''Theosis'' ( grc, θέωσις), or deification (deification may also refer to ''
apotheosis
Apotheosis (, ), also called divinization or deification (), is the glorification of a subject to divine levels and, commonly, the treatment of a human being, any other living thing, or an abstract idea in the likeness of a deity. The term h ...
'', lit. "making divine"), is a transformative process whose aim is likeness to or union with
God
In monotheistic thought, God is usually viewed as the supreme being, creator, and principal object of faith. Swinburne, R.G. "God" in Honderich, Ted. (ed)''The Oxford Companion to Philosophy'', Oxford University Press, 1995. God is typically ...
, as taught by the
Eastern Orthodox Church
The Eastern Orthodox Church, also called the Orthodox Church, is the second-largest Christian church, with approximately 220 million baptized members. It operates as a communion of autocephalous churches, each governed by its bishops vi ...
and the
Catholic Church
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...
. As a process of transformation, ''theosis'' is brought about by the effects of ''
catharsis
Catharsis (from Greek , , meaning "purification" or "cleansing" or "clarification") is the purification and purgation of emotions through dramatic art, or it may be any extreme emotional state that results in renewal and restoration. In its lite ...
'' (purification of mind and body) and ''
theoria
Christian mysticism is the tradition of mystical practices and mystical theology within Christianity which "concerns the preparation f the personfor, the consciousness of, and the effect of ..a direct and transformative presence of God" ...
'' ('illumination' with the 'vision' of God). According to
Eastern Christian
Eastern Christianity comprises Christian traditions and church families that originally developed during classical and late antiquity in Eastern Europe, Southeastern Europe, Asia Minor, the Caucasus, Northeast Africa, the Fertile Crescent and ...
teachings, ''theosis'' is very much the purpose of human life. It is considered achievable only through synergy (or cooperation) of human activity and God's uncreated energies (or operations).
According to Metropolitan
Hierotheos (Vlachos), the primacy of ''theosis'' in
Eastern Orthodox Christian theology is directly related to the fact that Byzantine theology (as historically conceived by its principal exponents) is based to a greater extent than
Latin Catholic theology
Theology is the systematic study of the nature of the divine and, more broadly, of religious belief. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of analyzing th ...
on the direct spiritual insights of the saints or
mystics of the church rather than the often more seen as
rational thought
Rationality is the quality of being guided by or based on reasons. In this regard, a person acts rationally if they have a good reason for what they do or a belief is rational if it is based on strong evidence. This quality can apply to an abili ...
tradition of the West. Byzantine Christians consider that "no one who does not follow the path of union with God can be a theologian" in the proper sense. Thus theology in Byzantine Christianity is not treated primarily as an academic pursuit. Instead it is based on applied revelation (see
gnosiology
Gnosiology ("study of knowledge") is "the philosophy of knowledge and cognition". In Soviet and post-Soviet philosophy, the word is often used as a synonym for epistemology. The term is also currently used in regard to Eastern Christianity.
Etymol ...
), and the primary validation of a theologian is understood to be a holy and ascetical life rather than intellectual training or academic credentials (see
scholasticism
Scholasticism was a medieval school of philosophy that employed a critical organic method of philosophical analysis predicated upon the Aristotelian 10 Categories. Christian scholasticism emerged within the monastic schools that translat ...
).
Deification
Athanasius of Alexandria
Athanasius I of Alexandria, ; cop, ⲡⲓⲁⲅⲓⲟⲥ ⲁⲑⲁⲛⲁⲥⲓⲟⲩ ⲡⲓⲁⲡⲟⲥⲧⲟⲗⲓⲕⲟⲥ or Ⲡⲁⲡⲁ ⲁⲑⲁⲛⲁⲥⲓⲟⲩ ⲁ̅; (c. 296–298 – 2 May 373), also called Athanasius the Great, ...
wrote, "He was incarnate that we might be made god" (Αὐτὸς γὰρ ἐνηνθρώπησεν, ἵνα ἡμεῖς θεοποιηθῶμεν). What would otherwise seem absurd—that fallen, sinful man may become holy as God is holy—has been made possible through Jesus Christ, who is God incarnate. Naturally, the crucial Christian assertion, that God is One, sets an absolute limit on the meaning of ''theosis'': even as it is not possible for any created being to become God
ontologically, or even a necessary part of God (of the three existences of God called
hypostases
Hypostasis, hypostatic, or hypostatization (hypostatisation; from the Ancient Greek , "under state") may refer to:
* Hypostasis (philosophy and religion), the essence or underlying reality
** Hypostasis (linguistics), personification of entities
...
