Αρετή και αρετές στη διδασκαλία του Αγίου Γρηγορίου του Παλαμά
Creators: name: Μητραλή, Ειρήνη Χρήστου
Publisher: name: Aristotle University of Thessaloniki
Year: 2009
Subjects: Αρετή
Αρετές
Χάρις
Ακτιστο φως
Θέωση
Αυτεξούσιο
Virtue
Virtues
Grace
Deification

description: Η αρετή κατά τον Αγ. Γρηγόριο τον Παλαμά είναι έμφυτη και πηγάζει από τον ίδιο το Θεό, ως μία των ακτίστων αλλά μεθεκτών ενεργειών του. Ο άνθρωπος κατέχοντας το κατ εικόνα και το αυτεξούσιο καλείται να καλλιεργήσει την υπάρχουσα αρετή η να στραφεί προς το κακό και να ζήσει παρα φύσιν. Η αρετή και οι επιμέρους αρετές ως κλάδοι του δέντρου της αρετής, οδηγούν στη θέωση και τη θέα του ακτίστου φωτός, που είναι προοίμιο του μέλλοντος αιώνος και το ίδιο το φως της Μεταμορφώσεως και όλων των θεοφανειών των αγίων. Οι αρετές ως μέρη του σώματος της αρετής είναι αλληλένδετες και αλληλοσυμπληρούμενες για αυτό και η έλλειψη έστως και μιας ισοδυναμεί με την έλλειψη όλων. Καθοριστικός είναι ο ρόλος του νου που θέτει σε κάθε μέρος του ανρθώπου την αρμόδια αρετή και κυριαρχεί στο σώμα. Η επιστροφή του νου από τη διάχυσή του προς τα έξω και τον κόσμο, στον εαυτό του και το σώμα οδηγεί στην κάθαρση και το φωτισμό με τη συνεργία της χάριτος του Αγ. Πνεύματος άνευ της οποίας δεν μπορεί να επιτευχθεί η αρετή και η θέωση.
description: According to St Gregory Palamas’ teaching virtue is something inbred and originates from God himself, as one of His uncreated but participated divine energies. Man, possessing the “kat’eikona” and his self determination that distinguishes him from the rest of Creation and makes him capable either of improving and increasing virtue- which already exists inside him as a natural situation- or rejecting it and living unnatural. Virtues, as well as all individual virtues, being branches of the tree of virtue lead to deification and vision of uncreated divine light which is foretaste of the irrational and sempiternal light of the future century and same to the light of Transfiguration. Virtues, as parts of the same body, the body of virtue, are interdependent and the complement each other, so omission of even one of them amounts to omission of all of them, something that also happens with the observance of commandments which are necessary for the exercise of virtue. Something that comes out from St Gregory Palamas’ teaching concerning virtues is that all of them are referred as God’s spiritual gifts and have close relationship to uncreated light, as long as the end of them is illumination that implies deification and foretaste of eternal exhilaration. The role of mind (“nous”) is determining in all the process of deification which starts from purification- something that is necessary as man is susceptible to sin and its causes after the original sin- as it rules the body and places every virtue to every body part that befits, controlling the psychosomatic movies of man. In order to manage to purify himself, man has to end passions’ domination with the returning of mind to itself and to body, as well. With that returning and the cooperation of the Grace of Holy Spirit, without which neither virtue is able to be attained nor is deification, man can be led to purification and deification. Body’s participation to deification and not its supplantation or reject is inarguable, as long as body participates in purification and illumination, as well. Hesychasmus, thus, is the most appropriate way of living to achieve deification, which constitutes man’s endmost and highest aim and recall to his first created beauty. St Gregory Palamas’ teaching comprises an amalgamation and condensation of whole Orthodox teaching, containing biblical teaching and the teaching of Fathers of Church, adding his special elements. For that reason and for the connection of moral life with right dogma, teaching of St Gregory Palamas is extremely diachronic and beneficial for every Christian, especially these days that Orthodox people ignore or have no regard for orthodox teaching and Tradition, living in a new barlaamismus, caused by western influence, which exiles God from man’s life and soul, deifying him. Teaching of the Fathers of Church about virtue and virtues, including that of St Gregory Palamas, is the only among others that being animated from Holy Spirit, can remove sin from man and lead him to redemption, purification and consequently deification.