Part II

Partakers of the Divine Nature

H.H. Pope Shenouda III

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Part II

Partakers of the Divine Nature

H.H. Pope Shenouda III

Name of the book : Deification of Man - Part II
(Partakers of the Divine Nature)
Author : H. H. Pope Shenouda III
Translated By : Dr. Wedad Abbas
Press : Egyptian Printing Co .
Edition : First -June, 2008
Legal Deposit No. : 10822/2008 .
I.S.B.N. : 9 7 7 - 1 7 - 5 7 4 9 -0 .

E.Mail : [email protected]

H. H. Pope Shenouda III, 117th Pope and Patriarch o f

Alexandria and the See o f St. Mark
H. H. Pope Shenouda III, 117th Pope o f Alexandria and
Patriarch o f the See o f St. Mark
 "My brethren, let not many of you
become teachers, knowing that we shall
receive a stricter judgment. For we all
stumble in many things."
(Jas 3: 1, 2)

[Remove away guilt by teaching]

Didascalia
6

The expression "Partakers of the Divine Nature!!

Was it God's will, since the time He created us, to
deify us?!
Did the Lord Christ deify His human nature?!
Do we partake of the Divine Nature through
adoption?!
Is the resurrection of the dead considered
partaking of the Divine Nature?!
Do we partake of the Divine Nature through the
Eucharist?!
Did God become Man so that man may become
god?!
Does the partaking of the Divinity appear in the
authority over the devils?!
Is holiness considered partaking of the Holy
Trinity?!
Is the hypostatic descending of the Holy Spirit
considered deification?!
Is grace considered partaking of the Divine
Nature?!
 7

Introduction

In continuation o f our previous book on "Man's Deification",

we publish the present book on the same topic under the title
"Partaking of the Divine Nature".

In this book we shall refute such a thought represented in a

doctrine published by Dr. George Habib Bebawi in his book
"St. Athanasius the Apostolic", as well as in another book by
some monks o f Amba Makkar (St. Macarius) Monastery under
the name "The Orthodox Patristic Principles - Part 2".

Both are two branches o f one school that translated the words
of St. Peter the Apostle "Partakers of the Divine Nature" (2 Pet
1: 4) to mean taking the same Divine Nature, not merely acting
and willing in conformity with the Divine Nature, for instance.
 9

(1) The expression "Partakers of the Divine

Nature"

Dr. George Habib Bebawi, in his book on "St. Athanasius",

mentions this phrase in the titles of Chapters 8, 11, 12, 13, 14,
and in the passage on "Partaking of the Eucharist", P. 214, with
the details related thereto.

In P. 214, he says, "The fact of our partaking of the Divinity

(!!) is due to our receiving the heavenly Sacrament giving the
eternal life."

In P. 138, he says, "... that we may be able to partake of the

Divinity o f the Word"!! How bold are the words!!
In P. 159, he says, "The connection between the Word
Incarnate and those whose nature He has partaken that they
may partake of His Divinity ..."!!

In his book on "Orthodox Patristic Principles - Part 2", the

author mentions the phrase "Partaking of the Divine Nature" in
Pages 11, 12, 35, and 45. And, in P. 10, he mentions "Our
partaking of God", and "Our partaking of the nature of the
Trinity". Again, in P. 11, he speaks about "the grace of
deification in Christ" and in P. 12 about "partaking of the
nature of the Godhead".

We cannot accept to partake of God's Nature and

Divinity, whatever justification they may present by
meanings and quotations.

I wonder what can they say in this respect?!

10

(2) Was it God's will, since the time He created us,

to deify us?!
They say that man's deification was the divine purpose from
the very beginning, meaning that God intended from the
beginning to deify man, but when man sinned that came to
naught!!!

