Theosis: The Telos of Humanity in both Calvin and Palamas?

Up until this point, any rereading of John Calvin through the lens of theosis has not been considered specifically in conversation with the work of St. Gregory Palamas. Therefore this thesis explores the parallels and distinctions in three key areas of Calvin and Palamas in order to examine to what extent it can be argued that there are significant parallels between the theology of John Calvin and St. Gregory Palamas' understanding of theosis. The three areas of focus are: the doctrine of God; theological anthropology; and soteriology. These three categories are useful ones to examine because of their importance in Palamas’ characterization of theosis as the telos of human beings. Their application here derives from the current research on Calvin and theosis as well as on Palamas’ own writings concerning theosis. The final result deduces that the broad parallels between Palamas and Calvin are enough to consider a type of theosis in the work of Calvin, but this type is radically distinct from the more specific aspects of Palamite theology, including his understanding of the self-communication of God and the incarnation.Master of Theology (ThM