Gregory Palamas - translation question

[Marina Robb]

How would one usually translate the phrase "kath'hyparxin" used by Palamas when talking about the procession of the Holy Spirit (as opposed to "kat'energeian")?

Is it different from the Cappadocian distinction between the essence and the energies of God?

is "hyparxin" here, 'being' or 'existence'?

[Richard Leigh]

Hi Marina,

I don't know, myself. I wonder if the people at B-Greek would know. Their site and discussion list is devoted to Biblical (Koine) Greek which Palamas is admittedly not using,so I don't know if they would accept the question, but there are a number of Greek scholars on the list who might at least be able to direct you to a source for your answer if they cannot be it themselves.

Their e-adress is http://www.ibiblio.org/bgreek/

Richard

[M.C. Steenberg]

Dear in the Lord, Marina,

You asked:


How would one usually translate the phrase "kath'hyparxin" used by Palamas when talking about the procession of the Holy Spirit (as opposed to "kat'energeian")? Is it different from the Cappadocian distinction between the essence and the energies of God? is "hyparxin" here, 'being' or 'existence'?

You are essentially correct in your reading of kat' uparxin (kat' hyparxin to those whose displays do not properly render the Greek) as 'according to being', as this is the root sense of the term. How one might best translate it in precise terms (e.g. 'according to essence', 'according to being', 'according to subsistence', all of which are possible) would depend a great deal on the context; but certainly the phrase, when used in contrast with kat' energeian, denotes the substantial being of the subject, rather than the manifestations of that being (the energeia).

If you have to hand the passage from St Palamas from which you are drawing your question, perhaps you could post a brief snippet (or a reference to the text), and we could look at it specifically.

But in general, a discussion on the Holy Spirit in which kat' hyparxin and kat' energeian are used, would likely be a discussion on the distinction between the essence (ousia) of God, and His energies; and likely would be offered as a clarification of the nature of the Spirit as God in being (i.e. kat' hyparxin) and not simply as an energy of God.

INXC, Matthew