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Hesychasm (Greek ἡσυχασμός hesychasmos, from ἡσυχία hesychia, "stillness, rest, quiet, silence")[1] is an eremitic tradition of prayer in the Eastern Orthodox Church, and some other Eastern Churches of the Byzantine Rite, practised (Gk: ἡσυχάζω hesychazo: "to keep stillness") by the Hesychast (Gr. Families of churches Eastern Christians have a shared tradition but they became divided ( Schism) during the early centuries of Christianity in disputes about The Crusades were a series of military campaigns of a religious character waged by much of Christian Europe against external and internal opponents This is a general introduction to ecumenical councils For the Roman Catholic councils, see Catholic Ecumenical Councils. The Christianization of Bulgaria was the process of converting 9th-century medieval Bulgaria to Christianity. The Christianization of Kievan Rus' took place in several stages The East-West Schism, or the Great Schism, divided medieval Christendom into Eastern (Greek and Western (Latin branches which later became known as the See also Christianity in Asia Judging from the New Testament account of the rise and expansion of the early church during the first few centuries of Christianity the Coptic history is part of History of Egypt that begins with the introduction of Christianity in Egypt in the 1st century AD during the The Eastern Orthodox Churches trace their roots back to the Apostles and Jesus Christ. Christianity in ancient and feudal Georgia According to tradition when the Apostles were sent out to preach the Gospel to the nations of the world the Apostle This article should include material from Ukrainian Orthodox Church (Moscow Patriarchate, Ukrainian Orthodox Church - Kiev Patriarchate, Ukrainian Oriental Orthodoxy is the communion of Eastern Christian Churches that recognize only three Ecumenical councils — the First Council of Nicaea, the History of the Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria Apostolic foundation Egypt is identified in the Bible as the place of refuge that the The Armenian Apostolic Church (Հայաստանեայց Առաքելական Եկեղեցի Hayasdaneaytz Arakelagan Syriac Christianity is a culturally and linguistically distinctive community within Eastern Christianity. The Eritrean Orthodox Tewahedo Church is an Oriental Orthodox church. The Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church (in transliterated Amharic: Yäityop'ya ortodoks täwahedo bétäkrestyan) is an Oriental The Holy Apostolic Catholic Assyrian Church of the East (ܥܕܬܐ ܩܕܝܫܬܐ ܘܫܠܝܚܝܬܐ ܩܬܘܠܝܩܝ ܕܡܕܢܚܐ ܕܐܬܘܪ̈ܝܐ ‘Ittā Qaddishtā wa-Shlikhāitā Qattoliqi The Eastern Orthodox Church is the second largest single Christian Communion in the world This article refers to Eastern Churches in full communion with the Holy See The Sign of the Cross, or Signum crucis in Latin is a ritual hand motion made by members of many but not all branches of Christianity. The Divine Liturgy is the common term for the Eucharistic service of the Byzantine tradition of Christian liturgy. Iconography is the branch of Art history which studies the identification description and the interpretation of the content of images Ascetic redirects here You might also be looking for Acetic acid. In the Eastern Orthodox and Eastern Catholic liturgical tradition the omophorion ( Greek:; Slavonic: омофоръ omofor) An icon (from Greek εἰκών eikōn, "image" is a religious work of art most commonly a painting from Eastern Christianity. Negative theology - also known as the Via Negativa ( Latin for "Negative Way" and Apophatic theology - is a Theology that Filioque, a Latin phrase meaning "and (from the Son" In Western Christianity, it was added to the Nicene-Constantinopolitan Creed Miaphysitism (sometimes called henophysitism) is the Christology of the Oriental Orthodox Churches Monophysitism (from the Greek monos meaning 'one alone' and physis meaning 'nature' or Monophysiticism is the Christological position that Nestorius Nestorius (c  386 &ndashc  451) was a pupil of Theodore of Mopsuestia in Antioch in Syria (modern In Eastern Orthodoxy, Oriental Orthodoxy and Eastern Catholic theology theosis (written also theiosis, theopoiesis, theōsis Theoria (Greek) is Greek for Contemplation or 'the perception of Beauty regarded as a Moral faculty' ( OED) Phronema is a Greek term that is used in Eastern Orthodox Theology to refer to mindset or outlook; it is the Orthodox mind. The Philokalia ( Gk φιλοκαλείν "Love of the Beautiful" is a collection of texts by masters of the Eastern Orthodox, hesychast Praxis is the customary use of knowledge or skills distinct from theoretical knowledge Theotokos (Θεοτόκος translit Theotókos) is a title of Mary the mother of Jesus used especially in the Eastern Orthodox, Ousia () is the Ancient Greek noun formed on the feminine present participle of ( to be) it is analogous to the English participle Historical context The Energies of God are a central principle of Theology in the Eastern Orthodox Church, understood by the orthodox Fathers Metousiosis is a Greek term () that means literally a change of (essence inner reality Greek (el ελληνική γλώσσα or simply el ελληνικά — "Hellenic" is an Indo-European language, spoken today by 15-22 million people mainly A hermit (from the Greek ἔρημος erēmos, signifying " Desert " "uninhabited" hence "desert-dweller" adjective "eremitic" Prayer is the act of attempting to communicate with a Deity or spirit The Eastern Orthodox Church is the second largest single Christian Communion in the world Families of churches Eastern Christians have a shared tradition but they became divided ( Schism) during the early centuries of Christianity in disputes about The Byzantine Rite, sometimes called the Rite of Constantinople or Constantinopolitan Rite, is the liturgical rite used currently (in various languages Ἡσυχαστής hesychastes).

