Saint Symeon

The Mystic of Fire and Light

Symeon considered mysticism to be the sign of an authentic Christian life.

Hagia Eirene was built by Constantine

In the East there was a great emphasis on Jesus as the light of the world.

Mysticism and Rationalism Apophatic

theology focuses on remembering that whatever we say about God is inadequate.

Union with God While union with

God is the goal in East and West, union as divinization is emphasized in the Orthodox Church.

The Holy Trinity Jesus makes the

descent, God reaching down to humans, while the Holy Spirit makes possible the ascent, humans reaching up to God.

Saint Symeon (949-1022) A mystic pushes

the lines of acceptable dogma because it is so difficult to use words to describe a living experience.

Symeon’s Openness “By our teaching we encourage you too

to strive that you may have a part in [God’s] gifts and enjoy them, the gifts of which we, though unworthy, have been partakers through [God’s] unutterable goodness.”

The Gift of Tears

“Without tears our dried heart could never be softened, nor our soul acquire spiritual humility.”

Summary Spiritual practice

has meaning only in light of the goal: the divinization of the individual Christian into a loving child of God.