MegHans ug

THEOSIS in ISAAC l

ile is known
1

of Isaac's life. Only two briefreferences give details.

agree that Isaac was anative ot Beth
Qatraye. It is then noted that
hame monk a and teacher near his home.
Catholicos Giwargis
d him as bishop of Nineveh (ca 676). Soon Isaac asked to
a n d he lived as a solitary n Beth Huzaye, in the mountains of
san. He studied Scripture so much that he became blind and had
ictate his writings, which explain certain difficulties of his style. He
e a an advanced age and was buried at the monastery of Rabban

M translation of Isaac III' is based on the critical edition as

shei by Sabino Chialà. It relies on one recent manuscript conserved
n a Issavi Collection, ms5. Ofthe 133 folios, 111 are by Isaac, or
gers. Ofthese 14 had not previously been known: 1-13, 16. Two
De may be found in Is.I: 14 and 15, appearing as 22 and 40. And 17

sponds to ch. 25 in Is.II.

anslation may be found in An Anthology ofSyriac Wrnters from

a in the Seventh Century ed. Mario Kozah, et al. (Piscataway
a s Press, 2015) p. 281470. And see Isaac the Syrian's
Works (lsaac I, V, Gorgias press 2016).
2a (ed), Isacco
ed). Isacco di Ninive. Terza Collezione, CSCO SS 246-
vain: 2011)
attributed
Em to Ephrem, see Th.J. Lamy (ed.), Sancti
Syni Hymni et Semones (Mechelen, 1989). Most probably
ette Ephrem
etrynaliy em nor Isaac is the author but it may have been
Eted by Isaac. See Chialà, Isacco di Ninive, Introd.

291-304 The Harp

 Mary Hansbury
292 saac
seems to
to be
be moor
more

found he
translation,
of this II may bebe found here.
in Is. I and
content
As to the
As tound
Concepts
already c l a r i f i c a t i o n of themes alread
themes already
concentrated. there is
an
expansion,
than
And rather
found in Is.I and 11 intimacy with Cod
and
theme is prayer
creation is fodsin
first
Chialà, the
As noted by infinite love for
God's
8-9 and 16. Whereas ar.
prayers. In ch. 12 and 13 are
ch.1-4,
ch.7 and 10
there are texts of
ch-6 and 9. In
solitaries in difficulty.
letters sent to

THEOSIS
beautiful paragraphs
Within the
of ch.5-6, occur incredibly
context

love of God and

of theosis.
on the
With what petition did creation receive this? And what
4.
did this arise in its
did it present for itself? And when
prayer for becoming
heart? And what way of
life did it offer in exchange
distracted with aspects of
How is it that our thoughts are
God? riches
not draw near to the great
little importance and we do That is to
not even perceive it.
which we have received; we do
already
meditate night and day on our beauty,
say, we do not if every
we have become gods!
Tell me then, O our beloved,
what
choose for all of nature
choice had been given to us to have
what is more noble: who
of us would
pleases us, even na
nature all that
which God
chosen for oneself or for
determined to do for us?
creation

above where
5. Now is there yet another place thanthat
could be greater
has ascended? But what position
become "God.
divinity? And behold: creation has
14.O immeasurable love of God for His work <ofcreation
kno
know

auseHe
Let us look at this mystery with wordless insignhcause He
n HisHe
that He has united creation to His Essence, nhare in
share t h e
that it might il
needed to, but to draw creation to Him
to
WIn

make kno on u
conferred
he

riches, so as to give it what is His and to

eternal goodness of His Nature. He has co order
that
uns

n inp4
magnificenceand the glory of His divinity
and
d' n hthe

of the invisible God, creation might becallc

subyec
ved

ofwhat is uncreated and above time,what is o f

t ss a

name of the Trinity the creature and

creation,
in
in honor
. V o l .X x N2 0 1 6

beginnin On the work of his

The Harp
 THEOSISin ISAAC 293

character, He has set the glorious name which even the mouths
of the angels are not pure enough to utter.
The importance in Isaac of the love of God for
has been well documented:
humanity

And why was he stretched out on the Cross for the sake
ofsinners, handing over his sacred body to suffering on behalf
of the world? I myself say that God did all this for no other
reason except to make known to the world the love that he has,
his aim being that we, as a result of our increased love resulting
from an awareness of this, might be captivated by his love
when he provided the occasion of this manifestation of the
powerofthe Kingdom of Heaven-which consists in love- by
means of the death of his Son."

