Metanoia stands at the very center of the teaching of the Gospels.  Its meaning is exhausted neither by the idea of the initial turning toward God, nor by the notion of reparation frequently expressed in the word “penance”.  The work of both God and the person- this metanoia is primarily an act of God’s love which finds its human purpose in a radical redirection of life centered in the person of Christ himself.

…Interwoven, as it is, with the concept of reconciliation, it sees peace with God as inseparable from peace with one’s neighbor, and serves as a basis for Christian efforts to overcome hostility and separation at every level.

Roland Faley, TOR. “Biblical Considerations on Metanoia.” Analecta TOR 13, No. 123 (19749 13-33