The New Eschatology of Hesychasm

Annotation

The article is devoted to comparative research of Hesychasm phenomenon in its relations with Gnosticism. According to contemporary investigations, Hesychasm is regarded not only as Eastern Orthodox practice of silent pray, but as a broad late-byzantine intellectual movement, which was represented by Gregory Palamas and his followers such as John Cantacusenus and и Nicholas Cabasilas. This movement was consist of secular form, which described as Political Hesychasm and Laical Hesychasm. Hesychast doctrine based on ideas of eternal divine energies and of Tabor Light. It means denying early-Christian an early-byzantine concepts influenced by Gnostic dualism of principles Heaven and Earth with anti-somatic position. Author of this article based on the Roman Svetlov's concept of “Gnostic consciousness”, which characterized early-Christian thinkers. This Gnostic consciousness characterized not only heretics of II century, but also early-byzantine church writers such as Athanasius the Great, Agustin Aurelius an John Climacus. Common place of Gnostic position is ontological pessimism as denying of fallen reality, which was corrupted by sin. In this relation, Hesychasm follows to Eastern Orthodox tradition, but it has other position, which can be described as ontological optimism. Empiric material reality is not only the world of sin, but it is a space is full of invisible divine energies such as Tabor Light from synoptic Gospels. According to first Hesychast document “Hagioritic tomos”, way of salvation doesn't mean ascetic killing the flesh and the emotional soul, but it mean transformation of the flesh through Divine Light. Late-byzantine Hesychasm has a great influence on old-Russian culture since 14th century, so Russian iconography of XV century illustrate the new understanding of The Last Judgment, which mean transformation of world, but not destruction.

Keywords

• Hagioritic tomos
• Holy Russia
• eschatology
• ascetics
• Hesychasm
• Gnosticism
• Gregory Palamas
• Tabor Light
• byzantine philosophy
• theosis
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