Definition
Filioque is a Latin term meaning and from the Son. It refers to a phrase added by the Western Christian church to the Nicene Creed, stating that the Holy Spirit proceeds from the Father and from the Son, rather than from the Father alone.
Though only a single word, the addition became one of the most consequential doctrinal disputes in Christian history, dividing the Latin West from the Greek East.
Why it matters
How it works
The original creed described the Holy Spirit as proceeding from the Father. The Western church later inserted filioque, asserting procession from the Father and the Son together. The Eastern church rejected this on two grounds: it disagreed with the theology, and it insisted that no single part of the church could alter a creed agreed by a universal council. The dispute was as much about authority — who has the right to define doctrine — as about theology, and it hardened the divide that culminated in lasting schism.