Based on Christ's injunction in the Gospel of Matthew to "go into your closet to pray", Hesychasm in tradition has been the process of retiring inward by ceasing to register the senses, in order to achieve an experiential knowledge of God (see theoria). The Gospel of Matthew (Gk Κατά Ματθαίον Ευαγγέλιον is one of the four Canonical gospels in the New Testament and is a Synoptic gospel Theoria (Greek) is Greek for Contemplation or 'the perception of Beauty regarded as a Moral faculty' ( OED)

Contents

History of the term

The origin of the term hesychasmos, and of the related terms hesychastes, hesychia and hesychazo, is not entirely certain. According to the entries in Lampe's A Patristic Greek Lexicon, the basic terms hesychia and hesychazo appear as early as the 4th Century in such Fathers as St John Chrysostom and the Cappadocians. This article refers to the Christian saint For other uses of the name see Chrysostomos. The terms also appear in the same period in Evagrius Pontikos (c. Evagrius Ponticus, or Evagrius the Solitary (345-399 AD was a Christian monk and ascetic 345–399), who although he is writing in Egypt is out of the circle of the Cappadocians, and in the Sayings of the Desert Fathers. Events St Thomas visits Malayalam and assists the church there Events By Place Western Roman Empire Flavius Mallius Theodorus becomes Roman Consul. Cappadocia (or Capadocia, Turkish Kapadokya, from Greek: Καππαδοκία / Kappadokía which in turn is from the Persian:

The term Hesychast is used sparingly in Christian ascetical writings emanating from Egypt from the 4th Century on, although the writings of Evagrius and the Sayings of the Desert Fathers do attest to it. Ascetic redirects here You might also be looking for Acetic acid. This article is about the country of Egypt For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Egypt topics. In Egypt, the terms more often used are anchoretism (Gr. ἀναχώρησις, "withdrawal, retreat"), and anchorite (Gr. Anchorite (male/ anchoress (female (adj anchoritic from the Greek anachōreō signifying "to withdraw" "to depart into the rural countryside" ἀναχωρητής, "one who withdraws or retreats, i. e. a hermit").

