Part I/II – This short treatise clearly and powerfully explains the true purpose of each and every human being: union with God, or Theosis. Fr. George (Kapsanis), former Abbot of the St. Gregorios Monastery on Mount Athos who reposed in the Lord on Pentecost 2014, presents the Orthodox understanding of Theosis and the essential path towards receiving this divine gift of God. In part I, he explains what Theosis is and how it is the aim of our life, examines the role of the Incarnation and the Theotokos in Theosis, and summarizes the importance of St. Gregory Palamas, the essence and energies distinction, and his affirmation of the true Orthodox teaching against the heresies of the Roman Catholics, Protestants, and non-Christian traditions. This is presented in a way that Orthodox Christians, Catechumens, and inquirers will be able to understand and respond in faith to God.
“If man cannot be deified with divine Grace and divine energies what purpose does his life have? Only that he becomes morally better. But moral perfection is not enough for man. It is not enough for us simply to become better than before, simply to perform moral deeds. We have as our final aim to unite with holy God Himself.” -Fr. George of Mount Athos
0:14 Preface
3:21 Theosis: The True Purpose of Human Life
9:40 The Incarnation of God: The Cause of Man’s Theosis
17:08 The Contribution of the Theotokos to the Theosis of Man.
22:30 The Church: The Place of Man’s Theosis
29:37 Theosis is Possible Through the Uncreated Energies of God
The text of this recording can be found here, and in many languages: http://orthodoxinfo.com/general/theosis.aspx
A reflection on the life and works of Fr. George by His Eminence Metropolitan Hierotheos of Nafpaktos: https://www.johnsanidopoulos.com/2014/07/fr-george-kapsanis-former-abbot-of.html
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This is beautiful teaching, as is so much that comes from the holy mountain. It might be helpful for listeners to know that Roman Catholics do believe in theosis, and it is mentioned daily in the Roman liturgy, even if as in some parts of the Orthodox world, it is not as well appreciated as it should be.
The Cathechism of the (Roman) Catholic Church speaks of 'deifying grace' , the 'gratuitous gifts that God makes to us of his own life (CCC 1999), and also says that this grace is 'a participation in the life of God' (CCC1997) and also quotes St Athanasius, saying 'By the participation of the Spirit, we become communicants in the divine nature… For this reason those in whom the Spirit dwells are divinized' .
This is awesome, thanks for reading this!
@Orthodox Wisdom
Where do I begin? For Catholics, as asserted by Father George of Mount Athos, believes in created Divine grace at 40:05? That's so misleading. Catholics are not Arians. We don't believe in created grace. If we believe that, we also believe in created Christ because all grace comes from Christ. To believe in created grace or/and created Christ is Arianism. For this reason the author saying that the main difference between Catholics and Orthodox is this understanding of grace is so mischaracterization of the Orthodoxy of Catholic faith.
Now in saying that, grace, in Catholic teaching, means Divine life or God's own life. If that's the case, then how on earth then Catholics who believe in "God from God, Light from Light" believe in created divine life or, in the authors favourite word, energies? Such teaching is quite misleading. Catholics would and do accept everything that is written here except those words at 40:05.
Catholics believes in Theosis in its full form. That is what means to be a saint i.e. one who is fully interiorize the gift of faith m, united in love with Uncreated living God and His Uncreated Divine Life through and in the Son, Jesus Christ, Perfect God and Perfect Man, perfect unity in Hypostatic Union of God and man.
So, like I said above, beautiful teaching by the author but quite misleading. And yet, it has to be admitted even if what is written by the author of that text, it is clear and is to the point. It is written without so much emphasizing on our sinful nature as to make it impossible to be able unite with God's Uncreated Grace. Other than that everything written here we Catholics believe and accept that we are called and baptized to be sons and daughters and be "heirs with Jesus Christ" as St. Paul teaches us. Being children of God means revealing our theosis thru the process of spiritual excercises more interiorly thru kenosis and, of course, thru the Holy Sacraments especially the Holy Communion by the Power of the Holy Spirit.
Why is Orthodox the best religion in Europa Universalis 4?
So good.
