The Trinity comprises the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.The issue of the personhood of the Holy Spirit was the cause of much debate in the late eleventh and early twelfth centuries between the Western and Eastern churches, as well as within Western theology. While this thesis concentrates on thought in the West, the discussion with the East will be mentioned both as it helps to clarify the Western position, and also in indicating how this position might comment on the continuing divide between the two churches.
The issue of the personhood of the Holy Spirit was the cause of much debate in the late eleventh and early twelfth centuries between the Western and Eastern churches, as well as within Western theology. While this thesis concentrates on thought in the West, the discussion with the East will be mentioned both as it helps to clarify the Western position, and also in indicating how this position might comment on the continuing divide between the two churches.
The conflict with Eastern thought was over the addition of the filioque to the Nicene Creed, creating dual procession of the Spirit from both Father and Son. This addition had two problems: firstly, it was enacted without the authority of an ecumenical council, which was considered necessary for changes to major points of doctrine; and secondly, the relations within the Trinity were altered, and the monarchy of the Father was called into question. The Eastern Church held that both Son and Spirit proceeded equally, but in different ways, from the Father, who was the source of the godhead. With the reopening of this debate at the Council of Bari, Western theologians were aware in their writings of their need to defend this position on the dual procession. They not only did this, but also sought at times to reach out to persuade the Greeks of the legitimacy of this teaching.
The Western position on the Holy Spirit had been largely defined by Augustine, who had not only put forward clear teaching on the dual procession of the Spirit that led to the adoption of filioque, but also used analogies for the Trinity that associated terms such as love, will, gift and communion with the third person. It is not clear to what extent Augustine thought that these terms represented the Spirit in His immanent state and could be transferred directly from the analogies. What is clear is that the concept of the Holy Spirit as love took root in Western thought, particularly based on Romans 5:5: “God has poured out His love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit”.
Despite this acceptance, the concept of attributes of divinity being ascribed to one of the trinitarian persons has not been unquestioned in the West.
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