As noted by Alfeyev: "The Incarnation

took place because of
Father and ofthe Son for human beings, and because
the love of both the
man is able to attain such a state of love
when he
of the Incarnation
the brief article, Alfeyev discusses the traces of
becomes God like." In
Theodore of Mopsuestia in
the Christology of Isaac: close to the
Antiochene school of dyophitism
but not an extreme exponent ofit, like
to
more "moderate wing". According
Theodore or Nestorius, rather in a
because it
Isaac used Theodore's Christological terminology
Alieyev,
H25 used commonly in the
Church of the East.

found often in Isaac. Another

Divinization as in Is.II1 5, is not
noted by Alfeyev, the Incarnation
2mple occurs in Is.II 5.18. Again as of
which was offered because
understood as the sacrifice of the Son

Bettiolo, DiscorsiSpintuali
n.V78, the Kephalaia are found in P. critical edition is
Bose, Magnand Edizioni Qiqajon, 1985). A Spintuality in
ortrthcoming.
hd Passage as translated in S. Brock,
commentary
(Kottayam: SEERI, 1989,)84-85. For
radition
on Précurseur de la
this insight of Isaac, see I. Hausher, "Un
Recherches de
eorie Scotiste sur la Fin de l'Incarnation," "Pourquoi
And see A. Louf,
Deu Reliieuses (1932),
22 316-20.
des Pères
Connaissance
manifesta selon Isaac le Syrien,'
Egise
*tgise 80 (2000), 37-56.
Deification of
tan Alfeyev, "The Incarnation of the Word and the
1-3. See also
H. Alfeyev,
äac the
the SunOdOX-christianity.com,
Synan, (Kalamazoo, MI: Cistercian Publications, 2000).

.19 016 The Harp

294 which
which united the created
un
world
and
and
the
Father for
God the
the love of sure to the world:if You
to the world:
world with God. t r e a s u r e
your
entire
bosom
rom
and fro
from the throne
the
given Your bosom
You have from Your do Yo
rther do
what f u t h e r You have
of all,
world hl
Only-Begotten
gave the benefit
The world
The has
for the
creation?
Your
of Your Being given
to
nd Creator
and Creator ha
have not and
creation
which You God,
with
become
mingled
become one!
CONTEXT Odes of Solomon,' there
in the
tradition, already
In the Syriac
of theosis:
allusions to aspects Him.
in order that might
are I accept
became like me, Him on.
7.4 He order that I might put
like me, in
he seemed
face and love his holiness and
In appearance
13.3 And wipe
the filth from your
put it on and know
the name of the Most High,
39.3 Put on, therefore, the rivers will
be
will cross without danger, because
him, and you
obedient to you.
formula:
the 'exchange
Ephrem that one
sees
But it is in
on Faith5.7
Hym
He gave us divinity, we gave him humanity.
clothe us
so that he might
He clothed himself in our language,
in his mode oflife. Hymn on Faith 31 as
in Ephrem
Paradise regained
ght to
Actually Brock speaks of sou
her
sometimes
have vhereas
divinization. And he cautions that scholars
Hellenicinfluence,
see theosis in Syriac Christianity as a result of mingling
XIV.48.
forferences
And
6 Inls. for examples of hlt see X.16; (1989).
See other
(bultana), see Vil.3, XIX.6, XXXV title,
m i n g l i n g
of and
ween Goo
in the note to IV.2. According to Alfeyev, languag
po
Isaac"breaks down the sharp boundaries ophysite
betwe
bem
strong
characteristic of the
arcation
creation vwhich are a
sch
ofthe Church of the East..and that thesosharpnaly in
in r oe
nvgl y

