St. Nicholas Cabasilas (ca. 1322-ca. 1391)

A. EDWARD SIECIENSKI

Byzantine theologian and spiritual writer known chiefly for his books The Commen­tary on the Divine Liturgy and The Life in Christ. Born Nicholas Chamaetos in 1322, he was the nephew of Nilus Cabasilas (1298–1363), whose surname he used throughout his life. Nilus had succeeded Gregory Palamas as archbishop of Thessa- lonica and was the author of several impor­tant anti-Latin tracts later used at the Council of Florence (1438–9). Although born in Thessalonica, Nicholas was educated at Constantinople and entered the imperial service, later becoming an official and friend of John VI Cantacuzenos (1347–54). During the civil war between John VI and John V Palaeologus (1341–91), Cabasilas sided with Cantacuzenos, who entrusted him with several important diplomatic missions and (briefly) considered him as can­didate for patriarch following the deposition of Callistus I. When in 1354 John VI Cantacuzenos was deposed, Nicholas retired from public life and concentrated his energies on theological matters. He was once thought to have succeeded his uncle Nilus as arch­bishop of Thessalonica; however, it is more likely that he entered monastic life, serving as a priest at the Manganon monastery near Constantinople.

Cabasilas’s hospitable open-mindedness has led some to believe that he was influenced by the so-called “Latin-minded” theologians surrounding his contemporary, Demetrius Cydones (1324–98). However, among Cabasilas’s works are a firm defense of hesychasm against Nicephorus Gregoras (ca. 1295–1360) and a new edition of his uncle’s book against the Latins on the procession of the Holy Spirit. He also wrote several homilies and hagiographical works, many of which manifest a particular concern for social justice and the need to redress economic and institutional inequities.

Cabasilas’s two most famous works are his Life in Christ and Commentary on the Divine Liturgy. The Life in Christ empha­sized the synergy of divine and human activity in the process of salvation, the role of individual and public prayer, and the union with Christ made possible by the mysteries of baptism, chrismation, and Eucharist. Although thoroughly East­ern in its outlook, the influence of Latin theology can be seen in Cabasilas’s explana­tion of the atonement, which closely follows Anselm of Canterbury’s satisfaction theory. His Commentary on the Divine Liturgy (a work that found admirers in the West and was even quoted favorably by the Council of Trent) spoke of the transforma­tive and mystical aspects of the liturgy, especially as it related to the eternal, heavenly liturgy. It became, alongside the earlier work of Patriarch Germanus of Constantinople (715–30), the most signifi­cant commentary on the Byzantine liturgy in the Eastern tradition.

SEE ALSO: Divine Liturgy, Orthodox; Mys­tery (Sacrament)

REFERENCES AND SUGGESTED READINGS

Cabasilas, N. (1960) A Commentary on the Divine Liturgy, trans. J. M. Hussey and P. A. McNulty. London: SPCK.

Cabasilas, N. (1974) The Life in Christ, trans. C. de Catanzaro. Crestwood, NY: St. Press.