Sanctification, in its essence, means "being set apart" for God.

This concept is evident in both the Old

and New Testaments. In Leviticus 20:26, we see God establishing a covenant with the Israelites,
setting them apart as His chosen people. Similarly, in 1 Peter 1:15-16, with the advent of the New
Covenant through Christ, all believers are called to be holy and set apart for God's service, through
being adopted as sons of God through baptism.

Before discussing what it means to be sanctified, we have to understand why. St Cyril says, through
the Holy Spirit, we become conformed to the original image, however, what does this original image
mean? Eve’s first sin was to be God, without God. Since man was made to be in communion, and
fulfil his purpose in being in communion with God, being a steward over creation, Adam and Eve’s
first sin was to be God, without God, so now man seeks communion with himself, and fulfills his
purpose and identity in his own selfish understanding

Sanctification is the process of restoring our likeness in Christ The Word of God assumed human
nature, to sanctify and redeem man. As it says in 2 Corinthians 5:21, Christ was made
sin, so, he suffered the consequences of sins, its corruptibility, but He showed
the way, that we can be united to God at every stage of our life by being faithful to
Him. As St Athanasius says, Christ “descended to death so that He could bestow on us
immortality, bring incorruptibility from corruption” Through baptism, we are adopted as sons of
God, and by being united to the eternal Son of God, we are now made in His righteousness and
share in His victory over the curse of sin through grace. So that through dying in Christ, we are
raised and united, and death is not death unto destruction but death unto life.

So what is the first step to sanctification? Ssince pride is the purest form of redefining our
purpose in our own self communion, creating a division between the desires of the Spirit and flesh,
then humility is the purest form of self-emptying ourself to be united in our communion with God.
This is what it means to self-forget, to fully deny ourselves, to break the illusion of our own self-
identity, and humbly receive the fullness of Christs grace, fulfilling His purpose in us, becoming Christ
Like, and sanctified by the Spirit. It is only through this humility, we can enter into communion with
Christ, and what greater exemplifies this love, than Christ, naked before all, who completely emptied
Himself for the sake of the world by His own loving will, glorifying the Father, standing in contrast to
the shame experienced by Adam and Eve in their own self division and pride.

For St Paul says the fruits of humility are unity, harmony, and the attainment of “one mind,” In the
Holy Trinity, we have a beautiful picture of the 3 persons eternally humbling themselves for each
other, representing the essence of what it means to be of one mind. In the creed we say, the Son is
true God of True God, so the Father eternally begets his essence to the Son, the Son eternally
glorifies the Father, and the Holy Spirit, the giver of Life, as St Augustine says, is Love, eternally gives
His life to bind the love within the communion. Our design, as a reflection of the image of God, is to
be in a communion with the divine life, made possible through our adoption in baptism. It is a call of
a life of pure self-sacrifice, where we are called to deny ourselves, to subdue, and put to death the
deeds of the flesh, becoming sanctified in Him by the Spirit, as highlighted in Romans 8:13

The Church, is where we receive salvific grace to become sanctified in the image and likeness of
Christ. We’ve talked about baptism, and Abouna used to tell me, how the sacraments of repentance
and confession are the second baptism. Through repentance, we sacrifice the selfish reason of our
desires, recognizing the fault of our actions through our identity in Christ, as the Holy Spirit works to
reform our desires in cooperation with His righteous standard, and grace. And confession working as
the continued cleansing of one's soul, restoring us to the state of baptismal innocence, to grow in
Christs likeness. As St Athanasius says, The Eucharist, represents the climax of our salvific grace,
where Christ first assumed humanity, sanctified it, then gives it back to us to eat, becoming the life
giving flesh of the heavenly lamb that nourishes the soul, receiving Christ in the fullness of his body
soul and divinity.