the
," n c a m n a t i o n ,
divinity and humanity that was felt
heodore is not as strong in Isaac." See Aleyev APO194)
in The
7 See The Odes of Emerton P r e s s .
Solomon, tr. J.A.
Clarend
don
tament, ed. HF.D. Sparks Oxford: V o l .X X X I
2010
The Harp
 295
I1
THEOSIS inISAAC
much Greek, rather Semitic and
Ephrem
who probably did not know
theosis 8
in witness to
patterns
Biblical thought
As noted by Brock, the theology of nanmes° is basic to Ephrem's
part ofhis theosis. He quotes all
much
of Hymn on
and is very
the garment of "Names' and God's descent to
thought.
Faith 31 which illustrates
draw humanity to God across the ontological chasm.
human
language to
Ephrem does not see "a merging of humanity
Rit Brock cautions that
that divinized humanity will in any way be on a par
into the Godhead, or
that "the doctrine oftheosis or divinization, as Ephrem
with God." And
what it means to become
understands it,is just a way making explicit
of
in the Semitic languages the term bar,
children of God', seeing that
in the attributes of or "belonging
son of, may have the sense of "sharing
to the category of'."10
8 S. Brock, St Ephrem the Syrian, Hymns on Paradise ( Crestwood,
NY: St Vladimir's Seminary Press, 1990) 72-74.
9Brock says that the theology of names in Ephrem "remarkably
in the
anticipates that found in the treatise on Divine Names
whether
aionysian corpus." And he suggests worth investigating
Dionysius, "the most Hellenized of all Christian writers also owes
Something to Semitic Ephrem." See S. Brock, The Luminous Eye
(Kalamazoo, MI: Cistercian Publications, 1992) 60,147. Golitzin
notes that the hekhalot texts of RabbinicJudaism are more or
Contemporary with Dionysius. Though he does not suggest
nuence he says a parallel development symbiosis-might men
of
'Suddenly Christ': The Place
"
Sgation. See A. Golitzin,
in
egatve Theology in the Mystagogy of Dionysisus Areopagites,
Mystics: Presence and Aporia ed. M. Kessler and C. Sheppard
(Chicago: e and Apon
(Chicago: Univ. of Chicago Press, 2003), 8-37. 2003).
8-37. And Russell in his
mentioniization includes a discussion of the Rabbinic tradition Aninic
in detail research of Peter Schaefer on
God some.
he nysticism
hekhalot See P.the
Schaefer, The Hidden and Manilest
o0d (New York: SUNY, 1992). Schaefer examines much of the
aterial concerning the names of God. And see N.(Oxford:
Russell,
OxtoThe
Doctrine of Oxford
University Deification in the Greek Patristic Tradition (Oxford:
University Press, 2003) 71-76. For other examples from Jewish
traditions: "
the Name' in St. Ephrem
KSand Hansbury,
'Calling on
ed. George
Influence,"
az (Pis
Mraz (Piscataway Malphono w-Rabo d-Malphone,
NJ: Gorgias Press, 2008), 161-76
0Brock,
Brock. Luminous
a y Eye.
148-54
Vol. XXXI 2016
The Harp
 earth, putting
a .
the
new paradise n
new
paradise
296 as
sees

