Abstract
Gregory Palamas (1296–1357) is the acknowledged systematizer of Hesychasm. His philosophical–theological synthesis is focused on the so-called “energy” doctrine. According to this doctrine, every existing essence has its powers and expresses two types of energies or activities, which can be defined, respectively, as “causal” and “existential”; though the essence of every being remains unknowable in itself, it becomes knowable by means of its realization in action. The energies of the first type have a beginning and an end in their end product, while the latter are the very life of the essence, their existential expression ad extra. Palamas is regarded as the last teacher of Orthodoxy hitherto, and his doctrine underlies the theological systems of the contemporary Orthodox Churches.
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Kapriev, G. (2017). Gregory Palamas. In: Lagerlund, H. (eds) Encyclopedia of Medieval Philosophy. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-024-1151-5_199-2
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-024-1151-5_199-2
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