The Doctrines of St. Gregory Palamas and the St. Isaac the Syrian on the Vision of Uncreated Divine Light and the Knowledge of God

This article examines the teachings of St. Gregory Palamas and St. Isaac the Syrian on the vision of the uncreated Divine light and considers the fundamental paradox in Palamas’ theology concerning the ability of a created being to perceive the uncreated. It also provides a detailed analysis of St. Isaac’s doctrine of the “spiritual sense” ( madʕā ) as an organ for perceiving the Divine, which is closely linked to his tripartite anthropology (body, soul, spirit). The research is based on a critical analysis of St. Gregory’s work The Triads in Defense of the Holy Hesychasts and three collections of St. Isaac’s writings, as well as on the consistent application of the findings from the study of St. Isaac’s terminological system, as developed in the monograph St. Isaac the Syrian on Hesychia and the Knowledge of God . A comparative analysis demonstrates that St. Isaac’s conceptual framework helps to clarify and resolve the apparent contradiction found in St. Gregory’s writings. Consequently, a unified picture of the knowledge of God emerges for both Church Fathersas a synergistic process in which the uncreated energy of God encounters the grace-transformed capacity of the human spirit to behold the uncreated light.

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