Introduction

Abstract

Dynamis of Healing: Patristic Theology and the Psyche explores possible experiential traces of Orthodox Christian ontology and soteriology in the healing of the psyche, as known and experienced through depth psychology, by examining a possible relationship between theology and depth psychology as mediated through a lens of the sacramentality of creation. Chapter 1 maps the territory for inclusion of the psyche, as understood in depth psychological terms, in discussions of salvation and healing. Chapter 2 explores a central premise of patristic soteriology, giving an outline of the thought of several key church fathers and exploring the Eastern Orthodox emphasis on theosis as a model of transformation. Chapter 3 discusses a possible ontology of healing by looking at St. Maximus’s concept of the logoi of being and clinical insights into the psyche as always seeking to manifest healing qua psyche. Chapter 4 concludes the book by considering the importance of eros and desire from both a theological perspective and a depth psychological perspective.