Many of the assertions in this thread concerning the procession of the Holy Spirit are based upon the notion that there is not only no consubstantial ordering in the Trinity but also that there is no hypostatic ordering in the Trinity.
That is not a new issue and it was raised with St. Basil the Great in fact and he wrote a letter where he addresses this questoin of the Holy Spirit in relationship to the Father and the Son, whose relationship is said to be ONE and does not include the Holy Spirit:
In Basil’s Letter 52.4 (PG 32, 396B-C), he asks:
“But what madness is this, when one is the Unbegotten, to say that there is another one that is above the Unbegotten? For there is nothing that stands in the mean position between Son and Father…. Thus, this innovation concerning order holds forth a negation of the very existence [of the Trinity], and is a denial of the whole faith. It is equally impious, either to reduce [the Holy Spirit] to the level of a creature, or to set him above either Son or Father, either with respect to time, or with respect to order.”
I would be happy if any one of you or several could explain this very clear response to the assertion that there is no order of the Persons of the Trinity.
M.