Church
logical and sacramental
ecclesiological.
Ephrem in a n
Finally,
oftheosis life, restored in Jesus
life, restored
discuss
discussion
of
state of
paradisiacal
in the Church Christ
the whole
"The
perfect
state
whole
humacharist.""
humanity
of hrough the
Context.
available
to the
Baptism
and the
Eucharist."
other note
Another note ofof
is made mysteries of tradition.
Syriac
divinizing in the
the orthodoxy
oftheosis an analysis ofthe relation
relationo af.
theosis to
provides envisagedinOssto
T.Koonammakkal
theosis
oal envisaged in theprocess
is the goal
"Divinization
or
glorious name of Jesus is
name of P the
divine n a m e s . incarnation. The glorious
and
revelation
from death to life "i3
of divine humanity
leading
hidden bridge"
understood in the contextofsalvation
Jesus is
The name incarnation. By giving meanino
the mystery of
history and remains identical
with the name "with
names it
to all other God with human beings
is the "mixing' of
is God'. This Christ is called the
mantle of names. So
exchanging the creation... Thus
which restores all
garment of our glory , are restored creation whose names
members of the Church of
which takes us to the core
mixed with Christ's
-
are
names."
Ephrem's theology of divine
in the
"Self-revelation of God is complete only
And again:
Yet he became one of throug
us
divinization or theosis of humanity. ...
and really through
the incarmalot
the incarnation of names and ultimately
of the Son."1s
New
Church as
of
11 S. Vethanath, "St. Ephrem's Understanding 2008)
Onient XXIWT G
Christian
Paradise and Locus of Divinization,"
12-22. Koonammak.
2akkal
i s onlya
peht .
12 Bridge gaará is because of the chasm chasm
clarifies this: "Ephrem's idea of the ontological
nid unique
mmakial
corollary of the Semitic concept of God DT Koonamm
See 1. KO
spatial divide)."
S tE p t r e n m
(rather than <indicating> a
WomS
The Theology Divine Names in the Genuine
of
Moran Etho 40, SEERI, Kottayam, 2015) p. 53-/4: cohtem.
in
Koonammakkal, "Divine Love and Revelation E t h o4 0
XV (2004), 34. 9s, Moran Et
14 T. Koonammakkal, Theology of Divine Name Ephren
SEERI, 2015, p. 262-66. and
Man
in
God
15 T.Koonammakkal, "The Self-RevealingG00
ng
Harp VI (1993), 244-48.
The Harp
 297
ISAACII
THEOSISin
names are beyond mixture because his
But God's proper
mixture. This is the same as saying that there
nature is beyond
there is an ontological chasm between what is
is no other God:
is not. Here God's proper names are God
God and what He of God is
of God's qnòm. The kyn
Himself, manifestations
mixture because there is one and only one
beyond sharing and
with God as regards proper names even
God. The khvänremains Divinization of human
are shared with us.
when these names God's
human beings will share
beings does not mean that
kyan .
it was Robert Murray who initially
According to Koonammakkal, names in
world about the importance of divine
convinced the scholarly that Ephrem has a
writes: "It could be said,
in fact,
Ephre m. Murray and names for divine
whole implicit theology ofthe validity of symbolssymbolic theology of
the
some respects anticipates
realities, which in iconographical theory."
and classical Byzantine
the Iconodule Fathers method is his
conviction
And again: "Central to
Ephrem's theological Godhead
alone make the
that 'names' arethe veils which
apprehensible."17
have influenced Isaac.
of 4th cent.)
The Macarian Homilies (end signifies his or
her
"For Macarius the deification
of the human person the Holy
power of
eschatological fulfillment
through the sanctifying lost the Fall but
by
merely to what
was
us not
pirit. The Spirit restores
and
Spirit Ihe
O a state superior to thatofAdam."" Bythepower of the
to the
measure f
this way c o m e s
humankind in humankind is
egeheration, than him. For
and becomes greater in the homilies,
ne Jirst A dam and participation
eyea."On the language of mingling
40,
Moran Etho
Koonammakkal,
Theology of Divine Names,
192-3.
SEERI, 2015, p. 146, 156, (Cambridge University
and Kingdom "The Theory o
Symbols of Church R. Murray. lOnient
Duray, See also vl-V
Pres 1975) 166 and n.7. Parole de
Theology,"
Ephrem's
O s m in St.
(75-76), 1-20.
241-45.
18 Russell, Doctrine of Deification, Coll.I, Hom. 26.2.
19 Ibid., 242, translation of
Russell's
The Harp
Vol. XXXI 2016
298 Mary Hansbury
see Columba Stewart. 20
See also the article of litzin who draws
attention to Gershom Scholem's view that Macarius absorbed influence