To end, the journey of the exodus represents our Journey with Christ. Just as the Israelites were
saved from the bondage of slavery, so too, as Marco talked about last week, we are saved from the
bondage of sin through faith. We then journey in the harsh spiritual wilderness, working out our
salvation, being sustained and nourished by the heavenly bread, as the real flesh and blood of Christ,
so the eventually, we may inherit the promised land, heaven, through our righteousness in Christ,
who we also share in this victory

Sacraments, in general, represent the richness of God’s grace which is ready to regenerate man
giving him a new birth and to feed him with the body of Christ. But Sanctification depends not only
on God’s grace but also on the co-operation of man.

‘Athanasius writes in Letter 14: Of old times, the blood of the-goats and the ashes of a heifer,
sprinkled upon those who were unclean, were fit only to purify the flesh; but now, through the
Grace of God the Word, every man is thoroughly cleansed®.’ - ppt

(Matthew 16:24)

Through emptying ourself, we experience the fullness of His grace, Christ being Logos, thus
participating in the divine love in a community of self-sacrficie

Through Eve’s sin, she brought death into the human nature. Since humanity was designed to be in
communion with God, humanity now seeks their own source of self-identity and purpose within
themselves,

Christ as Liberator, frees us from the bondage of sin; as Animator, gives life to our spiritual being; as
Saviour, saves us from death and reconciles us with God; and as Sanctifier, He makes us holy. Before
the Incarnation, Grace reached the saints as if from the outside(5). It “passed upon holy souls,
fashioning the friends of God and the prophets” (Wisdom 7:27)(6). But since the Incarnation and the
death of the Son of God, man received His Grace abundantly(7). In a comparison between
purification in the Old Testament and New Testament, Athanasius writes in Letter 14: Of old times,
the blood of the-goats and the ashes of a heifer, sprinkled upon those who were unclean, were fit
only to purify the flesh; but now, through the Grace of God the Word, every man is thoroughly
cleansed®.

Sanctification is the flame of fire which made Moses and Paul pure and fervent in in the Spirit; and
Christ came to cast this fire upon the earth . It is the grace of God which purifies man; for grace
comes from God and descends upon man, and if man cleaves to the Saviour, he can, by the Spirit,
mortify the deeds of the body (Rom. 8:13) . The grace of the Lord is “the Lord’s means of restoration
for the children of men”, for “He descended to death so that He could bestow on us immortality”
Athanasius also considers grace as a seed, and when it is sown by Christ, it will be productive, some
thirty,some sixty, and some a hundred (Mark 4:20) . The Lord is therefore “the Sower of grace, and
the Bestower of the Spirit”, and the fruit in human life is various and rich, “not with virgins alone, not
with monks alone, but also with honourable matrimony and the chastity-of every one... so that He
might rescue all men generally to {13} salvation”- . The grace of Incarnation is sown in human am
hearts to bring fruits of Sanctification

The messiah is how humanity is reoncicled to GOd. This is how God acomplishes
the promises he made in the covenant in the old covenant from petnetachu to
prophets and in the messiah God is fulfiling his promises. The messiah is truly
righteous, he alreayd has righteousness of God. The riches of God, he knew no
sin befcause he was hte righteous one, he became sin, so that into entering the
curse we all share, through being united to him we can be recreated in Him and
formed into the righteousness of GOd, we might be made the righteousness of
GOd in him. In christ, adopted as a son of the father, in the eternal son of Christ,
we are transgifured into the righteousness of GOd, we are filled with His grace.
He took on the penalty of the fallen world without participating in His fallennes
because he is righteous and messiah. THe penalty of sin is death and the penalty
of the serpent is to consume death. you will eat dust. As he said to adam and
eve, to dust and to dust you shall return. If it is death, we still have to go on with
the curse, because we still die. even tho christ died for us, so we can die in him
subject to the consqeuences of the curse, but because we have died in CHrist we
are raised with him, united with Him, death is not death unto destruction but life.
Christ became sin to enter the fallen world and epxrience the consequences of
sin without becoming sin because he went through the consequences while
remaining faithful to God and showing the way,

