20- And by the Holy Spirit

waw waw of conjunction“The Holy Spirit” is connected to what preceded it, i.e.: “I believe in one God the Father, and in one Lord Jesus Christ, and I believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the giver of life, who proceeds from the Father, who is…”

The Holy Spirit is the hypostasis The third of the Holy Trinity. He proceeds from the Father (John 15:26). That is, the hypostasis of the Holy Spirit proceeds from the hypostasis of the Father, not from His essence, as we have previously explained. He is Lord as the Son is Lord: “And in one Lord Jesus… and in the Holy Spirit the Lord…”

Addition to the constitution - It was thought that the addition of a word to the Creed had taken place in Spain. However, investigation has proven that many sources were forged. Even the Council of Toledo in 589 included the Nicene Creed as the Orthodox read it: “And in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the giver of life, who proceeds from the Father,” not “who proceeds from the Father and the Son.” But it is said that the addition began in Spain. (108).

Charlemagne - Charlemagne at the Frankfurt Congress of 794 played his part in adding the word to the constitution. A council was held in the French city of Aix in 809. A mission of Frankish bishops traveled to Rome in November 809. Pope Leo III refused “the insertion of this word into the Roman liturgical texts.

Moreover, he requested that it be deleted from the liturgical texts of other churches…” He saw “it would be better to return to the old usage.” (109)He wrote the Creed on two tablets in Greek and Latin and placed them on the door of St. Peter's Basilica in Rome. The text is the one that Orthodox Christians recite today.

Pope Leo III - Charlemagne dreamed of an independent empire, so he split the church, splitting the Christian West from the Christian East. However, Pope Leo III saved the unity of the church until another German emperor named Henry II came to impose it in Rome (1022) during the reign of Pope Benedict VIII, about whom Western saints said what they said: (110).

No complex - retreat - The West did this without the knowledge or consultation of the East, and without holding an ecumenical council to decide or reject it. The news spread around East and West, with each party defending its position. The truth is that the minimum required for salvation was deviated from into the hands of people who widened the breach unnecessarily. It is a source of pleasure that a great Western theologian, Father Le Guillon, said today: “The formula ‘the Holy Spirit proceeds from the Father and the Son’ does not correspond to the Greek tradition as a whole. Saint John of Damascus explicitly excluded it… The formula that the Greeks have always preferred is this: ‘the Holy Spirit proceeds from the Father and receives from the Son’.” By Greeks, we mean the ecclesiastical writers who use the Greek language in their writings.

The author mentions the differences between Greek and Latin words. He also mentions that the issue was not raised at all by Greek writers, even if it may appear to be included in some expressions of Saints Epiphanius of Cyprus and Cyril of Alexandria.

The Council of Constantinople in 879-800, attended by delegates from the Pope of Rome, decided not to allow any addition to the Creed (see our book “Jehovah’s Witnesses, Seventh-day Adventists, Baptists, Reformed…”). The Pope agreed to this.

Theodoret of Cyrrhus preceded John of Damascus in declaring that the Holy Spirit never proceeds from the Son (Letter 171 to John of Antioch after the reconciliation with Cyril of Alexandria, probably in the spring of 333). In his letter to Dioscorus of Alexandria, he presented his faith and said that the Holy Spirit proceeds from the Father (Letter 83). This is what Athanasius, Basil, Gregory the Theologian, and Chrysostom had said before him. As for John of Damascus, he said:

“The Holy Spirit is from the Father, and we call Him the Spirit of the Father. We do not say that the Holy Spirit is from the Son, and we call Him the Spirit of the Son… We acknowledge that the Son reveals Him and bestows Him upon us… He bestows His radiance upon us by means of the ray, enlightening us with it and being our enjoyment” (pp. 72-73 of the Hundred Articles, Publications of the Pauline Library, Jounieh, 1984).

This is what Le Guillot's text, which I have quoted, expresses well.

Convergence: This is also a great gain after Western geniuses have exhausted themselves to prove that the Greek writers said that the Holy Spirit proceeded from the Son. The writer doubts even the expressions of Epiphanius and Cyril, he doubts that they bear the meaning of the Spirit proceeding from the Son.

Here and elsewhere in this book we see a convergence of views between the Orthodox East and the Catholic West. The ongoing theological dialogues are capable, God willing, of expanding the convergence.

But it requires intensifying the steps and the prayers of the monks. The tyranny of the mentality of searching at the expense of piety, prayer and prostration does not entreat the Holy Spirit enough. O God! Reform us, bless us and inspire us to the right path and complete Christian union. Inflame the hearts of Catholics and Orthodox in both parts of Europe with the fire of love and the spirit of openness so that Rome, Constantinople and Moscow may embrace in complete doctrinal harmony for the glory of your name and the destruction of vice and atheism.

