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To: kosta50
The Eastern Fathers would [Experiencing God in contemplative prayer, knowing the unknoweable, is contact with God Himself, not just with a Hypostatis] disagree. We experience God's uncreated energies, the uncreated Light of Tabor, not God's Essence. We are in His presence all the time, jo. His nature is beyond our reach.

Each and every person of the Trinity consists of the totality of God's essence. Thus, if we contact the Son, we contact His essence - albeit, we do so in an incomprehensible manner. Each person is the reality, that divine substance, essence or nature, which alone is the beginning of all things, apart from which nothing else can be found. This reality is neither generated nor generated, nor proceeding, but it is the Father who generates, the Son who is generated, and the Holy Spirit who proceeds, so that there be distinction beteen the persons, but UNITY in nature. The Father gives His FULL SUBSTANCE to the Son. Thus, when the Son comes to us, He is not "merely" energy, but He ALSO is substance, the essence of God - since God is not separable nor does He consist of parts that are separable.

My brain is starting to hurt. It is much easier discussing the faulty position of Sola Fide!

Regards

7,570 posted on 06/01/2006 4:56:05 PM PDT by jo kus (There is nothing colder than a Christian who doesn't care for the salvation of others - St.Crysostom)
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To: jo kus
My brain is starting to hurt. It is much easier discussing the faulty position of Sola Fide!

Yes, it is! :)

I don't know how we got on this topic of Hypostases, but the original idea was that grace is God's uncreated energy, which God conveys upon us through the Hypostatic interaction with us. Again, God is seen differently and separately in terms of Hypostases, the Father being distinct from the Son and both being distinct from the Spirit, yet all Three are fully God, and individiuble.

The idea of God's grace being the uncreated means rather than created means of our salvation was something the Church knew even as early as 2nd century, when St. Ignatius wrote about it in those terms. The trouble in the west began with none other than our dear St. Augustine, who disagreed with hesychasts on our ability to reach theosis through prayer and see the uncreated light of God. Apparently the Church did not have any issues with uncreated grace as seen by Ss. Ignatius, Basil, and Nazienzos prior to that.

7,588 posted on 06/01/2006 7:58:28 PM PDT by kosta50 (Eastern Orthodoxy is pure Christianity)
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