Synopsis
This book, written by a renowned spiritual writer and abbot of Gregoriou Monastery, Mount Athos, concerns the most important question faced by every human being, namely, for what purpose were we created? Drawing from the Holy Scriptures and the writings of the Church Fathers, Elder George shows that we were made in God’s image in order to reach even higher and attain to His likeness, to attain to personal union with Him. Our Creator, Who is God by nature, calls us to become gods by Grace, united with Him in love. This is the meaning of theosis. Although man cut off the path to theosis at the Fall, Christ—Who is the Way, the Truth and the Life—reopened it through His incarnation, death and resurrection. In the famous words of St. Athanasius the Great, “God became man so that man could become god.” Based on talks that Elder George gave in cities throughout Greece, this book discusses the theology, experiences, and conditions of theosis. In conclusion, he offers guidance on what to do and what not to do on the path to theosis. Although the book concerns the most lofty aim of human life, the material is presented in a very accessible way. It can therefore be of spiritual benefit to mature Orthodox Christians as well as those just starting out in the Faith. Its message is so powerful that it may pique the interest of even the most casual inquirers.
About the Author
Archimandrite George Kapsanis was born in Palaio Faliro, Greece in 1935. He was a professor of theology at the University of Athens from 1967 to 1972, until he was tonsured a monk and ordained to the priesthood. From 1974 to 2014 he served as abbot of the Holy Monastery of Gregoriou on Mount Athos, Greece. His doctoral dissertations, Pastoral Care of the Church for Inmates (1969) and Pastoral Care According to the Holy Canons (1976) illustrate the spirit of his paternal ministry. Steadfast to the teachings of the Holy Church Fathers, he wrote significant wqorks and homilies for numerous theological symposiums, as well as for theological dialogues between the Orthodox Church and trhe heterodox. On June 8, 2014, on the great feast-day of Pentecost, he resposed in the Lord. Elder George is distinguished and remembered for his prudence, discernment, and love, and for his Christocentric and Church-centered patristic, theological, and pastoral contributions to the Church, Mount Athos, and contemporary monasticism. May we have his blessing!
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