The created world is like a beautiful Gothic cathedral built with stained-glass windows depicting all of God’s many saints on its walls.  When you stand inside the cathedral, you see the rays of light from the sun passing through the glass windows and shining within the sacred precincts in a wondrous manner; for, as you are bathed in light, the multitude of saints is revealed to you.

In this analogy, the sun and its light signify the grace and energy of Almighty God, and just as the saints depicted in the windows glow with the light that pours through them from outside—a light that is not essentially one with the glass—so too the saints shine forth with the Light of God. This Divine Light is not an essential aspect of the saints themselves; instead, it is God’s own Light that is made manifest through them.

Now, just as the light passes through the windows of the Cathedral, so too the uncreated Light of Mt. Tabor passes through the saints, and as this happens, the saints are divinized by the divine energy that illuminates them. And—of course—anyone who sees this powerful Light and Glory pouring through the holy ones of God sees the God who fashioned the saints into saints in the first place. Finally, it is to be clearly understood that the Taboric Light, which is quite simply God as He exists pro nobis, is like the light of the solar disk, which is not unaffected by passing through glass, and is refracted like light through a rainbow: the colors moving through the water vapor are distinct, yet continuous—without any interval between them. In the same way, God’s Light is not unaffected as it shines through the saints; the unique subsistent characteristics of each sacred person—like the shapes and colors on the stained-glass windows of the cathedral—impact how the Light of Divine Glory shines through them, forming a unique luster as it passes through each one. For each of the saints is an unrepeatable person made in the image and likeness of God; in their being they reveal the natural multiplicity of mankind, which causes God’s own uncreated energy to show forth the personal properties and attributes of each saint, and in the process, God’s Shekinah Glory—while remaining essentially unchanged and unchangeable—is magnified as He graciously condescends to work through His saints, who, in turn, in a variegated manner reveal and manifest His presence in the world.

A Personal Reflection on Theosis

by Steven Todd Kaster

10 January 2026