The Filioque: A Church-Dividing Issue?

The Consultation is the official dialogue between the Orthodox and Catholic bishops of the United States and Canada. It adopted this statement at Washington on 25 October 2003 after four years of study. The text has a section on Scripture, a long historical section, a section on the theological questions and a list of recommendations.

It is a modern document and is not evidence for the sixth century in its own right; its historical section summarises the work of scholars. It is cited in this wiki because it is a text that both traditions put their names to. It says that the earliest use of Filioque language in a creed-like setting is the profession of faith drawn up for King Reccared at Toledo in 589, and that no clear record survives of how the word entered the creed itself. It describes the clause as part of ordinary teaching for Catholics and most Protestants, and as an offence to Eastern Christians both for its theology and because it was added to the creed of an ecumenical council without ecumenical agreement. Among its recommendations is that the Catholic Church use the original Greek text of the creed, without the addition, in new translations.