Gregory Palamas
Sign in to save14th century Byzantine Greek cleric and theologian
Key facts
- Born
- 1296 ( 1296 ) , Constantinople , (modern-day Istanbul , Turkey )
- Died
- 14 November 1359 (1359-11-14) (aged 62–63), Thessalonica , Theme of Thessalonica , (modern-day Greece )
- Venerated in
- Eastern Orthodox Church , Byzantine Catholic Churches
- Canonized
- 1368, Constantinople by Patriarch Philotheos of Constantinople
- Major shrine
- Thessaloniki Theology career
- Notable work
- Philokalia
- Tradition or movement
- Palamism
- Main interests
- Asceticism , mysticism
- Notable ideas
- Essence–energies distinction , theosis , Tabor Light
- Feast
- 14 November, Second Sunday of Great Lent
- Attributes
- Long, tapering dark beard; vestments of a bishop ; Gospel Book or scroll ; right hand raised in benediction
- Influenced
- Nilus Cabasilas , Gennadius Scholarius , Nicodemus the Hagiorite , Sophrony of Essex , John Meyendorff , Seraphim Rose
via Wikipedia infobox
Article
Gregory Palamas (/pæləˈmɑːs/; Byzantine Greek: Γρηγόριος Παλαμᾶς, romanized: Grēgórios Palamâs, pronounced [ɣriˈɣo.ri.os pa.laˈmas]; c. 1296 – 14 November 1359) was a Byzantine Greek theologian and Eastern Orthodox cleric of the late Byzantine period. A monk of Mount Athos (modern Greece) and later archbishop of Thessalonica, he is famous for his defense of hesychast spirituality, the uncreated character of the light of the Transfiguration, and the distinction between God's essence and energies (i.e., the divine will, divine grace, etc.). His teaching unfolded over the course of three major controversies, (1) with the Italo-Greek Barlaam between 1336 and 1341, (2) with the monk Gregory Akindynos between 1341 and 1347, and (3) with the philosopher Gregoras, from 1348 to 1355. His theological contributions are sometimes referred to as Palamism, and his followers as Palamites.
Gregory has been venerated as a saint in the Eastern Orthodox Church since 1368. Within the Post Vatican II Catholic Church, he has also been called a saint; Pope John Paul II repeatedly called Gregory a great theological writer. Since 1971, the Melkite Greek Catholic Church has venerated Gregory as a saint. Some of his writings are collected in the Philokalia, and since the Ottoman period, the second Sunday of Great Lent is dedicated to the memory of Gregory Palamas in most branches of the Eastern Orthodoxy, while in some Eastern Catholic Churches, the issue is disputed.
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1296 births1359 deaths14th-century Byzantine bishops14th-century Byzantine monks14th-century Byzantine writers14th-century Christian mystics14th-century Christian saints14th-century Eastern Orthodox theologians14th-century Greek educators14th-century Greek musicians14th-century Greek philosophers14th-century Greek writers