The life of our righteous father in Saints Gregory Palamas, the miraculous and brilliant archbishop of Thessaloniki in the fourteenth century.
His biography was written by Patriarch Philotheus of Constantinople. Saint Nicodemus of Athens summarized this biography. He included it in his well-known book, Neo Eklogio, which contains a large number of the lives of the saints. We present here the translation of the text of Saint Nicodemus as contained in the aforementioned book.
Our righteous and divine father Gregory was born in the year 1269 in the city of Constantinople from an honorable and virtuous family. His father was a very capable person, to the point that King Andronicus II appointed him among his most important assistants in the Senate. Not only did this earthly king love and honor him, but also the heavenly king glorified him with miracles while he was alive. It is also known about his father that when he learned that his death was approaching, he became a monk and wore the angelic monastic robe, so his name was changed from Constantine to Constantius. Then he left the earthly for the heavenly.
After the death of his father, Gregory devoted himself to obtaining various sciences, but since he was very young (1) It was difficult to memorize by heart. Therefore, he decided not to memorize anything by heart before kneeling three times with a fervent prayer and in front of the icon of the Lady, the Mother of God. Thus, with her help, he achieved memorization by heart easily. Not only did the Most Holy Virgin's help appear in this matter, but she also inspired the king's heart to help the saint's family in everything they needed. Gregory made great progress in science (2) Everyone marvels at his wisdom and his ability to manage court affairs. The king was also happy for him and expected great achievements from him. But Gregory's mind was occupied with greater and loftier matters, that is, with regard to the Kingdom of Heaven. He was thinking about the heavenly things, not the earthly things.
He took advantage of the presence of some monks coming from the Holy Mountain (Mount Athos) to Constantinople to talk to them and benefit from them. They guided him to move away from the city and go to the Holy Mountain. They advised him to practice the struggles of virtue before leaving the world. He began to struggle with admiration, wearing poor clothes, and changing his behavior, characteristics, and outward appearance to such an extent that some thought he had lost his mind. But that brave man never cared about this contempt and humiliation of him.
In Vatupadi Monastery
He practiced abstinence and fasting with enthusiasm to the point that he was content with bread and water as his body needed it, fleeing from being satiated by that. Likewise, he strived to acquire every virtue. He was about twenty years old. He did not listen to the king's calls and did not look forward to his great promises. Instead, he convinced the members of his household, his closest relatives, and his chosen servants to accept the angelic askim. (3) He placed them in monasteries and left for Constantinople in the year 1316 with his brothers Macarius and Theodosius, heading to the Holy Mountain. (4) Where he settled in the Vatopezi Monastery and studied at the hands of the divine sheikh Nicodemus, who was a wonderful hesychast hermit who was brilliant in theory. (5) And work. There he wears monastic clothing. After becoming a monk, he progressed greatly in vision and work.
He had spent two years in the struggle of fasting and staying up late, in all his thoughts and in constant prayer, taking the Mother of God as his guide, protector and intercessor. At every moment and at every hour, he used prayers to help him. One day, while he was praying quietly alone with his thoughts directed toward himself and toward God, suddenly a venerable and venerable old man appeared before him, namely John the Theologian. He was looking at Gregory with clear eyes and said to him: “I have come, my son, sent by the Most Holy One and the Kingdom of All, so that I may ask you why you are crying out to God.” Every hour: “Enlighten my darkness, O Lord! Enlighten my darkness!” Gregory replied: “And what should I ask, who is full of passions and sins, except for mercy and enlightenment in order to realize and do the holy will of God?” Then the Evangelist said to him: “The Lady of all, through me, her servant, says to you that she has made me with her as your helper in all things.” Gregory also asked him: “Where does the Mother of my Lord want to help me, in this present life or in the future?” John the Theologian replied: “In the present life and in the future.” He said this and filled the young man's heart with indescribable joy with the promises of the Mother of God, and then he disappeared from sight.
In the Lavra Monastery:
After spending three years in obedience and the sheikh, his guide, becoming old and then departing his life to his Lord, Gregory the Divine left the Vatopadi Monastery and went to the Great Lavra Monastery, which was founded by Saint Athanasius of Athens. There, the fathers received him with great honor because they had heard about his fame and virtue. He stayed with them for three years and they admired his conduct and wisdom. The president had recommended that he serve with the brothers at the common table and sing with them in the church. Gregory showed wonder in every work that amazed everyone.
