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| The Byzantine Legacy III |
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| In the fourteenth century, the influence of the hesychast(gr. isihia - silence), known as the Jesus Prayer monasticism, which went across linguistic, national and political boundaries, was able to establish a new sense of Orthodox unity and thus to limit the impact of the Western influence. The byzantine hesycahsts were traditional suporters in East of the dogmatic and cannonic riguour before the imperial politics. What is the hesychast movement? In the last years of Andronicos III's reign, a small but influential group of Mount Athos, were perfecting a method of prayer and meditation, which enabled them to see the divine light with mortal eyes, or to become illumined be the aura of Transfiguration. They were known as the hesychasts, the men that leave alone in peace with God. The meditation is not a goal in itself. The goal is to attain the vision of the divine light through which he might attain union, however momentary with God and become itself deified. Deification or theosis was always supposed to be within the reach of a pure heart. The Latins suspected this doctrine to be misguided and dangerous, but the hesychasts of the fourteenth century were not breaking new ground. They were developing the practices and the theology of a long and unbroken Tradition of Orthodox mysticism. They were denounced by an Italian Greek called Barlaam of Calabria, a humanist scholar monk. Barlaam challenged their theology, which was seen by many as being of an outsider into the field of Orthodox truth. The man who rose to the challenge was Gregory Palamas, himself a monk and the main formulator of the hesychast doctrine. Barlaam was supported by his fellow monks at Athos and by John Cantacuzene who, though he admired Barlaam's erudition, believed the theology of the hesychast to be perfectly Orthodox. A council of bishops examined the case was held by the Patriarch, which took place on June 1341. Barlaam was condemned and left for Italy. Two months later another monk rose to challenge the hesychast theology, Gregory Akindynos. In a council held this time chaired by Cantacuzene following the repose of the patriarch Andronicos III. Akindynos was condemned and Palamas again vindicated. The debate had a political turnout of rivalry between the John Cantacuzene and the Patriarch John. The Patriarch made out of Palamas a protege of Cantacuzene, assisted by Gregory Akindynos. Palamas was arrested in Constantinople and then excommunicated. Here Cantacuzene derived for him invaluable benefit having behind him the religious authority of the monks of Mount Athos. His political victory in 22 of May 1347 inevitably entailed the spiritual victory of Hesychasm. The Patriarch was deposed and denounced and his place was taken by a hesychast monk. Saint Gregory Palamas was appointed to the see of Thesalonica. He wrote the Triads in which he treats of the difference between the energy and essence of God. The Bogomils" a Messalian heresy maintained that they can see through prayer the very essence of God. In response to this affirmation |
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