Barlaam of Calabria and his theology in defense of uniatism

The article examines the personality of Barlaam of Calabria (14th century) through the prism of his activity in favor of the unification of the churches. Te author shows how this activity fits into the historical context and the ecclesiological atitudes of Barlaam. Te author describes the three projects that Barlaam proposed throughout his life and their evolution. Te project of “polite dialogue” and dialectics was supposed to solve the problem of the mutual misunderstanding of the parties. Te project of the “authoritarian solution” was to remove the pressure of mutual anathemas and lead to a more constructive dialogue. Te project of a “council afer military assistance” was supposed to solve immediately the political and theological problems of Christians. All these projects ultimately failed due to their failure to keep in mind the historical situation and their inconsistent implementation. Nevertheless, the originality of Barlaam’s ideas and his tirelessness in their embodiment defines him as a sincere and gifed fighter for church unity. Te conclusion is drawn that this struggle was the main content of his political and theological thought