On the Eastern Orthodox Doctrine of Theosis скачать в хорошем качестве

On the Eastern Orthodox Doctrine of Theosis

This talk seeks to examine the later Byzantine doctrine of theosis, especially as framed by Gregory Palamas, whose theology of theosis was formally canonized in three councils of universal authority amongst Eastern Orthodox churches. Theosis as a general concept in the Church is not itself a later development. It was taught by Irenaeus, Athanasius, and Gregory of Nazianzus, not to mention Maximus the Confessor, John of Damascus, and others, and furthermore is mentioned in the Philokalia, texts collected from the 4th to the 14th Centuries. The later development is twofold: (1) the shift from being a doctrine known only to monks and scholars to being one widely promulgated, and (2) Gregory Palamas grounding theosis in the Blessed Virgin Mary (via hesychasm) both historically and as an ongoing principle. To the question, Where in the official pronouncements of the Eastern Orthodox Church is it authoritatively decreed that Gregory Palamas' views must be accepted? Answer, the universally authoritative Council statement, "The Synodal Tomos of 1351," states: "Having upon examination found this frequently mentioned most holy metropolitan of Thessalonike [Gregory Palamas] in no way out of harmony with the divine utterances in his writing and thinking, but rather a defender, as if fitting, of the divine utterances and of our common piety and tradition, we declare him not only superior to absolutely all his opponents, or rather those who quarrel with the Church of Christ, as the previous Synodal Tomoi which we possess also relate, but also a most reliable defender, champion and helper of the Church and of right belief." ("Gregory Palamas: The Hesychast Controversy," tr. Norman Russell, Paragraph 51, pp. 372-373) Further, they sought to remove any suspicion of accusation "about anything in the writings of the most holy metropolitan of Thessalonike [Gregory Palamas], in case anything should have been overlooked and left unexamined, even though all his writings had been included among the works scrutinized at the time by the holy synod. ... we found each of them the book of the holy metropolitan of Thessalonike [Gregory Palamas] and examined it, meeting in the Great Church and spending whole days together, not once, but twice and three times and more often. And we find the most holy metropolitan of Thessalonike [Gregory Palamas] in conformity in these matters with the holy theologians and an advocate by the grace of Christ of truth in accordance with orthodoxy." ("Gregory Palamas: The Hesychast Controversy," tr. Norman Russell, Paragraph 52, pp. 373; cf. pp 307, 330)