Writings
After Symeon's death his writings were kept alive by small groups of followers, eventually becoming one of the central teachings of the hesychast movement. Many copies of his works were made in the following centuries, particularly around the 14th century, and among the Eastern Orthodox monasteries on Mt. Athos. His recognition has always been greater outside the official church, its calendar and liturgy. Historians credit this to his zealous personality, his criticism of the church hierarchy, his emphasis on direct experience of God, and some of his unorthodox teachings—including his belief that an unordained monk who had the direct experience of God was empowered to absolve others of their sins.
Symeon wrote in a similar style and taught the traditional views of several early Christian fathers and hesychasts, including St. Augustine, Gregory of Nyssa, Gregory of Nazianzus, and Mark the Hermit. Where Symeon differed from his predecessors was in his transparent and open sharing of his most interior experiences. Symeon was the first Byzantine mystic to freely share those experiences, which were given in the context of his teaching that the direct experience of God was something to which all Christians could aspire.
One of Symeon's catechesis, On Faith, along with a composite work titled One Hundred and Fifty-Three Practical and Theological Texts, are included in the Philokalia, a collection of texts by early Christian mystics. Another text in the Philokalia, titled The Three Methods of Prayer is also attributed to Symeon—it describes a method of practicing the Jesus Prayer that includes direction on correct posture and breathing while reciting the prayer. It is extremely unlikely that he wrote that text—some scholars attribute it to Nikiphoros the Monk, while others believe it was written by disciples of Symeon.
Read more about this topic: Symeon The New Theologian
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