Zograf Monastery, one of the 20 monasteries of Mount Athos.
Zograf Monastery, one of the 20 monasteries of Mount Athos. The Saint George the Zograf or Zograf Monastery (Зографски манастир Zografski manastir; Μονή Ζωγράφου Moní Zográphou) is Mount Athos (Όρος Άθως is a mountain on the Peninsula of the same name in Macedonia, of northern Greece, called in Greek Άγιον

The term Hesychast was used in the 6th Century in Palestine in the Lives of Cyril of Scythopolis, many of which lives treat of Hesychasts who were contemporaries of Cyril. Palestine is a name which has been widely used since Roman times to refer to the region between the Mediterranean Sea and the Jordan River. Cyril of Scythopolis (525-558- Christian monk and priest Historian of monastic life in Scythopolis (Palestine in the early years of Christianity (6th Here, it should be noted that several of the saints about whom Cyril was writing, especially Euthymios and Savas, were in fact from Cappadocia.

The laws (novella) of the Emperor Justinian (6th Century) treat Hesychast and anchorite as synonyms, making them interchangeable terms. Flavius Petrus Sabbatius Iustinianus ( Greek: Φλάβιος Πέτρος Σαββάτιος Ιουστινιανός; known in English as Justinian I or

The terms hesychia and Hesychast are used quite systematically in the Ladder of Divine Ascent of St John of Sinai (523–603) and in Pros Theodoulon by St Hesychios (c. The Ladder of Divine Ascent or Ladder of Paradise (Κλίμαξ Scala or Climax Paradisi) is an important work for Monasticism Saint John Climacus ( c 525 – March 30 606) also known as John of the Ladder, John Scholasticus and John Sinaites, was a 750?), who is ordinarily also considered to be of the School of Sinai. The Sinai Peninsula or Sinai ( Coptic: sina; Egyptian Arabic: sina سينا Arabic, sina'a سيناء It is not known where either St John of Sinai or St Hesychios were born, nor where they received their monastic formation.

It appears that the particularity of the term Hesychast has to do with the integration of the continual repetition of the Jesus Prayer into the practices of mental ascesis already used by hermits in Egypt. The Jesus Prayer, also called the Prayer of the Heart, is a short formulaic prayer often uttered repeatedly

Hesychasm itself is not recorded in Lampe, which indicates that it is a much later usage.

By the 14th Century on Mt Athos the terms Hesychasm and Hesychast refer to the practice and to the practitioner of a method of mental ascesis that involves the use of the Jesus Prayer assisted by certain psychophysical techniques. Mount Athos (Όρος Άθως is a mountain on the Peninsula of the same name in Macedonia, of northern Greece, called in Greek Άγιον The Jesus Prayer, also called the Prayer of the Heart, is a short formulaic prayer often uttered repeatedly Most likely, the rise of the term Hesychasm reflects the coming to the fore of this practice as something concrete and specific that can be discussed.

Books used by the Hesychast include the Philokalia, a collection of texts on prayer and solitary mental ascesis written from the 4th to the 15th Centuries, this collection existing in a number of independent redactions; the Ladder of Divine Ascent; the collected works of St Symeon the New Theologian (949–1022); and the works of St Isaac the Syrian (7th C. The Philokalia ( Gk φιλοκαλείν "Love of the Beautiful" is a collection of texts by masters of the Eastern Orthodox, hesychast The Ladder of Divine Ascent or Ladder of Paradise (Κλίμαξ Scala or Climax Paradisi) is an important work for Monasticism Symeon the New Theologian (949&ndash1022 is the latest of three Saints of the Eastern Orthodox church to have been given the title of Theologian thus Isaac of Nineveh (d c 700) also remembered as Isaac the Syrian and Isaac Cyrus was a Seventh century Bishop and Theologian ?–8th C. ?), as they were selected and translated into Greek at the Monastery of St Savas near Jerusalem about the 10th Century. The Great Lavra of St Sabas, known in Arabic as Mar Saba ( is a Greek Orthodox Monastery overlooking the Kidron Valley Jerusalem (יְרוּשָׁלַיִם, he-Latn Yerushaláyim; Arabic: ar القُدس, ar-Latn al-Quds) is the

