Page 119 - Orthodoxy Zizioulas

I S T H E S O U L I M M O R TA L
not.” This is not merely emotional suffering—it is ontological
loss. Scripture and the Fathers speak of it in terms such as
destruction, corruption, and perdition—not as metaphors,
but as realities.
For existence, in its true sense, depends on relationship. To
be remembered by God is to exist. To fall from His remem-
brance is to fall into non-being—not in the sense of absolute
annihilation, but in the loss of true, personal existence.
This is why the Church prays constantly for the departed:
for their “eternal remembrance.” Names are commemorated
not as abstractions, but as persons—identities sustained with-
in relationship. A name exists only where there is commu-
nion.
Thus, when the Church prays, “save our souls,” she does not
mean merely the avoidance of punishment. She speaks onto-
logically. The soul, even if immortal by nature, must be
saved—that is, it must receive its true identity, its hypostasis,
through relationship with God.
Without this, it remains in a state of natural existence, but
without personal fulfillment—an existence without commu-
nion, and therefore without true life.
It is only within the Church, as the realm of freedom and
love, that this new identity is given. Here, through relation-
ship—through love freely offered and received—the human
being is constituted as person. This is not a natural process,
but a gift of grace.
From this perspective, even the angels require salvation in
Christ. Though they may be immortal by nature, their eternal
existence depends not on that natural immortality, but on
their participation in the communion established in Christ.
Without this, they too would remain without true hypostasis.
Christ is therefore the Savior of all creation—not because
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