Marian Studies

Volume 55 The Immaculate Conception: Calling and

Article 12
Destiny

2004

The Immaculate Conception in the Ecumenical

Dialogue with Orthodoxy: How the Term Theosis
Can Inform Convergence
Virginia M. Kimball

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Kimball, Virginia M. (2004) "The Immaculate Conception in the Ecumenical Dialogue with Orthodoxy: How the Term Theosis Can
Inform Convergence," Marian Studies: Vol. 55, Article 12.
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THE IMMACUIA1E CoNCEPTION IN nm ECUMENICAL DIALOGUE wrm
OR.rnoooxv: How nm TERM THEOSIS CAN INFoRM CoNVERGENCE

Virginia M. Kimball, S.T.D. *

The issue of the Immaculate Conception in the Catholic-

Orthodox dialogue differs considerably from the discussion of
the dogma in the Catholic-Protestant dialogue. Both Orthodox
and Protestants object insofar as the Immaculate Conception
is a papally defined dogma. Protestants seek scriptural justifi-
cation for Mary's exemption from sin, whereas Orthodox litur-
gical hymnody proclaims the absolute purity of Mary. However,
it is Orthodoxy's concept of original sin which presents the dif-
ficulty in affirming Mary's exemption from something which
seems essentially human.
Here, after a brief review of Orthodoxy and the ecumenical
movement, this article will sample pertinent Orthodox posi-
tions on the issue of the Immaculate Conception. It will then
present the notion of theosis, briefly outlined as Jules Gross 1
suggests, while also viewing the possibilities, as suggested by
A. N. Williams, of tbeosis as a "ground of union" to enlighten
a convergence on ideas of soteriology-ultimately affecting the
ecumenical dialogue on the "Immaculate Conception."

1. A Brief Review of Ecumenical Progress

The Orthodox Church has been a pioneer in the ecumenical
movement and has raised the question of the importance of the
Tbeotokos in ecumenical discussion. As a preparation for the

"Vrrginia Kimball is a Professor of Religious Studies, at Merrimack College in An-

dover, Massachusetts. She was elected president (2004-06) of the Mariological Society
of America at the 2004 meeting.
1 Jules Gross, The Divinfzatton of the Christian, according to the Greek Fathers (Ana-
heim, Calif.:A & CPress, 2002). Originally published as La divinfsatton du cbretten d'apres
les peres grecs:Contributton hfstorique a Ia doctrine de Ia grace (Paris: J. Gabalda, 1938).

LV(2004) MARIAN STUDIES 212-244

 Immaculate Conception and Orthodox Churches 213

establishment of the World Council of Churches, the Church of

Constantinople, in January, 1920, addressed a letter "unto all
the Churches of Christ wheresoever they be" inviting the
Churches "to renounce proselytism and to form a league for
mutual assistance." At the Lausanne Conference of the Faith and
Order conference in 1927, Professor Bulgakov (1871-1944)
caused the greatest stir by introducing into the discussion the
question of the significance of the Blessed Virgin Mary in the
reunion of Christians. Professor Bulgakov said: "Holiness is the
goal and essence of the Church's life: the holiness of the man-
hood of Christ, actualized in the communion of saints. But we
cannot separate the humanity of our Lord from that of His
mother, the unspotted Theotokos. She is the head of mankind
in the Church; Mother and Bride of the Lamb, she is joined with
all saints and angels in the worship and life of the church. Oth-
ers may not yet feel drawn, as I do, to name her name in prayer.
Yet, as we draw together towards doctrinal reunion, it may be
that we are coming potentially nearer even in this regard." 2
Although there were centuries of distrust between the Or-
thodox and Catholics, the situation began to change, on both
sides, in the 1960s. Orthodox observers were present at
Vatican II, and Unitatis redintegratio (UR) spoke of the "broth-
erly communion of faith and sacraments" which bound the two
churches. Vatican II gave special consideration to the Eastern
Churches: "Admiration is expressed for their liturgical wor-
ship, their devotion to the 'Mary ever Virgin, whom the ecu-
menical Council of Ephesus solemnly proclaimed to be the
holy Mother of God, so that Christ might be acknowledged as
being truly Son of God and Son of Man" (UR #15). In January
1964 Pope Paul Vl and Patriarch Athenagoras of Constantino-
ple met for the first time, in Jerusalem, and, in a common dec-
laration, the mutual excommunications of 1054 were "erased
from the memory" of the church. A major effort to heal the

2 Nicolas Zemov, "The Eastern Churches and the Ecumenical Movement in the Twen-

tieth Century," in A History of the Ecumenical Movement, 1517-1948, edited by Ruth

Rouse and Stephen Charles Neill (Philadelphia: The Westminster Press, 1954), 656.
214 Immaculate Conception and Orthodox Churches

schism was one of the aims of the pontificate of John Paul II.
(Cf. Apostolic Letter Orientale Lumen, 1995, with its glowing
tribute to the Eastern Churches, especially Eastern monasti-
cism.) In his encyclical letter Ut Unum Sint (#56), he declared:
"the structures of unity which existed before the separation are
a heritage of experience that guides our common path toward
the re-establishment of full communion. Obviously, during the
second millennium the Lord has not ceased to bestow on his
Church abundant fruits of grace and growth. Unfortunately,
however, the gradual and mutual estrangement between the
Churches of the West and the East deprived them of the bene-
fits of mutual exchanges and cooperation."
In the Catholic-Orthodox ecumenical dialogue, progress has
been made on doctrinal issues such as the Trinity, the Eucharist,
even the long-debated question ofjilioque. Unfortunately, the
present impasse deals more with jurisdictional than theological
issues, especially the position of the Eastern Catholic Churches.
The Orthodox response to documents on Mary from Paul VI
and John Paul II has been studied by Mary Ann DeTrana.

A study of Orthodox publications in English from 1967 to 1988 showed

that there was not a single detailed analysis of any of these documents
from any Orthodox, official or unofficial, theologian or non-specialist.
One may well ask why?3

The reasons, DeTrana suggested, may have been the Ortho-

dox tradition of relying on the Liturgy as the teacher of the
faithful; or that Orthodox theologians never took up the
Catholic writings as more than reflections on Catholic teach-
ing; or, for more ethnic reasons, because Orthodox churches
in eastern Europe have no organized jurisdictional voice. De-
Trana did fmd, however, that Orthodox theologians were "lis-
tening" prior to Vatican II. Before Vatican II, there was some
response to the upcoming council, such as Lossky's question-

3 Mary Ann DeTrana, "Letters of Paul VI and John Paul II on the Vrrgin Mary: the
evolution of a dialogue," pp. 181-194, in Mary is for Everyone, eds. William McLough-
lin and Jill Pinnock (Herefordshire, Great Britain: Gracewing and The Ecumenical So-
ciety of the Blessed Virgin Mary, 1997), 181-182.
 Immaculate Conception and Orthodox Churches 215

ing of isolating dogma from Christian life: "It is impossible to

separate dogmatic data ... from the data of the Church's cul-
tus, in a theological exposition of the doctrine about the
Mother of God. Here dogma should throw light on devotion." 4
Overall, DeTrana sensed a progressive movement on the part
of the East to understand the West.s
The notion of "listening" rather than formally responding
may characterize much of the ecumenical dialogue since Vati-
can II. It becomes a comprehensive exercise as one book at-
tests: Growth in Agreement II, Reports and Agreed Statements
of Ecumenical Conversations on a World Level, 1982-1998.
One of the most obvious aspects of looking at the calendar of
meetings is that the dimension and dynamics of bilateral dis-
cussion has played a large role, perhaps to the surprise of some.
This would entail another comprehensive study, but it can be
said that, for example, Orthodox are "listening" to the dialogue
between Catholics and Lutherans; the Reformed churches are
"listening" to dialogue between Anglican, Catholic, and Or-
thodox dialogues; and so on. In other words, we are all learn-
ing from the dialogues of others. World Council of Churches
editors Gros, Meyer, and Rusch endorse the observation:
It is also clear that an increased inter-relatedness among the dialogues has
occurred.... The forum for bilateral conversations continues to survey
in a helpful manner the inter-relatedness and coherence of the various
dialogues.6

Robert Barringer, in his article on the present position of

Catholic-Orthodox dialogue, suggests a dialogue of love, be-
ginning with the 1965 action of Patriarch Athenagoras and

4 DeTrana, "Letters," 184, citing Vladimir Lossky.

5 DeTrana, "Letters," 191. She stated: "We have seen a steady progression in the focus
of the Vatican, which has brought the Roman Catholic and the Orthodox Churches face
to face, one might say, in their veneration of the Mother of God. As we have noted, the
Orthodox response to the documents has been minimal, but that is not to say that Or-
thodox theologians are unaware of them, or that they disagree with them."
GJeffrey Gros, Harding Meyer, and William G. Rusch, Growth in Agreement JL·Re-
ports and Agreed Statements of Ecumenical Conversations on a World Leve~
1982-1998 (Geneva: WCC Publications; Grand Rapids, Mich./Cambridge, UK: Eerd-
mans Publishing Co., 2000), "General Introduction," xv.
216 Immaculate Conception and Orthodox Churches

Pope Paul VI in a "purification of memories:' Here, too, it has

become evident that the method to be followed toward full
communion is the dialogue of truth, fostered and sustained by
the dialogue of love.