from hekahalot texts. Golitzin suggests that this could have come rather
from contact with apocalyptic and pseudepigraphical texts,
John the Solitary (early 5th cent.) also influenced Isaac in varioue
ways. Isaac sometimes uses his threefold pattern of the spiritual life. Sa
perhaps it is helpful to look at divinization in John. In the 1 discourse of
the inner
Dialogue on the Soul,"
way life of the
in describing the of
person he says that one "begins to be a sharer in the mystery of God
while being in communion (aautpu) with God by his knowledge"
This may be another point of influence by Theodore of Mopsuestia on
John. There has been much discussion of whether or not Theodore sees
salvation in terms of divinization.* He tends not to discuss it,
wanting
20 C. Stewart, OSB Working the Earth of the Heart': The Messalian
Controversy in History, Texts, and Language to AD 431 (Oxford
Clarendon Press) 170-203. According to Stewart,
not
Macarius s toCus
was Christology, he had
as it were his own vision of
'mingling
imagery, different from his predecessors or contemporaries, see
171-72.
21 A. Golitzin, "A Testimony to Christianity as
Macarian Homilies and Orthodox Spirituality." Orthodox andTransfiguration
Wesleyan Spirituality, ed. S.T. Kimbrough (Crestwood, NY: St.
arch
Vladimir's Press, 2002), 129-56. He refers to Scholem s rese ticism
on p.139. See G.
Scholem, Major Trends in Jewish Mys
(Jerusalem: 1973) 1-79.
22 See M. Hansbury, John the Solitary, On the Soul (Piscata
Gorgias Press, 2013).
23 R. Lav
Examples of communion (aautput) may be found in Editiot
s Editions
Dialogues et Traités, Sources Chrétiennes 311 (Paris the
that
duCerf, 1984).
For whereJohnsa
example, see yr.133
hope" includes "communion (`autpu) with God.
God."
Tuture
MOpS
24 On divinization in Theodore see E. Phillips, Theodore ofMopsue. shed
unp
on Man and Salvation (Catholic University
dissertation, 2006) 289-94. See also the artt f $autap,i
she gives a complete list of all the occurrencesOmnuo
Theodore in relation to sharing. participation an M o p s u e s t i a , " F d
L.Abramowski, "The Theology of Theodore of (Varic
and Context: Studies in Early Christian
13-17.
Thought
V o XxXI
l. 2010
The Harp
ESS SAAC 299
sn emphasize the transcendence of God. Therefore he could not define
ivinization as a transformation from human nature into divine. Rather
he understood it as a sharing in the divine nature through grace. This
offers possibilities and opens up the discussion of divinization in John.
Russell, in his discussion of the West Syriac tradition, gives several
ferences to Philoxenus (d.523). The purpose of the Incarnation being
To make u s c h i l d r e n o f t h e Father and gods in heaven." " Because the
Word, who is God, wished to make humans into children of God, we
confess that he was emptied, became flesh, and was completely
inhominated, in order to recreate the entire human being in himself, and
because he became human in us, we too have been deified and become
children of the Father." "We have all become children in the Son who
became human; we have all been deified in the one God who became
human." Russell concludes with a paraphrase of Philoxenus: 'All have
been made sons by the Son, who was made man, and we have all been
deified by the one inhominated God. The heretics make Christ grow in
grace and develop like one of us.*
The last witness to theosis to be considered here is John of
Dalyatha. He was born in northwest Iraq and was a monk during the 8th
cent. in a monastery at Qardu near the Turkish border. After living in
community, he went to the mountains of Dalyatha to live as a solitary
where he remained most of his life. Perhaps these mountains helped him
to reach and speak of such a unity with God while never arriving at
monism or denying the otherness of Christ.
quotes are as listed
See Russell, Doctine Deification, 323. The Latin
of
translation of Vaschalde's trans. On pp.
m Russell's
S25 Russell also includes references to theosis in Babai, Ishno
author,
yao, Sahdona and the Book of Hierotheos (probable
Stephen bar Sudhaili).
Letters of John of
EE tor example Letter 7 in M. Hansbury (tr.), The
According to Blum,
th a(Piscataway: Gorgias Press, 2006).have influenced Isaac
-duality of Stephen bar Sudhaili may John
and other East Syrian mystics which may include
od an the Syriac Tradition,
oT Dalyatha. See G.G. Blum Mysticism in Ecumenical