This thought is of course unacceptable for the following

reasons:
1. Had it been God's purpose from the beginning to deify
man, He would not have created him mortal; for God
warned man not to eat from the tree of the knowledge
of good and evil, otherwise, he would die (Gen 2: 17).
It means that man had a mortal nature, and he died in
fact.
2. Had it been God's will from the beginning to deify man,
He would have created him infallible, i.e., not apt to
sin. But actually he was, and he did fall in sin.
3. Had it been God's will to deify man, He would not have
created him o f dust combined with a substance (the
flesh), whereas God is Spirit (Jn 4: 24). He could then
have created man like the angels, for they are spirits (Ps
104: 4). Even those who were created spirits, some of
them sinned!

The words o f the Liturgy of St. Gregory: "You have blessed

my nature in You" are not to be taken as a pretext; for blessing
the nature is one thing, and deifying it is another different
thing. So, God has blessed our nature, but did not deify it.
 11

(3) Did the Lord Christ deify His human nature?!

So many are the phrases in the book of Dr. George
Bebawi about deifying the human nature and the flesh!
In P. 137, he says, "The rising of the body is deification
o f the human nature". And in P. 133, he says, "Christ
deified His body after death," "He deified the body
and made it immortal." Again in P. 134, he says, "The
deification of the body of Christ means making it
immortal." And in P. 214, he says, "... the human
nature that has been deified through the union." He also
declares that the ascension of Christ is deification of
His human nature (P. 134).
But it is evident that the Lord Christ took a mortal
body, and died.

In his book "Orthodox Patristic Principles - Part 2", the

author repeats the same idea about the deification of the
body o f the Lord Christ (P. 59 - 70), under many titles
reading: "Deification o f the human nature o f the Lord
Christ".

We believe that the Divine Nature of the Lord Christ

has united with His Human Nature without
transformation, meaning that neither the Divine
Nature became a Human Nature, nor the Human
Nature became a Divine Nature. If that had
happened, one of the two natures would have
vanished. The Human Nature continued human, and
was not transformed into a Divine Nature, but it became
glorified. So, the Lord Christ arose by the power of His
Divinity, and ascended unto heaven by the power of His
Divinity, not because the human nature was
12

transformed into a Divine Nature!! The human nature

was glorified and transfigured in the Resurrection and
the Ascension.

More serious still is that in proclaiming the deification

o f the body of Christ they say: "The body which the
Lord took from the Theotokos is our body" (P. 22)!!

(4) Do we partake of the Divine Nature through

adoption?!
In the book "Orthodox Patristic Principles - Part 2), P.
25, the authors says:
"It was Christ who said to the Father "Abba" (Mk 14: 36),
how then could our relationship with Him be metaphorical or
symbolic and we cry out with the same words? How could we
speak things we do not own nor granted? But the True Son, our
Lord Jesus Christ, being the Son of the Father, "has taken
what is ours and given us what belongs to Himself," which
is the Praise Song and Doxology of the Church. "He gave us to
partake of His Sonship".

Our answer to this is that there is an essential difference

between Christ's Sonship to the Father and our sonship to
the Father.
That is why the Lord Christ is called the Only-begotten Son
(Jn 1: 18; 3: 16, 18) (1 Jn 4: 9): because He is the Only-
begotten o f the Father's essence and nature. We, on the other
hand, are children through adoption, by grace; and great is the
difference between adoption and sonship. We are children
through faith, as the Scripture says, "But as many as received
Him, to them He gave the right to become children o f God, to
those who believe in His name." (Jn 1:18)
 13

We also are children by love, as the Apostle says, "Behold

what manner o f love the Father has bestowed on us, that we
should be called children o f God!" (1 Jn 3: 1) We have
received the Spirit o f adoption "by whom we cry out, 'Abba,
Father.'"(Rom 8: 15)

We are not like Him, and will never be. He gave us a

different sonship to the Father. He is Son by nature, whereas
we are children by adoption, and adoption can never bring us
up into deification.

We can never be equal to the Son. We can only be

"conformed to the image o f His Son." (Rom 8: 29) We are
created, but He is eternal. The created can never be deified, and
the sonship given us is external, outside our nature.

Again in the book entitled "Athanasius the Apostolic" by Dr.

