[InChristAlone]

Awareness, I am sorry for my late reply. I have been busy at work.

Originally Posted by awareness

So fanatics of Theosis have resorted to asceticism to tame the body's impulses, and to mortification of the flesh.

In other words, one needs to fight one’s PASSIONS and lead a life of self-discipline. Passions are the emotions that control us. They include sexual desire, anger, envy, desire for material goods, rejection, fear and love to name a few. They are all desires that cannot be satisfied till the end.

The Apostle Paul reminds us, Those who are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. (Gal 5:24) Jesus says, From within, out of the heart of man, come evil thoughts, fornication, theft, murder, adultery, coveting, wickedness, deceit, licentiousness, envy, slander, pride, foolishness. All these things come from within and they defile man.” (Mark 7: 21-23)

Remember the parable of the sower where Christ tells us about the seeds that were sown among the thorns? Jesus tells His disciples, “As for what fell among the thorns, they are those who, hear, but as they go on their way they are choked by the cares and riches and pleasures of life, and their fruit does not mature.” (Luke 8:14)

I don’t see anything wrong with the fight against our passions, since they block us from our goal to be united with Christ. Each of us are afflicted by certain passions that occurred after the fall of Adam and Eve. This is the disease that was passed down. Many of the passions feel natural and pleasurable to us, like gluttony, pride, lust, anger, and avarice. But in reality, these things cause us to suffer and are pulling us away from God. We cannot serve two masters Christ teaches us. (Matt. 6:24)

"What a man loves, that he certainly desires; and what he desires, that he strives to obtain."
- Abba Evagrius, Directions on Spiritual Training

”So, being the portion of the Holy God, begin to do all that pertains to holiness, running away from evil words, unclean and shameful relations, drunkenness, passions and innovations, base lusts, defiled adulteries and overweening pride. For it is said: "God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble" (I Pet. 5:5). So, let us unite ourselves to them to whom grace has been given by God. Let us put on oneness of mind, let us be humble, temperate, far from any cursing or evil speech, making ourselves righteous by deeds and not by words... Let our praise be from God, and not from ourselves. God hates those who praise themselves. Let the witness of our good deeds be given by others.
(St. Clement of Rome)

“Food is not evil, but gluttony is. Childbearing is not evil, but fornication is. Money is not evil, but avarice is. Glory is not evil, but vainglory is. Indeed, there is no evil in existing things, but only in their misuse.” (St. Maximus the Confessor)

In this life, we either strive to obtain God, or we strive to obtain the things that are opposed to God and are controlling us. The Church fathers defined each of the passions and laid out the way of healing. St. John Cassion lays them out in this way:

gluttony
fornication (lust, unchastity)
love of money (coveteousness, avarice)
anger
dejection,
despondency (listlessness)
vainglory
pride

We can think of them in two types: natural and unnatural passions.

The natural passions depend on our physical nature and the maintenance of our physical being. These include our appetite for food, our fear of being harmed, and our sexual attraction to the opposite sex. These are all necessary for our preservation. They are a central part of our animal nature and common to all animals. These are not a problem unless they go beyond the need for self-preservation.

Then there are the unnatural passions. These are our natural passions that we mistakenly connect with our longing for spiritual wholeness. We continually seek happiness only to find pain on the other end. Then feeling pain or dissatisfaction, we again seek more pleasure only again to find again pain.

As pleasurable and deceptive as the passions are, we can be healed from them and find the eternal happiness that is in Christ. This process is often painful, but as St. Paul writes, "for I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us." (Rom. 8:18)

Originally Posted by awareness

One way is to become a eunuch, or "cut 'em off." That'll fix the flesh ... they think. But it didn't for the Ethiopian eunuch in Acts 8. And then there's the practice of mortifying flesh by flagellation, or self whipping to drawing of blood. Or the use of a cilice, spikes strapped around the flesh.

This to me is not the "process of acquiring the Holy Spirit by grace."

I don’t think this is the "process of acquiring the Holy Spirit by grace”, either. You are talking about extreme cases in cults and sects that have nothing to do with the EO. I know some monks used to wear fetters in old times but it was rare. Probably, nobody wears fetters anymore. Anyway, they are just physical tools to tame passions. Prayer, fasting, and repentance are more important.

The Eastern Orthodox Church sees passions as the distortion of the natural tendencies. Lust is an unnatural use of sexuality. Gluttony is an unnatural use or connection with food. Greed is the unnatural attachment with the material world. Envy is an unnatural need and want for what one does not have. The passion of anger is an unnatural form of anger.

