One of the unique traits of Eastern Orthodox theology in contrast to Roman Catholicism or Protestantism is its belief in apophaticism. Apophaticism is the doctrine which says that God cannot be defined in terms of what He is, but rather, He is defined in terms of what He is not. God is made so transcendent that He cannot be known except through His “divine energies” (i.e. the sacraments, icons, meditative prayer, etc.). Even then, ‘knowing’ would be a stretch in terminology. A better way of saying it is that God can only be ‘felt’ or ‘sensed’ through the sacraments and icons. An analogy would be like a bright lamp that is just around the corner. One can see the light coming from it, but they cannot see the actual source of the light.
A positive aspect of apophaticism is that it affirms the absolute transcendence of God (i.e. that no one can fully comprehend Him). It affirms God’s absolute holiness (1 Timothy
The result of apophaticism can lead to great error in the
realm of salvation, and it has in the case of the Eastern Orthodox Church. By making God so out of reach of the common believer,
the logical result is that the Church has been made the intercessor between God and man. This is what happened in the Roman
Catholic Church during the middle ages (and still continues in much of the Roman Church to this day): God was seen as an angry Judge
punishing people on earth and sending them to Purgatory for every little sin they committed, and one had to go through the Church
and prayers to the saints in order to sneak in Heaven’s ‘back door’. This is why some Roman Catholics refer to their Church
as “
However, according to Scripture, God is immanent in the lives of His beloved, He can be known in a personal way, and no intercessor (other than Jesus Christ) is required to bring someone closer to God. All quotes are from the NASB (emphasis mine):
Matthew
11:27-28
“All things have been handed over to Me by My Father; and no one knows the Son except the Father; nor does anyone know the
Father except the Son, and anyone to whom the Son wills to reveal Him. Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I
will give you rest.”
Commentary:
As the Intercessor between God and man, Jesus Christ reveals the Father to all those who come to Him. This shows the immanence of God in the life of the believer, a personal relationship with God.
John 6:68
Simon Peter answered Him, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have words of eternal life.”
Commentary:
In Eastern Orthodox theology, sanctification (called ‘theosis’) is the means by which man comes closer to God, and because of apophaticism, the first step to ‘knowing’ God (i.e. theosis) is to first release oneself from all forms of human knowledge (called ‘unknowing’). This results in the heavy emphasis on mysticism in the Eastern Church. However, Peter’s words contradict this by saying that Jesus’ teachings and the objective knowledge that comes from them is what saves men’s souls and can sanctify them. Jesus’ many discourses throughout the Gospels that teach objective knowledge were meant to sanctify others.
John 14:7
“If you had known Me, you would have known My Father also; from now on you know Him, and have seen Him.”
Commentary:
Jesus, God the Son, perfectly explains the Father (John
John 14:21, 23
“He who has My commandments and keeps them is the one
who loves Me; and he who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him and will disclose Myself to him”…Jesus answered
and said to him, “If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our abode
with him.”
Commentary:
God became immanent in His creation so that man would have a personal relationship with Him.
John 16:27
“…for the Father Himself loves you, because you have loved Me and have believed that I came forth from the Father.”
Commentary:
God loves believers individually. To be a Christian is to have a personal relationship with God.
John 17:17
“Sanctify them
in the truth; Your word is truth.”
Commentary:
[See John 6:68] This verse clearly teaches that learning objective knowledge can sanctify believers.
John 17:26
“…and I have made Your name known
to them, and will make it known, so that the love with which You loved Me may be in them, and I in them.”
Commentary:
[Same as John 16:27]
1 John 2:13
I am writing to you, fathers, because you know Him who has been from the beginning. I am writing
to you, young men, because you have overcome the evil one. I have written to you, children, because you know the Father.
Commentary:
According to Eastern Orthodox theology, those who are new in the faith are those who are farthest away from coming to know God. The Apostle John destroys this belief by saying that those who are young in the faith have a personal relationship with God.
1
John 4:7
Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God.
Commentary:
All those who are being sanctified know God; not just those who are good enough (i.e. the ‘saints’ of Roman Catholicism and Eastern Orthodoxy).
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Some helpful online reading can be found here:
http://www.christiantruth.com/orthodoxyapophaticism.html
http://www.namb.net/atf/cf/%7BCDA250E8-8866-4236-9A0C-C646DE153446%7D/BB_E_Orthodox_Manual.pdf
Apophaticism