Andreas Bergman: Why Baptism Is Necessary in St. Maximus the Confessor

In this episode, we talk about a puzzle in St. Maximus the Confessor. First, Maximus holds that every human being already participates in Christ: Christ is the source, ordering principle, and final end of human nature. Second, Maximus says that the virtues are, in some sense, natural to us, and that the virtues lead to deification So why do we need baptism at all? Why does Maximus hold that baptism is necessary for deification and salvation if every human being already IN SOME SENSE participates in Christ and already IN SOME SENSE possesses by nature, the potential for deifying virtue? Discussion is based on Andreas' article "Maximus the Confessor's Christocentric Cosmology and the Necessity of Baptism: Insights from Ad Thalassium 15 and 6"