Is Grace Created or Uncreated?
A significant theological difference between Catholic and Orthodox thought concerns the nature of divine grace. Orthodox theologians, following St. Gregory Palamas, insist that grace consists of the uncreated divine energies of God Himself. They criticize the Catholic view that grace is something created—a quality infused into the soul—arguing this introduces an unnecessary separation between God and believers and makes deification (theosis) impossible.
A significant theological difference between Catholic and Orthodox thought concerns the nature of divine grace. Orthodox theologians, following St. Gregory Palamas, insist that grace consists of the uncreated divine energies of God Himself. They criticize the Catholic view that grace is something created—a quality infused into the soul—arguing this introduces an unnecessary separation between God and believers and makes deification (theosis) impossible.
Refutation
In „Contra Errores Graecorum,‟ St. Thomas addresses this issue by examining how Eastern Fathers understand our participation in divine life. While acknowledging God’s immediate presence to the soul, he clarifies the distinction between God’s essence and His effects in us.
„That the Holy Spirit is truly works through the Son.‟
Aquinas cites St. Cyril of Alexandria, who writes:
„Christ in his own Holy Spirit, existing as noted above of his own essence, forgives us all.‟
And St. Basil the Great:
„The Holy Spirit caused it to be believed and proclaimed by the Fathers at Nicaea that the Son is coessential with him, as it were God flowing out of his essence.‟
Thomas explains that when the Fathers speak of the Spirit dwelling in us or of our participation in the divine nature, they are not suggesting that God’s essence itself becomes a formal principle within us. Rather, God effects in us, through His power, a created quality that enables us to participate in the divine nature.
This created grace is necessary because there must be a proportion between the form and the subject receiving it. Since the divine essence infinitely transcends human nature, there must be a created participation of divine likeness in us that makes us capable of divine operations.
Aquinas would point out that the Fathers often speak of „deification‟ while also maintaining the absolute transcendence of God’s essence. St. John Damascene, for instance, teaches that humans become „gods by grace‟ not by nature. This distinction implies some mediating reality—created grace—that makes deification possible while preserving the Creator-creature distinction.
Far from separating believers from God, created grace is precisely what unites them to Him by making them capable of divine operations like knowing and loving God as He knows and loves Himself. The reality of this transformation is so profound that St. Paul could say, „It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me‟ (Galatians 2:20).
Conclusion
While the language and conceptual frameworks differ between East and West, both traditions affirm that through grace, God truly communicates Himself to human beings, making them partakers of divine life. The Catholic understanding of created grace, properly understood, does not diminish the reality of deification but provides a theological explanation for how finite creatures can participate in infinite divine life without confusion of natures. As Aquinas demonstrates through his engagement with Eastern Fathers, the fundamental mystery of divine-human communion remains central to both traditions, despite differences in theological expression.