THEBOUNDLESSNAME

By
MetropolitanEphraimofBoston
BishopGregoryofBrookline
and
ThomasDeretich

By the term Name of God, Orthodox Christians mean two things: 1) We mean the
revealed Truth about God, and, 2) in another sense,wemean alsothehuman,created
wordsbywhichthisrevealedTruthisarticulated.Theeternal,revealedTruthaboutGod
existsandwillalways exist,whetherwearticulate itinourhumanlanguageornot.This
iswhatourSaviourintimatestouswhenintheGospelofSt.John,HetellstheJews:

But now you seek to kill Me, a Man that has told you the Truth,
whichIhaveheardfromGod.(John8:40)

Nooneinhisrightmindwouldassert thatthe TruthwhichGodtheSonheardfromGod

theFather wascommunicatedin humanwords!ThecommunicationintheHolyTrinity
is entirely ineffable. YetitisthisveryTruth,the uncreatedandineffableTruthofGod,
that ourSaviour,when Hebecamemanforus, revealedtousin humanspeech.Thisis
alsotheverysamedivine TruthwithwhichtheHolySpiritenlightened theApostleson
thedayofPentecost,inaccordancewiththepromiseofourSaviour:

When He, the Spirit of Truth, is come, He will guide you into all
Truth: for He shall not speak of Himself but whatsoeverHeshall
hear,thatshallHespeak.(John16:13)

Again, theTruth thattheHolySpiritshallspeakandguideChristsdisciplesin,is
an ineffable and divine Truth, which He received from the Son. Yet this is the same
Truth that the Spirit showed to the Apostles and which they preached with human
wordsinalltheknownworld!

1

 These examples illustrate clearly the two aspects of Gods revelation and the
distinctionthat lies betweenthem:the uncreatedandeternalTruthofGodsrevelation,
and created, human concepts and words with which this revelation is articulated in
order to become accessible to the human mind. And this is the very same distinction
that exists between the uncreated Name of God, that is, the eternal Truth about God,
and the created names of God, that is, human words and concepts, which theChurch
hastaughtustouseinordertoarticulatetheeternalTruthaboutGod.
It is exclusively in the former sense, thatis,inthesenseoftheuncreated Truth
about God, that we say that the Name of God is an Energy of God, because every
revelation of God about Himself, every Truth about God, is His Energy. In the latter
sense, that is, in terms of human speech, the names of God are both created and
temporal,beingpartofthisworld,andtheyarecertainlynotanEnergyofGod.
TheprominentRussianprofessorandwriterofbooksonOrthodoxtheology,Serge
GodandMan
Verhovskoy,discussesthesetwoaspectsoftheNameofGod,inhisbook, :

AparticularformoftherevelationofGodinawordistherevelation
of God in the Divine Names.
A Name of God, as a human
word, is, of course, created. (Itis,therefore,possibletouseit
senselessly or in vain. The identification of a Name of God, asa
[created]word,withGodHimselfisaheresywhichwascondemned
by the Russian Holy Synod in the twentieth century.) But God
Himselfcandwellandactinit.
The
Divine aspect of a Divine Name is, as it were, a
Divine selfdefinition or a thought of God about
Himself. The presence of a divine principle in the Divine Names
followsfromthe whole attitudeoftheOldTestamenttowardThem.
TheNameofGod isHoly, andGod sanctifiesHimselfinHisName
(Lev. 22:32). Men can offend the Name of God by their sins (Am.
2:7). God acts forthe sakeofHisName(Ez.39:7, 25).
The Name
of God is one,great,andeternal,asisGodHimself
(Ps.9:2,
134:13, Zach. 14:9).Godactsthrough HisName(Ps.53:1).Ifthere
were nothing Divine intheName ofGod,howwoulditbepossible
2

