Section 06: Archbishop of Thessaloniki
The years 1347-1359 carried St. Gregory Palamas from theological controversialist to working pastor. Elected to the see of Thessaloniki in 1347 but kept out by the revolutionary Zealots until 1350, he governed the empire’s second city as preacher, peacemaker, and bishop — and, in 1354-1355, endured a year of captivity among the Ottoman Turks, leaving behind one of the earliest detailed records of Christian-Muslim dialogue from the Byzantine side. This section covers the man after the Triads: Palamas in the cathedra and in chains.
Tradition: Pan-Orthodox (Church Father)
Contents
| File | Topic |
|---|---|
| Pastoral Ministry | Archbishop 1347-1359 — the Zealot years that delayed his entry until 1350; the corpus of sixty-three extant homilies (feasts, Gospel readings, ethics, the famous sermons on the Entry and the Dormition of the Theotokos, per the Veniamin translation); his style as a peacemaker; and his relations with the imperial church |
| The Ottoman Captivity | The captivity of 1354-1355 — capture near Gallipoli by the Turks of Orhan, the year moving through Asia Minor, the Letter to His Church and the documented dialogues with Muslims (the emir’s grandson Ismael, the Chionai, recorded by Taronites), the scholarly interest of Arnakis and Sahas, the ransom and return, and what the episode shows |
How to Use
- Read Pastoral Ministry for Palamas as a bishop — his preaching, his reconciling temper, and his place in the imperial church after the conciliar vindications of his theology.
- Read The Ottoman Captivity for the dramatic interruption of that ministry and for Palamas’s early, courteous, frank engagement with Islam.
Cross-References
- For the theology Palamas defended before and carried into his episcopate, see Section 05: Uncreated Light and Prayer.
- For the liturgical feasts that occasioned many of his homilies, see The Great Feasts.
- For the hesychast prayer that sustained him in captivity, see The Jesus Prayer.
References
- Palamas, St. Gregory. The Homilies of Saint Gregory Palamas. Edited and translated by Christopher Veniamin. Waymart, PA: Mount Thabor Publishing.
- Meyendorff, John. A Study of Gregory Palamas. Translated by George Lawrence. London: Faith Press, 1964.
- Arnakis, George G. “Gregory Palamas among the Turks and Documents of His Captivity as Historical Sources.” Speculum 26 (1951): 104-118.
- Sahas, Daniel J. “Captivity and Dialogue: Gregory Palamas (1296-1360) and the Muslims.” Greek Orthodox Theological Review 25 (1980).