This phrase ["purification of memories"] was used of the lifting of the ex-
communications of 1054 and appeals for the purging of that weight of
bitterness which was collected from the past. This purging of bitterness
perhaps demands more of Orthodox than of Catholics, because it is true
in general that eastern Christians have more to forgive and forget in the
long history of East/West relations.7

2. Pertinent Orthodox Opinions on the Immaculate

Conception
Orthodox opinions on the Immaculate Conception are first
influenced by attitudes toward the Church of Rome, the
source of the deflnition of the Immaculate Conception. As
with some Protestants, the fact that dogma has been papally
defmed invariably influences their decision. Cavarnos, for ex-
ample, flrst denied the notion of "sister churches" or "two
lungs," claiming there can be only one unified body of Christ.
For him, the reason for the division is the dogma of papal in-
fallibility: "The dogma of papal infallibility; then, is without
basis in reality, as also is the dogma of papal primacy. And it
constitutes one of the most serious causes of the separation of
the two Churches:•s

7 Robert Barringer, C.S.B., "Catholic-Orthodox Dialogue: The Present Position," in

Rome and Constantinople: Essays in the Dialogue of Love, ed. Robert Barringer
(Brookline, Mass.: Holy Cross Orthodox Press, 1984), 71. Barringer states:
Roman Catholics probably need a "jogging" of memories as much as they need
a purification of memories, but the object of the challenge is not to wallow in
guilt for past injustices. We are meant instead to plunge our roots more deeply
into the history of the undivided Church and recover that first and fresh sense
of communion between the East and West.... We are called to rid our memo-
ries of the resentments and grudges of the past and to provide for the genera-
tions to come memories of a deeper past which can nourish rather than poison
the future. Tilis is a dury laid upon Roman Catholics and Orthodox alike.
8 Constantine Cavarnos, The Question of Union: A Forthright Discussion of the

Possibility of Union ofthe Eastern Orthodox Church and Roman Catholicism, trans.
Patrick Barker (Etna, Calif.: Center for Traditionalist Orthodox Studies, 1992), 23.
 Immaculate Conception and Orthodox Churches 217

This same author claims that the dogma of the Immaculate

Conception is an "innovation" when it describes the Virgin
Mary as "not conceived like other human beings, but immac-
ulately and consequently ... free from the ancestral sin." He
points to the usual Orthodox attitude that the Virgin Mary was
subject to ancestral sin like all of humanity until the Annun-
ciation, when she was "purified through the coming of the
Holy Spirit."9
Despite negative approaches like that of Cavarnos, there are
leading Orthodox theologians today who do offer optimism
and hope in the spirit of Christ's injunction for unity, repeated
in the words of Peter: "Finally, all of you, have unity of spirit,
sympathy, love of the brethren, a tender heart and a humble
mind." 10 Traditionally, the Orthodox approach, as described by
Alexander Schmemann, offers a view that "has always been in
'christological terms"' solely, with no need for further revela-
tions concerning the Virgin Mary.

. . . if nothing else were revealed in the Gospel than the mere fact of
Mary's existence, i.e., that Christ, God and man, had a mother and that
her name was Mary, it would have [been] enough for the Church to love
her, to think of her relationship with her Son, and to draw theological
conclusions from this contemplation. Thus, there is no need for additional

9 Cavamos, The Question of Union, 26:

A fifth innovation of the Western Church in the area of dogmas is the dogma
of the Immaculate Conception of the Virgin Mary. This dogma made its first ap-
pearance in Lyon, France, in 1140. It spread gradually among the Roman
Catholics, and in 1854 it was proclaimed as a dogma of the Papal Church by
Pope Pius IX, with the assent of the majority of bishops. According to this
dogma, the Panagia was not conceived like other human beings, but immacu·
lately, and consequently was free from the ancestral sin.... The Orthodox
Church never accepted this innovation. St. Nicodemus the Hagiorite makes the
following related comment in the Pedalion: "The attitude of the Orthodox
Church is that the ancestral sin ... is handed on to all mankind, even to those
sanctified from their mothers' wombs, even to our udy Theotokos herself."
Theotokos "was subject to the ancestral sin until the Annunciation; for at that
time she was purified through the coming of the Holy Spirit, as the Angel said:
'The Holy Spirit shall come upon thee.'"
to The New Oxford Annotated Bible with the Apocrypha, revised standard version,
ed. H. G May and B. M. Metzger (New York: Oxford University Press, 1977), 1 Pet. 3:8.
218 Immaculate Conception and Orthodox Churches

or special revelations; Mary is a self-evident and essential "dimension" of

the Gospel itself.ll

In a 1988 article that presented Roman Catholic, Lutheran

and Orthodox perspectives on John Paul II's recent Marian en-
cyclical (March 25, 1987), Orthodox Damaskinos Papandreou
listed three points found in the Roman Catholic document Re-
demptoris Mater that can be easily embraced by the Orthodox:
1. The Annunciation and Mary's conceiving of Christ
stands at the center of God's mystery of salvation.
2. The Mother of God is mediatrix "in subordination
to Christ's work of salvation."
3. The Mother of God represents an active maternity
of God's son in "her obedient answer to the divine
will for humanity's salvation."12

All of these points are consistent with patristic tradition in the

early, undivided church. However, Papandreou also cautioned
that there are two significant areas of concern for Orthodox
over issues raised in the pope's encyclical.
1. The dogma of the Immaculate Conception cannot be
considered consistent with the patristic tradition of the
undivided early church-pointing out that Augustine,
Bernard of Clairvaux, Thomas Aquinas, and Albertus
Magnus could be included among those in aversion to
the dogma. In fact, Aquinas described the purification
from original sin that occurred for Mary in the Annun-
ciation, arguing that Christ alone was without sin.
2. Orthodox see the dogma of the Assumption as closely
related to her conception, where "death marks the
boundary of her unique, immediate eschatological
'transformation' and the radiance which is bestowed

11 A. Schmemann, The Celebration of Faith: Sermons, trans. John A. Jillions

(3 vols.; Crestwood, N.Y.: St. Vladimir's Seminary Press, 1991-1995), v. 3: The Virgin
Mary, 60. Hereafter cited as Sennons:Tbe Virgin Mary.
12 Kurt Koch, Damaskinos Papandreou, Ulrich Wtlckens and Gerhard Voss, "Reac-
tions to Redemptorls Mater," Theology Digest 35/1 (Spring 1988): 13.
 Immaculate Conception and Orthodox Churches 219

upon her as a consequence 'not of her death, but of

her conception' of Christ Gohn ofDamascus)." 13

3. Liturgy as Locus of Mariology

According to Schmemann, Orthodox reflection on Mary is
found in the liturgy, as evidence of faith that has been continu-
ous in time. "The Liturgy is the main, if not exclusive, locus of
Mariology in the Orthodox Church." 14 Liturgical traditions in
the East concerning the Theotokos have been constant and un-
wavering. Paradoxically, in its evolving manner of thought on
the dogma, Catholic theologians claimed support for the defi-
nition of the dogma to be confirmed in early eastern liturgical
prayer. The point of discussion is how the meaning of that early
eastern prayer was embraced in the locus of eastern praxis.
The interpretation of the eastern prayers concerning the All-
Holy One, Panagia, may have been interpreted by Catholics in
an evolving process within a nineteenth-century soteriological
emphasis quite different from the soteriology intended at the
time of composition of the liturgical lyrics. This is the prime
reason for returning to theological and liturgical sources to ex-
amine the early ages and the contextual actuality of what east-
ern liturgical and theological embrace was at the time.
However, Francis Dvornik discussed the possibilities of
sources in the Byzantine Church's liturgy serving as evidence
of belief in the Immaculate Conception.

