Filioque – A Latin term meaning “and from the Son,” was added to the original Nicene-Constantinopolitan Creed.
This word more than any other has torn more people from the One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church than any other.
There is disagreement on when the interpolation was introduced. Some say it was added during the Council of Toledo 589. It does not appear in manuscript evidence until the Eighth Council of Toledo in 653. Given the effort to interpolate manuscripts with the filioque, it is difficult to determine its provenance. It is accepted that it become popularized during the reign of Charlemagne.
Pope Leo III is recorded as having denounced the inclusion of the filioque in the Nicene-Constantinopolitan Creed. He even went so far as to produce silver tablets inscribed with the creed in both Latin and Greek, without the filioque. These were hung for display at Saint Peters and Saint Pauls.
