Ousia

In Palamite theology, ousia refers to the divine essence — God as God is in Himself, utterly beyond human comprehension or participation. The Philokalia teaches that while the divine essence remains forever inaccessible, the divine energies are genuinely participable. This distinction protects both God's transcendence — the essence — and God's immanence — the energies. Theosis is not participation in the divine essence, which would destroy the creature. It is participation in the divine energies, which transforms the creature without absorbing it.