Capitolele, Imnele si Epistolele simeoniene - problematica filologica, istorica si spirituala
Chapters, Erotic Hymns and Epistles - the main philological, historical and spiritual problems

Summary/Abstract: The aim of this essay is to review the main philological, historical and spiritual problems of the the works written by St Symeon the New Theologian (949 -1022) in the last decades of his life, mainly after his ecclesiastical condemnation in 1009 and during his forced and then freely chosen exile, i.e.his Chapters, Erotic Hymns and Epistles. There are discussed the main editions and translations of these works insisting on the otherwise ignored three translations of St Symeon’s works into Romanian. The last part of the essay is a discussion and an attempt of evaluation of St Symeon’s 4 still unedited (with one exception) 4 Epistles on the background of the controversial sacramental-charismatic relationship between monasticism and confession in the Byzantine tradition. The author’s claim is that that, read in their context, St Symeon’s Epistles are the clue for the genuine understanding of St Symeon’s fascinating and challenging personality as a mystical apostle in Byzantium.

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