EN
The Hesychast controversy in Byzantium was the last stage of creation orthodoxy on the Christian East. The main characters of these disputes was a St. Gregory Palamas, Barlaam of Calabria, Gregory Akindynos and Nicephorus Gregoras. We will be interested the first phase of these disputes and two people – Gregory Palamas and Barlaam of Calabria. Disputes have begun from the critique of the practice of prayer, because the monks claimed that they saw God during prayer. Barlaam said that is not possible and next in Byzantium started the last turbulent phase of theological disputes. His opponent was St. Gregory Palamas, who defended the monks and argued that only thanks to the vision of God (the experience of God) we can speak about truthfulness of the Christian doctrine. This first stage of the hesychast controversy ended with the council of Constantinople in 1341.