Overview

Since its clear formalization in the 14th century by the Orthodox theologian Gregory Palamas, the assertion of a „real“ distinction in God between essence and uncreated energies has become the major point of conflict between Western and Eastern Christian theologies, to the point that nowadays even the notorious Filioque controversy tends to be seen as a theological consequence of this problem. The innovative approach of this book on the Palamite controversy abandons the traditional „ontological“ contraposition based on the (Eastern) defense or (Western) rejection of the aforementioned „real“ distinction, and moves to epistemological terrain, taking the logical notion of „antinomy“, in its vital connection with theological apophaticism, as the formal touchstone to discern the effective continuity (or discontinuity) between Palamas‘ thought and its patristic sources.

Full Product Details

Author:   Luca Benzo
Publisher:   Peter Lang AG
Imprint:   Peter Lang AG
Edition:   New edition
Volume:   16
Weight:   0.459kg
ISBN:  

9783631941713

ISBN 10:   3631941714
Pages:   268
Publication Date:   05 March 2026
Audience:   Professional and scholarly ,  Professional & Vocational
Format:   Hardback
Publisher's Status:   Active
Availability:   Manufactured on demand  
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Table of Contents

Acknowledgments - Introduction - Chapter 1 About the problem - 1.1 The notion of antinomy - 1.2 Cataphatic way and apophatic way - 1.3 The Orthodox and Latin reception of Palamism and the “neo-Palamism” - 1.4 Limits of neo-Thomistic apologetics - 1.5 The Palamite controversy as a meta-problem: a range of interpretive paradigms - Chapter 2 Greek patristics - 2.1 Vision of God - 2.2 Fundamental Dualities in Patristic Thought - 2.3 The Thought of Pseudo-Dionysius - 2.4 The Thought of Maximus the Confessor - 2.5 Apophaticism and Patristic Themes - Chapter 3 Gregory Palamas - 3.A On the origin of the problem - 3.B Palamas’ Apodictic Treatises, the Filioque problem and the essence-energies distinction - 3.1 Epistolary Exchanges Between Palamas and Barlaam - 3.2 The Articulation Between Cataphatic and Apophatic Theology in Palamas’ Thought - 3.3 The Essence-energies Distinction in Palamas’ Doctrine - 3.4 The Palamite Identification Between Energeiai and Logoi - 3.5 Personal Distinction and Energy Distinction - Conclusion - Bibliography

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Author Information

Luca Benzo is currently a Research Associate at the Nanzan Institute for Religion and Culture, Nanzan University, Japan. He holds a PhD in Mathematics from the University of Rome Tor Vergata, as well as Master's Degrees in Theology and Philosophy from the Catholic Institute of Paris. Since 2022 he has been serving as a missionary priest in Japan.

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