), so a created being cannot become Jesus Christ, the Holy Spirit nor the Father of the Trinity.
Most specifically creatures, i.e. ''created'' beings, cannot become God in his transcendent essence, or
ousia
''Ousia'' (; grc, οὐσία) is a philosophical and theological term, originally used in ancient Greek philosophy, then later in Christian theology. It was used by various ancient Greek philosophers, like Plato and Aristotle, as a primary d ...
, hyper-being (see
apophaticism). Such a concept would be the ''
henosis
Henosis ( grc, ἕνωσις) is the classical Greek word for mystical "oneness", "union" or "unity". In Platonism, and especially Neoplatonism, henosis is unification with what is fundamental in reality: the One ( Τὸ Ἕν), the Source ...
'', or absorption and fusion into God of Greek pagan philosophy. However, every being and reality itself is considered as composed of the immanent energy, or ''energeia'', of God. As energy is the
actuality of God, i.e. his immanence, from God's being, it is also the ''
energeia'' or activity of God. Thus the doctrine avoids
pantheism
Pantheism is the belief that reality, the universe and the cosmos are identical with divinity and a supreme supernatural being or entity, pointing to the universe as being an immanent creator deity still expanding and creating, which has ...
while partially accepting
Neoplatonism
Neoplatonism is a strand of Platonism, Platonic philosophy that emerged in the 3rd century AD against the background of Hellenistic philosophy and Hellenistic religion, religion. The term does not encapsulate a set of ideas as much as a chain of ...
's terms and general concepts, but not its substance (see
Plotinus
Plotinus (; grc-gre, Πλωτῖνος, ''Plōtînos''; – 270 CE) was a philosopher in the Hellenistic philosophy, Hellenistic tradition, born and raised in Roman Egypt. Plotinus is regarded by modern scholarship as the founder of Neop ...
).
Maximus the Confessor
Maximus the Confessor ( el, Μάξιμος ὁ Ὁμολογητής), also spelt Maximos, otherwise known as Maximus the Theologian and Maximus of Constantinople ( – 13 August 662), was a Christian monk, theologian, and scholar.
In his ea ...
wrote:
''Theoria''
Through ''theoria'' (illumination with or direct experience of the Triune God), human beings come to know and experience what it means to be fully human, i.e., the created image of God; through their communion with Jesus Christ, God shares himself with the human race, in order to conform them to all that He is in knowledge, righteousness, and holiness. As God became human, in all ways except sin, he will also make humans "God", i.e., "holy" or "saintly", in all ways except his Divine Essence, which is uncaused and uncreated.
Irenaeus
Irenaeus (; grc-gre, Εἰρηναῖος ''Eirēnaios''; c. 130 – c. 202 AD) was a Greek bishop noted for his role in guiding and expanding Christian communities in the southern regions of present-day France and, more widely, for the dev ...
explained this doctrine in the work ''
Against Heresies''
Book 5, Preface "the Word of God, our Lord Jesus Christ, Who did, through His transcendent love, become what we are, that He might bring us to be even what He is Himself."