He strived (in his quiet ascetic life in the Vatupadi Monastery and in the life of monastic communion in the Lavra Monastery) to acquire all virtues equally. His soul became a dwelling place for all spiritual goodness and a focus for everyone’s attention. The wondrous Gregory prevailed not only over human whims and desires, but also, thanks to his extreme asceticism, over the necessities of nature itself. Because even though he was wearing a body, he tried to live as if he had no body. He fought drowsiness and overcame it to the point that for three months he remained sleepless, as if he had no skin except for a little rest, which he took after eating so as not to lose his mind and sanity.
In the Skete of Glosia:
But his thirst for “calm” (Isichia) did not allow him to stay in the Monastery of the Lavra for a long time, so he left there, heading for the desert, and arrived at a skete called “Glossia” near today’s Provata. (6).
In that Scetis there were many ascetics, the most famous of whom was the hermit Gregory of Byzantium, who also hailed from the city of Constantinople and who was famous for his hesychast life, heartfelt prayer and visionary contemplation. Gregory Palamas learned from him the superior secrets of heartfelt prayer and the lofty vision of God. He asceticized there alone and deserved for God to give him spiritual gifts that were inexpressible. He was filled with reverence to the point that tears were constantly flowing from his eyes, quenching the thirst of his soul and body. Thus, this gift of tears accompanied him throughout his life (7).
He was not able to enjoy the sweetness of this tranquility in Scetus “Glossia” for long due to the attacks that were launched by the Turkish barbarians against the rites far from the major monasteries. Therefore, to escape from the dangers, Gregory and his twelve companions were forced to go to the city of Thessaloniki in the year 1325. There, after consulting among themselves, they agreed to go to Jerusalem in order to prostrate themselves in the holy places and practice asceticism until the end of their lives.
In Thessaloniki, Faraya and Constantinople:
However, Gregory the Divine wanted to know whether their idea of going was pleasing to the Lord. So he began to pray about it in private, then he fell asleep a little and suddenly had a vision and said: “I found myself in the royal court with my fellow hermits and the king in all his glory sitting on the throne, surrounded by the royal guards and rulers of all ranks. Then one of them separated from them and came to my companions and said: “I am keeping this because this is what the king ordered. As for you, go wherever you want, let no one prevent you.” Thus, Gregory was enlightened by God and circulated the news to his companions. They all thought that the great prince who was holding Gregory the Divine was Saint Demetrius the Great (the patron saint of the city of Thessaloniki). After this, they decided not to stray far from the outskirts of the city, the homeland of the great Demetrius of the Martyrs. In Thessaloniki, Saint Gregory's companions begged him to accept the rank of priesthood. As for him, he was reluctant at first, but he returned and acquiesced when he was certain that this was God’s will.
After his consecration (in the year 1325), they went to the region of Veroia, near Thessaloniki, to the skete of monks, where Gregory the Divine built a hermitage with the help of his companions. Then he began his struggle again in order to train for divine perfection, which is in fact full of all goodness. He did not leave his cell for the first five days of the week, and he did not accept anyone into the cell. He would go out only on Saturdays and Sundays, in order to participate in serving the divine mysteries, speak spiritual words, and engage in dialogue with his brothers for their benefit. He was 30 years old at the time and was still in perfect health and enjoying his full physical strength. Therefore, he began greater struggles and a harsher path. He was hardening his body with fasts and long stays until the body submitted to the spirit, constantly sharpening and purifying his soul’s mental eyes through complete abstinence, collecting thoughts, and the gift of regular tears, and always raising his thoughts toward God through the constant prayer of his mind.
Through this divine act, the fruits of the Holy Spirit came, according to the Apostle Paul. Hence, his fellow hermits, the monks of that mountain, and the residents of the Faria region also saw him as an example of virtue. Because his angelic life, and even his words, and his supernatural, divine wisdom astonished everyone and put them into ecstasy. Sometimes he appeared alert, completely turned to God, bathed in his wondrous tears, and at other times his face appeared supernaturally illuminated and glorified by the fire of the Holy Spirit, especially when he was coming out of the Divine Mass or from the silence of his prayer in the cell.
