Perichoresis

Perichoresis from Greek: περιχώρησις) alternatively called Circumincession (later Circuminsession) is a term in Christian theology first found within the Church Fathers but now reinvigorated among contemporary figures such as C. Baxter Kruger, Jürgen Moltmann, Miroslav Volf and John Zizioulas, amongst others. The noun first appears in the writings of Maximus Confessor(d.662) but the related verb 'perichoreo' is found earlier in Gregory of Nazianzus(d.389/90). Gregory used it to describe the relationship between the divine and human natures of Christ as did John of Damascus(d.749?) but he also extended it to the "interpenetration" of the three persons of the Trinity and it became a technical term for the latter.

Modern authors extend the original usage as an analogy to cover other interpersonal relationships. The term "co(-)inherence" is sometimes used as a synonym.

Since humans are made in the image of God, a Christian understanding of an adequate anthropology of man's social relations is informed by the divine attributes, what can be known of God's activity and His presence in human affairs. Theologians of the Communio school such as Hans Urs von Balthasar, Henri de Lubac and Joseph Ratzinger locate the reciprocal dynamism between God and his creatures in the liturgical action of sacrament, celebrating the sacred mysteries in Eucharistic communion, in a hermeneutic of continuity and apostolic unity.