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not because of the insults against them, but defending against the distortion of the dogmas; and if you too were persuaded of these things, which have been proven well and as was fitting, they themselves 1.554 will seek nothing further, but will consider your correction a worthy reward for their many toils and dangers. And Barlaam said that this plan seemed best to him as well, but he feared that words would not suffice to rescue him from the dangers, but that even after his confession some dishonor might be decreed against him, as one who had spoken against the orthodox dogmas. and then it would happen that he would be dishonored and have no defense later that he had not justly suffered such things, since he himself had condemned himself; so that if he were going to suffer such things, it would be better to bear the judgment in silence, so that he could later say he had been wronged and appeal the judgment. But the grand domestic encouraged him and advised him not to fear such things, as with him present, no one would be able to grieve him. And being persuaded by him, Barlaam, coming into their midst, confessed his former ignorance and asked forgiveness for what he had said, saying that it was not for the sake of contentiousness nor from a refusal to be persuaded by what was said by the theologians concerning God that he had been brought to such arguments, but from ignorance, thinking the others were in error, for the sake of correcting them he had introduced all his zeal and eagerness. But now, having been accurately persuaded that they held a better opinion concerning what we were disputing, I disagree with them about nothing else, and 1.555 I have believed and I confess that the light that shone around the disciples on Tabor is eternal. At this, both Gregory Palamas and all who were with him rose, embraced Barlaam, and gladly gave him forgiveness for his former actions; they praised his good change and confessed thanks to God for their concord, saying that they themselves had not entered into so great a struggle for the sake of earthly and perishable things, but so that the evil would not be distributed to more people, and the church either become full of corrupt dogmas or fall into sedition against itself, with some joining these and others those, and for this reason they had appeared contentious beyond measure, although indeed in all other things they had been taught to be meek and humble; but in matters where God is what is at stake, to be sharp and unyielding, and neither to be vexed at dishonor, nor to be softened by the praise of men. But since the God