Commemoration Day: November 14 (27)
Biography
The Path to Monasticism
Saint Gregory Palamas came from a well-known aristocratic family (in the late 12th century, the saint's ancestors moved to Constantinople from the territory of Asia Minor). The approximate date of his birth is considered to be 1296.
Gregory's father, Constantine Palamas, an influential senator, was among the nobility close to the imperial court. On his deathbed, repenting of his sins, he took monastic vows. After his repose in 1301, the reigning emperor, Andronikos II, took his son, Gregory Palamas, under his personal care and patronage.
During that period, a friendly relationship developed between the orphaned Gregory and the future emperor, Andronikos III, as close as the rules of subordination allowed. Subsequently, Andronikos repeatedly provided him with help and assistance.
According to his social status, Gregory received an excellent education. Having the opportunity to study at the imperial university, he mastered disciplines such as grammar, rhetoric, physics, and logic. Given the position in society that Gregory held, an enviable career could have opened up before him, but he preferred spiritual life to worldly well-being.
It is difficult to say exactly when he seriously considered monasticism. It is only known that during his studies he had communication with the monks of Mount Athos. This communication had a most positive effect on him: he changed his attitude towards life and restructured his behavior model.
The Angelic Habit
By various accounts, at the age of 18-20, Gregory, having decided to withdraw from worldly temptations and dedicate his life to ascetic struggle, set out for Athos.
In doing so, he renounced the property inherited from his father and persuaded his mother and other family members, as well as some servants, to leave meaningless vanity, renounce the blessings of this world, and enter the monasteries of Constantinople.
The emperor viewed Gregory's plan without much joy or sympathy. Whether not fully realizing the seriousness of his intentions or not wanting to lose a loyal and promising subject, he did not want to let Gregory go. But Gregory was persistent and eventually succeeded.
On the way to Athos, where Gregory went with his two brothers, Theodosios and Makarios, all three stopped at Mount Papikon. By God's providence, they spent several months in those parts. There is a tradition that when Gregory entered into a dispute with the local Bogomils (regarding prayer), he was almost poisoned.
Finally reaching Athos, Gregory placed himself under the spiritual guidance of the wise and experienced ascetic, St. Nikodemos of Vatopedi. After a two-year period of testing through obedience, monastic hardships, and temptations, he took monastic vows.
After the blessed repose of his mentor, St. Nikodemos, Gregory, with the blessing of the authorities, entered the Lavra of St. Athanasios. The abbot of the monastery assigned him to the choir. In this Lavra, in fasting, obedience, and prayer, he labored for three years, and then, guided by the best intentions, withdrew for ascetic endeavors to the wilderness of Glossia. Here his spiritual mentor was the well-known man of God, Gregory Drimys.
After a couple of years (approximately around 1325), in order to avoid the consequences of Turkish raids, Gregory, along with eleven other monks, moved to Thessaloniki. From there, the brethren planned to move to Jerusalem. But the Lord intervened: the friends were held in place by an apparition of the patron saint of Thessaloniki, the Great Martyr Demetrios.
Priestly Ministry
Remaining in place, Gregory, to the joy of the brethren, was deemed worthy of elevation to the priesthood.
Around 1326, he withdrew to a mountain located near Verria. There he lived the life of an ascetic, engaged in prayerful labor, devoted himself to toil, vigil, and fasting; on Saturdays and Sundays, he would go out to the local hermits.
The death of his mother prompted Gregory to interrupt his seclusion. In 1331, he departed for Constantinople. Arriving in the capital and meeting with his sisters—who were nuns—he had a serious conversation with them, and then, to their general joy, took them with him to Verria. After some time, the eldest sister, Epicharida, died.
It is probable that even before his departure for the Byzantine capital, Father Gregory had become acquainted with Akindynos, a teacher of grammar. There is reason to believe that for some time Father Gregory was his mentor, and that it was he who helped him to choose in favor of monasticism.
