Bloomsbury Studies in Modern Orthodox Theology (3 vols.)

In this clearly written and informative book, Paul Collins dispels two myths that surround the notion of deification: that it is the property of Eastern Orthodox Christians and that it is inherently individualistic. Collins demonstrates definitively that the metaphor of deification has structured the Christian imagination of the entire Christian tradition, ‘East’ and ‘West,’ and that it is necessarily a communal and relational reality with cultural and political implications. He advances the discussion on deification in a way that will impact how churches understand and relate to each other and to the world.

—Aristotle Papanikolaou, professor, Fordham University, New York, NY

Paul Collins does a wonderful job of presenting a florilegia of authors and traditions towards elucidating a modern appropriation of a theology of theosis. He creatively builds upon a complementarity of approaches, of what it means to become holy and transfigured by divine grace, by drawing upon early church traditions, Eastern Orthodoxy and Western Christianity, and their rootedness in the Scriptures, with a view to showing how deification is at once personal, yet ecclesial and cosmic.

—Jaroslav Z. Skira, director, Eastern Christian Studies Program, Regis College, University of Toronto