As a patristic and historical teaching
For many
Church Fathers, ''theosis'' goes beyond simply restoring people to their state before the
fall of Adam and Eve, teaching that because Christ united the human and divine natures in Jesus' person, it is now possible for someone to experience closer fellowship with God than
Adam and Eve
Adam and Eve, according to the creation myth of the Abrahamic religions, were the first man and woman. They are central to the belief that humanity is in essence a single family, with everyone descended from a single pair of original ancestors ...
initially experienced in the
Garden of Eden
In Abrahamic religions, the Garden of Eden ( he, גַּן־עֵדֶן, ) or Garden of God (, and גַן־אֱלֹהִים ''gan-Elohim''), also called the Terrestrial Paradise, is the Bible, biblical paradise described in Book of Genesis, Genes ...
, and that people can become more like God than Adam and Eve were at that time. Some Byzantine Christian theologians say that Jesus would have become
incarnate for this reason alone, even if Adam and Eve had never sinned.
All of humanity is fully restored to the full potential of humanity because the Son of God took to himself a human nature to be born of a woman, and takes to himself also the sufferings due to sin (yet is not himself sinful, and is God unchanged in being). In Christ the two natures of God and human are not two persons but one; thus a union is effected in Christ between all of humanity in principle and God. So the holy God and sinful humanity are reconciled in principle in the one sinless man, Jesus Christ. (See Jesus' prayer as recorded in
John 17
John 17 is the seventeenth chapter of the Gospel of John in the New Testament of the Christian Bible. It portrays a prayer of Jesus Christ addressed to his Father, placed in context immediately before his betrayal and crucifixion, the events whi ...
.)
This reconciliation is made actual through the struggle to conform to the image of Christ. Without the struggle, the
praxis
Praxis may refer to:
Philosophy and religion
* Praxis (process), the process by which a theory, lesson, or skill is enacted, practised, embodied, or realised
*Praxis model, a way of doing theology
* Praxis (Byzantine Rite), the practice of fai ...
, there is no real faith; faith leads to action, without which it is dead. One must unite will, thought, and action to God's will, his thoughts, and his actions. A person must fashion his life to be a mirror, a true likeness of God. More than that, since God and humanity are more than a similarity in Christ but rather a true union, Christians' lives are more than mere imitation and are rather a union with the life of God himself: so that the one who is working out salvation is united with God working within the penitent both to will and to do that which pleases God (Philippians 2:13).
A common analogy for ''theosis'', given by the Greek fathers, is that of a metal which is put into the fire. The metal obtains all the properties of the fire (heat, light), while its essence remains that of a metal. Using the head-body analogy from
Paul the Apostle, every man in whom Christ lives partakes of the glory of Christ. As
John Chrysostom
John Chrysostom (; gr, Ἰωάννης ὁ Χρυσόστομος; 14 September 407) was an important Early Church Father who served as archbishop of Constantinople. He is known for his preaching and public speaking, his denunciation of a ...
observes, "where the head is, there is the body also. There is no interval to separate between the Head and the body; for were there a separation, then were it no longer a body, then were it no longer a head."
Stages
''Theosis'' is understood to have three stages: first, the
purgative way
Christian mysticism is the tradition of mystical practices and mystical theology within Christianity which "concerns the preparation f the personfor, the consciousness of, and the effect of ..a direct and transformative presence of God" ...
, purification, or ''katharsis''; second, illumination, the
illuminative way, the vision of God, or ''
theoria
Christian mysticism is the tradition of mystical practices and mystical theology within Christianity which "concerns the preparation f the personfor, the consciousness of, and the effect of ..a direct and transformative presence of God" ...
''; and third, sainthood, the
unitive way
Christian mysticism is the tradition of mystical practices and mystical theology within Christianity which "concerns the preparation f the personfor, the consciousness of, and the effect of ..a direct and transformative presence of God" ...
, or ''theosis''. Thus the term "''theosis''" describes the whole process and its objective. By means of purification a person comes to ''theoria'' and then to ''theosis''. ''Theosis'' is the participation of the person in the life of God. According to this doctrine, the holy life of God, given in Jesus Christ to the believer through the
Holy Spirit
In Judaism, the Holy Spirit is the divine force, quality, and influence of God over the Universe or over his creatures. In Nicene Christianity, the Holy Spirit or Holy Ghost is the third person of the Trinity. In Islam, the Holy Spirit acts ...
