Filioque

the priests from what appeared to be a special Bible with thin pages. Next, there was a short homily given by one of the priest. It was the shortest reflection I had ever heard, lasting only about five minutes. The Priest spoke in a hurried fashion about an awkward family dinner he attended. Soon, there was a murmur of “Amen” from the congregation and we were onto the next service element. The Priest led the congregation in the Profession of Faith printed in the bulletin. It was read so quickly I failed to keep up, and chose to follow along silently. The Profession of Faith recited at this Mass was a slightly expanded version of what most mainline denomination include in their recitation of the Nicene Creed. It includes the controversial Filioque Clause, which states that the Holy Spirit “proceeds from the Father and the Son.” This clause remains a conflict between the Western and Eastern Orthodox Church. The Profession of Faith was followed by the Presentation Song and the Liturgy of the Eucharist. At this point, Liz and I began to panic. We were once told that it is unorthodox to participate in the Eucharist during Mass if we are not Catholic. I frantically searched the bulletin for guidance and quickly realized that this bulletin was not “visitor-friendly”. There were no instructions for communion etiquette or whether non-catholics are eligible to receive a priestly blessing like in other Catholic churches. Meanwhile, the eucharistic elements were being presented and…

It was also a cultural issue, as the culture of the West remained more Latin while the East became more Greek. Language incomprehension led to more cultural dissonance. It makes me wonder, if the language wasn’t such a big barrier, would the split still had occurred only on the basis of authoritative struggle and differences in religious practices? It also makes me grasp its connection to Filioque. The linguistic differences associated with the Estrangement of the East and West Christendom…

There are various versions of Christianity due to the different beliefs and views that people had, which in turn created the different branches within the religion. One example of this is the Great Schism. The Great Schism was the split between the Eastern and Western Christianity. This occurred after the centuries of progressive separation in which the two traditions developed their own distinctive forms. When it came to their differences, they ranged from minor to more contrasting…

A Schism is the formal separation of a church into two churches or the secession of a group owing to doctrinal and other differences. The Great Schism between sects of the Catholic Church. The Great Schism of 1054, between the Eastern Orthodox Church and the Roman Catholic Church, was caused by the everlasting differences of religious beliefs and political views between the eastern and western churches. The challenge to the absolute authority of the pope to make decisions concerning all of the…

response to this, Holmes argues that Augustine’s starting point was not different than the East’s; in fact, he believes that Augustine relied heavily on the East. According to Holmes, Augustine is “a most capable interpreter of Capadocian Trinitarianism”(146), who sought not to reconstruct a new Trinitarian doctrine, but to provide better arguments, through his rigorous exegesis, for the doctrine he inherited from the East. After a helpful interlude, Holmes shifts to the second part of his…

goes back to the Council of Nicea (in modern day Turkey) called in 325AD by the Emperor Constantine to address the Arian controversy. Eusebius submitted a Creed from his own Diocese, Caesarea, and this appears to have formed the basis of the creed propagated at Nicaea although there were other older creeds that could have been considered. The Creed affirmed the unity of God, insisted that Christ was begotten from the Father before all time, and declared that Christ is of the same essence…

Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox churches is beyond the scope of this concise exposition, this essay will feature a few examples. Culturally, the Eastern and Western churches were radically diverse. The two regional churches spoke different languages, resulting in lack of communication between the churches. Furthermore, the Eastern church focused on philosophy, as opposed to the law-oriented Western church. The differing theological genius’ led to two wildly dissimilar versions of one dogma.…

possible to negotiate with the Eastern emperors any further. This was an outrage to the Byzantine court, as Constantinople has been known as the New Rome since Emperor Constantine had moved his capital to the tiny town of Byzantium. This furthered the split between East and West. Language also had a part in the matter, the West used Latin and the East used Greek as official languages. The Popes looked to Pepin and then Emperor Charlemagne for support ending the political connection to the court…

Europe that marks the turning point of a persecuted religious movement to a popular institutionalized religion. 3-In the “Council (451),” as the church gets threatened with disunity and deep controversy, doctrinal problems (against heresies like Nestorianism, disputes over Christology) need to be dealt with it. 4-In Benedict’s Rule (530),” we read about the rise of the Monastic movement through the Middle Age. 5-In “The Coronation of Charlemagne (800),” we see a Christianity peak in…

Nicene/Constantinople Creeds (Ibid, 64). The Athanasius Creed is a long, but practical explanation of the Trinity since we are challenged to understand this mystery of God. To round out the other significant historical development of the Trinity, we will focus on the one remaining issue to settle: whether the Holy Spirit was begotten of the Father (God is the only source) as the Cappadocian Fathers and the Eastern Orthodox Church believed. Or the Holy Spirit came from both the Father and the…