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The filioque – opportunity for debate?

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 February 2009

Gordon Watson*
Affiliation:
1 Crossman Court Box Hill South 3128 Victoria Australia

Extract

The current discussion of the proposal from the World Council of Churches that ‘all churches should revert to the original text of the Nicene Creed as the normative formulation’ and thus excise the filioque, presents churches with a unique opportunity for extensive re-examination of fundamental theology.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
Copyright © Scottish Journal of Theology Ltd 1988

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References

page 313 note 1 Spirit of God, Spirit of Christ – Ecumenical Reflections on the Filioque Controversy. Vischer, L., ed. London: SPCK, 1981, p. vi.Google Scholar

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page 314 note 6 It is unfortunate that Rahner, op. cit., p. 18, note 13, proceeds to categorise Greek thought as ‘formalistic’ without seeking the basis of the Greek reluctance to inquire about hypostatic relations in God within the doxological context of liturgical language in which the dogma of the Trinity is rooted.

page 314 note 7 Basil, op. cit., sec. 1.3.

page 314 note 8 Basil, op. cit., sec. 4.6.

page 315 note 9 Ibid., sec. 5.7.

page 315 note 10 Ibid., sec. 5 and sec. 6.

page 316 note 11 Basil, op. cit., sec. 8.18: ‘Shall his care for us degrade to meanness our thoughts of him?’

page 316 note 12 Basil, Ibid., sec. 9.22.

page 316 note 13 This question and the legitimacy of such statements is argued in the debate between Gollwitzer, H., The Existence of God. London: SCM, 1965 Google Scholar, and Jüngel, E., The Doctrine of the Trinity. Edinburgh: Scottish Academic Press, 1976.Google Scholar

page 316 note 14 Pannenberg, W., Basic Questions in Theology, vol. 1. London: SCM, 1970, p. 216.Google Scholar

page 316 note 15 Basil, op. cit., sec. 2 and 3.4.5. See also Schlink, E., The Coming Christ and the Coming Church. Edinburgh: Oliver and Boyd, 1970, pp. 16ff. and 87ff.Google Scholar

page 317 note 16 Basil, op. cit., sec. 27.76. Cf. Bonhoeffer, D., Christology. London: Collins, 1966 Google Scholar: ‘To speak of Christ means to keep silent; to be silent is to speak. The proclamation of Christ is the church speaking from a proper silence. … We must study Christ in the humble silence of the worshipping community’ (p. 27).

page 318 note 17 Tertullian, , Adv. Praxean. Ante Nicene Christian Library, vol. xv, no. 11. Edinburgh: T. & T. Clark, 1970. ch. 3.Google Scholar

page 318 note 18 Tertullian, op. cit., ch. 5; cf. Harnack, A., History of Dogma, vol. II. London: Williams and Norgate, 1897, pp. 257ff.Google Scholar

page 318 note 19 Tertullian, Ibid., ch. 7.

page 318 note 20 Prestige, G., God in Patristic Thought. London: SPCK, 1956, p. 97.Google Scholar

page 318 note 21 A. Harnack, op. cit., pp. 262ff.

page 318 note 22 See Heron, A. I. C., The Holy Spirit in the Bible, the History of Christian Thought and Recent Theology. Westminster Press, 1983, pp. 176177.Google Scholar

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page 321 note 28 Barth, op. cit., p. 556.

page 321 note 29 Barth, op. cit., p. 542.

page 321 note 30 Barth, op. cit., p. 552.

page 322 note 31 Barth, op. cit., p. 553.

page 322 note 32 Barth, op. cit., p. 553.

page 322 note 33 Barth, op. cit., p. 554.

page 323 note 34 Barth, Ibid.