During this period of the saint’s tranquility, his mother, Calisti, moved to the Lord, adorned with great virtues. Her daughters and the nuns affiliated with her sent letters to Gregory the Great informing him of the death of their common mother and imploring him to provide and guide them spiritually. So he went to Constantinople to his sisters and taught them enough, and after that he wanted to return to Faria, where his sisters Epicharis and Theodoti followed him and lived there in a women’s monastery where they followed their regular ascetic program.
A hermit sheikh named Ayoub also used to go to his cell in Mount Faria, who became a friend of his and was known to him. He was a simple person. He once heard Gregory the Divine say: “The ascetics and all Christians must pray constantly according to the words of the Apostle” (1 Thessalonians 5:16). But the Sheikh was not convinced by these words because he thought that continuous prayer was limited only to monks and had no connection with the people of the world. Saint Gregory remained silent before him because he hated talking too much. But God, despite the saint’s silence, later revealed the truth of his words. When Job went to his cell and stood to pray, he saw a divine angel full of light saying to him: “Do not ever doubt, O Sheikh, what Honorable Gregory said, but rather think like him and acknowledge his words.”
On the Holy Mountain:
The wise Gregory spent five years on Mount Faria, after which he was forced, due to repeated attacks by the savage Albanians, to head again to the holy mountain, Mount Athos. (8)To the Lavra Monastery, which was founded by Saint Athanasius of Athens. His friends, the fathers and brothers of the monastery, were very happy about this, so he lived outside the monastery in the hermitage of Saint Saba. (9) He only left on Saturday and Sunday. On the five days of the week, he did not see anyone, and no one saw him or spoke to him for the purpose of enjoying the divine vision. However, at the end of the week, he would go down to the monastery for divine service.
On Holy Thursday, in which we celebrate the Holy Passion of the Savior, an evening vigil was held in the monastery, according to the old custom, in which the saint was present and participated in prayer and hymns. It happened that some of the brothers standing in the place of the choir began to speak in vain and constantly. He was saddened by that divine man, but he did not see fit to make any comment. So he took his thoughts away from them, from their false conversations, and from the hymns of the singers, and thought about himself and God, as he was accustomed to doing. Immediately, a divine light shone upon him from above, and he was illuminated by those rays, and with his physical and psychological eyes he saw clearly what would happen after many years. Because he saw the head of the Lavra Monastery, Macarius, a high priest, wearing the robe of priesthood. This is what will actually happen ten years later when Macarius becomes the high priest of Thessaloniki until the end of his life.
Once again in his cell, he was praying to the Mother of God for himself and for his brothers, begging her to facilitate their spiritual journey and their ascension towards God by providing their living needs without great hardship, so that they would not spend all their time managing what they lacked and stumble in spiritual matters. The Lady appeared in broad daylight with dignity, wearing the garb of virgins as we see her emblazoned on the holy icons. She turned to her companions (who were many bright people like her) and said to them: “From now on, you will arrange for everything needed for the monastery and give it to Gregory and his brothers in the company.” Thus commanded the Mother of God, and then she disappeared from sight. The saint used to say: From that time, the monastery’s needs were met without much difficulty, throughout their stay there.
In the third year of his stay in the hermitage of Saint Saba (10) One day, while his mind was focused on God in a holy prayer, a slight drowsiness overcame him, and he witnessed the following vision: He appeared holding in his hands a bowl full of milk. The milk suddenly began to overflow like a spring and was poured out of the bowl, and then it appeared as if it was turning into excellent, fragrant wine. He poured a large amount on his hands and on his clothes, and he covered him and filled him with a sweet-smelling perfume. In order to see the wine and feel its pleasant smell, a person suddenly appeared to him wearing a military uniform full of light. He suddenly stood before him and said to him: “Why, Gregory, do you not give others of this strange drink that is poured abundantly, but rather let it be wasted like this in vain. Do you not know that it is a gift from God and will not Does it ever stop flowing? Gregory the Divine answered, saying: “I am not able to give such a drink, and there are no people at the present time who need such a type of drink.” The wonderful man replied: “Even if at the present time there is no one who seeks such wine with love, you must strive.” Try hard and do not neglect presenting it to others. As for the fruits that result from those who accept it, that is left to God.” After these words, this brilliant soldier disappeared from sight. As for the saint, after this pleasant sleep, he sat for long hours, radiating with divine light. It seemed to him that the transformation of milk into wine indicated a transition from simplistic moral teaching to heavenly doctrinal speech.
