Page 131 - Orthodoxy Zizioulas

H E L L , E T E R N I T Y, A N D F R E E D O M
ning, whereas created beings have received “ever-being” from
God—“not without a beginning, yet without an end.” Eternity,
therefore, is not simply the endless extension of time, but a
mode of existence beyond division, decay, and death, while
still preserving motion.
In the eschaton, this motion remains: an “ever-moving”
existence toward God. The human being, even in eternity,
moves endlessly toward the infinite, without satiety, with an
ever-increasing desire for God. Eternity thus includes motion,
but without the fragmentation and decay that characterize
historical time.
Within this perspective, there will be an enduring and end-
less motion either toward God or away from God. This second
possibility describes hell. Even though creation will be re-
stored to its proper order, free will that has been set perma-
nently against God will remain turned away from Him. This
constitutes an ontological rupture: a movement against the
very logos of one’s nature, an unfulfilled drive toward nonex-
istence, death, and perdition.
This movement cannot be healed by force. Nature may be
healed by divine grace, but the human will cannot be com-
pelled, because its healing consists precisely in a free turning
toward God. The will can persist in its obstinacy; only repen-
tance can heal it.
This turning of the will is determined in this life. The eter-
nity of the eschaton does not allow for repentance, which be-
longs to historical time. With the abolition of death and the
end of temporal succession, the possibility of change ceases.
For this reason, the Church prays for the departed, commend-
ing them to the mercy of God, invoking the relationships of
love that were formed in this life, and offering the Eucharist
for them, trusting that even the smallest turning toward God
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