The filioque history of a doctrinal controversy pdf files

The history of christian doctrines by louis berkhof banner. History of a doctrinal controversy oxford studies in historical theology new york. Siecienski, oxford university press, 2010 isbn 9780195372045. 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 philosophy of filioque religious studies cambridge. 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. The filioquecontroversy with the laity the puritan board. 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. Chronology of the filioque controversy a onepage overview of the dispute, from 325 to 1453. However, it is impossible to write the history of this particular doctrine without contextualizing it within the larger political, cultural, and religious environment. 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. 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. 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. Eschatology 493 chapter xii latin theology in the age of charlemagne 1.

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. History of a doctrinal controversy oxford studies in historical theology at. 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. 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. Edward siecienski not only presents first complete english language history of the filioque. More liberal scholars have sometimes shown a greater appreciation of the history. 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. Karl barth on the filioque david guretzki download. 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. Siecienski provides us with a monumental achievement in breadth as he. 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. The filioque controversy in the patriarchate of gregory ii of cyprus 12831289 new york, ny.

The holy spirit is god, and he was sent by god as jesus christs replacement here on earth. Pope, council, and the filioque in western theology, 1274. It is not in the original text of the creed, attributed to the first council of constantinople. The filioque controversy is one of the more notorious clashes in church history. 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. 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. The result was the largest schism the church has ever witnessed to date. From the greek and latin fathers, the ninthcentury debates. 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. Medieval history, the life and death of a civilization, 1st ed. God, who is an infinite being, is ultimately incomprehensible to our finite human minds. Kolbaba, history, heresiology, patristics and the aftermath of the second council of lyons 12741285, in greeks, latins, and. More liberal scholars have sometimes shown a greater appreciation of the history of debate, though this has not 9. 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. Eastern orthodox bishop kallistos ware formerly timothy ware, who once adamantly opposed the filioque doctrine, states. 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. This is unfortunate because truth is not neutral but is rather an articulation of the biases of god, as it were. The latin word filioque, meaning and son, is the source of the name of. The history of the filioque controversy is the historical development of theological controversies within christianity regarding three distinctive issues. Even general church history must take considerable note of the doctrinal controversies of this period. The filioque controversy which has separated us for so many centuries is more than a mere technicality, but it is not insoluble. The history of the filioque controversy biblical, theological and. In time, belief in the filioque became dogma in roman catholicism by the council of lyon 1274. These survey chapters include the central historic councils such as the council of lyons, the council of ferraraflorence, and key theologians on the eastern, catholic, and protestant wings of the debate. 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. Church the filioque should not be in the creed or in the liturgy or in the theological teaching for doctrinal and. 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.

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. 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. This new book helpfully traces the development and significance of this controversy. Edward siecienski dutifully reminds us that his account is by no means a complete history of the filioque pp. Mutual relations between the problem of filioque and the doctrine of theosis in the orthodox theologians after st.

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. According to reinhard slenczka, however, the documents of. It is not a defense or condemnation of the filioque or filioquist theology, although siecienski recognizes it as first and foremost, a theological work. 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. What caused doctrinal controversies in the early church. 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. Filioque from the creed, but that it was better to include it. It is also sceptical about the relevance of doctrine but stresses more strongly the role of emerging social formations in the generation of conflicts. May 01, 2014 icon depicting emperor constantine and bishops of the council of nicaea 325 holding the text of the nicene creed. 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. Bonocore the filioque controversy which has separated us for so many centuries is more than a mere technicality, but it is not insoluble. Feb 27, 2017 so then, the first order of business is to describe what actually happened in the filioque controversy.

History of a doctrinal controversy is the first complete english language history of the filioque written in over a century. Factors that gave rise to the history of dogma as a separate discipline. These survey chapters include the central historic councils such as the council of lyons, the council of ferraraflorence, and key theologians on the. 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 is the first complete history of the filioque written in english in more than a century. It is just this objectivity that makes the book so invaluable. The filioque clause refers to an addition to the nicene creed. 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. 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. 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. In this essay, i intend to examine the filioque clause and its underlying theology from a historical and scriptural angle. 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.

First comprehensive study of the history of the filioque clause controversy, the defining issue in the split between eastern and western churches. Eastern delegates accepted the filioque as a doctrine, though not the insertion. Durham etheses the lioque controversy chapters from the. Now, this question was asked by a fresh convert from eo although nominal. Robert miner baylor university waco, texas the filioque. Chapters 510 are a survey of the filioque controversy from the seventh century through to early twentyfirst century theologians. 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. History of a doctrinal controversy international journal of systematic theology, 20. History of a doctrinal controversy by edward siecienski. The filioque is meant as a theological explanation of the relationship between the spirit and the son. Jun 16, 2018 one evening i gave a bible study and at the end there came up a question concerning the filioque. 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. Request pdf on jan 1, 20, david guretzki and others published the filioque.

So then, the first order of business is to describe what actually happened in the filioque controversy. 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. The filioque history of a doctrinal controversy by edward. Edward siecienski has written a valuable history of the doctrinal controversy of the filioque, the western addition to the creed of. 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 controversy contributed to the split between the eastern and western churches in a. Christs place in the representative work of the spirit made the difference. The procession of the holy spirit in orthodox trinitarian. 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. Jan 02, 2020 the filioque clause controversy likely involves an aspect of gods person that we will never be able to fully grasp.

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. Yet the filioque was already universally accepted in the latin west by 1100, while the clarification at lyon was the general teaching before. 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. Among the issues that have divided eastern and western christians throughout the. In fact, the pope had not yet added filioque to the creed. 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. Augustine is careful to point out that there can be.

Trump talks roger stone, bloomberg stop and frisk controversy and vindman following bill signing. Chapters from the eastern orthodox reaction an historicaltheological perspective m. What are the implications of the filioque controversy in. The filioque controversy durham etheses durham university. Edward siecienski oxford studies in historical theology. The doctrine of the filioque was officially determined at the fourth lateran council in 1215, at the second council of lyon in 1274 the determination was clarified, and this clarification was repeated in 1439 in the formulation of the council of florence. Pdf the filioque clause is one of the major differences between the. A new stage in the history of the controversy was reached in the early eleventh century. History of a doctrinal controversy 9780195372045 by a. This work is still valuable for understanding cultural and theological estrangement of east and west by the turn of the millennium. It is the double procession of the spirit from the father and the son which decisively distinguishes the spirit from. Rome resisted the inclusion of the filioque for centuries.