SALVATION

SALVATION. The Greek word for salvation, soteria, means at root “wholeness” or “wellness,” and also carries the sense of “protection” and “preservation.” Generally, in the Greek Church Fathers (q.v.) and subsequent tradition, this continues to be the way in which the work of Christ is fundamentally presented. He is the one who restores humanity, heals human nature, and so delivers humanity from the danger of perishing. The image of God (q.v.) in the human being, implanted by the Creator but distorted by the Fall and Sin (q.v.)-and as a result at risk of being destroyed by death-is restored and made new by the birth, death, and resurrection of the Incarnate Word. In consequence the particular emphasis on salvation as forgiveness of sins and deliverance from divine condemnation, while present in the Orthodox East, receives far less emphasis than it has in the West from Augustine of Hippo (q.v.) and Anselm of Canterbury (11th c.) to the present.