Hesychastic practice

Hesychastic practice bears some resemblance to mystical prayer or meditation in Eastern religions (Buddhism, Hinduism, Jainism and Sufism, compare with yoga), although this similarity is often over-emphasized in popular accounts and generally rejected by actual Orthodox practitioners of Hesychasm. Buddhism is a family of beliefs and practices Hinduism is a religious tradition that originated in the Indian subcontinent. Jainism, traditionally known as Jain Dharma / Shraman Dharma (जैन धर्म is an ancient religion of India. Sufism ( تصوّف - taṣawwuf, Persian: صوفی‌گری sufigari, Turkish: tasavvuf, Urdu: تصوف Yoga ( Sanskrit: योग, IAST: yóga, joːgə refers to traditional physical and mental disciplines originating in India, to the The practice may involve specific body postures and be accompanied by very deliberate breathing patterns. However, these bodily postures and breathing patterns are treated as secondary both by modern Athonite practitioners of Hesychasm (e. g. Elder Ephraim of Katounakia, p. 114 (Greek edition)) and by the more ancient texts in the Philokalia (e. g. On the Two Methods of Prayer by St Gregory of Sinai), the emphasis being on the primary role of Grace. Saint Gregory of Sinai (1260s- November 27 1346) was instrumental in the emergence of "technical" (Athonite Hesychasm on Athos in the

Hesychasts are fully integrated into the Liturgical and sacramental life of the Orthodox Church, including the daily cycle of liturgical prayer of the Divine Office and the Divine Liturgy. A sacrament, as defined in Hexam's Concise Dictionary of Religion is "a Rite in which God is uniquely active Canonical hours are divisions of time developed by the Christian Church, serving as increments between the prescribed Prayers of the daily round The Divine Liturgy is the common term for the Eucharistic service of the Byzantine tradition of Christian liturgy. However, Hesychasts who are living as hermits might have a very rare attendance at the Divine Liturgy (see the life of Saint Seraphim of Sarov) and might not recite the Divine Office except by means of the Jesus Prayer (attested practice on Mt Athos). Saint Seraphim of Sarov ( Russian: Серафим Саровский ( July 19, 1759 - January 2 (N In general, the Hesychast restricts his external activities for the sake of his Hesychastic practice.

Hesychastic practice involves acquiring an inner stillness and ignoring the physical senses. In this, Hesychasm shows its roots in Evagrius Pontikos and even in the Greek tradition of asceticism going back to Plato. Evagrius Ponticus, or Evagrius the Solitary (345-399 AD was a Christian monk and ascetic Biography Early life Birth and family Plato was born in Athens Greece The Hesychast interprets Christ's injunction in the Gospel of Matthew to "go into your closet to pray", to mean that he should ignore the senses and withdraw inward. The Gospel of Matthew (Gk Κατά Ματθαίον Ευαγγέλιον is one of the four Canonical gospels in the New Testament and is a Synoptic gospel Saint John of Sinai writes: "Hesychasm is the enclosing of the bodiless primary Cognitive faculty of the soul (Orthodoxy teaches of two cognitive faculty, the nous and logos) in the bodily house of the body. The Sinai Peninsula or Sinai ( Coptic: sina; Egyptian Arabic: sina سينا Arabic, sina'a سيناء Nous (ˈnuːs Greek: or) is a philosophical term for Mind or Intellect. grc-Latn Logos (ˈloʊːgɒs ( Greek, logos) is an important term in Philosophy, Analytical psychology, Rhetoric and Religion " (Ladder, Step 27, 5, (Step 27, 6 in the Holy Transfiguration edition). )

In Step 27, 21 of the Ladder (Step 27, 22–3 of the Holy Transfiguration edition), St John of Sinai describes Hesychast practice as follows:

Take up your seat on a high place and watch, if only you know how, and then you will see in what manner, when, whence, how many and what kind of thieves come to enter and steal your clusters of grapes. When the watchman grows weary, he stands up and prays; and then he sits down again and courageously takes up his former task.

