thats true brother johann but i think it will make more sense after we answer the main Q3 and Q4
can we say (since im orthodox/catholic), this will help to understand the basis of the first two question @Johann, what do u think about it..
3. “Something Only God can Have?”
Holiness in its absolute essence is an incommunicable attribute of God, the Tremendum et Fascians whose sanctity is ontologically unique (Isa 6:3 and Revelations 4:8). Yet, catholic and orthodox theology affirm that created beings may participate derivatively in divine holiness through grace, without compromising the Creator-creature distinction.
Orthodox:
The palamite distinction between God’s essence and energies is the foundation. Humans partake of God’s holiness through His uncreated energies, becoming “gods by grace” (St.Athanasius, De Incarnatione) while remaining creaturely. This participation is not an absorption into the divine essence but a transformative union preserving human hypostatic integrity.
Catholic: St. Thomas Aquinas teaches that divine holiness is God’s perfect goodness and separation from all defects. Humans, through the lumen gloriae in the beatific vision or sanctifying grace in this life, share in this holiness analogically, not univocally. The imago Dei, restored in Christ, enables the soul to reflect divine sanctity, yet only God possesses it per se as His essential nature.
Thus, while holiness is properly divine, it is communicable through grace, enabling the saints to be called “holy” as icons of Christ, the sole Holy One (Dominus Sanctus). The exclusivity of divine holiness lies in its unoriginate, infinite perfection, whereas creaturely holiness is contingent and participatory.
4. The Ability to Live a Sinless life?
The possibility of sinless perfection in this life is a contentious issue.
Orthodox:
Eastern theology while affirming theosis, doesnt typically endorse sinless perfection in this life. St Maximus the Confessor and St.John Climacus teach that apatheia, freedom from disordered passions is attainable through ascetical struggle but this is not equivalent to impeccability. The lingering effects of the ancestral sin (propatrikon hamartema) and the soul’s voluntary frailty preclude total sinlessness, save for Christ and, by unique grace, the Theotokos. The hesychastic ideal for ceaseless prayer fosters profound purity, yet the saints remain vigilant, confessing for their sins until death.
Catholic:
The Council of Trent affirms that while grace enables the avoidance of mortal sin, venial sins reamin inevitable without special divine privilege as granted to the Blessed Virgin Mary (Immaculate Conception). St Thomas Aquinas and St.Augustine emphasise that concupiscence the residual inclination to sin post-baptism persits redering abolute perfection unattainable in this life. However, heroic virtue as seen in the saints, approximates sinlessness through habitual grace and mortification. The Catechsim underscores that baptism removes original sin but not its effects, necessitating ongoing conversion.
Although Orthodox doesnt accept the concept of Immaculate conception, i added it in the catholic section to get a full picture of what im trying to say
Both Traditions reject Pelagian optimism and Wesleyan perfectionism, affirmin that sinlessness is an eschatological hope, not a terrestrial norm.