Filioque

Definition and Meaning

Filioque is a Latin term meaning "and from the Son." The Nicene Creed, as expanded at the Council of Constantinople in 381, contains the clause "the Holy Spirit, who proceeds from the Father." The Western church added this term to that clause and thus confesses that the Spirit proceeds "from the Father and the Son." "Procession" is a term of Trinitarian doctrine referring to the eternal origin of the Holy Spirit.

Biblical and Historical Background

John 15:26 speaks of the Spirit as the one "which proceedeth from the Father," while John 16:7 speaks of Him as the one whom the Son sends. Galatians 4:6 calls Him "the Spirit of his Son." On the basis of such passages and the Trinitarian theology of Augustine, the West held that the Son is also included in the source of the Spirit. The phrase came into use in Spain around the time of the Council of Toledo in 589 and spread to the Frankish kingdom. It is generally held to have entered the Mass in Rome in the early eleventh century.

The Orthodox Church criticizes the phrase, arguing that it was improper for one part of the church to alter a creed established by a council and that the phrase obscures the truth that the Father alone is the source of the Son and the Spirit. The West has responded that the phrase is necessary to safeguard the equality of the Son with the Father. This controversy was one of the major issues in the East–West Schism of 1054. Today the formula that the Spirit proceeds "through the Son" is sometimes discussed as a way of bridging the two positions.

Practice in Korean Churches

Korean Protestantism inherited the Western church tradition shaped by the Reformation and generally accepts the Filioque. The Westminster Confession of Faith (chapter 2, section 3), which Presbyterians adopt as a doctrinal standard, and the Belgic Confession of the Reformed churches both state that the Holy Spirit proceeds from the Father and the Son. The Methodist tradition's Articles of Religion (the Twenty-Five Articles) contain the same teaching. The Holiness, Baptist, and Full Gospel denominations, among others, likewise tend not to treat the matter as a separate point of contention.

In worship, Korean churches mainly confess the Apostles' Creed. Because the Apostles' Creed contains no clause on the procession of the Holy Spirit, church members rarely encounter the phrase. The Filioque is chiefly addressed in the Anglican Church of Korea and some other churches that use the Nicene Creed in worship, as well as in seminary courses in systematic theology and historical theology. In ecumenical dialogue with the Orthodox Church, proposals have been made to confess the creed in its original form without the Filioque.