Copy all of this, add the part of eucharist at end. Then the exodus

The Word became flesh, that we should no longer live in the flesh, but in Spirit should worship God,
who is Spirit”(24).

liberation from sin by grace

Being incorruptible, He puts on a corruptible body to sanctify it and render it again to man through
the Sacraments. He took flesh and blood, i.e. man’s common humanity, and consecrated it through
Salvation. He gives this consecrated humanity in Communion to those from whom He received it in
its un-consecrated condition

^receive the riches of Christ

By the Incarnation, God the Word became near, and “His habitation” with man became perpetual, as
He said, “Lo, I am with you all the days of the world” (Matt. in\ 28:20) . The gulf between'God and
creature can only be overcome by the Incarnate God. There are no other jfOj Divine Beings between
God and man .

It is the Word alone who is qualified to restore man, since He is the Incarnate God: The Word
became flesh, that we should no longer live in the flesh, but in spirit should worship God, who is
Spirit'10*. This phrase sums up the necessity of Incarnation that man can live not according to
sensual lust but that in spirit he should worship God. That leads us to discuss the purpose of
Incarnation.

The Bishop calls the motive of Incarnation the need of man. The Incarnation would not have taken
place without it(

Let us keep our whole mind from guile; not giving up ourselves to excess, and to lusts, but occupying
ourselves entirely with our Lord, and with divine doctrines; so that, being altogether pure, we may
be 12) able to partake of the Word

In the Nicene Creed, we say ‘for us men, and for our salvation’

The Bishop calls the motive of Incarnation the need of man. The Incarnation would not have taken
place without it(

Another purpose of the Incarnation is to bring men to know God. The knowledge of God is an
important element of Sanctification, for “the grace arises from knowledge”. Incarnation is another
grace added to creation'16’, and it enables men to know God and His image in which they are
created. For not only do they bear His image, but He gives them His life which He lived on earth as
“an example and pattern” of heavenly behaviour, so that as He has begun they should go ™ on It is
through the Incarnation of Christ that man has the knowledge of God: Being the Word, He became
flesh, that He might instruct the flesh in the Word'18’. Although, sanctification of man started by
Incarnation, it will be completed and fulfilled by Redemption. For, “it is truly a subject of joy that we
can see the signs of victory against death, even our own incorruptibility, through the body of the
Lord”'19’. That is the reason of man’s joy in (15) Ibid. 7:1, p. 523; cf. infra, p. 131f. (16) cf. supra, p.
24. (17) FL Syr. 2:5, p. 511; cf. De Inc. 14:8, p. 44. (18) FL syr. 14:4, p. 543. (19) Ibid. 11:14, p. 538. - 75
- being sanctified and delivered from sin: “We rejoice not in ourselves but in the Lord Who bore our
griefs. ‘I will rejoice in your Salvation’ (Ps. 9:14)”(20

The Passover lamb also is interpreted as a symbol of Christ’s vicarious sacrifice. The Lord Who
brought His people out of Egypt, later redeemed the whole race of men from death. He was in
ancient days sacrificed, “being signified in the lamb”, but later, He Himself was slain for man; for
“Christ our Passover is sacrificed” (ICor. 5:7\m . Therefore, it is no longer a material lamb slain, but
the true lamb, the Lord Jesus Christ, adds Athanasius, interpreting the rites of Paschal Lamb in
details: We are purified by His precious blood, which speaks better things than that of Abel, having
our feet shod with the preparation of the Gospel, holding in our hands the rod and staff of the Lord
by which that saint was conforted who said, “Thy rod and Thy staff comfort me” (Ps. 23:4)(35>
Finally, the result of the old Passover points to the fruit of Redemption; for when the old people
crossed over Egypt, their enemies sank in the sea. The same will’happen with Christians who “pass
over from the earth to heaven”. {34) Ibid. 10:10, p. 531; 13:7, p. 541. (35) Ibid. 1:9, p. 509. - 82 - The
devil henceforth falls like lightning from heaven . Bv His cross, Christ consecrated their road up to
heaven (37) and made it free
1 Corinthians 15:55 In-Context55 “Where, O death, is your
victory? Where, O death, is your sting?” 56 The sting of death is sin,
and the power of sin is the law.
Finally, Athanasius advises: Let us not forget that which Paul delivered, declaring it to the
Corinthians (1 Cor.'5:7); I mean His resurrection, whereby “He destroyed him that had the power of
death, that is, the devil” (Heb. 2:14); and raised us up together with Him, having loosed the bands of
death, and vouchsafed a blessing instead of curse, joy instead of grief, a feast instead t . (58) of
mourning

