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Theosis
i heard the word THEOSIS mentioned in one of the other topics and the person said that HH was against it. What is it?
Comments
Sorry, I just had to be funny.
Deification is the ancient theological word used to describe the process by which a Christian becomes more like God. St. Peter speaks of this process when he writes:
3 as His divine power has given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him who called us by glory and virtue, 4 by which have been given to us exceedingly great and precious promises, that through these you may be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust (2 Peter 1:3-4)."
St John of Damascus, writing in the eighth century, makes a remarkable observation. The word "God" in the Scriptures refers not to the divine nature or essence, for that is unknowable. "God" refers to rather to the divine energies- the power and grace of God which we can perceive in this world.
Deification means we are to become more like God through His grace or divine energies. We can never be God or like God through our essence but through adoption. Historically, the "sword and fire" example has been used to explain this. A steel sword thrust into the hot fire until the sword takes on a red glow. The energy of the fire interpenetrates the sword. The sword never becomes fire, but it picks up the properties of fire (The Orthodox Study Bible, p. 561)
Hope that helps ;D.
Boricua_Orthodox is an Eastern Orthodox Christian and one of our treasured posters on tasbeha.org; he has been with us since as long as I can remember (before I even registered I believe). I don't think he has quoted Abba John of Damascus in any controversial context; the end to which he is being quoted is perfectly Orthodox. You will notice that Abba John is appealed to even amongst our own clergy, such as Fr. T. Malaty and H.H. Pope Shenouda. He is a particularly good resource when it comes to issues relating to iconography, especially since our Church doesn't have a developed theological articulation of iconography--simply because we have never had the need for one (our Church didn't suffer from iconoclasm to the extent that it did in the EO world, and as such the legitimacy of icon veneration has generally always been accepted without debate as part of the life of the Church without the need for any rigorous theological defence).
I am very aware of the division between our Churches and am very saddened by it. I am one EO who loves the Coptic Church and prays for re-union one day. St. Athanasius of Alexandria (a Holy Father both Churches accept) taught about Theosis. We Orthodox focus a lot on Theosis and look to live a mystical life.
I thank brother Iqbal for his support and may God continue to bless us with his wisdom and devotion.
If only you knew that sometimes I feel the strength of Orthodoxy in the EOC more than my own; what really gets me agitated though is that I hear too much "Orthodoxy! Orthodoxy! Orthodoxy!" in your Church (no offence), rather than "the Gospel of Jesus Christ". But the EOC has converted remarkably many Protestants, and have given them Mystery! Now that I am truly grateful for the EOC! And I also pray for unity...though I feel that there is a growing number of polemics against our Church, in confusion with the "heresy of Ecumenism".
But until the more spiritually minded people of my Church led me to really believe that your Church is completely Orthodox, and that we can take your Church's theology as it is, I think it is still prudent to approach with caution- that's all. Forgive me.
It depends in the context in which it is written; it depends on what the word means to the individual that reads it. Theo refers to God. Theology is the study of God. The word Theosis implies "becoming God". In this way, the word is both wrong and true. We are called to become *as* God in His characteristics; that is to become perfect as He is. We are called to the high standards of God. We are to share in the unity that Christ made with His Divinity and His Humanity. We are to increase in His work in Creation. In this context, "Theosis" is not wrong. But, that we become God in essence, or comparable to God just because we grow in the grace of God, is an assault to the Orthodox sound doctrine. It is the latter that HH Pope Shenouda has been debunking. This thinking is what the Mormons profess- that by being a good man, we become a god owning our own Universe after death. May God reveal the vanity of this heresy to the poor Mormons, and us who have been led to think this way, and in humility understand that we are made worthy by God, but we will never be worthy as God.
Clay, that was a remarkable statement. Nicely put too. (in my opinion anyway).
If no one objects to this statement, can I use it in an article I'm publishing??
[glow=red,2,300]In the Name of the Father+ and the Son+ and of the Holy Spirit+, the One True God, now and ever and unto the ages of ages. Amen.[/glow]
Deification is the ancient theological word used to describe the process by which a Christian becomes more like God. St. Peter speaks of this process when he writes:
3 as His divine power has given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him who called us by glory and virtue, 4 by which have been given to us exceedingly great and precious promises, that through these you may be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust (2 Peter 1:3-4)."
St John of Damascus, writing in the eighth century, makes a remarkable observation. The word "God" in the Scriptures refers not to the divine nature or essence, for that is unknowable. "God" refers to rather to the divine energies- the power and grace of God which we can perceive in this world.
Deification means we are to become more like God through His grace or divine energies. We can never be God or like God through our essence but through adoption. Historically, the "sword and fire" example has been used to explain this. A steel sword thrust into the hot fire until the sword takes on a red glow. The energy of the fire interpenetrates the sword. The sword never becomes fire, but it picks up the properties of fire (The Orthodox Study Bible, p. 561)
Hope that helps ;D.
I totally agree with this too. I see nothing in this statement Clay that contradicts with your message.
[glow=red,2,300]In the Name of the Father+ and the Son+ and of the Holy Spirit+, the One True God. Amen.[/glow]To further clarify theosis we must explain that humans can NEVER be like God in ESSENCE because the Divine Nature is infinite and human is finite. A general example would be like pouring a one gallon bottle of milk into a coffee cup! The milk would overflow. But using St. John of Damascus' example; a piece of iron in a fire would gain the properties of fire (heat, light) but never become fire (Hindus teach the iron would become fire, in other words, a person's consciousness would be absorbed in God)! We become Christ-like in qualities but we can ever create anything out of nothing, only Rabena could. Please see the explanation box on theosis in the Orthodox Study Bible, page 1692 and this link: http://www.orthodoxinfo.com/general/theosis.aspx for a deeper and more official explanation. Amen.
This is a wonderful example that you present also Boricua. We have Christ-like properties, but we are not Christ-like in Essence.
So, what to you is Theosis? I only started this topic to understand the concept a bit more.
Can one achieve Theosis WITHOUT partaking of the Eucharist?
"Christ installs Himself in the heart of man
through the Holy Mysteries: Holy Baptism,
Chrismation, Holy Confession and the Divine
Eucharist. Those Orthodox Christians who are
in communion with Christ have God and His
Grace within them, in their hearts, because they
have been baptised, chrismated, have confessed
and have received Holy Communion.
The passions cover Divine Grace as ashes
bury a spark. Through asceticism and prayer,
the heart is cleansed of the passions, the spark
of Divine Grace is rekindled, and the faithful
Christian feels Christ in his heart; the centre of
his existence.
Every prayer of the Church helps to cleanse
the heart, but the so-called prayer of a single-
phrase, also known as noetic prayer or prayer
of the heart, is particularly helpful: “Lord Jesus
Christ, have mercy on me, a sinner.”
This from the above mentioned link:http://www.orthodoxinfo.com/general/theosis.aspx . The thing to focus on is the importance of the Holy Mysteries, especially the Holy Eucharist, in an Orthodox Christian's life. Outside of that, we leave it to God.