The Nicene creed
was originally adopted by the first council of
Most works attribute the
authorization of the creed in use by the Eastern Church today to the Council of
Constantinople in 381 (for example, [4, p. 347]), but there is no actual
authentic evidence that this enlarged version of the creed was accepted by this
council [5, vol. 1, p. 25] (all of the bishops present at this council were
from the east [5, vol. 1, p. 25]). It
should be noted here that Gregory of Nazianzus openly
discussed the procession of the Spirit equally from the Father and the Son at
this council [2, p. 282]. While the form
used today by the Eastern Church was probably adopted at this council, it
certainly was adopted by the Council of Chalcedon in 451 [5, vol. 1, p. 25].
In 589, at the Third Council
of Toledo (at which, apparently, no eastern bishops were present), the word filioque was first inserted into the creed [4, p. 348][5, vol. 2, p. 26].
This change was motivated by an ancient western creed called the Quicunque vult (the Holy
Spirit is from the Father and the Son, not made or created or begotten, but
proceeding) and the teachings of Augustine [4, p. 348]. Later (in the early 800s), Pope Leo III
approved the filioque doctrine, but insisted that the
creed remain unchanged. The use of the filioque word, however, continued to grow in the west (due
at least in part to the efforts of Charlemagne) [4, p. 349][5,
vol. 2, p. 26].
The next significant event
with respect to the Nicean creed occurred in 784 with
Tarasius’ (patriarch of
Efforts to reunite the
Eastern and Western churches began with the Council of Lyons in 1274 and continued
with the Council of Florence in 1434 (both councils authorized the word filioque [4, p. 349]). At the Council of Florence, a
vigorous discussion erupted between the eastern and western bishops over words
spoken by Basil claiming that the Spirit proceeded from the Father and the Son
[2, p. 282]. After much debate, the
eastern delegates accepted the filioque addition to
the creed (at least in the west), and made other concessions. The following quote summarizes [6, p.
311-312]:
The council of Ferrara, which was
transferred to Florence in 1439, witnessed protracted discussion between Greeks
and Latins, in which as a final result the primacy of
the Pope was accepted in vague terms, which seemed to preserve the rights of
the Eastern patriarchs, the Greeks retained their peculiarities of worship and
priestly marriage, while the disputed filioque clause
of the creed was acknowledged by the Greeks, though with the understanding that
they would not add it to the ancient symbol.
At the conclusion of the council,
the reunion of the Eastern and
The eastern Church has always
maintained that the insertion of the word filioque
into the creed was illegal, and indeed, some in the west agree (in 1874, for
example, a small group of high level representatives from both the east and the
west, attempting to lay the groundwork for reconciliation, adopted an admission
of the illegality of the word [5, vol. 2, p. 545]). Addressing the legality question becomes more
difficult when it is realized that no precedent is readily found. For example, the Apostle’s Creed (the ‘Creed
of Creeds’ [5, vol. 1, p. 14]) was never endorsed or accepted by any council or
synod [5, vol. 1, p. 25] (and this creed is universally recognized, although it
is used less in the east [5, vol. 1, p. 27]).
Many creeds were only approved by local councils (or synods), and most
were in use in the churches before approval.
Further, the Nicene creed itself was in use hundreds of years (and had
undergone changes) before being recognized by a truly ecumenical council (the
Council of Chalcedon, 451). Even so,
while the east accuses the west of changing the creed approved by the Council
of Chalcedon, they themselves changed the creed at the second council of
Doctrinally, I believe that
the teaching of the Bible is best summarized by Augustine [1, 15.26.47]:
The
Son, is born of the Father, and the Holy Spirit proceeds from the Father
principally and (by [the Father’s] gift and with no lapse of time) commonly
from both.
Further, I claim that the
word filioque was lawfully inserted into the creed by
the Council of Florence, a truly ecumenical council that reunited the East and
the West (if only for a short time).
That the eastern monks rejected the decisions of the council is not
relevant, it only demonstrates their disrespect for authority.
References
[1] Augustine, Bishop of
Hippo; “The Trinity”.
[2] Bardenhewer,
Otto; “Patrology”; Freiburg
im Breisgau - Publisher to
the Holy Apostolic See; 1908.
[3] Encyclopedia Britanica; 1998.
[4]
[5] Schaff,
Philip; “The Creeds of Christendom”; Baker Book House; 1990.
[6] Walker, Williston; “A
History of the Christian Church”; Charles Scribner’s Son’s;