The spirit is the Lord: The Holy Spirit is Lord like the Son. He is God like Him. Therefore, the Holy Spirit gives life. In the beginning of Genesis it came:

Spirit and creation: “In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth. Now the earth was without form and void, and darkness was over the face of the earth. And the Spirit of God hovered over the face of the waters” (1:1-2). The word “hover” comes from a Hebrew word that recalls birds embracing their young and flapping their wings over them. Deuteronomy says: “Like an eagle that stirs up its young, And hovers over its young, And spreads out its wings, And takes them, And bears them in its feathers” (11:32).

The spirit was hovering over the empty ruin.

The spirit is - then - the principle of life on earth.

When God created Adam, He made him from dust, then “breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and man became a living soul” (Genesis 2:7). In this way, God created the spirit of man, so God made us in His image and likeness, as stated in the Septuagint Greek translation.

The spirit of God and the spirit of man: “The Holy Spirit is spirit. The higher part of man is called spirit. The connection is clear. But the Holy Spirit is God, while the spirit of man is created. But it is in the image of God, and therefore has spiritual qualities that raise it above the material.

The Holy Spirit is shown at the beginning of Genesis to be close to the earth and to man. All the divine persons participated in our creation. It is stated in the Psalms: “By the word of the Lord the heavens were made, and all their host by the spirit of his mouth” (6:33 or 6:32 in the Septuagint).

The Holy Spirit’s closeness to us gives our spirit special importance. In several topics, the Bible emphasizes that God created a spirit in us (Job 3:27; 14:34; Psalm 29:103; Ecclesiastes 7:17), and that it is the Spirit who created us (Job 4:33; Psalm 6:32). Judith says: “…you sent forth your Spirit, and they were created” (17:16).

The reviver: Therefore, the Holy Spirit is the life-giver who gave us the spirit. The contrast between the divine Holy Spirit and the created human spirit is very broad in the New Testament.

It brings us back: God takes our spirits, we die, and return to the dust. He sends forth His Spirit, and we are created, and the face of the earth is renewed (Psalm 104:30). The prophet Ezekiel spoke in chapter 37 about the breath of the Spirit into the dead so that they may live again.

The Holy Spirit revived Adam in the beginning, and in the end He revives us, bringing us back to life, and uniting our mortal bodies with our spirits that are present with God.

Pentecost: In the New Testament, the Holy Spirit created Jesus from the Virgin Mary. He himself gave birth to us, on the day of Pentecost, in Jesus, so that we became members of the body of Jesus (i.e. the Church) and sons and brothers of Jesus.

In the New Testament, the term “Holy Spirit” means the person or the grace of the Holy Spirit. Common sense knows how to distinguish between the two meanings. In the New Testament, the Holy Spirit is mentioned as a divine person emanating from the Father eternally, and the Holy Spirit as a divine grace sent to the apostles and believers in time. The New Testament varies the use of the terms Father, Son, and Holy Spirit to focus on the Holy Trinity. But divine grace is the grace of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Likewise, light, glory, power, authority, goodness, righteousness, fellowship, etc. These are all divine powers emanating from the essence of the Holy Trinity, and are not the essence.

The Trinity: We worship the Holy Spirit with the Father and the Son and glorify the three together. Worship is to God. Glorification is to God. We worship one worship and raise one glory to the Trinity without any distinction, because the three are equal and one in essence.

Our relationship with God: Our relationship with the Triune God is a relationship of prostration, because God is greater than us to the point that we feel unable to stand in His presence and raise our eyes to Him.

Angels are humble before Him. Shall we be puffed up while we are kneaded with sins? How can we stand before His majesty unless we are crushed, and our proud, haughty necks stick to the dust, in fear and trembling?

Glorification: Our relationship with the Trinity is one of glorification. We raise glory to Him in view of His intrinsic greatness, and in view of His greatness in His creation. His glory is radiant and dazzling. And He provokes us to praise Him, as we hear in the service of the Mass: “With the praise of victory, we wallow, crying out and crying out, and saying: Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts,” as Isaiah heard the seraphim praising Him (6:1-6), and as it is stated in the Book of Revelation (8:1 and…).

Inspiration: The Holy Spirit spoke through the prophets, as mentioned in the Holy Scriptures. He is the one who guided the prophets and apostles in writing the Holy Scriptures, as mentioned by the apostles Peter and Paul.

Inspiration and incarnation: The Church's theory of divine inspiration stems from its doctrine of the incarnation of the Lord Jesus: the two natures, the two wills, and the two actions were united without the divinity dominating the humanity. Rather, the divinity shone in the humanity.

The writer is enlightened: The Holy Spirit shone in the holy scribes, enlightening them, guiding them, teaching them and protecting them from error. But He did not make them senseless and insensitive instruments. He took each one of them as he was. Therefore, we see that each of them retains his own literary compositional form. The composition of Matthew, Luke, John, Mark, Paul and Peter is not the same. Each of them has his own personality and literary and cultural form.

The book is a message to us: Since the Bible is inspired, that is, God inspired the writers to write it. (111)It contains God’s message to each one of us. It contains divine messages. We must receive them and receive them with piety and reverence as we receive the Eucharist. The word of God is living word, not dead word. The Holy Spirit who inspired the apostles is the same one who engraves his word in our hearts, if we purify them, through our effort and struggle and through the word of God, from every impurity. Jesus told his disciples that they are pure because of the word he spoke to them (John 15:3). The Eucharist purifies us. And so does the word of God. Asceticism purifies us. All virtues and struggles purify us by the Holy Spirit.

