Welcome to Ask the Church, our video series where we seek to answer your questions about church practice, worship, and theology in under five minutes.
Today’s question is a big one! We were asked, "What does the phrase 'who proceeds from the Father and the Son'—in our confession of the Holy Spirit—mean? And why is the 'and the Son' bit disputed?"
For those who don’t know, when the Eastern Orthodox recite the Nicene Creed, they use the older form that simply says of the Spirit, "who proceeds from the Father." The words "and the Son" are omitted.
So today, we’re going to talk a little bit about what this means, why we say it, and why the East does not.
The Procession of the Spirit
What do we mean when we say the Spirit "proceeds"? This phrase is biblical. In John 15:26, Jesus is speaking to the disciples at the Last Supper, and He says that He will send the Spirit—“the Spirit of truth, who proceeds from the Father”.
So, in confessing the procession of the Spirit—the going forth of the Spirit—we’re actually using words that Jesus used.
This phrase “who proceeds” refers to the dynamic relationships between the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
Sometimes we think about God as if He were a static thing, and sometimes we don’t think of the Trinity well. We confess one God who eternally exists in three Persons. And in those three Persons, the Father is the eternal source, the Son is “eternally begotten of the Father,” and the Spirit is eternally proceeding.
When we say the Son is begotten or the Spirit is proceeding (going forth), we do not imply that there was ever a moment when the Son or Spirit didn’t exist. Likewise, when we say the Father is the eternal source, it’s not as though He existed at a moment in time and then the Son and Spirit came from Him.
Rather, the Father is the eternal source, the Son is eternally begotten, and the Spirit is eternally proceeding.
This helps us understand that the Father is not the Son, the Son is not the Spirit, and the Father is not the Spirit.
All three are eternally God—“one Being.” But in this one Being with three Persons, the Father is the perpetual and eternal source, the Son is the perpetual and eternally begotten One, and the Spirit is the perpetual and eternally proceeding One: the One going forth from the Father.
This dynamic set of relationships points to the perpetual vitality, movement, and power of God that is from all eternity past to all eternity future.
The Filioque ("and the Son")
This idea of procession—of the Spirit going forth—points to the continual movement of God. From our point of view, it points to the fact that God is perpetually coming forth into Creation and into humanity. That makes sense when we look at Genesis 1, where the Spirit hovers over the surface of the waters—God coming forth to Creation (Genesis 1:2).
Now we must talk about the “and the Son” bit. In Latin, “and the Son” is Filioque, and you may hear of the Filioque Controversy. The theology behind adding this phrase to the Creed—originally it simply said “who proceeds from the Father”—has been debated for centuries.
You can see a bit of that theology in the verse that I mentioned before, John 15:26. Jesus says He will send the Spirit “who proceeds from the Father.” But in that idea that Jesus is sending this one “who proceeds from the Father,” we can see that the Spirit is, in some sense, proceeding or coming forth from both.
Still, the original Creed contained only “who proceeds from the Father.” Some interpreted this as “proceeds from the Father through the Son,” others as “proceeds from the Father and the Son,” and others thought it best to leave it unchanged.
But in 1054, Rome (the Western Church) decided to add the phrase “and the Son” to the Creed. This addition sparked the Great Schism—the split between Eastern and Western churches.
The core issue wasn’t even theological; it was procedural. The change happened unilaterally, without an ecumenical (worldwide) council. Many in the East may have agreed with the theology, but objected to the manner in which the change was made.
Anglican Practice
As Anglicans, we are part of the Western Church and have inherited the Western version of the Creed that includes “and the Son.” Personally, I joyfully confess the Spirit “who proceeds from the Father and the Son.” That the Spirit—even before He proceeds to us from the Father through the Son—may be said to proceed from the Father to the Son and back from the Son to the Father: a kind of perpetual dance of the Trinity.
However, out of an attempt to be ecumenical—seeking to be one with the Church of all ages—Anglicans permit either version. If you look at the Prayer Book, you’ll notice “and the Son” is in brackets. It is perfectly permissible for an Anglican to say of the Spirit, “who proceeds from the Father,” and omit “and the Son.” Some Anglicans that I know do that out of a desire to be one with the Eastern Church. But because we’re part of the Western Church, we can confess “and the Son,” as well. Both are permissible for the Anglican.
Conclusion
In sum, the Creed points to the dynamic relationships in the eternal Trinity—one Being who exists in three Persons: the eternal source (the Father), the eternally begotten (the Son), and the eternally proceeding (the Spirit).
As always, if you have questions, email them to me at steven@incarnationrichmond.org. I hope these videos are helpful!
And now, go in the grace of our Lord.