Biography

Born in 1296, St. Gregory Palamas became a bold proponent of Hesychasm. In 1338, he wrote Apology for the Holy Hesychasts. He left politics to become a monk. As a mystic, Palamas sought to remove the gap between God and our human nature through a specific and purposeful posture of prayer that would lead one to a"divine light." Palamas also taught that to achieve this light, one had to reject materialism. He died in Thessalonica in 1359. Nine years after his death, he was given the title of Saint. The church regarded Palamas as the"Father and Doctor of the Orthodox Church."

Wailand Groenendyk
CCEL Staff Writer