Parva Naturalia and Ambigua

Left Column

Since, concerning those divine and blessed men who live in stillness original: "ἡσυχίᾳ" (hesychia) — a state of inner quietness and deep prayer central to Eastern Christian monasticism, from which the term "Hesychasm" is derived., who also preserve the "image" original: "τὸ κατ' εἰκόνα" (to kat' eikona) — the inherent spiritual dignity and capacity for God-likeness granted to humanity at creation. in its purity—the state in which man was first created—and who strive toward the "likeness" original: "πρὸς τὴν ὁμοίωσιν" (pros tēn homoiōsin) — the process of becoming more like God through virtue and the reception of grace., which is the goal of the divine promise; and because of this they have been deemed worthy of union with God and have participated in their hearts in that ineffable and supernatural vision original: "θεωρίας" (theōrias) — the spiritual perception or direct experience of God's presence, often described as seeing the "Uncreated Light." and illumination, bearing witness to us of this through both deed and word; and since they have no need of any word for their own confirmation, but rather they themselves especially confirm our words; yet, since some of those adorned with external wisdom original: "τῇ ἔξω σοφίᾳ" (tē exō sophia) — a reference to secular or ancient Greek philosophy, which Palamas argues is insufficient for understanding spiritual experiences., being ignorant and inexperienced in divine and spiritual matters, have set forth arguments against their understanding and against the tradition of the holy fathers—through which they slander the beauty of stillness and the divine energy within it, and call those devoted to it "deluded" and "heretical"—it appeared necessary to us to come to their rebuttal and to a defense that advocates for the truth.
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Right Column

and this also the holy Paul says, having come to be in which state,

they no longer live for themselves, but have Christ speaking in them; A paraphrase of Galatians 2:20, "it is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me."
and the divine Dionysius Dionysius the Areopagite, a highly revered theologian in the Byzantine tradition, noted for his writings on mystical theology., revealing the angel-mimicking character of holy stillness, says that such people are not only set free from the confusion of the world, but also contract themselves from the activity of the senses toward external things, and return toward the intellectual activity original: "νοερὰν ἐνέργειαν" (noeran energeian) — the activity of the 'nous' or the "eye of the soul," which Palamas distinguishes from mere discursive reasoning. within themselves, and through it they are united to the divine and ineffable outpouring of light original: "φωτοχυσίαν" (photochysian) — the "flooding" or "pouring" of divine light during mystical experience.; and this divine and supermundane energy original: "ἐνέργειαν" (energeian) — a key Palamite term; the "energies" are the ways God manifests and communicates Himself to creation, distinct from His unknowable Essence. the other teachers and luminaries of the Church also witness to be something divine and ineffable.
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