Духовное наследие святителя Григория Паламы и вневременность его учения

In the 14th century, Byzantium was threatened by three dangers: firstly, Western scholasticism, represented by Barlaam, who taught that man cannot truly unite with God, secondly, Ottoman views of Byzantium and, thirdly, Slavic raids on Macedonia, combined with the spirit of self-centeredness and superstition that prevailed in those parts. Such were the circumstances in which Saint Gregory Palamas asceticised. Saint Gregory is venerated by our Church on the Sunday following the Week of the Triumph of Orthodoxy, as an example of Orthodox life and teaching. Indeed, if in his era the views of Varlaam had prevailed, then the life of a Christian would not have been a path to deification, but a simple human movement, devoid of the freshness of the spirit of the Holy Spirit. The personality of the God-seer Saint Gregory Palamas and his Orthodox theology, which is based on the deification of man through uncreated energies in the Church of Christ, make the saint an exceptional phenomenon both in his era and now. Saint Gregory Palamas answers the basic question of every Christian: “Can I see God?” And his answer is this: “Yes, you can see Him in yourself, see Him spiritually, if with all your repentance and humility, with mental pain, you turn your prayer to Him: “Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me.” In his sermons, Saint Gregory never places himself outside of human weakness. He turns to God with strong feeling and deep humility. The more the saint succeeded in asceticism and the more he accepted inner enlightenment, the less he was subject to those weaknesses that are characteristic of human nature. However, his contrition and humility were deeply rooted in him through attention to the movements of the heart. It was for this reason that he felt like a weak sinner and not ready to experience the inner illumination of the Divine Light. Being in such a humble mood, Saint Gregory asked in his prayer: “Most Holy Theotokos, enlighten my darkness.” Saint Gregory unswervingly believed that the purification and healing of a person can be achieved if he engages in mental prayer, which every Christian believer must love and for the sake of acquiring. This is how the saint himself says in a sermon delivered on the second Sunday of Holy Pentecost: “Since the Kingdom of God has come, which is within us and will soon come, let us make ourselves worthy of it through works of repentance. Let us force ourselves to cut off our evil habits and prejudices. Let us be zealous in patience, in humility and in the faith of our fathers. Let us put to death our earthly desires, all evil passion and covetousness, especially in these days of fasting. The Church reminded us of the future Judgment and the expulsion of Adam so that we would become more collected. Let us not indulge in intemperance. Let us not open the door to passions. Let us not destroy our inner harmony with our weaknesses. Let us love the path that leads to eternal life." Describing his joy that the Christians of Thessaloniki gather for divine services where he serves as bishop, St. Gregory writes: “Standing in the sacred church before God with you and turning to look at you, I see how you send up hymns and prayers to God with understanding and tenderness. Or, seeing how one of you stands silently and listens with attention, I immediately become inspired and from this very sight I am filled with joy and glorify the Heavenly Father Christ, without whom man cannot do anything good. Let us also try to help those who see us at the hour when we praise God, so that they too may know that this house has Christ in itself, and from here a person ascends to heaven, where He constantly dwells, from Whom we will receive reward and inheritance.” Can modern man easily sense the relevance contained in this spiritual heritage of St. Gregory Palamas? We certainly believe so. Man's autonomy, his desire for self-sufficiency and independence from God could not give him the answer to his deepest questions and searches. Modern man is experiencing this tragedy, but he does not have the strength to overcome it on his own. Spiritual fragmentation, a feeling of emptiness, loneliness and sorrow prove our divine origin. All people today feel weak in the face of the modern tendency to inculcate the spirit of globalism, which considers man not as an individual, but as a biological unit. Saint Gregory Palamas shows us the path of internal liberation from the modern crisis. According to the teachings of the saint, we ourselves contribute to the confusion that is taking place, since we live a meager spiritual life. Healing can only begin from within ourselves. There, within ourselves, we need to work in order to control our passions and weaknesses in order to regain humility and repentance as the highest values ​​necessary for every human personality. By going through this struggle, we will be able to partake of Christ through our own experience and be enlightened by the uncreated energies of the Holy Spirit. Our own free will is required so that we can open our hearts. We must resort to the humane grace of God through confession, fasting, daily prayerful diligence and reading the Word of God. All these are means that will better prepare us for the Divine Eucharist, which unites us with Christ, whose Body and Blood we partake in this Sacrament. Such spiritual zeal on our part will be the best way to honor the Holy Hierarch of God Gregory Palamas, who undertook so many labors and exploits in order to preserve the undistorted truth in the Church of Christ.