Through his written works, Saint Gregory Palamas elevated, from a theological perspective, the deepest inner essence of the Hesychast life and, through his painstaking and persistent efforts, made a decisive contribution to the synodal consolidation of the Hesychast doctrine. In his endeavour to ensure the lofty theological character of hesychasm (ἡσυχία), he developed a very profound dogmatic teaching centred on the nature of divine grace and its soteriological function.
In doing so, however, he simultaneously elucidated the theological premises of the Hesychasts’ life in the Holy Spirit, which consist in the stable and unshakeable parameters of the theophany (θεοφάνεια) and the theopty (θεοπτία).
The invincible defender of Hesychasm unerringly represented the ‘1’ Church, asserting that the existential experience of the vision of God—as a lived experience of the deifying work ‘2’ of the Holy Spirit—gives meaning, par excellence from a theological perspective, to the Hesychast life, which reaches its culmination in the full union of man with God and in the grace-filled deification of man, which also constitutes the highest form of the life of the believers in the Holy Spirit.
1. The Distinctive Character of the Hesychastic Life
Saint Gregory Palamas studied ascetic literature alongside the Hesychast Holy Fathers, who learnt Hesychasm not only from divine grace but also from their own personal ascetic experience. From these distinguished teachers 3 of the life in the Holy Spirit, he learnt holy vigilance (ἱερὰ νήψις) and prayer of the mind (νοερὰ προσευχή). However, his teacher par excellence was his own personal endeavour and the experience gained through his own efforts (4). He himself knew and experienced the Hesychast life. Thus, when he was called upon to defend Hesychasm, he had already assimilated, in a fruitful and creative manner, the entire patristic Holy Tradition, so that he displayed unparalleled vigour, theological depth of thought and holy spiritual experience, as evidenced particularly in his work On Those Who Find Peace in a Holy Manner and, in summary, in the Aghioritic Volume.
But what, specifically, are hesychia and hesychasm in themselves?
As an ascetic term, hesychia [that is, stillness] has a quintessentially existential and experiential meaning. It signifies the inner peace that dwells within a person; when a person beholds their ‘horrible mask’—which has been formed by the straying of their mind—they will be repulsed by it and cast it aside 5. Hesychasm is indissolubly linked to the wakefulness of the mind, to spiritual vigilance and to the lived experience of all those states which are realised in wakefulness, in a spiritual and inexpressible manner 6.
Consequently, the work of the Hesychast is the ‘guardianship of the heart’ through the loving 7 observance of the commandments, spiritual purification and sacramental life. By keeping the commandments, the Hesychast rejects the law of sin and introduces self-examination of the mind into his inner being. His senses are scrutinised by self-restraint, whilst the emotional part of the soul is dominated by love 8, and the rational part by vigilance 9. The Hesychast life affords divine grace the practical means to ‘examine’ the inner man and to shape him in accordance with the archetype, bestowing upon him his ancient and indescribable beauty ‘in full bloom’ 10.
The Hesychast lives carefree, freed, as far as possible, from any connection with distraction 11. Through unceasing prayer 12, he unites his mind with God and, concentrating entirely upon himself, discovers a new and mysterious ascent to heaven. Fixing his mind there, he savours an inexpressible delight, experiences a perfect and most sweet tranquillity, a true hesychia 13 and a silence of speech. And so, having surrendered himself to God, he beholds the glory of God and contemplates the divine light 14.
The ultimate goal of the hesychastic life is for man to become one with the Monad in Three Hypostases 15, in accordance with Christ’s high priestly prayer and through His synergy, that is to say, just as He came into communion and unity with human nature, without departing from His own Triune Monad 16.
For the reasons set out above, the Hesychast life is regarded by the theologian of Hesychasm and the light of grace 17 as the highest form of ascetic life 18, and Hesychasm as the most precious segment of the Church 19, since it is within this tradition that the pre-eminent spiritual experience of uncreated light—as the vision of God—is lived out.
2. The radiance of deifying grace – the manifestation and vision of God
During His historical presence on earth, Christ revealed His uncreated divinity 20 to the chosen ones among His disciples through His Transfiguration on Mount Tabor. According to the theological reflection of Saint Gregory Palamas, the disciples 21 beheld there ‘the essential and eternal goodness of God, the very radiance, surpassing even light, of archetypal beauty 22, the very formless form of divine beauty, the very light beyond the mind and unapproachable 23; they beheld the very grace of the Holy Spirit, [grace] which they subsequently had dwelling within [them]”24.
The grace of God is the pledge of the Saints’ inheritance, the Spirit of adoption 25, His promise of the Spirit, which the Son received from the Father and bestowed upon His believers. It is the Spirit of Christ, the Spirit of God, the Holy Spirit 26.