Logic of self relation or communion

TO be, is to be in communion, and one of the persons of this eternal communion voluntarily entered
into the fallen fworld to turn the world away from its own pride, but into its absolute communion
alongside Him

The Fath gives Himslef to the Son, the Son receives

God is essentially love, unity in distinction, an eternal communion of recipr

In other words, it is not that the Son contingently receives

the divine essence from the Father, nor is the divine essence
already fully constituted in the Father alone, but immanent to
the very perfection of the essence (that is, what makes the
essence of God what it is) is the fact that it is eternally
shared by the Father and the Son (and the Spirit, although
the theology of the Spirit remained undeveloped in the time
of Athanasius, which is not to say he was not a true
Trinitarian). ocation

TO fall away from God is to fall away from the fullness of God. Sanctification isn’t the act of our own
will, but a participation and communion in the divine life of God Himself

Precisely because God became man that we are saved because of the union of the human and divine
nature human nature is transfigured and turned towards Christ. Human will is properly subjected to
the divine will its telos, its motion towards God. Christ has fully assumed human nature and the
consequences of sin. We use earth to communicate with God

2 Corinthians 5:2
Hebrew definition of truth is faithfulness is the revelation of God, as the
covenantal God, faithful covenantal God. Yahweh is only revealed to Moses, his
leading of Israelites into promised land is the fulfilment of promises of old
testament and patriarchs. The messiah is how humanity is reoncicled to GOd.
This is how God acomplishes the promises he made in the covenant in the old
covenant from petnetachu to prophets and in the messiah God is fulfiling his
promises. The messiah is truly righteous, he alreayd has righteousness of God.
The riches of God, he knew no sin befcause he was hte righteous one, he
became sin, so that into entering the curse we all share, through being united to
him we can be recreated in Him and formed into the righteousness of GOd, we
might be made the righteousness of GOd in him. In christ, adopted as a son of
the father, in the eternal son of Christ, we are transgifured into the righteousness
of GOd, we are filled with His grace. He took on the penalty of the fallen world
without participating in His fallennes because he is righteous and messiah. THe
penalty of sin is death and the penalty of the serpent is to consume death. you
will eat dust. As he said to adam and eve, to dust and to dust you shall return. If
it is death, we still have to go on with the curse, because we still die. even tho
christ died for us, so we can die in him subject to the consqeuences of the curse,
but because we have died in CHrist we are raised with him, united with Him,
death is not death unto destruction but life. Christ became sin to enter the fallen
world and epxrience the consequences of sin without becoming sin because he
went through the consequences while remaining faithful to God and showing the
way, become like him by participating by grace by the HOly Spirit, from deaht to
resurrectio

