Philosophy of Palamism in A. F. Losev’s Synthesis

A. Losev’s worldview was formed under the influence of V. Solovyov and Father Pavel Florensky. Through imiaslavie and the philosophy of the name, he got to know the heritage of St. Gregory Palamas and used it in his synthesis. In his rethinking of ancient and medieval Neoplatonism, he was forced to turn to elements of the theology of St. Gregory, which he considered within the framework of modern European and Russian religious philosophy. A. Losev knew about the importance of the teachings of the Thessalonian saint for his «absolute dialectic», however, he understood it in his own way due to the limited availability of texts to him. He considered the Palamas’ teaching in connection with many contemporary issues, such as imiaslavie, symbolism and myth. The goal of this work is to find out how exactly A. Losev used the doctrine of energies in his philosophical synthesis, as well as to understand the extent to which his philosophy of Palamism agrees with the ideas of Byzantine Palamism. A. Losev presents Palamism as Christian Platonism, contrasting it with pagan Platonism that arose in the Renaissance. Correctly understanding the theology of the symbol in St. Gregory, A. Losev, however, develops an independent teaching on the magical and mythical nature of the name, and does not take into account the influence of Peripateticism on Palamism.