St. Gregory Palamas, Divine energies, uncreated light, Tabor light, Palamism, mystical experience, vision of God (theophany), knowledge of God, deification, palamite vs. hesychast controversy

Abstract

This article examines one of the least studied aspects of the theological and philosophical thought of St. Gregory Palamas, viz. his doctrine of the Divine selfcontemplation. This teaching has previously been mentioned only briefl y and shortly by the following scholars: protopresbyter John Romanides, Reinhard Flogaus, Father Dr. Porphyrios (Fadi) Georgi, Mikhail Yuryevich Reutin. However, the topic of the Divine self-contemplation is key to reconstructing the Palamite doctrine of how man perceives the uncreated Divine light (i.e. God). In his refl ections, St. Gregory proceeds from the principle that “like is known by like”. According to this principle, he asserts that the uncreated light cannot be known (or seen) by the created “cognitive faculties” of man (neither by the “intellect”, nor by “sense”), since the uncreated is utterly unlike to the created. Therefore, the light itself becomes for man the “Object”, the “Faculty” and the “Subject” of the vision of God; the light (as “Subject”) contemplates itself (as “Object”) by means of itself (as “Faculty”) “through” (διά) man. Αccording to Palamas, the selfcontemplation of the Divine energy (light) is the eternal life of God. In this context, he speaks of the “self-seeing” (α‘τοπτικόν) and “self-thinking” (α‘τονόητον) light, which sees and thinks itself. The concept of the Divine self-contemplation is closely linked with other concepts of Palamite metaphysics: the Divine self-reversion and the doctrine of the participation of all creation in the “creative” and “deifying” Divine energies. Within the framework of semantic parallels among these concepts, the participation of all creation (both intelligent and non-intelligent) in the “creative energy” (ποιητικ› œνέργεια) can be interpreted as the Divine self-contemplation / selfreversion through all creation, which gives it being and upholds its existence; while the participation of intelligent creation in the “deifying energy” (θεοποι£ς œνέργεια) can be understood as 1) the union of man and angels with the “illuminations” (œλλάμψεις), that is deifi cation, and 2) their vision of the Divine light.