The divine sage Gregory was convinced through divine visions, and the divine spirit residing within him through the words of his mouth guided him to begin writing many wonderful works. But since it was not fair for such a great person in virtue and in words to remain hidden in a corner, he was elected head of the Esphigmeno Monastery, “Esphigmeno”, those responsible for the Holy Mountain. There were two hundred monks. We do not need to talk about how the affairs of the monastery are managed and everything related to the meek brothers, because the actions clearly show that.
There was a virtuous monk named Evdokmus. Satan misled him with a vision and made him think that he had a higher virtue than Gregory the Divine. The latter knew that everything that happened to Avdokmus was from Satan, so he tried, sometimes through education and other times through secret prayers and tears, or through common brotherly prayers, to expel the devil’s influence from him. By the grace of the Holy Spirit, he was restored to his senses, as indicated by his very name, “Evdokomus,” meaning the good one.
Once again, there was a shortage of oil in the monastery, and there was a great need for it, so the saint went with the rest of the brothers to the storeroom and begged God with faith. He blessed the prayers for the oil with his hand and made the sign of the cross. Immediately, the vessels were filled with oil, and it did not decrease during that time despite its great consumption. He also learned again that the olive trees did not bear fruit and therefore the oil was decreasing, so he went with the brothers to the field and blessed the trees and they were filled with fruit. Whenever he approached a tree, it became heavier with olives.
Barlaam’s activity and resistance:
It was not long before he resigned from the leadership of the monastery and returned to the Lavra, his longed-for place of retirement. A malicious person named Barlaam had come from the Kalabria region in Italy, claiming that he agreed with the Eastern Church and that he wanted to become a monk. As a sign of this, he began writing articles against the Latins of his race. So Gregory the Divine began to extrapolate his statements and criticize him, and he showed that Barlaam’s apparent criticisms against the Latins were nothing but deception and lies, and were completely contrary to the truth. This was enough to place Barlaam in the ranks of his enemies. At that time, Barlaam headed to Constantinople to meet some simple monks whose work focused on mental or heart prayer. (11) When he woke up, he pretended to be their student and friend. He heard slanderous statements from the novice monks about the necessity of observing some rules in the practice of mental prayer, so he began waging a war against them, accusing them of heresy and writing articles against continuous, honorable prayer and against the mystical secret vision. Before such insults came out of him, he had been accused and betrayed before the Ecumenical Patriarch because of his bad hostilities. He fled Constantinople and returned to the city of Thessaloniki, continuing there his war against the monks. He was not satisfied with accusing the monks of that era, but he was trying to prove that the fathers who were inspired by God and the teachers of the monks were... The reason for their misguidance.
Therefore, the monks of the city of Thessaloniki wrote a letter to the saint, warmly begging him to come to them and investigate the truth against Barlaam. Immediately Jerusalem came to Thessaloniki (12) The controversy was ongoing and he tried in various ways to reconcile Barlaam, then he dialogued with him face to face, wanting to attract him to the harmony of the church. But he did not stop brazenly fighting the church, either in words or in writings. Hence, the saint saw that he could not be corrected, so he was forced to write in defense of the faith in the face of Barlaam’s false statements. The latter witnessed the condemnation and failure of his statements in light of the saint’s wondrous articles that he was publishing to the public on the subject of honorable asceticism (hesychasm) and the subject of Orthodox truth, so Barlaam stopped speaking and writing against the monks and turned entirely against Gregory Plamas. But he was unable to confront him directly and oppose him, so he fled from Thessaloniki and returned to Constantinople.
The saint spent three full years in the city of Thessaloniki (13) He wrote these wonderful articles glorifying the truth. He spent most of that time in the lamentation to which he had become accustomed, in complete calm and solitude. Since he did not have the beloved atmosphere of the wilderness, he built a small cell for himself in the depths of the house in which he lived, and there he lived a quiet life as much as possible. When the feast of Anthony the Great arrived, his disciples and the ascetics who were with him celebrated the presence of the wondrous Isidore and spent an all-night vigil with him on the occasion of the feast. Wow! Because Saint Anthony the Great was not absent from them in both cases, but rather he was present with them on the feast in a splendid presence. Because there, where Gregory the Divine was praying in his tranquility, a divine light suddenly appeared and shone upon him, as happened on previous occasions, and with the light Anthony the Great appeared and said to him: “Praying in a calm mind is good because it purifies the eyes of the rational soul.” It qualifies a person to see divine things that cannot be spoken. But sometimes it is necessary to meet with the brothers and participate with them in prayer and chanting. So you should now go to where they are staying up late. They desperately need your presence.” Suddenly, Saint Anthony disappeared from sight. Gregory the Divine immediately went to the brothers, who received him with joy and spent that night together celebrating the feast.
