deification

noun

Etymology: From Middle English deificacion, from Middle French deifier + -acion or borrowed directly from Latin deificātiō(n), from deific(ā) (“deify”) + -tiō(n) (noun suffix), from de(i) (“god”) + -ficō (“make”). By surface analysis, deif(y) + -ication. * In the Christian, theological sense, influenced by the use of deificātiō(n) as Latin translation of Byzantine Greek θέωσις (théōsis).

1. The act of deifying; exaltation to divine honors; apotheosis.
2. Excessive praise.
3. A deified embodiment.

   “We went through the main hall, four-armed Amaat looming, the air still smelling of incense and the heap of flowers at the god's feet and knees, back to a tiny chapel tucked into a corner, dedicated to an old and now-obscure provincial god, one of those personifications of abstract concepts so many pantheons hold, in this case a deification of legitimate political authority.”

4. Union with God; theosis.

   “There is an experiential component to Maximos’ writings: he draws upon the reality of the contemplative life and in doing so secures deification as the goal of the monastic spiritual life in Orthodoxy.”