Experiencing the Divine Life: Levels of Participation in St Gregory Palamas' On the Divine and Deifying Participation, Doru Costache

Asbtract: In his treatise On the Divine and Deifying Participation, St Gregory Palamas introduced an important nuance. Namely, he pointed out the existence of a radical difference between the direct (deifying) and indirect (providential) ways of experiencing the presence of the Holy Spirit. By emphasising this difference, Palamas did not question the Holy Spirit's omnipresence; instead he considered the various receptive capabilities naturally pertaining to created beings and the consequences of the human persons' existential choices. The aim of this article is to explore St Gregory's significant contribution to pneumatology and the spiritual life within the framework of the traditional theory of divine participation.

Bio: Rev Doru Costache received his Doctor of Theology degree from the University of Bucharest, in 2000. He is a presbyter under the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of Australia and a Senior Lecturer in Patristics at St Andrew's Greek Orthodox Theological College, Sydney. His research interests are in traditional/patristic theology, transdisciplinarity and the dialogue of science and theology. Currently, he is undertaking an interpretation of Genesis 1 within tradition and in light of contemporary challenges.

 

 

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Greek philosophy remains foundational to the history of ideas in the Western and Eastern traditions. It has shaped disciplines as diverse as theology, ethics, politics, science, and metaphysics. In particular, the writings of Plato, Aristotle, and the later Hellenistic and Byzantine philosophers have exercised enduring influence on Christian theology, especially in the Patristic and medieval Byzantine periods.

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