The defense of the Filioque in Georges Métochités (c. 1250-1328):
rediscovering a Byzantine promoter of union with the Church of Rome
Article summary proposed by the Contacts review with LLM assistance
This article examines the theological position of George Metochites (c. 1250-1328), a Byzantine theologian who supported the Union of Lyon (1274), regarding the Filioque controversy. Through a historical and doctrinal study, Francesca Samori analyzes Metochites' attempt to reconcile the Latin doctrine of the Filioque — according to which the Holy Spirit proceeds from the Father and the Son — with the Greek formula of the Per Filium, which affirms that the Spirit proceeds from the Father through the Son. The article shows that this assimilation rests on a misinterpretation of the Greek patristic tradition and of the Trinitarian Revelation as transmitted by the Apostolic Tradition. The contribution of this study lies in the light it sheds on a little-known chapter in the history of relations between the Eastern and Western Churches, revealing the theological limitations of a unionist approach founded on doctrinal conflation.
This article has not been translated yet — it is available in its French version here.
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