Theology, as seen by Archimandrite Vasileios, is by its very essence liturgical; it is not a philosophy or a system but the expression of the Church's mystical life. "The first Christians lived their theology totally and with the whole of their bodies, just as they are baptized with the whole of their body and soul into the new life ... Thus their liturgical gatherings were an initiation into the mystery of theology ... The mystery of theology was celebrated in their lives, and they attained to the knowledge which is eternal life."