Rei Hakamada: Gregory Palamas as a pastor: His message of ‘Deification for all’ in his Homilies

This paper aims to reconsider Gregory Palamas’ role in the Hesychast tradition by analysing his pastoral teachings, which can be found in his Homilies. Although his effort for defending the Athonite monks has been widely recognized and his theory of distinction between God's essence and energies has long attracted scholastic attention, his activities and works outside the Hesychast controversy have not been studied sufficiently. Thus, this paper examines Palamas’ Homilies by focusing on his teachings for his people of the Thessaloniki and aims to reveal the less studied side of him – that as a pastor. Among his 63 extant Homilies, special attention will be paid to Hom. 37, 56, and 60, which include Palamas’ thought on the nature of human beings and his strong message that not only the Athonite monks, but all who believe in Christ, are invited to join the path of deification.