The believer receives divine grace at Holy Baptism and, above all, during the Sacrament of Holy Chrismation, when he becomes part of the ‘charismatic race’ [of divine grace], since he was born of it during the divine baptism and, in this way, acquired the ‘ancient beauty’27. From this point onwards, uncreated grace dwells unceasingly within the believer and works out his salvation in various ways, whilst its divine light shines within him, sometimes more brightly, and at other times less so 28.
This light becomes spiritually visible through the noetic sense 29 and represents the inseparable glory and radiance of the divine nature 30.
However, [that light] also constitutes the garment of the believer’s soul, since it restores its former and supreme beauty, whilst at the same time constituting the true nourishment of both the Holy Angels and the Righteous 31.
[Divine light] has no hypostasis of its own 32, which is why it is called ‘enhypostatic (ἐνυπόστατον 33)’ and not ‘autohypostatic (αὐθυπόστατον 34)’35. Thus, quite rightly, one speaks of the radiance of a hypostatic light within the souls of the faithful 36, which acts within them without being separated from the Holy Spirit 37.
As the uncreated glory of God, from before all ages and without end, the divine light is not perceptible 38, but intelligible 32, and noetic, or rather spiritual, [since it] draws near spiritually and is likewise seen spiritually 39. It is an immaterial divine radiance and grace, which ‘is seen in an unseen way and understood in an incomprehensible way’40. It is ‘the natural ray of the Godhead’41 and ‘the Godhead that revealed itself to the Disciples on the mountain’, according to Saint Gregory the Theologian 42.
In order to be perceived, the divine radiance requires the purification of the heart and, from an axiological perspective, transcends both the word concerning God and reason. Naturally, the divine radiance brings about the knowledge of God, but this understanding and knowledge are bestowed upon the mind by the Holy Spirit. Therefore, if this divine radiance is sometimes called knowledge and understanding, it must be conceived differently, for it involves a different kind of understanding, namely a spiritual one 43.
The anti-hesychast philosopher, Varlaam 44, believed that he brings God into the inner being of everyone who possesses knowledge of created beings or who sees through this knowledge. In reality, however, as Saint Gregory Palamas says, such a person has within them knowledge of created things and, through this knowledge, reflects on God; that is to say, they refer to God in an abstract manner and speak of Him rationally. This contemplation of God does not constitute knowledge of God in itself. On the contrary, the one who possesses the active divine light within sees God in an inexpressible way and speaks of God not by offering an opinion, but by having true insight and a living experience of Him. Such a person truly knows God and has God within them, for God is never separated from His eternal glory. The most credible person, who can show us the prerequisites for attaining and beholding the divine light, is that divine Person Who took on our nature and imparted to it the glory of His own nature 45. These prerequisites are the keeping of the divine commandments, for Christ has promised to reveal Himself to anyone who keeps them. Christ referred to this manifestation 46 as His own abiding, and that of His Father, within that person, saying: ‘If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word, and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our home with him’ (John 14:23)47, and ‘I will reveal Myself to him’ (John 14:21). According to Saint Gregory Palamas, these words refer to the grace and work of the Holy Spirit, through which God reveals Himself and works in those who are worthy 48. The indwelling of the Son with the Father is interpreted as participation in divine grace and His deifying work 49, whilst, in another context, Saint Gregory Palamas identifies the coming of Christ—that is, His abiding and manifesting Himself together with the Father—with our ascent to Him through revelation, regarding it 50 as an exaltation and rapture beyond the heavens 51.
The knowledge of God, which is granted by the vision of the light, is above all other knowledge, for there is nothing greater than the indwelling and manifestation of God within us, [just as] there is nothing equal or similar to it. We therefore know that keeping the commandments brings true knowledge, for it is only through this 52 that the health of the soul is ensured. [This] health of the soul cannot exist when the gnostic part of the soul 53 is sick. Keeping the commandments brings not only the knowledge of God, but also charismatic deification, to which we are led, as long as we see within ourselves, through the Holy Spirit, the glory of God. And this takes place when God deigns to lift us up to the spiritual mysteries 54.
If, according to the Holy Apostle Peter, the knowledge of the divine Scriptures is certain and sure, then, in accordance with the same Holy Apostle, this knowledge is like the light of a torch, which shines in a dark place until dawn breaks, just as it shone clearly on Mount Tabor, and the Morning Star 55 rises in our hearts, that is, Christ. In other words, the knowledge of the divine Scriptures differs so greatly from the light of knowledge that springs from the mystical vision of God 56. It is the light that shines whilst the sun is at the zenith of the celestial vault at midday 57.
3. The Prerequisites for the Vision of God
The radiance of divine grace is one thing; the constant vision of the light is another; and the vision of things in the light is yet another, at which moment both distant things are before one’s eyes and future things are presented as being present. But here too there are distinctions, which are linked to spiritual progress. This progress will continue unceasingly 58 and depends on the extent to which the divine radiance fills the believer. The vision of divine glory is always proportional to the receptivity of the one who sees 59. For example, in beginners, this light shines more faintly and not continuously, whilst in the perfected, alongside the superabundance of light, there is also an addition of humility, different in nature from the humility of beginners 60. Humility leads to sorrow, increases the purification of the heart, which means receptiveness to greater radiance 43.