Death of his sister:
After that, the saint went to the Holy Mountain, where he explained to the hermits and officials in the monasteries everything he had written in defense of the truth and faith against the error of Barlaam. They were filled with wonder, spoke with praise, and approved everything he mentioned.
At the time of his going to the Holy Mountain, his sister Theodoti was approaching the end of her earthly life, so his students and friends asked him what might be the time for her to die. The saint answered them, knowing in advance what would happen: “There is no need to ask about the matter. I must, God willing, return from the mountain before she dies.” And this is what actually happened because when the hour of his sister Theodoti’s death came, she asked to see her brother and father, Gregory the Divine. So she heard that he was on the Holy Mountain, and she was sad in her heart and saddened that she would be deprived of seeing him and his final words. She was silent from that hour and calmed down completely, as if she was returning to herself. Those present began to prepare everything necessary for her burial. But wow! She spent eight days without eating, sleeping, speaking, or in any pain. With just a little breathing and moving her eyes, it appeared that she was still alive, waiting for her brother. The meeting took place without any suspicion. Because as soon as she reached the end of the eighth day, the one he was longing for came from the holy mountain and stood up in front of his sister and spoke to her. She heard his sweet voice, opened the eyes of her body and soul to him, and slightly raised his hands to God in thanks, and only a few moments had passed until she surrendered her soul into the hands of God.
The councils and the condemnation of Barlaam:
After the death of his sister in August 1340, Gregory the Great returned to what he was accustomed to, to the quiet life of Isichia, to prayer and wakefulness, to looking forward with constant attention to divine visions and visions. As for the malicious Barlaam, who was hostile to these inspections, he had gone to Constantinople, as we mentioned previously. There he used his philosophical wisdom as a bait to lure many people, including the Patriarch, into the net of his misguidance. It almost led everyone to deny Orthodoxy. Thus, through patriarchal letters, the most important divine preachers of the orthodox doctrine, namely Gregory the Divine and his assistants, were asked to come to the pulpit of the church court to discuss in their capacity as officials.
So the saint took with him Isidore, Mark, and Theodore, his most famous friends, and arrived in the city of Constantinople. He found almost all the prominent people (except one or two) walking with conviction behind Barlaam's ravings and tricks. He returned them to Orthodoxy by the grace of the Holy Spirit, along with the Patriarch himself. These people, after reading his brilliant articles that he wrote against Barlaam and his blasphemies, recognized him as a teacher of the faith in agreement with the Church Fathers, and the Patriarch himself gave him sincere thanks.
In addition to all of this, they saw that a council must be held to eradicate Barlaam’s error from within and appoint the council upon the return of the king. With the divine signal, other hermits who shared the saint’s opinion rushed from other places to the capital. Among them are the righteous David with his ascetic monks and Dionysius, who had previously known through a vision the foolishness that Gregory the Divine would achieve over heresy, just as other ascetics had achieved. Finally, the king that everyone had been waiting for came.
First Council:
The council took place in the temple of “Agia Sophia” (Holy Wisdom) in June 1341, and in the end, Barlaam was condemned in a harsh and terrible tone. His writings and blasphemy were also condemned. If he had not responded by repenting, confessing the truth, and condemning his writings as false and heretical, he would not have been able to get out alive because of the anger of the entire people against him. Thus, he took refuge in Italy, to his beloved Latins (14).
