Perspectief 2016-34

2016-34 Why Ecumenical Dialogue Matters for the Orthodox Church 27 Com ment exposition will begin by explaining what deification is for Stăniloae and the importance he assigns to inter-personal dialogue in this process. I will then move on to discuss how deification can be applied to the Church as the body of Christ and where ecumenical dialogue fits in the process. Personal Deification The term “deification” is one of the trademarks of Orthodox theology. It is derived from the Greek term theosis , roughly meaning “union with God”. Yet not all the Orthodox theologians emphasise the same nuances in their explanations of this term. Hence, this section will look first at the most common understanding of deification, and then move further to present Stăniloae’s specific vision, with a much stronger emphasis on dialogue. The very idea of becoming “one with God” is extremely uncomfortable for those beyond Orthodox boundaries. In order to understand this notion of deification through Orthodox lenses, it is necessary to make three distinctions. First, the union with God that deification implies does not refer to a singular and exceptional ecstatic moment. Deification is usually understood as a continuous process that requires conscious human effort, and is something which can never be achieved fully in this life. Even for the most revered saints, deification remains a work in progress as long as they are amongst us. Second, any such union with God does not dissolve the human being into God – like, say, a drop falling into the ocean – but rather preserves the person’s own distinct features. The human distinctiveness remains intact for Orthodox theologians because deification is understood Facultăţile de Teologie: Argumente că Părintele Dumitru Stăniloae nu a fost Ecumenist", Apologeticum, accessed 21 July 2016 , http://www.apologeticum.ro/2010/04/nu-minciunilor-din-facultatile-de-teologie- argumente-ca-parintele-dumitru-staniloae-nu-a-fost-ecumenist. See as well "Părintele Dumitru Stăniloae: 'Doamne, ce fel de om era!'", Cuvântul Ortodox, 10 May 2012, accessed 22 June 2016, http://www.cuvantul-ortodox.ro/2012/10/05/parintele-staniloae. The article opens with an icon of Stăniloae, and moves on to calling him the gift of God to the Romanian people. On the relationship between Stăniloae and the writings of the Fathers see Andrew Louth, Modern Orthodox Thinkers: From the Philokalia to the Present (London: SPCK, 2015), 174–76. See as well Mihail Neamţu, "Conversing with the World by Commenting on the Fathers: Fr. Dumitru Stăniloae and the Romanian Edition of the Philokalia", in The Philokalia , ed. Brock Bingaman and Bradley Nassif (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2012), 61–70.