Christopher Veniamin THE ORTHODOX UNDERSTANDING OF SALVATION “THEOSIS” IN SCRIPTURE AND TRADITION C H R I S T M I I I U N R G ET L S O Y R M I A S I V C I U S R I C O MOUNT THABOR PUBLISHING 2014 the orthodox understanding of salvation: “theosis” in scripture and tradition Copyright © 2013 by Christopher Veniamin First edition 2013 Reprint edition (with minor corrections) 2014 Mount Thabor Publishing 106 Hilltop Road Dalton, PA 18414 USA www.mountthabor.com Printed in the United States of America All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior permission of Mount Thabor Publishing. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Veniamin, Christopher, 1958— The Orthodox understanding of salvation : theosis in Scripture and tradition / Christopher Veniamin. pages cm Includes bibliographical references/ ISBN 978-0-9800207-4-8 1. Salvation--Orthodox Eastern Church. 2. Deification (Christianity) 3. Orthodox Eastern Church--Doctrines. I. Title. BT767.8.V465 2013 234.088’2819--dc23 2013043176 This work is respectfully dedicated to Our Fathers in God Archimandrites Sophrony, Kyrill & Zacharias Contents Preface 7 Part I: Praxis The Orthodox Understanding of Salvation: “Theosis” in Saint Silouan the Athonite and Elder Sophrony of Essex 13 The Power of Repentance: The Ethos of “Metanoia” in the Orthodox Tradition 27 Holy Relics The Deification of the Human Body in the Christian Tradition 37 The Sinlessness of the Mother of God According to St. Nicholas Cabasilas 45 The Orthodox Interpretation of Holy Scripture: St. Gregory Palamas and the Key to Understanding the Bible 60 The Significance of Greek Independence Day for America in the 21st Century 69 Euthanasia: A Theological Approach 75 Part II: Theoria The Light of Tabor St John Chrysostom and the Language of Holy Scripture 89 The Resurrection of the Human Body In the Christology of St Cyril Pope and Patriarch of Alexandria 104 The Transfiguration of Christ and the Deification of Man in St Maximus the Confessor 112 The Spiritual Father and Child Relationship in St Symeon the New Theologian 135 The Interplay Between Mystical and Dogmatic Theology in St. Gregory the Sinaïte 151 Partakers of Divine Nature St Gregory Palamas and the Centrality of the Transfiguration 166 by way of conclusion On Becoming Theologians “Hesychia” as a Prerequisite for the Encounter with God 189 PREFACE The purpose of the work in hand is to make more readily available certain of my papers and studies, which have appeared in various relatively little-known theological journals and other publications, all of which relate to the question of Salvation in the age-old and unbroken tradition of the Orthodox Christian Faith – the faith of the Patriarchs, Prophets, Apostles, Martyrs and Saints of our Lord, God and Saviour, Jesus Christ. The Orthodox Understanding of Salvation: “Theosis” in Scripture and Tradition is thus divided into two parts. Part I, Praxis, is comprised of papers delivered chiefly at retreats, clergy symposia and public lectures; while Part II, Theoria, is made up of articles, all of which (except for one) were based on my doctoral work on the meaning of the Transfiguration in the Fathers, carried out at Oxford University, under the supervision of His Eminence Kallistos Ware, Metropolitan of Diokleia, to whom I owe a great debt of gratitude. The last chapter of Part II, “On Becoming Theologians”, is added simply as “By Way of Conclusion”. “The Orthodox Understanding of Salvation, ‘Theosis’ in Saint Silouan the Athonite and Elder Sophrony of Essex,” is a lecture that was originally presented at the Twenty-Seventh Annual Adult Education Series of Saint Tikhon’s Seminary, South Canaan PA, under the given title, “The Theology of ‘Theosis’: The Goal of Two Holy Monks and of Every Christian,” which was dedicated 8 the orthodox understanding of salvation to the general theme, A Modern-Day Saint and His Disciple: Saint Silouan the Athonite and Father Sophrony (Saint Tikhon’s Seminary, September 30, 1997). It has also been published under its original title in The Tikhonaire (South Canaan, PA: St Tikhon’s Orthodox Theological Seminary, 1998), pp. 53–58. “The Positive Power of Repentance: The Ethos of ‘Metanoia’ in the Orthodox Tradition,” is a lecture that was originally delivered at the St. Tikhon’s Adult Education Lecture Series, held in September–October of 1995, and published as “Personal Renewal: A Perspective from the Fathers,” in Alive in Christ, the Diocesan Magazine of the Diocese of Philadelphia and Eastern Pennsylvania (OCA), Vol. XI, no. 3 (Winter 1995), pp. 43–45; and also in The Tikhonaire (South Canaan, PA: St Tikhon’s