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For the Belgian techno duo, see Apotheosis (group).
"Autotheism" redirects here. For the album by The Faceless, see Autotheism (album).




Further information: imperial cult and divine king


Ancient Greece[edit]

Main article: Greek hero cult




Ancient Rome[edit]


Ancient China[edit]


Southeast Asia and North Korea[edit]


Deceased North-Korean president Kim Il-Sung is object of a cult of personality similar of a deity's one, which has statues, monuments dedicated to the "Eternal Leader", annual commemoration of his birth, peregrination of newlyweds to his nearest statue, the Juche era dating system beginning with Kim birthday, etc.



Instead of the word "apotheosis", Christian theology uses in English the words "deification" or "divinization" or the Greek word "theosis". Traditional mainstream theology, both East and West, views Jesus Christ as the preexisting God who undertook mortal existence, not as a mortal being who attained divinity. It holds that he has made it possible for human beings to be raised to the level of sharing the divine nature: he became one of us to make us "partakers of the divine nature"[4] "For this is why the Word became man, and the Son of God became the Son of man: so that man, by entering into communion with the Word and thus receiving divine sonship, might become a son of God."[5] "For He was made man that we might be made God."[6] "The only-begotten Son of God, wanting to make us sharers in his divinity, assumed our nature, so that he, made man, might make men gods."[7]



In Eastern Christianity[edit]

Eastern Christian theology also does not use the term "apotheosis". The mystical theology of the Eastern Orthodox churches and Eastern Catholic churches instead characteristically describes divinization of human beings as "theosis", a Greek word. This theology does not apply either term to Jesus, since it views him as the preexisting God who undertook mortal existence, not as a mortal being who attained divinity.

Roman Catholic Church[edit]




The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church or Mormons) do believe in apotheosis along the lines of the Christian tradition of divinization or deification, but in the church it is referred to as exaltation or eternal life, and is accomplished through "sanctification." LDS believe that mankind may live with God throughout eternity in families and eventually become gods themselves, though remaining subordinate to God the Father, God the Son, and the Holy Spirit. While the primary focus of the LDS Church is on Jesus of Nazareth and His atoning sacrifice for man,[12] Mormons believe that one purpose for Christ's mission and for His atonement is the exaltation or Christian deification of man.[13] The third Article of Faith of Mormon Christianity states that all men may be saved from sin through the atonement of Jesus Christ and LDS Gospel Doctrine (as published) states that all men will be saved and will be resurrected from death. However, only those who are sufficiently obedient and who accept the atonement and the grace and mercy of Jesus Christ before the resurrection and final judgment will be "exalted" and, thereby, receive a literal Christian deification.

One popular Mormon quote which is often attributed to the early Mormon leader Lorenzo Snow in 1837, is “As man now is, God once was: As God now is, man may be.”[14][15] The teaching was taught first by Joseph Smith, Jr. while pointing to John 5:19 in the New Testament; he said that "God himself, the Father of us all, dwelt on an earth, the same as Jesus Christ himself did."[16] Many[who?] LDS and non-LDS scholars also have discussed the correlation between Mormon belief in exaltation and the ancient Christian theosis or deification as set forth by early Church Fathers[15][page needed][third-party source needed][specify]. Several[who?] LDS and non-LDS historians specializing in studies of the early Christian Church also claim that the Mormon belief in eternal progression is more similar to the ancient Christian deification as set forth in numerous patristic writings of the first through fourth centuries A.D. than the beliefs of any other modern faith group of the Christian tradition[15][page needed][third-party source needed][unreliable source?].

Mormons believe that the original Christian belief in man's divine potential gradually lost its meaning and importance in the centuries after the death of the apostles, as doctrinal changes by post-apostolic theologians caused Christians to lose sight of the true nature of God and His purpose for creating humanity. The concept of God's nature that was eventually accepted as Christian doctrine in the 4th century set divinity apart from humanity by defining the Godhead as three persons sharing a common divine substance. This classification of God in terms of a substance is not found in scripture,[17] [18] yet in many aspects mirrored the Greek metaphysical philosophies that are known to have influenced the thinking of church fathers[19] such as Justin Martyr, Origen, and Augustine. Mormons teach that through modern revelation, God restored the knowledge that He is the literal father of our spirits (Hebrews 12:9), and that Biblical references to God creating mankind in His image and likeness were in no way allegorical. As such, Mormons assert that as the literal offspring of our Father (Acts 17:28-29), humans have the potential to be heirs of His glory, and co-heirs with our brother Jesus Christ (Romans 8:16-17). This glory, Mormons believe, lies not in God’s substance, but in His intelligence—in other words, light and truth (Doctrine and Covenants 93:36[20]). Thus the purpose of our creation is to grow and progress to become like our Father in Heaven. Mortality is seen as a crucial step in this process, where God's spirit children gain a body—which though formed in the image of the Father's body, is subject to pain, illness, temptation, and death. The purpose of this earth life is to learn to choose the right in the face of this opposition, thereby gaining essential experience and wisdom. The level of intelligence we attain in this life will rise with us in the resurrection (Doctrine and Covenants 130:18-19). Our bodies will then be immortal like that of the Father and the Son (Philemon 3:21), however the degree of glory to which each person will resurrect is contingent upon the final judgement (Revelations 20:13, 1 Corinthians 15:40-41). Those who are worthy to return to God's presence can continue to progress towards a fullness of God's glory, which Mormons refer to as eternal life, or exaltation (Doctrine and Covenants 76).