God "Lives"(IF WE ALLOW HIM) "Through/via Us"(Our "Being"). This Same Activity Jesus Accomplished "FOR God"(NOT "himself"). The "Only Difference" being THIS FACT… "Jesus Was KING". And "The King MUST Die"! This is "The Price" to be paid by "ANY MAN" should he decide/agree to "Become Our Servant(slave) For Seven Years As Our King". "King Of This World For Seven Years And The PRICE HE IS WILLING TO PAY Is HEROISM". We could Trust someone like this to not be selfishly motivated. Especially when there is a ongoing "screening process" occurring during the reign of Our First "Duly Elected" King. He gets to know(and decide) who it is that will "follow in his footsteps" just the same as Jesus did.
Pope shenouda III denied this teaching calling itbheresy . Why he do that?
Keep the Feasts of the Lord by the Spirit once for all time becoming a Temple made without hands .
( Cleans the temple )
At the appointed time ,,,
Father will shatter our clay pot, our body , the LIGHT on the inside springs forth and Our Voices will be as a Voice of a Trumpet !
( Taking it back to the Garden )
Excellent …
Thank you so much! I embrace this teaching wholeheartedly and praise God for this!
GLORY TO GOD FOR ALL THINGS!💓🔥👑
Both the Western churches and the Orthodox churches emphasise their differences and unfortunately as righteous as it may seem this results in the tearing of Jesus Christ’s body.
Salvation belongs to all that truly seek The Holy Spirit. The message is crystal clear that unites all Christians, that we truly repent and allow God’s spirit to dwell within us. The message tearing us apart is that we cannot accept that our denomination is more correct than other Christian denominations. When the disciples of Jesus came to Christ and said others are preaching in your name he did not rebuke them as the disciples had. Which church do you suppose was more true , the Orthodox Church or Christ himself teaching his disciples? Jesus Christ was humbler than the Western or Eastern church. There is no salvation in pride which is disguised as truth. There is only one truth and there is only one peace and that is we truly be born again and we partake in all the Holy sacraments. When the 2 condemned men on the cross made their decision to either accept or reject the truth was the deciding factor of salvation beyond any of the sacraments.
One thing people say that iritates me, is that man is naturally evil, or pure evil. That is not the case. If man were, by his very nature, pure evil through and through, then the coming of Christ would have been pointless, as one, in this hypothetical situation, could not expect man to ever uphold his commandments. Yet men have done it before, and they're still upholding them. Man is arrogant, and ignorant at times, but not "evil". They base their philosophy off of the actions of individuals from history, hitler and stalin for example. But they seem to forget that the majority of humans throughout our existence, have lived quiet lives, many of which had never transgressed against another man, well… not a harshly as say hitler or stalin. This is the plague that ills our society. The rejection of the fact that man is holy in his origin, and was made in Gods image. He is nothing more, in there eyes, but an evil blight, they profess a hidden Nihilism, meant to remove man from himself and God, and make him destroy himself… Such men should be looked upon with constant suspicion and caution. For they are no better then those they claim to despise.
Love it! 🙂
The description says that ithe book teaches against the "heresies of Roman Catholicism" but I have yet to encounter anything in it that is opposed to Catholicism. What distinctions does the author seek to establish?
Man can never be a god ontologically.
Theosis by grace
They are called to be gods
Ontologically
Incarnation of the divine logos
God-man
Panagia
Theotokos
Why don't y'all just become mormons
If theosis is a process/journey are the Sacraments just symbols? I thought that Baptism made you a little Christ (i.e. God) and that Ordination made you another Christ (i.e. God).
God became man that man would become God – with a capital "G" – as God can not be divided.
Yes, we need to be an example to others. Thing is, a toxic atmosphere is equivalent to the verse talking about a man who builds his house on sand, which weather erodes the sand, so the house collapses. Compared to a healthy atmosphere, as a house built on rock. Fertile ground where good fruit comes, vs. rotten land/soil, where only plants with thorns grow.
" The only-begotten Son of God, wanting to make us sharers in His divinity, assumed our nature, so that He, made man, might make men gods" (St. Thomas Aquinas, Opusc. 57 : 1-4) Taken from Called to be children of God, The Catholic Theology of Human Deification, edited by Fr David Meconi, S.J. and Carl E. Olson. Ignatius Press.
THE EROTIC POWER