Certain knowledge of how to perceive the light of grace is provided by those who see it 61, that is, by those who have come to know it through experience. In other words, by those who, through the toil of asceticism and humble prayer, have attained holiness, without which no one will see the Lord, according to the Holy Apostle Paul 62. Sanctification entails the purification of the heart through keeping the commandments and the constant engagement of the mind in authentic and immaterial prayer, especially through the commandment of love. In this way, God is seen by those who have been purified through love 63. These are ‘those who see spiritually through purification’64; in other words, those who have been cleansed of passions and ignorance. Through a mind that has been purified and enlightened, and which clearly partakes of God’s grace, they come to share in the mystical, supernatural visions. At the same time, they also perceive the radiance with which their mind has been enriched by God’s grace, and which strengthens the mind’s power to transcend itself and to complete its union with that which is beyond all understanding. Through this radiance, the mind beholds God in the Holy Spirit as ‘65’. Through the power of the Holy Spirit, it attains the spiritual experience of hearing the inaudible and seeing the unseen 66. Not only the divine light that is seen, but also the power that sees—in other words, the power by which the mind sees—is a spiritual power, which stands incomparably above the created powers of knowledge. And this power is bestowed by divine grace 67.
The divine light is beheld by those who have spiritual eyes and the mind of Christ, with which they see the unseen and understand the incomprehensible 68. The believer’s mind perceives spiritual things with clarity when he becomes one Spirit with the Lord 69. Then he also knows the things of God, for only the Spirit of God knows the things of God 70. In this way, the divine light becomes visible through the transformation of the senses, which is why it remains unseen by other people during its charismatic manifestation 71.
Moreover, divine grace is bestowed upon the Saints as a supernatural and divine participation, in a manner analogous to that in which knowledge is bestowed upon scientists; this knowledge, though always present to them, manifests itself actively when required 72. As a work 2 of the Holy Spirit in the pure soul, [divine grace] appears just as the power of sight does in a healthy eye 73 and becomes one with the whole person, just as the members of the body are united and the soul is united with the body 74.
Divine light is perceived through that same light 75, with a vision that is activated by the Holy Spirit 76. But how exactly does this happen? In reality, the manner in which the invisible God is perceived is inexpressible. St Paul the Apostle, to whom St Gregory Palamas refers, tells us that this is not done ‘in words taught by human wisdom, but in words taught by the Holy Spirit’ (1 Corinthians 2:13)77. The defender of Hesychasm78, goes on to make some very important clarifications. He states that the immaterial mind, by focusing on the first light—the supreme and true light—in other words, on God, without turning away, through immaterial, uninterrupted and pure prayer, and having already been transformed towards angelic perfection, since it has been encompassed by the First Light itself, it too is seen, by participation, as the archetype is, according to the cause. Then it shines forth, possessing the beauty of the mystical beauty, the splendour and the unapproached radiance o79. In this way, this light, which is God, causes those who partake of it to shine charismatically, through their union with it, in a manner that is ineffable 77. Those who are deified, seeing within themselves the uncreated light, behold the garment of their deification, which Christ promised them in His high priestly prayer, in which He expressed His desire that they too might be with Him to behold His glory 80.
4. Charismatic deification – the holy and spiritual life
It is significant that Saint Gregory Palamas did not wish to write anything about the deification of man. However, when challenged by his rivals, he was compelled to refer to it in a few pious words, which he himself described as insufficient 81, emphasising in them that the experience of deification is lived as a foretaste during the historical presence of the Saints on earth 82.
The light of the [Saviour’s] Transfiguration on Mount Tabor, but also that which the Saints behold in their present life, are placed by Saint Gregory Palamas, from an axiological point of view, on the same level as the light of Christ’s coming Second Coming. It is the same light that will continually envelop the worthy with its radiance in the life to come. It is the foreshadowing sign of the glory of God 83. This is the light of the age to come, a light which will be seen by the eyes of the heart 84. It is the light which the Saints behold within themselves, the glory of the divine nature 85, the very immaterial Divinity of the Father and the Holy Spirit which shines forth in the Person of the Only-Begotten Son at the moment of His Transfiguration 86. Consequently, it is evident that the manifestation of light represents the revelation of God to His Saints, whilst participation in this manifestation of God represents the vision of God. The manifestation of God (theophany) and the beholding of God (theopty) constitute the unerring theological premises of life in the Holy Spirit, which life is identified with the charismatic deification of man.
