Baptism, Social Ethics, and Sanctification According to Maximus the Confessor's Commentary On The Lord's Prayer

Abstract

ABSTRACT: The Byzantine celebration of Christ's baptism dramatizes the interpersonal and interior dynamics of conversion and salvation. Unlike the transformation of the cosmos underscored by liturgical texts, human transformation in baptism is hardly a fait accompli, due to interpersonal injury, a necessary consequence when one is entangled in the web of fallen human relationships. Maximus the Confessor offers an exploration of the dynamics between the grace of baptism and ongoing sanctification in his Exposition on the Lord's Prayer . In his Exposition , Maximus focuses his meditation on relationship: with the addressee, with God, and with each other. For Maximus, divinization entails asceticism on earth, which is perfected in eternity. The Christian must "suffer" forgiveness below to experience it above.