The language of the Fathers
Greek words that recur through the essays, with the sense the Fathers gave them. In the essays, these words are underlined; hover or tap to see a definition.
Theōsis
θέωσις
deification
Not that we become God by nature, but that by grace we are drawn into His life: “partakers of the divine nature” (2 Peter 1:4).
Appears in 29 essays, including God: The Fountainhead of Creation, The Mystery of the Holy Trinity as a Template for Understanding Human Life and Achieving Spiritual Perfection, Love: The Highest Expression of the Divine Nature.
Nous
νοῦς
the eye of the soul
The faculty by which the human person perceives God. Healed, it sees; darkened, it wanders.
Appears in 11 essays, including Love For Christ & The Mystery of the Indwelling Presence of the Godhead, Love: The Highest Expression of the Divine Nature, The Salvific Essence of Scripture.
Logismoi
λογισμοί
thoughts
The subtle movements that approach the soul uninvited, to be discerned at the door before they become passions.
Appears in 4 essays, including The Salvific Essence of Scripture, The Instrumentality of Prayer in the Soul’s Communion with the Eternal God, Warring Against the Inner Passions.
Nēpsis
νῆψις
watchfulness
Sobriety of soul: the guarding of the heart by which a life is brought under the governance of the Spirit.
Appears in 7 essays, including The High Priest & Throne of Grace, The Instrumentality of Prayer in the Soul’s Communion with the Eternal God, The Necessity of Ontological Transformation in Salvation.
Theia therapeia
θεία θεραπεία
divine therapy
Not a metaphor borrowed from psychology, but the Fathers’ own language for salvation: the healing of the whole person.
Metanoia
μετάνοια
repentance
A change of the nous: the whole self turning toward God, not once, but daily, through repentance and confession.
Appears in 7 essays, including The Relationship Between Repentance, the Great Commandment & Communion with God, Soteria: The Necessity of Holiness to Salvation of the Soul, The Necessity of Ontological Transformation in Salvation.
Mnēmē Theou
μνήμη Θεοῦ
the remembrance of God
The deliberate retention of God within the consciousness of the soul, so that He governs the interior life.
Appears in 1 essay, including Discipline in the Contemplation of God.
Logos
Λόγος
the Word
The eternal Word of God, through whom all things were made, who became flesh and dwelt among us (John 1:1–14).
Appears in 26 essays, including Discipline in the Contemplation of God, God: The Fountainhead of Creation, The Mystery of the Holy Trinity as a Template for Understanding Human Life and Achieving Spiritual Perfection.
Pneumatikos
πνευματικός
spiritual
The person whose life is governed by the Holy Spirit, who “judgeth all things” (1 Corinthians 2:15).
Appears in 1 essay, including The Pneumatikos Life: A Framework for Spiritual Reality and Divine Wisdom.
Rhēma
ῥῆμα
the spoken word
The word of God addressed to a person in the present: “faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God” (Romans 10:17).
Appears in 1 essay, including Mysteries of the Rhema of God.
Sōtēria
σωτηρία
salvation
Deliverance, healing and wholeness: the restoration of the whole person to communion with God.
Appears in 3 essays, including Jesus Christ- the Hope of a Perfect Life, Soteria: The Necessity of Holiness to Salvation of the Soul, Salvation, Sanctification, and the Synergistic Path to Deification.
Ekklēsia
ἐκκλησία
the Church
The assembly called out by God: the Body of Christ gathered in every place and every age.
Appears in 7 essays, including Love: The Highest Expression of the Divine Nature, Soteria: The Necessity of Holiness to Salvation of the Soul, The Struggle Against Spiritual Progress.