The Church Fathers were not Orthodox Trinitarians

Many of the early church fathers held a subordinationist view of the relationship between the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit—a perspective that sees the Son and the Spirit as subordinate to the Father in rank or authority, though not necessarily in nature. While later creeds such as the Nicene and Athanasian Confessions would articulate a more developed doctrine of co-equality within the Trinity, earlier Christian thinkers often described the Son as deriving his existence, will, or power from the Father, and as being subject to Him in various ways. This subordinationist language reflects both the influence of Hellenistic philosophical categories and a desire to preserve the monotheistic framework inherited from Judaism. From Justin Martyr and Irenaeus to Origen and even Eusebius of Caesarea, the writings of the church fathers reveal a theological landscape still in development, where the full implications of Christ’s divinity and his relationship to the Father were actively being debated and defined.


Tertullian

Against Praxeas-Chapter 3,7,9,12,16.

Against Hermogenes- Chapter 3,18


Justin Martyr
Dialogue with Trypho-Chapter 31, 34, 48, 49, 50, 55, 56, 60, 61, 76,79, 85, 86, 96, 102, 113,125,127,128,129.

The First Apology-Chapter 6,8,12,13,16,32,33,60

The Second Apology- Chapter 13


Irenaeus

Against Heresies (Book 1, Chapter 22) Paragraph 1

Against heresies (Book 2, Chapter 13)


Against Heresies (Book 2, Chapter28) Paragraph 6, 8

Against Heresies (Book 3, Chapter 6) Paragraph 4

Against Heresies (Book 3, Chapter 9) Paragraph 1

Against Heresies (Book 4, Chapter 1) Paragraph 2

Against heresies (Book 4, Chapter 14) Two stage logos Theory

Against Heresies (Book 4, Chapter 20) Paragraph 3-4

Against Heresies (Book 4, Chapter 36) Paragraph 6 (last sentence)

Demonstration of apostolic preaching chapter,45, 51 ( last sentence)



Origen

Origen Against Celsus- Book 5, Chapter 39
Book 8, Chapter 14

First Principles 1.3.5

Commentary on the Gospel of John, Book 1, Chapter 40; Book 2, Chapter 2,6



Eusebius
On Ecclesiastical Theology-Book 3, Chapter 6

Proof of the Gospel, Book 4, Chapter 3,7,15; Book 5, Chapter 1,3,4,11,30.


The Church History of Eusebius - Book 1, Chapter 2.






Athanasius

Letter 61, Section 3-Why Did Jesus Appear Ignorant?

Discourse 2 Against the Arians- Chapter 15, Section 12; Chapter 21, Section 61.

Discourse 2 Against the Arians-Chapter 8-Compares the incarnation of God as taking on flesh to Aaron putting on a robe/garment

Discourse 3 Against the Arians-Chapter 26, Section 27, 31-32, 34 Paragraph 2, 39; Chapter 25, Section 33; Chapter 28, Section 53.

Discourse 3 Against the Arians- Chapter 28, Section 46; Chapter 30, Section 59, 65-Jesus is generated from being, not will.

Chapter 21-Texts Explained; Sixthly, Proverbs 8:22 (Section 61, 70)
From <https://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/npnf204.xxi.ii.iii.viii.html>


Chapter 22-Texts Explained; Sixthly, the Context of Proverbs 8:22 Verses 22-30 (Section 74)
From <https://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/npnf204.xxi.ii.iii.ix.html>



Chapter 28-Texts Explained; Eleventhly, Mark 13:32 and Luke 2 (Section 51)
From <https://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/npnf204.xxi.ii.iv.vi.html>


"And hence it is that the Son too says not, ‘My Father is better than I Jn. 14:28,’ lest we should conceive Him to be foreign to His Nature, but ‘greater,’ not indeed in greatness, nor in time, but because of His generation from the Father Himself , nay, in saying ‘greater’ He again shows that He is proper to His essence." (Orations Against the Arians Bk. 1.58)

From <https://classicalchristianity.com/2012/12/19/the-father-is-greater-than-i/>


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