Symeon, called Metaphrastes or the Metaphrast (; ; died c. 1000), was a

Byzantine The Byzantine Empire, also referred to as the Eastern Roman Empire or Byzantium, was the continuation of the Roman Empire primarily in its eastern provinces during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, when its capital city was Constantinopl ...

writer and official. He is regarded as a saint in the

Eastern Orthodox Church The Eastern Orthodox Church, also called the Orthodox Church, is the second-largest Christian church, with approximately 220 million baptized members. It operates as a communion of autocephalous churches, each governed by its bishops via ...

and his

feast day The calendar of saints is the traditional Christian method of organizing a liturgical year by associating each day with one or more saints and referring to the day as the feast day or feast of said saint. The word "feast" in this context d ...

falls on 9 or 28 November. He is best known for his 10-volume

Greek Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group. *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family. **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...

menologion Menologium (), also written menology, and menologe, is a service-book used in the Eastern Orthodox Church and those Eastern Catholic Churches which follow the Byzantine Rite. From its derivation from Greek , ''menológion'', from μήν ''m� ...

, or collection of saints' lives.

Life

About Symeon's life few details are known. He lived in the second half of the 10th century.

Ephrem Mtsire Ephrem Mtsire or Ephraim the Lesser ( ka, ეფრემ მცირე) (died c. 1101/3) was a Georgian monk at Antioch, theologian and translator of patristic literature from Greek. Information as to Ephrem’s life is scarce. Early in life ...

puts him at the peak of his career in the sixth year of

Basil II Basil II Porphyrogenitus ( gr, Βασίλειος Πορφυρογέννητος ;) and, most often, the Purple-born ( gr, ὁ πορφυρογέννητος, translit=ho porphyrogennetos).. 958 – 15 December 1025), nicknamed the Bulgar S ...

(982).

Yahya of Antioch Yahya of Antioch, full name Yaḥya ibn Saʿīd al-Anṭākī ( ar, يحيى بن سعيد الأنطاكي), was a Melkite, Melkite Christian physician and historian of the 11th century. He was most likely born in Fatimid Egypt. He became a phys ...

also makes him a contemporary of Basil II and Patriarch

Nicholas II of Constantinople Nicholas II Chrysoberges ( el, , ʻgolden wandʼ), (? – 16 December 991) was Ecumenical Patriarch of ConstantinopleRichard P. H. Greenfield, Alice-Mary Maffry Talbot (2016). ''Holy Men of Mount Athos''. Harvard University Press. from 984 to ...

(984–991). In the 15th century,

Mark Eugenikos Mark of Ephesus ( Greek: Μάρκος ό Εφέσιος, born Manuel Eugenikos) was a hesychast theologian of the late Palaiologan period of the Byzantine Empire who became famous for his rejection of the Council of Ferrara-Florence (1438–1439). ...

wrongly called Symeon a '' megas logothetes''. The hagiographer actually lived a generation later than the historian

Symeon Logothete Symeon Logothete (or Symeon Magister) was a 10th-century Byzantine Greek historian and poet. Symeon wrote a world chronicle that goes from Genesis creation narrative, Creation to the year 948.It has been False attribution, misattributed to one Theo ...

. Symeon wrote mainly

hymnody Robert Gerhard's Hymnody is a contemporary classical work from 1963, which was an assignment from BBC. This piece was written during February and March of that year. Composer notes A note from the composer: First citation comes from Psalm ...

and

hagiography A hagiography (; ) is a biography of a saint or an ecclesiastical leader, as well as, by extension, an adulatory and idealized biography of a founder, saint, monk, nun or icon in any of the world's religions. Early Christian hagiographies migh ...

. He composed ''

kanones A canon ( el, κανών, kanōn) is a structured hymn used in a number of Eastern Orthodox services. It consists of nine ''odes'', based on the Biblical canticles. Most of these are found in the Old Testament, but the final ode is taken from t ...

'', ''

stichera A sticheron (Greek: "set in verses"; plural: stichera; Greek: ) is a hymn of a particular genre sung during the daily evening (Hesperinos/Vespers) and morning (Orthros) offices, and some other services, of the Eastern Orthodox and Byzantine Cath ...

'' and a hymn to the

Trinity The Christian doctrine of the Trinity (, from 'threefold') is the central dogma concerning the nature of God in most Christian churches, which defines one God existing in three coequal, coeternal, consubstantial divine persons: God the F ...

