It has been suggested that this article or section be merged into Energies of God. (Discuss)

The Essence Energies distinction is an Eastern Orthodox concept developed by Saint Gregory Palamas (1296 - 1359), a monk of Mount Athos in Greece; who later became Archbishop of Thessalonica. Wikipedia does not have an article with this exact name. ... The Energies of God are a central principle of theology in the Eastern Orthodox Church. ...

He was a preeminent theologian and a proponent of hesychasm; he is venerated as a Saint in the Eastern Orthodox Church. He was initially asked by his fellow monks on Mount Athos to defend them from the charges of Barlaam of Calabria. Barlaam believed that philosophers had better knowledge of God than did the prophets, and valued education and learning more than contemplative prayer. As such, he believed the monks on Mount Athos were wasting their time in contemplative prayer when they should be studying. Gregory said that the prophets in fact had greater knowledge of God, because they had actually seen or heard God Himself. Addressing the question of how it is possible for humans to have knowledge of a transcendent and unknowable God, he drew a distinction between knowing God in his essence (Greek ousia) and knowing God in his energies (Greek energeiai), although workings or activities is probably a more appropriate English translation, since it avoids the esoteric connotations the word energies has acquired today. He maintained the orthodox doctrine that it remains impossible to know God in His essence (to know who God is in and of Himself), but possible to know God in His energies (to know what God does, and who He is in relation to the creation and to man), as God reveals himself to humanity. At the same time he makes it clear that such a distinction, seperating his essence from his energies is not meant to imply any seperation in God; the energies and the essence are both God, It is God himself who touches us, his energies are not seperate from him, but they are him. In doing so, he made reference to the Cappadocian fathers and other earlier Christian writers.