During the seventh century, the commemoration of St. Anne's concep-

tion was also introduced and celebrated on December 9th....
The fact that the Byzantine Church had introduced a special feast of the
Conception of St. Anne has been interpreted by some western mariologists
as a counterpart to the feast of the Immaculate Conception as the Western
Church knows it. In reality the importance of this feast for the evolution of
the doctrine of the Immaculate Conception should not be exaggerated. 15

13 Koch et al., "Reactions," 13-14.

t4 Schmemann, Sennons: The Virgin Mary, 61.
ts Francis Dvornik, "The Byzantine Church and the lmmaculate Conception," in
The Dogma of the Immaculate Conception: History and Significance, ed. Edward D.
O'Connor (Notre Dame, Ind.: University of Notre Dame Press, 1958), 90. It was not
until the seventh century that the Conception of [Mary to] St. Anne was introduced.
220 Immaculate Conception and Orthodox Churches

Orthodox theologians include Mary in the long line of prophets

and saints expecting the messiah, and in particular in compari-
son to St. John the Baptist.

This feast [Conception of VIrgin Mary by St. Anne] was originally simply a
counterpart to another similar commemoration-the feast of the Conception
of St. John the Baptist.... The liturgies of the two feasts are very similar. 16

The context of the Feast of the Conception of Mary by St.

Anne then has to be fully explored. If it is a feast corollary to
the Feast of the Conception of St. John. Are both individuals
considered to be "free of sin" in the description of a miracu-
lous birth? In the Feast of the Conception by St. Anne, the
miraculous is described by Dvornik:

But besides the miraculous announcement of Mary's birth, the Byzantine

Church also stressed, in the liturgy of this feast, the miraculous conception
in the sterile womb of Anne and the beginning of life of the future Mother
of God. In their poems and homilies Byzantine poets and orators insisted
more and more on Our Lady's passive Conception and on her holiness from
the very beginning of her existence. So it happened that the introduction
of this feast into the eastern liturgy contributed a great deal to the devel-
opment of theological speculation on the greatest of Mary's prerogatives. 17

Byzantine theologians of past ages have never debated the idea

of Mary's prerogatives or called for a definition. There was not
one eastern theologian who ever denied Mary's prerogatives.
Their starting point was different. Once the dogma of Mary, the
Theotokos, was completed at the Council of Ephesus (431), "this
sublime fact presupposes a great degree of sanctity in the Blessed
VIrgin:' and, as Dvornik noted, there was no more to be de.fined. 1s

4. Orthodox Theology of the Fall and the

"All-Holiness" ofVirgin Mary
The patristic idea of mankind's state before Christ is de-
scribed by Bishop Maximos Aghiorgoussis:

16 Dvornik, "The Byzantine Church," 90.

17 Dvornik, "The Byzantine Church," 91.
1s Dvornik, "The Byzantine Church," 91.
 Immaculate Conception and Orthodox Churches 221

The cause of man's rejection of God was-and is-pride. [Note that this is
the opposite of obedience.] It is an abuse of the self-determination given
to man by God when He created him according to His image. Along with
the angels, man is created "unsinful by nature, yet free in his will. Unsin-
ful does not mean that man is not capable of sin: only the Divine is inca-
pable of sin. Man, who did not have sin in his nature, invented sin by
misuse of his freedom of choice (TipoaL peaLe;). Thus he had the possibility
(e~ouota) of remaining in harmony with the good and progressing in good-
ness through the cooperation of divine grace. But he also had the power
(e~ouata) to turn his back on the good and place himself in evil; this God
allows because of the human right of freedom of choice." ... Evil, as a state
of inauthentic existence, as a state of death and rejection of God who is
the source of life, is not the "non-existing" (i.L~ ov); but neither is it a par-
ticular "essence" since it has no separate being. Evil is the corruption of
existence. In the words of St. Basil, "evil is not a living and animate essence;
it is a disposition in the soul which opposes virtue; this attitude develops
in the slothful because of their alienation from the good." 19

In John Meyendorff's text on Byzantine theology, he stressed

the continued Orthodox theme that Virgin Mary is "the culmi-
nating point of Israel's progress toward reconciliation with
God, but God's fmal response to this progress and the begin-
ning of new life comes with the Incarnation of the Word." 20
Byzantine homilies and liturgical hymnology referred to the
Virgin using phrases such as "fully prepared," "cleansed;' and
"sanctified." These terms could have led westerners to think
they had found references to the Immaculate Conception. Here
are several examples of texts that could suggest some aspects
of the Catholic dogma:

Sopbronius ofjerusalem, d. 638

Many saints appeared before thee, but none was as filled with grace
as thou ... No one has been purified in advance as thou hast been. 21

19 Bishop Maximos Aghiorgoussis, "Sin in Orthodox Dogmatics," St. Vladimir's The-

ological Quarterly 21/4 (1977): 183-184. Here, Bishop Maximos cites St. Basil's In
Hexaemeron, Homily 2.
20 John Meyendorff, Byzantine Theology: Historical Trends and Doctrinal Themes

(New York: Fordham University Press, 1983), 147.

21 Meyendorff, Byzantine Theology, 147: quoting Sophronius ofJerusalem, Oratto II,

25; PG 87:3248A.
222 Immaculate Conception and Orthodox Churches

Andrew of Crete, d. 740

When the Mother of Him who is beauty itself is born, [human] nature
recovers in her person its ancient privileges, and is fashioned according
to a perfect model, truly worthy of God ... In a word, the transfiguration
of our nature begins today.... 22

Nicholas Cabasilas, J4tb century

Earth she is, because she is from earth; but she is a new earth, since
she derives in no way from her ancestors and has not inherited the old
leaven. She is ... a new dough and has originated a new race. 23

These phrases of "purity" and "privilege" should be interpreted

in terms of the theology of the Fall according to the patristic
East. The Orthodox explanation of "tbeosis" (deification) en-
lightens them. According to Meyendorff, there is a difference
between "mortality" and "guilt":

... the inheritance from Adam is mortality, not guilt, and there was never any
doubt among Byzantine theologians that Mary was indeed a mortal being. 24

It is Meyendorff's contention, as well, that "never does one

read, in Byzantine authors, any statement which would imply
that she [Mary] had received a special grace of immortality. "25
Perhaps, the only exception to this is Gennadios Scholarios (d.
ca.l472) who was influenced by the scholasticism of Aquinas
but departs from it to discuss the factor of human guilt in origi-
nal sin and the preservation of the mother of Christ. 26
The oldest feast of the Theotokos can be considered to be
the Synaxis on December 26, the day after Christ's birth. The
context of this feast shows the direct connection of under-
standing the mother of Christ in soteriological terms, and how

22 Meyendorff, Byzantine Theology, 147: quoting Andrew of Crete, Homily I on

the Holy Nativity of Mary, PG 97:812A.
23 Meyendorff, Byzantine Theology, 147-148: quoting Nicholas Cabasilas, Homily
on the Donnition, 4; PG 19:498.
24 Meyendorff, Byzantine Theology, 147.
25 Meyendorff, Byzantine Theology, 148.
26 Meyendorff, Byzantine Theology, 148.
 Immaculate Conception and Orthodox Churches 223

the identity of Mary relates always to the mystery of Christ.

Schememann pointed out:

One would seek in vain for a Mariological treatise in our manuals of

dogma. This liturgical veneration [the liturgical texts of the feasts] has, to
be sure, been adorned with much piety, symbolism and allegory, and this
has led to questions about the biblical character and justification of these
forms. Where in the Bible do we find stories about her nativity, her pre-
sentation in the Temple, her dormition-all of the principal Mariological
celebrations. To this the Orthodox answer is that whatever their poetic,
liturgical and hymnographic "expressions," all these events are real in the
sense that they are self-evident. Mary was born; as with every pious Jew-
ish girl she was, at some moment of her life, taken into the Temple; and
in the end, she died. The fact, therefore, that much of the liturgical ex-
pression of these feasts is taken from the Apocrypha does not change or
alter their "reality:' It is the ultimate meaning of these events that the
Church contemplates, not the poetic elaborations of Byzantine hymns. 27

To substantiate the claim that eastern theology about the Theo-

tokos is centrally soteriological, Schmemann reminds us of the
theological depiction of Mary in iconography where her per-
petual reference is toward her Son. Her image is always posed
with her Son, or in reference to her Son. He cites the icon, Our
Lady ofVladimir "to understand that herein there is a wonder-
ful revelation about the central mystery of the Christian faith, as
well as the meaning of man, his body, his life, his destiny." 28 The
Orthodox will explain that iconography is a category of religious
"text" and embodies revelation within it just as the pages of the
Bible do. Even the architecture of the Byzantine church has icono-
graphic value, displaying once again the centrality of soteriology,
where the VIrgin is the human mother who contained the link
between God and humanity. Stylianos Harkianakis, the Greek Or-
thodox Archbishop of Australia, showed how Byzantine church
architecture represents the Theotokos:
The central role of the Mother of God in the whole plan of salvation cor-
responds to her depiction in the Byzantine church. In the broad apse

