The Church's perennial teaching on the “image” and the “likeness” is that the term “according to the image of God” pertains to man’s potential after his creation to become “according to the likeness” of God. The term “according to the likeness” is man’s voluntary course for perfection, towards Theosis (deification). This Orthodox teaching is very clearly traced in the following passages, by an indicative number of saints and theologians, from the 2^nd century A.D. and through to our time!

Saints of the Church

Saint Basil of Caesarea:

“For, ‘according to the image’ is given to us as nature and remains unchanged from the beginning to the end, whereas ‘according to the likeness’ is accomplished afterwards, by predisposition, and elaborated personally. Thus, when saying with the first will: "Let Us (=the Trinity) make man according to Our image", then adding "and according to Our likeness", He is indicating that He was adding self-authority, which is able to make us alike to God, and we have thus been made, according to God’s previous words.  For many are those according to His image (Christ), and so are those according to His likeness (Christ) – although not all of them.”

(Saint Basil: “On the fashioning of Man” par.20)

“For, to not secondarily listen to the theological voices, but striving to trace the hidden mind in each word and each syllable, is not for those who are sluggish towards piety, but for those who know the purpose of our calling: that it is for us to become alike to God, as much as is possible for human nature. And a 'likeness' that is not without knowledge.”

(Saint Basil: 'On the Holy Spirit' PG 32, st. 69).

(According to Saint Basil, the ‘likeness’ is not a given to everyone, but 'will be given' to those who are called towards it.)

Saint John of Damascus:

“When things were thus, God created man with His own hands, both out of visible and invisible nature, to comprise His own image and likeness; He created the body out of the earth, while with His own breath, He gave the rational and noetic soul, which we call ‘divine image’. For man's noetic and self-governing condition indicates the 'accordance to the image', whereas the likeness in virtue -as much as is possible- indicates the 'accordance with the likeness.'

('Precise Edition of the Orthodox Faith', chapter 26).

“And because these things were thus, out of both a visible and invisible nature He created man with His own hands, in accordance with the image and with the likeness, shaping the body out of the earth, and giving it a rational and noetic soul through His own breath, thus it is imperative that we say it is a divine image; for the 'accordance to the image' declares the noetic and self-governed man, and the 'accordance to the likeness' is the likeness in virtue as much as is possible.”

(Joannes Damascenus Scr. Eccl., Theol., Expositio fidei Section 26, line 19)].

“Then He creates man with His own hands, having taken soil from the earth for the shaping of the body, and making the soul rational and noetic by giving them through His own breath, hence it is written that he was created in accordance with the image and the likeness of God; according to the image, for noetic and self-government (characteristics), and according to the likeness, to become alike as much as possible through virtue”.

(Joannes Damascenus Scr. Eccl., Theol., Vita Barlaam et Joasaph [Sp.] Page 80, line 6).

(Note: This paragraph belongs to a counterfeit work, however, it was used here, as it has been circulating in the name of Saint John due to its antiquity, and because we have been accused that our interpretation is supposedly 'recent'. Besides, as can be seen in the preceding paragraph, Saint John of Damascus, also in his original works, clearly writes the same things).

Saint John Chrysostom:

“You must learn what 'in accordance with the image' means: that the image (external appearance) does not reflect the value of the essence (the physical hypostasis), but the similarity to the Principal (who is God); and that He was not referring to the image of the (physical) form, but to the reason (purpose, instruction) given to man; which is why He pronounced: “...and let them be rulers (principals) over the fish of the sea, and of the fowls of the air, and of the beasts and the reptiles of the earth.” He said ‘as an image’, denoting the image of the Principal, as well as the likeness, so that per human power we may become alike to God – becoming alike in timidity and meekness, also according to the words regarding virtue, as Christ had also uttered: “Become alike to your Father in the heavens”.

(Saint John Chrysostom: ‘Homily II - on Genesis').  

The text explains that the creation of man "in accordance with the image" decided by God does not pertain to the external form, but the "similarity to the principal" and the purpose of his existence, which is the hegemony and sovereignty over Creation.  Man must become alike to God, not in appearance, but in a moral nature, by displaying the meekness and virtue of Christ, Who invites us to become alike to the heavenly Father.

