Man, according to the scriptures, is created “in the image of God”. To be like God, through the gift of God, is the essence of man’s being and life. In the scriptures it says that God breathed into man, the … Continue reading
Category Archives: The Spirituality Of the Christian East
Jesus Christ is “the Way, the Truth and the Life” (John 14:6). He speaks the words of God. He does the work of God. The person who obeys Christ and follows His way and does what He does, loves God … Continue reading
The teaching that man must be holy and perfect like God Himself through the accomplishment of the will of God is the central teaching of the Eastern Church. This teaching has been stated in many different ways in the Eastern … Continue reading
Eastern Christian spirituality is indeed centered in God; in fact, its very goal is communion with God, which is, it is believed, attainable through the accomplishment of His will. We clearly see this in the life of Jesus. He truly … Continue reading
What does it mean to be created in the image of God? To be human is to be in the image, and being in the image, according to the image, entails a relationship to Christ, who is the image. Remember, … Continue reading
What does it mean to be in the image of God? Often enough, we find the Fathers giving an answer in terms of human qualities, and these turn out to be qualities of the soul. The “according to the image”, … Continue reading
Genesis states that humans were created in the image of the Creator and, as the original text states, “according to the likeness of God.” The word translated ‘likeness’, homosiosis, suggests something more precise in Greek: the ending, -osis, imples a … Continue reading
The notion that human kind was created according to the image of God found an enormous resonance in the hearts and minds of the Fathers of the Church, especially the Eastern Fathers. There seem to be several converging reasons for … Continue reading
Absolutely critical to our understanding of Eastern spirituality is our acceptance of how the Fathers conceived the nature of humanity. This follows upon the thoughts I shared in the last issue of this article. The Eastern Fathers of the Church … Continue reading
I have shared the thought, in another article in the last Bulletin, that PRAYER must be an ENCOUNTER with God – must be an experience of the existence of the God. This experience, however, can only take place when we … Continue reading