Those who are deemed worthy to behold this manifestation of God also become partakers of this active light of God 87, which light, being Divinity itself, deifies them charismatically 88. This divine light, that is to say, the radiance of God, is, according to Saint Gregory Palamas, deification. There is nothing higher than this contemplation 89 for those who are worthy. Through this light, God unites Himself with the Saints. This divine light is the deifying gift 90. That is why it is said that deification is the fundamental work of God 91. Moreover, if deification were to stem from a natural power of man which is set in motion, then the Saints, by becoming deified, do not rise above their nature, nor are they born of God 92, nor are they a Spirit, like those born of the Holy Spirit 93.
God, though He is unparticipable, unseen and immaterial, becomes participable in a super-natural way; that is to say, He dwells within, is glimpsed and becomes, whilst He is beheld, a Spirit (1 Corinthians 6:17) with those who seek Him with a pure heart, in accordance with the prayer of our common Father 94 to His own Father. For He says: ‘that they may all be one, just as You, Father, are in Me and I am in You, so that they also may be one in Us’ (John 17:21). In this way, the Holy Apostles, by virtue of their unity in Christ through the Holy Spirit of Pentecost, are one with Christ and with one another, to such an extent that Saint Gregory Palamas confines himself to one of them (the Holy Apostle John) and asserts that through him we present all the Saints 95. This unity with God is perfect, for the believer becomes one Spirit with God 96. This Holy Spirit preached through the Holy Apostles after Pentecost 97.
Deification, as a gift of the Holy Spirit, is identified with the Kingdom of God. For to become god by grace is the same as gaining the Kingdom of God. And, since the Kingdom of God is without beginning and uncreated, so too is deification 98. The holiness of the Saints is also uncreated and without beginning 99. Those who have been deified are filled with eternal light, which bestows upon them the knowledge and life befitting God 100. They are not governed by temporal, created life, which has a beginning and an end, but by the divine and eternal life of God the Word, who dwells within them 101, as Saint Paul the Apostle himself said of him: ‘It is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me’ (Galatians 2:20). In practical terms, Christ dwells in the hearts of believers through the Holy Spirit (Ephesians 3:16–17), and the criterion that He dwells within them is the Holy Spirit, whom102 has given to [the believers]. This explains why the work of God and that of those who have been deified 103 are one and the same.
In fact, deification is clearly superior to the mere beholding of the divine light, since deification entails the complete union of man with God 104. However, for man to become fit for union, his likeness to God is essential; this is achieved through the work that flows from keeping the commandments, a work which is not the result of natural imitation, but the result of the power of the Holy Spirit, which power dwells discreetly within those who have been baptised 105. The virtue resulting from keeping the commandments simply renders the believer capable of union [with God], which is accomplished solely by the uncreated divine grace received by the one who has been baptised 106. In the process of union with God, prayer brings about this union 107. And all this takes place within the framework of God’s active Holy Mysteries, since through the Holy Mysteries we receive, and also maintain, uncreated divine grace 108.
And since those who are deified actively receive and sustain uncreated divine grace—that is, the Holy Spirit Himself in a charismatic manner—it is evident that they are not merely improved in their natural state 109. The aim of the believer’s life, deified in the Holy Spirit, is to live in anticipation of God’s promises regarding future blessings 110. He who partakes of the active divine grace becomes a temple of divine glory and a dwelling place of divine tenderness. He proves himself to be the salt of the earth and the light of the world (Matthew 5:13), whether he is a monk or lives as a married person in the world 111.
Some characteristics of the holy-spiritual experience, which arise from beholding and living in the uncreated light, are the cessation of shameful pleasures and the passions of the soul, the stilling of thoughts, spiritual rest and joy, contempt for human glory, humility coupled with great, inexpressible joy, hatred for the worldly way of thinking and living, and eros 112 for heavenly things—or, rather, for God in heaven. One may experience all these things regardless of one’s state of health or the integrity of one’s bodily senses 113. Then there arises a God-like habit of virtue and a slowing down or complete absence of movement towards evil 114.
Furthermore, the divine light, as the charismatic presence of the Holy Spirit, is experienced as revelatory knowledge, as knowledge of God, as rectification, as holiness and as freedom. This light makes the mouths of those who are being deified the mouth of God with His wisdom, ‘which none of their adversaries will be able to withstand or answer’ (Luke 21:15), for, as Christ assures us, ‘it is not you who speak, but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you’ (Matthew 10:20). In addition to the vision of the uncreated light, the champion of hesychasm 78 includes within life in the Holy Spirit the work of prayer from the heart, spiritual fervour and delight, as well as the most pleasing and sweet tears of grace 115.
Man participates in the life within the Holy Spirit as a psychosomatic whole 116. In this way, both the dispositions and the works of the body are sanctified 117, for all that is human is not mortified, but is transformed by uncreated divine grace 118. The signs of divine beauty are conveyed by the mind and soul to the body with which they are connected 119. When the body is enriched by the active divine grace, the carnal heart reveals, through spiritual stirrings, its communion with grace, whilst the body becomes light, is illuminated and warmed 120.
