The Immensity of God

It should be noted that monastic theology and its emphasis on praxis and theoria, is to lead one to the contemplation of nature and of the Divine with the centrality of prayer to cultivate integration of mind, body and spirit to reveal the indwelling Trinity through purity of heart. Deification or Christification for the purposes of this paper is brought forth through the degrees of theosis, a process culminating in a state of being termed apatheia, an impassibility which enjoys “uninterrupted converse,” contemplation and “fellowship” with God, in other words – to become fully human, to transcend the limitations imposed by worldly wisdom and accept a life in the Spirit. To render ourselves ready for the Transfiguration, the regeneration in the Spirit. Christ’s deifying Light is the Light shone in the darkness. His deifying Light transfigures us into Christ-bearers. A life in the Spirit was spoken of in Pauline writings to “die to self,” “put on Christ,” etc. Man was originally created incorrupt. And the echo of the Divine within us is the driving force which seeks to regain this balance and harmony in relationship to the Trinity. It is a love of God that places the priority of ordered affection to God and not to a creature. Cultivating this state of being of apatheia, or what is later termed purity of heart following the Origenist condemnations, leads one to surrender to simplicity and clarity of thought while still in awe of creation and the immensity of God and the universe.