St. Symeon on the Equality within the Holy Trinity: Is the Father Greater than the Son?

St. Symeon the New Theologian (949-1022 AD), a revered figure in Eastern Orthodox Christianity, is celebrated for his direct experience of the divine light. His teachings, emphasizing personal experience of God and the transformative power of divine light, have significantly influenced Orthodox Christianity affirming the experience and teaching of early Church Fathers. Symeon's work, marked by a deep understanding of the Trinity, offers profound insights into the nature of the divine-human relationship.

St. Symeon address In his First Theological Discourse the misconception that the Father holds a superior rank or authority than the Son. He critiques this view as  presumptuous and arrogant, arguing that such attempts to rationalize the Trinity go beyond human understanding.

Concerning the argument that the Father must be greater than the Son because He is the cause of the Son's existence, St. Symeon refers to the Creed that asserts there is One God. He says, The Father, Son, and the Holy Spirit are “eternally united eternally unchanging so they cannot have any priority among themselves.” This eternal unity negates the possibility of division or hierarchy within the Trinity.

St. Symeon further elaborates: ”if you want to say the Father is prior to the Son because the Son is born from him and is for this reason is also greater, then I say to you that the Son is prior to the Father, for if the Son had not been born then the Father would not have been called the Father.” If you place the Father before the Son then you imply that before he was begotten he did not exist .But we know that ”they are eternally united and eternally unchanging, so they cannot be the cause of one another.” The Son [like the father] is eternal without beginning just like the Father.”

We can say that the Father is the cause of the Son’s earthly birth. because this is different than the cause of the creation of the divine essence of the Son which is eternal. He explains, In “the divine and ineffable generation of God the Word [Jesus], we say that the Father is the cause of the Son just as the mind is of the spoken word…, but we do not say that he is prior because we would divide the one indivisible deity into three gods.”

Symeon underlines that the divine properties are beyond human comprehension and indivisible. In conclusion, St. Symeon affirms that the Trinity comprises three persons (or hypostases) of equal status, united in one undivided essence. This indivisible unity forms a harmonious, eternal whole, making it impossible to assert the superiority of one person over the others. The Trinity, as described by St. Symeon, is a perfect unity encompassing three distinct persons, each integral to the singular Godhead.

Reference: Symeon The New Theologian: The Practical and Theological Chapters and the Three Theological Discourses; pp 107-110; trans. Paul McGluckin; Cistercian Publications; Kalamazoo. MI

https://maksimologija.org/2020/10/30/st-symeon-the-new-theologian-theological-discourse-1-against-those-who-ascribe-the-concept-of-anteriority-to-the-father-2/