George Bebawi, P. 134, the following is stated:
"The partaking of the Divine Nature is the obtaining of the
gift of adoption through the Son. To deny this means an
express return to Judaism."

On our part we do not deny adoption, but rather believe in it.

We only refuse to say that adoption is a sign of partaking of the
divine nature, or in other words that we are deified by
adoption.
Judaism also does not deny adoption at all.

We read about Adam that he is "the son of God" (Lk 3: 38),

and the offspring o f Sehth and Enosh were called the sons of
God as mentioned in the beginning of the story about the great
14

flood: "The sons o f God saw the daughters o f men, that they
were beautiful." (Gen 6: 2)

God even did not take away the name "children" from those
who disobeyed Him, for in the beginning of the prophecy of
Isaiah He said, "I have nourished and brought up children and
they have rebelled against Me." (Isa 1: 2) Isaiah himself
testified saying, "But now, O Lord, You are our Father." (Isa
64: 8)
Since sonship to God is known from the olden times, we
cannot then say that denial of adoption is a return to Judaism.
For St. Paul the Apostle says about the Jews, "... who are
Israelites, to whom pertain the adoption, the glory, the
covenants, the giving o f the law ..." (Rom 9: 4)

There in no relationship at all between adoption and

deification. We say to God, "O our Father", and at the
same time we say to Him: we are Your servants and Your
creation. But we never say we are gods!

On the Last Day the Lord will say to every wise and faithful
steward o f His stewards, "Well done, good and faithful servant;
you were faithful over a few, I will make you ruler over many
things. Enter into the jo y o f your Lord." (Mt 25: 21) It is clear:
although the steward is good and faithful, he is still a servant
and his reward is to enter into the joy of his Lord, without
himself becoming a lord or a god, i.e., without being deified.

Therefore, children, be humble. And for the salvation of your

souls I say to you: Do not be deified. Do not thing of
yourselves more highly than you ought to thing (Rom 12: 3).
 15

(5) Is the resurrection of the dead considered

partaking of the Divine Natare
The resurrection o f the Lord Christ is an evidence of His
Divinity, because He alone arose by His own will and by His
own power, not by the power of anyone else. All those who
arose from the dead arose by an external power. Likewise, the
resurrection on the Last Day will be by a miracle from God
Himself. It is not at all an evidence of the deification of those
who will be raised by the Lord.

However, Dr. George Bebawi is of the opinion that

the resurrection is a partaking of the Godhead!!
In his book on St. Athanasius, P. 216, Dr. George
Bebawi says:
"Partaking of the Divine Nature means partaking of eternal
life and incorruption. This is partaking of the Divine Nature,
for it is partaking of Christ the Risen from the dead." He
further says:
"It is partaking o f the Godhead, for eternal life is the life of
God Himself."

Almost the same expressions are included in the

book "Orthodox Patristic Principles - Part 2":
In P. 46, the author states:
"Eternal life is the life of God Himself, and our partaking of
this life is partaking of God Himself according to the words of
John the Apostle." And also in the same book: "Eternal life is
the life o f God Himself. And if this is not partaking of the
nature o f God, what can it be?"
These words mean that partaking of eternal life is partaking
o f the nature o f God, that is, a kind of deification!!
16

Again in P. 58 o f the same book we read: "... in order that

man may be granted to continue in immortality through
partaking of the Godhead"!!

Our answer to those who hold this view is that the

life of God is of His very nature, but our life is a gift
from God by His grace. Therefore we should not
take the gift as an evidence of deification!!
We say in the Holy Liturgy: [He granted us eternal life.] And
it is evident that those who are granted eternal life were, before
the resurrection, dead; and death certainly contradicts
deification. Also the Lord Christ says, "Whoever eats My flesh
and drinks My blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up at
the last day." (Jn 6: 54) This eternal life then is a gift from
God.

