The Eastern Church sees man’s task during this earthly existence as one of growing in his relationship and communion with God through his growing and relationship with his fellowmen. As he perfects his ability to unconditionally love and forgive others he grows in his ability to have a real relationship with God. Why? Because he grows in his likeness to Jesus, the Christ. The believer conquers death through participation in God’s Life through the mysteries (sacraments) and ascetical or religious discipline. Conversely, the Anselmian understanding essentially declares man “not guilty,” and leaves him, unfortunately, unhealed and unchanged. This is a difference in how the Eastern Church sees the real message of Christian salvation: to “be partakers of the divine nature.”

The formation of the Anselmian doctrine of Atonement is seen by modern commentators as “a revolution in theology,” beginning “a new epoch in the theology of Atonement.” This new doctrine stemmed from several factors. Foremost, a characteristic influence of the legalistic Roman mindset is exhibited in Western theologians as early as Tertullian which encourages and supports a juridical conceptualization concerning the truths of the faith.

We must always remember that the Church is set in the context of particular societies and, because it is a human organization, is influenced by the society in which it is set. The Eastern and Western societies even in the Holy Roman Empire were extremely different. Anselm drew from Tertullian who saw man’s sin as a disturbance in the “divine order of justice,” and made penance a “satisfaction to the Lord.”

Another strong influence on Anselm was St. Augustine. Not only did Anselm utilize Augustine’s concept of “limited Atonement,” but he also used his methods theological and philosophical experimentation. After Anselm’s and subsequently Peter Abelard’s “revolution” in Atonement theology, most in the West became further estranged from the Eastern Church’s experience. Thus arose a host of new supposed “developments” in theology from Catholic and Protestant scholars: Vicarious Atonement which placates God’s anger; Don Scotus’ “merits” for the predestined; and indulgences, which apparently “pays” for the offenders’ sins.