ABSTRACT
In light of the expanded definition of energies elaborated in Chapter 2, this chapter asks after the etymological connection between energeia and activity or actuality, as well as the ramifications of this relationship for how Palamas understands God’s activity in the world. It brings to light the distinction between God’s eternal power and its manifestation in time and explains how divine acts like creation, providence, and foreknowledge figure in Gregory’s defense of the energies as eternal, uncreated attributes of God. This chapter examines some of the details of the historical debate between Palamas and Akindynos over the ‘actualization’ of energeia, highlighting the problems of potency and actuality and the way that Palamas understands God to be eternally active or ‘in act.’