1. Irreconcilable Gap Between Man and God: This acknowledges

the Christian belief in the fundamental separation between a holy
God and fallen humanity due to sin. The gap refers to the spiritual
distance between the perfect divine and the imperfect human.
2. Glorification of the World Through Purified Man: The original
intention, as presented in Christian theology, was for humanity to
participate in sanctifying creation—reflecting God's glory in an
 untarnished world. However, due to the Fall (referenced as Genesis
3), humanity became stained with sin.
3. Redemption Through Christ: Since humanity could not bridge the
gap on its own, Christ came to accomplish what was originally
intended for man. In Christian understanding, through Jesus' life,
death, and resurrection, He fulfills the vocation that humanity failed
to achieve.
4. From Retribution to Redemption: The Old Testament law of "an
eye for an eye" is seen here as a symbol of the old order of justice
and retribution. In contrast, the New Testament presents the
redeemed humanity in Christ as partaking in a new order—one
characterized by grace and self-giving love, exemplified in the
Eucharist.
5. Eucharist as Mutual Gift-Giving: The Eucharist is understood as
the sacrament where the divine gift (Christ's body and blood) is
given to humanity, and in return, humanity offers its gifts (bread
and wine, representing creation) back to God. This mutual exchange
is transformative, moving beyond the confines of the fallen state.
6. Destruction of the Fallen Cycle: Christ's sacrifice on the cross
ends the cycle of retribution ("eye for an eye") and establishes a
new cycle of self-giving love that is meant to last for eternity.
7. Human Participation in Divine Giving: In the Eucharist, humans
participate in Christ's self-offering to the Father and are united with
the Trinity. The act of taking elements of creation (bread and wine)
and offering them back to God is symbolic of the broader vocation
to offer all creation—and oneself—to God.
irreconcilable gap between man and God, the glroification of teh world meant to
happen to purified man, had to happen with stained redeemed man, this had to
happen by Christ coming back to His own accord, accomplishing what Man was
supposed to do in Genesis 3. WHile the old man in old testament was bound to
cirfcuar eye for an eye law the redeemed man in Christ now consumes the body
and blood of christ which is offered as Gods gift of creation to us, and our gift of
creation transfomred by our creative abilities back unto God. There is this mutual
interioity, mutual gift givign of God to us and us to God. The fallen circle of eye
for an eye is destroyed by CHrist coming down on the cross of self sacrifice
extended for all eternity. We as redeemed man can bring creation to God which
is worked into bread and wine by us, and join it to the sons giving to himself to
the father and spirit in the eucharist, joined to this giving. Just so the Father
resurrected the Son by the rihces of the spirit, so we are resurrected from our
death, we don't just offer bread and wine, but all our souls to God, this eucharist
flows out liek wine from the holy mountain which is the Church, transofmring,
transiguring even the bells of creation even the bells of horses. PUre sacrifice of
man and God in the eucharist, we are joined to the very source of existence
which is trinitarian communion. Lamb is sacrificed for beginning fo the world
person to person - mutual gift giving, is the way reality works. Because God is
three, and because man is multiple, man can be one and be joined to the one
Christ, as Christ wishes for us in Gospel of John
H ebrew definition of truth is faithfulness is the revelation of God, as the
covenantal God, faithful covenantal God. Yahweh is only revealed to Moses, his
leading of Israelites into promised land is the fulfilment of promises of old
testament and patriarchs. The messiah is how humanity is reoncicled to GOd.
This is how God acomplishes the promises he made in the covenant in the old
covenant from petnetachu to prophets and in the messiah God is fulfiling his
promises. The messiah is truly righteous, he alreayd has righteousness of God.
The riches of God, he knew no sin befcause he was hte righteous one, he
became sin, so that into entering the curse we all share, through being united to
him we can be recreated in Him and formed into the righteousness of GOd, we
might be made the righteousness of GOd in him. In christ, adopted as a son of
the father, in the eternal son of Christ, we are transgifured into the righteousness
of GOd, we are filled with His grace. He took on the penalty of the fallen world
without participating in His fallennes because he is righteous and messiah. THe
penalty of sin is death and the penalty of the serpent is to consume death. you
will eat dust. As he said to adam and eve, to dust and to dust you shall return. If
it is death, we still have to go on with the curse, because we still die. even tho
christ died for us, so we can die in him subject to the consqeuences of the curse,
but because we have died in CHrist we are raised with him, united with Him,
death is not death unto destruction but life. Christ became sin to enter the fallen
world and epxrience the consequences of sin without becoming sin because he
went through the consequences while remaining faithful to God and showing the
way, become like him by participating by grace by the HOly Spirit, from deaht to
resurrection

