The Logic of Palamism (original) (raw)
Related papers
Epilogue as Prologue While in this tripartite article, I intended to adapt the tradition of scholars of major Christian dogmas, even with lean editorial clarification, yet, my support is in proven empirical science, while setting my limitations by an Apophatic confession of limited knowledge. As a self made catechist and a Coptologist, in the Alexandrian Philiponoi tradition of Severus of Antioch and John Philoponus, founded on the Gospel, whose author taught that, "you have one Instructor, the Christ." Matt 23:10 -- He availed to us the truth necessary for our salvation, joining His Kingdom. Now, as Jesus exclaimed, “Someone touched me; I know that power has gone out from me,” the issue in this event of power (dunami) looks it is a healing electric energy release. The evidence here is if this healing energy or power is not sanctification, let alone Theosis! Plight of Palamite Deification As early as 1900, Max Plank recognized that types of energy are absorbed in definite discrete portions, in 'packets'(defined by particle physics) whose characteristic are not divine, even if healing. The woman was healed but not converted into a saint. While these are too much for Gregory Palamas to learn from the gospel narrative, but dear Fr Meyendorff should have heared of the equation Einstein coined; E= mc>2 Gregory Palamas plight was that a hesychast got stuck with the Hellenistic ideas of human kinship with God's "uncreated energies" ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- "The rehabilitation of Gregory Palamas in the Western Church during the twentieth century is a remarkable event in the history of scholarship, and the inclusion of a volume of Palamas in a series bearing the title "Classics of Western Spirituality" is itself a remarkable symbol of that rehabilitation."-- Jaroslav Pelikan Since Palamas' time until the twentieth century, concludes Jean Meyendorff, that Roman Catholic theologians generally rejected the idea that there is in God a real essence–energies distinction. In their opinion, a real distinction between the essence and the energies of God contradicts the teaching of the First Council of Nicaea on divine unity. John Meyendorff's doctoral dissertation on Palamas is considered to have transformed the opinion of the Western Church regarding Palamism. Before his study of Palamas, Palamism was considered to be a "curious and sui generis example of medieval Byzantium's intellectual decline". Meyendorff's landmark study of Palamas, "set Palamas firmly within the context of Greek patristic thought and spirituality" with the result that Palamism is now generally understood to be "a faithful witness to the long-standing Eastern Christian emphasis on deification (theosis) as the purpose of the divine economy in Christ." Orthodox philosophical theologian David B. Hart expresses doubt "that Palamas ever intended to suggest a real distinction between God's essence and energies." Romanides criticized Meyendorff's understanding of Palamas as flawed. He described Myendorff as engaged in an "obsessed struggle to depict Palamas as an heroic Biblical theologian putting to the sword of Christological Correctives the last remnants of Greek Patristic Platonic Aphophaticism and its supposed linear descendants, the Byzantine Platonic-nominalist humanists. “We perceive the operation of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit to be one and the same, in no respect showing differences or variation; from this identity of operation we necessarily infer the unity of nature.”--St Basil, Letters, NPNF 8, The point here is that Saint Basil argues from the one operation (energeia) to the oneness of the divine essence (ousia). Consequently, we must hold that the divine essence of God and His divine activity are absolutely simple and one. Notice again here that if we were to grant the Palamite error that the operation of God were pluriform, then Saint Basil’s beautiful argument would lead to a conclusion that the divine ousia is pluriform. This would yield a belief in polytheism. For this reason, Catholic theologians have rejected the Palamite teaching and have even labeled as “polytheistic.” Moreover, the Sixth Ecumenical Council dogmatically taught that in Christ there are only two energies/operations/wills, that is, the divine will (in the singular) and the human will (also in the singular). If the divine energy/will were pluriform, then Christ would have several wills (polythelitism). This isn’t biblical, because Christ has only one divine will and only one human will as confirmed by the Sixth Ecumenical Council and revealed by Christ Himself: “Lord not my will be done, but thy will.” Palamism examined in Vatican II An explicit acknowledgement of "the ecclesiastical and spiritual patrimony" of the Eastern Churches, which applies, presumably, also to those parts of the Eastern "patrimony" that have not made as large a contribution to Western spirituality as they should have made. And among these, Hesychasm must hold a notable position, not least because of the misunderstanding, even misinterpretation to which it has been subjected. Yet the Council is both an expression and a source of other changes in the atmosphere. The striking description of Palamite thought as 'personal existentialism', applying the concept of divine 'simplicity' not to the essence but to the personal Divine Being which is revealed