Deification through the Cross: An Eastern Christian Theology of Salvation

by Khaled Anatolios

A unified soteriology for the whole church.   It is commonly claimed that Western Christianity teaches salvation as deliverance from sin through Jesus’s sacrifice on the cross, while Eastern Christianity teaches salvation as deliverance from death—and as deification—through Christ’s incarnation. But is it really true that no normative, unified doctrine of salvation is to be found in Scripture and tradition?  Theologian Khaled Anatolios, deeply grounded in both East and West, here advances a soteriology that speaks deeply to all Christians. He argues that both Eastern and Western perspectives are needed, and especially that Eastern theology and liturgy—contrary to Western misperceptions—hold cross, resurrection, and glorification together in an exemplary way. Anatolios uses the phrase “doxological contrition” to suggest that the truth of salvation is found both in Jesus’s perfect glorification of God and in his representative repentance for humanity’s sinful rejection of its original calling to participate in the life of the Holy Trinity.  Deification through the Cross  is a salutary rebuttal of the postmodern fragmentation that assumes no single, normative soteriology can apply globally. Anatolios systematically expounds an integrated soteriology, which he then puts into dialogue with various perspectives, including liberation theology, Girardian theory, and penal substitution. All who seek to understand and teach “the joy of our salvation” will find indispensable help in this magisterial retrieval of an often-misunderstood doctrine.

Genres: Theology, Christianity

464 pages, Paperback

Published June 2, 2022

About the author

Khaled Anatolios (PhD, Boston College) is professor of historical theology in the Boston College School of Theology and Ministry in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts. He is the author of Retrieving Nicaea: The Development and Meaning of Trinitarian Doctrine and two volumes on Athanasius.

Reviews

[Jordan B Cooper · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is worth reading for anyone interested in merging the participationist soteriology of the East with the legal satisfaction ideas of the West. Anatolios proposes "doxological contrition" as the central soteric theme which, he believes, offers a unifying center to the Christian motifs of salvation as an alternative to the popular "atonement models" approach. I'm not entirely convinced of his thesis, but this book gives the reader plenty to wrestle with in considering the Biblical and historic teaching surrounding Christ's atonement.

[w gall · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is not for the casual reader. Advanced theological terminology abounds. That said, the author proves his point (in 600+ pages)! He brings in the insights of other theologians along the way, confirming and critiquing their theological constructs. I became skeptical when he affirmed an overly intrusive theological construct positing specific "roles" to the hypotheses within the Trinity without adequate scriptural warrant. It is one thing to extrapolate from the Scriptures toward our daily walk with Christ, and another to do so positing details of the relationships and motivations of the Hypotheses of the Holy Trinity. It's better rather to honor God with reverential silence concerning that which is not specifically revealed. While the author celebrates a Byzantine liturgy, he seem to be at home with Roman Catholic theology, which probes too deeply into divine mysteries, from an Eastern Orthodox point of view. But I was heartened by his wholehearted support of the Nicholas Cabasilas' writings on the subject at hand. "Doxological contrition" will not likely be rolling off the tongues of homilists, since this soteriological concept requires many, many pages to define and explain, but those who manage to soldier through this work will affirm it and not easily forget it.

[Lukas Stock · Rating 5 out of 5]

A magisterial work on soteriology. Further conversation on the theology of salvation must interact with Anatolios' framework.

Anatolios creatively synthesizes diverse voices from the Christian tradition to articulate a soteriological vision that encompasses the manifold ways that Christ's work is described in Scripture and holy tradition. The result is a soteriology of "doxological contrition" that is robust, internally coherent, consonant with aspects of alternative articulations, and more comprehensively includes biblical and conciliar theology of the Trinity and christology.

[Jonas Opmeer · Rating 4 out of 5]

A thorough, ecumenical, technical (my average reading time plummeted working through this), and thought-provoking investigation into what it means for us to be saved.

Anatolios does a compelling job surveying early church conciliar doctrine and figures, and manages to bring together a forensic and ontological view of salvation (paving a way forward for East and West). This will keep your thoughts occupied for weeks after reading it.

I would’ve appreciated more interaction with prelapsarian humanity, what the implications of “doxological contrition” would mean for mankind before the fall; otherwise this was well worth the effort.

[Daniel Hoffman · Rating 4 out of 5]

Review on Substack:

https://danielhoffman.substack.com/p/...

[David Ochabski · Rating 5 out of 5]

Khaled Anatolios is a professor of theology at the University of Notre Dame with a focus on historical Christianity and Christianity and Judaism in Antiquity. He holds a Ph.D. from Boston University and is well known for his research in and contribution to biblical exegesis, early Christian doctrine, and methods of theology. Some of his written works include Retrieving Nicaea and The Trinity in the Life of the Church and several biographies and analyses of the early church father, Athanasius. Anatolios holds a particular fascination for the work of early church fathers and Greek philosophers, which relates well to his interest in the historicity of the church. Due to his vast knowledge of church history, a recent focus of his work is in regard to the relation of early church doctrine to modern-day theological methods. His work Deification Through the Cross is separated into two sections, the first of which focuses on doxological contrition within the early church, ecumenical councils, Scripture, and even the Byzantine liturgy, and the second of which focuses on systematic theology of said contrition, which focuses on existence, sin, the Trinity, soteriology, and similar dogmatic principles. Anatolios’ primary focus of this book is to relate the work of the early church fathers to modern-day doctrine. It is recommended for “all who seek to understand and teach ‘the joy of our salvation.’”

[Thomas · Rating 5 out of 5]

Anatolios, writing from a Byzantine Catholic perspective, argues for doxological contrition as the primary lens through which to understand salvation. He draws from Eastern Orthodoxy liturgy, Catholic and Orthodox theologians and biblical texts to make his case. There is no question that this is constructive approach to the question of what is salvation. In essence, as we turn to God in repentance (i.e., contrition), we are brought in the life of the Triune God (i.e., deification). This is possible because Christ vicariously represented us and offered contrition for us on the cross and so we can receive the divine life in our union with him. What makes this work so strong is not only Anatolios' engagement with various theologians, etc., but also his clear and in many ways compelling attempts to create a bridge between the East and the West. This book should be read widely by anyone interested in an explication of Christ's work grounded in explicitly orthodox Trinitarian and christological categories. Highly recommended.

[Maria Schmidt · Rating 5 out of 5]

Deification through the cross is very dense but excellent! Anatolios proposes that "doxological contrition" is the fundamental key through which all models and traditions of soteriology must be interpreted. It accounts for both the objective and subjective aspects of salvation. Doxological contrition is simultaneously praise of God's glory and sorrow for one's sins. Christ is the efficient cause of this doxological contrition, for He praised the Father most perfectly and paid the penalty for our sins in His incarnation and acceptance all human suffering, consummated on the cross. Christ mediates this doxological contrition to us through imparting His transformative grace to us, especially through the sacraments and liturgy. By our conscious and "subjective" adherence to the "objective" and mysterious truths of faith and by lifting our hearts and minds to the Divine Charity throughout our daily lives, we are able to live as God desires that we live and thereby give Him glory.