The Ontology of Saint Maximus the Confessor

A Christo-centric argument from motion that reveals the communal/eucharistic/participatory/kenotic basis of creation

Ontology: the convertibility of being and doing/motion/action

Ontology is the branch of philosophy that deals with the question of BEING. The first thing to note about being is that it’s a VERB. To be is to do, and everything that exists is DOING its existence in its own particular way. For this reason, motion and being are inseparable, and to be without one is to be without the other. The way I know other people and things is through entering into an active relationship with them, moving towards them as they move towards us. When I perceive a rock, for example, I don’t directly perceive its hidden “essence,” but through experiencing the rock as it concretely exists in space and time I come to learn about the nature or essence of rocks in general. We owe this insight to Maximus.

Since everything in the world is in motion, everything is moving in some specific direction or towards some end. In order to understand the ontology of Saint Maximus, it's essential to grasp this point. Since existence is inseparable from motion, and motion is always directional, existence is inherently teleological. 

“Teleology” refers to the end or telos for which things are made and exist. In the modern, secular world, we no longer think in terms of ends and purposes, because we don’t believe the world was created by any God for some specific purpose, such as to share His life with us. But according to Maximus, this is precisely the purpose of all created beings, which includes the entire cosmos itself. The entire cosmos is created in relation to and participating in the life of God, and its destiny is to be fully united with its Creator for all eternity.