Monday, April 28, 2008

Rare word #4: anaskopisis

The strict Greek, after consulting my hefty tomes translates the word to mean "look at narrowly, examine well" or "look back at, reckon up," but in the Patristic sense it has been defined "in the Fatherly sense of examination, of checking up on ourselves, in order to feel remorse for our sins and become better but also recognize the beneficence of God."

I quite like this word as it fits in well with "conversion" and "repentance" as expressed by St. John Climacus (Latin transliteration of "Klimakos" or "of the ladder"):

... repentance is the turning from that which is not our nature, to that which is our nature, and a turning from the devil to God through spiritual struggle and pain.

So conversion is our initial turning towards God, repentance is the constant righting of our course, and anaskopisis is a tool to be used in that effort.

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