In 1331, Gregory Palamas returned to the Holy Mountain and settled in the wilderness of St. Savva. During this period, he was engaged in writing.
There is evidence that for some time Father Gregory served as abbot of the Esphigmenou monastery.
Disputes Concerning the Divine Light
In the second half of the 1330s, the Orthodox Church encountered another false teaching. Its authorship belonged to Barlaam of Calabria. The immediate impetus that led him to formulate this heresy was his conversations with Thessalonian hesychast monks, who testified that during deep, concentrated prayer it is possible to behold the Divine Light.
Barlaam, who had never experienced anything similar (which corresponded perfectly to the level of his spiritual maturity), regarded these testimonies with distrust and even mockery. He accused the monks of the heresy of Messalianism, not realizing that he was attacking the most valuable aspect of their ascetic experience: the experience of encounters and communion with God (the adherents of Messalianism also beheld visions, but not of a Divine, but of a demonic nature).
Not limiting himself to criticizing the monks, Barlaam began to criticize some patristic writings as well. The ensuing disputes reached the Patriarch, and he, to avoid disturbing the church order, commanded Barlaam not to trouble the monks with his "denunciations."
In 1337, Gregory Palamas, who had arrived in Thessaloniki, attempted through personal communication to reason with Barlaam and persuade him to renounce his blasphemy. But Barlaam had no intention of renouncing. On the contrary, he began to expound his thoughts in written treatises, wishing to acquaint as many people as possible with them.
The result of the development of this false teaching was the denial of the indisputable fact that in God, essence and energies are distinguished. Since the Divine essence is invisible, and no creature can be united with God in essence, it followed, according to the heretics, that God cannot be beheld in light or in any other way, and that union with Him is impossible in principle. And this, despite the fact that union with God in the Kingdom of Heaven is the primary object of Christian hope.
Unwilling to accept this state of affairs, Father Gregory wrote a series of responses against Barlaam's teaching. In these works, he proved the correctness of the beholders of the Divine Light and exposed the heretic.
In 1341, a Council was convened in Constantinople regarding this matter. Gregory Palamas, who was present at the Council, explained and substantiated his point of view. His teaching was recognized as correct, and Barlaam's teaching was condemned (although he himself was not anathematized).
Soon, another Council session was held in Constantinople, attended by Gregory Akindynos. Initially, he participated in the heated disputes as a peacemaker, but then he took Barlaam's side. At the Council, however, he was present as the accused. Despite his resistance and declaration of violence against his conscience, he was condemned.
After these events, Father Gregory remained in the capital for some time. This was due to difficulties that arose in the sphere of state governance after the death of Andronikos III. Besides officials, representatives of the higher clergy, including Patriarch John Kalekas, were drawn into this situation.
Participation in these events did not correspond to Gregory Palamas's monastic aspirations. At the end of the year, he distanced himself from these political events and withdrew to the monastery of Saint Michael of Sosthenion.
The Patriarch, annoyed by Gregory's unwillingness to support his political ambitions, began to act against the "offender." As if in retaliation, he changed his attitude towards Akindynos and gave him the opportunity to spread the teaching condemned by the Council.
In 1342, John Kalekas convened a Synod against Saint Gregory. This session did not have serious consequences, nevertheless, the clouds were gathering. A few months later, Gregory Palamas was brought to Constantinople, where he was imprisoned in a monastery. The confinement did not last long, and soon the sufferer was transferred to another monastery.
Some time later, Gregory left the monastery. Arriving at the Church of Hagia Sophia, he used it as a more or less safe refuge, remaining there with his disciples for two months. Then the Patriarch nevertheless forced Gregory to leave the church, after which he was imprisoned in the palace dungeon.
In 1344, the Synod convened by the Patriarch decreed the excommunication of Saint Gregory from the Church. This decision was confirmed by the heads of the Local Churches of Jerusalem and Antioch.