27 Schmemann, Sennons:The Vtrgtn Mary, 61.

2s Schmemann, Sermons: The Vtrgtn Mary, 62.
224 Immaculate Conception and Orthodox Churches

behind the altar is the place where the so-called "Platytera" is repre-
sented, i.e., the Mother of God who has already conceived in her womb
the Word of the Father, Whom no space can contain. The apse is the part
of the church building which unites it with the main representation of
the Mother of God, who has similarly united heaven and earth. 29

Myrrha Lot-Borodine addressed the issue of the dogma of

the Immaculate Conception in light of the Eastern Church. Her
article points to the main difficulty for Orthodox regarding the
dogma of the Immaculate Conception, namely, its relation to
soteriology. To them the dogma appears to:

... detach the Theotokos from fallen humanity to which she brings sal-
vation. Mary has been a privileged creature from before birth, a portion
of humanity set aside from the outset, but this can be true without re-
course to exemption of original sin. In the synergy between human na-
ture and the gift of God, it is Mary's freedom that is at stake. But the
difference between East and West lies precisely in the conception of
human nature.3o

Concerning Mary-in the Orthodox Tradition-as an image

of the Church, James Paffhausen suggested that the mother of
Christ is the one human person in whom human salvation is
fulfilled. She is seen in the Byzantine Tradition as:

... the culmination and fulfillment of the whole history. God gradually
brought Israel towards communion with Himself through the giving of
the Law, the liturgy of the Temple, and through the Prophets. He was
preparing Israel to say Yes, to live in obedience, which is communion in
love, with Him. In Mary, in her "yes" to God, this whole history was ful-
filled when she responded to the Annunciation of Gabriel.3 1

The keywords here are "culmination" and "fulfillment." At Ves-

pers, on the feast of her birth on September 8, we find an apos-
29 Stylianos Harkianakis, The Orthodox Church and Catholicism, trans. H. L. N.

Simmons (Sydney: Australian Council of Churches, 1975), 40.

3° Myrrha Lot-Borodine, "Le dogme de l'Immaculee Conception a Ia lumiere de
l'Eglise d'Orient," Irentkon 67!3 (1994): 344.
3 1 james Paffhausen, "Mary in the Orthodox Tradition: Image of the Church," Ecu-
mentsm, no. 87 (September, 1987): 22.
 Immaculate Conception and Orthodox Churches 225

ticha (brief hymn-response added to the verses from the

Psalms at the end of Vespers and Matins) expressing how she
represents the "culmination" of salvation, by being the cham-
ber where the rejoining of God and humanity took place:

She is the treasure of virginity, the rod of Aaron springing forth from the
root of Jesse, the preaching of the prophets, offshoot of the righteous
Joachim and Ann ... She is the holy Temple, the Receiver of the God-
head: the instrument of virginity, the Bridal Chamber of the King,
wherein was accomplished the marvelous mystery of the ineffable union
of the natures which come together in Christ.32

In this Orthodox view, Pafthausen states:

Mary's life of love and obedience, without sin, is brought to fulfillment in

her exaltation, already having entered into Paradise, as the first fruits of
humanity to have seen the Resurrection of the End of the Age. It is for this
reason that she is seen as "the All-Holy One [Panagia]," her own deifica-
tion being the very content of salvation, not for herself alone, but for
everyone who follows the same path of love and obedience .... Mary, as
the perfectly fulfilled and deified human person, can be both the focus
and source of unity for the Church. Her model of obedience and humil-
ity, of her acceptance of the will of God and willingness to carry it out,
whatever the cost, without wavering, without sinning, without breaking
communion with God-even seeing her own Son crucified and buried-
is the model for every Christian.33

Is this an acceptance of the dogma of the Immaculate Con-

ception? One has to look carefully at the terminology. She is
presented as the model of the redeemed one: soteriologically
"her own deification" is the schema for the salvation of all. Yes,
Mary was without sin but he is not saying "without original
sin" or "without original guilt." She is consecrated, given gifts
by God, to prepare her for the message of the angel because
of her humility and lack of sinning. The well-known east-
ern hymn A:xion Estin ("You are most worthy"), that follows
Consecration in the Liturgy of St. Basil and St. Chrysostom,

32 Paffhausen, "Mary in the Orthodox Tradition," 23.

33 Paffhausen, "Mary in the Orthodox Tradition," 24.
226 Immaculate Conception and Orthodox Churches

describes the Theotokos to be without corruption. A5 Paff-

hausen helps us to understand, Theotokos is "honorable" be-
cause of her own deification, meant by the phrase "without
corruption." She did not fall to mortality but accepted life with
God. To quote from the hymn:
More honorable than the cherubim, and more glorious beyond compare
than the seraphim, without corruption you gave birth to God the Word,
true Theotokos, we magnify you.34

Bishop Kallistos Ware described the title "all holy" as follows:

Orthodoxy understands this title to mean that Mary is free from all actual
sin, although she was born subject to the effects of original sin, in com-
mon with the other holy men and women of the Old Covenant. Thus the
Orthodox Church sees in her the supreme fulfillment of sanctity in a
human person-the model and paradigm of what it means, by God's
grace, to be authentically human... _35

Additionally, he described the Theotokos in terms of Byzantine

spirituality that would view Mary as "the model hesychast, a
living icon of what it means to practice hesycbia, stillness of
heart. The words of the Psalmist-'Be still, and know that I am
God' (Ps. 46: 10)-apply exactly to her."36 At the Annunciation,
the Theotokos places herself in the stillness of God's presence.
She is "an icon of human freedom and liberation. [She] is cho-
sen, but she herself also chooses."37 These are important ele-
ments in the patristic understanding of theosis.
Bishop Kallistos offered a succinct description of the Vir-
gin Mary in three titles: "'all-holy' (in Greek Panagia), 'ever-
Virgin' (Aiepartbenos), and 'Mother of God' (Tbeotokos)."3B

34 Axton Esttn (Thou are holy), hymn following consecration in the Orthodox Di·
vine Liturgy.
35 Kallistos Ware, Mary Tbeotokos in the Orthodox Tradition (Great Britain: The
Ecumenical Society of the Blessed Vrrgin Mary, 1997), 4. This paper had previously ap-
peared in the Orthodox periodical Epiphany 9/2, published in San Francisco, and in
Marlanum, no. 140, published in Rome.
36 Ware, Mary Tbeotokos, 13.
37 Ware, Mary Tbeotokos, 14.
38 Ware, Mary Tbeotokos, 4.
 Immaculate Conception and Orthodox Churches 227

Bishop Kallistos concluded his paper by recommending a two-

fold understanding:

On the one hand, in her role as Mother of God she may be seen as unique.
In all the history of the human race there is only one Incarnation, and so
there can only be one Mother of the Incarnate. But, on the other hand,
she is also our pattern and exemplar, and we are to perceive not only her
uniqueness but [also] what we share in common with her. As the New
Eve she expresses our universal humanity.39

Bishop Kallistos further explores the title "All-Holy" (Pana-

gia) in a comprehensive investigation of the theology of John
of Damascus, the seventh-century homilist and liturgical
writer who developed that image extensively.

She is "all-holy" (panagia), "pure" (agne), "spotless" or "immaculate"

(achrantos), "blameless" (amemptos), "without blemish" (amomos),
"altogether without blemish" (panamomos). "The immaculate Virgin
had no converse with earthly passions," John states; "after God, she is
truly holy above all others."" ... after God": here again John confirms the
basic principle of the Ecumenical Society of the Blessed Vtrgin Mary, that
she is to be honoured always "under Christ. •4o

Again, it is a question of language. To really interpret John's

hymns and homilies, it is necessary to probe the linguistics and
context of his phraseology. Those phrases can be interpreted,
and they were by Catholic theologians, to mean that John of
Damascus anticipated the emerging dogma of the Immaculate
Conception:

John believes that Mary underwent a special purification and hallowing

at the moment of the annunciation, when "the sanctifying power of the
Spirit overshadowed, cleansed and consecrated her." But this does not sig-
nify that, in John's view, she was sinful prior to the annunciation; on the
contrary, he clearly considers that she was always pure and guiltless.
Moreover, he also states clearly that she was predestined from all eternity

39Ware, Mary Tbeotokos, 17.

