Is "Theosis" a Gendered Concept?: Theological Pitfalls and Perspectives for an Inclusive Affirmation of Human Dignity
This article analyzes the adoption of the theosis concept through several women theologians of Orthodox and Anglican origin (Myrrha Lot-Borodine, Mariia Skobtsova, Elisabeth Behr-Sigel, Sarah Coakley). "Asceticism" and "kenosis" turn out to be key notions in the adaptations of al...
| Main Author: | |
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| Format: | Electronic Article |
| Language: | English |
| Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
| Journals Online & Print: | Drawer...
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| Fernleihe: | Fernleihe für die Fachinformationsdienste |
| Published: |
Brill
[2019]
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| In: |
The journal of Eastern Christian studies
Year: 2019, Volume: 71, Issue: 3/4, Pages: 343-368 |
| Standardized Subjects / Keyword chains: | B
Deification
/ Gender studies
/ Orthodox theology
/ Coakley, Sarah 1951-
/ History 1932-2019
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| IxTheo Classification: | KAJ Church history 1914-; recent history KDE Anglican Church KDF Orthodox Church NBE Anthropology NBK Soteriology |
| Online Access: |
Volltext (doi) |
| Summary: | This article analyzes the adoption of the theosis concept through several women theologians of Orthodox and Anglican origin (Myrrha Lot-Borodine, Mariia Skobtsova, Elisabeth Behr-Sigel, Sarah Coakley). "Asceticism" and "kenosis" turn out to be key notions in the adaptations of all of them. What further unites the theologians is their shifting of emphasis from exclusively human-divine relations, that can be regarded as characteristic for larger parts of the spiritual tradition of the desert fathers, towards the dimension of inter-human relations, up to the level of visions of social life that would follow from their understanding of. This understanding, divergent as it might be in details, lays the ground for a notion of "human dignity" that can be derived from a person's existential directedness towards participation in God. With this, the female theologians share basic views with contemporary concepts of their male fellows; at the same time, their approaches question traditional notions of hierarchy, with gender hierarchy most prominent among them, as derived from - in their eyes - misguided concepts of Trinity. This results in more egalitarian visions, also beyond the gender level, about human dignity and perspectives for deification. |
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| ISSN: | 1783-1520 |
| Contains: | Enthalten in: The journal of Eastern Christian studies
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| Persistent identifiers: | DOI: 10.2143/JECS.71.3.3286905 |