The theory of "union-distinction" as a paradigm of Gr. Palamas’ methodology

The issue concerning the real existence of the divine energies and consequently their relation to the divine essence is remarkably important for Christian Metaphysics. This study deals with the way in which Gr. Palamas included in this perspective the theory on unions and distinctions, which derives from Pseudo-Dionysius the Areopagite’s works, who is considered to be one of the main founders of Christian theology. It is also important to mention that the study deals with matters that, on the one side, have formed a tradition in the history of Christianity and, on the other, are subsumed in the context of the hesychastic controversy of the fourteenth-century, during which the specification of both the similarities and the differences between philosophy and theology was decisively raised.