“‘Greater’ is predicated in
bulk, in time, in dignity, in power, or as cause. The Father
cannot be called greater than the Son in bulk, for He is
incorporeal: nor yet in time, for the Son is Creator of
times: nor yet in dignity, for He was not made what He had once
not been: nor yet in power, for ‘what things the Father
doeth, these also doeth the son likewise’: John v. 19. nor as cause, since (the Father)
would be similarly greater than He and than we, if He is cause of
Him and of us. The words express rather the honour given by
the Son to the Father than any depreciation by the speaker; moreover
what is greater is not necessarily of a different essence. Man
is called greater than man, and horse than horse. If the
Father is called greater, it does not immediately follow that He is
of another substance. In a word, the comparison lies between
beings of one substance, not between those of different
substances. ἐπὶ
τῶν
ὁμοουσίων
οὐκ ἐπὶ τῶν
ἑτεροουσίων.