There is a Latin saying, Lex orandi, lex credendi. In English, it means, “As we pray, so we believe.” What we pray in the creeds, so we profess to believe. For example, we begin the Nicene Creed by saying, “We believe […]” The Nicene Creed is a declaration of what we say we believe about the Trinity.

As a very brief history, the Nicene Creed is named after the location of the first ecumenical council that took place in the city of Nicaea in 325 AD. At that time, the church affirmed who the Father and the Son are in relation to one another based on scripture and widely held doctrine up to that time. In the second ecumenical council, which took place in the city of Constantinople in 381 AD, the council amended the Creed to include further clarity about the relationship between the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit; therefore, sometimes it is now referred to as the Nicene-Constantinople Creed.

The original Nicene-Constantinople Creed did not contain what is known as the Filioque Clause, “and (from) the Son.” The Clause asserts the procession of the Holy Spirit from the Father and the Son. The 381 AD Creed stated that the Holy Spirit “proceeds from the Father.” Full stop. Originally coined to combat Arianism—the belief that denied the divinity of Christ—the Filioque Clause sought to correct any notion that the Son was less than the Father in divinity.

The Filioque Clause gained further regional recognition in Spain during the second Council of Toledo in 447AD. It was later officially added to the Nicene-Constantinopolitan Creed for local use in the liturgy at the third Council of Toledo in 589AD. Neither the second nor third Councils of Toledo are universally recognized councils in the ecumenical sense—representing unity among the many geographical Christian dioceses and churches of the time. However, after its initial inclusion, regionally, the Filioque Clause continued to gain popularity in the Christian West, interestingly, except in Rome, where Pope Leo III in 809 AD refused to add it to the Nicene Creed. Nevertheless, it was officially added by Pope Benedict VIII in 1024 AD. This, among many other grievances accumulated due to time and isolation between the Christian East and the West, contributed to the 1054 Schism between Orthodox and Catholics.

Since that time, faithful from across the schismatic divide have sought reconciliation. The filioque debate has continued at the center of these discussions. Despite three separate Lambeth conferences (1888, 1978, and 1988) recommending that the Filioque Clause be removed from the Nicene Creed among churches who belong to the Anglican Communion, its use continues in global Anglican liturgy.

Since 2010, the ACNA and the OCA (Orthodox Church in America) have sought ecumenical dialogue through the OCA-ACNA Ecumenical Dialogue Task Force. Among other topics toward reconciliation, the task force seeks to advance ecumenical dialogue concerning the Filioque Clause. In recent years, this led to the Clause being updated in the ACNA liturgy in brackets. Simply, this is to signify that it was not part of the original Nicene-Constantinople Creed, and to indicate that the OCA-ACNA Ecumenical Dialogue Task Force had recommended its removal from the liturgical reading of the Creed.

As it stands, the College of Bishops has accepted the recommendation of the OCA-ACNA task force to remove the Filioque Clause from the Nicene Creed in a return to its original form; however, rather than to make this decision unilaterally, the resolution will be recommended to GAFCON and Global South Primates. As we wait, may we continue the conversation with all levels of the ACNA—from leadership to laity— that we may continue to think critically about what our prayers say we believe about the Trinity. Let us pray:

For the Universal Church (William Laud)

Gracious Father, we pray for your holy Catholic Church. Fill it with all truth, in all truth with all peace. Where it is corrupt, purify it; where it is in error, direct it; where in anything it is amiss, reform it. Where it is right, strengthen it; where it is in want, provide for it; where it is divided, reunite it; for the sake of Jesus Christ your Son our Savior. Amen. (BCP pg. 646)

As context for further study and discussion, some argue that the clause subjugates the Holy Spirit under the Father and the Son through “double procession.” Some Orthodox and Protestants have come to agree that it would be more appropriate to say that the Holy Spirit proceeds from the Father through the Son. Here are several scripture references to help us in our prayerful examination and in our gracious discussions with one another on this topic:

• John 15:26

• John 16:7

• John 20:22

• Titus 3:5-7

• Revelation 22:1