Christ assumed all of human nature as part of his Incarnation, and redeemed it

ChatGPT
The theological concept you are referring to is known as "recapitulation," which is
rooted in the early Church Fathers' understanding of atonement, particularly that of
St. Irenaeus. Here’s an explanation in the context of Christian soteriology, which is
the doctrine of salvation:

 Recapitulation Explained: The idea of recapitulation is that Christ, in His

life, death, and resurrection, has 're-headed' or 'summed up' all of human
experience and existence in Himself. By living a fully human life, Christ
sanctified every stage of human existence. Through union with Him, humanity
is offered the possibility of being spiritually united with God.
 Substitutionary Sacrifice: Christ's role as a substitute comes from the
belief that He took upon Himself the sins of humanity and suffered the
punishment due for those sins, thus satisfying the righteous requirements of
God. This substitution is not just a legal exchange but an act of divine love
and grace that brings about a restored relationship between God and
humanity.
 Circumcision of the Heart: This concept comes from the Old Testament,
where a 'circumcised heart' signifies an inner transformation and commitment
to God. In Psalm 51 (50 in the Septuagint), the psalmist speaks of a contrite
heart as the true sacrifice acceptable to God. Moses, in Deuteronomy, extends
this metaphor to signify Israel's need for spiritual renewal.
  Unity with Christ: By being united to Christ, who is seen as the faithful one
—the Messiah—believers receive a new heart, so to speak. They participate in
the righteousness and faithfulness of Christ. This unity with Christ transforms
believers, making them acceptable to God.
 Christ's Sacrifice: Christ, as the God-man, suffers and dies not because of
His own sin but to bear the consequences of human sin. In doing so, He offers
Himself as the perfect atonement, reconciling humanity with God.
 Baptism as Union with Christ's Death and Resurrection: Baptism
symbolizes the believer's death to sin and resurrection to new life in Christ.
Just as Christ was raised from the dead, believers, too, are spiritually
resurrected and seated with Him in the heavenly realms.
 The Power of Death Rendered Powerless: Because Christ is righteous and
without sin, death has no legitimate claim over Him. His resurrection
demonstrates that death has been defeated. Believers, united with Christ,
share in His victory over death and sin. This participation in Christ's death and
resurrection is not merely symbolic but is understood to confer the actual
merit and glory of Christ upon the believer.
estined for adoption into the internal life of the Son. Our own
activity/energy/actuality begins and ends in the Son, as we can only exist in
relation to God. God first creates us from nothing, and the further
cultivation/perfection of our contingent being is only possible through the
realization/consummation of the relation that is our being. Our creation from
nothing is the beginning of our existence as a distinct being from God, but since
distinction always implies relation, we know that our being is only fully realized in
our union with God. Christ is the only “way” to the Father because the very
meaning of our being (in its fullest, ontological sense) is the actualization of our
relation to Him as adopted sons, which occurs in our being united to the eternal
Son through the Spirit. In being united to the eternal Son, who is the only true
“way,” we take on the same mode of relation to the Father that He has by
nature. The Father first moves towards the Son (and I use this language purely
analogically and do not at all imply this union occurs in time) as the “monarchia”
of the Godhead and the Son reciprocates this movement in turn. As “sons of
God,” we are meant to engage in this same relation in a creaturely mode, which
consists of the synergy of our own activities with the activities of God. This
synergy is realized through our entrance into the Son's inner life, wherein we
share in His eternal act of reciprocating the Father’s original movement towards
Him.
The quote by Saint Augustine, "Deum est qui Deum dat" (God is He who gives
God), is a profound theological statement about the nature of God and His self-
giving essence. This idea aligns with the Christian understanding of grace and
gift, where God is both the giver and the gift itself, particularly in the context of
the Holy Spirit, which is often seen as God's gift to humanity.

