# The Essence/Energies Distinction in Eastern Orthodoxy



## Pergamum (Feb 16, 2016)

Can anyone explain to me the essence/energies distinction in Eastern Orthodoxy? I just cannot grasp what they are trying to say.



> A real distinction between the essence (ousia) and the energies (energeia) of God is a central principle of Eastern Orthodox theology. Eastern Orthodox theology regards this distinction as more than a mere conceptual distinction



?


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## Justified (Feb 16, 2016)

Pergamum said:


> Can anyone explain to me the essence/energies distinction in Eastern Orthodoxy? I just cannot grasp what they are trying to say.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


 I'm sure Jacob, the resident expert on EO, will chime in. They are saying something along the lines that God is unknowable in his essence, but we know him who he is towards us, that is, in his energies.


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## Ask Mr. Religion (Feb 17, 2016)

Per Palamas, there was thus a sharing of attributes whereby the humanity of Christ was penetrated by the divine energies and thereby deified. Man can partake of these energies. That a direct, personal experience of God himself (theosis) was accessible through God’s energies underlies EO's notions of _theosis: _that we may become as Our Lord is_._


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