The Question of the Holy Spirit

At this time a question was raised again which had already caused much inquiry, and now caused more: whether or not the Holy Spirit is to be considered of one substance with the Father and the Son. [a] Many disputes and debates followed on this subject, like those that had been held about the nature of God the Word. Those who asserted that the Son is unlike the Father, and those who insisted that he is like the Father in substance, came to one common opinion about the Holy Spirit. Both parties maintained that the Holy Spirit differs in substance, and that he is only a servant, the third in order, in honor and in substance. On the other hand, those who believed that the Son is of one substance with the Father held the same view about the Spirit. This doctrine was nobly defended in Syria by Apollinaris, bishop of Laodicea; in Egypt by Athanasius the bishop; and in Cappadocia and the churches of Pontus by Basil and Gregory. The bishop of Rome learned that this question was being debated with great bitterness and, as was to be expected, was growing every day through controversy. So he wrote to the churches of the East and urged them to accept the doctrine held by the Western clergy: that the three Persons of the Trinity are of one substance and of equal dignity. Once the question had been decided in this way by the churches of Rome, peace was restored, and the inquiry seemed to be at an end. [b]