The filioque history of a doctrinal controversy pdf files

While this is a competent and thorough overview of the history of the doctrinal controversy that is the filioque, it unfortunately adopts the neutral stance of the modern academic historian. Beginning with the biblical texts and ending with recent agreements on the place and meaning of the filioque, this book traces the history of the doctrine and the controversy that has surrounded it. In time, belief in the filioque became dogma in roman catholicism by the council of lyon 1274. The history of the filioque controversy is the historical development of theological controversies within christianity regarding three distinctive issues.

Leo iii, the pope of rome at the time the filioque began its history in western theology, strongly advised against its inclusion, even though he agreed with the soundness and validity of the doctrine contained in filioque. Even before chalcedon the doctrine of the twofold procession of the spirit was taught by a number of western fathers, including tertullian, hilary, marius victorinus, augustine, and leo the great. An extensive history of the filioque dispute, assembled by gerard seraphin the author makes an important reference to johannes grohe, who speaks of eastern use of the filioque. Thesis 1988 abstract the present thesis is an historicaltheological survey of the major eastern ortho dox objections to the insertion of the filioque clause to the ecumenical creed and. Feb 27, 2017 so then, the first order of business is to describe what actually happened in the filioque controversy. More liberal scholars have sometimes shown a greater appreciation of the history of debate, though this has not 9.

The holy spirit is god, and he was sent by god as jesus christs replacement here on earth. Trump talks roger stone, bloomberg stop and frisk controversy and vindman following bill signing. In the wake of the arian and semiarian controversies, it had been settled in two ecumenical councils, one at nicaea and one at constantinople, that the father, son, and holy spirit were all one god, that the father begets, the son is begotten, and the spirit. Eschatology 493 chapter xii latin theology in the age of charlemagne 1. The practice of adding the filioque was retained in spite of the papal advice, and in the middle of the eleventh century it had gained a firm foothold in rome itself. The filioquecontroversy with the laity the puritan board. Filioque and ek monou tou patros, which, as formulas about the procession, came into conflict and thus exposed a divergence in the theology of the trinity. It is the double procession of the spirit from the father and the son which decisively distinguishes the spirit from. Filioque from the creed, but that it was better to include it. It is the case that even nominal members of the eochurch are aware of some doctrinal differences between the western and eastern tradition.

The polemical partisans who might criticize the author for not taking a stand for or against the filioque clause should read the title more carefully. Guretzki concludes that barths doctrine of the filioque, while clearly standing within the western trinitarian tradition, is atypical in that he refuses to speak of a doubleprocession in favour of a common procession of the spirit a position that has more affinity with the eastern position than many of barths critics may have thought. The filioque is meant as a theological explanation of the relationship between the spirit and the son. History of a doctrinal controversy oxford scholarship. It is, perhaps, one of the most interesting stories in all of christendom, filled with characters and events that would make even the bestdramatists envious. More liberal scholars have sometimes shown a greater appreciation of the history. Since a theologoumenon is a theological opinion on what is defined outside of dogma, in the case of any orthodox theologians open to the filioque as opinion, it is unclear if they would accept that the filioque ever be added into the creed for the whole church, or just something exclusive for the latin language based church of the west. Jun 16, 2018 one evening i gave a bible study and at the end there came up a question concerning the filioque. Beginning with the biblical material and ending with recent agreements on the place and meaning of the filioque, this book traces the history of the doctrine and the controversy that has surrounded it. The history of the filioque controversy biblical, theological and. Now, this question was asked by a fresh convert from eo although nominal. Orthodox confessions of the period continued to reject the filioque, just as roman catholic documents of the era made clear that acceptance of the. The filioque clause, properly understood, is the addition to the latin text of the nicenoconstantinopolitan creed which was first made in spain at some time in the late fifth or early sixth century. Even general church history must take considerable note of the doctrinal controversies of this period.

The bible tells us that the son is begotten from the father, and that the spirit proceeds from the father, but any curious trinitarian is going to wonder what the spiritson relationship is. After the council, the filioque continued to be used in the creed in parts of western europe, despite the intentions of pope john viii, who, like his predecessors, maintained the text sanctioned by the council of 381. The decrees of this last council were examined by pope leo iii, who approved of the doctrine conveyed by the filioque, but gave the advice to omit the expression in the creed. Mutual relations between the problem of filioque and the doctrine of theosis in the orthodox theologians after st. The controversy contributed to the split between the eastern and western churches in a. According to reinhard slenczka, however, the documents of. The eastern church, or the orthodox church, rejected the filioque and maintained that the holy spirit proceeds from the father alone, where the western church, the roman catholic church, accepts it.

Robert miner baylor university waco, texas the filioque. The philosophy of filioque religious studies cambridge. History of a doctrinal controversy is the first complete english language history of the filioque written in over a century. The filioque controversy is one of the more notorious clashes in church history. Not only is it seen as one of the if not the major issues dividing the eastern and western churches, but is often understood as a debate between two stubborn and unforgiving churches whose desire for subtle doctrinal superiority trumps unity. The result was the largest schism the church has ever witnessed to date. The filioque history of a doctrinal controversy by edward.

