called to develop. Made in God’s image, they were to grow in likeness of him who lives forever. Made like the rest of creation, though, from elements without prior existence, they were not immortal, as St. Athanasius pointed out: “Humans are by nature mortal, since they are made out of what is not.”29 Their continuance in life depended on divine largesse, as Irenaeus indicated: “Life does not arise from us, or from our own nature; it is granted by the grace of God.”30 A few days before Lent, Orthodox