(Taxonomies of Beings in the Palamite Literature: Gregory Palamas and David Disypatos. Part 1. Early History of the Topic of Hierarchy of Beings and Appearance of This Topic in the Palamite Controversy)

Abstract: My study shows that the biblical discourse of the taxonomy of beings goes from Gregory of Nyssa to the Dionysian discourse, and afterwards it influences the teaching of Gregory Palamas. Based on the passage from David Disipat’s “History” discovered by Robert Browning, I put forward a new hypothesis about the time when the polemic about the taxonomy first appears in the Palamite controversy. Also, I give an outline of Gregory Palamas’s teachings about the taxonomy of the participating beings. I show that in Gregory the theme of the taxonomy of the participating beings is tightly connected to the theme of the supernatural participating of a created being in the Divine.

Authors: Biriukov, Dmitry

DOI: 10.17846/CL.2017.10.2.15-22

Publication order reference: Dr habil Dmitry Biriukov, PhD.; National Research University, Higher School of Economics, Severny av., 6/1, 536, 194354 St Petersburg, Russia; email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Source: Konštatínove listy, 2017 vol.: 10, issue: 2, pages: 15-22 (PDF file)

Keywords: HIERARCHY OF NATURAL BEING, PARTICIPATION, ENERGIES, ESSENCE, NEO-PLATONISM, THE NEO-PLATONIC TETRAD

Language: RUSSIAN