Perichoresis

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In theology, perichoresis, Latinized and borrowed into English as circumincession or circuminsession, is a term used to express the existence of multiple divine persons in one another, such as the Holy Trinity of Christianity.

John of Damascus, in the 8th century, used the Greek term περιχώρησις (perichoresis, literally: circuition, rotation) to signify this, in his explanation of the text, "I am in my Father, and my Father is in me."

In Eastern Christianity, perichoresis is associated with deification as part of salvation. Redeemed humanity is drawn into the circulation of divine love and thus participates in the coinherence of the Divine Persons, referring to texts such as John 17:20-23.26: "I pray not only for them, but also for those who will believe in me through their word, so that they may all be one, as you, Father, are in me and I in you, that they also may be in us, that the world may believe that you sent me. And I have given them the glory you gave me, so that they may be one, as we are one, I in them and you in me, that they may be brought to perfection as one, that the world may know that you sent me, and that you loved them even as you loved me... that the love with which you loved me may be in them and I in them." Also, John 15:9-12: As the Father has loved me, so I have loved you; abide in my love. If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commandments and abide in his love. I have said these things to you so that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be complete. This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you.

Such a view of salvation tends to stress the corporate and communitarian aspects of salvation as well as the individual's response. More recently, Western theologians such as Jurgen Moltmann have stressed its importance.

[edit] References

This article incorporates content from the 1728 Cyclopaedia, a publication in the public domain.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary. 1998.
"Circumincession". Oxford English Dictionary. Oxford University Press. 2nd edition. 1989.