Photios I of Constantinople

“Whom he appointed the heir of all.” Of what? Of all those who approach the undefiled divine nature. Indeed, the Son is the heir and partaker of the Father’s nature, dominion and power. If the Son is the heir of the Father’s attributes, it is necessary to explain, in what way. Through him, it says, he also created the ages [the world]. If the creation is a mutual deed of the Father and of the Son, then all that is in the world is also a shared property of the Father and the Son. If all in the spiritual universe belongs to both of them, then that is also true of what was created after the spiritual universe, that is, our world (cosmos) and everything in it. Yet in order that you would not dare to interpret “heir” as according to grace or favor rather than according to birth and nature, he adds, “who is the reflection of [God’s] glory.” The author had in mind to prevent you from a simpleminded yet ungodly conclusion after he stated that the Father appointed him an heir. I believe that “appointed” does not signify production or creation of the heir yet indicates relationship between the Son and the Father, who is the cause according to nature of their unity and convergence. [The writer does this] so that it would not appear as if the Son is deprived of the fatherly bond by his origin and hence the Father and the Son are two separate and unrelated entities.… He speaks in very clear terms, “the very stamp of his nature,” that is he [the Son] shares the same nature and mode of existence, that is he is God, all-powerful, omnipotent, creator, and shares in all other attributes of the Father, except that the Father is always the Father and the Son is always the Son. Therefore, everything is created, sustained and directed by his almighty word. See, he is truly the heir, as the Father handed everything to him.

Now as far as the phrase “although being a Son” is concerned, if someone should understand it as a transposition—and such a trope is uncustomary for the excellent apostle—the natural reading of the passage would be something like this: “Who in the days of his flesh, although being a Son, made petitions and supplications,” etc. That is, although having the very great advantage of being a Son, which enabled him to do all things by his own autocratic opinion without any petition or request, even as the Father does, nonetheless, since he was in the days of the flesh, he offered petitions and supplications. And according to this understanding it can also be understood how the phrase was soon joined to “and being heard because of his godliness,” inasmuch as he says that he was heard, although being a Son, and not asking to be heard, inasmuch as he made his will concurrent to his Father’s will and it was fulfilled without any petition. But if you conjoin this clause with what follows, the understanding will also be guided in the right way in the manner that I will show. But first we ought to examine the meaning of the clause “he learned obedience from the things which he suffered.” It really cannot be that he himself learned from the things he suffered to obey his Father and that by testing he acquired knowledge of how to obey him, can it? Or is it not rather that by testing he learned such was the greatness of the obedience, with which the Father hearkened to him, in that he was crucified and died and rose and exalted the human race to be at the right hand of the Father and to save our race? For these sort of things pertain to that obedience which took place when he said, “Father, glorify your Son.” Christ, being the Son and God just as much as the Father, already knew this obedience and how great it was, even before he rendered obedience to the Father, but “having been heard” he learned it through the things he suffered and through the testing he underwent. Then, however one wishes to understand it—although to me the second way of understanding seems particularly well suited—the phrase “although being a Son” presents no difficulty.

The phrase “on the basis of his godliness” comes closer to being understood from the things that have already been spoken. For we said that there were two petitions, the petition to be delivered from the death, and the petition of consent, which was really of much “godliness,” namely, the petition, “however, not my will, but yours, be done.” Therefore, Christ was heard not on the basis of his prayer to avoid death but on the basis of his “godliness,” that is, that petition of his came to pass, not the petition that sought to avoid death but the godly petition. Therefore, he says, “And having been made perfect,” that is, he was acknowledged as perfect and good beyond description and loving of humankind through his sufferings and cross and death. And he also hinted at this above, when he said, “petitions and supplications,” speaking rather enigmatically by doubling the petition. Then also when he said, “petitions and supplications,” he did not append the words about avoiding death but rather “to the One who was able to save him from death.” [He added this] well and very wisely, in order that whenever you think of him who was crucified and buried, you may not think that he endured this owing to the helplessness of his Father but because it was the common will (of the Father and the Son) that the Christ suffer these things for the salvation of the world. And this can be said also because of his resurrection. For the excellent Paul having uttered rather humble things in many places, says that the Father raised Christ. Therefore, having raised him, he rescued and delivered him from death. This is how these things are understood in my opinion.

Although you ought to be teachers, not only are you not teachers, but also you cannot even learn anything except the rather rudimentary and elementary and simple things, and even these things not absolutely but weaker than the beginning of the oracles of God. He does not say the “elements of the oracles,” but the elements of “the beginning” of the oracles. Most likely the elements of the oracles of God would be the words about the incarnation, but the elements of the “beginning” of the oracles are the things about which he goes on to say, “not laying again a foundation,” etc.The argument of the arrangement is this: “Therefore, leaving behind the word of the beginning of Christ, let us be carried to perfection, and we will do this, if God permits.”
“The Word of Christ.” What sort of word? The word of teaching that it is necessary to lay down a foundation of repentance from dead works, the word of teaching that it is necessary to believe in God, the word of teaching that one must be baptized, the word of teaching that one must be deemed worthy of the Holy Spirit, the word of teaching that there will be a resurrection and that there will be a judgment. For the word and the teaching have a common origin in every respect.

When he says to leave behind the elementary matters concerning Christ and to leave behind the word which stops any progress at the beginning and to be carried “to perfection,” he does not simply say perfection in its proper sense, but the perfection, as it were, that exists between the rudiments of the oracles of God and the heavenly perfection. For the “elements of the beginning of the oracles of God” consist of renouncing Satan and his works, believing in God, being baptized, receiving the Holy Spirit, knowing about the resurrection of the dead and believing that there is a judgment. These things are the elements of the beginning of the oracles of God. But the “elements of the oracles of God”—not merely the beginning of the oracles of God—is to know that Christ suffered on our behalf, that he removed our sins, that he wrought our salvation for us, that he has become our high priest, that he offered himself on our behalf, and such other things. And “perfection” in renouncing Satan and his cohorts consists of advancement in the virtues and endurance amid tribulations, persecutions and periods of testing. And heavenly “perfection” is the exact apprehension concerning the divine teaching of Christ, insofar as is humanly possible. So first we believe and are baptized, then we know what sort of things Christ underwent for our sake and what sort of things he did in his human nature, then we are perfected in the virtues, then we are deemed worthy of the knowledge which is in accordance with divine wisdom.