What is Theosis?

Theosis comes from the Greek θέωσις and literally means “divine state” — Theo (God, divinity) + osis (state or condition). Think of words like theology (God-talk) and kenosis (a state of emptiness) to understand how the word is constructed.

Put simply and succinctly, theosis is the mystical state of being one with God, or embodying union with God. Different theological perspectives will suggest that this is something only available to us at the end of a long process of purification and enlightenment, or that it is something literally knit into our created being, always a part of us if not always recognized and embraced as our divine birthright. Is it a present reality, or a future promise? Or can it paradoxically be both?

Parallel words in the English language include deification and divinization. It is also related to the concept of “union” as in the traditional map of the mystical life: purification (in Greek, katharsis), illumination (theoria) and finally, union (theosis). From this we can see that language of “union with God” or “the unitive life” (as used by Evelyn Underhill) also point to theosis. I think you could also make the case that nonduality as understood in a Christian context is essentially theosis. Christian nonduality, like theosis, is the capacity to see and understand: “God and I are not-two.”

Theosis, like its English equivalents, is a big concept, awe-inspiring in its implications. It can also, depending on your theological backgound, seem unorthodox, if not downright heretical. I remember talking with a…