Owing to its uncreated nature, the deified life of the faithful in the Holy Spirit remains, in fact, inexpressible, even when it is spoken of 121. Under no circumstances could anyone explain the experience of spiritual pleasure, which stems from the joy and grace of God, to those who have not personally experienced it. This marvellous gift of the Comforter is almost unheard of, even inexpressible, to those who have not tasted it 122. However, it remains known and distinctive only to those who have attained it 123. The causes of these spiritual experiences are perceived only through the noetic and spiritual sense 124.
Finally, life in the Holy Spirit ought to be attained and lived out in every way in the believer’s present life, for whoever does not receive it here will not have it in the life to come after death 125.
Epilogue
From what we have stated above, it has, we believe, become clear that the charismatic deification of the believer is, in fact, identified with his holy-spiritual life, and that the theological premises of this life are the manifestation of God, through the radiance of deifying grace, and the vision of God. However, both the gift of the vision of God and the continuation of charism126 in the holy and spiritual life are determined by concrete anthropological premises.
Lucifer and our First Parents [Adam and Eve] possessed the gift of the vision of God. Yet in both cases, their well-known fall and the loss of the charismatic gift followed. The cause of their fall was the same. Both Lucifer and our First Parents desired and sought equality with God, blatantly ignoring their existential characteristics as created beings. They proudly and selfishly promoted their own will, bypassed God and His will for them, and undertook the spiritual progress of their deification, taking their personal choices as their sole criterion. That is why they have also failed so tragically.
Consequently, if the believer sets deification or the holy spiritual life as the goal of his life, then he risks falling into the same temptation as [our] First Parents, with similar consequences. Deification, as a holy and spiritual life, cannot be set by man as his goal, for man cannot achieve a goal that lies beyond his physical, created capabilities. As Saint Maximus the Confessor so aptly puts it, ‘we partake of deification by grace, as something that is supernal, but we do not bring it about, for we do not by nature possess the power to receive deification’127
Deification represents God’s purpose for humankind and His uncreated gift to them. In this way, however, things change radically, and so does the procedure for achieving this purpose.
More precisely, the deification of the faithful—which was, in fact, expressed in Christ’s high priestly prayer, namely that all believers might become one with the Triune God and continually behold His uncreated glory 128— has as its fundamental premise the keeping of God’s commandments, since this keeping leads to the revelation in the believer’s heart of Christ and of God the Father in the Holy Spirit 129. However, keeping the commandments means, in practice, that the believer renounces his own will, however good it may seem to be. It means submitting his will to the will of God. But for the believer to renounce his own will, he must first, through divine grace, come to know his inner self and realise the tragic consequence of the mind’s straying into its own desires. Then he will be repulsed by his own will, renounce it, and thereby, in a practical sense, deny his own self, so that he may henceforth become a true disciple of Christ. Only then will he steadfastly direct his will towards God’s will and regard the observance of the commandments for God’s sake as the sole path, with no alternative. By renouncing his own will with disgust, the believer truly humbles himself, with the result that he receives God’s grace in abundance, which enables him to respond to God’s will by keeping His commandments, since, as Christ affirmed, ‘without Me you can do nothing’ (John 15:5).
Thus, in this way, the believer’s charismatic deification, which results from keeping the commandments, is bestowed as uncreated deifying energy and a gift from God, and by no means does it constitute an act of the believer, nor an achievement of his own. With these anthropological premises, the believer’s continuous progress in the holy and spiritual life is realistically assured, and the danger of any fall of the ancestral kind is averted.
- 1
That is, the teaching of the Church (translator’s note).
- 2a2b
Or energy (translator’s note).
- 3
Saint Gregory Palamas, Discourse in Defence of Those Who Find Peace in a Holy Manner 1, 2, 12 and 2, 2, 2. See also the same author (Saint Gregory Palamas), Complete Works, vol. 1, EPE (= Hellenic Fathers of the Church), Introduction – Translation – Commentary by P. Christou, Thessaloniki, 1981, p. 10.
- 4
Ibid., A Word in Defence of Those Who Find Peace in a Holy Manner, 1, 2, 8.
- 5
Ibid., A Word on the Life of the Venerable Peter of Athos 18, in ibid., Ἄπαντα τὰ ἔργα, EPE, vol. 8, Thessaloniki, 1994, p. 298.
- 6
Saint Gregory Palamas, Discourse in Defence of Those Who Find Peace in a Holy Manner 1, 3, 12.
- 7
Or keeping the commandments (translator’s note).
- 8
Reference is made to the division of the soul. It should be noted that the Holy Fathers adopted and Christianised the Platonic tradition concerning the division of the soul into three parts, faculties or powers: the understanding or rational (λογιστικόν), desiring or concupiscent (ἐπιθυμητικόν), and angry or irascible (θυμικόν). The latter two parts, also known as the passions (which stir up the emotions), constitute the irrational part of the soul, and are also regarded as the pathetic or passionate (παθετικόν) part of the soul (translator’s note).
