What is neo Palamism?

20th century Eastern Orthodox theology has been dominated by neo-Palamism, the revival of St. Palamas and hesychasm. A significant component of this re-engagement with the Greek Fathers has been a rediscovery of Palamas by Greek theologians; Palamas had previously been given less attention than the other Fathers.

What is Hesychast spirituality?

Hesychasm, in Eastern Christianity, type of monastic life in which practitioners seek divine quietness (Greek hēsychia) through the contemplation of God in uninterrupted prayer. Such prayer, involving the entire human being—soul, mind, and body—is often called “pure,” or “intellectual,” prayer or the Jesus Prayer. St.

Is hesychasm Catholic?

It is also assumed in the hesychast texts that the hesychast is a member of the Orthodox Church in good standing.

What is the mantra used in the Hesychast tradition?

In solitude and retirement, the hesychast repeats the Jesus Prayer, “Lord Jesus Christ, son of God, have mercy on me, the sinner.” The hesychast prays the Jesus Prayer ‘with the heart’—with meaning, with intent, “for real” (see ontic).

What is the filioque clause Why is it important?

Filioque, (Latin: “and from the Son”), phrase added to the text of the Christian creed by the Western church in the Middle Ages and considered one of the major causes of the schism between the Eastern and Western churches.

What caused the filioque controversy?

According to John Meyendorff, and John Romanides the Western efforts to get Pope Leo III to approve the addition of Filioque to the Creed were due to a desire of Charlemagne, who in 800 had been crowned in Rome as Emperor, to find grounds for accusations of heresy against the East.

What was the filioque controversy over?

The history of the filioque controversy is the historical development of theological controversies within Christianity regarding three distinctive issues: the orthodoxy of the doctrine of procession of the Holy Spirit as represented by the Filioque clause, the nature of anathemas mutually imposed by conflicted sides …

What is the meaning of filioque clause?

from] the son
The Latin term filioque means “and [from] the son,” referring to whether the Holy Spirit “proceeds” from the Father alone or both from the Father and the Son. In the Orthodox tradition, the Nicene Creed reads, “We believe in the Holy Spirit …

What was the Palamite controversy?

The Palamite controversy was definitively settled in 1368 with the canonization of Palamas and the condemnation of some of his early Byzantine Thomist critics. The issue lay dormant in Eastern theology, until the so-called “neo-Patristic” revival of Eastern Orthodox theology in the early twentieth century.

What is Palamism in the Orthodox Church?

Palamism is a central element of Eastern Orthodox theology, being made into dogma in the Eastern Orthodox Church by the Hesychast councils. Palamism has been described as representing “the deepest assimilation of the monastic and dogmatic traditions, combined with a repudiation of the philosophical notion of…

Why did Palamas condemn Barlaam’s argument against God?

Although this condemnation was solid Eastern Orthodox theology, Palamas took issue with Barlaam’s argument in support of it, since Barlaam declared efforts at demonstrating the nature of God (specifically, the nature of the Holy Spirit) should be abandoned, because God is ultimately unknowable and undemonstrable to humans.

What is the best book on the debate about Palamism?

“The Debate About Palamism.” Eastern Churches Review 9 (1977): 45–63. Williams, A. N. The Ground of Union: Deification in Aquinas and Palamas. New York: Oxford Uni- versity Press, 1999. Williams, Rowan. “The Philosophical Structures of Palamism.”