Athanasius, the fourth-century church father, made his famous statement that the Son of God became man “that he might deify us in himself." This is called the doctrine of theosis. Some refer to it as deification, divinization, or participation in God.

Gregory of Nazianzus wrote that man "has been ordered to become God." This article explores the meaning of these words. This idea of theosis or deification is a distinctive feature of Orthodox theology in the east.