The following article is from The Great Soviet Encyclopedia (1979). It might be outdated or ideologically biased.

Symeon the New Theologian

Born 949 in Galatia (Paphlagonia); died 1022 in Chrysopolis. Byzantine religious writer and mystical philosopher.

In his youth, Symeon studied in Constantinople and was in the imperial service; he later became a monk. His works develop the themes of deep self-examination, self-purgation, and illumination of the individual who has withdrawn into himself to cultivate spirituality. For Symeon, the authority of the church’s hierarchical institutions receded into the background before the absolute authority of the “spirit-bearing” ascetic, the bearer of personal sanctity. Symeon’s teaching concerning the personal relationship between mentor (“spiritual father”) and disciple (“spiritual son”) as the highest norm of religious life is typologically comparable to the doctrines of Islamic mysticism concerning the link between the murshid and the murid; it is precisely in such a chain of “inheritance” that “tradition” is preserved.

Symeon’s poems are important in the history of Byzantine literature because of the boldness with which the author reformed meters and brought poetic language close to the norms of living speech. Symeon’s mystical philosophy anticipated 14th-century hesychasm.

WORKS

Greek text with French translation:
Catéchèses, vols. 1–3. Edited by B. Krivochéine. Translated by J. Paramelle. Paris, 1963–65.
Chapitres théologiques, gnostiques et pratiques. Edited by J. Darrouzes. Paris, 1958.
Traités théologiques et éthiques, vols. 1–2. Edited by J. Darrouzes. Paris, 1966–67.
Hymnes, vols. 1–3. Edited by J. Koder. Paris, 1969–73.
In Russian translation:
Slova, fascs. 1–2. Moscow, 1882.

REFERENCES

Kazhdan, A. P. “Predvaritel’nye zamechaniia o mirovozzrenii vizantiiskogo mistika X-XI vv. Simeona.” Byzantinoslavica, 1967, vol. 28, no. 1.
Krivochéine, V. “The Writings of St. Symeon the New Theologian.” Orientalia Christiania Periodica, 1954, vol. 20.

S. S. AVERINTSEV

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References in periodicals archive

Symeon the New Theologian, which feels perfect to us," May said.

St. Symeon Orthodox Church Expands Food and Culture Fair Offerings

Among their topics are daydreaming and lusting after the divine: Clement of Alexandria and the Platonic tradition, dreaming of treason: portentous dreams and imperial coups in seventh-century Byzantine apocalyptic discourse, the dream come true: Matthew of Edessa and the return of the Roman emperor, dream portents in early Byzantine and early Islamic chronicles, and divine fantasy and the erotic imagination in the Hymns of Symeon the new theologian. ([umlaut] Ringgold, Inc., Portland, OR)

Dreams, Memory, and Imagination in Byzantium

Although it was not their intention to develop systematic dogmatic studies on this topic, they conveyed relevant teachings in their writings and homilies praising "the most spotless and most pure Virgin" (Symeon the New Theologian 1997: 138, 139).

Symeon the New Theologian teaches us that we are the sons of the Theotokos and brothers of Christ, because

[phrase omitted] [Meter tou Theou], [phrase omitted] [Panagia] in philokalik literature

For some readers, this will be familiar terrain, as the better-known theologians of deification (e.g., Irenaeus, Athanasius, the Cappadocians, Cyril, and Symeon the New Theologian) are treated in turn.

Partaking in Divine Nature: Deification and Communion

One might quibble that the author has not done enough to present some of the later theological material, particularly from Symeon the New Theologian and especially Gregory Palamas, whose corpus is barely cited in the book but who is venerated as an important Orthodox theologian on the first Sunday of Great Lent.

The Orthodox Church: An Introduction to its History, Doctrine, and Spiritual Culture

Derek Krueger argues that much of the imagery of Symeon the New Theologian (949-1022) is frankly homoerotic.

Toward a Theology of Eros

As an example, let me mention the "private opinion" of St Symeon the New Theologian that the power "to bind and to loose" does not pertain to all priests but only to those who "who serve in the priestly ministry of the gospel in a spirit of humility and who live a blameless life".

The patristic heritage and modernity

One thinks of Maximus the Confessor or Symeon the New Theologian.

Preferred providers; how the church chooses its Doctors

The most prominent monastic saint of this period, St Symeon the New Theologian, is a controversial figure (both in his own day and later), and his influence complex and still not clearly understood.

Monks and Laymen in Byzantium: 843-1118

The exception to this statement is Charles Barber's concise treatment of the trial of Symeon the New Theologian; despite its lack of illustration, for reasons related to the trial itself, it considers in an original way a specific social and political context of icon veneration.

Icon and Word: The Power of Images in Byzantium: Studies Presented to Robin Cormack

Taking as its slogan "Forward -- to the Fathers", it turned to study the heritage of the Eastern Fathers and revealed to the world the treasures of Byzantine spiritual and theological tradition (in particular, the writings of St Symeon the New Theologian and St Gregory Palamas).

Orthodox Theology on the Threshold of the 21st Century