- 9
Saint Gregory Palamas, A Discourse in Defence of Those Who Find Peace in a Holy Manner 1, 2, 2.
- 10
Ibid., ‘A Word on the Life of the Venerable Peter of Athos’ 21, in Op. cit., p. 302.
- 11
In the sense of a distraction from spiritual matters, a disturbance of inner peace, etc. (translator’s note).
- 12
What is the prayer of the mind or of the heart, also known as the Jesus Prayer, the prayer for all times, or the prayer of a single thought (translator’s note)?
- 13
Or silence (translator’s note).
- 14
Saint Gregory Palamas, Discourse in Defence of Those Who Find Peace in a Holy Manner 1, 3, 46.
- 15
A reference to the revealed truth that God is One in essence, but threefold in Persons or Hypostases (translator’s note).
- 16
Saint Gregory Palamas, A Discourse in Defence of Those Who Find Peace in a Holy Manner, 2, 1, 34, with reference to John 17:21–24.
- 17
That is, by Saint Gregory Palamas (translator’s note).
- 18
Saint Gregory Palamas, A Discourse in Defence of Those Who Find Peace in a Holy Manner 1, 2, 6.
- 19
Ibid., 2, 1, 14.
- 20
Or uncreated (translator’s note).
- 21
That is to say, the three Holy Apostles Peter, James and John, who were with the Saviour on Mount Tabor (translator’s note).
- 22
In other words, the original or first radiance (translator’s note).
- 23
That is to say, unapproachable, inaccessible (translator’s note).
- 24
Saint Gregory Palamas, Discourse in Defence of Those Who Find Peace in a Holy Manner 3, 3, 9. For the Romanian translation, see also ibid., in idem, Complete Works IV, introduction, translation and notes by Cornel Coman, Adrian Tănăsescu and Cristian Chivu, Gândul Aprins Publishing House, Bucharest, 2016, pp. 213, 215.
- 25
Romans 8:15: ‘You have received the Spirit of adoption’.
- 26
Saint Gregory Palamas, On Divine and Deifying Participation 4, in idem, Ἄπαντα τὰ ἔργα, vol. 3, EPE, Introduction – Text – Translation – Commentary by P. Christou, Thessaloniki, 1983, pp. 218–219.
- 27
Ibid., ‘Address to the Philosophers John and Theodore’ 21, in ibid., Ἄπαντα τὰ ἔργα, vol. 8, EPE, Thessaloniki, 1994, p. 456.
- 28
Ibid., A Word in Defence of Those Who Find Peace in a Holy Manner 3, 2, 1.
- 29
That is to say, through the workings of the mind within the heart of a spiritually healthy person (translator’s note).
- 30
Saint Gregory Palamas, A Discourse in Defence of Those Who Find Peace in a Holy Manner 2, 3, 37.
- 31
Ibid., 1, 3, 29.
- 32a32b
Ibid., 2, 3, 6.
- 33
This term means, precisely according to the explanation given by Saint Gregory Palamas, that the divine light subsists in the hypostasis; that is to say, it does not have its own hypostasis; see ibid., 3, 1, 18 (translator’s note).
- 34
This term refers to that which subsists in itself, that which possesses its own hypostasis; in other words, it both possesses and is a hypostasis.
- 35
Saint Gregory Palamas, Discourse in Defence of Those Who Find Peace in a Holy Manner 3, 1, 18.
- 36
Ibid., 1, 3, 7, with reference to Saint Maximus the Confessor, Homilies 5, 10, in Patrologia Graeca (= PG) 34, 516 A.
- 37
Saint Gregory Palamas, Discourse in Defence of Those Who Find Peace in a Holy Manner 3, 2, 17.
- 38
Ibid., 1, 3, 27.
- 39
Ibid., 1, 3, 10.
- 40
Ibid., 2, 3, 8.
- 41
Saint John of Damascus, Homily on the Transfiguration 12, in PG 96, 564 B, quoted in Saint Gregory Palamas, On the Divine Energies 11, in idem, Ἄπαντα τὰ ἔργα, vol. 3, EPE, Thessaloniki, 1983, pp. 146–149.
- 42
Saint Gregory the Theologian, Homily 40, 6, in PG 36, 365 A: ‘The light is the Godhead who revealed Himself to the Disciples on the mountain’, quoted in Saint Gregory Palamas, Discourse in Defence of Those Who Find Peace in a Holy Manner 3, 1, 12.
- 43a43b
Ibid., 1, 3, 52.
- 44
Varlaam of Calabria or of Seminara (1290–1348) is regarded as a heretic within the Orthodox Church due to his erroneous dogmatic positions concerning the Hesychast controversy with Saint Gregory Palamas, with whom he was a contemporary. Following his synodal condemnation (27 May 1341), Varlaam left the Orthodox Church and recognised the authority of the Roman Catholic Church, being appointed Bishop of Gerace, a diocese in the province of Reggio Calabria (translator’s note).
