E

Image; the relationship of lower realities to higher ones within the hierarchy, where each level images the divine in its own degree.

Primary text: Celestial Hierarchy II

Peace; divine harmony that characterizes the proper ordering of the hierarchies and the state of souls united with God.

Primary text: Divine Names XI

Ecstasy; the mystical going-out-of-oneself that occurs in divine union, transcending normal consciousness and conceptual knowledge.

Primary text: Divine Names IV

Illumination; the divine light that flows through the hierarchical orders, enlightening each according to its capacity and function.

Primary text: Celestial Hierarchy I

Energy or operation; God's activities through which He is known and participated in, distinct from His unknowable essence.

Primary text: Divine Names II

Union; the mystical unity achieved through hierarchical ascent, representing the culmination of the soul's return to God.

Primary text: Mystical Theology I

Stretching forth; the soul's continual reaching toward God in an endless movement of spiritual progress through the hierarchies.

Primary text: Epistles VIII

Manifestation or theophany; God's self-revelation through the hierarchical orders while maintaining His essential hiddenness.

Primary text: Celestial Hierarchy IV

Return or conversion; the movement by which all things turn back toward their divine source through the mediating hierarchies.

Primary text: Divine Names IV

Divine love; the attractive power that draws all creation back to God and motivates the hierarchical return to the source.

Primary text: Divine Names IV

Eucharist or thanksgiving; the supreme sacramental mystery that unites the ecclesiastical hierarchy with divine reality.

Primary text: Ecclesiastical Hierarchy III. Part I