Today is the Sunday of St. Gregory Palamas. 

Troparion - Tone 8 

O light of Orthodoxy, teacher of the Church,
its confirmation,
O ideal of monks
and invincible champion of theologians,
O wonder-working Gregory,
glory of Thessalonica and preacher of grace,
always intercede before the Lord
that our souls may be saved.

Kontakion - Tone 4

Now is the time for action!
Judgment is at the doors!
So let us rise and fast,
offering alms with tears of compunction
and crying:
“Our sins are more in number
than the sands of the sea;
but forgive us, O Master of All,
so that we may receive the incorruptible crowns.”

Kontakion - Tone 8

Holy and divine instrument of wisdom,
joyful trumpet of theology,
together we sing your praises, O God-inspired Gregory.
Since you now stand before the Original Mind,
guide our minds to Him, O Father,
so that we may sing to you: “Rejoice, preacher of grace.”

Preacher of Light

Now is the truly great preacher of the Radiant Light
led by the Source of Light to the never-setting Light.

Read from the Lenten Synaxarion.

Partakers of the Divine Nature

And today we remember the name of Saint Gregory Palamas, one of the great Saints of Orthodoxy, who against heresy and doubt, proclaimed, from within the experience of the ascetics and of all believers, that the grace of God is not a created Gift - it is God Himself, communicating Himself to us so that we are pervaded by His presence, that we gradually, if we only receive Him, open ourselves to Him, become transparent or at least translucent to His light, that we become incipiently and ever increasingly partakers of the Divine nature.

This is not simply a promise; this is a certainty which we have because this has happened to thousands and thousands of those men and women whom we venerate as the Saints of God: they have become partakers of the Divine nature, they are to us a revelation and certainty of what we are called to be and become.

And today one step more brings us into the joy, the glory of Easter.

~ from a sermon by Metropolitan Anthony of Sourozh given on the Sunday of St. Gregory Palamas. He gives a nice summary of where we are at now in the Great Fast, what has passed and what is to come.

The Kingdom of God is Within You

Since the Logos of God though His descent to us has brought the kingdom of heaven close to us, let us not distance ourselves from it by leading an unrepentant life. Let us rather flee the wretchedness of those who sit `in darkness and the shadow of death’ (Isa. 9:2). Let us acquire the fruits of repentance: a humble disposition, compunction and spiritual grief, a gentle and merciful heart that loves righteousness and pursues purity, peaceful, peace-making, patient in toil, glad to endure persecution, loss, outrage, slander and suffering for the sake of truth and righteousness. For the kingdom of heaven or, rather, the King of heaven - ineffable in His generosity - is within us (cf. Luke 17:21); and to Him we should cleave through acts of repentance and patient endurance, loving as much as we can Him Who so dearly has loved us.

~ St. Gregory Palamas, Philokalia, vol. 4, c/o Gleanings

Hymns to St. Gregory from the Lenten Triodion

Tone 2

What hymns of praise shall we sing to honor
the holy bishop?
He is the trumpet of theology,
the flaming mouthpiece of grace,
the chosen vessel of the Spirit,
the unshakeable pillar of the Church,
the great joy of the inhabited earth,
the river of wisdom, the candlestick of the light,
the shining star that has made all creation bright.

What garlands of song shall we weave for the holy bishop?
He is the champion of true worship, the foe of ungodliness,
the fervent defender of the faith,
the great guide and teacher, the well-tuned harp of the Spirit,
the golden tongue, the fountain flowing with healing
for the faithful,
the great and wonderful Gregory.

How shall we who dwell on earth praise the holy bishop?
He is the Church’s teacher, the herald of the Uncreated Light,
the initiate of the Trinity’s heavenly mysteries,
the adornment of the monastic life,
renowned alike in action and contemplation:
Gregory, the pride of Thessalonica.

Tone 6

O thrice-blessed saint, most holy father,
good shepherd, disciple of Christ the Chief Shepherd.
Like Him you gave your life for your sheep.
By your intercessions, O God-bearing father Gregory,
may great mercy be granted to our souls.

Hesychasm

For God is silence, and in silence is he sung by means of that psalmody which is worthy of Him. I am not speaking of the silence of the tongue, for if someone merely keeps his tongue silent, without knowing how to sing in mind and spirit, then he is simply unoccupied and becomes filled with evil thoughts: …There is a silence of the tongue, there is a silence of the whole body, there is a silence of the soul, there is the silence of the mind, and there is the silence of the spirit.

~ John the Solitary, On Prayer

Hesychasm (Greek ησυχασμός hesychasmos, from ησυχία hesychia, “stillness, rest, quiet”) is an eremitic tradition of prayer in Eastern Orthodox Christianity practised (Gk: ησυχάζω hesychazo: “to keep stillness”) by the Hesychast (Gr. ησυχαστής hesychastes).

~ definition from Wikipedia

In addition to the Wikipedia article on hesychasm, see also the Medieval Sourcebook, especially the quotes from the Fathers.

St. Gregory’s Life and Teachings

The historical situation of St. Gregory was complex, as were the theological questions he answered. A good introduction is Light for the World by Fr. Bassam A. Nassif. It was originally published in Again. From the article:

The Presence of God in Prayer

In his Triads, Palamas interpreted the experience of the Church by presenting logical arguments, based on the Scripture and the writings of the Fathers. Addressing the question of how it is possible for humans to have knowledge of a transcendent and unknowable God, he drew a distinction between knowing God in His essence, or nature, and knowing God in His energies, actions, or the means by which He acts.

To elaborate more, he made a comparison between God and the sun. The sun has its rays, God has His energies (among them, grace and light). By His energies, God creates, sustains, and governs the universe. By His energies, He transforms creation and deifies it, that is, He fills the new creation with His energies as water fills a sponge. These actions or energies of God are the true revelation of God Himself to humanity. So God is incomprehensible and unknowable in His nature or essence, but knowable in His energies. It is through His actions out of His love to the whole creation that God enters into a direct and immediate relationship with mankind, a personal confrontation between creature and Creator.

Towards the year 1340 the Athonite ascetics, with St. Gregory’s assistance, compiled a general reply to the attacks of Barlaam, the so-called Hagiorite Tome. Since the heated arguments flared everywhere in the churches, a general council was held at Constantinople in the year 1341. In front of hundreds of bishops and monastics, St. Gregory Palamas held an open debate with Barlaam in the halls of the Great Church of Hagia Sophia. On May 27, 1341, the council accepted the position of St. Gregory Palamas that God, unapproachable in His essence, reveals Himself through His energies, which are directed towards the world and are able to be perceived, like the light of Tabor, but which are neither material nor created. The teachings of Barlaam were condemned as heresy, and he himself was anathematized and returned to Calabria.

Second Triumph of Orthodoxy

But the dispute between the Palamites and the Barlaamites was far from finished. Politics came into play, and the politicians used the disputed religious issue as a threatening tool against those who supported Palamas. The great turmoil led to five consecutive church councils…

In 1351, a sixth and final council was held to settle the heated controversial issues in the church. The Council of Blachernae solemnly upheld the orthodoxy of Palamas’ teachings and anathematized and excommunicated those who refused them. The anathemas of the council of 1351 were included in the rite for the Sunday of Orthodoxy in the Triodion. This council was considered the second triumph of Orthodoxy (the first being the restoration of icons). Later on, the memory of St. Gregory Palamas came to be celebrated in the Church on the second Sunday of Great Lent.

St. Seraphim of Sarov

When learning about the uncreated light, it is good to keep in mind St. Seraphim of Sarov’s Conversation with Motovilov.

Read some additional quotations by and about St. Gregory Palamas.