FAQ

Yes, certainly, the eternal and unoriginate God the Son also has a beginning in time. The great eighth-century Christian poet and theologian, St. John of Damascus, in the stichera at the Praises for the Divine Service of the Nativity of Christ, exclaimed: "Today the Unoriginate begins..." We are speaking of a paradox which, as a reflection of the divine nature, is characteristic of all the works of God. The eternity in which the Trinity dwells is a reality outside of time and in all times at once; it is like a dimension perpendicular to the axis of time. The Incarnation of the Son of God precisely implies that He, dwelling in eternity, entered into time as a form of existence of the created world, and, being without beginning, acquired a beginning in time. According to standard Christian theology, Christ is simultaneously eternal (pre-eternal and without beginning) and, according to His human nature, enters into time. However, unlike us sinners, in His Resurrection He overcame the limitations of temporal existence and united it with eternity, granting us the same possibility. Comprehending this is, of course, not simple; like any paradox, this theological concept defies rational explanation. Nevertheless, it is important to remember: eternity is not an infinite duration of time (as the ancient Greeks or Hindus thought), but a different, timeless form of existence.