Jul 29
The third person (art. V)
(Part of a series on the 39 articles of the Church of England, which so far includes an Introduction, Article I, update, Article II, Article III, Article IV)
In one sense, the fifth article, dealing with the Holy Spirit, is a bare minimum of what might be said.
V. Of the Holy Ghost
The Holy Ghost, proceeding from the Father and the Son, is of one substance, majesty, and glory, with the Father and the Son, very and eternal God.
This is a fairly straightforward affirmation of the Spirit as third person of the Trinity, and in its unquestioning adoption of the filioque clause, located clearly within the Western Catholic tradition. I commented in a previous post on the filioque, and don’t have anything new to add to what I said there.
This bare credal statement in some respects is almost the opposite of a great deal of contemporary talk about the Spirit. It may be that my experience of this is atypical, but I would suggest that, particularly but not exclusively among charismatic Christians, and those influenced by them, talk of the Spirit tends to be instrumental, and mainly about empowering the Church or Christians. The language of gift and empowerment has a wide-ranging scriptural background behind it, and there is certainly far more room for talk of the work of the Holy Spirit than the article would superficially suggest. I don’t want to deny the validity of this language. Equally, perhaps more attention to the Spirit as Person might lead to a greater stress on relationship, and less obsession with power.