it has been a symbol of the schism between the Greek-speaking and Latin-speaking church ever since.

In July 2024, the Lutheran World Federation (LWF) and the Orthodox Church signed a joint statement agreeing to use the original Greek of the Nicene Creed (or a vernacular translation of this Greek). This means that we Lutherans will begin to recite the Nicene Creed as it was originally penned in unity with our Eastern Orthodox siblings, showing our common confession of faith and unity between our communities.  

If you would like to learn more about what this might mean for you and your faith journey, please consider spending time with the ELCA’s new study guide on the subject: Filioque_Study_Guide.pdf. Women of the ELCA (WELCA) will host a lunch and learn series on this topic in the fall!

In the meantime, here are some thoughts. Like the Joint Declaration on Justification that was signed in 1998, this is a significant document that demonstrates unity after centuries of division. The unity does not mean that every individual understands the Trinity in the exact same way. 

The relationship of the three persons of God to each other is, according to every Nicene theologian, beyond human comprehension.  Perhaps, part of this statement reminds us of the mystery that is the Trinity and our humility before that mystery.

Early Christians fought bitterly about their understanding of the Trinity. The Council of Nicea brought together many who disagreed, who nonetheless participated together in a faithful act of dialogue.  A common trust in dialogue made that possible. Those Christians believed in a God who created us and all that is (the seen and the unseen), who dwelled with us and spoke to us in human words with a human tongue, and whose Spirit continues to help us communicate together.  Such a God in three persons gives us great confidence that we can learn and grow together through conversation, that we might find unity in the body of Christ that heals our divisions, that we might teach love of one another as we are loved. Thanks be to God!

Dr. Jennifer Hockenbery is interim executive director for Women of the ELCA and editor of the Journal of Lutheran Ethics.