, is expressed through the three stages of ''theosis'', beginning in the struggles of this life, increasing in the experience of
knowledge of God, and consummated in the
resurrection
Resurrection or anastasis is the concept of coming back to life after death. In a number of religions, a dying-and-rising god is a deity which dies and is resurrected. Reincarnation is a similar process hypothesized by other religions, whic ...
of the believer, when the victory of God over fear, sin, and death, accomplished in the
crucifixion
Crucifixion is a method of capital punishment in which the victim is tied or nailed to a large wooden cross or beam and left to hang until eventual death from exhaustion and asphyxiation. It was used as a punishment by the Persians, Cartha ...
and resurrection of Jesus Christ, is made manifest in the believer forever.
Ascetic practice
The journey toward ''theosis'' includes many forms of
praxis
Praxis may refer to:
Philosophy and religion
* Praxis (process), the process by which a theory, lesson, or skill is enacted, practised, embodied, or realised
*Praxis model, a way of doing theology
* Praxis (Byzantine Rite), the practice of fai ...
, the most obvious being
monasticism and clergy. Of the monastic tradition, the practice of
hesychasm
Hesychasm (; Greek: Ησυχασμός) is a contemplative monastic tradition in the Eastern Orthodox Church in which stillness (''hēsychia'') is sought through uninterrupted Jesus prayer. While rooted in early Christian monasticism, it took ...
is most important as a way to establish a direct relationship with God. Living in the community of the church and partaking regularly of the sacraments, especially the
Eucharist
The Eucharist (; from Greek , , ), also known as Holy Communion and the Lord's Supper, is a Christian rite that is considered a sacrament in most churches, and as an ordinance in others. According to the New Testament, the rite was institu ...
, is taken for granted. Also important is cultivating "
prayer of the heart", and prayer that never ceases, as Paul exhorts in 1 Thessalonians 5:17. This unceasing prayer of the heart is a dominant theme in the writings of the Fathers, especially in those collected in the ''
Philokalia
The ''Philokalia'' ( grc, φιλοκαλία, lit=love of the beautiful, from ''philia'' "love" and ''kallos'' "beauty") is "a collection of texts written between the 4th and 15th centuries by spiritual masters" of the mystical hesychast tra ...
''. It is considered that no one can reach ''theosis'' without an impeccable Christian living, crowned by faithful, warm, and, ultimately, silent, continuous Prayer of the Heart.
The "doer" in
deification
Apotheosis (, ), also called divinization or deification (), is the glorification of a subject to divine levels and, commonly, the treatment of a human being, any other living thing, or an abstract idea in the likeness of a deity. The term ha ...
is the Holy Spirit, with whom the human being joins his will to receive this transforming grace by praxis and prayer, and as
Gregory Palamas
Gregory Palamas ( el, Γρηγόριος Παλαμᾶς; c. 1296 – 1359) was a Byzantine Greek theologian and Eastern Orthodox cleric of the late Byzantine period. A monk of Mount Athos (modern Greece) and later archbishop of Thessaloniki, h ...
teaches, the Christian mystics are deified as they become filled with the
Light of Tabor of the Holy Spirit in the degree that they make themselves open to it by asceticism (divinization being not a one-sided act of God, but a loving cooperation between God and the advanced Christian, which Palamas considers a synergy).
This
synergeia or co-operation between God and Man does not lead to mankind being absorbed into the God as was taught in earlier pagan forms of deification like
henosis
Henosis ( grc, ἕνωσις) is the classical Greek word for mystical "oneness", "union" or "unity". In Platonism, and especially Neoplatonism, henosis is unification with what is fundamental in reality: the One ( Τὸ Ἕν), the Source ...
. Rather it expresses unity, in the complementary nature between the created and the creator. Acquisition of the Holy Spirit is key as the acquisition of the Spirit leads to
self-realization.
