10.

 In the question of the Holy Trinity, what is meant by the term proceed?

            The term proceed refers to the Holy Spirit's eternal relations within the Godhead. It does not refer to the Holy Spirit's temporal mission to the world.

            The Church believes that Christ had two births: the one eternal, in which He was born of the Father “before all ages,” and the other at a point in time, in which He was born of the Virgin Mary. The same distinction is drawn between the Holy Spirit's eternal procession and His temporal mission of being sent to the world. The eternal procession refers to the relation which existed from all eternity within the Godhead. The temporal mission refers to the relation of God to creation.

            Where the Holy Spirit's temporal mission to the world is concerned, both Orthodoxy and Rome agree that He is sent by the Son and is the Spirit of the Son. Where Orthodoxy and Rome disagree is in the matter of eternal procession. When Orthodoxy says the Spirit proceeds from the Father alone, and when Rome says the Spirit proceeds from the Father and from the Son (filioque), they are referring to certain relations which existed in the Godhead from all eternity.