CABASILAS, NICHOLAS (c. 1322–1395), born Nicolaos Chamaetos Cabasilas; Greek Orthodox theologian and saint. A native of Thessalonica, Cabasilas studied there and in Constantinople. One of his teachers was his uncle Nilos Cabasilas, an adherent and successor of Gregory Palamas in the see of Thessalonica. Cabasilas served for ten years as counselor to the emperor John VI Cantacuzenos (1341–1354). In 1353 his name was put forward as a candidate for the patriarchal chair, although he was a layman. During the second half of his life, he resided in Constantinople, mostly in the monastery of Mangana, as a layman or as a monk, devoting himself to theological studies.

Gennadios Scholarios, the first patriarch after the fall of Constantinople, characterized Cabasilas's writings as "an ornament to the church of Christ." With an imposing style, apophthegmatic, prophetic, and poetical, he expresses genuine religious feeling and deep faith.

One of Cabasilas's most important works...