Furthermore, the righteous who rise from the dead will dwell
with God in the heavenly Jerusalem "The tabernacle o f God
with men" (Rev 21: 3) O f course God will not dwell with gods!
For after the resurrection they will continue as human beings
(men) as they were on the earth.
In P. 137 of the same book, they say that the
resurrection of Christ is deification of His human
nature.
This view is theologically unacceptable. The human nature
will continue a human nature after the resurrection. The Lord
Christ, after His resurrection, kept His name "The Son of
Man", as Stephen the Deacon saw Him while he was stoned
(Acts 7: 56), and as John the Beloved saw Him in the
Revelation (Rev 1: 13). Moreover, the deification of the human
nature means that it has vanished, which is against faith.
 17

(6) Does the partaking of the Divinity appear in the

authority over the devils?!
This is clear in the book o f Dr. George Bebawi, P. 137,
where he says:
"The partaking o f the Divine Nature appears clear in man's
authority over the devil, and in heaven in the life of
incorruption."
We say that overcoming the devil is a gift from God (Mt 10:
1), not deification of man. It is clear from the Book of
Revelation that Archangel Michael prevailed over the devil and
cast him out to the earth (Rev 12: 7^ 9). Can we take this as an
evidence o f the deification of Archangel Michael as well?!
Actually so many saints prevailed over the devils, and many
had the gift o f casting out devils; have all of them been
deified?! Prevailing over the devil can be realized through
humbleness, not by deification.

(7) Do we partake of the Divine Nature through the

Eucharist?!
Dr. George Bebawi, in his book "St. Athanasius" P.
214, under the title "Partaking of the Eucharist is
partaking of the Divine Nature", says, "Our real
partaking of the divinity is due to our obtaining the
heavenly Sacrament giving eternal life."
In P. 216, he further says, "Here the partaking of the
Divine Nature attains its goal for man, that is obtaining
the immortal divine heavenly mysteries."
In his book "Orthodox Patristic Principles - Part 2" P.
24, the author says: "Wonderful! Behold, we drink the
divinity, mystically of course, and we drink the life-
giving blood according to the grace."
18

It is strange indeed! The divinity is not to be eaten or drunk.

The divine mysteries in the Sacrament of the Eucharist are not
given us that we may partake of the divinity, God forbid! They
are given as "salvation, forgiveness of sins, and eternal life to
whoever partakes o f them, and also as "purity o f our souls, our
bodies, and our spirits" as we say in the Holy Liturgy.
If the partaker eats and drinks the divinity, no doubt the
partaker has become a god, and ought not worship the Holy
Sacraments but the people ought to worship him!
If they say that there is a union between the divine nature and
the human nature, this does not mean that man eats the
divinity! We have an example from the Scripture: "The life o f
the flesh is in the blood." (Lev 17: 11, 14) Whoever eats or
drinks the blood does not eat the life with it!!

(8) Did God become Man so that man may become

god?!
If these words were taken literally, the purpose o f the
incarnation would be the deification of man!! But it is well
known that God became a Man to redeem man, not to deify
him. This is clearly evident in the book of St. Athanasius "The
Incarnation o f the Word and in the words o f the Apostle about
the Father that He "sent His Son to be the propitiation fo r our
sins," and also the words in the Gospel of St. John: "For God
so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that
whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting
life." (Jn 3: 16) The purpose then was the salvation of man and
taking away the punishment of eternal perdition. Therefore, it
is better to say that God became the Son o f man so that man
may become the son of God, and the main reason for
incarnation continues to be the Redemption. It should also be
understood that man's sonship to God is different from Christ's
Sonship to God.
The union between

The Divine Nature

&
The Human Nature
20

Preface:
Some of those who proclaim deification of man (!!) do not
understand properly the union between the Divine Nature and
the Human Nature in the incarnation of the Lord Christ, glory
to Him. Therefore I wrote this article to expound this fact to
them, and also lest they be wise in their own sight.

We all believe in the union between the Divine Nature and

the Human Nature, a union without separation for a single
moment or a twinkling o f an eye. We believe that this union is
without mixing, blending, or change. What do the words
"without change" mean? They mean that the Divine Nature was
not changed or transformed into a Human Nature, but the
Divine Nature maintained all its qualities and attributes, and
the Human Nature likewise did not change or become a Divine
Nature.