- 45
This Person being the Son of God Himself, the Lord Jesus Christ, the Saviour of the world (translator’s note).
- 46
Or appearance (translator’s note).
- 47
Of course, it is clear that when the Saviour says ‘My word’, He is referring to His commandments, because, in the same context, earlier, instead of ‘word’, which He uses here, He had used ‘commandments’, for He says: ‘Whoever has My commandments and keeps them, it is he who loves Me’ (John 14:21), see Saint Gregory Palamas, Discourse in Defence of Those Who Find Peace in a Holy Manner 2, 3, 16.
- 48
Saint Gregory Palamas, On the Divine Energies 49.
- 49
Ibid., 48.
- 50
This refers to the coming of our Saviour Jesus Christ to us, with all the circumstances described (translator’s note).
- 51
Saint Gregory Palamas, A Discourse in Defence of Those Who Find Peace in a Holy Manner, 2, 1, 44.
- 52
A reference to keeping the commandments (translator’s note).
- 53
That is to say, the part of the soul that is knowledge (translator’s note).
- 54
Saint Gregory Palamas, Discourse in Defence of Those Who Find Peace in a Holy Manner 2, 3, 17.
- 55
In other words, the Bearer of Light (translator’s note).
- 56
Or ‘mystical contemplation’ (μυστικὴ θεωρία), as it appears in the text (translator’s note).
- 57
Saint Gregory Palamas, A Discourse in Defence of Those Who Find Peace in a Holy Manner, 2, 3, 18, with reference to 2 Peter 1:19.
- 58
Saint Gregory Palamas, A Discourse in Defence of Those Who Find Peace in a Holy Manner 2, 3, 35.
- 59
Ibid., 2, 3, 17.
- 60
St John of Sinai, The Ladder, 26, in PG 88, 1033 B, quoted in St Gregory Palamas, Discourse in Defence of Those Who Find Peace in a Holy Manner, 1, 3, 49.
- 61
Ibid., 1, 3, 44.
- 62
Ibid., To the nun Xenia, On Passions and Virtue 43, with reference to Hebrews XII, 14, in ibid., Ἄπαντα τὰ ἔργα, vol. 8, EPE, Introduction – Text – Translation – Commentary by P. Christou, Thessaloniki, 1994, pp. 398–399.
- 63
Ibid., A Word in Defence of Those Who Find Peace in a Holy Manner 1, 3, 10.
- 64
Ibid., 2, 3, 10.
- 65
Ibid., 2, 3, 11.
- 66
Ibid., Address to the Philosophers John and Theodore 18, in op. cit., p. 452.
- 67
Ibid., A Word in Defence of Those Who Find Peace in a Holy Manner 3, 2, 14.
- 68
Ibid., 1, 3, 16, with reference to 1 Corinthians 2:16.
- 69
Saint Gregory Palamas, Discourse in Defence of Those Who Find Peace in a Holy Manner 1, 3, 17, with reference to 1 Corinthians 6:17.
- 70
Saint Gregory Palamas, A Discourse in Defence of Those Who Find Peace in a Holy Manner 1, 3, 16, with reference to 1 Corinthians 2:11.
- 71
Saint Gregory Palamas, Discourse in Defence of Those Who Find Peace in a Holy Manner 2, 3, 22.
- 72
Ibid., On Divine and Deifying Participation 15, with reference to Saint Basil the Great, On the Holy Spirit 26, in PG 32, 180 C.
- 73
St Basil the Great, On the Holy Spirit 26, in PG 32, 181 A.
- 74
Saint Maximus the Confessor, On Doubts, in PG 91, 1088 BC.
- 75
Psalm XXXV, 9 (10): ‘In Your light we shall see light’.
- 76
Saint Gregory Palamas, A Discourse in Defence of Those Who Find Peace in a Holy Manner, 3, 3, 5.
- 77a77b
Ibid., 1, 3, 24.
- 78a78b
That is to say, Saint Gregory Palamas (translator’s note).
- 79
Saint Gregory Palamas, Discourse in Defence of Those Who Find Peace in a Holy Manner 1, 3, 39.
- 80
Ibid., 1, 3, 5, with reference to John XVII, 24.
- 81
Saint Gregory Palamas, A Discourse in Defence of Those Who Find Peace in a Holy Manner 3, 1, 32.
- 82
Ibid., 1, 3, 43 and 2, 3, 66.
- 83
Saint Dionysius the Areopagite, On the Divine Names 1, 4, in PG 3, 592 C. See also Saint Basil the Great, Commentary on Psalm XLIV, in PG 29, 400 D, quoted in Saint Gregory Palamas, Discourse in Defence of Those Who Find Peace in a Holy Manner 1, 3, 26–27.
- 84
Saint Dionysius the Areopagite, On the Divine Names 1, 4, in PG 3, 592 C, quoted in Saint Gregory Palamas, A Discourse in Defence of Those Who Find Peace in a Holy Manner 3, 1, 22.
