Eastern and Western Trinitarian Theology

The theological differences between the Latin Rite Church and the Eastern Rites Churches have led to the different views on the theology of the Trinity. The Trinity is God. It is the generic terminology of the Christian God. (Britannica T. E., 2024) Yet, Trinity is a mystery. Since the beginning of Christianity, we profess the same belief; as the Church Fathers concluded their Council with the phrase: “Credo in unum Deum” (I believe in one God). This creed is the foundation of the Christian theology: there is only one God. However, in the existence of only one God, there are three persons that unifies as one, the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. These three persons are truly distinct one from another. In this Trinity of persons the Son is begotten of the Father by an eternal generation, and the Holy Spirit proceeds by an eternal procession from the Father [and the son]. Yet, notwithstanding this difference as to origin, the Persons are co-eternal and co-equal: all alike are uncreated and omnipotent. (Catholic Encyclopedia, 1907)

In spite of this simple theology, the Church has different perspective on the Trinity. This began in the early Christianity, where the Latin Church and the Eastern Churches had theological and political conflicts. The Latin Rite Church started to add the “Filioque” (and the Son) phrase on the Nicene-Constantinopolitan Creed. This is because the theological perspective of the East was different from that of the West; and this gave rise to misunderstandings and at last led to two widely separate ways of regarding and defining one important doctrine—the procession of the Holy Spirit from the Father or from the Father and the Son. The Roman churches, without consulting the East, added “and from the Son” (Latin: Filioque) to the Nicene Creed. (Britannica, 2024)

On July 16, 1054, Patriarch of Constantinople Michael Cerularius was excommunicated from the Christian church based in Rome, Italy. Cerularius’s excommunication was a breaking point in long-rising tensions between the Roman church based in Rome and the Byzantine church based in Constantinople (now called Istanbul). The resulting split divided the European Christian church into two major branches: the western Roman Catholic Church and the Eastern Orthodox Church. This split is known as the Great Schism, or sometimes the “East-West Schism” or the “Schism of 1054.” (National Geographic, 2024)

The schism led the two separate churches to have different dogmas regarding the Trinity. Firstly, the Roman Catholic Church believes according to the Catechism of the Catholic Church: “The apostolic faith concerning the Spirit was confessed by the second ecumenical council at Constantinople (381): “We believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord and giver of life, who proceeds from the Father.” By this confession, the Church recognizes the Father as “the source and origin of the whole divinity”. But the eternal origin of the Spirit is not unconnected with the Son's origin: “The Holy Spirit, the third person of the Trinity, is God, one and equal with the Father and the Son, of the same substance and also of the same nature. . . Yet he is not called the Spirit of the Father alone, . . . but the Spirit of both the Father AND THE SON.” The Creed of the Church from the Council of Constantinople confesses: “With the Father and the Son, he is worshipped and glorified.”” (Catechism of the Catholic Church, 2nd Edition, 1997)

The Eastern Orthodox Church, however, contradicts this doctrine of the Roman Church. The Orthodox Church in America says: “At this point also it is necessary to note that the Roman and Protestant churches differ in their credal statement about God by adding that the Holy Spirit proceeds from the Father “and the Son” (filioque)—a doctrinal addition unacceptable to Orthodoxy since it is both unscriptural and inconsistent with the Orthodox vision of God.”

In conclusion, the Trinity is a unification of the three distinct persons: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. In the Catholic perspective the Holy Spirit proceeds from the Father and the Son, while the Orthodox belief says otherwise. Despite having different theological perspective on the Trinity, the important is we believe in the Trinity. God himself has the only answer on the mysteries of him.

References
Britannica, T. E. (2024, July 15). East-West Schism. Retrieved from Encyclopedia Britannica: https://www.britannica.com/event/East-West-Schism-1054

Britannica, T. E. (2024, June 20). Trinity. Retrieved from Encyclopedia Britannica: https://www.britannica.com/topic/Trinity-Christianity

John Paul II. (1997). Catechism of the Catholic Church, 2nd Edition, 245. Vatican City: Libreria Editrice Vaticana.

National Geographic. (2024, March 19). Jul 16, 1054 CE: Great Schism. Retrieved from National Geographic: https://education.nationalgeographic.org/resource/great-schism/

Orthodox Church in America. (n.d.). The Symbol of Faith - Holy Spirit. Retrieved from Orthodoc Church in America: https://www.oca.org/orthodoxy/the-orthodox-faith/doctrine-scripture/the-symbol-of-faith/holy-spirit

Robert Appleton Company. (1907). Catholic Encyclopedia. Robert Appleton Company.