 for us tobless,praise, andloveit,worshipandserveit,rejoiceinit
and be persecuted for its sake? Finally it is striking that God
reveals His Names (e.g. Ex. 3:1314, 6:3). It follows that They
expressthegenuineDivinereality.
God isneartoamaninHisNames (Ps.75:1).
Thepresenceof
God is equivalent to the presence of the Name of God.The
Name of God dwells in the whole earth and especially intheHoly
Land,inIsrael,in Jerusalem,inthetempleandinindividuals.The
Jewslovedtogive theirchildrennamesinwhichtherewasa Divine
Name(Ishmael,John,Joachim,Jesus,etc.)
There are about one hundred Divine Names in the Old
Testament. Each of them has its own meaning. It is possible to
include into Them the entire theology of the Old Testament. The
Divine Name is wonderful (Jg. 13:1718) it is remembrance of
God (Ex. 3:15). God reveals His Name in order for men to know
Him(Ex.6:3,33:19Jer.23:6).1

Furtheron,hewrites:

He is revealed to us in the Divine Names, perfections and actions
[i.e. Energies], which reveal something to us not only about the
Creator and about Providence, but also about God Himself, He
manifests Himself as the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, as
Unity, Life, Essence,Goodness,Truth, Beauty,Holiness,Love,and
as many other properties [i.e. Graces and Names] which really
belong toHim,thoughitbeamannerotherthanwearecapableof
imagining.2

The wellknown Greek hierarch, Metropolitan Hierotheos Vlachos, agrees and
writes:

1
GodandMan
SergeVehovskoy, [inRussian](1956),pp.9596.
2
Verhovskoy,p.352.
3


The Name of God is the Energy of God. It is known from our
OrthodoxtheologythatGodhas EssenceandEnergy.Evencreated
thingshaveessenceandEnergythesun,forexampleisaheavenly
body and emits its light, and its fire is something that burns and
emits Energy, that is, heat, and light. But God, since He is
uncreated, is both uncreated Essence and uncreated Energy with
regardto HisEssence,Godiswithout nameandbeyondnames,but
withregardtoHisEnergies,HehasmanyNames.
WheneverGod revealedHimselfto men,HerevealedoneofHis
Energies, like love, peace, righteousness, or love for mankind. In
this way He has communion with men. For this reason also I say
that theNamesofGodareHisEnergies.Whenever,indeed,anyone
mentions the Name of God with compunction, humility,
repentance,faith,etc.,hereceivesknowledgeand experienceofthe
EnergyofGod.3

InHisEssence,Godisunknowableandcannotbe understood ordescribedbyany
HisEssencehasnoname,
creature. norcananybeappliedtothatineffableEssence.
But in His Energies,inHisPowerandGlory, inHisDivineGraceandRevelation,
God
revealsHimself andismadeknownto theextentthatmanisabletocomprehend
Him. Here is what Metropolitan Philaret of Chernigov, a prominent theologian of the
RussianChurchinthenineteenthcentury,saysconcerningtheNameofGod:

TheNameofGod isthebeing ofGodinthataspectinwhich itcan
becomeknown.4

3
MetropolitanHierotheosVlachos,HallowedBeThyName,
http://www.thewonderfulname.info/2013/12/hallowedbethyname.html ,translatedfromHierotheos
Vlachos,
,
June10,2005,
,
http://www.parembasis.gr/2005/05_06_13.htm .
4
OrthodoxDogmaticTheology[
ArchbishopPhilaret(Gumilevsky), inRussian],(1882),part2,p.
201.
4

 What is said about God in proper sense, that is what God is and
whatHe isbyHisnature,thatiswhatissaid[aboutHim]inproper
sense. The revealed names and characteristics of God are not a
product of human thought, so that they [i.e. names and
characteristics]shouldbelikenedtomeaninglesswords.5