of peace and concord has joined into one what was divided, they themselves will eagerly abstain from contention, and will know great gratitude to him, who has now become the chief cause of peace. At this, both the emperor and the patriarch, after saying what was necessary to both sides concerning peace, dissolved the synod. But Barlaam, after spending a few days in Byzantium, when the emperor also died shortly after, and holding to his disputes concerning the dogmas no less than before, loudly protesting the judgment as if it were a miscarriage of justice 1.556, fled and went away to Italy, and having come to an agreement with the Latins as before, he was appointed bishop of Hierax by them. And not long after, a certain other monk named Gregory Akindynos, who had been a pupil of Barlaam in secular wisdom and had associated with him for a long time, took up those differences of his which he had had with Palamas; but something ridiculous happened concerning him. For in word he rejected Barlaam, and if anyone said to him that he held Barlaam's views, he would both renounce the association and accuse Barlaam of thinking wrongly and contrary to the saints; but in truth he followed him completely and differed in nothing, either small or great. But when sedition arose again in the church, the patriarch, considering it a terrible thing if the affairs of the church should suffer and be disturbed on account of the contentiousness of some, again assembles a second synod in the same temple of the Wisdom of God, with the great

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οὐ τῶν εἰς αὐτοὺς ἕνεκα λοιδοριῶν, ἀλλὰ τῆς τῶν δογμάτων ἀμυνόμενοι διαστροφῆς· ὧν καλῶς καὶ ὡς προσῆκεν ἀποδεδειγμένων εἰ καὶ σὺ πεισθείης, οὐδὲν οὐδ' 1.554 αὐτοὶ ζητήσουσι περαιτέρω, ἀλλ' ἀξίαν ἀμοιβὴν τῶν πολλῶν πόνων καὶ κινδύνων νομιοῦσιν ἔχειν τὴν διόρθωσιν τὴν σήν. Βαρλαὰμ δὲ καὶ αὐτῷ μὲν ἔφασκεν ἀρίστην φαίνεσθαι ταύτην τὴν βουλὴν, δεδοικέναι δὲ μὴ οὐκ ἐξαρκέσουσιν οἱ λόγοι πρὸς τὸ τῶν κινδύνων ἐξαρπάσαι, ἀλλὰ καὶ μετὰ τὴν ὁμολογίαν ἀτιμία τις αὐτοῦ καταψηφισθῇ, οἷα δὴ κατὰ τῶν ὀρθῶν δογμάτων ἐξενηνεγμένου. καὶ τότε ἄτιμον εἶναι συμβήσεται αὐτῷ καὶ μηδ' ἀπολογίαν τινὰ ὕστερον ἔχειν ὡς οὐ δικαίως τοιαῦτα πάθοι, οἷα δὴ καὶ αὐτὸν κατεψηφισμένον ἑαυτοῦ· ὡς εἴγε τοιαῦτα πείσεσθαι μέλλοι, βέλτιον σιωπῇ τὴν δίκην ἐνεγκεῖν, ὥστε καὶ εἰσαῦθις ἠδικῆσθαι λέγειν δύνασθαι καὶ τὴν δίκην ἀνακαλεῖσθαι. ὁ μέγας δὲ δομέστικος παρεθάῤῥυνέ τε καὶ μὴ τοιαῦτα παρῄνει δεδοικέναι, ὡς αὐτοῦ παρόντος, οὐδενὸς γενησομένου τοῦ λυπεῖν αὐτὸν δυνησομένου. ᾧ καὶ πειθόμενος ὁ Βαρλαὰμ, παρελθὼν εἰς μέσους, τήν τε προτέραν ἄγνοιαν ὡμολόγει καὶ συγγνώμην ἐπὶ τοῖς εἰρημένοις