page_title: Gregory Palamas
section_title: Gradual acceptance of the Palamist doctrine
hierarchical_section_title: Gregory Palamas / The hesychast controversy / Gradual acceptance of the Palamist doctrine
caption_attribution_description: Metropolitan Church of Saint Gregorius Palamas. Thessaloniki, Greece
context_page_description: Gregory Palamas was a Byzantine Greek prominent theologian and ecclesiastical figure of the late Byzantine period. A monk of Mount Athos and later archbishop of Thessaloniki, he is famous for his defense of hesychast spirituality, the uncreated character of the light of the Transfiguration, and the distinction between God's essence and energies. His teaching unfolded over the course of three major controversies, with the Italo-Greek Barlaam between 1336 and 1341, with the monk Gregory Akindynos between 1341 and 1347, and with the philosopher Gregoras, from 1348 to 1355. His theological contributions are sometimes referred to as Palamism, and his followers as Palamites.
  Gregory is venerated since 1368 as a saint in the Eastern Orthodox Church; some Byzantine Catholic Churches, which form part of the communion of the Catholic Church, also venerate him. Some of his writings are collected in the Philokalia, and since the Ottoman period, the second Sunday of Great Lent is dedicated to the memory Gregory Palamas in the Orthodox Church.
context_section_description: Kallistos I and the ecumenical patriarchs who succeeded him mounted a vigorous campaign to have the Palamist doctrines accepted by the other Eastern patriarchates as well as all the metropolitan sees under their jurisdiction.  However, it took some time to overcome initial resistance to his teachings.  For example, the metropolitan of Kiev, upon receiving tomes from Kallistos that expounded the Palamist doctrine, rejected it vehemently and composed a reply in refutation.  Similarly, the patriarchate of Antioch remained steadfastly opposed to what they viewed as an innovation; however, by the end of the fourteenth century, Palamism had become accepted there.  Similar acts of resistance were seen in the metropolitan sees that were governed by the Latins as well as in some autonomous ecclesiastical regions, such as the Church of Cyprus.
  One notable example of the campaign to enforce the orthodoxy of the Palamist doctrine was the action taken by patriarch Philotheos I to crack down on Prochoros Kydones, a monk and priest at Mount Athos who was opposed to the Palamites. Kydones had written a number of anti-Palamist treatises and continued to argue forcefully against Palamism even when brought before the patriarch and enjoined to adhere to the orthodox doctrine.  Finally, in exasperation, Philotheos convened a synod against Kydones in April 1368.  However, even this extreme measure failed to effect the submission of Kydones and in the end, he was excommunicated and suspended from the clergy in perpetuity.  The long tome that was prepared for the synod concludes with a decree canonizing Palamas who had died in 1357/59.
  Despite the initial opposition of some patriarchates and sees, over time the resistance dwindled away and ultimately Palamist doctrine became accepted throughout the Eastern Orthodox Church.  During this period, it became the norm for ecumenical patriarchs to profess the Palamite doctrine upon taking possession of their see.
  Martin Jugie states that the opposition of the Latins and the Latinophrones, who were necessarily hostile to the doctrine, actually contributed to its adoption, and soon Latinism and Antipalamism became equivalent in the minds of many Orthodox Christians.
  According to Aristeides Papadakis, "all Orthodox scholars who have written on Palamas — Lossky, Krivosheine, Papamichael, Meyendorff, Christou — assume his voice to be a legitimate expression of Orthodox tradition."
caption: Metropolitan Church of Saint Gregory Palamas in Thessaloniki (arch. Ernst Ziller), where his relics are kept.
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