How Orthodox View Salvation

James Payton gives a glimpse into how Orthodox Christians view their salvation. He bases his study on the eastern and western differences in soteriology on the doctrine of grace. He believes that the West has placed the bulk of its concentration on grace in the aspect of “what grace does, how it operates upon us, the effects it has on believers and so forth” (156). Conversely, the Eastern Church has taken a different slant by looking at what grace is. This is probably one of the biggest differences between the two branches of Christianity albeit probably one of the least dialogically explored.

            The eastern soteriological stance is more one of belonging while the western mindset developed more toward a utilitarian actualization of grace. This is useful as Western Christian theology rarely raises the question of the essence of grace. The soteriological aspect of grace is much more than its outworking, and the eastern historical development has contributed a welcomed perspective to the dialogue. Arguably, much of eastern soteriology is entertained in western conversations about sanctification, but western soteriology usually does not begin there.

            Certain church fathers have influenced both Eastern Orthodoxy and Western Evangelicalism. Modern Orthodoxy has been influenced most significantly by Gregory of Nyssa, Pseudo-Dionysius, Maximus the Confessor and Gregory Palamas. These theologians put a bigger emphasis on man's interaction with God's energies over His essence than those who influenced the west. Western theologians have tended to relate more to the actual redemptive outworking of salvation in man when he communes with a Holy God. 

            As already posted, the eastern Christian sees salvation as a corrective action designed to realign the human journey to enjoy more of God's energies. The western Christian sees salvation as an act of substitutionary atonement wherein a man is completely changed from the inside and is protected from God's wrath. So, if salvation for the eastern Christian is a metaphysical experience with manifestations of God's power, and if salvation for the western Christian is a transformational work in man, can the two really discuss soteriology without defining what salvation really means? When an eastern Christian says, "Jesus saves," what does he mean? When a western Christian uses the same words, what does he mean? Perhaps the East could benefit greatly from Luther's atonement constructs, and the West could be informed greatly from Gregory Palamas' images of communion.