The LDS concept of apotheosis/exaltation is expressed in the following LDS scriptures: Mosiah 3:19, Alma 13:12, D&C 78:7, D&C 78:22, D&C 84:4, D&C 84:23, D&C 88:68, D&C 93:28, and expressed by a member of the Quorum of the 12 Apostles, "Though stretched by our challenges, by living righteously and enduring well we can eventually become sufficiently more like Jesus in our traits and attributes, that one day we can dwell in the Father's presence forever and ever." (Neal Maxwell, October 1997)

In early 2014, the LDS church published an essay on the official church website specifically addressing the foundations, history, and official beliefs regarding apotheosis.[21] The essay addresses the scriptural foundations of this uniquely Mormon belief, teachings of the early Christian church fathers on the subject of deificiation, and the teachings of LDS church leaders, starting with Joseph Smith, on the subject.



Apotheosis of George Washington
Apotheosis of Gdańsk by Isaak van den Blocke.



In literature[edit]







In music[edit]


Apotheosis moments abound in music, and the word itself appears in some cases. Hector Berlioz used "Apotheose" as the title of the final movement of his Grande symphonie funèbre et triomphale, a work composed in 1846 for the dedication of a monument to France's war dead. Two of Tchaikovsky’s ballets, The Sleeping Beauty and The Nutcracker, as well as La Bayadère, contain apotheoses as finales. The very beautiful concluding tableau of Maurice Ravel's Ma Mere l'Oye is also titled "Apotheose." Czech composer Karel Husa, concerned in 1970 about arms proliferation and environmental deterioration, named his musical response Apotheosis for This Earth. Aram Khachaturian entitled a segment of his ballet Spartacus "Sunrise and Apotheosis." Richard Wagner, referring to the lively rhythms which permeate Beethoven's Symphony No. 7, called it the "apotheosis of the dance".[22]


In other popular culture[edit]

In the Elder Scrolls series, the act of apotheosis has been achieved by several cultural heroes. From the lore, it is stated that Emperor Tiber Septim achieved godhood, becoming a god known as Talos. In addition, Reman Cyrodiil, a hero of the Akaviri Trouble, was worshipped as the Worldly God. Whilst, in Oblivion's expansion pack, Shivering Isles, the protagonist is granted the opportunity to replace one of the Daedric Princes, a more demonic pantheon.[citation needed]

In the game Fire Emblem Awakening, apotheosis is the English name given to the last purchasable downloadable content, wherein it is stated that heroes who become too powerful are drawn to Castle Apotheosis to challenge worthy opponents.[23]

In the tabletop miniatures game WarMachine, Apotheosis is the 3rd expansion, released in 2005 and originally published for the first edition of the game. The book outlines heroes, units, and steam-powered robots (called "Warjacks" in the game) of legendary, heroic, or notorious status within the Iron Kingdoms setting of the game. It furthered the story that runs concurrently with the game universe, and likely took its name from the attempt made by the character Asphyxious to achieve godhood.[citation needed]

Austin Wintory's soundtrack to the 2012 game Journey contains a track titled "Apotheosis", which plays during the player's final ascent to the mountain top at the game's end.

The final episode of the TV show Caprica is called "Apotheosis". The idea of Apotheosis was a common idea/theme throughout the show.

In the standalone expansion "XCOM: Enemy Within", there is an achievement for destroying EXALT's main base called "Apotheosis Denied".

See also[edit]

References and further reading[edit]

  4. ^ 2 Peter 1:4
  5. ^ Irenaeus of Lyon, Adversus haereses, 3.19.1
  6. ^ a b St. Athanasius, On the Incarnation of the Word 54.3.
  7. ^ Thomas Aquinas, Opusc. 57, 1-4
  9. ^ Catechism of the Catholic Church, 460
  12. ^ Joseph Smith declared, 'The fundamental principles of our religion are the testimony of the Apostles and Prophets, concerning Jesus Christ, that He died, was buried, and rose again the third day, and ascended into heaven; and all other things which pertain to our religion are only appendages to it' (See, Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, sel. Joseph Fielding Smith [1976], 121).
  13. ^ "Gospel Topics", LDS.org (LDS Church)  |chapter= ignored (help)
  14. ^ Lund, Gerald N. (February 1982), "I Have a Question", Ensign  |chapter= ignored (help)
  16. ^ Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, pp. 345-46.
  17. ^ Thomas Mozley The creed or a philosophy 1893 p303
  18. ^ http://www.earlychurchtexts.com/public/creed_homoian_of_constantinople_360.htm (the wording of the Council of Constantinople_(360) prohibited use of the terms substance, essence, and ousia because they were not included in the scriptures)
  19. ^ http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/trinity/trinity-history.html#Aug
  20. ^ http://www.lds.org/scriptures/dc-testament/dc/93?lang=eng
  21. ^ https://www.lds.org/topics/becoming-like-god?lang=eng
  22. ^ Grove, Sir George (1962). Beethoven and his nine symphonies (3rd ed. ed.). New York: Dover Publications. pp. 228–271. OCLC 705665. 
  23. ^ http://serenesforest.net/fe13/dlc_na.html#ap, List of Downloadable Content for Fire Emblem: Awakening.[unreliable source?]
  • Jean-Claude Richard, "Énée, Romulus, César et les funérailles impériales", in: Mélanges de l'École Française de Rome vol. 78, 1966, pp. 67–78.
  • Stephen King "The Dark Tower: The Gunslinger

External links[edit]