both in essence and in free acts—or energies—of God ... [and] thinking of God Himself in existential terms, While, "holding to His absolute transcendence," suggests another source: recognition among all Christian groups of the neglected "existential dimension" in Christian thought. The Roman Catholic Church distinguishes between doctrine, which is single and must be accepted by Roman Catholics, and doctrine's theological elaborations, about which Catholics may legitimately disagree. The Catholic Church recognizes that with respect to the Eastern and Western theological traditions, at times, one tradition may "come nearer to a full appreciation of some aspects of a mystery by revelation than the other, or reveal it to better advantage." In those situations, the Church views the various theological expressions "often as mutually complementary rather than conflicting." Kierkegaard Christian Existentialism Søren Kierkegaard, the Danish Lutheran philosopher, considered the father of existentialism, has assumingly expressed in "Concluding Unscientific Postscript to Philosophical Fragments," an approach to God which holds that the Father's hypostasis (existence) has logical primacy over the Triune divine ousia (essence). This pioneering theological turning point was first developed in "De Trinitatae" by John Philoponus, the first Christian dean of the Neoplatonic Academy of Alexandria in 567. Hence the teaching that the core of existentialist philosophy can be understood as the maxim, "existence precedes essence." This has caused many Western observers to see Eastern Orthodox Christian theology as existentialist (since the Essence–Energies distinction also seem to hold the view). Athanasius eluding Plamism "What Athanasius learned was "a clear recognition of the absolute ontological gulf separating the divine, which consisted simply of the three consubstantial persons of the blessed Trinity, from the creaturely order, which has been created out of nothing by God, and on the other hand an understanding of redemption as wrought by God himself in the incarnation, in which the Son shared the fragility of the human created condition and offered humankind participation in his own blessed life. 'He was made man that we might be made God'-- De Incarnatione verbi dei "Such an emphasis on the gulf between God and humankind called in question Hellenistic ideas of human kinship with God, in virtue of which human beings could attempt to ascend to God. For Athanasius deification no longer meant restoration of our natural state but the realization of a new possibility offered to us by God through the incarnation."--Andrew Louth A Miaphysite Implication The Church of Alexandria, author and defender of Orthodoxy confirms that, "Flesh does not renounce its existence as flesh, even if it has become God's flesh, nor has the Word departed from his nature, even if he has been hypostatically united to flesh which possesses a rational and intelligent soul: but the difference also is preserved, and the propriety in the form of natural characteristics of the natures of which Emmanuel consists, since the flesh was not converted into the nature of the Word, nor was the Word changed into flesh. We mean in the matter of natural characteristics, and not that those which were naturally united are singly and individually separated and divided from one another: this is the assertion of those who cleave our one Lord Jesus Christ into two natures."--Severus of Antioch
During the Transfiguration, the apostles on Tabor, “indeed saw the same grace of the Spirit which would later dwell in them”. The light of grace “illuminates from outside (ἔξωθεν) on those who worthily approached it and sent the illumination to the soul through the sensitive eyes; but today, because it is confounded with us (ἀνακραθὲν ἡμῖν) and exists in us, it illuminates the soul from inward (ἔνδωθεν)”. The opposition between knowledge, which comes from outside (ἔξωθεν) - a human and purely symbolic knowledge - and “intellectual” knowledge, which comes from within (ἔνδωθεν), Meyendorff says what it already exists at Pseudo-Dionysius: “For it is not from without that God stirs them toward the divine. Rather he does so via the intellect and from within and he willingly enlightens them with a ray that is pure and immaterial”. The assertions of the Calabrian philosopher about an “unique knowledge”, common both to the Christians and the Hellenes and pursuing the same goal, the hesychast theologian opposes the reality of the two knowledge, having two distinct purposes and based on two different instruments of perception: “Palamas admitted the authenticity of natural knowledge, however the latter is opposed to the revealed wisdom, that is why it does not provide, by itself, salvation”. Therefore, in the purified human intellect begins to shine of the Trinity light. Purity also depends on the return of the intellect (its proper energy) to itself. In this way, we see how the true knowledge of God is an internal meeting or “inner retrieval” of the whole being of man. As well as in the Syrian mystic, on several occasions we have to make the distinction between the contemplative ways of knowledge: intellection illuminated by grace and spiritual vision without any conceptual or symbolic meaning. For example, Robert Beulay shows that, “The term of ‘intellection’ first of all, is employed by John of Dalyatha to be applied to operations caused by grace”.
