www.byzcath.org Forums Faith & Christian Life The Christian East & West Purgatory in Eastern Catholisicm

I have not read Mr. Dragani's writing on the issue, but I can say that that one cannot look to any private individual for official teaching. I ask Father Ambrose to quote documentation of "final theosis" from official sources and not individual theologians. If he cannot do that, then he cannot claim it as official teaching.

Definitions are important. It seems to me that "final theosis" is an odd thing, since in the next life (should we deemed worthy) we would forever be growing into the likeness of God. I suppose that one might also define "initial theosis" as what happens in this life and "final theosis" as what happens in the next life.

I think that if you depended on "official" sources you may not be able to assert that theosis may be taught in the Catholic Church? Are you able to provide official documentation that theosis is the official teaching of the Catholic Church?

Would this documentation need to be worded specifically using a aprticular tradition within the Church, such as the "Greek" tradition of the Byzantines?

Here are the pertinent parts of the Catechism.

460 The Word became flesh to make us "partakers of the divine nature":78 "For this is why the Word became man, and the Son of God became the Son of man: so that man, by entering into communion with the Word and thus receiving divine sonship, might become a son of God."79 "For the Son of God became man so that we might become God."80 "The only-begotten Son of God, wanting to make us sharers in his divinity, assumed our nature, so that he, made man, might make men gods."81
80 St. Athanasius, De inc. 54, 3: PG 25, 192B.
81 St. Thomas Aquinas, Opusc. 57, 1-4.


1129 The Church affirms that for believers the sacraments of the New Covenant are necessary for salvation.51 "Sacramental grace" is the grace of the Holy Spirit, given by Christ and proper to each sacrament. The Spirit heals and transforms those who receive him by conforming them to the Son of God. The fruit of the sacramental life is that the Spirit of adoption makes the faithful partakers in the divine nature52 by uniting them in a living union with the only Son, the Savior.
51 Cf. Council of Trent (1547): DS 1604.
52 Cf. 2 Pet 1:4.


1265 Baptism not only purifies from all sins, but also makes the neophyte "a new creature," an adopted son of God, who has become a "partaker of the divine nature,"69 member of Christ and co-heir with him,70 and a temple of the Holy Spirit.71
69 2 Cor 5:17; 2 Pet 1:4; cf. Gal 4:5-7.
70 Cf. 1 Cor 6:15; 12:27; Rom 8:17.
71 Cf. 1 Cor 6:19.


1812 The human virtues are rooted in the theological virtues, which adapt man's faculties for participation in the divine nature:76 for the theological virtues relate directly to God. They dispose Christians to live in a relationship with the Holy Trinity. They have the One and Triune God for their origin, motive, and object.
1988 Through the power of the Holy Spirit we take part in Christ's Passion by dying to sin, and in his Resurrection by being born to a new life; we are members of his Body which is the Church, branches grafted onto the vine which is himself:36
[God] gave himself to us through his Spirit. By the participation of the Spirit, we become communicants in the divine nature. . . . For this reason, those in whom the Spirit dwells are divinized.37

36 Cf. 1 Cor 12; Jn 15:1-4.
37 St. Athanasius, Ep. Serap. 1,24:PG 26,585 and 588.

1999 The grace of Christ is the gratuitous gift that God makes to us of his own life, infused by the Holy Spirit into our soul to heal it of sin and to sanctify it. It is the sanctifying or deifying grace received in Baptism. It is in us the source of the work of sanctification:48
Therefore if any one is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has passed away, behold, the new has come. All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself.49

48 Cf. Jn 4:14; 7:38-39.
49 2 Cor 5:17-18.

Not my job, as I am not claiming "final theosis" as an official teaching.

With all respect, this thread has devolved into silliness. I just read Dr Dragani's comments about purgatory and "final theosis." As far as I can tell, all he intends by the term "final theosis" is the continued process of sanctification, glorification, and divinization that occurs after death. He is not reducing theosis to purgatorial sanctification. He is just trying to explain to a Latin Catholic audience where the Latin understanding of Purgatory might fit into the Eastern understanding. One should not read anything more into the term than that.

Perhaps it refers to the ongoing theosis that occurs after the death of the body?

