This blog will focus primarily on the readings from Medieval Philosophy, more specifically, the Gregory Palamas section from chapter 22. Gregory Palamas is credited as a creative thinker and monk whose power came from his writings defending Hesychasts. However, he didn’t rise to his position as archbishop because of anything extraordinary, rather it was his understanding and influence on his peers that drove his success and the subsequent spread of the Palamite interpretations and hesychasm. Palamas did not lead individuals in fighting physical attacks; instead, he wielded his writing as a tool by which to defend the Holy Hesychasts. Still, his writings in the latter half of the 1340s became exactly what was under attack.
Namely, divine essence and energies as it relates to preparing the body to receive the untainted mind. In this way, an individual opens their heart to God and rids their mind of indignities that would thwart God’s dwelling in them. Palamas point to the inhabitancy of the soul in the human body as being a divine phenomenon by which we understand the soul to lie at the center of our hearts. In reality, nobody has ever had open-soul surgery or achieved a soul transplant when the soul is weak or damaged. So, it must mean something else entirely. The soul must be something that can be prepared, repaired, and a fixture of our entire being. If it is true that our souls lie at the center of our hearts and Palamas attempt to draw the mind into the heart for God to dwell in, then our soul and our mind must be connected.
Hesychasm is the practice of silence accompanied by prayer and breathing to achieve a balance of consciousness (breathing) and divinity (praying to receive God’s mercy). Palamas states that, “…we improve the rational part [of the soul] by rejecting all that impedes the mind from elevating itself toward God…” to further assert that “…our rational part is not confined within us as in a container…for it is conjoined to us…” (Foltz, p 215) Then, it is clear to us how God can remain in us if we reject all evils of the mind that hinder His ability to flow into our hearts. It’s interesting that Palamas chose to open up with this philosophy in defense of the Holy Hesychasts when facing Barlaam’s criticism. Palamas could have completely strayed from religion – an alternate version of himself, a monk – and written in a social manner demanding that his peers be spared from the attacks. However, there is a parallel to Musidorus (Dorus) and Pyrocles (Zelmane) in The Countess of Pembroke’s Arcadia in that the two characters chose not to reveal their true selves in attempting to serve their best interests. Rather, the two assume artificial personalities in the hope of winning the love of others, when their true selves would have sufficed. In doing so, they encounter complications of their relationships to the women they admire. A line from chapter two of Book Two says, “But as sick folks when they are alone think company would relieve them, and yet having company, do find it noisome, changing willingly outward objects when indeed the evil is inward…” (Sidney, p 219) Here is a perfect example of changing oneself outwardly to attract the company of others. Such a method allows for evil and deceit to enter the self [the mind]. As Palamas informs us, it is not the way to prepare the body to receive God. In this case, God isn’t the company the two individuals seek, but the love of others in order to find relief which turns out unpleasant.
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