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Название: Theosis

Автор: Группа авторов

Издательство: Ingram

Жанр: Религия: прочее

Серия: Princeton Theological Monograph Series

isbn: 9781621898078

isbn:

СКАЧАТЬ theology and diverse Christian traditions, deification, by no surprise, continues to be an attractive subject in theological discourse on academic and popular levels. It can amply be seen in numerous publications on the subject since the publication of our first volume in 2006.

      From a more comprehensive theological point of view, the works of Vladimir Lossky and his influence on the re-vitalization of deification discourse in modern Orthodox thought are well known and, for the purpose of our bibliographical survey, do not require an introduction. The works of Romanian theologian Dumitru Staniloae, that are only now becoming more readily available in English, also extensively address the teaching of the Orthodox Church on deification. In this regard, I would like especially to refer to the second volume of his Orthodox Dogmatic Theology: The World: Creation and Deification (2005) and to his Orthodox Spirituality (2003). Predominantly the Neopalamite approach to deification that was inaugurated in the works of Florovsky and Lossky that substantially inspired above mentioned books by Coniaris, Stavropoulos, and Staniloae, was to some degree consolidated by Georgios Mantzaridis in his The Deification of Man: St Gregory Palamas and the Orthodox Tradition (1984).

      Panayiotis Nellas’s book, Deification in Christ: Orthodox Perspective on the Nature of the Human Person (1987) contributes significantly to the development of a christocentric anthropological approach to theosis, which often the author terms “christification.” In the comprehensive and constructive assessment of a long list of patristic authorities on the subject, he gives particular preference to the late Byzantine theologian Nicolas Kabasilas. This book presents a theologically anthropological outlook on deification that is not only informative in an historical perspective on the deification theme, but also provides an interesting and insightful theological appropriation of theosis, that places its author, Panayiotis Nellas, among leading modern and original Eastern Orthodox theologians in the twentieth century.

      More recently, another attempt to express the predominantly Palamite view of deification as the “classical” or standard understanding of theosis in Eastern Orthodoxy was offered by Stephen Thomas in Deification in the Eastern Orthodox Tradition: A Biblical Perspective (2007). The main objective Thomas attempts to accomplish in his book is to show the importance and vitality of the biblical foundation for the Greek Fathers and Orthodox tradition on theosis. He hopes to spark a biblical revival for Orthodox Christians living in the West. Thus, the book is purposefully not designed for academicians and does not pretend to be original. Nevertheless, in his not always “classically” Neopalamite discourse, Thomas presents a rather intriguing and engaging synthesis of specifically Western biblical scholarship, adopted and complemented with distinctive theological characteristics of Eastern Orthodox theology and spirituality. The book seems to accomplish its intention and can be read not only as an overview of the Orthodox understanding of deification, but as an introduction to Eastern Orthodoxy aimed for biblically-minded, evangelical, Western readership. It is an interesting attempt to combine modern biblical scholarship with Orthodox spirituality.

      Already in the patristic period, Russell observes two patterns that define the role of theosis within divine economy. One, predominantly expressed by Athanasius and Cyril of Alexandria, is more biblically oriented, with emphasis on justification, sanctification, divine filiation, and participation in the divine nature. Another, represented by Maximus the Confessor and the later Fathers, is more speculative and philosophical, with more explicitly stated eschatological cosmic fulfillment. A similar tendency, according to Russell, continues among modern Eastern Orthodox theologians, the majority of whom are patristic scholars.

      The remainder of the book deals with the primary theological themes closely connected with theosis: image and likeness of God, the transfiguration of the believer, self-transcendence, participation in the divine life, and union with God. In each of these themes, Russell draws heavily on Greek patristic and monastic tradition and its appropriation in modern Orthodox, again, predominantly monastic and Neopatristic expression.

      While some patristic authors did not draw a distinction between the image and likeness of God, for others the image of God was understood as setting the structural (ontological) basis СКАЧАТЬ