Saint Irenaeus of Lyons:

“In former times we would say that man was (indeed) fashioned in accordance with God's image - Who however was not yet revealed; for, while the Logos was not yet visible (incarnate), man could not become 'in accordance with the image'; and for this reason it was necessary to discreetly overlook the likeness. Thus, when the Logos of God became flesh, He validated both, for He both manifested the image truly - by becoming like God's pre-eternal design - and most certainly manifested the likeness, by enabling man to liken to the invisible Father, through the (now) visible Logos.”

(St. Irenaeus - Against Heresies 5:15).

“But when the spirit here combined with the soul is joined to the handiwork of God, then man is rendered spiritual and perfect, on account of the effusion of the Holy Spirit, and thus becoming one who is made 'in accordance with the image' and 'with the likeness' of God.  But if the Spirit is absent from the soul, then the one who is like that, is actually with the nature of an animal, and -having remained fleshy- will be an imperfect being, by indeed having the image (of God) at his formation, but -by not having received the likeness through the Spirit- that being will be imperfect.'

(St. Irenaeus - Against Heresies 5:6).

Saint Silouan the Athonite:

Archim. Sophronios Sakharov: “Saint Silouan the Athonite” page 151:

"We were created in accordance with the image and with the likeness of this Triune God. As for the actualization towards the likeness to Him, it is accomplished through His eternal dwelling within us. But, as has been said, in our existence nothing is done 'mechanically' - as if  violently brought upon us, even if from above. No; it is God, Who reveals Himself to man, and “waits” for him to respond to Him in the appropriate way and to desire to become alike to Him.”

page 162:

"Man is initially justified,  because he does not want to admit himself as guilty - even partially guilty - of the evil in the world. He is justified, only because he does not know he is endowed with freedom, being in accordance with the image of God; instead, he thinks it is merely a phenomenon of this world, and is therefore dependent on it."

page 190:

"He who was created 'in accordance with the image of God' was created for the life 'according to the likeness'. He who is fortunate to receive 'salvation' in God receives a life that is alike to the life of God Himself. God is Omnipresent and Omniscient, and the Saints receive -in the Holy Spirit- a 'likeness' of omnipresence and omniscience. God is Light; and the Saints who are in the Holy Spirit become Light. God is Love that envelops every being, and the Saints who are in the Holy Spirit embrace the whole world with their love. God is the Only Holy One, and the Saints who are in the Holy Spirit are Holy ones. Holiness is not a moral concept, but an ontological one. A saint is not the one who is blameless according to human morality or, according to the appearance of his polity -in the sense of asceticism or even prayer (the Pharisees also fasted and offered 'lengthy' prayers)- but the one who was rendered a bearer of the Holy Spirit. God alone is Truth and Life, and the communants of the Holy Spirit become alive and true, while those who distance themselves from God die spiritually, and head towards the 'outermost darkness' (Matthew 22:13).

page 245:

"When it pleases the Deity to unite Himself with the human being, then man feels within himself the presence of the Divine power, which transforms him, makes him God-like, not only potentially 'in accordance with His image', but also actively, 'in accordance with His likeness'."

Saint Gregory Palamas:

"When we expel the 'accordance with the likeness', we do not lose the 'accordance with the image'.”  

(Saint Gregory Palamas PG 150, 1148).

"If 'according to the image' was the same thing as 'according to the likeness', how is it -according to Saint Gregory- that we lost the 'likeness', but did not lose the 'image'?"

2. Theologians of the Church

Ioannis Kornarakis:

“The creation therefore of man in accordance with the image was a condition and a prerequisite of his course towards becoming according to the likeness - towards the conquest of deification by Grace. By 'sealing' man's nature with elements and characters of the Divine Image, God gave man his theurgical potential, to become a god by Grace. The human being was endowed with creative powers superior to his own 'earthiness'.

The human earthen vessel in the hands of God's Grace was to be elevated to the state of a heavenly man – a Theumen! (1 Cor.15:49) Man's deification would mean the re-fashioning and the re-creating of God's earthly creation into a communant of the divine nature!

But if the sealing of man's nature with 'according to the image' was a guarantee and potential of his theurgic-charismatic re-fashioning into a heavenly-deified man, what would the results have been for human-earthen nature -following the disobedience to God's paradisiacal commandment- after its post-Fall state?..."