Orthodox Theological Seminary, 1996), pp. 76–79. “Holy Relics, The Deification of the Human Body in the Christian Tradition,” is a paper that originally appeared as, “God became human that we might be made gods: The Incarnation of the Word of God and the Deification of Man,” in Alive in Christ, Vol. XIV, no. 3 (Winter 1998), pp. 20–22. It is reproduced here with minor revisions. “The Orthodox Interpretation of Holy Scripture: St. Gregory Palamas and the Key to Understanding the Bible,” was the keynote address at the Clergy Continuing Education Symposium, held at St. Tikhon’s Seminary (June 13–15, 2006), entitled, “Saint Gregory Palamas: His Theological Perspective,” Delivered on Tuesday, June 13, 2006, and published in St. Tikhon’s Theological Journal, Vol. 3 (2005, actually published 2007), 1–16. It was also the keynote address for the Sunday of St. Gregory Palamas, at the Celebration of Books, March 31, 2013, sponsored by the Holy Apostles Resource Center (HARC), held at Holy Apostles Greek Orthodox Church, in Westchester, Illinois. “The Sinlessness of the Mother of God according to Saint Nicholas Cabasilas,” was written in 1983, and first appeared in print in Alive in Christ, Vol. XI, no. 2 (Summer 1995), pp. 24–27. “The Significance of Greek Independence Day for America in the 21st Century,” was originally titled, “Thoughts on the Relation preface 9 Between the Annunciation of the Most Holy Theotokos and Ever Virgin Mary and Greek Independence Day (25 March 1821),” delivered at the Greek Orthodox Church of the Annunciation in Wilkes-Barre, PA, on 27 March, 2000, by the gracious invitation of the Very Rev. George Demopoulos, of blessed memory (†2012). “Euthanasia: A Theological Approach,” is a lecture that was originally delivered at Holy Cross Greek Orthodox School of Theology in Brookline, Massachusetts, on Tuesday, May 10, 2005, under the title, “Euthanasia: Some Thoughts in the Wake of the Terri Schiavo Case.” Subsequently, it was also read at the Clergy Continuing Education Symposium, St. Tikhon’s Seminary (Wednesday, June 14, 2006), and published as “Euthanasia: A Theological Approach,” in a mildly revised form, in the St. Tikhon’s Theological Journal, Vol. 3 (2005, actually published 2007), 69–84. “The Light of Tabor: St John Chrysostom and the Language of Holy Scripture,” was originally presented as, “Saint John Chrysostom and the Light of Tabor,” as the inaugural paper for the Patristic and Byzantine Society, Merton College, Oxford: Hilary Term, 1994. Based on my doctoral work, ‘The Transfiguration of Christ in Greek Patristic Literature: From Irenaeus of Lyons to Gregory Palamas’ (Oxford D.Phil. thesis, 1991), pp. 95–114, it was first published in Alive in Christ, Vol. X, no. 2 (Summer 1994), pp. 29–33. “The Resurrection of the Human Body in the Christology of St. Cyril, Pope and Patriarch of Alexandria ,” is a paper that was based on the corresponding section in my, “The Transfiguration of Christ in Greek Patristic Literature,” op. cit., pp. 118–136, and published as, “Saint Cyril of Alexandria and the Resurrection of the Body”, in Alive in Christ, Vol. XI, no. 1 (Spring 1995), pp. 34–36. It is reproduced here with minor revisions. “The Transfiguration of Christ and the Deification of Man in Saint Maximus the Confessor,” was based on the corresponding chapter in my, “The Transfiguration of Christ in Greek Patristic Literature,” op. cit., pp. 182–212, and published in Klhronomiva Vol. 27, nos. 1–2 (1995; published 1996), 309–329. “The Spiritual Father and Child Relationship in St. Symeon 10 the orthodox understanding of salvation the New Theologian,” was also based on a section of my, “The Transfiguration of Christ in Greek Patristic Literature,” op. cit., pp. 239–250, and published as, “The Spiritual Father and the Vision of Christ Transfigured in Symeon the New Theologian,” in Qeologiva kai; Kovsmo" se; Diavlogo [Theology and the World in Dialogue]. Festschrift for Professor Georgios I. Mantzarides (Thessalonica, 2004), pp. 157– 170; and also in an abridged version in Alive in Christ, Vol. XX, no. 3 (Winter 2004), pp. 52–54. “The Interplay between Mystical and Dogmatic Theology in Saint Gregory the Sinaïte,” is a reworking of the corresponding chapter in my, “The Transfiguration of Christ in Greek Patristic Literature,” op. cit., pp. 254–270, and was published in the Festschrift for Professor John M. Fountoulis, entitled, Ghqovsunon Sevbasma: ∆Antivdwron timh'" kai; mnhvmh" eij" to;n makaristo;n kaqhghth;n th'" Leitourgikh'" ∆Iwavnnhn M. Fountouvlhn ( ˇ2007) [Joyful Reverence: A Return- Gift in Honour and Memory of Our Blessed Professor of Liturgics, John M.