Some ancient heresies (e.g. the Eunomians)6 would notacknowledge theDivinity
ofChrist, buttheydidclaimto knowGodsEssenceandthereforeattributedmanmade
labelstothatEssence.However,theEunomianswereresolutelycondemnedbytheHoly
FathersandtheHolyCouncilsoftheChurch.
But, contrary to what some claim today, Eunomianism is notwhatourSaints,or
the Church writers mentioned above, teach. Nobodyabsolutely nooneknowsGods
Essence,norcananyoneattributeanametothatEssence.
Below, there followseveralScripturalandPatristictextsthatconfirmtheOrthodox
ChristianteachingontheNameofGod:
TheancientChristiandocument,the
Shepherd ofHermas(c.A.D.150),says,The
Name of the Son of God is great and boundless, and upholds the entire universe.7
Orthodox Christians believe that
only the Grace of Godthat is to say, only God
Himselfis boundless and upholds the entire universe. So, it is clear that here, the
Shepherd of Hermas equates the GraceofGodwiththe
boundlessNameoftheSonof
God.
St. Clement of Rome does the same, when he tells us: It was through [Jesus
Christ] that He called us from darkness to light,fromignoranceto therecognitionof
His glorious Name, to hope on Thy Name, which is the origin ofallcreation.8Again,
Orthodox Christians believe that only the Grace of Godthat is to say, only God
Himselfistheoriginofallcreation.It isobvious,therefore,thathere,St.Clementof
RomealsoidentifiesthegloriousNamewiththeGraceofGod.

5
ArchbishopPhilaret ,
part1,p.27
6
The Cappadocian FathersSt. Basil the Great, St. Gregory the Theologian, and St. Gregory of Nyssaspent much
of their time refuting the Eunomians. In fact, the first two of St. Gregory the Theologians famous
FiveTheological
Orations arededicatedspecificallytorefutingtheEunomians.
7
ShepherdofHermas
,Similitudes,IX,14.
8
St.ClementofRome, FirstEpistletotheCorinthians 59:23.
5

 St.CyrilofAlexandriamakesexactlythesameidentification whenheinstructsus:
[Christ] says that His disciples ought to be kept in the Name oftheFather,thatisto
say,intheGloryandPowerofHisGodhead.9
Psalm19:1alsoidentifiestheNameofGodwiththePowerofGod:

TheLordheartheeinthedayofaffliction
TheNameoftheGodofJacobdefendthee.

Psalm101:15tellsuspreciselythesamething:

AndtheheathenshallfearThyName,OLord,
AndallthekingsoftheearthThyGlory.

Here,again,weseethisidentityofNameandGlory.
Psalm71:17saysthatHisNameisbeforethesun,thatis,beforecreation:

HisNameshallbeblesseduntotheages
BeforethesundothHisNamecontinue.

The
SynodiconofOrthodoxyidentifiestheGloryofGodwithGodHimself,whenit
tells us that this Grace, or Energy, or Light, or Glory and Power, or Revelation,
emanates inseparably from Gods Essence, though it is distinct from that Essence.
That is to say, this Divine Energy, this Glory and Power of His Godhead is God
Himself.10
St. Gregory Palamas affirms: Every Power or Energy [of God] isGod Himself.11

9
St.CyrilofAlexandria, OntheGospelaccordingtoSt.John ,bk.11,ch.9(inThomasRandell,
trans.,S.Cyril,ArchbishopofAlexandria:CommentaryontheGospelAccordingtoS.John, vol.2
[LibraryoftheFathersoftheHolyCatholicChurchAnteriortotheDivisionoftheEastandWest,vol.48
London:WalterSmith,1885].
10
SeetheChaptersAgainstBarlaamandAcindynus,inthe SynodiconofOrthodoxy (in
TheTrue
Vine,issuenos.27&28,pp.6368&7477).
11
St.GregoryPalamas, EpistletoJohnGabras,sec.13(inPanagiotesK.Chrestou,ed.,

,vol.2[Thessalonica,1966],p.340).
6

ThisPowerorEnergy,whichisGodHimself,isboundlessandbeforecreation.
TheGuide
In ,St.AnastasiusofSinaihasthefollowingdiscourse:

Question: Does thedesignationGodrefertotheEssence,or
thePerson,ortheEnergy,orasymbol,orametaphor?
Answer: It is clear that [the designation] God refers to the
Energy. It does not represent the very Essence of God for it is
impossible to know this, but it represents and reveals His Energy
thatisabletobecontemplated.12

