Filioque

Latin for “and the Son.” The words were added to the Nicene Creed at the Council of Toledo in 589 and gradually grew in acceptance in the west. The filioque states that the Holy Spirit proceeds not only from the Father, but from the Father and the Son. The Eastern Orthodox churches condemn the addition as contrary to the admonition of the Council of Chalcedon (451) that no change be made in the faith expressed in the Nicene Creed. Disagreement over the filioque was a major cause of conflict between the eastern and western churches. The Lambeth Conference of 1988 recommended that the phrase be dropped from the Nicene Creed in Anglican churches. The 1994 General Convention of the Episcopal Church resolved to delete the filioque from the Nicene Creed in the next edition of the Prayer Book. See Pneumatology.