respondence Course 7 (Kottayam: St. Ephrem
Research Institute, 1990) 24-25.
Vol. XXXI 2016 The Harp
 Mary Hansbury
According to Baumer, John followed an
mysticism where "knowledge led to an ecstatic vision of theellectual pathae
path of
God, in which every distinction between the knower glory
and
that is every duality- was abolished and the soul, in its t
of
experienced God -
Advaita."
an approach comparable to the
ansfigurwayationof
Indian
You are, O man, an image of God. Do you
wish the iman,
to take on the resemblance of the Original? Silence
all activities whatsoever. Bear continually in
withinv
your heart the
voke of Our Lord. Marvel at this greatness in your mind, until
i
become radiant with his glory and be transformed into the
resemblance and you become a god in God, having obtained
the resemblance of the Creator by the union which likens to
Him. Letter 29.1
The transformation of human resemblance into divine resemblance
is a transformation into Christ by means of grace: "By grace, His likeness
is its likeness: the creature in its Creator sees itselfas its Creator." (Leter
2.6
Baumer speculates that East Syrian mysticism influenced the later
Islamic mysticismofal-Hallaj (858-922): "He also questionedtheabsou
belief in a union ofth
transcendence of God, in that he proclaimed his descrb
al-Hallaj
uman being with God beyond all duality.Like John,
consciousness
the
how, during such an experience, the mystic lost e l e v e n
s own identity. Al-Hallaj was crucified in Baghdad in 922 ater
year imprisonment."a a s t o n i s h i n g
there
indicate that although
t r a d i t i o n
All of these witnesses
unique
demonstration of theosis in Is.I. 5, it is not
shared by many writers of early Syriac Christianity
R Beulay
Beua
R. u c h e s .
see
BeauCh
John
27 And in
on image and resemblance
Dalyatha (P
a r i s :
6 ) p1 3 2
13
LEnseignement Spintuel de Jean de
1990) 481-85. 2006)P
(London,
28 See C. Baumer, The Church of the
East
THEOSISin ISAACI 301
SYNTHESIS
Both St. Ephrem and St. Isaac agree that divinization or theosis is
connected to harmony between humanity and the natural world." Just
as humanity in the image of God was lost at the fall, so also through the
resultant abuse of free will, harmony with the natural world was lost.
"The retrieval of the original harmony man was meant to enjoy in his
relationship to God and creation is now spelt out in terms of divinization
and a purified relation with the world where man is not man centered, nor
the cosmos centered on itself."0 Both Ephrem and Isaac understood the
place and role of humanity within Creation. "Theosis is not merely an
individualizedsoteriology but... one's salvation is vitaly connected to
the salvation of the cosmos." These words are by Chow who has written
on Christianity in China. He sees aspects of theosis implicit in
Confucianism, Taoism and Buddhism." And he finds it quite appropriate
that a fulfillment might be had now for Christianity in China through the
way oftheosis, basically the patterm as found in Syriac Christianity. He
quotes from the Syrian Orthodox, Mar Gregorios speaking of humanity
as part of nature:
A secular technology of mastery of nature for oneself is
the original sin, of refusing our mediatory position between
God and the universe, dethroning God, and claiming mastery
for the sake of indulging our own cupidity, avarice and greed.
The mastery of nature must be held within the mystery of
worship. Otherwise we lose both mastery and mystery
29 See
Baby Madathikunnath Cherian, Paradigm Shift in Under-
Pontificio
Nisibis and Isaac of Nineveh (Rome:
anding Ephrem of2008
Sntuto Orientale, unpublished dissertation) ch.2 and 3.
30 Cherian, 153.
AChow, Theosis: Sino-Christian theology and the second Chinese
York: Palgrave
ghlenment: heaven and humanity in unity (New
Macmillan, 2013) 168.
3OnpoSsible early Syriac influence in China at Xian, then througn
Mahayana Buddhism
re Land Buddhism in China and eventually and Buddnist
Tr n, See M. Hansbury, "Nature as Soteric: Syriac
raditions,' ARAM, 5 (1993), 197-217.
33 Paulos (New York: Amity
dulos Mar Gregorios, The Human Presence Brock,
also quoted in S.
1 987) 93. Mar Gregorios is tradition," Sbornost
the natural world in the Syriac
12 (1990), and
12 (1G 131-42.
Vol. XXXI 2016 The Harp
302 Mary Hansbury
And of Mar Gregorios,
Chow says: "Focusing on the Eastern
that humanity
Christian

