A Note

From Pastor Ryan

“We believe in the Holy Spirt”

It is tradition to switch to the Nicene Creed for the Easter season. It is a longer, more in-depth creed than our regular Apostles’ Creed and that is why we revisit it during our higher church seasons. You may have noticed something different this year. It is a small change that may seem insignificant on the surface but actually packs a lot of meaning. It has to do with our belief in the Holy Spirit.

On Easter Sunday, we confidently declared, “We believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the giver of life; who proceeds from the Father; who with the Father and the Son is worshiped and glorified…” Notice anything different? I heard a few of you start to say the missing words on Easter. The old familiar words that are missing are “and the Son.” Most of us have, for our entire lives, declared that the Holy Spirit “proceeds from the Father and the Son.”

Did you know that those three simple words were not actually part of the original Nicen Creed? The Nicene Creed was developed at the Council of Nicaea in the year 325 and modified in Constantinople in 381 always without “and the Son”, which is a clause known as the “Filioque Statement”. It wasn’t until the Council of Toledo (Spain) in 589 that this statement was officially adopted, and even then, it was only adopted into the Latin churches of the West. It wasn’t approved by the Papacy of Rome until the 11th century. Until now, it has been a point of contention and a source of fracture between the Eastern and Western Christian Churches (the Eastern churches have never included it in the Creed).

The reason the Western churches decided to add the Filioque was to combat a heretical view put for by Arius, one our early church fathers, who believed Jesus did not always coexist with God the Father. He essentially said, “There was a time when He was not.” This has been deemed a heresy because we believe that Jesus has always coexisted with God. “Let us make humankind in our image.” (Genesis 1:26) “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was in the beginning with God. 3 All things came into being through him, and without him not one thing came into being.” (John 1:1-3a) It was thought that adding the Filioque would give some weight to the idea that Jesus existed in the beginning by suggesting that the Holy Spirit came from him as well.

The problem with this statement is that it makes the Holy Spirit seem subordinate to Jesus, when in reality all three persons of the Trinity are coequal and has always existed together. Jesus may not have always been in physical bodily form, but he has always existed. God eternally begets Jesus. Jesus is eternally begotten from God. Likewise, the Holy Spirit has always and does always proceed from God. God is God. Jesus is God. The Holy Spirit is God. Neither Jesus nor the Holy Spirit are created from God. That would make them creatures like us and would mean that we would be worshipping parts of God’s creation. That would make them idols. That is why the words “begotten” and “proceeds” were carefully chosen by the authors of the Creed.

This is obviously a complex issue that I have tried to simplify as much as possible. And all of this is to say I come bearing good news! In May of 2024 the Lutheran World Federation decided to end the controversy, and in a spirit of unity, has removed the Filioque from the Nicene Creed. 1,000 to 1,500 years of division are over! The Lutheran World Federation and the Orthodox Church put forward a joint declaration regarding this new unity, affirming that we all believe in the coequal, coexistent persons of the Holy Trinity. We believe the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit are all in intimate relationship with each other and are all one God.

This may seem like a small thing but is theologically a big deal. It may not change your everyday life, but for pastors, bishops, scholars, and educators of faith, this small change makes a difference in our understanding of this very complicated Triune (3-in-1, 1-in-3) God we worship and are in relationship with.

I hope you’ve enjoyed this little look behind the curtain of systematic theology as much as I’ve enjoyed sharing it with you!

May the peace and love of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit be with you always,

Pastor Ryan

Email Pastor Ryan:  pastorryan@sotpmail.com