ᾐτεῖτο, ὡς οὐ φιλονεικίας ἕνεκα λέγων οὐδὲ τοῦ μὴ πείθεσθαι τοῖς ὑπὸ τῶν θεολόγων εἰρημένοις περὶ θεοῦ εἰς τοὺς τοιούτους τῶν λόγων ἐξενηνέχθαι, ἀλλ' ὑπ' ἀγνοίας οἰόμενος τοὺς ἄλλους ἁμαρτάνειν, ἕνεκα τοῦ διορθώσασθαι πᾶσαν εἰσῆγον σπουδὴν καὶ προθυμίαν. νυνὶ δὲ ἤδη πεπεισμένος ἀκριβῶς, ὡς αὐτοὶ βέλτιον ἐφρόνουν περὶ ὧν ἠμφισβητοῦμεν, περί τε τῶν ἄλλων οὐδενὸς διαφέρομαι πρὸς αὐτοὺς, καὶ 1.555 τὸ ἐν Θαβωρίῳ τοὺς μαθητὰς περιλάμψαν φῶς ἀΐδιον καὶ πεπίστευκα καὶ εἶναι ὁμολογῶ. Ἐπὶ τούτοις καὶ Γρηγόριος ὁ Παλαμᾶς καὶ ὅσοι σὺν αὐτῷ ἦσαν ἀναστάντες, περιέβαλλόν τε Βαρλαὰμ καὶ συγγνώμην ἐπὶ τοῖς προτέροις ἄσμενοι παρεῖχον· ἐπῄνουν τε τῆς καλῆς μεταβολῆς καὶ τῷ θεῷ τῆς ὁμονοίας ὡμολόγουν χάριτας, φάσκοντες, οὐδ' αὐτοὶ γηΐνων ἕνεκα καὶ φθειρομένων πραγμάτων τοσοῦτον ἐνστήσασθαι ἀγῶνα, ἀλλ' ἵνα μὴ, εἰς πλείους διανεμηθέντος τοῦ κακοῦ, ἢ διεφθαρμένων δογμάτων ἀνάπλεως γένηται ἡ ἐκκλησία, ἢ διαστασιάσῃ πρὸς ἑαυτὴν, τῶν μὲν τούτοις, τῶν δὲ ἐκείνοις προστιθεμένων, καὶ διὰ τοῦτο καὶ τοῦ μετρίου πέρα ὀφθῆναι φιλονείκους, ἅτε δὴ ἐν μὲν τοῖς ἄλλοις ἅπασι πρᾴους εἶναι δεδιδαγμένους καὶ ταπεινούς· ἐν οἷς δὲ θεός ἐστι τὸ κινδυνευόμενον, ὀξεῖς εἶναι καὶ ἀπαραιτήτους, καὶ μήτε πρὸς τὴν ἀδοξίαν δυσχεραίνειν, μήτε πρὸς τὸν παρὰ τῶν ἀνθρώπων ἔπαινον μαλακίζεσθαι. ἐπεὶ δὲ ὁ τῆς εἰρήνης καὶ τῆς ὁμονοίας θεὸς εἰς ἓν συνῆψε τὰ διεστῶτα, αὐτοί τε προθύμως ἀποστήσονται φιλονεικίας, καὶ αὐτῷ πολλὴν εἰδήσουσι τὴν χάριν, μάλιστα αἰτιωτάτῳ τῆς εἰρήνης νυνὶ γεγενημένῳ. Ἐπὶ τούτοις καὶ βασιλεύς τε καὶ πατριάρχης ὅσα ἔδει διαλεχθέντες περὶ εἰρήνης πρὸς ἑκατέρους, διελύσαντο τὴν σύνοδον. Βαρλαὰμ δὲ ὀλίγας Βυζαντίῳ ἐνδιατρίψας ἡμέρας, ἐπεὶ καὶ ὁ βασιλεὺς ἐτελεύτησε μετὰ μικρὸν, καὶ τὰς περὶ τὰ δόγματα ἀμφισβητήσεις οὐδὲν ἧττον ἐχόμενος ἢ πρότερον, τῆς δίκης ὡς ἐκδεδιῃτημένης 1.556 πολλὰ καταβοῶν, ἀποδρὰς ᾤχετο πρὸς Ἰταλίαν, καὶ συμφρονήσας Λατίνοις ὥσπερ καὶ πρότερον, ἐπίσκοπος ὑπ' αὐτῶν Ἱέρακος ἀνεδείχθη. καὶ οὐ πολλῷ ὕστερον Γρηγόριός τις ἕτερος μοναχὸς Ἀκίνδυνος ἐπικεκλημένος, ὁμιλητὴς Βαρλαὰμ κατὰ τὴν ἔξω σοφίαν γεγενημένος καὶ πολὺν αὐτῷ φοιτήσας χρόνον, τῶν ἐκείνου διαφορῶν ὧν διηνέχθη πρὸς Παλαμᾶν ἀντεποιήθη· συνέβαινε δέ τι γελοῖον περὶ αὐτόν. Βαρλαὰμ μὲν γὰρ ἀπεσείετο τῷ λόγῳ, κἄν τις πρὸς αὐτὸν ὡς τὰ ἐκείνου φρονοίη λέγοι, τὴν κοινωνίαν τε ἀπεωθεῖτο καὶ κατηγόρει Βαρλαὰμ ὡς κακῶς φρονοῦντος καὶ ἀπεναντίως τοῖς ἁγίοις· τῇ δ' ἀληθείᾳ κατάκρας ἐκείνῳ ἠκολούθει καὶ οὐδὲν ἢ μικρὸν ἢ μεῖζον διεφέρετο. αὖθις δὲ στάσεως κατὰ τὴν ἐκκλησίαν ἀναφυομένης, ἐν δεινῷ τιθέμενος ὁ πατριάρχης, εἰ διὰ τήν τινων φιλονεικίαν νοσοίη καὶ ταράττοιτο τὰ τῆς ἐκκλησίας, σύνοδον καὶ αὖθις δευτέραν συναθροίζει κατὰ τὸν αὐτὸν τῆς θεοῦ Σοφίας νεὼν, συνεδριάζοντος αὐτῷ καὶ μεγάλου