Gregory Palamas

Gregory Palamas was a prominent Byzantine theologian and defender of the mystical practice of Hesychasm, which involves contemplation of God through prayer, bodily postures, and controlled breathing. He was born in Constantinople to a noble family and received a classical education. He renounced worldly life and joined a monastic community on Mount Athos, where he learned the Hesychast method from his spiritual father, Nicodemos. He became an influential leader and writer of the Hesychast movement, which faced opposition from some theologians who considered it heretical. Palamas engaged in several debates and polemics with his opponents, especially Barlaam of Calabria, who accused him of idolatry and pantheism. Palamas defended the Hesychast doctrine that the light of the Transfiguration of Christ was uncreated and that the human intellect could experience it through grace. He also distinguished between God's essence, which is inaccessible and incomprehensible, and God's energies, which are the manifestations of His will and grace that can be perceived and participated in by the faithful. Palamas's teachings were affirmed by several synods and councils, and he was eventually canonized as a saint by the Orthodox Church. He is regarded as one of the greatest theologians of Eastern Christianity and a pillar of Orthodoxy. His feast day is celebrated on the second Sunday of Great Lent.