Illumination Beyond the Ordinary

The answer is that the uncreated light appears in the spiritual experience of those who have achieved deep inner purity and perfection through cleansing from passions and sin, as well as through true and pure prayer. This light is not the result of ordinary perception but is revealed only to those who receive the power of the Holy Spirit, transforming their perception.

Thus, according to one source, only those who have completely rid themselves of passions and sin and have possessed true prayer were blessed with the vision of the Light of Divinity, described as the light of future life and eternity. The author cites the example of the life of Saint Basil the Great, when, in a state of prayer, his cell was filled with the Uncreated Light—a light accessible only to those with pure hearts and saints (Source: link txt).

On the other hand, according to Saint Gregory Palamas, a person cannot perceive this light with ordinary sensory organs because his eyes are “blind” to it. However, by receiving the power of the Holy Spirit, perception is transformed, and even our corporeal eyes become capable of beholding the uncreated light. Thus, spiritual transformation, brought about by God’s grace, enables the vision of a light that is originally inaccessible to ordinary sensory perception (Source: link txt, page: 239-240).

It is also important to note that this kind of vision is reserved for a few and is not a universal experience. As emphasized in another passage, the brilliant phenomenon of the uncreated light is available only to a small number of ascetics in each generation, and deceptions or false visions require caution so as not to be mistaken for a true manifestation of God’s Light.

In summary, the attainment of the uncreated light occurs in cases of profound spiritual purification and union with God through the transformation of perception, effected by the action of the Holy Spirit, which makes this experience exceptional and rare in the life of an ascetic.

Illumination Beyond the Ordinary

424423422421420419418417416415414413412411410409408407406405404403402401400399398397396395394393392391390389388387386385384383382381380379378377376375374373372371370369368367366365364363362361360359358357356355354353352351350349348347346345344343342341340339338337336335334333332331330329328327326325