Satisfaction— Christ and the Defeat of Death

The Orthodox Church begins with the human condition. Humanity turns from God, who is Life. The result is not a legal sentence imposed from without, but corruption arising from within. Death enters human existence as the intrinsic consequence of separation from God. Scripture names the problem plainly. “The wages of sin is death.” Romans 6:23 (LSB) Death is not something the Father needs to be paid. It is what follows when creatures cut themselves off from the source of life. The question salvation answers, therefore, is not how God can be persuaded to forgive, but how humanity can be rescued...