His Holiness Pope Shenouda III answers a theological question often asked:
Is the Son smaller or younger than the Father because He was “begotten” from Him?
He explains that such reasoning is incorrect, for it is based on physical birth, whereas the Son’s begetting from the Father is eternal and divine, beyond time or matter.

Difference Between Physical and Divine Generation:

• In human birth, the child comes after the parent and is younger in age.

• In divine begetting, there is no time, for God is eternal, without beginning or end. Therefore, the Son’s generation is eternal, not temporal.

Analogy of the Sun and Its Rays:

• Just as the sun cannot exist without its rays, the Father has never existed without the Son.

• There is no time gap between sun and light; they coexist simultaneously.

• Likewise, the Father and the Son share the same divine essence — the Son is “light of light.”

Analogy of Fire and Heat:

• Fire naturally produces heat without delay or separation.

• We do not say the heat is younger than the fire, for their existence is simultaneous.

• Similarly, the Son is begotten, not made — of the same essence as the Father, with no time difference.

Theological Conclusion:
The Son is not younger than the Father. His begetting is eternal and timeless.
As the Nicene Creed declares:

“Light of Light, true God of true God, begotten, not made, being of one essence with the Father.”

Faith Message:
Human reasoning cannot measure eternity by temporal concepts.
The Son did not begin to exist; He is the eternal Word, who was with God and is God.
He is not lesser or younger, but equal to the Father in essence, power, and glory.

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