Heavenly Participation: The Weaving of a Sacramental Tapestry

by Hans Boersma

participation

sacramental ontology.

but he is also the eternal anchor for all of created existence.

Irenaeus (c. its-c. 202), Athanasius (c. 296- 373), and Gregory of Nyssa (c. 335-c. 394).

Saint Irenaeus

Instead, what we see here is a theological attempt to ground our salvation in the Incarnation itself.

Saved by incarnation?

Recapitulation in Christ is, for Irenaeus, the central thread that allows for a harmonious cosmic tapestry.

Recapitulation from Ephesians 1.10

Athanasius, is not just an external or nominal matter; it is a participatory - or real - event. Therefore,

Christ secures the salvation of humanity. For the church fathers, salvation is possible because, in a real sense, Christ is the new humanity.

When the eternal Word took on human flesh, he took on our common humanity and by doing so redeemed it.

human unity in the incarnate ...

Eastern tradition to emphasize that salvation came not jus...

Key point

Platonist-Christian synthesis.

Therefore, for Gregory, the created order does not have its being from itself but exists by way of participation in the divine Word.

Puzzling