Lo Spirito Santo nel Vangelo di Giovanni, e alcune note sul verbo ekporeuomai in Gv 15,26

This article aims at contribute to the theological research on the “Filioque” – a millennium after its inclusion in the Creed in Rome (1014-2014) –, from the perspective of an exegetical analysis of the texts of the New Testament which deal with the reality of the Holy Spirit, and in particular of the Gospel of John. The article moves form the following questions: 1. Is the verb ekporeuomai exclusive of the relationship of the Father with the Spirit, or can it also be applied to the relationship of the Son with the Spirit, as the insertion of the Filioque suggests? 2. Is it possible to glimpse – in the New Testament and in particular in John – a Procession of the Spirit from the Father and the Son? 3. Does the Johannine text suppose a distinction between immanent Trinitarian relations and economic Trinitarian relations? From the analysis of the texts, there seems to be a distinction between the exit of the Spirit from the Father, and the sending/mission: the Spirit is sent by the Father and the Son, and comes out (ekporeuomai) only from the Father. Is this exit of the Spirit from the Father to be understood as an eternal procession? The article argues that this question is incorrect because it applies a later conceptual model to the Gospel of John, and to the New Testament in general. Therefore, from the general context of the IV Gospel, it can be said that the horizon is that of the impact of the Trinity on the economy of history, and it is not possible to find any distinction between economic Trinity and immanent Trinity. The texts focus on the history of salvation, not on the eternal procession.