In this passage, St John of Sinai says that the primary task of the Hesychast is to engage in mental ascesis. This mental ascesis is the rejection of tempting thoughts (the “thieves”) that come to the Hesychast as he watches in sober attention in his hermitage. Much of the literature of Hesychasm is occupied with the psychological analysis of such tempting thoughts (e. g. St Mark the Ascetic). Marcus Eremita was a Christian theologian and Ascetic writer of some importance in the fifth century This psychological analysis owes much to the ascetical works of Evagrius Pontikos, with its doctrine of the eight passions.

St. John Cassian is not represented in the Philokalia except by two brief extracts, but this is most likely due to his having written in Latin. Saint John Cassian (ca 360 – 435 ( Latin: Jo(hannes Eremita Cassianus, Joannus Cassianus, or Joannes Massiliensis) John the His works (Coenobitical Institutions and the Conferences) represent a transmittal of Evagrius Pontikos’ ascetical doctrines to the West. These works formed the basis of much of the spirituality of the Order of St Benedict and its offshoots. This article concerns Roman Catholic Order of Saint Benedict see also Benedictine Confederation and Benedictine. Hence, the tradition of St John Cassian in the West concerning the spiritual practice of the hermit can be considered to be a tradition parallel to that of Hesychasm in the Orthodox Church.

The highest goal of the Hesychast is the experiential knowledge of God. In the 14th Century, the possibility of this experiential knowledge of God was challenged by a Calabrian monk, Barlaam, who although he was formally a member of the Orthodox Church had been trained in Western Scholastic theology. Calabria ( Latin: Brutium) is a region in southern Italy, south of Naples, located at the "toe" of Barlaam of Seminara (ca 1290-1348 or Barlaam of Calabria was a Greek / Italian scholar ( Aristotelian scholastic) and clergyman of Barlaam asserted that our knowledge of God can only be propositional. The practice of the Hesychasts was defended by St. Gregory Palamas. Saint Gregory Palamas (Γρηγόριος Παλαμάς (1296 - 1359 was a monk of Mount Athos in Greece and later the Archbishop of (See below. )

In solitude and retirement the Hesychast repeats the Jesus Prayer, "Lord Jesus Christ, son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner. The Jesus Prayer, also called the Prayer of the Heart, is a short formulaic prayer often uttered repeatedly " The Hesychast prays the Jesus Prayer 'with the heart'—with meaning, with intent, 'for real' (see ontic). In Philosophy, ontic (from the Greek όντος = part He never treats the Jesus Prayer as a string of syllables whose 'surface' or overt verbal meaning is secondary or unimportant. He considers bare repetition of the Jesus Prayer as a mere string of syllables, perhaps with a 'mystical' inner meaning beyond the overt verbal meaning, to be worthless or even dangerous. This emphasis on the actual, real invocation of Jesus Christ marks a divergence from Eastern forms of meditation.

There is a very great emphasis on humility in the practice of the Jesus Prayer, great cautions being given in the texts about the disaster that will befall the would-be Hesychast if he proceeds in pride, arrogance or conceit. It is also assumed in the Hesychast texts that the Hesychast is a member of the Orthodox Church in good standing.

While he maintains his practice of the Jesus Prayer, which becomes automatic and continues twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week, the Hesychast cultivates watchful attention (Gr. nepsis). Sobriety contributes to this mental askesis described above that rejects tempting thoughts; it puts a great emphasis on focus and attention. The Hesychast is to pay extreme attention to the consciousness of his inner world and to the words of the Jesus Prayer, not letting his mind wander in any way at all.

The Hesychast is to attach Eros (Gr. eros), that is, "yearning", to his practice of sobriety so as to overcome the temptation to accidie (sloth). He is also to use an extremely directed and controlled anger against the tempting thoughts, although to obliterate them entirely he is to invoke Jesus Christ via the Jesus Prayer.