Western attitudes
Western attitudes have traditionally been negative, not towards divinization itself (which is also part of the doctrine of the Roman Catholic Church), but towards the ways in which divinization is supposed to happen according to Byzantine theology. In his article, Bloor highlights various Western theologians who have contributed to what he calls a "stigma" towards ''theosis''. Yet, recent theological discourse has seen a reversal of this, with Bloor drawing upon Western theologians from an array of traditions, whom, he claims, embrace ''theosis''/deification.
The practice of ascetic prayer, called ''
Hesychasm
Hesychasm (; Greek: Ησυχασμός) is a contemplative monastic tradition in the Eastern Orthodox Church in which stillness (''hēsychia'') is sought through uninterrupted Jesus prayer. While rooted in early Christian monasticism, it took ...
'' in the
Eastern Orthodox Church
The Eastern Orthodox Church, also called the Orthodox Church, is the second-largest Christian church, with approximately 220 million baptized members. It operates as a communion of autocephalous churches, each governed by its bishops vi ...
and
Byzantine Catholic Churches The term Greek Catholic Church can refer to a number of Eastern Catholic Churches following the Byzantine (Greek) liturgy, considered collectively or individually.
The terms Greek Catholic, Greek Catholic church or Byzantine Catholic, Byzantine Ca ...
, "is centered on the enlightenment or deification (... or ''theosis'', in Greek) of man".
Hesychasm is directed to a goal that is not limited to natural life alone and goes beyond this to deification (''theosis'').
In the past, Roman Catholic theologians generally expressed a negative view of
Hesychasm
Hesychasm (; Greek: Ησυχασμός) is a contemplative monastic tradition in the Eastern Orthodox Church in which stillness (''hēsychia'') is sought through uninterrupted Jesus prayer. While rooted in early Christian monasticism, it took ...
. The doctrine of
Gregory Palamas
Gregory Palamas ( el, Γρηγόριος Παλαμᾶς; c. 1296 – 1359) was a Byzantine Greek theologian and Eastern Orthodox cleric of the late Byzantine period. A monk of Mount Athos (modern Greece) and later archbishop of Thessaloniki, h ...
won almost no following in the West, and the distrustful attitude of
Barlaam in its regard prevailed among Western theologians, surviving into the early 20th century, as shown in
Adrian Fortescue's article on hesychasm in the 1910 ''
Catholic Encyclopedia
The ''Catholic Encyclopedia: An International Work of Reference on the Constitution, Doctrine, Discipline, and History of the Catholic Church'' (also referred to as the ''Old Catholic Encyclopedia'' and the ''Original Catholic Encyclopedia'') i ...
''. Fortescue translated the Greek words and as "quiet" and "quietist".
In the same period, Edward Pace's article on
quietism Quietism may refer to:
* Quietism (Christian philosophy), a 17th-century Christian philosophy condemned as heresy by the Roman Catholic Church
* Quietism (philosophy), the view that the proper role of philosophy is a broadly therapeutic or remedia ...
indicated that, while in the strictest sense quietism is a 17th-century doctrine proposed by
Miguel de Molinos
Miguel de Molinos (baptised 29 June 1628 – 29 December 1696) was a Spanish mystic, the chief representative of the religious revival known as Quietism.
Biography
He was born in 1628 near Muniesa ( Teruel), in Aragon, a village around south o ...
, the term is also used more broadly to cover both Indian religions and what Edward Pace called "the vagaries of Hesychasm", thus betraying the same prejudices as Fortescue with regard to hesychasm; and, again in the same period, Siméon Vailhé described some aspects of the teaching of Palamas as "monstrous errors", "heresies" and "a resurrection of polytheism", and called the hesychast method for arriving at perfect
contemplation
In a religious context, the practice of contemplation seeks a direct awareness of the divine which transcends the intellect, often in accordance with prayer or meditation.
Etymology
The word ''contemplation'' is derived from the Latin word ' ...
"no more than a crude form of
auto-suggestion
Autosuggestion is a psychological technique related to the placebo effect, developed by apothecary Émile Coué at the beginning of the 20th century. It is a form of self-induced suggestion in which individuals guide their own thoughts, feelings, ...
