Editing Paraclete (section)

== In Christianity==
In the New Testament, ''paraclete'' appears only in the Johannine texts, and it is used only on five occasions: Gospel of John 14:16, 14:26, 15:26, 16:7, and First Epistle of John chapter 2, verse 1.

{{blockquote|And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate, to be with you forever. This is the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, because he abides with you, and he will be in you.|{{bibleverse|John|14:16-17}}}}

{{blockquote|1 My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. And if anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous.|{{bibleverse|1 John|2:1}}}}

In John 14:16-17, 'paraclete' is {{Lang|grc|Παράκλητον}} and 'spirit' is {{Lang|grc|Πνεῦμα}} ({{Lang|grc-latn|pneuma}}), meaning 'breath'. {{Lang|grc-latn|Pneuma}} appears over 250 times in the Christian New Testament, and is the word used to refer to the Holy Spirit, i.e., the Spirit of God. As a result of the immediate explanation in John 14:17, the Paraclete in John 14:16 is considered to be the Holy Spirit.

[[File:Rom, Vatikan, Basilika St. Peter, Die Taube des Heiligen Geistes (Cathedra Petri, Bernini).jpg|thumb|Depiction of the Holy Spirit as a Dove, from the [[Chair of Saint Peter|Throne of Saint Peter]], [[St. Peter's Basilica|Saint Peter's Basilica]]]]

[[M. E. Boring]], writing in the [[Cambridge|Cambridge University]] journal ''[[New Testament Studies]]'', describes a "striking similarity" between the defined attributes of what the Paraclete is, and is to do, and what the outcome of Christian prophecy has spoken to, explaining the Paraclete as the post-[[Christian observance of Passover|Passover]] gift of the [[Holy Spirit]]. "The Paraclete represents the Spirit as manifested in a particular way, as a pneumatic Christian speech charisma. Every verb describing the ministry of the Paraclete is directly related to his speech function."<ref name="The Influence of Christian Prophecy on the Johannine Portrayal of the Paraclete and Jesus">{{cite journal |date=October 1978 |title=The Influence of Christian Prophecy on the Johannine Portrayal of the Paraclete and Jesus |journal=New Testament Studies |volume=25 |issue=1 |pages=113–123 |doi= 10.1017/S0028688500001235|last1= Boring|first1= M. E.|s2cid=170790351 }}</ref>

The [[early church]] identified  the Paraclete as the Holy Spirit.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Allison|first1=Gregg|title=Historical Theology: An Introduction to Christian Doctrine|date=2011|publisher=[[Zondervan]]|page=431|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=oO2eY2BC6xIC&pg=PA431|access-date=25 September 2014|isbn=9780310410416}}</ref> In first-century Jewish and Christian understanding, the presence of the Holy Spirit is to claim the rebirth of prophecy.<ref name="The Influence of Christian Prophecy on the Johannine Portrayal of the Paraclete and Jesus"/>

During his period as a hermit in the mid-12th century, [[Peter Abelard]] dedicated his chapel to the Paraclete because "I had come there as a fugitive and, in the depths of my despair, was granted some comfort by the grace of God."<ref>"The Letters of Abelard and Heloise", Betty Radice, Trans. London: Penguin, 1973. P. 30</ref>

Today, the Holy Spirit continues to be referred to as the Paraclete in a prayer known as the [[Divine Praises]], recited during [[Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament]].

===Scholarly interpretations ===
{{bibleref2|John|14:16}} quotes Jesus as saying "another Paraclete" will come to help his [[Disciple (Christianity)|disciples]], implying, according to Lawrence Lutkemeyer, that Jesus is the first and primary Paraclete.<ref name="THE ROLE OF THE PARACLETE">{{cite journal |last=Lutkemeyer |first=Lawrence J. |title=THE ROLE OF THE PARACLETE (Jn. 16:7-15) |jstor=43719890|journal=The Catholic Biblical Quarterly |volume=8 |issue=2 |pages=220–229 |year=1946 }}</ref> In {{bibleref2|1 John|2:1}} Jesus himself is called "paraclete".

