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Lenten Synaxarion


Sunday of St. Gregory Palamas

Now is the truly great preacher of the Radiant Light

led by the Source of Light to the never-setting Light.

This son of the divine and never-setting Light was a true man of God
indeed, and a wondrous servant and minister of the divine
mysteries, having been born in the imperial city (Constantinople) of
most radiant and glorious parents. Through his virtue and
instruction he desired to adorn not only the outer of mankind
according to the senses, but also much of the unseen inner being.
When he was yet quite young, his father died. His mother, brothers
and sisters raised him and instructed him in morals, catechism and
sacred scripture, and sent him to teachers of worldly wisdom, from
whom he learned well. Cleverly combining his learning with a
natural zeal, he soon became skilled in verbal arts. At the age of
twenty, regarding all earthly things as inferior and passing dreams,
he sought recourse to God the Author and Giver of all wisdom, to
consecrate his entire self to God through a perfect life. Hence he
disclosed his great love for God, his pious intentions and burning
desire to his mother, and he found that for a long she too had been
desirous of this and rejoiced at his decision. And straightway
gathering her children his mother said with joy, "Behold, I and the
children God has given me!" And she disclosed to them the intent of
the great Gregory, asking if it seemed to them to be good. And he
with words of instruction soon convinced them all in earnestness to
follow him in his love and withdrawal from life. Distributing then his
earthly possessions to the poor according to the teachings of the
Gospel, and cheerfully abandoning human love, earthly honor and
the approbation of men, he followed after Christ.

Placing his mother and sisters in a convent, he and his brothers
went to the sacred Mount Athos, where he convinced his brothers
to stay in different monasteries, so that they would have no time to
be together, thereby perfecting their life in God. He himself became
obedient to a wondrous man named Nicodemus who had
consecrated his life of silence to God alone. Learning from him
through actions every precept and every virtue, through a mystical
revelation there he received the protection of the all pure
Theotokos, an invincible help in all things. After Nicodemus' parting
from this life to God, having lived for several years in the Great
Lavra most zealously with perfection of thought and a love of
silence, Gregory left the Lavra and embraced the wilderness.

Increasing ever in love and always desiring to be with God, he
dedicated himself to a life of utmost severity, strenghtening his
reasoning with earnest attention, raising his thoughts to God,
practising prayer at all times, meditating on divine things, and
leading an excellent life. With the help of God he overcame the
attacks of demons, and cleansing his soul with fountains of tears at
all night vigils, he became a chosen vessel of the gifts of the Spirit
of God, and often had visions of the Godhead.

Wondrously, because of the commencement of attacks of the
Ishmaelites on Thessalonica, he retreated to the summit skete, and
was constrained to speak with several of the citizenry. Having led a
diligent life, for he was no longer young, and having cleansed his
body and soul entirely, at God's command, he received the great
anointing to the priesthood, and like an angel, becoming
trancendent in the celebration of the sacred mysteries, so that all
who observed him were moved. He was truly great and was
recognized as a bearer of the Spirit by those who lived godly lives,
revealing himself to those who witnessed the following outward
signs: He had authority over demons and was able to release those
possessed from their wiles and deceit. He could change barren
trees into fruitful ones. He foresaw things to come, and was blessed
with other gifts and fruits of the Divine Spirit. For when it lies
within
our power to act upon the virtues, then we are not able to fall into
temptation. Without the virtues there can be no perfection or
appearance of faith in God (for, he says, action and passion
descending together perfects a man in goodness after God), but
frequent falls into various temptations.this great man.so that he
is shown to be perfect to all. And what mind can think on this
further?

What more can be said? First the licentious wiles of the evil
contender. And then the lies and slanders of the new theomachists
were directed at him. In all twenty-three years he endured much
anger and affliction. For the Italian beast, Varlaam of Calabria,
philosophized in a worldly manner, and through the vanity of his
philosophy (for he thought to know everything) he mounted a fierce
attack against Christ's Church, against our faith and against those
who openly professed it. For the grace of the Father, the Son and
the Holy Spirit is one and the light of the age to come, as also the
righteous shine like the sun, as Christ Himself demonstrated
beforehand in splendor on the mountain. And simply he erroneously
taught that all the power and action of the Godhead in three
hypostases and all differences there might be in the divine nature
were created, and those who piously believed that the divine Light
was uncreated, and all His power and action, as not to one new of
that which is naturally in God, through his rhetoric and widespread
letters, he called bitheists and polytheists, as the Jews, Savelius
and Arius call us. For the sake of these the divine Gregory, as a
defender of piety and most glorious intercessor, fought before
everyone and was reviled. He was sent by the Chruch to
Constantinople, and he went. And when the most divine emperor
Andronicus, fourth after the Paleologos, sought to defend the faith,
a sacred council was assembled. And when Varlaam appeared with
his previously mentioned impious teachings and his accusations
against piety, the great Gregory, filled with the Spirit of God and
clothed with invincible power from on high, stopped his mouth from
speaking against God and disgraced him utterly. With words of
spiritual fire and documents he burned Varlaam's heresies like
brushwood to ashes. Wherefore unable to endure the shame, the
enemy of piety ran back to Italy, whence he came. Immediately
after this the council exposed his great harm, and with arguments to
the contrary dispersed his compostions.

