RENEWAL
The Holy Spirit is the source of renewal par excellence. From the very beginning, and continuously, the Spirit renews the whole creation. The incarnation of the Son is the new creation. Christ is the head of the new creation and new humanity. However, the place and role of the Holy Spirit is not secondary in this event of 'new creation.' The Spirit is the Lord of all creation. The event of new creation becomes a living and present reality through the Holy Spirit. In the power of the Holy Spirit the 'new creation' enters into creation and puts it in a dynamic process of renewal. Humanity and creation re-establish their original relation with God.
The Holy Spirit as a source of renewal is one of the favorite themes of Orthodox liturgy. Here are two references taken from the Armenian liturgy [as quoted from Armenian Church Hymns published in 1980]:
"The Renewer...who with his grace renews the cosmos...and us from the sins of Adam."
"Today the heavenly were in joy because of the renewal of the earthly, because of the renewal of creatures; the Holy Spirit descended to the holy upper-room and by Him the apostles were renewed."
In fact, the renewal of the whole humankind as well as heaven and earth, anticipated in the Eucharistic epiclesis, is the eschatological goal of the whole creation.
DEIFICATION
The ultimate destiny of humanity and creation is deification (theosis). The human being is the representative of the cosmos, a 'microcosm.' Men and women are superior to the cosmos. The latter receives grace through them who are called by God to a supreme vocation: deification, to become by grace that which God is by His nature.
Grace is the transforming and deifying presence of God revealed and poured out by the Holy Spirit. The Spirit transforms us and makes us God-like. Deification is liberation from death. It is re-creation, 'being in Christ,' communion with God. The Holy Spirit leads humanity to Christ and through Him to the Father. Humanity is called also to transform the whole creation in the power of the Holy Spirit. The deification of the cosmos is the restoration of the original order.
His Holiness Aram I, Catholicos of Cilicia
The Challenge to be a Church in a Changing World
Pages 77-78, The Armenian Prelacy, New York 1997
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