Orthodox ConceptsDivine Energies and Essence
Foundational DoctrineOrthodox Concepts Atlas
Divine Energies and Essence
Distinction articulated by the Cappadocian Fathers and St. Gregory Palamas affirming God's unknowable essence and His knowable, life-giving energies.
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Core theological convictions that ground every other Orthodox concept.
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More from the Foundational Doctrine track.
Holy Trinity
→Confession that the one God eternally exists as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, three divine Persons (hypostases) sharing the one essence.
Incarnation
→The mystery that the eternal Word (Logos) assumed human nature from the Theotokos, uniting divinity and humanity in the one Person of Jesus Christ.
Hypostatic Union
→Doctrine that Christ's divine and human natures remain without confusion, change, division, or separation in the one hypostasis of the Son.