Definition of Theosis
literally, the condition or the state of deity; also, the deification of man
”...while God’s inner essence is forever beyond our comprehension, His energies, grace, life and power fill the whole universe, and are directly accessible to us…When Orthodox [Christians] speak of the divine energies, they do not mean by this an emanation from God, an intermediary between God and man, or a thing or gift that God bestows. On the contrary, the energies are God Himself in His activity and self-manifestation. When a man knows or participates in the divine energies, he truly knows or particpates in God Himself, so far as this is possible for a created being…we are able to affirm the possibility of a direct or mystical union betweeen man and God – what the Greek Fathers term the theosis of man, his deification…There is union, but not fusion or confusion. Although oned with the divine, man still remains man; he is not swallowed up or annihilated, but between him and God there continues to exist an I-Thou relationship of person to person.”
+Bishop Kallistos Ware