The Great Schema or Megaloschema, worn by seasoned hesychasts
The Great Schema or Megaloschema, worn by seasoned hesychasts

The Hesychast is to bring his mind (Gr. nous) into his heart so as to practise both the Jesus Prayer and sobriety with his mind in his heart. The descent of the mind into the heart is taken quite literally by the practitioners of Hesychasm and is not at all considered to be a metaphorical expression. Some of the psychophysical techniques described in the texts are to assist the descent of the mind into the heart at those times that only with difficulty it descends on its own.

The goal at this stage is a practice of the Jesus Prayer with the mind in the heart, which practice is free of images (see Pros Theodoulon). What this means is that by the exercise of sobriety (the mental ascesis against tempting thoughts), the Hesychast arrives at a continual practice of the Jesus Prayer with his mind in his heart and where his consciousness is no longer encumbered by the spontaneous inception of images: his mind has a certain stillness and emptiness that is punctuated only by the eternal repetition of the Jesus Prayer.

This stage is called the guard of the mind. This is a very advanced stage of ascetical and spiritual practice, and attempting to accomplish this prematurely, especially with psychophysical techniques, can cause very serious spiritual and emotional harm to the would-be Hesychast. St Theophan the Recluse once remarked that bodily postures and breathing techniques were virtually forbidden in his youth, since, instead of gaining the Spirit of God, people succeeded only "in ruining their lungs. Books Written ( partial listing there are at least ten altogether) The Spiritual Life and How to Be Attuned To It The Path to Salvation "

The guard of the mind is the practical goal of the Hesychast. It is the condition in which he remains as a matter of course throughout his day, every day until he dies. It is from the guard of the mind that he is raised to contemplation by the Grace of God.

The Hesychast usually experiences the contemplation of God as light, the Uncreated Light of the theology of St Gregory Palamas. The Hesychast, when he has by the mercy of God been granted such an experience, does not remain in that experience for a very long time (there are exceptions—see for example the Life of St Savas the Fool for Christ (14th Century), written by St Philotheos Kokkinos (14th Century)), but he returns 'to earth' and continues to practise the guard of the mind. Philotheus Kokkinos ( Thessaloniki c 1300 &ndash Constantinople 1379 was the Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople for three periods from November 1353

The Uncreated Light that the Hesychast experiences is identified with the Holy Spirit. Experiences of the Uncreated Light are allied to the 'acquisition of the Holy Spirit'. Notable accounts of encounters with the Holy Spirit in this fashion are found in St Symeon the New Theologian's account of the illumination of 'George' (considered a pseudonym of St Symeon himself); in the 'conversation with Motovilov' in the Life of St Seraphim of Sarov (1759 – 1833); and, more recently, in the reminiscences of Elder Porphyrios (Wounded by Love pp. Saint Seraphim of Sarov ( Russian: Серафим Саровский ( July 19, 1759 - January 2 (N A starets (стáрец fem стáреца is an elder of a Russian Orthodox monastery who functions as venerated adviser and teacher 27 – 31).

Orthodox Tradition warns against seeking ecstasy as an end in itself. Religious ecstasy is an Altered state of consciousness characterized by greatly reduced external awareness and expanded interior mental and spiritual awareness which is frequently Hesychasm is a traditional complex of ascetical practices embedded in the doctrine and practice of the Orthodox Church and intended to purify the member of the Orthodox Church and to make him ready for an encounter with God that comes to him when and if God wants, through God's Grace. The goal is to acquire, through purification and Grace, the Holy Spirit and salvation. Any ecstatic states or other unusual phenomena which may occur in the course of Hesychast practice are considered secondary and unimportant, even quite dangerous. Moreover, seeking after unusual 'spiritual' experiences can itself cause great harm, ruining the soul and the mind of the seeker. Such a seeking after 'spiritual' experiences can lead to spiritual delusion (Ru. prelest, Gr. plani)—the antonym of sobriety—in which a person believes himself or herself to be a saint, has hallucinations in which he or she 'sees' angels, Christ, etc. This state of spiritual delusion is in a superficial, egotistical way pleasurable, but can lead to madness and suicide, and, according to the Hesychast fathers, makes salvation impossible.

