On the Filioque and Nestorianism

Patriarch Jeremiah [II] of Constantinople 1530-1595

[C]onsequently, it would be absurd to say that the Holy Spirit proceeds from the Son, also. And how could we understand John’s declaration when Jesus was baptized: “I saw the Spirit descend as a dove from heaven, and it remained upon Him” (Jn. 1:32). For if you say that the Spirit proceeded not from the Father alone, but also from the Son, you destroy the one Christ by dividing Him into two, as did Nestorios, in order that you might say that the Spirit descended from the Son of God to the Son of man. Hence, it follows that the truth is that the Spirit, who proceeds from the Father, remains and rests in the Son. (The Second Theological Exchange with the Lutherans, 35)