We shall give here various examples clarifying this point.

 21

In spite of the unity between the Divine Nature

and the Human Nature in the incarnation of the
Lord Christ, we notice the following:

The Divinity does not grow or become

stronger.
The Divinity does not move from one
place to another.
The Divinity does not ascend unto
heaven or descend unto the earth.
The Divinity does not sleep or slumber.
The Divinity does not get tired or
suffer pain.
The Divinity does not hunger or thirst.
The Divinity does not die.
The Divinity cannot be eaten or drunk.
 23

Introduction

In the union between the Divine Nature and the Human

Nature in the Incarnation o f the Lord Christ we notice that the
union did not abolish at all the attributes o f the divinity, but
they continued. We nevertheless confess that the Divinity of
the Lord Christ was not separated from His Humanity, not even
for a single moment or a twinkling of an eye. This is the
teaching of the Great Saint Cyril the Pillar o f Faith.

t
 25

(1) It is said that the H um an Nature o f Christ did grow

This is said about the Lord Christ in His childhood: "And
Jesus increased in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God
and men." (Lk 2: 52) It is also said, "And the Child grew and
became strong in spirit, filled with wisdom; and the grace o f
God was upon Him." (Lk 2: 40)

Yes, He grew in the body, that is, in the Human Nature,

but it is impossible that the Divine Nature grows, because
in Divinity He is in complete perfection, or absolute
perfection, always.

The Divine Nature is united to the Human Nature without

separation even for a single moment. However, the Human
Nature grows but the Divine Nature does not grow, because the
Divinity is characterized by not growing. But let not anyone in
ignorance think that the difference between the Divine Nature
and the Human Nature in this respect means a separation
between both the two Natures!!

(2) It is said about the Lord Christ that He cam e to the

world in the body and departed it in the body
The Lord Christ said to His disciples: "I came forth from the
Father and have come into the world. Again, I leave the world
and go to the Father." (Jn 16: 28)

O f course the words " I ... have come into the world" are said
about the Human Nature only, but as concerns the Divine
Nature, we read that: "He was in the world, and the world was
made through Him." (Jn 1: 10) And the same theological
concept applies to the words "I leave the world". The Lord
26

Christ said them about the body. But as concerns the Divinity,
He said, "And lo, I am with you always, even to the end o f the
age," (Mt 28: 20) and also, "Where two or three are gathered
together in My name, I am there in the midst o f them. " (Mt 18:
20)

So, there is no contradiction between the words "I leave the

world" and the words "Lo, I am with you," "I am there in the
midst o f them " The one was said about the Human Nature, and
the other about the Divine Nature, without any separation
between both Natures.
Beware then, my children, for the Lord Christ says, "You are
mistaken, not knowing the Scriptures." (Mt 22: 29)

(3) It is said that the Lord Christ ascended unto

heaven in the body
This is what we say in the Liturgy of St. Gregory: [Upon
Your ascension unto heaven in the body.] It is also said in the
First Chapter o f the Acts that He was taken up and a cloud
received Him out o f their sight, and that He was taken up into
heaven (Acts 1:9- 11).

The Divinity, on the other hand, does not ascend or rise

up into heaven.

He is present in heaven, on earth, and in between them. He

does not move from one place to another, because He is present
everywhere at the same time.
So, when we say about the Human Nature that He ascended
in the body, and about the Divine Nature that He does not
ascend, this does not mean at all that there is separation
between both Natures! No doubt when the Lord Christ
 27

ascended into heaven in the body, His Divinity was united with
His Human Nature without separation. But the ascension is
ascribed to the body, that is, to the Human Nature only,
because the ascension is not a characteristic of the Divinity
who is present everywhere.
He who has an ear, let him hear ...

(4) It is said about the Lord Christ in m any passages

that He slept

This happened when He was in the boat and a great

windstorm arose and the waves beat into the boat: "He was in
the stern, asleep ... and they awoke Him and said to Him,
'Teacher, do You not care that we are perishing?'" (Mk 4: 37,
38) The same incident is also mentioned in (Lk 8: 23, 24).

