Saint Constantine, really?

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The Church did at one time condemn him as they thought his hesychasm was somehow bad and reason, as in Western philosophy, was good.

The guy who did the main work of getting him condemned has faded into obscurity with no sainthood or special regard.

Palamas on the other hand was cited favorably as a theologian a number of times by Pope JPII, and is generally regarded as a holy guy by most Latin Catholics who bother to look him up, and a saint by many.

The whole condemnation of Palamas is one of those things that seemed super-important at the time but nowadays makes little sense.
 
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Also, note that the EC churches still presumably have the ability to recognize saints on their own.

In practice, though, they typically request Roman canonization, which is seen as more prestigious.

Eastern historical practice (and I believe western, too, if you go back far enough) is for local veneration to spread. Eventually, if it spreads far enough, the recognized saint ends up on the calendar (which is the canon).
 
Yeah, this is what I was getting at. We don’t venerate him, but we accept him.

I was under the impression the Church did condemn (not as in hell, but as in declaring not a saint) palamas. Maybe it was Mark of Ephesus I was thinking of.
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In the Byzantine Catholic Divine Liturgy for the Second Sunday of the Great Fast we have two Troparion, and some choose do not use the Toparion of Gregory Palamas:
  • Troparion of the Resurrection - Tone 6
  • Troparion of our holy father Gregory Palamas - Tone 8
For the Fourth Sunday of the Great Fast we have Commemoration of our Venerable Father John Climacus
  • Troparion of our holy father John Climacus - Tone 4
 
I have actually been trying for a while to find a reference where St. Pope John Paul II called Palamas a “saint”.

Mirabile dictu, I have to edit this post I just made talking about how i couldn’t find the reference, because I just found it. It’s the Holy Spirit in action confirming St. Gregory Palamas is in heaven, LOL. Now why did I have such a hard time locating that? This is about the third time I’ve looked and it is right there.

http://www.vatican.va/content/john-...ments/hf_jp-ii_hom_19791130_turkey-efeso.html

At Paragraph 4, Pope JPII refers to “Saint Gregory Palamas”:
Eastern theology has insisted a lot on the “katarsis” which takes place in Mary at the time of the Annunciation; it suffices to recall here the moving commentary made by Saint Gregory Palamas in one of his homilies: “You are already holy and full of grace, O Virgin,” said the angel to Mary. But the Holy Spirit will come to you again, preparing you, by an increase in grace, for the divine mystery. »(Homily on the Annunciation: PG 151, 178.)
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Is this what you’re referring to? Congratulations on your excellent memory!
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Did you know that people can survive a nuclear explosion by shutting themselves in a refrigerator?
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BlueKumul said:
Why was Constantine canonized if he killed people and run an authoritarian dictatorship?
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Neither being a Monarch nor killing people are inherently sinful, but rather those depend on the details. Constantine gained power according to the legal method rather than by usurpation or murder, and he used his power to improve the lives of his people by stabilizing the economy and reforming the administration. While he waged wars, these fell under the just war doctrine - Maxentius and Maximian both started the war by unlawfully revolting, Licinius broke a promise to tolerate Christians and persecuted them, the Ostrogoths and the Sassanids were both threats to the Roman People.

In any case, the big thing Constantine did was end the persecution of Christianity in the Roman Empire and really help the faith spread through the Empire.
 
Ask him if you get there before I do, and if he’s there. And if either of us make it. :man_shrugging:t2:
 
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