In the same year, despite the condemnation of Akindynos (in 1341), the Patriarch, to the surprise of many, ordained him as a deacon and then elevated him to the priesthood. Emboldened by high support and his hierarchical rank, Akindynos began to oppose Gregory Palamas in the struggle against the heresy with even greater vehemence.
Soon the Patriarch fell into disfavor with the imperial court, and he was reminded of the ordination of the heretic. In 1347, a Council was held that deposed him from the patriarchal throne. The Council cleared Gregory Palamas of the charges and condemned his ideological opponents. Soon the decision to condemn Akindynos was reinforced by the authority of the imperial power.
Isidore, elected to the patriarchal cathedra, ordained several bishops from among Gregory Palamas's supporters and elevated him to the metropolitan see of Thessaloniki.
Episcopal Ministry
Saint Gregory reached Thessaloniki only several years later, after the suppression of the rebellious unrest that had erupted there and the restoration of proper administrative order.
Meanwhile, discontent was growing in the highest circles of the clergy regarding the appointment of Isidore to the Patriarchal throne and the rehabilitation of Gregory Palamas. Accusations began to pour down upon the saint once again.
As a precaution, the opposition distanced themselves from Akindynos, but they did not abandon his false ideas. Disputes flared up again. This time, the role of the leading polemicist from the opponents of Gregory Palamas fell to Nikephoros Gregoras. He composed a rather sharp work against the saint, but the saint skillfully exposed his arguments.
In 1351, another Council was convened, confirming the orthodoxy of Gregory Palamas. The result of the Council's work was the final affirmation of the dogmatic teaching on the distinction in God between essence and energies, and on the uncreated origin of the Divine Light; the "Synodal Tome against the followers of Barlaam and Akindynos" was signed by Patriarch Kallistos of Constantinople and (then Metropolitans) Gregory Palamas and Philotheos Kokkinos. The "Synodikon of the Triumph of Orthodoxy" was also supplemented.
In the autumn of the same year, Gregory Palamas reached his see, but he governed it for only a short time. To help settle the internal political struggle that had flared up, he departed for Constantinople. On the way, he and his companions were captured by Turks. He remained in captivity for several months (according to some accounts, about a year), until he was freed for a ransom.
Between 1355 and 1357, Saint Gregory was engaged in the affairs of the diocese entrusted to him. It is reported that God performed healings through his prayers.
The blessed repose of the saint occurred on November 14, 1357 (according to other sources, 1359), when he was 63 years old. His glorification (canonization) was performed in 1368, less than ten years after his repose.
Literary Legacy
Saint Gregory left an extensive legacy for the edification of the faithful. He is rightfully considered the theologian of the Uncreated Light. Meanwhile, the palette of his writings is much broader. They are traditionally divided into the following groups.
Dogmatic-Polemical: The Hagioritic Tome in Defense of the Holy Hesychasts; Treatise [On How] Barlaam and Akindynos Truly Impiously and Ungodly Divide the One Godhead into Two Unequal Deities; Triads in Defense of the Holy Hesychasts; On the Divine Energies and Their Participation; On Divine Union and Distinction; Confession of the Orthodox Faith; Dialogue of an Orthodox with a Barlaamite; Antirrhetics against Akindynos; One Hundred and Fifty Chapters dealing with natural, theological, and moral subjects; Dialogue of the Orthodox Theophanes with Theotimos, who returned from the Barlaamites; On the Divine and Deifying Participation, or On the Divine and Supernatural Simplicity; Disputation with the Chionae; Homilies; etc.
Moral-Ascetical: Exposition of the Ten Commandments; That All Christians in General Ought to Pray Without Ceasing; To Xenia on the Passions and Virtues; The Decalogue according to the Christian Law; Discourse on the Life of St. Peter of Athos; Reply to Paul Asen; etc.
Letters: Letter to His Church; Letter to Akindynos, sent from Thessaloniki before the synodal condemnation of Barlaam and Akindynos; etc.
Prayers: Prayer to the Most Holy Theotokos.