first half of the 3rd century

Clement and Origen: the eternal generation of the Son, three hypostases and subordination

Clement of Alexandria spoke of God mainly negatively and added that God is triune: beside the Father from eternity stands the Word, although, according to Berkhof, Clement also speaks of the Logos's subordination to the Father. Origen, opposing the Monarchians, taught that the Father, the Son and the Spirit are three eternal hypostases and that the Son is begotten by the Father eternally, continuously: there was no time when he was not. At the same time he presented the Trinity as hierarchical: the Father is autotheos, the Son is God by participation in the Father and sometimes "a second God", the Spirit is below the Son. According to González, Origen held these two tendencies in balance, but later they divided his followers; Berkhof and Lane see in the subordination the starting point of Arius.