Section 08: Spiritual Teaching

Deification as the integrating theme of Athanasius’ theology, and the pastoral spirituality of his Festal Letters — the bishop as shepherd rather than only polemicist.

Tradition: Pan-Orthodox (Church Father)

Section Contents

• theosis-in-athanasius.md — The exchange formula and its lineage; what deification means and does not mean in Athanasius
• festal-letters-spirituality.md — The Paschal letters as spiritual theology: feast, fast, and almsgiving

See Also

• Theosis — the doctrine’s full treatment in the main guide
• Essence and energies in Palamas — the later clarification of how deification is possible
• Section 03: On the Incarnation — where the exchange formula lives

References

• Athanasius. On the Incarnation. Trans. John Behr. PPS 44a. Yonkers, NY: SVS Press, 2011.
• Festal Letters, in NPNF II/4.
• Anatolios, Khaled. Athanasius: The Coherence of His Thought. London: Routledge, 1998.