Unlike Western teaching that suggests that man is totally depraved and that his truest nature is sinful and wicked, the Eastern Orthodox Christian Church teaches that we are sick with the sickness of sin and the passions. Our true nature is to be well. To love God, to keep his commandments and live in all of the fruit of the Spirit: love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. (Galatians 5:22-23)

The main thing is to control our passions, not to be controlled by them. They increase when they are "fed", which happens when a man capitulates to the temptation, and they whither away (slowly), when they are starved. Taming the passions is gaining freedom from our weaknesses which entice us to sin.

“For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms”. (Ephesians 6:12)

Struggle, my child, for God's road is narrow and thorny; not inherently, but because of our passions. Since we want to eradicate from our heart the passions, which are like thorny roots, so that we may plant useful plants, naturally we shall toil greatly and our hands will bleed and our face will sweat. Sometimes even despair will overcome us, seeing roots and passions everywhere!

But with our hope in Christ, the Repairer of our souls, let us diligently work at clearing the earth of our heart. Patience, mourning, humility, obedience, cutting off one's will -- all these virtues help cultivate it. We must apply all our strength, and then God, seeing our labor, comes and blesses it, and thus we make progress.

Take courage, for the toil is temporary and ephemeral, whereas the reward is great in heaven. Struggle and be vigilant with your thoughts. Keep a firm hold on hope, for this shows that your house is founded on the rock -- and the rock is our Christ.

Do not feed your passions by yielding to them, so that you do not suffer pain and affliction later! Labor now, as much as you can, because otherwise, if the passions are not tended to, in time they become second nature, and then try and deal with them! Whereas now, if you fight against them lawfully, as we advise you, you will be freed and will have happiness by the grace of God.

Elder Ephraim"Counsels from the Holy Mountain"

It’s all based on the Bible and the Holy Tradition. For example, in the tradition of the Church, fasting was always one of the first disciplines taught after prayer. This was taught to us by Christ Himself. The first thing He did after His Baptism was to go into the desert to fast and pray for forty days. Since He was both fully human and fully divine, He had to tame His human passions. Why do we think that we are any better than Him and we don’t need to tame our own passions?

Originally Posted by awareness

So does God demand that for union with Him we have to resort to such gruesome practices? Is that what Theosis demands? Or are vestments, robes, and funny hats enough?

I wonder what would you say if you saw Christ and apostles in their clothes.

I have already told you. Gruesome practices have nothing to do with the Orthodox Church. They exist only in your imagination.

God wants our hearts but if they are full of desires, passions and transgressions, I don’t think we may have communion with Him.

Originally Posted by awareness

Are the leaders of the EO considered the most Theotic ... the leaders of Theosis?

Where did you get that information? You will be surprised to know that in the Eastern Orthodox church man's holiness does not depend on his rank in the hierarchy of clergy. So, no such thing as the leaders of Theosis. And no such thing as the higher one’s rank or position in the church, the closer he stands to God. Using your terminology, a layman may be considered “more Theotic” than a bishop or a patriarch. A word of an ordinary monk or priest can have more power and authority that a bishop’s word. And sometimes a layman can have more respect and authority than a patriarch. It’s his personal holiness, moral strength, and spiritual growth that gives him authority, not his position in the hierarchy.

Check out this video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wCnn_rgxNGE

Father Tadej was one of the ordinary Orthodox monks, neither patriarch, nor bishop. He was a very simple and humble man, full of unconditional love to God and people. In Eastern European countries, nobody knows the names of past and current Serbian bishops. But many Orthodox Christians from different countries know the name of this ordinary monk. When I say, “God is love,” I speak like a Pharisee because these words don’t mean much to me. They are not coming from my heart. It’s just some noise in the air. I don’t experience love and the living reality of God behind these words. But when Father Tadej says “God is love”, he means it. You can see that in his eyes.

If you want to have an idea what Orthodox Christian spirituality is, I’d like to recommend you this book, “Unseen Warfare”. The original title is “The Spiritual Combat” (1589). It was written by a Catholic priest, Lorenzo Scupoli. But then it was significantly revised by St. Nicodemus, and even more thoroughly revised by St. Theophan the Recluse for the Russian edition, which is the basis of the English translation. It’s a classic of Orthodox spirituality and I believe one of the most important spiritual books I have.

http://www.stnicholasdc.org/files/Or...en-Warfare.pdf

Please read the book, get some ideas and we will have more things to discuss.