theosis · noun — the likeness to or union with God; deification. It carries an Arena rating of 1552, earned across 4 head-to-head judged battles.
Definition from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 3.0).
Among words judged in Lexicurio's Arena, theosis ranks #226 of 17,163 for Most Sublime Words, #1,062 of 17,131 for Most Ponderous Words, #2,119 of 17,205 for The Improbable, #2,832 of 17,172 for Most Beautiful Words.
theosis is pronounced /θiːˈəʊ.sɪs/.
Why “theosis” is a great word
The transformative process whereby a human, through divine grace, attains likeness to or union with God. The word is a learned borrowing from Late Latin *theōsis*, from Koine Greek *θέωσις* (“deification”), from *θεός* (“god”). Unlike “sanctification,” which often implies being set apart and made morally pure, or “apotheosis,” which suggests a mythical elevation to godhood, *theosis* is an ontological participation—a slow, luminous infusion of the created into the uncreated light. It is the candle-flame becoming one with the fire that lit it, the dewdrop trembling with the whole morning, the human heart so perfected in love that it finally, quietly, beats in time with the divine pulse.
❧ Essay by Lexicurio’s AI · definition, etymology & citations from published sources
Etymology
Learned borrowing from Late Latin theōsis, from Koine Greek θέωσις (théōsis).
noun
- The likeness to or union with God; deification.e.g.“For him, theosis or deification was the destination for human salvation, whose attainment Adam’s sin in Eden had imperilled but not rendered impossible;[…]” — 2009, Diarmaid MacCulloch, A History of Christianity: The First Three Thousand Years, Viking Press, →ISBN, page 440:
- The process of attaining this state of union with God.
Definitions & examples from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 3.0).
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