Executive Briefing: God Became Man That Man Might Become God
Eastern Orthodox soteriology centers on Theosis (deification)—the transformative participation of human nature in the uncreated divine energies without merging into the unknowable Divine Essence.
1. Hesychasm and the Jesus Prayer
St. Gregory Palamas defended Mount Athos monastics practicing Hesychastic silent prayer, establishing the theological distinction between God’s inaccessible transcendent Essence (*Ousia*) and accessible uncreated Energies (*Energeiai*).
2. References
- Meyendorff, J. (1974). A Study of Gregory Palamas. St. Vladimir’s Seminary Press.
- Ware, K. (1993). The Orthodox Way. St. Vladimir’s Seminary Press.