The sublimity of Jesus' words: Basil the Great, the elder of the Church Fathers, made a distinction between the books of the Old Testament and the words of Jesus, especially the Gospel of John. (112)Jesus himself told some of his questioners that Moses had enacted the law of divorce for them – contrary to the original – because of the hardness of their hearts (Matthew 8:19). Therefore, Jesus abolished it and returned us to the law of Paradise where Adam and Eve were one flesh.

The New Testament is more important: But the Holy Spirit appeared clearly in the New Testament; what was prominent in the Old Testament. Gregory the Theologian said that the Old Testament revealed to us the Father.

The New Testament revealed to us the Son. Now the Holy Spirit is revealed to us. John Chrysostom also excelled and said that the Gospel recorded for us the sayings and deeds of Jesus. (113)The Book of Acts of the Apostles records for us the actions and words of the Holy Spirit.

In the book of Acts we see the Holy Spirit hovering over the church, and even moving the church. He is its living motor (engine) to the end.

Pentecost: On the day of Pentecost, the Holy Spirit descended upon the disciples, baptized them, appointed them teachers and bishops of the whole world, and poured into them all divine gifts. He made them the heads of humanity, the heads of the new creation. They are our exalted masters.

The Spirit Before Pentecost: Before Pentecost, He came from outside. At Pentecost, He came within us, into our hearts.

At Pentecost, He revealed Himself to us as a divine person, who comes to us to be revealed in us. His fire purifies us. His light illumines us. His grace deifies us. His gifts adorn us. Since Pentecost, all time has been Pentecost. (114).

Grace and talents: The Church distinguishes between the grace of the Holy Spirit that deifies us, that guides our lives on the path of perfection to the fullness of the stature of Jesus, and His gifts.

Paul mentioned these gifts. They relate to serving the church, healing the sick, performing miracles, and casting out demons in general. Grace is uncreated and given to all believers. The gifts are also uncreated and are present in all believers by virtue of the anointing with chrism. The Holy Spirit is in charge of revealing the gifts for the service of the church as He wills and when He wills. He may appoint a believer to heal the sick or to cast out demons.

We do not know why God healed so-and-so and not so-and-so. And why He showed His miracles through so-and-so. The miracles of some saints happened after their death, not before (Theodoretus. See the footnote in our booklet of Saint Maron). Talents overflowed in some of the desert fathers. But they overflowed as if they were forced to do so. They knew the dangers of the devils tempting them with pride, as (the devil) made them believe that they were miracle workers because they were righteous and truthful. Some of them prayed that God would not grant them the talent. Therefore, the Church is cautious about talents, watches, and guides. It is very suspicious of apparitions and dreams. It suggests extreme caution and submission to an experienced spiritual guide who is knowledgeable in isolating the pious brother from the deceptions of the devils and their cunning infiltrations. The devil deceives the deceived with apparitions and dreams. (115).

Humility: Holiness lies in humility. All virtues are shells unless humility is their ornament and splendor. It is a general characteristic of all virtues. Any virtue that is not characterized by humility loses its flavor and weight to a large extent depending on the situation.

O Holy Spirit, be a light that illuminates all our lives until it is empty of all darkness. You are our only desire.

(108) See our article in Al-Noor Al-Gharra 1973.

(109) Catholicism. IV, 7282.

(110) Catholicism. IV, 1281.

(111) The point is very important. The Bible was not written by Passifs in the hands of the Holy Spirit. There is a synergy between the Holy Spirit and the book. Christianity is not a religion of the book. The Church is the body of Christ. It owns the Bible, not worships it, nor has it become a worshipper of the letter and the religion of the letter. It is the religion of the Holy Spirit dwelling in it, while it is the body of Christ. It is the owner who owns the Bible. It is the owner and he is the owned. Those who consider him the owner and consider her the owned are mistaken. This is an obscene “somersault” of pure doctrine. The Church was established on the day of Pentecost, while the New Testament was not written until later, scattered among many writers. The Church collected it and said this is the New Testament. We accepted it from the Church. It is the authority that said it is a holy book. If it had said, for example, that the writings of John the Evangelist are not holy, it would not have entered the Bible. Is there anything greater than the writings of John? We reject everything that the Church rejected.

(112) See page 11 of the book of Patriarch Elias IV Moawad, From the Literature of the Church Fathers, Damascus, 1978.

(113) The first psalm of the evening of the Holy Spirit: “He taught first in word, and lastly demonstrated it in deed.

(114) John Chrysostom said that the time after Pentecost, resurrection and the divine appearance became all appearance, resurrection and Pentecost. He said that the righteous of the Old Testament (see our booklet “Sacrifices and Vows”).

(115) In “The Monks’ Garden” there is a chapter on visions that warns of their dangers. In “The Ladder to God,” dreams are rejected. We have a chapter on talents that has not yet been printed.