4oKallistos Ware, "'The Earthly Heaven': The Mother of God in the Teaching of St.
John of Damascus," in Mary for Earth and Heaven, eds. William McLoughlin and Jill
Pinnock (Leominster: Gracewing, 2002), 359.
228 Immaculate Conception and Orthodox Churches

to be the Mother of God incarnate: "She was chosen from ancient gener-
ations, through the preordained counsel and good pleasure of God the
Father.... The Father forechose her, the prophets through the Holy
Spirit proclaimed her in advance."41

Patristic studies understand that John of Damascus was not

dealing with the concept of "the stain of original sin":

John is certainly convinced that the Holy Vrrgin was free from all actual
sin, but he nowhere speaks explicitly of any exemption from the "stain"
of original sin. He does, however, specify that she bore Christ without
enduring the pangs of childbirth due to the fall (Gen. 3:16), which sug-
gests that she was indeed exempt from the effects of the fall. But we must
in any case allow for the fact that John's understanding of the fall and of
original sin is not the same as that upheld by St. Augustine and normally
accepted in the Latin West. 42

5. Theosis: "Ground of Union" for Convergence

on "Immaculate Conception"
In 1986, at the ESBVM Congress in Chichester, Bishop Kallis-
tos T. Ware and the late Edward Yarnold, S.J., suggested a
"search for convergence" between the Roman Catholic and
Eastern Orthodox churches on the issue of the Immaculate
Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary.43 Now, in this 150th
year of the anniversary of Pope Pius IX's defmition of the Im-
maculate Conception, it is fitting in the ecumenical forum to
return to this discussion.
Bishop Kallistos and Father Yarnold raised questions on
how the pivotal theological issue of the "mystery of original
sin" may affect the convergence in understanding the all-holi-
ness of the Virgin Mary, who is the woman considered by both
churches as "an eschatological icon" for all humanity.44 They

41 Ware, "'The Earthly Heaven;" 359-360.

42 Ware, "'The Earthly Heaven;" 360.
4~ Bishop Kallistos T. Ware and Edward Yarnold, SJ., The Immaculate Conception:
A Search for Convergence (Surrey, England: Ecumenical Society of the Blessed Vrrgin
Mary, 1987), 3. Available tlrrough the ESBVM-US website: www.esbvm.org.uk.
44 See: The Homily of the Holy Father john Paul II, Prairie de la Ribere, August 15,
2004, #6: "Both [the Assumption and Immaculate Conception] proclaim the glory of
 Immaculate Conception and Orthodox Churches 229

suggested three levels to describe "original sin"-"the moral,

the physical, the juridical."45
Bishop Kallistos stated that there is no disagreement over
the frrst two levels. The third level described the concept of
"guilt" inherited from the sin of Adam and Eve: an issue of Mary
needing or not needing a remedy for "guilt."
Fr. Yarnold attempted to describe the Catholic thought in
Eastern terms. The "lack of original justice;' which is, he said,
equivalent to the original sin, that humans after the Fall come into
the world with an empty "hole." The Roman Catholic concept
believes God made humans with a "hole" that needs to be filled
with God's grace (equivalent to the Eastern term "theosis")-
a completion that was lost with the original sin. But, he said,

Christ the Redeemer and the holiness of Mary, whose human destiny is even now per-
fectly and definitively realized in God." See also: Schrnemann, Sennons: The Virgin
Mary, 66: "She-Mary-is the ultimate 'doxa' of creation, its response to God."
45 Ware and Yarnold, The Immaculate Conception, 11. As explained on p. 5, the
three levels are:
1) "physical consequences: tiredness, illness, bodily pain, and finally physi-
cal death";
2) "moral consequences: weakness of will, inability to make any decision
at all, doing what we know is wrong when we want to do what is right, moral
paralysis";
3) "juridical consequences: original sin is understood in terms of inherited
guilt" suggested "particularly by St. Augustine" who believed it was "transmit-
ted through the sexual act."
On these three levels of the discussion of original sin and its effects, Fr. Yarnold indi-
cated there can still be hope for convergence. On page 8, in reference to the first level,
Father Yarnold could agree:
But for Mary were death and suffering spiritual problems? It seems to me-
though this is really another subject-that just as her Son was tempted, though
we do not know psychologically speaking what it meant for him to be tempted,
even more it must be true that Mary was liable to temptation. Therefore pre-
sumably death and suffering could have been sources of temptation to her. To
that extent I think we could say that she shared our fallen nature.
Concerning level two, Fr. Yarnold, on page 8, seems to agree:
1f one wants to think of that as a characteristic of fallen nature [the weakness
of the will, or the division of the will], then Mary too, it seems to me, should
be said to share fallen nature. But let us remember that we are not talking about
actual, personal sin; it is not a matter of disagreement between East and West
whether Mary personally sinned or not. We are talking about this mysterious
entity "original sin."
230 Immaculate Conception and Orthodox Churches

Mary never experienced this unfilled hole or lack of original

justice. Her human nature included a hole always filled with
God. He asserted:

What one would want to say in the Western tradition is that for the
Blessed Vrrgin Mary at every age, whether immediately after conception,
or at birth, or at the age of thirty or forty, that hole was filled, and she re-
ceived grace as God wished and as he was able to give it to a human being
of that age. 46

Therefore, Fr. Yarnold suggested, as a possibility, that "tbeosis"

is the same as this "God-shaped hole" in the human heart filled
with God; meaning that "God made us with the capability of
receiving his grace, of receiving (to speak in Eastern terms
now) deification."47 Regarding the how and why of Mary's all-
holiness, Bishop Kallistos responded to Fr. Yarnold that on the
third juridical level" ... if we [Orthodox and Catholics] do not
take an Augustinian view of original guilt, then perhaps the
question can remain open," adding that "the whole subject of
original sin and inherited guilt is of such obscurity that we
should leave open the question of Mary's relationship to it:•4s
He pointed out that Orthodoxy prefers the word "Fall" (propa-
torike hamartia-sin of the forefathers, or "ancestral sin")
over the term "original sin;' and singled out the issue of inher-
ited "guilt" as most problematic: "By comparison, the Greek
Fathers are very tentative and hesitant about the notion of
any inherited guilt.... We cannot imagine that the Mother
of God was subject to the consequences of the Fall as Augus-
tine envisages them:'49 As an example of Augustine's think-
ing on "the bond of guilt" inherited as a result of original sin,
we look to Augustine's letter to Boniface, written in 408-
twenty-two years before his death: "A child having once re-
ceived natural birth through his parents can be made partaker
of the second (or spiritual) birth by the Spirit of God, so that

46 Ware and Yamold, The Immaculate Conception, 9.

47 Ware and Yarnold, The Immaculate Conception, 9.
4s Ware and Yamold, The Immaculate Conception, 11.
49 Ware and Yamold, The Immaculate Conception, 11.
 Immaculate Conception and Orthodox Churches 231

the bond of guilt which he inherited from his parents is can-

celled [through Baptism] ."50
In reality, the discussion by Bishop Kallistos and Fr. Yarnold on
the all-holiness ofVrrgin Mary is related to soteriology and an un-
derstanding of "the Fall." Ecumenists must reexamine earlier in-
terpretations, especially those of the late-medieval period, "if the
cause of reconciliation, or even increased understanding, is to be
advanced in our time."5 1 The need for East and West to look again
at the earlier centuries was what John Meyendorff suggested:

In order to find the mutual understanding between Easterners and West-

erners once again, we should search today for the fundamental inspira-
tion of these two modes of thought, in a patient dialogue based on the
texts. It would then perhaps be possible to delineate with more precision
what in the two Christian traditions belongs to the tradition of that
church to which all Christians ought to refer back, in order to find once
again the unity of the first centuries.52

Theosis is familiar to Eastern thought, and can be offered as

a pivotal consideration of soteriology. A. N. Williams suggests
this path of consideration:

... deification entails discussion not only of sanctification and theologi-

cal anthropology generally, but also the doctrines of God and the Trinity,
religious knowledge and theological method, [and] it ultimately touches
on almost every major branch of Christian doctrine. Because it is so all-
encompassing, then, deification provides an excellent locus for the com-
parison of Eastern and Western theology. 53

Jules Gross, in The Divinization of the Christian according

to the Greek Fathers, presents a systematic tracing of the con-
cept of theosis, from the beginnings in Hellenistic philosophical

so St. Augustine of Hippo, "From Augustine to Boniface; in Letters, New Advent Fa-
thers, http://www.newadvent.org/fathers/1102098.htm (24 July 2004).
51 A. N. Williams, The Ground of Union: Deification in Aquinas and Palamas

(NewYork/Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1999), 3.

