Editing Divinization (Christian) (section)

=== Ascetic practice ===

{{See also|Desert Fathers|Maximus the Confessor|Monasticism}}

The journey toward theosis includes many forms of [[praxis (Orthodox)|praxis]]. The most obvious form being Monasticism and Clergy. Of the Monastic tradition the practice of [[hesychasm]] is most important as a way to establish a direct relationship with God. Living in the community of the church and partaking regularly of the sacraments, and especially the [[Eucharist]], is taken for granted. Also important is cultivating "[[prayer of the heart]]", and prayer that never ceases, as Paul exhorts the Thessalonians ([[First Epistle to the Thessalonians|1]] and [[Second Epistle to the Thessalonians|2]]). This unceasing prayer of the heart is a dominant theme in the writings of the Fathers, especially in those collected in the [[Philokalia]]. It is considered that no one can reach theosis without an impeccable Christian living, crowned by faithful, warm, and, ultimately, silent ([[hesychasm|hesychast]]), continuous Prayer of the Heart. The "doer" in deification is the Holy Spirit, with whom the human being joins his will to receive this transforming grace by praxis and prayer, and as [[Gregory Palamas]] teaches, the Christian mystics are deified as they become filled with the [[Light of Tabor]] of the Holy Spirit in the degree that they make themselves open to it by asceticism (divinization being not a one-sided act of God, but a loving cooperation between God and the advanced Christian, which Palamas considers a synergy).<ref>{{harvnb|Maloney|2003}}</ref> This [[Synergism (theology)|synergy]] or co-operation between God and Man does not lead to mankind being absorbed into God as was taught in earlier pagan forms of deification like [[Henosis]]. Rather it expresses unity, in the complementary nature between the created and the creator. Acquisition of the Holy Spirit is key as the acquisition of the spirit leads to [[self-realization]].