".
Different concepts of "natural contemplation" existed in the East and in the medieval West.
The twentieth century saw a remarkable change in the attitude of Roman Catholic theologians to Palamas, a "rehabilitation" of him that has led to increasing parts of the Western Church considering him a saint, even if uncanonized. Some Western scholars maintain that there is no conflict between Palamas's teaching and Roman Catholic thought. According to G. Philips, the
essence–energies distinction is "a typical example of a perfectly admissible theological pluralism" that is compatible with the Roman Catholic magisterium. Jeffrey D. Finch claims that "the future of East–West rapprochement appears to be overcoming the modern polemics of neo-scholasticism and neo-Palamism". Some Western theologians have incorporated the theology of Palamas into their own thinking.
Pope John Paul II
Pope John Paul II ( la, Ioannes Paulus II; it, Giovanni Paolo II; pl, Jan Paweł II; born Karol Józef Wojtyła ; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 1978 until his ...
said Catholics should be familiar with "the venerable and ancient tradition of the Eastern Churches", so as to be nourished by it. Among the treasures of that tradition he mentioned in particular:
Some Lutherans argue that ''theosis'' is compatible with Lutheran theology.
See also
*
Apotheosis
Apotheosis (, ), also called divinization or deification (), is the glorification of a subject to divine levels and, commonly, the treatment of a human being, any other living thing, or an abstract idea in the likeness of a deity. The term h ...
*
Beatific vision
*
Christian perfection
Christian perfection is the name given to theological concepts within some sects of Christianity that purport to describe a process of achieving spiritual maturity or perfection. The ultimate goal of this process is union with God characterized by ...
*
Christian universalism
Christian universalism is a school of Christian theology focused around the doctrine of universal reconciliation – the view that all human beings will ultimately be saved and restored to a right relationship with God. "Christian universalism ...
*
Consecration
*
Divine filiation
*
Eastern Orthodox Christian theology
*
Exaltation (Mormonism)
*
Glorification
Glorification may have several meanings in Christianity. From the Catholic canonization to the similar sainthood of the Eastern Orthodox Church to salvation in Christianity in Protestant beliefs, the glorification of the human condition can be a ...
*
Hermit
A hermit, also known as an eremite ( adjectival form: hermitic or eremitic) or solitary, is a person who lives in seclusion. Eremitism plays a role in a variety of religions.
Description
In Christianity, the term was originally applied to a C ...
*
Holiness movement
The Holiness movement is a Christian movement that emerged chiefly within 19th-century Methodism, and to a lesser extent other traditions such as Quakerism, Anabaptism, and Restorationism. The movement is historically distinguished by its emph ...
*
John of the Cross
John of the Cross, OCD ( es, link=no, Juan de la Cruz; la, Ioannes a Cruce; born Juan de Yepes y Álvarez; 24 June 1542 – 14 December 1591) was a Spanish Catholic priest, mystic, and a Carmelite friar of converso origin. He is a major fig ...
*
Vladimir Lossky
*
Mysticism
Mysticism is popularly known as becoming one with God or the Absolute, but may refer to any kind of ecstasy or altered state of consciousness which is given a religious or spiritual meaning. It may also refer to the attainment of insight in u ...
*
Poustinia
*
Sanctification
Sanctification (or in its verb form, sanctify) literally means "to set apart for special use or purpose", that is, to make holy or sacred (compare la, sanctus). Therefore, sanctification refers to the state or process of being set apart, i.e. ...
*
Soteriology
Soteriology (; el, wikt:σωτηρία, σωτηρία ' "salvation" from wikt:σωτήρ, σωτήρ ' "savior, preserver" and wikt:λόγος, λόγος ' "study" or "word") is the study of Doctrine, religious doctrines of salvation. Salvation ...
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Theosis (Eastern Christian Theology)
Eastern Orthodox theology
Eastern Catholicism
Christian soteriology
Christian terminology
Heaven in Christianity
Mystical union
Hesychasm