Mount Athos is a centre of the practice of Hesychasm. St Paisius Velichkovsky and his disciples made the practice known in Russia and Romania, although Hesychasm was already previously known in Russia, as is attested by St Seraphim of Sarov's independent practice of it. Saint Paisius Velichkovsky or Wieliczkowski ( Paisie de la Neamţ in Romanian; Паисий Величковский in Russian; Паїсій A starets (стáрец fem стáреца is an elder of a Russian Orthodox monastery who functions as venerated adviser and teacher Russia (Россия Rossiya) or the Russian Federation ( Rossiyskaya Federatsiya) is a transcontinental Country extending Romania ( dated: Rumania, Roumania Saint Seraphim of Sarov ( Russian: Серафим Саровский ( July 19, 1759 - January 2 (N

Gregory Palamas: defender of Hesychasm

Gregory Palamas
Gregory Palamas

About the year 1337 Hesychasm attracted the attention of a learned member of the Orthodox Church, Barlaam, a Calabrian monk who at that time held the office of abbot in the Monastery of St Saviour's in Constantinople and who visited Mount Athos. Barlaam of Seminara (ca 1290-1348 or Barlaam of Calabria was a Greek / Italian scholar ( Aristotelian scholastic) and clergyman of The Chora Church ( Turkish Kariye Müzesi, Kariye Camii, or Kariye Kilisesi — the Chora Museum Mosque or Church) is considered to Mount Athos was then at the height of its fame and influence under the reign of Andronicus III Palaeologus and under the 'first-ship' of the Protos Symeon. Mount Athos (Όρος Άθως is a mountain on the Peninsula of the same name in Macedonia, of northern Greece, called in Greek Άγιον Andronikos III Palaiologos or Andronicus III Palaeologus ( Greek: Ανδρόνικος Γ' Παλαιολόγος Andronikos III Paleologos; Անդրանիկ On Mount Athos, Barlaam encountered Hesychasts and heard descriptions of their practices, also reading the writings of the teacher in Hesychasm of St Gregory Palamas, himself an Athonite monk. Saint Gregory Palamas (Γρηγόριος Παλαμάς (1296 - 1359 was a monk of Mount Athos in Greece and later the Archbishop of Trained in Western Scholastic theology, Barlaam was scandalized by Hesychasm and began to combat it both orally and in his writings. Scholasticism was the dominant form of theology and philosophy in the Latin West in the Middle Ages, particularly in the 12th 13th and 14th centuries As a private teacher of theology in the Western Scholastic mode, Barlaam propounded a more intellectual and propositional approach to the knowledge of God than the Hesychasts taught.

Barlaam took exception to, as heretical and blasphemous, the doctrine entertained by the Hesychasts as to the nature of the light, the experience of which was said to be the goal of Hesychast practice. Heresy, as a blanket term describes a practice or belief that is labeled as unorthodox Blasphemy is the disrespectful use of the name of one or more gods. It was maintained by the Hesychasts to be of divine origin and to be identical to that light which had been manifested to Jesus' disciples on Mount Tabor at the Transfiguration. In Eastern Orthodox theology, the Tabor Light (also Light of Tabor, Tabor's Light, Taboric Light; Greek: Φῶς του Θαβώρ Mount Tabor ( הר תבור, Greek:) is located in Lower Galilee, at the eastern end of the Jezreel Valley, 17 kilometres (11 mi west of the The Transfiguration of Jesus is an event reported by the Synoptic Gospels in which Jesus is transfigured upon a mountain (,) [2] This Barlaam held to be polytheistic, inasmuch as it postulated two eternal substances, a visible and an invisible God. Polytheism is belief in or worship of multiple Gods (usually assembled in a pantheon) together with associated Mythology and Rituals

