www.byzcath.org Forums Faith & Christian Life Faith & Theology Essence and Energies of God

I have two questions regarding the subject topic...

1. Who can explain this in simplest terms?
2. What would the equivallent concept be in the Latin West?

I can only help with question 1. The classic explanation of essence and energies is this analogy:

God's essence is like fire, which in and of itself, produces heat--energy. Man is like a iron bar, which when placed in the fire, takes on its likeness. Thus, when the bar is sufficiently heated, it can transmit the energy of the fire so that what touches the bar is also heated and may even combust. However, by its nature, i.e., without the fire, the iron bar is cold and inert.

Thank you, Sophia.

I've always looked at the Energies as the foundation of Grace--not necessarily Grace itself. That Grace is somehow initiated and given us through his Energies. I've also looked at His Energies and his Grace as one in the same. Is this erroneous thought, am I close, or is it just not that simple? The problem with theology is one gets confused on the concepts... I'm trying to understand it so I can try and bridge the concepts East & West... usually, it seems, that we have the same truth, just expressed in a different as a result of the experience and development of our own inherent Traditions. Any additional clarity would be wondrous. Thanks for your Sophia (wisdom).

Mark.

I think it depends on how you define grace, and I'm not that familiar with Western theological terminology.

The energies are an extension of God. They are not something separate from him. Using Webster's first definition of "grace" as a "favor, mercy or gift," one would not say that the energies are a "grace FROM God," rather they are the "grace OF God." The energies are how we come to know God, not just know about him. They are the manifestation of God.

Thus, as part of creation, we are also part of God's energies; we are the work of God, and we are supposed to manifest God to the world. When we do, we literally are "God's gift to the world."

Sophia, that makes sense to me. I'm no theologian, but I would like to be able to understand the basics of these teachings and principles so I can be a better witness to the Gospels. I appreciate your summarization and thank you for taking the time to explain it.

Mark.

The Oriental understands God as simple, while recognizing the distinction between God's Essence and his Energies. Sister Sophia's definition closely approximates the Oriental understanding.

The Eastern understands the Energies to be God as well, the part of God that we humans can come to know.

The Western understands God as simple, and does not categorize His divinity into Essence and Energy. According to Westerns, God is pure Act, so his Energies (i.e., His Acts) are not perceived to be distinct from His Essence.

All three Traditions assert the Essence of God is unknowable.

If I have misrepresented anything, please correct me.

Blessings

The following information comes from the webiste of the Coptic Orthodox Diocese of the Southern United States:


How does Coptic theology approach and explain the subject of 'theosis'? Chalcedonians use the Palamite terms 'essence' and 'energy': man participates in God's energies but not in His essence.

Theosis or Deification means "union with God" taken from the Greek Theos - God, and the word Enosis - union. Our Lord Jesus Christ asked God the Father "They also may be one in us" (Jn 17:21). He also gave us the command of Theosis "Therefore you shall be perfect, just as your Father in Heaven is perfect" (Mt 5:48), our goal in life is to accomplish perfect union with God through the grace of the Holy Spirit. Man was created in the image and likeness of God, and then sin created a gap between God and mankind, causing damage to our souls. All Christians through baptism receive the seed of Theosis, which is not only to the forgiveness of sins, reconciliation and justification, but also a restoration of God's image. The sinful inclination of our human nature should not govern our behavior anymore; instead we should strive to live a holy life looking towards Jesus Christ the author of our faith, and growing in His knowledge and sonship. The restoration and sanctification of Theosis brings us back into relationship with the Creator. St. Athanasius' presentation of Theosis was summarized as "the reintegration of the divine image of man's creation through the sanctifying work of the Holy Spirit conforming the redeemed into the likeness of the Lord Jesus Christ, and also of the believer's transition from mortality to immortality so that he is enabled to participate in the eternal bliss and glory of the kingdom of God."

Our full union with God is a union with the "energies" of God. These energies, while an extension of God, are not to be confused with the "essence" or "substance" of God, which is unknown by humans and is shared only by the Holy Trinity. Our union with God will not make us gods but will make us partners in the Divine nature in works not in essence. We will not acquire the unique characteristics of God such as being the Creator, the Omnipotent, the Omnipresent, but it will make us partners with Him in building the Kingdom by our own salvation and by winning the souls of others to the Lord Jesus Christ.

Coptic Orthodox Diocese of the Southern United States - Questions and Answers [suscopts.org]

For an Eastern Orthodox understanding of the nature of the real distinction between essence and energy in God, check out the articles below written by Dr. David Bradshaw:


"The Concept of the Divine Energies [uky.edu]." A talk that summarizes some of the main ideas of my book, Aristotle East and West: Metaphysics and the Division of Christendom. Presented to Philosophy departments at Purdue University and the University of Pennsylvania, Fall 2006.

"A Christian Approach to the Philosophy of Time [uky.edu]." Describes the thought of the Greek Fathers on time & eternity, with a brief suggestion for how it can be applied to the problem of human freedom & divine foreknowledge. Presented at a conference on Christian approaches to metaphysics, June 2006.

"Christianity East & West: Some Philosophical Differences [uky.edu]." Summarizes the basic differences between the Augustinian, Thomistic, and Greek patristic traditions, viewing them in relation to their common sources in Plato. Presented at Asbury College, November 1999.

