Liviu Petcu, Noţiunea de θέωσις (îndumnezeire) după Sfântul Grigorie de Nyssa
The notion of θέωσις (deification) in Gregory of Nyssa
Deification is the most important realization of the Christian. Θέωσις, according to the vocabulary of St. Gregory of Nyssa and the Holy Fathers, generally, can be described by a number of related words. It is a transformation, union, participation, partaking, intermingling, elevation, interpénétration, transmutation, commingling, assimilation, reintegration, adoption, recreation. Divinization implies our being intertwined with Christ, an influx of the divine, or the attainment of similitude with God.
Personally, I would emphasize, without being suspected of deficiency in terms of modesty, that my attempt is a pioneer work in our country. In the West, there have been successful attempts in this regard that, as one can see, I have cited in this paper.
Keywords: doctrine, θέωσις (deification), Gregory of Nyssa, union, divine energies, the gift of Revelation, likeness of God, becoming God, Mystical Theology.
- Sf. Grigorie de Nyssa – J. P. Migne, Patrologiae Cursus Completus, Series Graeca, vol. XLIV-XLVI;
- *** col. Părinţi şi Scriitori bisericeşti (Fathers and Church Writers), vol. 29, traducere de Pr. Prof. Dumitru Stăniloae şi Preot Ioan Buga, Bucureşti, Editura Institutului Biblic şi de Misiune al Bisericii Ortodoxe Române, 1982, 493 p.;
- *** col. Părinţi şi Scriitori bisericeşti (Fathers and Church Writers), vol. 30, traducere de Pr. Prof. Dr. Teodor Bodogae, Bucureşti, Editura Institutului Biblic şi de Misiune al Bisericii Ortodoxe Române, 1998, 477 p.;
Other patristic writers:
- Nil Ascetul, Sfântul, Cuvânt ascetic, foarte trebuincios şi folositor (Very useful word ascetic), traducere din greceşte, introduceri şi note de Dumitru Stăniloae, Membru de onoare al Academiei Române, în Filocalia sau culegere din scrierile Sfinţilor Părinţi care arată cum se poate omul curăţi, lumina şi desăvârşi (Philokalia), vol. I, Bucureşti, Editura Humanitas, 1999, p. 165-226;
- Maxim Mărturisitorul, Sfântul, Capete despre dragoste (Chapters on love), în Filocalia sau culegere din scrierile Sfinţilor Părinţi care arată cum se poate omul curăţi, lumina şi desăvârşi, vol. II, Editura Humanitas, Bucureşti, 1999, p. 53-105;
Works, studies, articles:
- Burns, Stuart, Divine Ecstasy in Gregory of Nyssa and Pseudo-Macarius: Flight and Intoxication, în The Greek Orthodox Theological Review, vol. 44, Nos. 1-4, 1999, p. 309-327;
- Christensen, Michael J., Theosis And Sanctification: John Wesley’s Reformulation of a Patristic Doctrine, în Wesleyan Theological Journal, Vol. 31, Nr. 2, 1996, p. 71-94;
- Clendenin, Daniel B., Partakers of Divinity: The Orthodox Doctrine of Theosis, în Journal of The Evanghelical Theological Society, 37/3, 1994, p. 365-379;
- Daniélou, Jean, Platonisme et Théologie Mystique. Essai sur la doctrine spirituelle de Saint Grégoire de Nysse, Paris, Aubier, 1944, 339 p. ;
- Farmer, Tamsin Jones, Revealing The Invisible: Gregory of Nyssa on the Gift of Revelation, în Modern Theology, 21, 1, January, 2005, p. 67-85;
- Florea, Pr. Dr. Ştefan, Spiritualitate şi desăvârşire la Sfântul Grigorie de Nyssa (Spirituality and perfection in St. Gregory of Nyssa), Bucureşti, Editura Asa, 2004, 349 p. ;
- Hudson, Nancy J., Becoming God. The Doctrine of Theosis in Nicolas of Cusa, Washington, Catholic University of America, 2007, 218 p. ;
- Lossky, Vladimir, In the Image and Likeness of God, New York, Crestwood, St. Vladimir’s Seminary, 1974, 233 p. ;
- McGuckin, J. A., The strategic adaptation of Deification in the Cappadocians, în Michael J. Christensen şi Jeffery A. Wittung (eds.), Partakers of the Divine Nature. The History and Development of Deification in the Christian Tradition, Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2007, 325 p. ;
- Meyendorff, John, Living Tradition: Orthodox Witness in the Contemporary World, New York, Crestwood, St. Vladimir’s Seminary Press, 1978, 202 p. ;
- Idem, Sfântul Grigorie Palamas şi mistica ortodoxă, Traducere din franceză de Angela Pagu, Bucureşti, Editura Humanitas, 2007, 186 p. ;
- Smith, Zachary J., Deification in The East Orthodox Tradition: a protestant assessment, 2008, p. 9-10;
- Ware, Kallistos, The Orthodox Church, Pelican, 1993, 368 p. ;
- Idem, The Orthodox Way, New York, St. Vladimir’s Seminary Press, 1995, 171 p.