But those who had partaken of these ideas did not cease their
struggle against God's Church. For this cause through the great
urging of the sacred council, the emperor himself, and most
importantly the command of God, Gregory was persuaded to
ascend the bishop's throne, and was appointed the pastor of the
sacred Church in Thessalonica. Wherefore he bravely and
steadfastly accomplished great deeds in behalf of the Orthodox
Faith. But many evil heirs of Acindinus and Varlaam appeared,
fierce beasts born of ferociousness, as well as their teacings and
compositions, not once, not twice, not three times, but many times
in great quantity, and not during the reign of one emperor or
patriarch but during three successive reigns and an equal number
of patriarchates and many councils, which through divinely inspired
words and writings, countered them in many ways, and eventually
overcame them completely. And some persist, having no regard for
the High Court, shamelessly attacking the saints who triumphed
over them. Such were in short Gregory's victories over the impious.

Then God, in an ineffable manner, sent the teacher to the East. He
was sent as the elder from Thessalonika to Constantinople to make
peace between two quarreling emperors. But he was seized by the
Agarians and for an entire year was made to travel in suffering from
place to place, from city to city, fearlessly preaching the Gospel of
Christ. And he affirmed and convinced them in their faith, entreating
them to remain steadfast, confirming with divine wisdom those who
were wavering in the faith or could not understand or asked
questions about the previous events, and freely granting healing to
those who asked it. To those who did not believe, to wretched
apostates, to those who had followed them and those who cast
aspersions on our teachings about the incarnate providence of our
Lord and God, or the veneration of the precious Cross and the holy
icons he spoke many times without hesitation. He spoke also of
Mohammed and answered many other questions which they put to
him. Some wondered in themselves, others were angered and put
forth their hands and would have made him a martyr, if not for God's
plan and the promise of money to be gained from his ransom. So he
was spared.

Then the great saint was freed by the lovers of Christ, and this
bloodless martyr returned once more in joy to his flock. In addition
to the other many and great gifts and preeminent qualities, which he
had, he was also adorned with the wounds of Christ, bearing also in
himself Christ's, according to Paul. Let us describe him; these were
his characteristics. Along with his excellence he was meek and
humble. (We do not speak here of God and divine matters, for he
was quite a defender of these.) He did not remember evil and was
good-natured, desiring to return good for evil. He never quarreled.
He was always patient and magnanimous in the face of adversity.
He was above vanity and sensuality. He was always temperate and
not extravagant in all personal necessities, and for all that time he
was not ill. He endured quietly and silently, always graciously, to
the limits of what was done to him, so that all would see him as
reasonable, attentive and keen witted. And consequently he never
allowed his eyes to be void of tears, but sympathized with a flow of
tears.

And so like a martyr from the beginning to the end he struggled
against demons and the passions, driving heretics far the Christ's
Chruch, defining the Orthodox Faith through his words and
compositions, and by them as with a seal sealing all divinely
inspired writing, for his life and word became a seal of the life and
words of the saints. He tended his flock for thirteen years more in
the godly manner of the Apostles, and having adorned them with his
moral teachings, he guided them to the heavenly sheepfold. And
having served all Orthodox, both those who lived during his time and
those yet to be born, he was translated to the higher life, having
lived sixty-three years in all. And he commended his spirit into the
hands of God, leaving his body to his flock, as a special portion and
a precious treasure, enlightened and glorified at the end.

For every day Christ benefits with wonders those who come near in Faith, and grants healing of many diseases,
many of whom tell of their cures.
Through His prayers, O Godhave mercy on us.

Amen.

Translated from Triodion, siest' Tripesnets: Triod' Postnaya,
Moscow, 1904, by Robert Parent.

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