Virtue Ethics, Orthodox Style

What is distinctly Christian about a Christian virtue ethics is that its telos is described in unequivocally Trinitarian terms. As Vigen Guroian states, “the aim of virtue is itself participation in the Divine Life through the indwelling of the Holy Spirit.” The Good is God, for as Jesus says, only God is good. Increase in virtue therefore names an increase in our participation in God’s life; a participation, it must be said, that can be explicitly named or not named by those who participate. In other words, a participation possible for those who do not yet confess that Jesus is Lord. This is not to propagate Rahner's theory of "anonymous Christians," as if some Muslims or atheists are really just Christians unbeknownst to themselves; rather, it is simply an implication of the reality that God is the One in whom each of us live, move, and have our being.