. He also compiled excerpts of the

church fathers The Church Fathers, Early Church Fathers, Christian Fathers, or Fathers of the Church were ancient and influential Christian theologians and writers who established the intellectual and doctrinal foundations of Christianity. The historical per ...

, particularly

Basil the Great Basil of Caesarea, also called Saint Basil the Great ( grc, Ἅγιος Βασίλειος ὁ Μέγας, ''Hágios Basíleios ho Mégas''; cop, Ⲡⲓⲁⲅⲓⲟⲥ Ⲃⲁⲥⲓⲗⲓⲟⲥ; 330 – January 1 or 2, 379), was a bishop of Ca ...

. His most important work by far, however, is the menologion, which

Albert Ehrhard Albert Joseph Maria Ehrhard (14 March 1862 – 23 September 1940) was a German Catholic theologian, church historian and Byzantinist. He was the author of numerous works on Early Christianity. Biography Born in Herbitzheim (Alsace), Ehrhard studie ...

labelled "a revolution in the field of hagiography". According to tradition, it was commissioned by Basil II. Symeon's menologion is a product of the

encyclopedism Encyclopedism is an outlook that aims to include a wide range of knowledge in a single work. The term covers both encyclopedias themselves and related genres in which comprehensiveness is a notable feature. The word encyclopedia is a Latinization ...

characteristic of the

Macedonian Renaissance Macedonian Renaissance ( el, Μακεδονική Αναγέννηση) is a historiographical term used for the blossoming of Byzantine culture in the 9th–11th centuries, under the eponymous Macedonian dynasty (867–1056), following the uphea ...

. He did not merely collect and arrange pre-existing saint's lives, but also reworked them, standardizing their language and embellishing their rhetorical style to bring them in line with the

Atticism Atticism (meaning "favouring Attica", the region of Athens in Greece) was a rhetorical movement that began in the first quarter of the 1st century BC; it may also refer to the wordings and phrasings typical of this movement, in contrast with variou ...

of the day. His nickname comes from this act of metaphrasis. The content of the lives was not altered, however, and historical errors were left intact. Symeon arranged them according to their feast days in the

Eastern Orthodox liturgical calendar The Eastern Orthodox liturgical calendar describes and dictates the rhythm of the life of the Eastern Orthodox Church. Passages of Holy Scripture, saints and events for commemoration are associated with each date, as are many times special rul ...

. There are about 150 distinct lives. For his menologion, Symeon received praise from

Nikephoros Ouranos Nikephoros Ouranos ( el, Νικηφόρος Οὐρανός; fl. c. 980 – c. 1010), Latinized as Nicephorus Uranus, was a high-ranking Byzantine official and general during the reign of Emperor Basil II (r. 976–1025). One of the emperor's clo ...

and

Michael Psellos Michael Psellos or Psellus ( grc-gre, Μιχαὴλ Ψελλός, Michaḗl Psellós, ) was a Byzantine Greek monk, savant, writer, philosopher, imperial courtier, historian and music theorist. He was born in 1017 or 1018, and is believed to hav ...

addressed to him an encomium. It was widely read in monasteries. The standard edition came in ten volumes. Numerous

illuminated Illuminated may refer to: * "Illuminated" (song), by Hurts * Illuminated Film Company, a British animation house * ''Illuminated'', alternative title of Black Sheep (Nat & Alex Wolff album) * Illuminated manuscript See also * Illuminate (disambi ...

copies were produced in the 11th century. Some orthodox prayers of preparation before Holy Communion and prayers of thanksgiving after Holy Communion were composed by him.

Veneration

Venerable The Venerable (''venerabilis'' in Latin) is a style, a title, or an epithet which is used in some Western Christian churches, or it is a translation of similar terms for clerics in Eastern Orthodoxy and monastics in Buddhism. Christianity Cathol ...

Symeon the Metaphrast is venerated in the

compiled Symeon's biography ( 1050) and he composed a liturgical office for him.

References

External links

Greek Opera Omnia by Migne Patrologia Graeca with analytical indexes
{{Authority control 10th-century births Year of death missing Greek religious writers Christian hagiographers Byzantine saints of the Eastern Orthodox Church 10th-century Christian saints 10th-century Byzantine writers Catholic saints Eastern Orthodox saints Catholic monks Logothetes Philokalia

Life

Veneration

References

Further reading

External links