Divine Incomprehensibility in Eastern Orthodoxy and Reformed Theology
Theological Reflections: Eastern European Journal of Theology May 27, 2021 Тім Шимко
The Eastern Orthodox and Reformed traditions both affirm that God is entirely incomprehensible, yet they differ on how humans can know or experience God. Eastern Orthodoxy holds that God is not ultimately known through the intellect but through mystical experience, especially theosis (deification), which is considered theology par excellence. The Reformed tradition rejects mystical experience, instead relying on the archetypal/ectypal distinction: God cannot be known as he is in himself (archetypal theology), but only as he reveals himself to creation (ectypal theology), which is analogous to, not identical with, archetypal theology. The article briefly explores how these views affect other theological areas.