[[Raymond E. Brown|Raymond Brown]] (1970),<ref>Brown, Raymond Edward, ed. ''The gospel according to John. Vol. 29.'' Cambridge University Press, 1970, 1141. Brown writes; "Thus, the one whom John calls "another Paraclete" is another Jesus. Since the Paraclete can come only when Jesus departs, the Paraclete is the presence of Jesus when Jesus is absent. Jesus' promises to dwell within his disciples are"</ref><ref>Kinn, James W. ''The Spirit of Jesus in Scripture and prayer''. Rowman & Littlefield, 2004, 60. Winn writes; "Second, the whole complex of parallels above leads Raymond Brown to a more profound conclusion: the Holy Spirit continues the presence of Jesus. Thus the one whom Jesus calls "another Paraclete" is in many ways another Jesus, ."</ref> supported by George Johnston (2005),<ref>Johnston, George. ''The spirit-paraclete in the gospel of John. Vol. 12.'' Cambridge University Press, 2005, 94. Johnston writes; "Brown cannot regard such parallelism as coincidental, and he is perfectly correct. His conclusion is that 'as "another Paraclete" the Paraclete is, as it were, another Jesus ... and the Paraclete is the presence of Jesus when Jesus is "</ref> also says that the "another Paraclete" of John 14:16 is in many ways another Jesus, the presence of Jesus after Jesus ascends to his Father.<ref name="THE ROLE OF THE PARACLETE"/><ref>Marthaler, Berard L. ''The creed: The apostolic faith in contemporary theology.'' Twenty-Third Publications, 1993, 275. Marthaler writes; "Thus," writes Brown, "the one whom John calls 'another Paraclete' is another Jesus."17 The Paraclete is the presence of God in the world when Jesus ascends to the Father."</ref>

The [[Gospel of Matthew]] twice uses the passive form of the corresponding verb {{Lang|grc|παρακαλῶ}}, in [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus:abo:tlg,0031,001:2:18&lang=original 2:18] and [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0155%3Abook%3DMatthew%3Achapter%3D5 5:4]. In both instances, the context is of mourning, and the meaning of the verb is 'to be comforted'.<ref>[https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/morph?l=paraka%5Ele%2Fw&la=greek&can=paraka%5Ele%2Fw0#lexicon Greek Word Study Tool (publisher=Perseus.tufts.edu): παρακαλέω, A, III, 2]</ref>

===Paraclete first appearing in gospel===
Here is the context of the passage in John 14:15-27<ref>{{bibleverse|John|14:15-14:27}}</ref> with the translation of ''Paraclete'' as ''Advocate'' shown in bold:
{{blockquote |15 “If you love me, keep my commands. 16 And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another '''Advocate''' to help you and be with you forever— 17 the Spirit of truth.<ref name="The Influence of Christian Prophecy on the Johannine Portrayal of the Paraclete and Jesus"/> The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you.<ref name="The Influence of Christian Prophecy on the Johannine Portrayal of the Paraclete and Jesus"/> 18 I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you.<ref name="THE ROLE OF THE PARACLETE"/> 19 Before long, the world will not see me anymore, but you will see me. Because I live, you also will live. 20 On that day you will realize that I am in my Father, and you are in me, and I am in you.<ref name="The Influence of Christian Prophecy on the Johannine Portrayal of the Paraclete and Jesus"/><ref name="THE ROLE OF THE PARACLETE"/> 21 Whoever has my commands and keeps them is the one who loves me. The one who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I too will love them and show myself to them.”

22 Then Judas (not Judas Iscariot) said, “But, Lord, why do you intend to show yourself to us and not to the world?”

23 Jesus replied, “Anyone who loves me will obey my teaching. My Father will love them, and we will come to them and make our home with them.<ref name="The Influence of Christian Prophecy on the Johannine Portrayal of the Paraclete and Jesus"/><ref name="THE ROLE OF THE PARACLETE"/> 24 Anyone who does not love me will not obey my teaching. These words you hear are not my own; they belong to the Father who sent me.

25 “All this I have spoken while still with you. 26 But the '''Advocate''', the Holy Spirit,<ref name="The Influence of Christian Prophecy on the Johannine Portrayal of the Paraclete and Jesus"/> whom the Father will send in my name,<ref name="THE ROLE OF THE PARACLETE"/> will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you. 27 Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.<ref name="The Influence of Christian Prophecy on the Johannine Portrayal of the Paraclete and Jesus"/><ref name="THE ROLE OF THE PARACLETE"/>}}