52 John Meyendorff, Byzantine Hesycbasm: Historical, Theological and Social

Problems (London: Variorum Reprints, 1974), as referenced in Williams, The Ground

of Union, 4, n. 5 (p. 177).
53 Williams, The Ground of Union, 7.
232 Immaculate Conception and Orthodox Churches

thought through a theological employment of the patristic

understanding-which importantly delineates a new and Chris-
tian embrace of the term. (This was a seminal study for recent
works on the subject of deification by A. N. Williams and Emil
Bartos.) These works embrace "the goal of contributing to ec-
umenical dialogue between Eastern and Western theologians
by using the doctrine of deification-long neglected but now
being studied again in the West-as a useful and mutually ac-
ceptable vehicle."54
As an example of those who probe the "ground of union" in
the concept of theosis, Catherine Mowry LaCugna attributes the
theological differences between East and West to be found "in at-
titudes towards substance metaphysics:'55 Andre de Halleux
"more specifically links this 'mystery of communion between
God and humanity' to the difference between the Platonic basis
of the Palamite East and the Aristotelian basis of the scholastic
West:'56 Other than political and historical factors that caused a
chasm of division between East and West, the ecumenical dia-
logue today suggests that the very theological core of under-
standing God and the human invitation to return to God appears
to be the most cogent question of all, the very issue of "deifica-
tion" (theosis) in Eastern tenninology and "salvation" in Western
philosophically derived thought. 57 Ultimately, according to A. N.
Williams, the obvious question to ask is whether the theologies
of Thomas Aquinas and Palamas are irreconcilable. More broadly,
there is the question of whether theosiswas biblical and patristic.
According to Bishop Maximos Aghiorgoussis, St. Cyril of Alex-
andria described Christ's work of once again joining mankind

5 4 Jules Gross, The Divinlzation of the Christian according to the Greek Fathers
(Anaheim, Calif.: A & C Press, 2002). Originally published as La divinisation du chre·
tien d'apres les peres grecs: Contribution historlque a Ia doctrine de Ia grace (Paris:
]. Gabalda, 1938), xvi.
55 Williams, The Ground of Union, 6.
56 Williams, The Ground of Union, 6.
57 Williams, The Ground of Union, 7, citing Yves Congar: "This same soteriology
(of Oriental theology) supposes a concept of deification and of the relationship of what
we call nature and grace quite different from that which animates the Latin theological
construction for the same mysteries. This Latin construction depends on a distinction
of nature and grace, whose categories and vocabulary are foreign to Greek Theology."
 Immaculate Conception and Orthodox Churches 233

with God: "God does this through His Logos who 'became what
we are, so that we might become what He is:"58 In one of the best
contemporary descriptions of Orthodox perception on deifica-
tion, representing what the majority of Greek Fathers uphold,
Bishop Maximos wrote:

Man's venture, as described in Genesis 2, can be interpreted in two ways.

One way is the juridical interpretation proposed by St. Augustine and fol-
lowed by the Western theological tradition. According to this interpreta-
tion, man was the recipient of all kinds of extraordinary "added gifts"
which comprised the "original justice" of man. Man transgressed the
commandment of God. He offended God and was punished by God with
death .... The other interpretation of Genesis is that which the majority
of Greek Fathers uphold. According to this interpretation, man failed in
achieving the purpose of his creation; he failed to achieve his destiny, his
tbeosis. He tried to become a "god without God."
... Thus, man became wicked "not by necessity, but by his lack of
will"; the more he separated himself from authentic existence, the more
he found himself in inauthentic existence: "the more he separated him-
self from life, the more he drew near to death. For God is life, and the loss
of life is death."59

Returning to the idea of the divinization of the Christian ac-

cording to the Greek Fathers as explained by Jules Gross, we
find a careful exposition that moves from the prelude in Hel-
lenistic philosophy to the patristic theology on "deification."
Overall, the author asserts, "Making the most of the biblical
facts, along with the resources of their environment, the fa-
thers work out a doctrine of divinization."60 Throughout the
study, it is seen that most of the Fathers assert that "diviniza-
tion" is accomplished by Christ, with a growth and maturing
nurtured by the Holy Spirit. The purpose of Christ was to bring
humanity back in direct union with God, a reality in His own
person and in His ultimate sacrifice on the cross, punctuated

58 Bishop Maximos Aghiorgoussis, "Sin in Orthodox Dogmatics," 187, quoting the

words of St. Cyril of Alexandria.
59 St. Basil on Original Sin, cited by Bishop Maximos, "Sin in Orthodox Dogmat-
ics," 182.
60 Gross, The Divinizatton, 266.
234 Immaculate Conception and Orthodox Churches

in the glory of His resurrection. In reflecting on this whole

long search, Jules Gross concluded:

This is why the Logos was incarnated. By transmitting divine strength to

humanity, He superabundantly gives back to it the deiform life and im-
mortality which were lost. A person will only have to unite with Christ
and with His Spirit in order to appropriate these blessings.6 1

To understand the Orthodox position on "the Fall;' this study

by Jules Gross clearly points to the tradition and soteriological
theology of patristic thought.

The clear result of our investigation is that from the fourth century the
doctrine of divinization is fundamental for the majority of the Greek fa-
thers. It forms a kind of center for their soteriology. The whole redemp-
tive work of Christ, from the incarnation to the resurrection, as well as
the action of the Holy Spirit and of the church which continues this work,
converge on deification as the completion of our salvation.62

The question remains, how do we use the concept of thea-

sis to inform us about the Virgin Mary; and in particular, the
issue of an "Immaculate Conception"? For the purposes of this
paper, we can only sample a few ideas. This is an investigation
that affords future, more detailed study and discussion. Over-
all, it is important to note several factors, demonstrated in the
words of the Greek Fathers:
1. that it is only and always the work of Christ to bring
about the new "oneness" with God;
2. that deification of humanity implies that "of the essen-
tial perfections of divinity, namely, unbegottenness and
incorruptibility, only the latter is communicable to
creatures";63 and
3. that "the Christian participates by grace in the per-
fections that God possesses by nature, such as wis-
dom, impassibility, and love."64

6t Gross, The Divinization, 268.

6z Gross, The Divinization, 271-272 (emphasis added).
63 Gross, The Divinization, 272.
64 Gross, The Divtnization, 272.
 Immaculate Conception and Orthodox Churches 235

At best, in this space, we can only excerpt some of the aspects

of an understanding of tbeosis that can apply to the Theotokos,
a young woman born into the world as all other humans, ac-
cording to Orthodox thought. It may be helpful to quickly re-
view some of these aspects.

a. The Scriptures
Beginning with Irenaeus, many concluded from the account
in Genesis that Adam and Eve experienced a "certain deifica-
tion ... distinguishing between image [ELKWv] and likeness
[of!ol.waLa], they understood this latter item in the sense of a
more perfect similarity, which would surpass by far what hu-
mankind possess in their nature."65 The center of their act in-
volved "obedience." Adam and Eve were to grow in the garden,
via "obedience." Let us pause and remember the biblical cen-
trality of Virgin Mary's "obedience."
The idea of "divine filiation" or being called a "son of God"
is a critical phrase in the Old Testament, where the king (i.e.
Solomon) is called a "son of God (2 Samuel7:14; 1 Chronicles
17: 13; 22:9; 27; 28:6)." However, "the analogy of divine filiation
[in the Hebrew Scriptures] seems to express a rather external
relationship, a favor which, as its principal goal, assures the sal-
vation of the Jewish nation and thereby the triumph of its
God."66 It should be noted here that the "favor," perhaps called
divine daughter-ship in Mary as described by the Catholic
dogma, is not "external" where Christ is the one who fulfills the
image to a likeness in God, through the nurturing gift of the
Holy Spirit.

