ST SYMEON OF THESSALONICA: HIS DOGMATIC THEOLOGY (original) (raw)

St Symeon, bishop of Thessalonica, was born in the second half of the 14th century and died in September 1429 1. He is renowned in the Orthodox world, as well as in wider Christian circles, for his liturgical writings. These texts, published by Migne in Patrologia Graeca, have attracted the deserved attention of both Orthodox clergy as well as of people interested in Eastern liturgical theology and practice. Very little consideration has been given so far, however, to other aspects of St Symeon's thought, and notably to his dogmatic writings, to which this paper is devoted. The main focus of the paper will be St Symeon's dogmatic treatise known under the title Against All Heresies 2. This work is in the form of a dialogue. St Symeon presents the doctrinal teaching of the Orthodox Church through a conversation with a priest, who represents his clergy, and who asks him several questions, to which St Symeon replies. The treatise is a substantial well-rounded presentation of the orthodox doctrine, a concise exposition of orthodox dogmatics. It is not as detailed and technical as Saint John of Damascus' Exposition of the Orthodox Faith, but it is in many ways comparable to it. At any rate, it is one of the rare systematic presentations of most of the central aspects of orthodox theology written by a saint of the Church, and this makes its examination particularly interesting and important. I would like to begin by making two general remarks. First, whereas the first part of the exchange between St Symeon and his priest, namely the Against All Heresies, is dedicated to doctrine , later on the discussion turns to an examination of the sacraments and other liturgical matters. This is a reflection of the profound integration of lex credendi and lex orandi, of doctrine and liturgy , which is a typical characteristic of orthodox theology. The very word «orthodoxy» means right doxa, that is both right belief or faith and right praise or glory. Orthodoxy then denotes both right doctrine and the proper way of worshipping God. This integration of faith and worship is also found in the Orthodox Liturgy. Whereas its first part is the Liturgy of the Word, the second part is the Liturgy of the Sacrament. Faith, therefore, leads to worship. This movement is also reflected in the writings of St Symeon, this great theologian of the liturgy. The second general point which I would like to highlight is the dialogical character of the treatise. This reminds us that theology develops within a context of dialogue, love, and communion, and not so much at the desks of isolated intellectuals. With regard to its contents, Against All Heresies includes chapters against atheism, polytheism, other religions (notably Judaism and Islam) and several old and recent heresies. It refers to the knowledge of God, to divergences in ideas and practices between the Eastern and the Western Churches, to the hesychastic controversy of the 14 th century, and so on. It also presents the teaching of the seven Ecumenical Councils and of the Nicene-Constantinopolitan Creed. In general, most major doctrinal topics are dealt with in one way or another, under various headings. This work is a combination of dogmatics and apologetics. It aims at both presenting the Orthodox Christian doctrine and refuting the claims of other religions and heresies.