was
critiques
created as both micrOcosm
the West where the
and
Christianitynediator,
medie
this Indiviesan
ator, thiee
construction of a new culturo ASia C e
from and petitions for the
with the cosmos and God4 EJUstice
tohumanity's relationship
In conclusion Chow quotes from Maximus the Confessor
and
considers this to be appropriate for the Church in China, Hnd
ina. He notes
Quite importantly, while "China" and "Western Christianity" are o
seen as quite opposing voices, Eastern Orthodoxy has been ch
to
provide a third, mediating voice between those two extremes
By his gracious condescension God became man and
is called man for the sake of man and by exchanging his
condition for ours revealed the power that elevates man to
God through his love for God and brings God down to man
because of his love for man. By this blessed inversion man
is made God by divinization and God is made man by
hominization.36
In an article of his, Russell reflects on what theosis has meant
throughout the history of the Church: early Christianity; Orthodox
Churches; Roman Catholics; Anglicans; Reform traditions." Pernap
one day the Church in China will be added to the list and also the Churcn
in India. Bede Grifiths (1906-1993) labored with the concept ot
ava
uncreateu
The created world is a reflection of the
archetypal world. Like an image in a mirror, it has ony
this relatior
relative existence. Its existence is constituted by the Hi
toGod. It is in this sense that we can say with
School of Advaita, that God and the world are es
(advaita). The created world adds nothing to God an
34 See
Chow, Theosis, 153.
35 Ibid., 165.
On
7 in
36 Found in
the CosmicChow,
JUum
S.
Christ,157:
tr. P.Maximus the R.Wilken (Creestwood NY
Blowers and
Vladimir's Seminary Press,
Confesso"restwood
37 See N. 2003) 60. Western Christians
Russell, "Why does Theosis Fascinate
Sobomost 34:1 ve
(2012), 5-15.
V o l X X X I2 0 1 6
The Harp
THEOSISin
ISAAC II 303
nothing from him. Creation makes no change in him; change
is in the creature.38
He struggled to maintain the integrity of different religious
the symbols of Hinduism and Christianity
svmbols and did not equate
hut rather he saw them as symbols of the one divine mystery. In his
introduction Trapnell says of Griffiths that he "worked on expressinga
Christian advaita in which traditional symbols ofthe Trinity and Christ,
communion, love, and Logos are seen in the light of the contemplative
the previous symbols are revived within
vision of India. By these means
which intercultural and interreligious dialogue
anew religiOus paradigm inmethod for
is accepted as a powerful disclosing what is true." Griffiths
efforts at inculturation. And
had critics from Christians concerning his
in
conservative Hindus spoke of his "deceitful missionary strategies
for a synthesis.40
the name of dialogue."3" But he never gave up striving
"The
According to Pandikattu, Grifsiths did achieve synthesis:
a
advaita normally grounded in the
popular and predominant theory of
an identity between
Indian philosopher Eañikara, affirms that there is
...But Griffiths gives a
God and world...basically everything is God.
interpretation to advaita whereby the
