By Metropolitan Hierotheos of Nafpaktos After purification of the heart and illumination of the nous comes glorification, which is the third stage of the journey towards perfection. Glorification is linked with theoria, which is the vision of the glory of God. When we say glorification we mean vision or theoria of the uncreated energy of God, which is seen as glory, as Light. Purification – the rejection of all thoughts (logismoi) from the heart and the transformation of the passible part of the soul (desire and anger) – must come first, as well as illumination of the nous, which is noetic prayer. It should be stressed at the outset that glorification is an experience; it is not speculation or philosophy. “Glorification is an empirical state. It has nothing to do with metaphysics.” Man is not capable of arriving at this state on his own, but he is empowered by God. Thus glorification is a gift of God to the one who has struggled to keep His commandments. The Psalmist writes: “In Your light we shall see light” (Ps. 35[36]:10). “There is no question of man being capable of knowing God. This is impossible. Only someone who is within the uncreated Light sees the uncreated Light. One must be in God to see God. Man sees God through God.” In the patristic tradition this ability to see God is called “an uncreated self-revealing eye”. There are many words that define what glorification is. Someone who is glorified, who is in this spiritual state, sees the uncreated Light of God. He shares in the Light and this is called glorification. Then man participates in the glory of God. Glorification is participation in the glory of God, in the uncreated Light. It is also referred to as man’s union with God. “Here union means glorification, divine vision.” When someone participates in the Light, in God’s glory, he acquires union with God, and this offers knowledge beyond human knowledge. “In the tradition, union itself is called the glorification of man or theosis. Man becomes god by grace, during the vision of God, if he ever reaches this point.” “This is called glorification. When man is glorified it means that he sees the glory in which he stands. This experience of glorification fills the pages of the Old Testament and the New Testament. Occasionally some clever professor here in Athens would ask me, ‘Where do you find theosis in the Old Testament? It isn’t there; the word ‘theosis’ is not there.’ Theosis is not there, but glorification is. The Apostle Paul uses the word ‘glorified’. When someone is glorified, he says that we ought to rejoice with the one who is glorified (cf. 1 Cor. 12:26). Who is the one who is glorified?” He is the one who undergoes theosis, because then man is sanctified by the grace of God. “Man’s sanctification means theosis, participation in glory.” Glorification (theosis) is also described as divine vision or the vision of God. “For the Fathers of the Church, glorification is nothing other than divine vision. When the Fathers say ‘theosis’ or ‘glorification’ they are referring to divine vision, seeing God’s glory. When someone sees the glory of God, this means glorification. So the fact that the Prophets in the Old Testament see the glory of Christ means that they reach glorification. And as there is glorification in the Old Testament, it also exists in the New Testament.” “Divine vision is glorification, theoria. Glorification is divine vision because without attaining to divine vision, glorification, man cannot see God. He sees God through God.” “Glorification is the surest knowledge about God. Glorification transcends understanding, which is why St Gregory the Theologian says, ‘It is impossible to conceive God’. Even the one who reaches glorification does not conceive God. It is not only to unbelievers and non-philosophers that he says, ‘It is impossible to conceive God’. Conceiving God is impossible for everyone, including the glorified. Even someone who arrives at glorification does not conceive God and he understands that he does not conceive Him. So he knows without knowledge, he conceives without understanding, he hears without hearing, he sees invisibly, and so on. All this patristic terminology, when they talk about glorification, is a terminology based on reality.” The experience of God as Light is called glorification, theosis, divine vision, union and knowledge. This state is an experience of Pentecost. “Every glorification is nothing other than a repetition of Pentecost for us. So those who reach glorification have equal grace with the Apostles at Pentecost. There is no difference, at least from the patristic point of view.” Glorification is linked with man’s salvation. “Man was created for glorification. Nowadays we say that glorification is salvation. But man fell from the state of glorification.” As has been stressed elsewhere, there are degrees of theoria. “What is theoria according to the patristic tradition? There are two stages of theoria. Theoria is illumination, in other words, noetic prayer, and also glorification. Both are called theoria. These are the two stages. Only when someone attains to illumination or glorification, particularly illumination, which is the first degree, is he permitted to theologise and to teach others, to be a spiritual father.” “Theoria has two levels. The first is the state of prayer; but enlightenment, vision and continuous vision are also called theoria. Enlightenment is the beginning of glorification. At the lowest stage of theoria there is no glorification yet. At the higher stages there is glorification as well. In those moments when someone is in a state of glorification, prayer ceases. The divine vision itself takes the place of prayer, so one does not pray but has the vision of God. When the experience of glorification comes to an end, one returns to prayer. The state of glorification is not a permanent state. Read More..... orthognosia.blogspot.ca/2015/01/metropolitan-hierotheos-of-nafpaktos.html
Posted on: Sun, 25 Jan 2015 13:59:56 +0000
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