On the Hesychast side, the controversy was taken up by St Gregory Palamas, afterwards Archbishop of Thessalonica, who was asked by his fellow monks on Mt Athos to defend Hesychasm from the attacks of Barlaam. Saint Gregory Palamas (Γρηγόριος Παλαμάς (1296 - 1359 was a monk of Mount Athos in Greece and later the Archbishop of St Gregory himself was well-educated in Greek philosophy. St Gregory defended Hesychasm in the 1340s at three different synods in Constantinople, and he also wrote a number of works in its defense. Constantinople (Κωνσταντινούπολις Konstantinoúpolis, or gr ἡ Πόλις hē Polis, Latin: la CONSTANTINOPOLIS

In these works, St Gregory Palamas uses a distinction, already found in the 4th Century in the works of the Cappadocian Fathers, between the energies or operations (Gr. The Cappadocians (or Cappadocian philosophers, Cappadocian Fathers) are significant figures in the history of the Church Fathers, who significantly energeies) of God and the essence of God. St Gregory taught that the energies or operations of God were uncreated. He taught that the essence of God can never be known by his creature even in the next life, but that his uncreated energies or operations can be known both in this life and in the next, and convey to the Hesychast in this life and to the righteous in the next life a true spiritual knowledge of God. In Palamite theology, it is the uncreated energies of God that illumine the Hesychast who has been vouchsafed an experience of the Uncreated Light.

In 1341 the dispute came before a synod held at Constantinople and presided over by the Emperor Andronicus; the synod, taking into account the regard in which the writings of the pseudo-Dionysius were held, condemned Barlaam, who recanted and returned to Calabria, afterwards becoming bishop in the Roman Catholic Church. A synod (also known as a council) is a council of a church, usually a Christian church convened to decide an issue of doctrine administration or application Constantinople (Κωνσταντινούπολις Konstantinoúpolis, or gr ἡ Πόλις hē Polis, Latin: la CONSTANTINOPOLIS Pseudo-Dionysius the Areopagite, also known as Pseudo-Denys, is the anonymous theologian and philosopher of the late 5th to early 6th century whose Corpus Areopagiticum

One of Barlaam's friends, Gregory Akindynos, who originally was also a friend of St Gregory Palamas, took up the controversy, and three other synods on the subject were held, at the second of which the followers of Barlaam gained a brief victory. But in 1351 at a synod under the presidency of the Emperor John VI Cantacuzenus, Hesychast doctrine was established as the doctrine of the Orthodox Church. John VI Kantakouzenos or Cantacuzene ( Greek: Ιωάννης ΣΤ΄ Καντακουζηνός Iōannēs VI Kantakouzēnos) (c

Up to this day, the Latin Rite Catholic Church has never fully accepted Hesychasm [1], especially the distinction between the energies or operations of God and the essence of God, and the notion that those energies or operations of God are uncreated [2]. The Latin Rite is one of the 23 Sui iuris Particular Churches within the Catholic Church. In Latin Rite theology as it has developed since the Scholastic period, the essence of God can be known, but only in the next life; the grace of God is always created; and the essence of God is pure act, so that there can be no distinction between the energies or operations and the essence of God (see, e. g. , the Summa Theologica of St. Thomas Aquinas). The Summa Theologica (or the Summa Theologiae or simply the Summa, written 1265 &ndash 1274) is the most famous Some of these positions depend on Aristotelian metaphysics. Aristotle (Greek Aristotélēs) (384 BC – 322 BC was a Greek philosopher a student of Plato and teacher of Alexander the Great.

The contemporary historians Cantacuzenus and Nicephorus Gregoras deal very copiously with this subject, taking the Hesychast and Barlaamite sides respectively. Nicephorus Gregoras (Νικηφόρος Γρηγοράς (c 1295-1360 Byzantine Historian, man of learning and religious controversialist was born at Heraclea

Notes

  1. ^ Parry (1999), p. 230
  2. ^ Parry (1999), p. 231

References

See also

External links

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