Christian reality of the world and
the value ofrelationship are stressed." Pandikattu sustains that Griffith
love or relationship found
achieved a synthesis between advaita and the
in Christianity4
summed up his thinking,
Not long before his death Griffiths
Including a brief quote from Maximus the Confessor:
in Dialogue (Albany
Bede Griffiths, A Life
See Judson B. Trapnell,
NY: SUNY,
2001) 157.
39 See Trapnell, Life in Dialogue, 117-19.
who viewea
between Griffiths
COins describes another contrast i.e. doctrine of Trinity and
advaita through the Christian
embraced the
Hindu
Le Saux) who
i k t a n a n d a (Henri
non-duality
meditation.
through See
Standing of advaita and in India
(Hampshire
UK/
Paul M. ins, Christian Inculturation
Burlington VT: Ashgate, 2007) 84-89 Bede
41 Se as Hermeneutics:
Pandikattu, Religious Dialogue for
Research
DC: Council
riffith's Advaitic proach (Washington
in
Values and Philosophy, 2001) 2.
The Harp
Vol. XXXI 2016
304
itselfbut in
different ways. And
dillerent
And
divine
We experience the ate
heaven, we
In heaven,
we ring with
oring withus
us
the ultimate state unique way
in aa unique way -
maybeeven in we
experience
God in
our particular tradition; created, tohave a distinc
were
we
each one...That's why Each of us is a distinct
revelation
of
experience of
the One. in
me, but in uniquewa
therein you
and a
wa
God; the One is totally in the mind of God." And
tha
an idea
"Each ofus is
in each one. that idea in God which
coincide with
aim of our life is to sense, but God knowing himself in that
eternal and is God
in a
and in you.2
particular idea, in
me
words about
inculturation by Collins which are
I conclude with discourse to an ascetical.
a socio- cultural
inspiring and take it beyond
theological one:
true encounter between different
Inculturation is a form of
different cultural perspectives and practices,
religious traditions,
the recognition that each human
and as such it rests upon
image
in the and likeness of God, and by
person is made
extension that each human culture is potentially a bearer ofthe
divine.... From this perspective the task and processes of
for the Church.
inculturation are neither peripheral nor optional
inculturation is Christ
So it might be arguedthat the shape of
transforming it."
taking form in culture and in that process
kinds of boundaries
Isaac the Syrian has been able to cross all
both and ecclesial. Perhaps with
4 the increased amount
geographical
be part ot tna
writings available now, one may hope that might
of his
he
ongoing discussion of theosis in Asian Christianity."
Dr. Mary Hansbury,
19118, USA:
208 E Evergreen Ave, Philadelphia PA
E-mail: m.hansbury@att.net;m.hansbury@veta
Out
42 See Trapnell, Life in Dialogue, 207. St. Maximus
reference.
43 See ecumenical
Colins, Christian Inculturation, 176-77 40
44 See Sebastian Brock, "Crossing the Boundaries: an eluana
role played by Syriac Monastic Literature," Studa u
(2004), 221-38
h e r e is a project now to translate Isaac ll into i
Vol XXXI2 0 1 6
The Harp
 THE HARP
A Review of Syriac, Oriental and Ecumenical Studies
Volume. XXXI 2016
onlLa
ST.EPHREM ECUMENICAL RESEARCH INSTITUTE
(SEERI)