Second Council:
After him, a deceitful man like him appeared named Gregory Akindinos, who made himself a creation and inheritor of Barlaam’s error. A church council was held again as before in the month of August 1341, in which Gregory the Divine appeared as a brilliant fighter for the Orthodox faith and undermining heresy based on the divine holy books and the teachings of the Church. Two months after the council was held, a civil war broke out between the citizens, sparked by Patriarch John himself, nicknamed Kalekas. Gregory the Divine expressed his opposition to the Patriarch’s position and guided him to peace and an end to the war. The Patriarch moved against the saint and tried in various ways to discipline him, forgetting the honor and praise he had for the saint. Since he could not accuse him of anything, what did he do? He turned against Orthodoxy and sparked a new war against the Church and its divine doctrines. He restored the reputation of Aknadnos, the head of all heresies, appointing him as a deacon and preparing to appoint him as a priest and teacher of the church. As for Saint Gregory, the preacher of the truth, the Patriarch accused him of being the cause of the war and sentenced him to a dark prison.
Third Council:
Queen Anna heard of the ordination of Aknadnos as a deacon, who was condemned by two holy councils. So she sent a letter expelling him from the church, while Gregory the Divine remained imprisoned for four years (15). His body was getting sick and degenerating, and he needed daily treatment, in addition to suffering the misery of prison. But in the end, in February 1347, a general council was held that condemned the patriarch himself, who was an enemy of the saint, accusing him of hatred and fighting kings, and who sentenced him to imprisonment. This patriarch is now stripped of his priesthood as a heretic and banished from the Church. His failure became a failure of heresy and support for Orthodoxy, and the civil war immediately stopped. Gregory the Divine came out of prison. After these great struggles, after his trial in prison, he returned, shining with wreaths of testimony and recognition with his beloved brothers, and was appointed Bishop of the city of Thessaloniki in the month of May 1347 after he was asked to do so and paid to him by the king himself and Patriarch Isidore.
At that stage, there was a war going on between the people of the city, and so High Priest Gregory was removed from it, so he took refuge in the holy mountain, Mount Athos. It happened that the birthday of the Virgin, the Mother of God, occurred on that day, so it occurred to some of the priests participating in the divine sacrifice, who were prompted by one of the pious priests, to pray to God to show them, through some sign, what rank and what significance a saint has with God. While the priests were praying to God, the devout priest, who cared for the orphans, began secretly begging God in his heart to send a sign to his paralyzed daughter to heal her from paralysis in her dry limbs for three years. Suddenly the daughter got out of bed and made her walk without hindrance and run here and there in the house, healthy, without any trace of illness.
On the Holy Mountain, the ruler of Bulgaria, Stephen, found him and wanted to take him with him to his kingdom, but he could not. What happened next? Stephen pressured the saint to go to Constantinople with a message to the king. The saint spent some time there and then returned to his diocese of Thessaloniki, driven by his jealousy among the bishops, the kings, and the patriarch himself, thinking that the unrest in the city had stopped. But disagreements were still pending, and therefore he was unable to stay in Thessaloniki and in his bishopric, so Constantinople elected him in charge of a church on the island of Limnos, near the Holy Mountain. There he greatly benefited from his teaching and his miracles. At that time, he was invited to a small town on the island where the plague was raging. He performed a procession with prayers and hymns in the presence of all the people, and the fighting epidemic immediately stopped.
His entry into the Diocese of Thessaloniki:
Finally, the people of Thessaloniki could not bear for strangers to take away their good share due to some problems. So they prepared a special boat for that purpose. The city's notables went to the island of Lemnos. Thus, after a few days, they brought the shepherd to join his flock in the year 1350. The city was filled with joy on that day to the point that it was like the Day of Resurrection. So the singers left the usual verses that were sung about the arrival of the high priest and began, inspired by God, to sing the Resurrection hymns: “Today is the Day of Resurrection..., Let us purify our senses..., Be enlightened, be enlightened, O New Jerusalem... etc.” The amazing thing about all of this is that no one knew who guided the singers in singing such as It is not known who started singing these songs. Three days later, the saint scheduled a general meeting and a procession of the holy icons. After the procession, he preached and taught about reconciliation and peace. Then he established the service of the bloodless sacrifice. Thus, he sanctified all the people, just as God sanctified and glorified them with the following miracle:
The devout priest who cared for orphans mentioned above had a male son who suffered from spotting and often behaved horribly. In that divine sacrifice, the priest, his father, participated in the liturgy. He begged the saint to give his sick son the body and blood of God. While he was receiving the holy secrets, his illness disappeared and the boy was freed, glorifying God.
