Dropping the Filoque

[mardukm]

The question that I rarely see, if ever, is whether it is even acceptable to have a compromise. How can one part of the Church have one form of the creed and another part have another form of the creed? Is this really acceptable? The creed is our baptismal faith. It is what we profess either through our own profession or through that of our parents at our baptism. Maybe the corresponding theologies are the same but you can’t say that the creed is the same. One says From the Father, the other says From the Father and the Son. Is it really acceptable to have different baptismal professions of faith?

By the way, I am open on this. I am not necessarily opposing a compromise.

I would go with Pope St. Cyril’s explanation. The Creed does not comprise our entire Faith. Our Faith is contained in our ENTIRE Tradition - the Creed, Scripture, the writings of the Fathers, the teachings of Ecumenical Councils, the Liturgy, etc. etc. What we profess at our Baptism is not a limit to what we believe. It is only the starting point. There is much more to learn about our Faith than what is contained in the Creed. Are our Faiths different because we use different words? I don’t believe so.

An infant won’t understand and will learn. An adult catechumen learns before being baptized. So the difference in wording will not matter given good catechesis. If there is to be any change, it is to ensure that the newly baptized or soon-to-be-baptized receives the BEST catechetical instruction, which unfortunately is not always true.

Blessings,
Marduk