The Nicene Creed and the Question of the Filioque in Conversations Between Lutherans and Orthodox Christians in North America: 1993–2003
Year: 2025
Type: article
Abstract: The Nicene Creed and the Question of the Filioque in Conversations Between Lutherans and Orthodox Christians in North America: 1993-2003 Thomas R. Lee 1 his 1700th anniversary year of the Council of Nicaea has been noted in North American church publications.The article "We Believe in . . .: Commemorating the 1700th Anniversary of the Council of Nicaea," written by H. Ashely Hall for the Spring 2025 edition of Living Lutheran, the official magazine of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), is but one example.2 And the Nicene Creed was at the center of this year's Week of Prayer for Christian Unity around the theme of "Do You Believe This? (John 11:26)."Resources for the January 18-25 observance were provided by the Canadian Council of Churches, as well as on the website of the Lutheran World Federation. 3 Also, while not explicitly issued in anticipation of this anniversary year, in 2023 Lexham Press published The Nicene Creed: An Introduction by Phillip Cary of Philadelphia's Eastern University.4In his Living Lutheran article, Professor Hall acknowledges the "Common Statement on the Filioque" adopted in May 2024 by the Joint International Commission on Theological Dialogue between the Lutheran World Federation and several autocephalous Orthodox Churches.5 This Common Statement became the subject of a Spring 2025 ELCA study document on the Nicene Creed generally, and on the Filioque clause in particular.6 Not as well-known as the work of the international commission, however, is the fact that in North America there were three rounds of conversations between Lutherans and representatives of Orthodox Churches in the United States and Canada.7 Initiated in 1965 by then Archbishop Iakovos, Primate of the Greek Orthodox Church in North and South America, the series of dialogues continued through 2003.While the first round involved two meetings-in 1967 and 1969-in which the contemporary life of the respective churches was the focus, the second round took place between 1983 and 1989, out of which came a common statement T 1
Source: Consensus
DOI: 10.51644/jopd4130
Author: Thomas Lee
Language: English
Subfield: Philosophy
Field: Arts and Humanities
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: bronze
OpenAlex ID: W4413352177