Is the human being a creature that is both mortal and immortal?

St. Jacob of Sarug distinguishes three classes of created beings. First, mortal creatures , such as animals, that lack free will. Their actions do not influence their nature, whether they are good or evil. The destiny of such beings is death. Second, immortal creatures , angels and demons; free creatures just like humans. Third, creatures that are both mortal and immortal , that is, humankind, who possess free will and can choose between eternal life and death. They are dying, yet not dying.

St. Jacob of Sarug ’s view is that the body cannot live in the world alone; but neither can the soul live in the world alone. We find this view held also by the scholar Athenagoras , the second century dean of the School of Alexandria. He rejects the Aristotelian belief that the soul is the form of the body and therefore cannot be separated from it. Thus, his view is closer to that of Plato who held that the body and the soul are distinct beings; although he differs

485 See Behnam Sony, Man in the Teaching of St. Jacob of Sarug (1995): pp. 92–93.

486 See Behnam Sony, Man in the Teaching of St. Jacob of Sarug (1995): p. 53.

487 St. Gregory of Nyssa, Concerning Those Who Have Died (De Mortuis) : p. 24 (PG 46:529A).

488 St. Gregory of Nyssa, In Christ, Resurrection 3.

from Plato in holding that human existence is incomplete without both the body and the soul being united together. The two come together to make a single being, and all his actions are attributed to this single being.⁴⁸⁹ Plato, on the other hand, holds that a human being is a soul that merely uses a body.

Thus, Athenagoras considers the body and soul to comprise a single human being, and all that comes from him comes from both the body and the soul. Plato considers the body to be merely an instrument used by the soul.⁴⁹⁰ Athenagoras considers the members of the body to be the instruments by which the human being acts, and through them, thoughts and words become manifest; but they cooperate with the soul in these matters. Therefore, worship is incomplete if the body does not participate with the soul; neither will the judgement be just if it is not administered to both.⁴⁹¹