page 323 note 35 Barth, op. cit., p. 555. See also Hendry, G., ‘From the Father and the Son: The Filioque after 900 Years’. Theology Today, vol. XI, 1954–1955, pp. 449ffGoogle Scholar. and McIntyre, J., ‘The Holy Spirit in Greek Patristic Thought’. Scottish Journal of Theology, vol. 7, 1954, pp. 353ff. and 371–375.CrossRefGoogle Scholar

page 323 note 36 Barth, op. cit., p. 556.

page 324 note 37 Barth, op. cit., p. 556.

page 325 note 38 Cyril, , Five Tomes Against the Blasphemies of Nestorius. Oxford: Parker, J., & Rivingtons, 1881, Tome, 1, pp. 28ff.Google Scholar

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page 325 note 40 See also Pelikan, J., A History of the Development of Doctrine, vol. 2. University of Chicago, 1974, pp. 190ff.Google Scholar

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page 326 note 42 Cf. Barth, , Church Dogmatics, vol. 1. 1, pp. 550552 Google Scholar. Cf. pp. 450ff.

page 326 note 43 Contra Moltmann, op. cit., p. 151. Cf. Gollwitzer, H., The Existence of God Confessed by Faith. SCM Press, 1965, p. 217.Google Scholar

page 326 note 44 Cf. Pelikan, op. cit., p. 259 and p. 2ff.

page 327 note 45 Pelikan, Ibid., p. 33.

page 327 note 46 Ibid.

page 327 note 47 Lossky, V., The Mystical Theology of the Eastern Church. Clarke, J., 1957, p. 42 Google Scholar. Cf. St Basil, above, and Schlink, , The Coming Christ and The Coming Church, pp. 58ff.Google Scholar

page 328 note 48 Ritschl, D., ‘Historical Development and Implications of the Filioque Controversy’, pp. 6465 Google Scholar; and Heron, , The Holy Spirit, p. 173.Google Scholar

page 328 note 49 Heron, op. cit., p. 173.

page 328 note 50 Heron, op. cit., p. 177.

page 328 note 51 Ibid.

page 328 note 52 Pelikan, op. cit., p. 194.

page 329 note 53 See on the following: J. Moltmann, ‘Theological Perspectives Towards the Resolution of the Filioque Controversy’ in Vischer (ed.), op. cit., pp. 164ff. and The Trinity and the Kingdom of God, pp. 182ff.; Heron, , SJT 24, pp. 161ff.Google Scholar; The Holy Spirit pp. 166ff.; Lossky, , The Image and Likeness of God, pp. 81ff.Google Scholar

page 329 note 54 Moltmann, op. cit., p. 172; Heron, , SJT 24, pp. 164ff.Google Scholar; and The Holy Spirit, pp. 177–178.

page 329 note 55 D. Staniloae, ‘The Procession of the Holy Spirit from the Father and His Relation to the Son’ in Vischer (ed.), op. cit., p. 177. See p. 176 quoting St Gregory Palamas: ‘The Spirit has his existence from the Father of the Son because he who causes the Spirit to proceed is also the Father.’ (My underlining: cf. Heron, SJT 24, pp. 164–166, and The Holy Spirit, pp. 177–178; Moltmann, op. cit., pp. 182ff.)

page 329 note 56 Stylianopoulos, T., ‘The Filioque: Dogma, Theologumenon or Error?Greek Orthodox Theological Review, vol. 31, 1986, pp. 258ff.Google Scholar

page 329 note 57 Pelikan, op. cit., p. 197.

page 329 note 58 Heron, , The Holy Spirit, pp. 169170.Google Scholar

page 329 note 59 Moltmann, , The Trinity and the Kingdom of God, pp. 136ff., 167.Google Scholar

page 330 note 60 Moltmann, , The Trinity and the Kingdom of God, p. 151 Google Scholar. The two (immanent and economic) ‘rather form a continuity and merge into one another’ (p. 152).

page 330 note 61 Pelikan, p. 193.

page 330 note 62 Moltmann, op. cit., pp. 151–152; cf. Heron, , The Holy Spirit, pp. 177178.Google Scholar