- 85
Ibid., 3, 1, 23.
- 86
The Canon of Saint John of Damascus for 6 August, the troparion of the Ninth Ode, in Saint Gregory Palamas, A Discourse in Defence of Those Who Find Peace in a Holy Manner, 3, 1, 16.
- 87
Ibid., 1, 3, 5.
- 88
Ibid., 1, 3, 23.
- 89
In the sense of God’s perspective (translator’s note).
- 90
Saint Maximus the Confessor, On Doubts, in PG 91, 1088 C, quoted in Saint Gregory Palamas, A Word in Defence of Those Who Find Peace in a Holy Manner 3, 3, 13.
- 91
Ibid., 3, 1, 31.
- 92
John I, 13, in St Gregory Palamas, Discourse in Defence of Those Who Find Peace in a Holy Manner 3, 1, 30.
- 93
John III, 6, in St Gregory Palamas, Discourse in Defence of Those Who Find Peace in a Holy Manner 3, 1, 30.
- 94
That is to say, the Son of God, Who is not only our Saviour but also our Father, since He has brought us into being through the Holy Sacrament of Baptism in the Church (translator’s note).
- 95
Saint Gregory Palamas, Discourse in Defence of Those Who Find Peace in a Holy Manner, 2, 3, 66.
- 96
Ibid., 3, 3, 14.
- 97
Ibid., 2, 2, 14.
- 98
Ibid., On the Divine Energies, 30.
- 99
Ibid., 18.
- 100
St Basil the Great, Against Eunomius 5, in PG 29, 772 B, quoted in St Gregory Palamas, On Divine and Deifying Participation 8.
- 101
Ibid., On the Divine Energies, 1144 C.
- 102
1 John 4:13, quoted in St Gregory Palamas, On Divine and Deifying Participation 3.
- 103
Saint Maximus the Confessor, On Doubts, in PG 91, 1076 C.
- 104
Saint Gregory Palamas, A Discourse in Defence of Those Who Find Peace in a Holy Manner 1, 3, 23.
- 105
Ibid., On Divine and Deifying Participation 7.
- 106
Ibid., Volume 2 of the Athonite Works, in ibid., Ἄπαντα τὰ ἔργα, EPE, vol. 3, Thessaloniki, 1983, pp. 500–504.
- 107
Ibid., On Prayer and the Purification of the Heart 3, 1, 1.
- 108
Saint Dionysius the Areopagite, On the Ecclesiastical Hierarchy 2, in PG 3, 392 A.
- 109
Saint Gregory Palamas, On Divine and Deifying Participation 3.
- 110
Ephesians 1:13–14, in: Saint Gregory Palamas, Discourse in Defence of Those Who Find Peace in a Holy Manner 1, 3, 14.
- 111
Saint Gregory Palamas, Address to the Philosophers John and Theodore 22, in op. cit., p. 456.
- 112
In the sense of passionate love (translator’s note).
- 113
Saint Gregory Palamas, A Discourse in Defence of Those Who Find Peace in a Holy Manner, 3, 1, 36.
- 114
Ibid., Address to the Philosophers John and Theodore 22, in op. cit., p. 454.
- 115
Saint Gregory Palamas, A Discourse in Defence of Those Who Find Peace in a Holy Manner, 1, 3, 31.
- 116
In other words, with both his soul and his body (translator’s note).
- 117
Saint Gregory Palamas, Mount Athos Volume 6.
- 118
Ibid., A Word in Defence of Those Who Find Peace in a Holy Manner 3, 3, 15.
- 119
Ibid., Address to the Philosophers John and Theodore 19, in op. cit., p. 454.
- 120
Ibid., A Word in Defence of Those Who Find Peace in a Holy Manner 1, 3, 32.
- 121
Ibid., 3, 1, 32.
- 122
Ibid., To the nun Xenia, On Passions and Virtue 68.
- 123
Ibid., A Word in Defence of Those Who Find Peace in a Holy Manner 3, 1, 32.
- 124
Ibid., 1, 3, 31.
- 125
Ibid., To the Nun Xenia, On Passions and Virtue 16.
- 126
Or the stay (translator’s note).
- 127
Saint Maximus the Confessor, Chapters on Virtue and Vice 1, 75, in PG 90, 1209 C. See also the same author, To Thalassius, 22, in PG 90, 324 A.
- 128
John 17:22–24: ‘And the glory which You have given Me, I have given to them, that they may be one, just as We are one… Father, I desire that those whom You have given Me may be with Me where I am, so that they may see My glory.”
- 129
John 14:21–23: “Whoever has my commandments and keeps them, it is he who loves me; and whoever loves me will be loved by my Father, and I too will love him and reveal myself to him… If anyone loves Me, they will keep My word, and My Father will love them, and We will come to them and make Our home with them.”