FROM THE PASTOR

Saying the Creed Without “and the Son”

Each Sunday during the season of Easter (at least when we don’t have a baptism!, we join our voices with Christians across centuries and continents in confessing the Nicene Creed. This ancient summary of faith, from 1700 years ago this year, grounds us in the core beliefs passed down from the early Church: the Triune God, the incarnation of Christ, the resurrection of the dead, and the life of the world to come. But if you’ve listened closely, you may have noticed a small but important difference in the version of the Creed we use in worship. We now say that the Holy Spirit “proceeds from the Father,” rather than “from the Father and the Son.”

This change brings us closer to the wording of the original version of the Creed, adopted at the Council of Nicaea in 325 and revised at the Council of Constantinople in 381. The phrase “and the Son” (filioque in Latin) was added later in some Western churches, without the agreement of the Eastern churches. Over time, this addition became one of the theological issues that contributed to the division between Eastern Orthodox and Western Christian traditions.

In 2024, the Lutheran World Federation and the Orthodox Church issued a common statement on the filioque. It acknowledges that both traditions affirm the full divinity and personhood of the Holy Spirit, even as they have expressed that relationship in different ways. The statement suggests that Lutheran churches return to the original form of the Creed as a gesture of reconciliation and shared faith.

“Valuing this old and most venerable ecumenical Christian text,” the statement says, “we suggest that the translation of the Greek original (without the filioque) be used in the hope that this will contribute to the healing of age-old divisions between our communities and enable us to confess together the faith of the Ecumenical Councils of Nicaea (325) and Constantinople (381)” (Lutheran-Orthodox Joint Statement on the Filioque, 2024).

This is not simply about history or liturgical precision. It is about how we speak of God and how we seek to live in unity with others who share the Christian faith. By removing the filioque, we honor the original form of the Creed and take a small but meaningful step toward greater unity with the Orthodox Church. It is a gesture of humility, recognizing that some of our inherited formulations may have created barriers to understanding and fellowship.

It’s also important to say that this change does not mean we no longer affirm the close relationship between the Son and the Spirit. Lutheran theology, shaped by Scripture and the tradition of the Western Church, continues to speak of the Spirit being sent by the Son and bearing witness to Christ. The change in the Creed’s wording does not erase that understanding, but it does help us speak with greater clarity about what unites us with others in the body of Christ.

Saying the Creed without filioque is one way we practice what we believe. It reminds us that words matter—not just what they say, but how they are received. It reminds us that the Holy Spirit continues to move across differences, opening the way to greater mutual understanding. And it invites us to imagine a Church that reflects the prayer Jesus offered for his disciples: “that they may all be one.”

Questions for Reflection

1. What do you notice or feel when familiar prayers or creeds are changed?
2. Why has it been so difficult for the global Church to remain united, even around a shared creed?
3. How does saying the Creed without filioque connect us with the broader Christian tradition, especially the Eastern Orthodox Church?
4. How do you understand the relationship between the Holy Spirit, the Father, and the Son?
5. In what other ways can we embody humility and openness in our shared life of faith?

Peace,
Pastor Kyle