I am just back in from the funeral of a 94 year old Russian granny, God rest her. Some of her offspring are married to Roman Catholics and the funeral was attended by a cathedral priest who is the theologian in the diocese.

"Father, what do you know of theosis in Catholic theology?"

He: "I've never heard the word used in Catholic theology.

Me: "Maybe you would know it as deification."

He: "You have to stop mixing your Russian paganism with your Christianity," and he laughed.

Perhaps his lack of understanding of Byzantine theology is similar to most Eastern Orthodox lack of understanding of Latin and other theologies (including Antiochian/Chaldean, Alexandrian, Armenian, and Indian).

I found this to be very interesting from an Orthodox point of view. Any comments?
The Confession of Dositheus defines Orthodoxy over against Protestantism. It is the most important Orthodox confession of modern times:

We believe that the souls of those that have fallen asleep are either at rest or in torment, according to each hath wrought. For when they are separated from their bodies, they depart immediately either to joy or to sorrow and lamentation; though confessedly neither their enjoyment nor condemnation are complete. For, after the common resurrection, when the soul shall be united with the body, with which it had behaved itself well or ill, each shall receive the completion of either enjoyment or of condemnation. Such as though involved in mortal sins have not departed in despair but have, while still living in the body, repented, though without bringing any fruits of repentance---by pouring forth tears, by kneeling while watching in prayers, by afflicting themselves, by relieving the poor, and in find by showing forth by their works their love towards God and their neighbor, and which the Catholic Church hath from the beginning rightly called satisfaction—of these and such like the souls depart into Hades, and there endure the punishment due to their sins which they have committed.
But they are aware of their future release from thence, and are delivered by the Supreme Goodness through the prayers of the priests and the good works which the relative of each perform for their departed—especially the unbloody Sacrifice availing the highest degree—which each offers particularly for his relatives that have fallen asleep, and which the Catholic and Apostolic Church offers daily for all alike. It is not known, of course, when they will be released. We know and believe that there is deliverance for them from their dire condition, before the common resurrection and judgment, but we do not know when. (Decree XVII).

Stephanos I

That's one position, probably as close to the mainstream as you will find. The dead sleep, the righteous in peace, the wicked in anticipatory torment. But there are many other theologumena in circulation.

Father, please do not take this as a thought that youare lying, but I have a hard time accepting this. In the latin rite liturgy, the priest says a silent prayer at the beginning of the offertory that states, "by the mystery and mingling of this wine and this water, may we come to share in the divinity of Christ, who humbled himself to our humanity."

This priest, undoubtedly, knows and says this prayer daily at mass. If he does not know that this prayer is a direct reference to theosis, then he had very poor formation. But the fact of the matter is, Catholic theology does teach theosis. It is part of the liturgy.

If nothing else, it demonstrates that there are just as many badly educated Catholic priests as there are badly educated Orthodox ones.

I think it is fair to say that the words theosis and deification are not found in the vocabulary of most Latin-rite Catholics, including the clergy. But this does not mean that the reality to which these words point is unknown. As already noted, the prayer said during the preparation of the chalice explicitly speaks of our sharing in the divinity of Christ. I prefer the traditional renderings of the prayer: Catholics prefer to speak of union with God, adoption as sons, incorporation into the sacred humanity of Christ, sanctification, glorification.

Perhaps one reason the word "deification" has been avoided by Catholics is because of long-standing suspicion of the Palamite distinction between the essence and energies of God; on the other hand, Catholics since Vatican II, especially those priests who have been formed by the theology of Karl Rahner (and that means most of them), have absolutely no problem speaking of participating in the Uncreated Grace of God and the Trinitarian Life of God. Thus Rahner:


If Orthodox wish to engage in intelligent conversation with informed Catholics about grace and theosis, they will need to educate themselves in Catholic theology. The same, of course, holds for Catholics who wish to engage in intelligent conversation with Orthodox about uncreated grace, created grace, and sanctification.

Ultimately, though, talk is cheap. Hopefully we don't want to just talk about theosis. We'd like to experience it.

In this country the Latin Mass disappeared for many years. Then each diocese allowed one Latin Rite Mass a month, in obscure places. Now, since Pope Benedict's support, there is a weekly Latin Rite Mass, one in each diocese and in this diocese it takes place as often as it does not since the appointed priest is in ailing health.