Eternal procession of the Holy Spirit
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The eternal procession of the Holy Spirit is a concept in Christian theology, affirmed in the Nicene creed of 325, that describes the relationship of the Holy Spirit to the other persons of the Trinity. It is related to the doctrine of the eternal generation of the Son; but in Christian theology procession (or spiration) is viewed as being mysteriously different from generation in order to distinguish the Holy Spirit from the Son.[1][2][3][4]
When the Paraclete comes, whom I will send to you from the Father—the Spirit of truth Who goes out from the Father—He will testify about me.
In Western Christianity, the Holy Spirit is believed to proceed from the Father and the Son. This is in contrast to the Eastern churches, which believe that the Holy Spirit proceeds only from the Father. This issue led to the filioque controversy and was a large question in the East-West schism.[5]
In a theological context, the word "procession" (from the Latin procedere, "to go forth" or "to issue from") describes origin and relationship, and not physical movement as in the ordinary meaning of the word "procession" in the sense of a parade.
Thomas Aquinas explained this distinction in his Summa Theologiae: "Procession, therefore, is not to be understood from what it is in bodies, either according to local movement or by way of a cause proceeding forth to its exterior effect, as, for instance, like heat from the agent to the thing made hot. Rather it is to be understood by way of an intelligible emanation, for example, of the intelligible word which proceeds from the speaker, yet remains in him."[6]
