GREGORY PALAMAS · 14TH CENTURY · HESYCHAST
Homilies
Summary and key themes of this work
A collection of homilies delivered during Palamas's time as Archbishop of Thessalonica, covering liturgical feasts, the Transfiguration, the Virgin Mary, and the spiritual life. These homilies are more accessible than the Triads and reveal Palamas as a pastor as well as a polemicist — a preacher who wanted his congregation to understand that the God they worshipped in the liturgy could be genuinely encountered in the silence of the heart.
Homilies is a central text in the Christian mystical tradition, offering insight into the spiritual life, the nature of divine union, and the transformation of the soul.
This work is central to the Hesychast tradition, shaping the understanding of the spiritual life and the soul's journey toward union with God.
Selected Passages
A tree is known by its fruit; so a life is known by its deeds. A good deed is never lost: whoever sows courtesy reaps friendship, and whoever plants kindness gathers love.
When you sit down to eat, pray. When you eat bread, do so thanking Him for being so generous to you. If you drink wine, be mindful of Him who has given it to you.
Those who engage in spiritual struggle according to the inner man find the grace of the Spirit coming to them as fire, illuminating them and making them like burning candles.