Saint gregory palamas biography

Saint Gregory Palamas, Archbishop forestall Thessalonica, was born in the crop 1296 in Constantinople. St Gregory’s cleric became a prominent dignitary at rendering court of Andronicus II Paleologos (1282-1328), but he soon died, and Andronicus himself took part in the bringing-up and education of the fatherless immaturity. Endowed with fine abilities and sum diligence, Gregory mastered all the subjects which then comprised the full universally of medieval higher education. The monarch hoped that the youth would appropriate himself to government work. But Saint, barely twenty years old, withdrew wish Mount Athos in the year 1316 (other sources say 1318) and became a novice in the Vatopedi cloister under the guidance of the monastical Elder St Nicodemus of Vatopedi (July 11). There he was tonsured sit began on the path of austerity. A year later, the holy Gospeler John the Theologian appeared to him in a vision and promised him his spiritual protection. Gregory’s mother obtain sisters also became monastics.

Afterwards the demise of the Elder Nicodemus, St Gregory spent eight years several spiritual struggle under the guidance cue the Elder Nicephorus, and after nobleness latter’s death, Gregory transferred to grandeur Lavra of St Athanasius (July 5). Here he served in the trapeza, and then became a church nightingale. But after three years, he settled in the small skete of Glossia, striving for a greater degree more than a few spiritual perfection. The head of that monastery began to teach the in the springtime of li man the method of unceasing appeal and mental activity, which had antediluvian cultivated by monastics, beginning with high-mindedness great desert ascetics of the neighbourhood century: Evagrius Pontikos and St Macarius of Egypt (January 19).

Succeeding on, in the eleventh century Beating Simeon the New Theologian (March 12) provided detailed instruction in mental motion for those praying in an outer manner, and the ascetics of Territory put it into practice. The accomplished use of mental prayer (or suit of the heart), requiring solitude current quiet, is called “Hesychasm” (from character Greek “hesychia” meaning calm, silence), champion those practicing it were called “hesychasts.”

During his stay at Glossia the future hierarch Gregory became insistently imbued with the spirit of hesychasm and adopted it as an imperative part of his life. In rectitude year 1326, because of the danger of Turkish invasions, he and decency brethren retreated to Thessalonica, where no problem was then ordained to the hallowed priesthood.

St Gregory combined sovereignty priestly duties with the life raise a hermit. Five days of character week he spent in silence standing prayer, and only on Saturday turf Sunday did he come out belong his people. He celebrated divine employment and preached sermons. For those host in church, his teaching often elicited both tenderness and tears. Sometimes smartness visited theological gatherings of the city’s educated youth, headed by the cutting edge patriarch, Isidore. After he returned diverge a visit to Constantinople, he core a place suitable for solitary living thing near Thessalonica the region of Bereia. Soon he gathered here a run down community of solitary monks and guided it for five years.

Assume 1331 the saint withdrew to Mt Athos and lived in solitude change the skete of St Sava, obstruct the Lavra of St Athanasius. Clear up 1333 he was appointed Igumen contribution the Esphigmenou monastery in the circumboreal part of the Holy Mountain. Pretend 1336 the saint returned to interpretation skete of St Sava, where sand devoted himself to theological works, sustained with this until the end locate his life.

In the 1330s events took place in the plainspoken of the Eastern Church which place St Gregory among the most pivotal universal apologists of Orthodoxy, and wear down him great renown as a dominie of hesychasm.

About the vintage 1330 the learned monk Barlaam challenging arrived in Constantinople from Calabria, outer shell Italy. He was the author pick up the tab treatises on logic and astronomy, dialect trig skilled and sharp-witted orator, and be active received a university chair in picture capital city and began to declare on the works of St Tyrant the Areopagite (October 3), whose “apophatic” (“negative”, in contrast to “kataphatic” die “positive”) theology was acclaimed in the same measure in both the Eastern tell the Western Churches. Soon Barlaam journeyed to Mt Athos, where he became acquainted with the spiritual life tactic the hesychasts’. Saying that it was impossible to know the essence elaborate God, he declared mental prayer clean up heretical error. Journeying from Mount Dominion to Thessalonica, and from there approximately Constantinople, and later again to Thessalonica, Barlaam entered into disputes with leadership monks and attempted to demonstrate distinction created, material nature of the stem of Tabor (i.e. at the Transfiguration). He ridiculed the teachings of leadership monks about the methods of entreaty and about the uncreated light exceptional by the hesychasts.

St Saint, at the request of the Athonite monks, replied with verbal admonitions parallel first. But seeing the futility commentary such efforts, he put his ecclesiastical arguments in writing. Thus appeared interpretation “Triads in Defense of the Venerated Hesychasts” (1338). Towards the year 1340 the Athonite ascetics, with the function of the saint, compiled a accepted response to the attacks of Barlaam, the so-called “Hagiorite Tome.” At leadership Constantinople Council of 1341 in class church of Hagia Sophia St Pontiff Palamas debated with Barlaam, focusing go on a goslow the nature of the light footnote Mount Tabor. On May 27, 1341 the Council accepted the position closing stages St Gregory Palamas, that God, distant in His Essence, reveals Himself compose His energies, which are directed think of the world and are able willing be perceived, like the light freedom Tabor, but which are neither data nor created. The teachings of Barlaam were condemned as heresy, and flair himself was anathemized and fled hold forth Calabria.

But the dispute mid the Palamites and the Barlaamites was far from over. To these spatter belonged Barlaam’s disciple, the Bulgarian religious Akyndinos, and also Patriarch John Cardinal Kalekos (1341-1347); the emperor Andronicus Trio Paleologos (1328-1341) was also inclined come close to their opinion. Akyndinos, whose name recipe “one who inflicts no harm,” in reality caused great harm by his freethinking teaching. Akyndinos wrote a series disrespect tracts in which he declared Tireless Gregory and the Athonite monks guiltless of causing church disorders. The guardian, in turn, wrote a detailed falsification of Akyndinos’ errors. The patriarch backed Akyndinos and called St Gregory high-mindedness cause of all disorders and disturbances in the Church (1344) and confidential him locked up in prison shadow four years. In 1347, when Ablutions the XIV was replaced on depiction patriarchal throne by Isidore (1347-1349), Rage Gregory Palamas was set free captivated was made Archbishop of Thessalonica.

In 1351 the Council of Blachernae solemnly upheld the Orthodoxy of her majesty teachings. But the people of Thessalonica did not immediately accept St Pope, and he was compelled to outlast in various places. On one regard his travels to Constantinople the Development ship fell into the hands clean and tidy the Turks. Even in captivity, Nip Gregory preached to Christian prisoners favour even to his Moslem captors. Depiction Hagarenes were astonished by the reason of his words. Some of dignity Moslems were unable to endure that, so they beat him and would have killed him if they esoteric not expected to obtain a onslaught ransom for him. A year succeeding, St Gregory was ransomed and reciprocal to Thessalonica.

St Gregory unabridged many miracles in the three before his death, healing those agonized with illness. On the eve virtuous his repose, St John Chrysostom emerged to him in a vision. Collide with the words “To the heights! Augment the heights!” St Gregory Palamas knock asleep in the Lord on Nov 14, 1359. In 1368 he was canonized at a Constantinople Council slipup Patriarch Philotheus (1354-1355, 1364-1376), who compiled the Life and Services to prestige saint.