Volume 23 Issue 4
April 2026
I will send you from the Father, the Spirit of truth that proceeds from the Father
Jn 15:26
Do you know that this verse from the Gospel of John is the central text involved in the Great Schism of 1054 that divided the Church into the Western Catholic Church and the Eastern Orthodox Church?
When the Advocate comes whom I will send you from the Father, the Spirit of truth that proceeds from the Father, he will testify to me (Jn 15:26).
The formulation of the Nicene Creed was a two- stage process involving two separate ecumenical councils. The Creed from the First Council of Nicaea in 325 ends with the sentence:
“And in the Holy Spirit.”
The First Council of Constantinople in 381 revised and expanded the original 325 creed by adding details regarding the Holy Spirit:
“And [we believe] in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the Giver of Life, Who proceeds from the Father; who with the Father and the Son together is worshipped and glorified; who spoke by the prophets. In one Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic Church. I acknowledge one baptism for the remission of sins. I look for the resurrection of the dead, and the life of the world to come. Amen.”
This expanded version is the one most used in Christian liturgies today and is technically called the Niceno-Constantinopolitan Creed (commonly called Nicene Creed). Then in 431, the Council of Ephesus prohibited any changes to the Nicene Creed. Later, the Council of Chalcedon in 451 officially recognized the 381 version as a definitive statement of faith.
Take note that the Nicene Creed formulated by the Council of Nicaea and the Council of Constantinople and officially recognized by the Council of Chalcedon and whose revision is prohibited by the Council of Ephesus, states that “the Holy Spirit … proceeds from the Father.” This Creed is the version used by the Eastern Orthodox Church to this day.
The Filioque
On the other hand, the Western Catholic Church added the clause “and the Son” (filioque) to the Nicene Creed (originally “proceeds from the Father”) starting in the 6th-century Spanish church to combat Arianism by emphasizing Christ’s divinity. The filioque first appeared at the Council of Toledo in 589 (not an ecumenical but a regional council) in Spain. The addition became popular in the West over the next two centuries, supported by Emperor Charlemagne in the early 9th century. In 810, while agreeing with the theology, Pope Leo III initially resisted officially changing the ecumenical Creed. To protect its original form, he had the original text (without the Filioque) engraved on two silver shields in Greek and Latin and displayed them at St. Peter’s Basilica. The Filioque was not officially included in the Roman liturgy until 1014. During the coronation of the German King Henry II as Holy Roman Emperor, Pope Benedict VIII—at Henry’s request—had the Creed sung with the “and the Son” clause for the first time in a Roman Mass. This unilateral change by the Western Church remains a primary theological and ecclesiastical point of contention between the Western and Eastern churches, resulting to the Great Schism of 1054.
The controversy centers on the Latin phrase filioque (“and the Son”) added to the Nicene Creed, describing the Holy Spirit as proceeding from both the Father and the Son. The Western and Eastern churches relied on various biblical verses to support their stances, in particular Jn 15:26.
The Eastern Church emphasizes that Jn 15:26 clearly states the Spirit “proceeds from the Father.” Eastern theologians argue this “proceeds” refers to the Spirit’s eternal, ontological origin from the Father alone and point out that the Greek verb for “proceeds” (ekporeuesthai) specifically denotes an ultimate origin, which the Bible only applies to the Father. They further contend that because Jesus never explicitly says the Spirit “proceeds” from the Son, adding it to the Creed is unbiblical and a violation of the Church’s ecumenical councils.
On the other hand, the Western Church highlights the phrase “whom I will send,” arguing that the Son’s power to send the Spirit implies an eternal relationship where the Spirit proceeds also from the Son. Theologians also note that “proceeds from the Father” does not explicitly say “from the Father alone.”
In addition, proponents of the Filioque cite verses where the Spirit is linked directly to the Son’s actions or identity. In Jn 16:7, “If I go, I will send him to you” is used to show the Son’s authority over the Spirit’s mission. In Jn 20:22, Jesus “breathed on them” and said, “receive the Holy Spirit.” Western Fathers like Augustine saw this physical breath as a sign that the Spirit eternally proceeds from the Son’s essence. Other verses cited include Gal 4:6, Rom 8:9, and Rev 22:1.
The East rejected this addition, arguing it altered the foundational Nicene Creed without an ecumenical council. They argue Jesus explicitly identifies the Father as the sole eternal source of the Spirit and cites several Biblical verses. In Jn 14:16, Jesus says, “I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate” and in Jn 14:26 “the holy Spirit that the Father will send in my name.” These verses reinforce the idea that the Father is the primary initiator. Furthermore, Acts 2:33 states that Jesus “received the promise of the holy Spirit from the Father.” The East argues this shows Jesus is a mediator of the Spirit, not the source
Healing the schism
To promote unity between East and West, the Vatican generally considers the Filioque addition a legitimate Latin clarification of theology rather than an essential, non-negotiable part of the Creed itself. St. John Paul II, on 29 June 1995, during a liturgy at St. Peter’s with Patriarch Bartholomew I, recited the Creed in Greek according to the original text of the Council of Constantinople, which does not include the Filioque. Pope Benedict XVI also omitted the phrase while reciting the Creed in Greek during ecumenical prayer services with Eastern Orthodox leaders. Pope Francis omitted the Filioque during his 2021 pastoral visit to Greece and in other ecumenical contexts to foster unity with the Orthodox Church. Pope Leo XIV, in a 2025 gathering at the site of ancient Nicaea in Turkey, recited the original form of the Creed in English without the Filioque to commemorate the 1700th anniversary of the Council of Nicaea.
Vatican is open to exploring possible unification with the Eastern Church despite nearly a thousand years of separation. Is our community open to exploring possible unification with the group that separated from us just two decades ago? Let us then pray for the guidance and empowerment of the Spirit of truth that proceeds from the Father and the Son.
