The Essence of Freedom in Orthodoxy

Human freedom is one of the most important concepts in both philosophy and theology. If philosophy in the understanding of freedom focuses on the issues of the correlation of freedom and necessity, then Orthodox theology asserts that freedom is a gift of God to man at his creation. Thus, according to Orthodoxy, freedom is initially rooted in man, and cannot be lost by him under any circumstances; it can be damaged and deformed, but not taken away from man. Freedom is damaged by sinful actions and thoughts of a person; sin, according to Orthodox teaching, makes a person unfree. Whether to sin or avoid sin is in the will of man; therefore, he is fully responsible for his life. Apparently, human freedom comes into conflict with God’s predestination about man, but this conflict is resolved in Orthodoxy through the free acceptance of the will of God by man, as a good will and directed to the spiritual prosperity of man. The sin created by man can be redeemed by repentance, as sincere repentance and a firm intention not to sin anymore, with the subsequent realization of this intention. Repentance restores freedom to man in its original sense and restores the unity of man and God.