Whereas in the present life the divine filiation of the righteous seems to
be of a purely moral nature, it blossoms out in the hereafter in this way:
it even makes the separated soul actually participate in the specifically di-
vine properties of blessed immortality, power, and glory. Is this not a gen-
uine deification of the soul-even though it is not so described [in the
Old Testament]-to the entire extent in which its position as creature,
which, of course, never disappears, allows?67

65 Gross, The Dtvtntzatton, 61-62.

66 Gross, The Dtvtntzatton, 66.
67 Gross, The Divtntzatton, 68.
236 Immaculate Conception and Orthodox Churches

In the context of the Old Testament, we find a way we should

regard the Virgin Mary-anthropologically fully Hebrew-at
her encounter with God's messenger at the Annunciation.
In the New Testament, we fmd, especially in the Synoptics,
that human beings who "have been estranged from God by sin,
must ftrst renounce this by f.LHavoux [metanoia], that is, by a
profound change of heart that includes the loathing of evil and
the confident return to God [luke 15:11-32 on the parable of
the prodigal son, and Luke 18:9-14 on the Pharisee and the pub-
lican] ."68 Can we see in the Virgin Mary a young woman who
yearned for the return to God? "The righteous 'will shine [in
eternal life] as the sun'" [Matthew 13:43, according to Daniel
12:3].69 This may bring to mind the tradition ofTheotokos of
Protection at Blachernae who, according to the legend, ap-
peared at the church's altar in a flash of lightning and bright
light (with John the Baptist at her side).7°
In the Gospel of John, "the analogies of the 'light' and the
'life,' which characterize" his "theodicy,'' also govern his "sote-
riology." And, "since the fall of Adam, human beings have been
plunged into 'darkness,' that is, 'into evil,' 'because their deeds
were evil.' They were also 'in death,' in the grip of divine
wrath, and under the rule of Satan."71
"By His incarnation the 'Logos of life' becomes the source of
divine and eternal life for people, 'the bread of life,' and 'the
true vine,' who imparts His sap to those who are joined to
Him."72 If this is the soteriology John the Evangelist envisions,
then Christ's mother may have been unified with the Logos at
His conception, further flooded with Divine Love for her own
theosis in the Holy Spirit. Some of the Greek fathers will prefer
"to develop the Johannine idea of the Logos as the incarnated
source of the divine life,'' and they will "insist on the incarna-
tion as the principle of our divinization."73

68 Gross, The Divinization, 81.

69 Gross, The Divinizatton, 81.
7° In the synaxarlon account of the event at Blachernae, the Theotokos appears
in a blinding light and then appears with John the Baptist at her side.
71 Gross, The Divinization, 88. See John 1:5; 3:19; 5:24.
72 Gross, The Divinizatton, 88-89.
73 Gross, The Divtnization, 92.
 Immaculate Conception and Orthodox Churches 237

The work of Christ in restoring "newness of life" in the "new

creation" is clearly demonstrated in the writings of Paul. Those
who are saved must be "buried with Him by baptism into His
death" and "grafted onto Him;' so that being "set free from sin
(Romans 6:1-10)" and "saved by the washing of regeneration
(Titus 3:5);' he or she may live "to God in Christ Jesus (Ro-
mans 6:11)." If the New Testament sees union with Christ as the
means of salvation, we can understand why Athanasius fmds
the Annunciation so important a beginning, where only the
Logos was able to restore the image in fallen humankind. The
Orthodox ask, "Why would the Virgin Mary be outside this plan
of Christ's work set in action by God from the beginning?"

b. Irenaeus
For Irenaeus, there is a constant reference to the phrase that
humanity was created "according to the image and likeness of
God" (ElKwv and Of.!oLwcrL<;). For him, the terms are nearly syn-
onyms. When he describes salvation, he paints a picture that
could easily form a paradigm for the relationship between the
Virgin Mary and God at the Annunciation:

So this means that this Word was revealed when the Word of God became
human, being Himself assimilated to humankind and assimilating hu·
mankind to Himself. And this was in order that the humankind might be-
come more dear to the Father, due to their likeness with the Son. In the
past, it was indeed said that humankind was made in the image of God,
but this was not manifest. Actually, the Word was still invisible by whose
image humankind had been made. This is why they easily lost the simili-
tude [of.Lo(waw]. But when the Word of God became flesh, He strength-
ened both, because He revealed the true image by becoming Himself
what was His image, and He firmly restored the similitude by making
them with Himself like [auve~Of.LOLWaa~] the invisible Father, through the
visible Word.74

There is much to reflect upon here in terms of theosis. lre-

naeus is saying that humanity did not lose its ElKwv through the

74 Gross, The Divinization, 123. Reference to St. Irenaeus, Adversus Haereses

[Against Heresies], 5.16.2.
238 Immaculate Conception and Orthodox Churches

Fall "any more than they lost the human nature; the OjJ.oLwaLc;,
on the contrary, was erased by the sin of Adam."75 The terms
"image" and "likeness" for Irenaeus were not as precise as in
the thinking of later fathers, but the issue is to see the impor-
tance of the Incarnation and the work of Christ. The method
of union with Christ and His Spirit "takes place through faith,
love, and the customary practice of sacraments, such as bap-
tism and the Eucharist."76 This is the way, according to Ire-
naeus, that God works.

c. Methodius
Methodius had the same understanding that it is Christ
who brings human nature back "to what it was at the begin-
ning before falling-to immortality:'77 Again, we have a good
schema to reflect on the Virgin Mary and her salvation at the
Annunciation:

Christ became exactly what Adam was, because upon this one has come
the Logos who is before the ages. Indeed, it was right that the Firstborn
of God, His first offspring, His Monogene, His Wisdom, mingling with the
protoplast, the first and the firstborn of humankind, became human ....
So therefore God, taking up again His work of the beginning and re-form-
ing it once again with the Vrrgin and with the Spirit, fashions the same
[being], just as at the beginning, when the earth was virgin and not yet
plowed.7B

d. Athanasius
It is Christ who fashions "with the Virgin and with the Spirit"
the new Adam, the new creation. Perhaps, we can argue that
the Virgin Mary's deification comes with her contact with God
in her flesh, or in reception of the nurturance of the Spirit, but
the mechanism of salvation appears here to be exclus~vely

75 Gross, The Divinlzation, 123.

76 Gross, The Divinization, 126.
77 Gross, The Divinization, 156.
78 Gross, The Divinization, 156. Reference to St. Methodius, Symposium [Ban-
quet of the Ten Vir.gins], 3.4.
 Immaculate Conception and Orthodox Churches 239

begun with Christ's union with the flesh of Adam. For Athana-
sius, the intimate contact of God with the human in the womb
of Mary is the mechanism of deification:

This is why the contact [ouva<jl~] was thus made, in order that the human
nature might be united with the divine nature and that the salvation and
deification [0E01TOLT]OLc;] of the former might be assured.79

Also, Athanasius says that Christ assumes human nature in the

Holy Spirit. We see in his words an exegesis of the Lukan pas-
sage that some have utilized to say that the descent of the Holy
Spirit purified the Virgin Mary. To Athanasius, it is the opera-
tive of Incarnation: "When the Logos descended into the holy
virgin Mary, the Spirit came into her at the same time, and it is
in the Spirit that the Logos developed and adapted His body,
wanting through Himself to unite and offer the creation to the
Father."so We have to assume from his analysis that Mary's dei-
fication will proceed the same as for all humanity. It will be her
bearing of the Logos that directly offers her the contact with
the body of Christ, thus initiating her tbeosis.

e. Gregory of Nyssa
For Gregory of Nyssa, "the immutable takes residence in the
mutable."81 From the divine heights, God "mingled with our
nature in order that, by virtue of its mingling with the divine,
our nature might become divine:•sz The "apogee of Greek doc-
trine" takes place in the thought of the Cappadocians. Gregory
of Nazianzus uses the word tbeopoiesis. The incarnation "is a
remote cause of the redemption, insofar as it allows the Savior
to give in ransom body for body, soul for soul." 83

79 Gross, The Divintzation, 167. Reference to St. Athanasius, Orationes contraAr-

ianos (Orations against the Arlans], 1.70.
ao Gross, The Divintzation, 170. Reference to St. Athanasius, Ep. Serap. (Letters to
Serapion concerning the Holy Spirit], 1.31.
81 Gross, The Divinization, 183. Reference to Gregory of Nyssa, Contra Eu-
nomium (Against Eunomius], 51.
82 Gross, The Divintzation, 182. Reference to St. Gregory's Or. Catech. (Great Cat-

echism], 25.
83 Gross, The Divintzatton, 196.
240 Immaculate Conception and Orthodox Churches

f. The School ofAlexandria

Didymus the Blind, in describing the deifying power of the
union of Christ with humanity, gives us a thought that those
who have been "intimately united with God by virtue, do not
die as human beings, having in them the living God, [and they
also] are 'children of the Most High!" 84 If we apply this to the
Virgin Mary, she was indeed "intimately united with God" at
the Incarnation and did not die to sin, but had within her the
living God.
"The fathers who in the fourth century embody the doc-
trinal movement called the school of Alexandria all bear wit-
ness to the existence and vitality in the Greek church of the
idea that the Christian is deified." 85 In this context, as in Didy-
mus, we come to understand the meaning of such terms as
"incorruptibility."

Incorruptibility, in which lies the main element of our divinization, is

assured to us from this life on due to the inhabitation of the Trinity in
our souls, but it will only become effective in the other world. After the
dissolution of "this house of the dense body, the soul is transported to
the heavenly region, called eternal home, not made by human hands." It
will nevertheless regain its body, which will become "heavenly" and
"spiritual."86

How well this description fits the profile of the Virgin Mary
at the Annunciation and at her Dormition, where her soul is
seen iconographically borne by Christ.

g. The School ofAntioch

The School of Antioch was different in its regard for di-
vinization, compared to the mysticism and allegory of the
Alexandrians. "Nonetheless, the theme of theopoiesis is found
again with the latter as the essential base underlying the bibli-
cal analogies of the divine likeness and filiation." 87 Let us con-
sider a few examples.

