Justification has never received much attention in Eastern Orthodox theology. The orthodox view of salvation is largely shaped by the idea of theosis based on such texts as 2 Peter 1:. The word theosis is translated “deification” in English, and the concept is very problematic, biblically speaking. It stems from a flawed view of the gravity of sin and results in a blurred view of salvation. By thesis the Orthodox mean the process of becoming godly with the help of grace. The emphasis is put on the synergistic process by which we contribute to our becoming holy by cooperating with grace. Yet, biblically speaking, it is by trusting in Christ’s merit alone, not in our cooperation or effort, that we are justified.
Orthodoxy’s emphasis on deification to the virtual exclusion of justification creates serious problems if seen fro a biblical point of view. Justification (as God’s declaration that we sinners are righteous because we have been credited with Christ’s righteousness by faith alone) is not simply a Western idea whose origins lies in our legal way of seeing reality, ad the Orthodox often repeat. It is the central message of the gospel regarding how we are saved (by faith alone) and on what basis (Christ’s righteousness imputed to us).
Leonardo De Chirico | “Rome, the East, and the Ancient Tradition of the Church” | Tabletalk (December, 2025), 17.
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Inwoo Lee
Inwoo Lee (BA, UCSD) earned his MA (Historical Theology) in 2020 from Westminster Seminary California and is author of “Righteous Before God: William Perkins’ Doctrine of Justification in Elizabethan England” (MA Thesis, Westminster Seminary California, 2020). He lives in the Great Seoul area, in South Korea with his wife Holly.
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