The Mystical Path of Christian Theosis

The goal of Christianity is that all of us become spiritualized, even divinized by our spiritual efforts through the blessings of the Holy Spirit. In particular, Christianity is centered around the ideal of Christian perfection that leads to theosis, which is also called glorification, deification, divinization, or sanctification. Theosis means to finally achieve a perfect union with God through the grace of His energies where the veil thereby becomes rent between earthly and heavenly matters. Those who attain theosis attain a saintly bearing while alive, and become holy lights unto the world who demonstrate impeccable Christian living with divine qualities. They become Homo Deus, the twice born of the spirit that Jesus spoke of with Nicodemus. It is as if they have transcended the world while in it.

Thomas Aquinas wrote, "The only-begotten Son of God, wanting to make us sharers in his divinity, assumed our nature, so that he, made man, might make men gods." Saint Irenaeus said, "the Word became man, and the Son of God became the Son of man so that man, by entering into communion with the Word and thus receiving divine sonship, might become a son of God." While Psalm 82:6 only tells us, "Ye are gods," Clement of Alexander explained for us in detail: "the Word of God became a man so that you might learn from a man how to become a god." This is the goal of theosis.

Theosis is very much the purpose of human life, which we can only achieve through the synergy of human efforts to reach God together with the Holy Spirit. That achievement requires continuous work at a process of transformation available to all, but particularly found in Christian monasteries due to their Rules of practice. Over the centuries, many in the monastic life have achieved theosis because their life becomes dedicated to specific routines of prayer, meditation, contemplation, watchfulness and self-review, chanting, worship, internal baptism exercises and lectio divina. These efforts will take us through catharsis (purification or purgation) and theoria (illumination) that are stages of transformation preparing us for theosis (union).

We must restore God's perfect image in ourselves and divinize our human nature to become our highest best self, our perfected self, our sacred self as required by the pathway to theosis. Here are the exercises one must follow, and what one must expect along this spiritual way that embraces the full power of God to bring about a spiritual transformation within us.