Church Studies 15 (2018), 313-327.
In this study, following Gr. Palamas’ treatise entitled Περί θείας ενώσεως και διακρίσεως, our main goal is to examine the objective existence of the divine energies and their relation to the divine essence. The Christian interpretation of the theory on unions and distinctions proves that these are just two different ways of existence, without any ontological difference between each other, as Barlaam and Akindynos suggested. It is remarkable that the understanding of Gr. Palamas’ thought allows us to conclude that he is a consistent researcher, who, on the one hand, follows unchanged philosophical foundations for expressing his theories and, on the other hand, corresponds with the previous Christian tradition.
2018
This Master’s thesis will explicate, analyse and discuss the Orthodox doctrine of the essence/energies distinction in three prominent 20th century theologians, namely, Vladimir Lossky, Kallistos Ware and Dumitru Staniloae. This is urgent because of the central position this doctrine occupies in contemporary Orthodoxy, together with the lack of precision one usually encounters when references are made to this distinction. Methodologically, it will proceed by a careful reading of primary sources in order to explicate and clarify, in each theologian, the most important lines of thought concerning the essence/energies distinction. It will also explicate details which may affect, elucidate, or even put into question, these major lines of thought. As secondary sources, other Orthodox theologians as well as Greek Church fathers will be consulted. Lossky and Staniloae, respectively, present rather clear visions about the relationship between God’s essence and energies. As it turns out their positions are quite far from each other and, at some points, even incommensurable. Ware, on the other hand, affirms traditional and contemporary formulations, yet without providing any clear definition of his own opinion. As regards God’s energies towards creation, the opinions of the three theologians are pretty close; but regarding God’s eternal energies, their differences become apparent. Lossky affirms an antinomic relationship between God’s essence and energies, according to which they are mutually exclusive yet virtually identical. The essence is completely void of activity, whereas all activities are contained by the energies. Thus, even the inter-trinitarian love is outside of the essence. Staniloae affirms, on the contrary, that God’s essence is identical to the divine persons and their communion of inter-trinitarian love, through which they give themselves to each other completely. Ware remains unclear about the precise character of his opinion, and it is virtually impossible to tell whether he would prefer Lossky’s or Staniloae’s solution.
Cambridge Scholars Publishing, 2016
The 13th and 14th centuries represented the most productive and influential period in the history of philosophy and theology in the West. A parallel and less influential (for the West) proliferation of arguments and theories took place in the East, at the same time, as a result of the defence of the Hesychastic movement offered by St Gregory Palamas and his followers. The papers brought together in this volume discuss the importance of Palamite ideas for the understanding of God in terms of divine energies, and for contemporary approaches to solving perennial problems in science, metaphysics, aesthetics, and ethics. Some of the contributors take a more reserved evaluation of the Palamite corpus, preferring to highlight similarities and differences between Palamas and the chief representatives of Medieval Scholasticism, such as Thomas Aquinas, Duns Scotus and Ockham. Other essays offer a radical re-evaluation of the Western history of philosophy and theology, preferring to bring out the reasons for Western philosophical and theological shortcomings and providing a wider critique on Western culture. Contributors to this volume include some of the top scholars on Palamite studies from the fields of philosophy, theology, aesthetics, cultural criticism, and art theory. As such, it represents a particularly useful resource for advanced undergraduate students, postgraduate students and researchers in Christian theology and philosophy, Byzantine cultural studies and aesthetics.
The question on the divine distinction and the divine energies in Gregory Palamas
Philotheos: International Journal for Philosophy and Theology 17 (2017), 72-83.
In this study, focusing our attention on Gr. Palamas’ treatise under the title Περί θείας ενώσεως και διακρίσεως, we attempt to investigate, first of all, the volitional nature and the polymorphism of the divine energies and their relation to the divine essence. We also attempt to approach the divine distinction as a good “procession” and to prove, relying exclusively on the Christian thinker’s text, the inconsistencies according to his view that arise from the positions supported by Barlaam and Akindynos regarding the fact that the (divine) distinction is a creature. Regarding the matter on distinction, we conclude that it is a concept with a clearly different meaning when it comes to divine matters from the meaning that it gets when it concerns the created reality. From the gnoseological point of view, we focus our attention on the fact that the created beings are a source of knowledge for the revealed divine power-energy.