The Deification of Man: St. Gregory Palamas and the Orthodox Tradition (Contemporary Greek Theologians Series , No 2) [Paperback]

Georgios I. Mantzaridis (Author), Liadain Sherrard (Translator), Bishop Kallistos of Diokleia (Foreword)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 1, 1997 | Series: Contemporary Greek Theologians Series

Focusing on the 'new man'; in Christ, this excellent study sets forth the theological and anthropological basis for the doctrine of deification as expounded by St. Gregory Palamas (1296-1359), the greatest theologian of the later Byzantine period. Professor Mantzaridis states: Man's true life springs from his participation in the life of God and his communion with Him. As the spirit of man infuses life into the body through its life-giving virtue, so the Spirit of God endows man with godlike existence through His grace and glory. He explains that for Palamas and the Fathers, The term 'spiritual' does not denote an abstraction, but characterizes the new man, born through the regenerative grace of the Holy Spirit. As the man is called rational who is endowed with reason, so the man who is enriched by the grace of the Holy Spirit is described as spiritual. This grace constitutes the chief aspect of the existence of the spiritual man and it bestows on him true life. By exploring the sacramental, ecclesiological and moral implications of deification in Palamas' works, Mantzaridis relates this essential theological concept in a concrete way to the life of each person in the Church.

Editorial Reviews

Language Notes

Text: English, Greek (translation)

About the Author

Georgios Mantzaridis held the chair of Moral Theology and Christian Sociology in the Theological School of the Unversity of Thessaloniki.

Product Details

• Paperback: 137 pages
• Publisher: St Vladimir's Seminary Press (March 1, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0881410276
• ISBN-13: 978-0881410273
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.4 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #775,371 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #73 in Books > Education & Reference > Foreign Language Nonfiction > More Languages > Greek

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The best kept secret in western Christianity, May 30, 2006

By 

Kerry Walters (Lewisburg, PA USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Deification of Man: St. Gregory Palamas and the Orthodox Tradition (Contemporary Greek Theologians Series , No 2) (Paperback)

For anyone unfamiliar with the doctrine of 'theosis' or 'deification'--and that includes nearly all Protestants and most Roman Catholics--this book offers an excellent overview. 'Theosis' is such a radical alternative to the Protestant emphasis on inherent human depravity (the Calvinist gloom-and-doom interpretation of the Fall) that it can be truly startling when one first encounters it. But I would suggest that it's more scripturally founded and more in keeping with Christ's message than the world-loathing, body-despising, and washed-in-the-bloodguilt varieties of Protestantism that many Americans grew up with.

Theosis is the doctrine that sees a regeneration of human nature brought about by the Incarnation. In taking on human embodiment, God 'engods' human nature, thereby breaking the hold of corruption and death upon it. This infusion of grace, transmitted to all humans and in all generations, allows us, with God's help, to grow into the destiny prepared for us: godlikeness. We possess the potentiality (this is the book of Genesis' point about our being made in the 'image' of God), but frequently allow distractions and vices to inhibit the potentiality. Christ's great saving act was to liberate us from the hold of distractions and vices, and thereby open the door for theosis. As nearly all the Church Fathers said at one time or another, 'God became human so that humans might become gods.' To the contemporary Christian ear, this may sound like blasphemy. But to the early Church, it was received wisdom.

Mantzarides examines the doctrine of theosis, especially as propounded by the 14th century theologian Gregory Palamas, by focusing on the distinction between 'image' and 'likeness,' baptism and the Holy Eucharist as means of deification, the role of the moral life in cooperating with God's graceful nudge of us towards deification, the relationship between deep, mystical prayer and deification, the Kingdom of God as an expression of theosis, and the need to cultivate 'dispassion'--which isn't at all the same as what we mean today by 'apathy.'

I agree with the earlier reviewer who commented that reading this book can be a life-changing experience. The Greek Church's understanding of theosis is a much-needed corrective to the Christian West's anti-mystical, flesh-hating tendencies. Highly recommended, especially when read in conjunction with (for example), Kallistos Ware's discussion of 'theosis' in _The Inner Kingdom_ or Vladimir Lossky's _In the Image and Likeness of God_. A less technical discussion of 'theosis' may be found in Christoforos Stavropoulos' _Partakers of Divine Nature_ and in Daniel Clendenin's _Eastern Orthodox Christianity_.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Balanced, July 11, 2005

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JustinK (PA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Deification of Man: St. Gregory Palamas and the Orthodox Tradition (Contemporary Greek Theologians Series , No 2) (Paperback)

There are a few books out there on the salvific doctrine of St. Gregory Palamas, and also a few more books on deification as a subject unto itself. The best thing about this book is not just that it combines the two, but that it does so in a balanced way. Every chapter is about a different aspect of theology and praxis as it relates to theosis/deification. The first chapter is about anthropology, and how God bestows grace in the Divine economy; the Second about ecclesiology, and how God bestows grace via the Sacraments; the Third about morality, and the need for asceticism and virtue (with God's help: synergy); the Fourth chapter discusses the ascent into God's mountain, the growing in grace; and the Fifth chapter discusses the "consummation of deification" (as the author puts it).

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars I loved this book, December 10, 2000

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Marc "Fundraisingcoach.com" (Waterville, ME, United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Deification of Man: St. Gregory Palamas and the Orthodox Tradition (Contemporary Greek Theologians Series , No 2) (Paperback)

Coming to faith in the Protestant tradition, I'd never heard of the concept of "deification." This book is a wonderful introduction to a truly life transforming doctorine!