The Filioque Impasse: Patristic Roots

Description

Michelle Coetzee focuses on the underlying causes of the filioque impasse, which remains one of the greatest obstacles to the re-establishment of communion between the Eastern Orthodox and Roman Catholics. She argues that there has been a great deal of misunderstanding of the positions of each tradition by the other, partly due to the fact that East and West imbue certain key words, such as person and unity , with different meanings. Underlying this difficulty is the problem of divergent approaches to theology, leading to differing responses to the Church s interaction with ancient Hellenic philosophy back in the fourth century and consequently to divergent expositions of the Trinity. Against this backdrop, Coetzee sets about clearing up some of the misunderstandings. But choices still need to be made and, in Coetzee s view, these must ultimately be made on the basis of approach to theology and truth criteria. Table of Contents Foreword Preface Acknowledgments Abbreviations Introduction 1. The filioque: meaning and arguments 2. Untangling the arguments 3. The Eastern approach to truth 4. Perception and conception in Orthodox thought 5. The indivisible Trinity 6. The procession of the Spirit 7. Origins of the Western conception 8. Unity to filioque 9. Augustine’s psychological analogies 10. Conclusion Bibliography Index