After that, he gathered the entire priestly class and presented to them the high priestly rank. After that, he did not stop teaching in the church and outside it, and thus he led everyone to salvation through his teaching and example.
Complex 1351:
On the other hand, the followers of Barlaam and Aknadnos did not stop spreading turmoil in the Orthodox Church, so the king and the patriarch called for a council to be held in the capital. This is in order to study and discuss the sayings of the innovators who were also demanding this. Gregory the Divine was first invited through royal and patriarchal letters and with insistence to come to Constantinople. The Great Council took place in May 1351. The king and the council asked the saint to speak in front of everyone and present the Orthodox doctrines of the faith. With brilliant words, writings and speeches.
After completing the council, he quickly returned to his parish, but this time his entry into the city of Thessaloniki was hindered, not because of the people of his diocese, but because of John the Palaiologos who was there. (16). But after three months, this same John invited him and he returned to his diocese, to care for it and benefit it physically and psychologically, and then he went to a women’s monastery to celebrate the birthday of the Virgin, the Mother of God. At the time of the divine sacrifice, a nun named Eliodora (blind in one eye a few days ago) came. She came secretly, like the woman bleeding in the Bible, and touched the garment of the high priest and wiped her sick eye with it, and she received healing in a wondrous way.
Captured by the Turks:
After a year had passed in his diocese, he fell ill with a severe and prolonged illness. This was because his body had been exhausted as a result of continuous fatigue, many experiences, and frequent trips. Everyone expected his death, but God from above bestowed a new life on him because he was preparing him for struggles, paths, and struggles like the example of a brave athlete. While he was still carrying the effects of the disease, he was forced, after many and intense pleas by King John Peliologos, to go to Constantinople in order to mediate between John Peliologos and his uncle, John Kanta Koujinon, in order to bring peace between them. But God, the King of kings, sent him to another service because while he was heading towards Constantinople, he was captured by the Ottomans, and that was in the month of March 1354. Thus, he was taken like a slave to Asia, like an evangelist, preaching the faith to the captured Christians there and strengthening them with his teachings. Many dialogues took place with the Turks in defense of the faith in the city of Prussia and in the city of Nicaea. How many eloquent phrases did he use to stop their deceitful mouths and how many innovative teachings did he adopt to strengthen the resolve of the Christians there. Whoever wants to know all of this should return to his detailed biography (17). About a year later, God used some Bulgarians to give the Turks money to free the saint.
Wonders:
A miracle happened while the ship was entering the waters of Constantinople. Strange sounds of clapping and chanting were heard in the air, as if they were coming from the middle of the ship, and it seemed to those who were hearing them that they were not the voices of humans, but rather heavenly angels accompanying the saint unseen. As for the latter, after spending a short time in Constantinople, he finally went to his diocese in the fall of the year 1355. He found it thirsty for water and education, so he provided it with water in an impressive way from both sides.
The saint had a friend, a priest-monk named Porphyrius. It happened that on the Feast of the Transfiguration, he was struck by a painful pain in his left side to the point that it did not allow him to rest on his bed. The saint was ready to perform the divine sacrifice. Porphyrius approached him and warmly begged him for a long recovery. So the saint placed his hand and blessed his side with the sign of the cross, and said with humility and contrition in the heart of the following hymn: “You who were crucified, O Lord... and may Christ heal you.” And what a wonder! The patient was freed from his bitter pain and returned healthy to his cell.
Once again, Porphyrius himself felt a blockage in his throat that lasted for eight days, during which he was unable to drink even a little water. He was close to death. Saint Gregory came and made the sign of the cross with his honorable hand on the place of the illness while praying to Christ with tears, and he healed him in a wondrous way.
There is also a boy who had been suffering for 15 months from severe bleeding that no one could cure and he was likely to die. The saint also came and made the sign of the honorable cross and was praying in his thoughts. He healed him and returned him healthy to his family.
His repose and holiness:
Because he was also a dead person, so after three years had passed, that is, in the year 1359, when he went for the last time to Constantinople, he fell ill and confined to bed. He informed those present of the approaching death of his father, announcing in advance the time of his departure, when he told his friends that his death would come after the feast of Saint John Chrysostom, that is, on November 14, 1359. Because Chrysostom had appeared to him in a vision and called him to come to him, the one he loved and wanted to live near.