84 Gross, The Divinfzation, 198.

85 Gross, The Divinization, 199.
86 Gross, The Divinfzation, 199.
87 Gross, The Divinization, 200.
 Immaculate Conception and Orthodox Churches 241

1) St.John Chrysostom
Here is the peak of highest virtue and what helps arrive at the very sum-
mit of benefits: to make ourselves like God as much as is possible for us
[1:o 1rpoc; eeov ~oLw9fiva.L, Ka.1:& To EYXwpouv ~ll1v]. 88
Love is the root of the "benefits" because love is what humans
have in common with God, and all virtues, as well, are inferior
to love.

2) Theodore of Mopsuestia
Although Theodore and Theodoret held "views on divini-
zation ... irreparably compromised by an erroneous Chris-
tology,"B9 we fmd the continuing thought that salvation is
accomplished only through Christ and is manifested in the
Virgin Mary as in a container. Theodore describes deification:
"This is by virtue of God the Word who dwells in Christ as in a
temple and makes Him both the type and agent of our immor-
talization."90 And Theodoret gives us an idea of theopoiesis, in-
spired by Gregory of Nazianzus, that we can find interesting in
relationship to the Virgin Mary:

Indeed He intercedes also as a human being and even now, for my salva-
tion. This is because He is with the body which He assumed in order to
make me god (Ewe; &v EllE 1TOL~o11 0e6v) by the power of His incarnation,
although He is no longer seen according to the flesh.9 1

Perhaps, we can see here "immortalization" for the Virgin

when she becomes the vessel of Christ at the Annunciation.

3) St. Cyril ofAlexandria

There is no doubt that St. Cyril, like his forerunner St.
Athanasius, is "the doctor whose authority was the most

88 Gross, The Dtvlnlzation, 205. Reference to St. John Chrysostom, Exposltlones

In Psalmos quosdam (Expositions on Certain Psalms], 134.7.
B9 Gross, The Dtvlnlzation, 216.
90 Gross, The Dlvlnlzatlon, 210.
9t Gross, The Dlvtnlzatlon, 215. Reference to Theoderet of Cyrrhus, Eranlstes (DI-
alogues], 2.
242 Immaculate Conception and Orthodox Churches

decisive for the definition of Christian doctrine!'92 Cyril iden-

tifies two natures where all creation owes its existence to the
Logos. In this reference, the question to ask here is how "privi-
leges" granted to Mary by God would be related to the work
of the Logos. According to St. Cyril, redemption is essentially:

[the] "restoration of the ancient beauty of nature" [to &pxa'iov tfic; <jlucrewc;
&vaKOI.LLOIXf.IEVOL KaUoc;], an elevation "because of Christ to the high posi-
tion above nature" [de; to UTTEP <jlucrLV a(LWf.lll], namely, the adoptive di-
vine filiation, which merits for us the titles children of God, even god,
according to Psa 82."93

In his commentary on the Gospel of Luke, Cyril sees that it is

"in the incarnation that this communication of divine life,
which deifies human nature, is carried out," and it is "a deifi-
cation by contact."94
Cyril is brought to a very important question in a dialogue
on the Trinity. In saving humanity, does God just bestow un-
seen graces or is there a union forged with God?

We are called, and we are, temples of God, and even gods. Why? Ques-
tion the adversaries whether we actually partake only of a grace, bare and
devoid of hypostasis [e'(nep EOEV &J..T]Swc; <jltA.fic; Kat &vunoatatou xapttoc;
f.!EtOXOL]. But it is not so. For we are temples of the Spirit, who exists and
subsists; because of Him, we are also called gods insofar as, by our union
with Him, we have entered into communion with the divine and ineffa-
ble nature. If the Spirit who deifies [8eonowilv] us through Himself is ac-
tually foreign and separate, as to essence, from the divine nature, then we
have been defrauded of our hope, assuming for ourselves who knows
what vain glory.95

92 Gross, The Dtvtntzation, 219. "In the vast domain of being, Cyril, in his turn,
distinguishes 'two narures': the uncreated nature, 'incorruptible and indestructible by
essence [a<j>9ap<ov Kat avwA.e9pov ouotwOGJ~]; and the created narure, 'necessarily sub-
ject to corruption' and to the return to its origin, which is nothingness."
93 Gross, The Dtvtntzatton, 222, citing Comm.]o. [Commentary on john], 1.12,
with reference also to Fragmenta commentarlt tn Lc. 5.19 [Commentary on Luke,
fragments].
94 Gross, The Dtvtntzatton, 223.
95 Gross, The Dtvtntzation, 230. Reference to Cyril of Alexandria, De Trlnttate Dt-
alogt [Dialogues on the Trinity], 7.
 Immaculate Conception and Orthodox Churches 243

4) John of Damascus
John of Damascus in the ninth century "presents the deifi-
cation of the Christian as a return to original perfection."%
Using the physical theory of divinization, John of Damascus de-
scribes a soteriological event in Christ where human nature is
ignited like molten iron.

We were really sanctified when [a<jl' ov] the Logos-god became flesh, hav-
ing been likened to us in everything except sin, when He was mingled
with our nature without confusion, and when, without changing it
[af!Eta~l..~twc;], He deified [e8ewoe] the flesh by the mutual penetration
[i!EPLXWPTJ<Hc;], without fusion, of His divinity and His flesh.97

What can we say of the mystery at the Annunciation and what

the Virgin's physical contact with God and associated filling
with the Holy Spirit fully wrought in her? John of Damascus
did not mean to imply that "a real deification of all individuals
is due to the very fact of the incarnation" and the "divinization
of the human nature which results from the incarnation is thus
by no means a deification of persons."98 It is an imitation of
Christ and his assimilation of natures that makes the sacra-
ments necessary.

Conclusion
In the work of A. N. Williams that seems so relevant to this
topic, she concludes:

East and West may thus be said to make different uses of the idea of theo-
sis, but this study indicates that at least until the Middle Ages, one can-
not characterize the differences between East and West as deriving from
two wholly divergent conceptions of either divinization or sanctification,
broadly speaking, and there is increasing reason to believe such a divide
cannot even be asserted before the Enlightenment.99

96 Gross, The Dlvlnizatlon, 256.

97 Gross, The Dtvlnlzatton, 260. Reference to John of Damascus, De Sacrls Imag-
lnlbus oratlones [Orations on the Sacred Images], 1.21.
98 Gross, The Dlvinlzation, 260-261.
99 Williams, The Ground of Union, 174.
244 Immaculate Conception and Orthodox Churches

It can be demonstrated, as Williams has done, that in Aquinas

and Palamas there is nothing that is in "diametrical opposi-
tion:' although they are divergent in some ways in philosophi-
cal base and language. 100 Jules Gross concluded his study with
a citation from Gregory of Nyssa, inspiring us to reflect further
on the possibility of the Virgin Mary's experience of theosis as
a way to approach convergence on the Roman Catholic dogma
of the Immaculate Conception:

Humankind transcend their own nature: from mortal they become im-
mortal; from perishable, imperishable; from fleeting, eternal; in a word,
from human beings they become gods. Indeed, made worthy of becom-
ing children of God, they will have in themselves the dignity of the Fa-
ther, enriched with all the paternal benefits. 0 munificence of the Lord
most rich! ... How great are the gifts of unutterable treasures POt

Therefore, in this context, we see a patristic meaning in the

Axion Estin, "without corruption you gave birth to God the
Word, true Theotokos, we magnify you." 10 2 In her bearing of
Christ-"true Theotokos;' God-trusting and faithful young
Miryam of Nazareth experienced direct contact with Christ, an
integral aspect of theosis. The how and the when are a mys-
tery. But regarding the liturgical texts in patristic language pro-
vides a way to understand the mother of Christ as "most pure."
In hoping for a convergence on the dogma of the Immaculate
Conception, we should explore the patristic soteriology, the
context of liturgical texts from the patristic period, and the
ways theosis may have been understood from the early ages.
Thereby, a path to convergence is suggested by the East in re-
flection on the Fall and reflection on the mystery of Panagia,
the all holy one.

100 Williams, The Ground of Union, 175.

1°1 Gross, The Dtvtntzatton, 273. Reference to Gregory of Nyssa, On the Beati-
tudes, 7.
to2 Paffhausen, "Mary in the Orthodox Tradition," 22.