What the Orthodox Believe About Salvation

Salvation is both an event and a process. The event of our salvation is the historical reality of the Incarnation, Crucifixion, Resurrection, and Ascension of Jesus Christ; the process of our salvation is the growth of a person from being the “image” of God to becoming the “likeness” of God (Gen 1:27). In baptism is our nature reborn; in obedience is our nature perfected. We are saved not only by the historical reality, not only as we shed vice and acquire virtue, but also by the Second and Glorious Coming Again of Christ and His favorable judgment upon us. Salvation, then, is a past event, a present experience, and a future hope.