Does Catholicism have a term for its soteriological distinctives?

[Greenham]

“Theosis,” though many of its concepts are common to all Christendom, is synonomous with Eastern Orthodox soteriology. “Justification by faith” is the soteriological rallying-point of the entire Reformation, and Calvinists have coalesced around the acronym TULIP to codify their soteriological distinctives. Calvinists also have the concept of “union with Christ” to speak of the life of a believer (or rather, the life of God in the soul of man, to channel Henry Scougal).

Does Catholicism have any one such term or concept around which their soteriological distinctives are built?

 

[dmar198]

“Theosis,” though many of its concepts are common to all Christendom, is synonomous with Eastern Orthodox soteriology. “Justification by faith” is the soteriological rallying-point of the entire Reformation, and Calvinists have coalesced around the acronym TULIP to codify their soteriological distinctives. Calvinists also have the concept of “union with Christ” to speak of the life of a believer (or rather, the life of God in the soul of man, to channel Henry Scougal).

Does Catholicism have any one such term or concept around which their soteriological distinctives are built?

I have sometimes heard the word sanctification used as a Catholic equivalent to Theosis, and I have heard it used to compare the Catholic teaching on justification to the Protestant teaching on justification. Perhaps that qualifies as a Catholic term for salvation and how it is achieved.

 

[Contarini]

“Theosis,” though many of its concepts are common to all Christendom, is synonomous with Eastern Orthodox soteriology. “Justification by faith” is the soteriological rallying-point of the entire Reformation, and Calvinists have coalesced around the acronym TULIP to codify their soteriological distinctives. Calvinists also have the concept of “union with Christ” to speak of the life of a believer (or rather, the life of God in the soul of man, to channel Henry Scougal).

Does Catholicism have any one such term or concept around which their soteriological distinctives are built?

Theosis is a Catholic doctrine. But yes, sanctification (not, as in Protestantism, seen as sharply distinct from justification) would be the Latin term. In the end it is not different from theosis, and Latins need to learn to talk about it in terms of theosis, I think.

Perhaps, to distinguish Catholicism from Wesleyan Holiness folks on the one hand and Lutherans on the other, the term “sacramental sanctification” should be used. That is to say, Wesleyans also believe in sanctification, but many of them downplay the sacraments (the Wesleys didn’t, and modern United Methodists are once again developing a robust sacramental piety, so this isn’t a fair generalization, but it was certainly true of the version of Wesleyanism I was taught). Lutherans believe in sacramental grace, but combine it with sola fide.

Edwin

 

[MelCath]

Because of the huge diversity of theology in the Catholic Church there is no one soteriological phrase, but in the Latin church it is usually ‘sanctifying grace’ that is used.
but theosis is totally appropriate as well