So for the historical reformed position, the filioque not only develops from the text of scripture and impacts how one understands who god is, but it also uniquely affects the history and piety of the church. Qualifying the firm position taken when i wrote the orthodox church twenty years ago, i now believe, after further study, that the problem is more in the area of semantics than in any basic. The word filioque is latin for from the son, and it is used in the classically western version of the creed to describe the person and. This is unfortunate because truth is not neutral but is rather an articulation of the biases of god, as it were. Medieval history, the life and death of a civilization, 1st ed. Eastern orthodox bishop kallistos ware formerly timothy ware, who once adamantly opposed the filioque doctrine, states. Siecienski provides us with a monumental achievement in breadth as he. A new stage in the history of the controversy was reached in the early eleventh century. The filioque controversy durham etheses durham university. So then, the first order of business is to describe what actually happened in the filioque controversy. It is not in the original text of the creed, attributed to the first council of constantinople. Chronology of the filioque controversy a onepage overview of the dispute, from 325 to 1453.

Edward siecienski dutifully reminds us that his account is by no means a complete history of the filioque pp. History of a doctrinal controversy is the first complete history of the filioque written in english in more than a century. First comprehensive study of the history of the filioque clause controversy, the defining issue in the split between eastern and western churches. The latin word filioque, meaning and son, is the source of the name of. History of a doctrinal controversy by edward siecienski. Rome resisted the inclusion of the filioque for centuries. These survey chapters include the central historic councils such as the council of lyons, the council of ferraraflorence, and key theologians on the. What are the implications of the filioque controversy in. In fact, the pope had not yet added filioque to the creed. The filioque doctrine the latin word filioque, meaning and from the son, recited in the west in the part of the nicene creed referring to the holy spirit, expresses a concept first clearly enunciated by st. The filioque clause of the nicene creed has been a contributing cause to the longstanding division between the eastern and western churches.

From florence to the modern era oxford scholarship. Pdf the filioque clause is one of the major differences between the. The filioque clause one of the things which has historically been a point of polemic and conflict between the orthodox east and the roman catholic west is the use of the filioque clause in the creed. What caused doctrinal controversies in the early church. Bonocore the filioque controversy which has separated us for so many centuries is more than a mere technicality, but it is not insoluble. This work is still valuable for understanding cultural and theological estrangement of east and west by the turn of the millennium. God, who is an infinite being, is ultimately incomprehensible to our finite human minds. Eastern orthodox teaching regarding the filioque wikipedia. History of a doctrinal controversy international journal of systematic theology, 20. However, it is impossible to write the history of this particular doctrine without contextualizing it within the larger political, cultural, and religious environment.

The filioque is a latin term that deals with the church controversy concerning the phrase and from the son, filioque, which was intended to indicate that the holy spirit proceeds from both the father and the son double procession and not from the father alone. Yet the filioque was already universally accepted in the latin west by 1100, while the clarification at lyon was the general teaching before. Karl barth on the filioque david guretzki download. New documents illustrating early christianity, volume 3. They entered too deeply into the life of the age, were too large a factor in the great events of the christian empire, that they should be left entirely to the history of doctrine.

From the greek and latin fathers, the ninthcentury debates. Christs place in the representative work of the spirit made the difference. It was a patre filioque and ek monou tou patros, which, as formulas about the procession, came into conflict and thus exposed a divergence in the theology of the trinity. Edward siecienski oxford studies in historical theology.

The filioque controversy which has separated us for so many centuries is more than a mere technicality, but it is not insoluble. The filioque controversy was a controversy over the fundamentals of theology who god is and who has authority to say so that was exacerbated by the mess of two diverging cultures. Kolbaba, history, heresiology, patristics and the aftermath of the second council of lyons 12741285, in greeks, latins, and. The filioque clause controversy likely involves an aspect of gods person that we will never be able to fully grasp. From spain this form of the nicene creed spread to england and gaul, where it was strongly promoted by the holy roman emperors, beginning with charlemagne. Pope, council, and the filioque in western theology, 1274. This new book helpfully traces the development and significance of this controversy. What i have attempted to do in this book is to tell the story of a doctrine, or more properly speaking, of a doctrinal controversy. In this essay, i intend to examine the filioque clause and its underlying theology from a historical and scriptural angle. Although the reformation split the latinspeaking world into a host of competing churches and ecclesial communities, the filioque was not among those issued challenged by the protestant critique and remained a central part of the reformers faith. The addition of the filioque is a development of the creed that in no way denies the earlier version any more than the development and subsequent change of the creed between nicea i and. Edward siecienski not only presents first complete english language history of the filioque. Augustine is careful to point out that there can be. Chapters 510 are a survey of the filioque controversy from the seventh century through to early twentyfirst century theologians.

Edward siecienski has written a valuable history of the doctrinal controversy of the filioque, the western addition to the creed of. The filioque clause refers to an addition to the nicene creed. It is also sceptical about the relevance of doctrine but stresses more strongly the role of emerging social formations in the generation of conflicts. History of a doctrinal controversy among the issues that have divided eastern and western christians throughout the centuries, few have had as long and interesting a. Jan 02, 2020 the filioque clause controversy likely involves an aspect of gods person that we will never be able to fully grasp. History of a doctrinal controversy oxford studies in historical theology at. It is not a defense or condemnation of the filioque or filioquist theology, although siecienski recognizes it as first and foremost, a theological work. For those not familiar with the debate, filioque is latin for and from the son, and refers to a contentious point of trinitarian doctrine, on which the. The procession of the holy spirit in orthodox trinitarian. May 01, 2014 icon depicting emperor constantine and bishops of the council of nicaea 325 holding the text of the nicene creed. Durham etheses the lioque controversy chapters from the. It is just this objectivity that makes the book so invaluable. Chapters from the eastern orthodox reaction an historicaltheological perspective m.