The Professor's Blog

Question Further on the “Essence-Energy" distinction in St. Gregory Palamas   Answer The Essence-Energy or Energies distinction is not, in fact, philosophical but an ascetic one.  The energy of God...

Question Where can we find examples of the Hesychast style of iconography? Answer Generally speaking, as Prof. Panayiotes Chrestou points out (in a recorded lecture, 1982), following the Hesychast Controversy...

Question Who were the Hesychasts? Answer The Hesychasts of the 13th and 14th centuries were those who practiced hesychia, that is to say, “prayer and stillness” or “silence in prayer”...

Question Why were the Hesychasts accused of iconoclasm? Answer The Hesychasts were accused of iconoclasm, because they believed that images should not be used or accepted in prayer. This was...

Question What does it mean when we say that we participate in God? Answer Participation in God means sharing in the very life of God Himself. Thus our participation in...

Question What is the simplicity of God? Answer The simplicity of God refers to the fact that, as stated in the Gospels, “God is a spirit” (John 4:24), that is...