Palamism Does Not Disfigure the Gospel: A Reply to Thomas Weinandy

Abstract In a 2024 article in the IJST, Fr. Thomas Weinandy argues that the theological system of Gregory Palamas is in grave error, especially with respect to its commitment to an objective ontological distinction between God's essence and His energies. In his concluding paragraph Fr. Weinandy goes so far as to say the following: ‘Although Gregory Palamas wanted to clarify and enhance the biblical Christian notion of God, he, in the end, utterly failed, for he disfigured the very heart of the Christian gospel.’ In this response piece I first clarify the core distinctives of Palamism and then point out deficiencies in Weinandy's argument.