"The Divine Glory and the Divine Energies [uky.edu]." Discusses the divine glory as a source for the doctrine of the divine energies. Forthcoming in Faith and Philosophy, the journal of the Society of Christian Philosophers.


Dr. Bradshaw's Homepage [uky.edu]

This is from the first article by Dr. Bradshaw:


I would like to repeat, what I pointed out in another thread, an insight by Fr. Quay who is attempting, in the particular, to show the self-revelation and mutual love in the Trinity. He begins with the passage of Gregory below. From that beginning he speculates on how that self-revelation in mutual love may occur by making sense of the passage from Gregory. The entire chapter is worth reading in light of the insights by Dr. Bradshaw.


http://web.archive.org/web/20051218062732/praiseofglory.com/quayglory.htm

lm,

Nothing in the quotations provided indicate that it is the hypostatis of the Spirit that is breathed forth by the Son. In fact, all of the associations of the sending of the Spirit by the Son concern the divine economia and not the immanent life of the Trinity.

The fact that you (and Fr. Quay) are unfamiliar with the Eastern tradition on this issue is lamentable, but it is proves nothing. Moreover, the word Spirit, as St. Gregory Palamas points out (following the teaching of St. Maximos and St. John Damascene), has many meanings, because it can refer to the Godhead as a whole, since the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are all "Spirit" (cf. John 4:24), but it can also refer to the uncreated charismata (i.e., the energies of the Holy Spirit) which are the divine energetic participations given to man by God through the process of theosis (cf. St. Gregory Palamas, "Dialogue Between an Orthodox and a Barlaamite," nos. 26 and 27).

Thus, I reject the interpretation given to the texts you have quoted as not only erroneous, but as heretical, since they are nothing else by the teaching of the heretic Barlaam (cf. ibid). Sadly, the interpretation given to the quoted texts in your post reduce the Spirit to an energy, and in the process those false interpretations destroy the triadic perfection of the Godhead.

East and West clearly have different understandings of the nature of God, and the more that you post on this issue, the more certain I become that these two viewpoints are incompatible.

Finally, as an Eastern Christian I will never accept the idea that the Son spirates the hypostasis of the Holy Spirit because that idea has been specifically condemned in the dogmatic Synodikon of Orthodoxy.

God bless,
Todd

P.S. - Fr. Quay is clearly unfamiliar with the fact that the hypostasis of the Spirit cannot be "breathed" upon anyone, because to be a hypostasis is not something that can be shared or participated in. In fact, to receive the Spirit as hypostasis rather than as energy, would involve the annhilation of the human person, because the uncreated hypostasis of the Spirit would obliterate the subsistence being of man replacing it with His own uncreated act of existence. This is doubly heretical because it involves both the destruction of the human person as person, while it is simultaneously a form of pantheism. In the metaphysics of the Cappadocian Fathers (and St. Maximos, Pseudo-Dionysios, St. John Damascene, and St. Gregory Palamas) it is impossible for essence (ousia) or hypostasis to be shared, they are by definition incommunicable, and it is only the energies of a being that can be shared or communicated.

P.P.S. - Finally, if Christ were to pour out the hypostasis of the Holy Spirit upon mankind, this would involve a "hypostatic union" of each man with the person of the Holy Spirit, i.e., it would mean that there would be multiple incarnations of the Spirit, and this is clearly heretical. Christ breathes forth the Spirit only as energy, and not as hypostasis.

The following sentence should read as follows:

"Thus, I reject the interpretation given to the texts you have quoted as not only erroneous, but as heretical, since they are nothing else but the teaching of the heretic Barlaam (cf. ibid)."

The questions were asked:

1. Who can explain "essence and energies of God" in simplest terms?
2. What would the equivallent concept be in the Latin West?

I was not seeking a lengthy dissertation on the matter--just a simple explanation. I understand the basic theology behind it--I'm looking for a simple explanation ad I have found no way to do it.

I appreciate the replies.

Essence, energy, and hypostasis are all really distinct, yet without being separated.

The essence of a being is that incommunicable element which transcends intellectual apprehension, while the energies of a hypostasis (i.e., a person) are those things which manifest its presence to others. Moreover, essence and hypostasis are incommunicable, while energy can be participated in. Thus, the process of theosis involves participation only in the divine energy, and not in the divine essence, or in the hypostatic existence of any one of the three divine persons.

That said, I recommend that you read at least two of St. Gregory Palamas' treatises on this important theological distinction, the Capita Physica and his Dialogue Between an Orthodox and a Barlaamite. Both texts are available in English translation, and the latter text includes the original Greek text as well. It is vitally important, that is, if one really wishes to understand to the degree that it is possible this de fide truth, to read the original source materials. The writings of Pseudo-Dionysios and St. Maximos are also helpful, although the majority of the latter author's writings are not available in English translation.

God bless,
Todd

P.S. - I also recommend reading Dr. Eric Perl's article St. Gregory Palamas and the Metaphysics of Creation. Sadly, I have only been able to transcribe the second part of the article onto my website so far; nevertheless, it is still a useful text to read. Click the link below in order to access the document:

St. Gregory Palamas and the Metaphysics of Creation [geocities.com]

Todd, I'm in the process of trying to "get it" - but I think this takes time. I appreciate the information, thanks.

PS: Are you a theologian?

All Christians are theologians, as St. Gregory Nazianzen would say.