The Fathers and Theosis

[marc hanna]

Again, theosis is a process that takes place gradually over one's lifetime whereas theopoiesis is rather an event that occurs when our salvation is complete. The two are distinctly different, just as the car-ride is not the same thing as actually reaching the destination. In OO theological tradition, there is no doctrine of theosis, neither a doctrine of the distinction between divine essence and energies, neither do we believe that someone can work toward seeing the Divine Light. But those components, as such, are integral in EO doctrine of theosis and the way of hesychasm. This spirit of the two traditions may be observed in the way our monks practice. The Coptic monks work and pray, humbly waiting for our Lord, the monks on the Holy Mountain recite a mantra, the Jesus Prayer, with breathing exercises in order to obtain a higher state of spirituality.

The fact that the leading theologians in both our traditions avoid each other's terminology suggests that the theology is different. I personally can't see how the two can be confused as being the same. It appears to me that many contemporary writers seek to blend the two, which could be for various reasons, such as unity efforts, but this is strictly speculative as to their motives. I personally don't think that blending or confusing the theologies gets us any closer to unity anymore than pretending black people aren't black in order to improve racial relations. Unity is more likely to occur through respecting and understanding our differences and agreeing to disagree on issues that are not critical for our salvation. Their are a lot of points that we all agree on, and I don't see why we can't agree to live in unity each within his own respective tradition - it worked for St Athanasius and St Gregory Nyssa.