1. Thinking and Certainty: Thought and rationality seek absolute

certainty but find themselves in a paradox because they cannot
guarantee their foundational certainty from within.
2. The Limits of Self-Relation: Rationality starts with the premise
that it can define and find certainty within itself, but this is a circular
argument and ultimately insufficie

T heosis, according to the Orthodox tradition, is becoming “like God,” which, in

Biblical language, consists of being adopted as a son of the Father through being
united to the Son in the Spirit. It is an inherently trinitarian reality because God is
Trinity. The Trinity is an eternal communion of gift-giving, wherein “the gifts” are
not “objects” but the divine subjects themselves.
Philippians 2:5-7
An Orthodox Essay: Humanity's Purpose and the Deviation through Sin
In the Image of the Divine Communion
From the genesis of creation, humanity was sculpted in the resplendent image and likeness of
God, as chronicled in the Holy Scripture (Genesis 1:26-27). This sacred image was more than
a semblance; it was the reflection of the divine essence—God’s relational nature, His
freedom, and His sovereignty over all He fashioned. As bearers of this image, we were not
only shaped to mirror the relational dynamic intrinsic to the Holy Trinity but also endowed
with the noble calling to steward creation, to tend it, and to bring it into the fullness of its
potential, all for the glory of the Creator. In the beginning, our existence was marked by
righteousness and an intimate harmony with God, ourselves, and the world around us.
The Disruption of the Fall
However, this harmony was disrupted by the Fall—a tragic narrative unfolded in the Garden
of Eden (Genesis 3). It was not a mere transgression but a fundamental shift in orientation.
By aspiring to define good and evil autonomously, Adam and Eve breached their communion
with God, seeking to establish themselves as arbiters of truth and morality, effectively
becoming their own gods. The Church Fathers have often reflected on this act. For instance,
Saint Maximus the Confessor once said, "Sin is not essentially a moral problem, but a
metaphysical one—it is man's attempt to be what he is not and was not created to be."
The Essence of Sin as Self-Assertion
This inward turn, this self-assertion, is what lies at the heart of sin. It is not merely an act of
disobedience but an ontological rebellion—a usurpation of the divine prerogative. Through
the Fall, humanity embarked on a quest to attain godlike status independently of God. This
endeavor was doomed to fail, as it led not to liberation or wholeness but to a profound
estrangement and fragmentation within the human soul and in the fabric of creation itself.
This state of separation reflects the contemporary struggle for identity and purpose, which
often spirals into further alienation.
The Divine Intention for Humanity and Creation
The divine intention for humanity was never solitary glorification but a co-participation in
God's creative and redemptive work. Humans were to be co-stewards, collaborating with God
to bring forth the glory hidden in creation, to manifest the Kingdom of Heaven on earth. This
vocation was perverted through sin, as man sought to redirect the glory due to God towards
oneself.
Restoring the Likeness through the Church
In the Orthodox tradition, the journey towards restoring this likeness is facilitated by the life
of the Church. As Saint Irenaeus of Lyon proclaimed, "The glory of God is a living man; and
the life of man consists in beholding God." The Church provides a space where we can repent
(change our inward orientation), turn from being our own gods, and begin the process of
sanctification—restoring the likeness that we marred.
Conclusion: The Call to Reorient Our Being
Thus, we find that the essence of the Fall was indeed humanity’s attempt to become like God
apart from God—to claim a false sovereignty. This was not just a misstep but a fundamental
disorientation of our entire being. Our true purpose can only be rediscovered through a life of
communion with God, where we submit our will to His and allow Him to restore the image
that we have defaced. In humility and repentance, we find our way back to our original
vocation—to steward creation in the image of the One who created us, for His glory and our
sanctification.