Phenomenon of Sanctity in the System of Religious and Philosophical Views

Abstract

The analysis of the phenomenon of sanctity from the religious, philosophical, theological and Orthodox perspective is conducted by means of a semantic, etymological and structural examination of this concept. One of the work’s objectives is to highlight the different conceptual meanings of sanctity called for by the use of a comparative method. The point of departure was the biblical understanding of sanctity which substantially approaches the idea as the quality of deity, later developed in the Patristic teachings and supplemented by religion experts and philosophers. Based on that, the concept of sanctity is viewed in four semantic levels: 1) sanctity as sanctity, i.e. a quality typical of God and His chosen ones; its achievement is possible through the process of theosis [deification]; 2) sanctity as numinosum, or a particular dimension of transcendence leading to a unique experience in the human psyche; 3) sanctity as sacrum, or a higher level of being, ontological reality, the original reality manifested in hierophanies; and finally 4) sanctity as perfection, moral virtue achieved by a person through personal development.