The largest HesychasticCouncil, theCouncilofConstantinopleof1351,confirmed
SynodalTome
thisteachinginitslongdogmaticdecree,calledthe ,whenitaffirmedthat
the Energy of God is called Godhead by the saints.13 The Council also approvingly
quoted St.AnastasiusteachingthatthenameGodapplies totheEnergy ofGod.14St.
GregoryPalamassignedthe
TomeoftheCouncilof1351,andthisCouncilalsoendorsed
hiswritten
ConfessionoftheOrthodoxFaith.
In his writings, St. Gregory Palamas refers both to the uncreated Name of God
(which istheEnergyofGodandthusGodHimself)andtothecreatedwords(whichare
Homily53
notanEnergyofGod)inwhich, however, GodHimselfdwells.Inhis ,onthe
EntryoftheMotherofGodinto theHolyofHolies,St.GregoryPalamasstatesthatthe
Holy of Holies was the place assigned to God alone, which was consecrated as His
dwelling, and out of which He gave audience to Moses, Aaron, and those of their
successors who were equally worthy.15 St.GregoryPalamasalsostates,oneparagraph
earlier in the same homily, that the Holy of Holies was the dwellingplace, as David
calls it, of the Holy Name (Psalm 74:7).16 The uncreated Glory and Energy of God is

12
TheGuide
St.AnastasiusofSinai, PG
(Greektextin 89:53).
13
CouncilofConstantinopleof1351, SynodalTome ,sec.36(inJaroslavJ.PelikanandValerieV.
CreedsandConfessionsofFaithintheChristianTradition
Hotchkiss,eds., ,vol.1[NewHaven,CT:Yale
UniversityPress,2003],p.357).
14
Tome
Councilof1351, ,sec.35(inPelikanandHotchkiss,p.357).
15
St.GregoryPalamas,Homily53 ,sec.20(inChristopherVeniamin,ed.andtrans., SaintGregory
Palamas:TheHomilies [Waymart,PA:MountThaborPublishing,2009],p.423).
16

St.GregoryPalamas,Homily53 ,sec.19(inVeniamin,p.422).
7

called, by the Prophet David, the Name ofGod. TheHoly ofHolieswasthedwelling
place oftheuncreatedHolyNamewhichisthesameasGodalone,accordingtoSt.
Confession of the Orthodox Faith
Gregory Palamas.17 In his , St. Gregory Palamasalso
referstoGoddwellingincreatedwordsoftheHolyScripturesasHedwellsinthesaints,
the icons, and the Cross: we venerate the salutary form of the honorable cross, the
glorious temples and places and the Godgiven Scriptures because of the God who
dwellsinthem.18 Thus,according to St.Gregory Palamas,Goddwells inholy(created)
is
words,butGods(uncreated)Name(Psalm73:7) Godalone.19
St.John ofKronstadtagrees withtheforegoing ScripturalandPatristictexts:His
Nameis[God]HimselfandTheNameofGodisGodHimself.20
GodsName, therefore,must properlybe understood in twosenses:1)initsDivine
and eternal sense, whenitis anEnergyofGod and2)inits humanandcreatedsense,
not
whenitiscertainly anEnergyofGod.
Inconclusion,therefore, weseethat,from manysources,oldandnew,thevoiceof
theChurchringsclearonthisissue.

17
St.GregoryPalamas,Homily53 ,secs.1920(inVeniamin,pp.422423).
18
St.GregoryPalamas,ConfessionoftheOrthodoxFaith, sec.4(inPelikanandHotchkiss,p.377).
19
St.GregoryPalamas,Homily53 ,secs.1920(inVeniamin,pp.422423).Inthis,St.Gregory
followstheteachingofHolyScripture,whichalternatesbetweensayingthatGoddwellsinthetemple,
thatGodsglorydwellsinthetemple,andthatGodsnamedwellsinthetemple.
20
MyLifeinChrist
St.JohnofKronstadt, (trans.E.E.GoulaeffLondon:Cassell,1897),pp.358,
477,
http://nrs.harvard.edu/urn3:hul.fig:002575139 .
8