The Greek noun hagiosyne (ἁγιωσύνη) means holiness, sanctity, or the quality of being holy. It appears three times in the New Testament and represents holiness as an inherent quality or characteristic — particularly as a divine attribute or as the God-given quality of consecrated persons. It is closely related to hagiasmos (G38, sanctification as a process) but emphasizes holiness as a state or quality rather than as a process of becoming holy.
Hagiosyne appears in three important contexts: describing the divine holiness that marks Christ's resurrection (Romans 1:4), describing the completed holiness expected at Christ's return (2 Corinthians 7:1), and describing what believers are called to cultivate "in the fear of God" (2 Corinthians 7:1).
The word points to holiness as essential to God's nature — Jesus was "declared with power to be the Son of God by his resurrection from the dead" with respect to "the Spirit of holiness." This is not merely moral behavior but the essential divine quality that marks the resurrection life. For believers, hagiosyne is both gift and calling: we are made holy by Christ's death (Hebrews 10:10) and called to perfect holiness in response (2 Corinthians 7:1). "Be holy, for I am holy" (1 Peter 1:16, quoting Leviticus 19:2).