Subordinationism
According to Socrates, Arius' view was:“If the Father begat the Son, that would mean that he who was begotten must have had a beginning of existence: and from this it is obvious, that there was a time when the Son didn't. It therefore means that he [the Son] was created with no material but of nothing.”According to Kelly, the argument was over whether the Son had a beginning. To make their case, the parties relied on the Son's source of existence.To justify his view that the Son had no beginning, Alexander argued that the Son had been 'begotten' by the Father from his own being. But Arius argued that the Son was created out of nothing, and therefore had a beginning.While Alexander described the Son as being equal in nature and being to the Father, Arius described Him as being subordinate in nature and being to the Father.