The ways of patristic philosophy in the context of the Arian disputes of the 4th century

The article discusses the Trinitarian controversy of the 4th century, which led to the formation of two theoretical paradigms. The author shows how the views of Arius, Asterius, and the Homoians induced Phoebadius of Agen, Hilary of Poitiers and other Western theologians to posit an identity of essence and properties in God. On the contrary, the spread of the ideas of Aetius and Eunomius led to the fact that the Cappadocians rejected this identity and began to insist on the distinction between essence and properties, rethinking the concept of divine simplicity. A special role in this process was played by St. Athanasius the Great, who can be called an involuntary mediator in the transition from the identity paradigm to the difference paradigm. As the author shows, this transition not only reflects some important changes in Christian theology, but also reveals the specifics of two theoretical models that determine the structure and main elements of Western scholasticism and Byzantine metaphysics.