At the center of contemplation is the mystery of man's salvation, from the creation of the world to the Second Coming and the universal resurrection. Everything is one and inseparably linked in the salvific actions of the Holy Trinity, but the Incarnation still occupies the main place in the theological vision of St. Simeon, about which he speaks most often. It is the main source of man's deification, it is also the basis of the Eucharist, which received from St. Simeon that place in monastic life which the ancient ascetic writers did not have.

The man of the Holy Spirit, of Whom he wrote more abundantly than his predecessors, St. Simeon is nevertheless the most Christocentric of all the Greek Fathers. For St. Simeon, Christ is indeed everything. He found new and striking expressions of his tender and enthusiastic love for Him, and he was able to find unheard-of words in describing the experience of seeing divine light. The dramatic character of the possession and loss of the Divine in the heart of man is also described by St. Simeon with a power rarely found in other fathers. Within the theological framework of the Incarnation, one can best understand the somewhat puzzling and at the same time realistic passages of St. Simeon about the human body and its parts, as well as the somewhat bold "nuptial" images in the texts on impassibility and descriptions of divine eros, which confused some in his time and still confuse now. Is this the reason for the restraint shown towards St. Simeon by the church hierarchy, which is why he is given such a modest place in official theology? We don't think so. In any case, this is an insufficient explanation. Rather, his extraordinary personality, mystical and at the same time militant, his apostolic zeal to preach the vision of God to all Christians, all this was too much for calm people and they preferred to forget about St. Simeon. On the other hand, Fr. Simeon lived too late, and as a result it was difficult for him to acquire the authority of a church father. Thus, for example, St. Gregory Palamas, who treated him with sympathy and reverence, nevertheless does not quote him among other patristic authorities.1202 His theology, much more systematic than that of St. Simeon, could also contribute to the relegation of the latter to the background. But for us, St. Simeon will forever remain a man of deep personal mystical experience, who was able to express it in a stunning way. Its significance is incomparable and unsurpassed in Orthodox spirituality of all times. We also admire the remarkable freedom of his spirit, which, however, is able to become accustomed to the ascetic and dogmatic tradition of Orthodoxy.

A popular Greek proverb says: "A poor saint has no doxology." One could say that the truth of this proverb is confirmed by the example of St. Symeon the New Theologian in two ways: literally, since his place in church solemn services is very modest (not a single church has ever been dedicated to his name); spiritually, because he always remains that "brotherly beggar" of whom he speaks in his Catechetical Words and who gives us his "golden", his inspired writings.

About The Author

Vsevolod Alexandrovich Krivoshey (the future Eminence Basil, Archbishop of Brussels and Belgium) was born on July 17/30, 1900 in St. Petersburg. His father, A. V. Krivoshey, was the Minister of Agriculture and Land Management during the reign of Emperor Nicholas II. After graduating from the gymnasium in 1916, Vsevolod entered the historical department of the Faculty of History and Philology of Petrograd University and from 1917 continued his studies at the same faculty at Moscow University. In 1924, in Paris, he graduated with a diploma from the Faculty of Philology of the Sorbonne.

In 1924, Vsevolod enrolled as a student in the newly founded by Metropolitan Eulogius St. St. Sergius Theological Institute in Paris. In September 1925, Vsevolod Alexandrovich went to the Hopov Monastery in Serbia for a congress of the Russian Christian Student Movement, and from there, together with S. Sakharov, later Schema-Archimandrite Sophrony, went on a pilgrimage to Mount Athos, which had long attracted him as a place of true embodiment of the spirit and traditions of Orthodoxy. Arriving on September 19, 1925, at the Russian Panteleimon Monastery (all dates relating to Mount Athos are given according to the old style adopted there), he set off on foot along the Holy Mountain: he visited the Russian St. Andrew's and Ilyinsky's sketes and most of the Greek monasteries, as well as the deserted Karula, where Archimandrite Theodosius (formerly inspector of the Vologda Seminary; +1937) asceticized among the rocks. On November 21, 1925, on the feast of the Entry of the Most Holy Theotokos into the Temple, he was accepted as a novice at the Russian Panteleimon Monastery and placed in obedience in the workshop for repairing vestments. His spiritual father and leader was Father Kirik, the former rector of the Panteleimon metochion in Odessa, an experienced, wise and kind mentor, to whom he confessed his thoughts daily.

On March 24, 1926, on the eve of the feast of the Annunciation of the Most Holy Theotokos, novice Vsevolod was tonsured into the rassophore with the name Valentine, and on March 5, 1927, into the mantle with the name Vasily. From that time on, Monk Vasily received a new obedience: to study Greek together with Father Sophrony (Sakharov). In view of the constant contacts with the Greeks, it was necessary for the monastery to have people who had a good command of the Greek language. After two years of study and a stay in Karyes (1927-1929), Monk Basil was appointed monastery secretary as a grammarian, whose duties included correspondence with the Athonite Kinot, the Patriarchate of Constantinople, Greek government institutions, as well as business correspondence on economic issues.