In
Orthodox Christianity, the struggle against the corruption of the passions is conducted through ascetic effort to purify the soul (
asceticism from Greek:
askesis "exercise"). At the advanced stages this involves "bringing the mind into the heart" ("mind" is a substitution for the tricky-to-translate Greek
nous (νοῦς), which here indicates that faculty of the soul by which man enters into communion with God). Purification of the soul, which is achieved only through the help of divine grace, is pursued through one's efforts to fulfill the commandments of Christ, participation in the Holy Mysteries of the Christian Orthodox Church, private prayer including devotion to the Jesus Prayer, fasting according to the Church calendar, study of Holy Scripture and the lives of the saints, and vigilant watchfulness over the thoughts to prevent sinful thoughts from becoming sinful actions, and then passions. As the Christian becomes purified, in time he reaches the stage of
theoria or illumination. At this point, the contemplative life begins. All ascetic practice must be understood as simply the means by which the goal of Christian life is pursued. This is the acquisition of the
Holy Spirit, which is called
theosis, meaning the "deification" of man. According to
St. Athanasius and others, "God became man so that man can become god." ==See also==