The term “proairesis” and the theology of personality

The article is dedicated to the history of the development of the term «proairesis», which is directly linked to but not identical with the notion of will. When «proairesis» is considered in the framework of notions of the lack of knowledge and the possibility of sinful choice it cannot be attributed to God or to the saints. But in a wider perspective this term reflects a subjective mode of the employment of the natural will and energy. «Proairesis» describes both a hypostatically determined direction of action and the state of nature of the willing personality. I give special attention to such features that form the notion of “proairesis”, as its super-naturality, its synthetic character and intentionality.