(Ioannis Kornarakis, 'Body and Blood of Christ', pages 50 and 51).

Fr. John Romanides:

"If man was indeed created in accordance with the image of God in order to become perfect and alike to God, this can only be achieved through the spiritual exercise of the will, because only through true freedom can man become alike to God in love. True freedom is the love that characterizes God, free from all need and selfishness. "Be perfect, therefore, just like your Father who is perfect in heaven" does not mean that man must become perfect like the self-loving, happy God of philosophy and certain Scholastics of the West, but perfect like the God of the Holy Bible and of the Greek Fathers, free from every selfishness and every need."

Shortly before the end of the 5th chapter on the subject of the image and the likeness, Fr. John Romanides clearly attributes to Saint Irenaeus the distinction between 'according to the image' and 'according to the likeness', but also calls this teaching 'Patristic distinction', saying the following:

"The fact that Irenaeus appears to admit the later, Patristic distinction between image and likeness should not be understood from the aspect of the divine image which was left imperfect after the fall in man...'

(Fr. Ioannis Romanides: 'The Original Sin' (in demotic Greek translation)

Rev. Metropolitan Hierotheos Vlachos of Nafpaktos:

“We believe, according to the teaching of the holy Fathers, that 'according to the image' is the potential to attain the 'likeness', and that the 'likeness' is an energized 'image'. IN THE SAME WAY, man who is created by God and re-created through holy Baptism by the Church, is a potential person”.

Orthodox Psychotherapy (p. 152):

In his book: 'The Person in the Orthodox Tradition' (p. 249), Rev. Hierotheos of Nafpaktos, quotes from Saint Gregory the Theologian, the following:

“I would like to mention the characteristic words of Saint Gregory the Theologian, according to whom man is an animal that is here by Providence, and elsewhere - after transcendence and completion of the mystery – is by a nod of God - deified. And being a 'theumen' (God-inspired), he partakes of the divine luminance – but does not partake of the divine essence.

That is, man is a living being, who must continuously evolve, from his biological life through to his deification (theosis). He must partake continuously, until he becomes deified; this progression is characterized as a mystery and it involves partaking of the uncreated Grace of God, which is called “illumination”.

According to these words, in order for Adam to be a 'theumen' (God-inspired), it was NECESSARY that he had received the uncreated Grace of the Holy Spirit. And what is Theosis? On this same page mentioned above, Reverend Hierotheos, refers us to page 118 onward, of his book: “Discussions on Orthodox Psychotherapy - 3”, in the chapter titled: 'The theumens'. In there, on page 123, he clearly explains that the word: “theosis” identifies with the term “according to the likeness”.

"So, since Adam was created 'according to the likeness' of God - that is, on the course to his deification - it means that he had already received (according to Saint Gregory the Theologian) the “partaking of divine illumination”.

Or, as Hierotheos Vlachos clearly says on page 125 of the same book, in the chapter on Theosis:

“Theosis, subsequently -which is a patristic term- is nothing more than the partaking of the divine energy, by which we become sons of God by Grace.”

And Saint Gregory Palamas elucidates this for us, that this divine energy that leads to theosis (i.e. to the likeness, according to Hierotheos Vlachos), is the Holy Spirit!  

Saint Gregory Palamas says:

'It is not the hypersubstantial essence of God that is the deifying gift of the Spirit, but the deifying energy of the hypersubstantial essence of God'. (Discussions in Orthodox Psychotherapy, p. 126).

On the very next page of the same book, Rev. Hierotheos, writes:

“This energy of God is also called Divine Grace. Whether we say Energy or we say Grace, we mean the same thing... The God-fearing Saint Gregory Palamas says that ‘Uncreated Light’ and ‘Illumination’ are not noetic things; they are both a deifying energy. For it is a  deifying energy, very barely separated from the Spirit's energy.”

On page 138 of the same book, Rev. Hierotheos says:

“Man... is in accordance with the image of God and can also reach the “likeness”, and this “likeness”, as we mentioned earlier, identifies with theosis (deification).”

As the reader can see, it is not only the contemporary major theologians, but also holy Fathers as far back as the 2nd century A.D. - and throughout Christian History – have been interpreting both the term “according to the image” and “according to the likeness” exactly the same way... to the shame of the deniers of this teaching of the Church.