Category Archives: Byzantine theology

Humanity’s Natural Access to Grace

Dr Nathan Jacobs recently posted on his substack an article on “The Eastern Patristic View of the Soul through the Eighth Century.” At one point he briefly discusses why the nature-grace  divide, so characteristic of Latin theology, is absent in … Continue reading

Posted in Byzantine theology, Grace, Justification & Theosis | 18 Comments

Do the Orthodox Believe in Purgatory?

Fr Patrick Ramsey of the Orthodox Institute for Christian Studies shares his opinion.

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What is Deification?

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The Theology of the Icon

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The Byzantine Liturgy and the Grammar of Salvation

by Fr Khaled Anatolios The association in this commemoration of St. Gregory Palamas between the overcoming of the passions and the indwelling of the divine Trinity brings to light the dogmatic matrix that governs and permeates the Byzantine liturgy’s conception … Continue reading

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Marcus Plested on St Gregory Palamas and the Hesychast Controversy

“To conclude, there is no sense in [St Gregory’s] theology which may justifiably be characterized as a defeat of reason (against Podskalsky) or as the triumph of an anti-scholastic mystical theology (against Lossky or others), or indeed in any way … Continue reading

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Did the Fifth Ecumenical Council Condemn Universal Salvation?

When first presented with the universalist hope, many Orthodox and Roman Catholics imme­diately invoke the authority of the Fifth Ecumenical Council (A.D. 553), citing the famous fifteen anti-Origenist anathemas: “Apokatastasis has been dogmatically defined by the Church as heresy—see canon … Continue reading

Posted in Byzantine theology, Eschatology | Tagged , , , , , , , | 32 Comments

Theosis and the Palamite Distinction: Questions & Concerns

by Fr Aidan Kimel That there exists in God a real distinction between his essence and his energies, theologians assure us, is an irreformable dogma of the Orthodox Church. If so, it is a curious dogma, originating in a question … Continue reading

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