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Saint Symeon of Thessalonica (c. 1381–1429) was a monk, bishop and theologian in Greece.
Biography
Symeon was born in
Constantinople
la, Constantinopolis ota, قسطنطينيه
, alternate_name = Byzantion (earlier Greek name), Nova Roma ("New Rome"), Miklagard/Miklagarth (Old Norse), Tsargrad ( Slavic), Qustantiniya ( Arabic), Basileuousa ("Queen of Cities"), Megalopolis ( ...
, most likely between 1381 and 1387. He became a monk in one of the monasteries there, possibly the Xanthopouloi monastery.
["Saint Symeon, Archbishop of Thessaloniki", Ecumenical Patriarchate Orthodox Metropolitanate of Hong Kong and South East Asia, September 17, 2013]
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He was archbishop of Thessalonica
The Metropolis of Thessaloniki ( el, Ιερά Μητρόπολις Θεσσαλονίκης) is a Greek Orthodox metropolitan see based in the city of Thessaloniki in Central Macedonia, Greece. It is part of the so-called "New Lands", belonging to ...
from 1416 or 1417, until his death in 1429. His consecration took place in Constantinople, in accordance with the established practice for hierarchs who belonged to the Patriarchate of Constantinople.[
The city of Thessalonica was surrounded by Ottoman forces when he arrived as archbishop in 1416-17. He slipped quietly out of the city in June 1422 to go to Constantinople and persuade the emperor to send more forces to protect the city. He got only as far at Mount Athos, narrowly escaping capture by the Ottoman forces beginning their siege. On Mt. Athos he was convinced to return to Thessalonica. From this point onward, he presided over the city at a particularly difficult time with the city under siege by the Ottoman sultan ]Murad II
Murad II ( ota, مراد ثانى, Murād-ı sānī, tr, II. Murad, 16 June 1404 – 3 February 1451) was the sultan of the Ottoman Empire from 1421 to 1444 and again from 1446 to 1451.
Murad II's reign was a period of important economic deve ...
(1421–1451). Receiving no help from the emperor in Constantinople
la, Constantinopolis ota, قسطنطينيه
, alternate_name = Byzantion (earlier Greek name), Nova Roma ("New Rome"), Miklagard/Miklagarth (Old Norse), Tsargrad ( Slavic), Qustantiniya ( Arabic), Basileuousa ("Queen of Cities"), Megalopolis ( ...
, the city's governor, Andronikos Palaiologos, took the decision to hand Thessalonica over to Venice
Venice ( ; it, Venezia ; vec, Venesia or ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto region. It is built on a group of 118 small islands that are separated by canals and linked by over 400 bridges. The isla ...
, in the hope that the maritime republic would keep it out of Ottoman hands.
Venetian rule, however, could not prevent the Ottomans from maintaining their siege, and conditions in the city remained desperate. Symeon describes these events in his ''Logos Historikos''. His death, probably in September 1429, came shortly before Thessalonica finally fell to the Ottomans in March 1430.
Works
Symeon wrote a number theological and liturgical works, which were imperfectly edited in Iaşi in 1683, reprinted by Migne in PG 155. He also left a number of short works, homilies, and a host of pastoral letters to be found in the ''Political-historical Works'' and in the ''Theological Works (Ἔργα θεολογικά)'' published by Balfour. In addition, he wrote numerous hymns and a discourse on the priesthood. The most extensive of his works is the ''Dialogue in Christ,'' which runs from PG 155: 33 to 696. It begins with a lengthy anti-heretical section and then deals with each the church's religious services.
Some of his works on the Jesus Prayer
The Jesus Prayer,; syr, ܨܠܘܬܐ ܕܝܫܘܥ, translit=slotho d-yeshu'; syr, label= Amharic, Geez and Tigrinya, እግዚኦ መሐረነ ክርስቶስ, translit=igizi'o meḥarene kirisitosi. "Note: We are still searching the Fathers for ...
are also included in the ''Philokalia
The ''Philokalia'' ( grc, φιλοκαλία, lit=love of the beautiful, from ''philia'' "love" and ''kallos'' "beauty") is "a collection of texts written between the 4th and 15th centuries by spiritual masters" of the mystical hesychast tr ...
''.
Veneration
He was canonized by the Greek Orthodox Church
The term Greek Orthodox Church ( Greek: Ἑλληνορθόδοξη Ἐκκλησία, ''Ellinorthódoxi Ekklisía'', ) has two meanings. The broader meaning designates "the entire body of Orthodox (Chalcedonian) Christianity, sometimes also cal ...
in 1981. His feast day is celebrated on 15 September.[
]
Notes
Further reading
Works
* ''Politico-Historical Works'', ed. David Balfour (Vienna, 1979) - includes the Greek text of the ''Logos Historikos''.
* ''Ἔργα θεολογικά, Ἁγίου Συμεὼν ἀρχιεπισκόπου Θεσσαλονίκης, 1416/17-1429'' (Theological works of St. Symeon, Archbishop of Thessalonika, 1416/76-1429) ed. & intro. David Balfour. (Thessaloniki, 1981).
* ''Treatise on prayer : an explanation of the services conducted in the Orthodox Church'' ; translated by H. L. N. Simmons. The Archbishop Iakovos library of ecclesiastical and historical sources ; 9. (Brookline, MA, 1984)
* ''The Liturgical Commentaries'', original Greek, Eng. translation, introductory commentary, ed. Steven Hawkes-Teeples (Toronto, 2011).
* 'Logos Historikos' (English translation) in ''Venice and Thessalonica 1423-1430: Greek Accounts'', trans. John R. Melville-Jones (Padua, 2006), pp. 87–142
* 'A Discourse on the Priesthood to a Pious Monk', in ''On the Priesthood and the Holy Eucharist (According to St. Symeon of Thessalonica, Patriarch Kallinikos of Constantinople and St. Mark of Ephesus)'', trans. George D. Dragas (Rollinsford NH, 2004)
Secondary literature
* Eugenia Russell, 'Symeon of Thessalonica and his message of personal redemption', in ''Spirituality in Late Byzantium'', ed. * Eugenia Russell (Newcastle upon Tyne, 2009), pp. 33–43
* D. Balfour, 'St Symeon of Thessalonica: a polemical hesychast', in ''Sobornost''; 4:1 (1982), pp. 36-21
{{DEFAULTSORT:Symeon Of Thessalonica
1380s births
1429 deaths
15th-century Byzantine bishops
Byzantine bishops of Thessalonica
Saints of medieval Macedonia
Saints of medieval Greece
Philokalia