The vision of the young St. Symeon the New Theologian of God's uncreated light at the age of twenty is one of the most misunderstood Patristic
passages that has been used to justify many false visions. Many times
ordinary people have revealed to me stories of personal visions of
light that anyone with even a small amount of discernment can recognize
either as psychological or demonic in origin. I have also entered into
debates and discussions with Orthodox theologians regarding visions of
God's light received by non-Orthodox, such as the mystics of the West
or Buddhists of the East. In almost all cases the vision of St. Symeon
at the age of twenty is used to justify their emotion-filled arguments
for the validity and divine origin of these visions. Their argument,
though misinformed, is simple: Symeon saw God's uncreated light then fell into sin, so if Symeon
can have such a vision then why can't anyone (including non-Orthodox)?
They also argue against the need for purification and illumination to
take place before such a vision can be granted. Are such
interpretations justified?
It has become clear to me that of the many who have tried to use the
above emotion-filled justifications have hardly or even never read the
works of St. Symeon. The account in which he describes his vision at the age of twenty is described in his homily On Faith. The event St. Symeon
describes is written in the third person in which he uses the
pseudonym "George" to describe his actual experience. When he was
fourteen he had approached his spiritual father Symeon the Elder to enter the monastic life, but considering the young Symeon
immature at the time he rejected his entrance and told him to live a
monastic sort of life in the world until he was mature enough - which
didn't happen until he was twenty-seven. Thus seven years prior to his
entering the monastic path did he have his vision.
From the age of fourteen until twenty St. Symeon
strove to imitate that which he read in the writings of St. Mark the
Ascetic. His day job was managing a patrician's household in
Constantinople and engaged in the worldly affairs of the palace. But at
night he would keep vigil and pray with tears and do as many
prostrations as his conscience told him to do so that, at the advice of
St. Mark, he never slept until his conscience was satisfied. He
describes himself as regarding "all material things of life with
indifference and even approached food and drink without taking pleasure
in them or doing so with frequency." He says that he never observed
long fasts beyond the prescribed fasts of the Church, he never slept on
the ground, wear a hair shirt, or was tonsured a monk. Yet he had
faith and actualized it in the world, as he says in his discourse: "By
these deeds his faith received wings and reached heaven."
It was in this context that one night, while praying "God have mercy on
me a sinner" with his mind, that "suddenly a flood of divine radiance
appeared from above and filled all the room." He describes the vision
as "nothing but light all around" him, to the point where he thought he
was falling because even the ground was filled with light. "Oblivious
of all the world he was filled with tears and ineffable joy and
gladness." However St. Symeon
goes on to describe that above him in the heavens there appeared
another more clear light that was surrounding his spiritual father Symeon the Elder.
Following this vision, Symeon continued about his daily business affairs in the palace. This is something he would come to regret however. He writes:
"What we have related about this young man is amazing and unexpected,
and we have never heard that anything like it has happened to anyone
else. Even though it may have happened in some cases or will happen in
the future, yet men should know that they will be deprived of so great a
blessing unless they promptly withdraw from the world, or they will
soon lose what they have received."
And by this Symeon
reveals the reason for relating this story: that when one has been
purified and illumined one must withdraw from the world completely to
maintain the grace within. Symeon
basically goes on to say that he received this vision of his spiritual
father in uncreated glory because, through the prayer of Symeon the Elder, Christ was calling him to a monastic life and to the emulation of his elder. Young Symeon
did not do this but remained in the world and Satan came out strongly
against him to prevent his withdrawal to a monastery. He fell into
despair as a result of his disobedience. It was only through the
guidance and prayers of his spiritual father that he was able to free
himself of his despair and recover. It was only until he completely
renounced the world and repented with extreme ascetic feats after many
years that he got a glimpse of what he had seen earlier, though Symeon is writing in the third person so we don't know how humble he was being at this point.
When we thus examine what St. Symeon
says in his own words and in proper context, it is extremely
far-reaching for Orthodox to use this example as a justification for the
vision of uncreated glory of the non-Orthodox or even themselves
outside of the context of purification and illumination within the
Orthodox tradition. So when Symeon
says that he lived a worldly life, he does not mean that he lived a
sinful life in the world but that he maintained a busy occupation in the
world while living faithful to God's commandments. And his post-vision
despair is only the result of not being obedient to his monastic
calling at the right time. This does not take away the fact that Symeon was living an ascetical
life in the world, molding his faith by his works, and attaining a
state of inner purification so as to be found worthy of the vision of
divine glory. And it was not until after much effort for his
disobedience to his heavenly calling that he was able to recover that
which he lost. As St. Symeon explains in the same homily following the description of his vision by quoting St. Gregory the Theologian:
"Gregory the Theologian said: 'It is written, The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom
(Prov. 1:7). For where there is fear there is the keeping of the
commandments. Where there is the keeping of the commandments, there is
the purification of the flesh, and from the cloud that besets the soul
and prevents it from clearly seeing God's ray of light. Where there is
purification there is illumination. Illumination is the fulfillment of
those who desire either the greatest of all supremely great things, or
even that which is above all greatness.' By this saying he showed that
illumination of the Spirit is the goal of every virtue. He who attains
to this illumination has arrived at the end and limit of all things that
can be perceived and has found the beginning of the knowledge of
spiritual things."
Interestingly this is all very similar to the vision of Saul on his way
to Damascus before he was baptized Paul and made into an Apostle. Saul
was a persecutor of the Church, yet beheld the resurrected Lord of
glory. However, as a persecutor and being outside the Church, this
vision was not the result of being found worthy due to his inner
purification. Instead this vision of divine glory was like hell fire to
him and it blinded him for his unworthiness. He was commanded to be
baptized to receive his sight, and by baptism he was purified and
illumined which he actualized by going into the desert for two years to
study and pray. And by his obedience he progressed from glory to
glory, whereas Symeon initially was disobedient and prevented from doing so until he repented.
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