When the divine High Priest approached at the end of his life and was directing his attention to the path to heaven, he began to mutter some words without those present understanding them clearly, but they picked up the following phrase, “The heavens belong to the heavenly things,” and he kept repeating it until the divine grace that transcends the heavens and resides in that sublime soul was finally bestowed. About marriage of the body. He was 63 years old, of which he spent 12 years caring for the Church of God as a high priest.
After his pure soul left his body, the grace of the Holy Spirit revealed the inner splendor that was in his soul in a wondrous way, as a bright light filled the cell in which his remains were. His face was illuminated, and his body was still kneeling and dry before burial. Many of the city's people, who rushed to the burial, saw such brilliance. The grace of the Holy Spirit accompanied his honorable remains. His grave was found to be a dwelling place for divine light, a source of miracles and sacred talents, and a free public hospital, so he is called “The Wonderful” because he is truly a wonder. If time allowed, I would tell of the many wonders He did for many. But it is difficult due to lack of time, so I will express all the miracles that he performed after his death, which are recorded in his detailed biography. I content myself with narrating a divine wonder that shows his holiness and glorification by God. The Eastern Church celebrates him on the second Sunday of Great Lent. Here's the story.
The Latins accuse our Eastern Church of the fact that after separating from the Western “Frankish” Church, no new saints nor new miracles appeared. Therefore, Nektarios the Honorable, the Patriarch of Jerusalem in the year 1660, who was jealous of the Church, wanted to close the mouths of the Latins and expose their lies, so he began enumerating a large number of new saints who appeared after the schism. He also tells many wonders about them. He narrated the following incident from Saint Gregory: On the island of Santorini on the saint’s feast day, that is, on the second Sunday of Great Lent, some of the Franks entered a boat to rest, and Patriarch Dositaeus of Jerusalem reminded him that the Franks first entered the boat and began clapping together, mocking Saint Gregory Plamas, saying: “If he is truly a saint, let him drown us.” But oh, the wonder of His Holiness Gregory the Divine! What a sign he has before God! At the hour when they were rowing, and without any storm, the boat sank with everyone in it according to their request, so their bodies descended to the bottom of the sea and their souls to hell. The holiness of the divine Gregory was clearly revealed, and God truly and wonderfully appeared in His saints. To Him be glory forever and ever. Amen.
And thanks be to God
From the book: Saints Gregory Palamas, John of Peace, and Mary of Egypt
Arabization of Archimandrite Avram Kyriakos
(1) When his father died, he was 7 years old and the eldest among four brothers.
(2) One of his prominent teachers in theology is Theolepetus, Bishop of Philadelphia, who was a hermit on Mount Athos and trained in heartfelt prayer and calmness. Gregory also studied grammar (statement), rhetoric, naturals, and logic.
(3) That is, monastic vows.
(4) On his way to the Holy Mountain he spent some time on Mount Babikios between Thracia and Macedonia in northern Greece. There he entered into a discussion with some monks, followers of the Massalianoi heresy, who only believe in the Lord’s Prayer “Our Father who…” and reject all other prayers. In this confrontation, young Gregory demonstrated great theological ability and holiness.
(5) Antioria or vision.
(6) On the Holy Mountain of Mount Athos there are large monasteries, sketes and rituals. Sqit is a monastic village that includes a group of rituals with a central house where hermits gather to pray on Sundays and holidays.
(7) Philotheus, his biographer, originally said: “Saint Gregory acquired during his stay in Scetheus of Glossia a profound and extraordinary humility accompanied by an indescribable love from the depth of the heart toward God and toward one’s neighbor: the virtues that constitute the first, second, and last pillars and elements of Christian philosophy and life.”
(8) That is, the year 1330.
(9) This ritual still exists today on a mountain near the Lavra Monastery.
(10) That is, the year 1333.
(11) Noera Proseuchi
(12) In the month of December 1337, that is, he spent a continuous period of seven years in the mountain, most of which was in the hermitage of Saint Saba 13300-1337.
(13) From 1 AD 1337 until 1340 AD.
(14) It is known that as soon as he arrived in Italy, he rejected Orthodoxy and became bishop of a province in that country. He wrote many books against the Orthodox Church, which he had previously defended.
(15) 1343-1347.
(16) Due to a dispute over ownership.
(17) This biography was written by Patriarch Philotheos. It was summarized by Saint Nicodemus of Athens.
