Theosis is the true purpose of human life.
What is this purpose?
In the end, wretched contemporary man finds no rest until he finds that “something else,” the highest thing; the thing which actually exists in his life which is truly beautiful and creative. Can man unite with God? Can he commune with Him? Can he become a god by Grace?
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SOURCE: ARCHIMANDRITE GEORGE ABBOT OF THE HOLY MONASTERY OF ST. GREGORIOS ON MOUNT ATHOS
From the preface:
When Jesus said, “You are gods,be perfect, just as your Father in Heaven is perfect,” or “the righteous will shine like the sun in the Kingdom of their Father,” this is to be taken literally. Theosis is the Pearl of Great Price alluded to by Christ. It can become a present reality for those who are willing to tread the path, and so it is not exclusively an after-death experience. With Theosis death is transcended. St. Paul alludes to this when he says, “it is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me.” Again, while being stoned to death, St. Stephen the first martyr offered himself up to Christ and prayed to God for his persecutors to be forgiven. The Easter chant, “Christ is Risen from the dead, trampling down Death by death, and bestowing life to those in the tombs” also bears witness to this. Christianity is victory over death. So may this small book help us all to strive for that one thing needful, that One thing which cannot be taken from us.
A Spiritual Prescription – Take This Medicine Several Times Daily – St. Ignatius (Brianchaninov)