Undoubtedly the sleeping was for the body, that is, for the
Human Nature, because the Divinity does not sleep or
slumber (Ps 121: 4).

But although the sleeping was for the body only, not for the
Divinity, the Divinity was completely united with the Human
Nature. An evidence is that He arose and rebuked the wind,
and said to the sea, 'Peace, be still!' And the wind ceased and
there was a great calm, that they feared exceedingly and said to
one another, "Who can this be, that even the wind and the sea
obey Him!" (Mk 4: 39- 41)
Here the Divine Nature is united with the Human Nature
without separation, but the sleep and awakening are ascribed to
the body, because sleep is not a characteristic of the Divinity.
He who has an ear, let him hear ...
\k,
/|\ /i\
(5) It is said about the Lord Christ that He did hunger
and thirst
In His fasting for forty days on the Mount o f Tribulation, He
ate nothing, and afterward, when they had ended, He was
hungry (Lk 4: 2), and the same is mentioned in (Mt 4: 2):
"When He had fasted forty days and forty nights, afterward He
was hungry."

He hungered in the body, and was tempted in the body,

although His Divinity is united with the Human Nature,
because when He rebuked Satan, saying, "Away with you,
Satan!" Satan left Him, and behold, angels came and
ministered to Him (Mt 4: 10, 11).

However, the hunger is ascribed to the Human Nature,

because hunger is not a characteristic of the Divinity.
Moreover, that the Divinity did not hunger as well, this does
not mean at all that the Divinity is separated from the Human
Nature.

The same applies to the thirst of the Lord Christ, for on the
cross He said, "I thirst!" (Jn 19: 28) The Divinity does not
hunger or thirst, and therefore does not eat or drink, but this
does not mean at all that the Divinity is not united with the
Human Nature without separation for a single moment or a
twinkling o f an eye. The Divinity has His attributes and
qualities which He did not lose by being united with the
Human Nature.
 29

(6) It is said about the Lord Christ that He was

wearied
In His meeting with the Samaritan woman, it is mentioned
that Jesus "being wearied from His journey, sat thus by the
well." (Jn 4: 6)
The Divinity does not weary. No doubt Christ wearied in
the body, though the body is united with the Divinity.
The Divinity, though united with the body, did not relieve the
body from its attributes or its weaknesses: the weary, the pain,
the hunger, the thirst, the need for rest and sleep, the need for
eating and drinking, because He took all the characteristics of
our nature except for sin.

(7) It is said about the Lord Christ that He suffered

He Himself said to His disciples before the crucifixion, "He
must go to Jerusalem, and suffer many things from the elders
and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised the
third day. (Mt 16: 21) And after the resurrection He said to
His disciples, "Thus it is written, and thus it was necessary fo r
the Christ to suffer and to rise from the dead the third day."
(Lk 24: 46) Again in the Epistle to the Hebrews we read that
He suffered outside the gate (Heb 13: 12), and "For in that He
H imself has suffered, being tempted, He is able to aid those
who are tempted." (Heb 2: 18) Many also are the other verses
about His suffering, including striking, whipping, crucifixion,
nails, thorns, and many other things as mentioned in (Ps 22: 7-
18)

In spite of all this the Divinity does not suffer. Whoever

says that the Divinity suffers has fallen in a heresy. In all
the suffering of the Lord Christ His Divinity was united
30

with His Human Nature without separation for a single

moment or a twinkling of an eye.

(8) Christ also died in the flesh, but the Divinity never
dies
Even in His death He was united with the Divinity and was
never separated.

In the Prayer o f the Ninth Hour, we address Him, saying,

[You who tasted death in the body at the ninth hour ...] And in
the Syrian Fraction o f the Holy Liturgy we say about the death
of Christ, [His spirit was separated from His body, but His
Divinity was never separated from His spirit or His body.]

