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Saint [[Cyprian]] wrote, 'A man cannot have God as his Father if he does not have the Church as his Mother'. God is salvation, and God's saving power is mediated to man in His Body, the Church. This stated the other way around by [[Georges Florovsky]]: 'Outside the Church there is no salvation, because salvation is the Church'.
The Church is the unity of those united with the Trinity. The One Church united as the three persons of Trinity are united. If one in the Church makes proper use of this Church, for communion with God, then he will become 'like' God, he will acquire the divine likeness; in the words of [[John of Damascus|John Damascene]], he will be 'assimilated to God through [[virtues|virtue]].' To acquire the likeness is to be deified, it is to become a 'second god,' a 'god by [[grace]],' not by nature.'
==See also==
