A new agreed Statement with the Orient Orthodox has been signed in Dublin this week. http://www.anglicancommunion.org/me...f-the-holy-spirit-dublin-agreed-statement.pdf It can be downloaded from the Anglican Communion website on the link above. The paper is only 11 pages, and only 5 pages in the real content, so well worth a read for those who have time. Two of the concluding paragraphs read: 17. Holy Scripture speaks of the Holy Spirit as movement in vivid imagery of water, fire, and wind. The Holy Spirit speaks in the Church and moves her from the area of internal comfort to the arena of external engagement. The Holy Spirit acts as the dynamic force within a redemptive understanding of memory as found in a historical past and leading to future responsibility in a changing world. 18. In a world of enforced displacement and fearful arrival; in a world of accelerated movement; in a world of war-torn fragmentation and courageous martyrdom; the Holy Spirit, the Comforter, transcends time and space and yet inhabits both. The same Spirit is sent to commission and empower the weak to be strong, the humble to be courageous, and the poor to be comforted and blessed in a fallen world that is upheld by the providence and grace of God the Trinity who makes all things new in faith and hope and love.
It's all beautiful, but I'm going to ask a dumb question. Is the Anglican Communion going to remove the filioque?
The call is for the clause to be made a local option. This is the way your own jurisdiction's Trial Liturgies were formulated. You can feel a little Eastern (or Oriental in this case) and skip that part or you can follow the Western usage as you see fit. Whether that will appease the Copts, Ethiopians, and Armenians remains to be seen -I highly doubt the Armenians will be impressed.
There are of course a number of reasons why one might remove the filioque (or to be more precise to stop inserting it)and the Lambeth Conference has on three occasions recommended it. I note that the USA, Canada and Scotland have all taken steps on this matter (separate and distinct from other matters where they have stepped without the blessing of the Lambeth Fathers). I am very pleased to see us standing firm with the Oriental Orthodox who were most probably treated unfairly in 451 and have been copping a real hammering in other ways of late. I think if you read past the matter of the filioque the rest of the document has a lot to offer. I especially like paragraph 18.
My view is distinctly in the minority, but I am in favor of Western Christians retaining the filioque if they wish, provided it is understood the same way Saint Maximus the Confessor interpreted it. This proposal was notably made by Saint Mark of Ephesus at Florence, and rejected.
That is a very generous position to hold for an Eastern Christian. I have constantly argued that the Filioque can/should be understood in a manner consistent with the general Eastern position, and indeed it is entirely with Biblical support to do so. That being said I would also argue that the Filioque is poorly expressed and lacks the fine precision of the rest of the creed, largely hammered out at Constantinople reflecting much of the work of the Cappadocian Fathers.