Death is characteristic of the Human Nature, not o f the

Divine Nature, but this does not mean at all that the Divine
Nature was separated from the Human Nature.

In spite o f the union between the Divine Nature and the

Human Nature, the Divine Nature kept the divine attributes:
does not weary, does not suffer, does not die, does not grow,
does not ascend, does not hunger, does not thirst, does not
sleep ... as we have already explained.

(9) The same applies to the Eucharist Sacram ent: the

Divinity is not eaten or drunk, in spite o f the union
between the Divine Nature and the H um an Nature
When the Lord handed this Sacrament to His disciples, He
said to them, "Take, eat; this is My body ... Drink from it ...
this is My blood." (Mt 26: 26- 28; Mk 14: 22- 24) He never
said 'This is My Divinity1!
 31

St. Paul the Apostle also said, "The cup o f blessing which
we bless, is it not the communion o f the blood o f Christ?
The bread which we break, is it not the communion o f the
body o f Christ?" (1 Cor 10: 15, 16) So, St. Paul taught us
about the communion of the body and blood, not the
communion of the Divinity as those who proclaim
deification o f man say!! Truly the Divine Nature was not
separated from His Human Nature, but the Divinity is not
eaten or drunk, for it is not characteristic of the Divinity.
St. Paul the Apostle also in (1 Cor 11) repeated the same
words o f the Lord when He was handing that Sacrament
to His disciples. Then he said, "Therefore whoever eats
this bread or drinks this cup o f the Lord in an unworthy
manner will be guilty o f the body and blood o f the Lord
... For he who eats and drinks in an unworthy manner
eats and drinks judgment to himself not discerning the
Lord's body." (1 Cor 11: 27, 29) St. Paul did not mention
at all the Divinity when speaking about the seriousness of
partaking in an unworthy manner. He only said, ""will be
guilty o f the body and blood o f the Lord".
And in the Gospel of St. John, the Lord says about
this Sacrament:
"For M y flesh is food indeed, and My blood is drink
indeed. He who eats My flesh and drinks My blood
abides in Me, and I in him ." (Jn 6: 55, 56) He did not
say, 'eats and drinks My Divinity'.
It is because the Divinity is not eaten or drunk in spite of
the unity between both. Do not then spread strange
teaching not included in the Holy Scripture of the Fathers'
Sayings!
The Fathers gave us as an example of the unity between
the Human Nature and the Divine Nature the unity of the
32

heated iron with the fire, and also the unity between the
spirit and the body. He who has an ear, let him hear ...
The words o f the Lord "abide in Me, and I in him " do not
mean abiding in His Divinity! Those who ate and drank
for the first time in the Lord's Supper, for instance, did
not abide in Him; for some were afraid and fled, and one
o f them denied Him thrice, and all o f them hid in the
upper room fleeing from the Jews.
The Lord explained the words "abide in Me, and I in
him " when He said to His apostles "Abide in My love. I f
you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love."
(Jn 15: 9, 10) He did not speak about abiding in His
Divinity.
My advice to you, my children is: Be humble. Do not be
deified. Do not think that you have become guardians over
Orthodoxy or over the Fathers' Sayings!! Always remember the
words of the Scripture:
"Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a
fa ll." (Prov 16:18)
I still hold to the words of the Didascalia [Remove away
guilt by teaching]. I still pity you, and would that you also
pity yourself!
 In This Book
In the Name of the Father,
the Son, and the Holy Spirit
One God. Amen

This part of the refutation

of the heresy of man's
deification is in two parts:
The First Part is a
refutation against those
who proclaim partaking of
the Divine Nature.
The refutation clarifies the
mistake in quoting the ,
verse; that partaking of the ;
Divine Nature does not ('
mean deification of jj
the human nature, I
resurrection, casting away j
of demons, nor adoption.
The Second Part explains
the Union between the
Divine and the Human
Nature in the Lord Christ.
It also explains that such ,
Union did not make the
Godhead lose His
attributes. He does not
grow, sleep, ascend, nor is
eaten or drunk.
Pope ShenoudaIII

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