Essence–energies distinction
Theological concept central to Eastern Orthodoxy / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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In Eastern Orthodox (palamite) theology, there is a distinction between the essence (ousia) and the energies (energeia) of God. It was formulated by Gregory Palamas (1296–1359) as part of his defense of the Athonite monastic practice of Hesychasm[note 1] against the charge of heresy brought by the humanist scholar and theologian Barlaam of Calabria.[1][2][3]
Eastern Orthodox theologians generally regard this distinction as a real distinction, and not just a conceptual distinction.[4] Historically, Western Christian thought, since the time of the Great Schism, has tended to reject the essence–energies distinction as real in the case of God, characterizing the view as a heretical introduction of an unacceptable division in the Trinity and suggestive of polytheism.[5][6]