Saint Gregory Palamas, Dr. Augustine Sokolovski

The patron saint of the second Sunday of Lent is Gregory Palamas (1296–1359). He was a noble Roman, as the citizens of the Byzantine Empire called themselves, then an ascetic, then a theologian, and finally the bishop of the great Greek metropolis of Thessaloniki, where his holy relics rest to this day.

The name of Saint Gregory is inextricably linked with Mount Athos. It is also associated with the revival of Orthodox theology in the twentieth century, specifically on French soil. At that time, many intellectual immigrants unexpectedly found themselves surrounded by the powerful philosophical and theological influence of Western Christianity. They chose Saint Gregory as the banner of their Orthodox identity.

The relics of the Catholic saint Thomas Aquinas (1225–1274) rest in the Jacobin monastery in the city of Toulouse. Gregory Palamas was seventy years younger than Thomas, and they had little in common. But it was precisely Gregory whom representatives of the Orthodox theological school and the Saint Sergius Institute in Paris chose as a kind of antipode to Saint Thomas. Asceticism, prayer, withdrawal from the world: Orthodoxy in the diaspora saw in Gregory's theology precisely these characteristics of Eastern Christianity. Saint Gregory was not a systematic thinker, he was a man of divine light, a preacher of contemplation. Thomas, on the other hand, was an architect of thought and a great systematizer. The memory of St. Gregory is linked to a new theological interpretation of the feast of the Transfiguration and is extremely valuable to the Orthodox.

Saints are always an example and a commandment left to believers. At least one of St. Gregory Palamas' commandments remained unfulfilled. One day, the Saint was captured and remained a prisoner for a long time. From this experience of captivity and communication with Muslims came his commandment to preach Christ to the Ottomans. For Orthodox Byzantines, preaching the Gospel to other peoples was considered a grave sin, which is why St. Gregory's commandment was not heeded.