Hezichastų kontroversija kartų kaitos požiūriu. Pirmoji Karta: Palama vs Barlaamas
The Hesychastic Controversy in the Context of the Change of Generations. The First Generation: Palamas vs Barlaam

Summary/Abstract: This series of articles is devoted to the issue of the Hesychastic controversy, which is analyzed in the context of the change of generations. The Hesychastic controversy took place in the 14th century in Byzantium, and it was one of the most complex phenomena of the late Middle Ages, encompassing a whole spectrum of theological, philosophical, social, ethical and historical points. In general, three generations may be discerned that participated in the debate. The first was the most important, and the main figure in that generation was Gregory Palamas. Palamas had three main opponents during his lifetime: Barlaam, Akindynos and Nikephoros Gregoras. The questions debated with each of them were rather different, and the whole atmosphere of the debate was quite distinct in each case. In the first article of the series, entitled “The Hesychastic Controversy in the Context of the Change of Generations. The First Generation: Palamas vs Barlaam”, Palamas’ discussion with the first of his adversaries, Barlaam of Calabria, is analyzed. Personalities, the historical situation of the period and the spiritual atmosphere are touched on, and the main points of disagreement between two exceptional persons of that time are presented. The emphasis is put on the hermeneutical character of the debate, as well as on the hermeneutical approach towards this debate of scholars of the 20th century: two schools of scholars, Russian (with an Orthodox background) and German (with a Protestant background), in fact prolonged and continued the same Hesychastic debate in the 20th century.

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