Hymns

“Hymns” is a unique, almost unparalleled collection of prayer outpourings, philosophical and theological treatises, descriptions of mystical experience set forth by St. Simeon the New Theologian in poetic form. The full title of the book is “Love (outpourings) of Divine Hymns.” It includes 60 hymns. The compiler of the collection and the author of the titles of most of the hymns is St. Nikita Stifat. The central theme of the collection is the vision of Divine light. Most of the hymns talk about Divine illumination, the vision of light and unity with God: these are descriptions of the personal spiritual experience of St. Simeon. The Hymns cover a wide range of spiritual and theological topics: 1. The central place in the work is occupied by the theme of the vision of God - the experience of the uncreated Tabor Light, which, according to the teachings of St. Simeon, becomes available to a person already in earthly life through repentance, asceticism and the grace of the Holy Spirit. The author describes this Light as the living, personal presence of Christ Himself, transforming the whole person - his mind, heart and even body (see Hymns 15, 16, 22, 27, 30, 38, etc.). 2. The essay reveals the doctrine of deification - the achievement by man of God-likeness and unity with God. The author shows how a person can become “god by grace,” a living temple of the Holy Spirit, which is the goal of all spiritual life (see Hymns 16, 22, 26, 30, etc.). 3. An integral part of the path to God is repentance, awareness of one’s own sinfulness and unworthiness. St. Simeon often begins hymns with an expression of his contrition, emphasizing that Divine mercy is poured out on the humble and penitent (see Hymns 1, 4, 10, 11, 28, etc.). 4. The hymns are permeated with fiery love for God and the experience of reciprocal, surpassing all understanding, Divine love for man. This love is the driving force of spiritual ascent and the essence of communion with God (see Hymns 1, 2, 4, 16, 22, 56, etc.). 5. St. Simeon emphasizes the important role of the spiritual leader and mentor. He sees in the elder a conductor of Divine grace, a teacher and healer of the soul, without whom spiritual progress is impossible (see Hymns 6, 10, 11, etc.). 6. The hymns describe internal and external battles on the spiritual path - confronting one's own passions, worldly temptations and demonic attacks (see Hymns 4, 10, 28, etc.). 7. Many hymns are examples of heartfelt and unceasing prayer (see Hymns 11, 16, 27, etc.). 8. St. Simeon criticizes those who deny the possibility of personal communication with God and direct experience of God in the present century, contrasting their “dead” faith with their living spiritual experience (see Hymns 22, 27, 34, etc.). 9. Eschatology. Although the experience of communion with God is already experienced in this life, the author points to the fullness of the future Kingdom of Heaven and the anticipation of eternal life with God (see Hymns 2, 16, 22, etc.). There are hymns written on behalf of God (Hymns 41, 53) or in the form of a dialogue with one’s soul (Hymn 48). Each hymn, although it is a separate work, collectively represents a kind of poetic spiritual autobiography, telling about the path of St. Simeon to the knowledge of God. * Title of the work in Greek: Των θείων ύμνων οί ερωτες. Contents About the hymns of Rev. Simeon the New Theologian Nikita Stifat, monk and presbyter of the Studite monastery, on the book of divine hymns of our Venerable Father Simeon Simeon the New Theologian, St. The beginning of the divine hymns, i.e. introduction. (Prayer is a call, from composition.) About the hymns of Rev. Simeon the New Theologian Readers interested in spiritual literature have long been familiar with the words or conversations of St. Simeon the New Theologian, translated into Russian by Bishop Feofan and published in two editions by the Athos Panteleimon Monastery; Meanwhile, the hymns of St. Simeon hitherto remained untranslated and unknown among us. In the Greek edition of the works of Simeon the New Theologian, there are 1 words and chapters, which are all fully translated by Bishop. Feofan, make up the first part of the book; in the second, much smaller part, there are hymns of St. Simeon, written in poetic, verse form. This translation aims to give Russian readers the opportunity to become acquainted with this other type of works by Rev. Simeon the New Theologian - with his Divine hymns, no less interesting and remarkable than the words of St. previously published in Russian translation. Father. The authenticity of the hymns of St. Simeon is proven from his life, from ancient manuscripts and on the basis of the identity of ideas contained in the words of Simeon and in the hymns. In the life of Rev. Simeon the New Theologian, written by his disciple Nikita Stifat, it is repeatedly said that Simeon, while writing, composed Divine hymns filled with love (τῶν θείων ὕμυων τοὺς ἔρωτας), composed exegetical, catechetical and other words, wrote ascetic chapters, epistles, etc. 2 In various libraries there are many handwritten codices from the 12th, 13th, 14th and later centuries, in which, either separately or along with the words of Simeon, Divine hymns inscribed with the name of St. Simeon, abbot of the monastery of St. Mamanta, or the New Theologian 3. A comparison of the content of the hymns and the words of Simeon shows that they develop the same general or basic and particular ideas. The first should include Simeon's teaching about God as light, appearing to the believer in direct contemplation, and his teaching that for salvation it is necessary to perceive within the kingdom of God here on earth - the grace of the Holy Spirit and to experience and feel it with the mind and feeling. In addition to these main ideas, Simeon’s words and hymns coincide in some particular points, namely in the teaching about the incomprehensibility of the Divine, about man as the image of God, about the future judgment, about lamentation and tears, etc. 4 Although in the words and hymns of Rev. Simeon contains the same teaching, but there is, however, a considerable difference between them. Simeon's words are primarily conversations or teachings, composed for the people or for the monks alone, and for the most part, probably pronounced in the church; whereas the hymns are nothing more than Simeon’s cell notes or diaries, in which he described his visions and contemplations, etc. poured out feelings of love, reverence and gratitude to God. Simeon's words set forth his teaching, his theological and ascetic views; the hymns depict to us the very soul of Simeon, her feelings and experiences. Therefore, the hymns of St. Simeon's works are most characteristic not for his theological system, not for his teaching, but for Simeon's personality, for his mood, for his mysticism. The hymns of Simeon the New Theologian reveal to us, as it were, the laboratory in which the deep and original views of this saint were produced and formed. Father. A sincere confession of his sins and infirmities, a description of the extraordinary contemplations and revelations that Simeon was granted, and thanksgiving to God for the gifts and blessings received from Him - this is the general content of the hymns of St. Simeon. Being a lyrical outpouring of the religious feelings of St. Father, almost every hymn of Simeon begins with an appeal to God and takes the form of reverent reflection or conversation of the soul with God, in which Rev. Simeon lays out his worries and perplexities before God and, proposing questions, receives answers from God and explanations, or simply a form of prayer filled with deepest contrition, humility and fiery love for God, a prayer in which Simeon, confessing the wondrous ways of God’s Providence in his life, sends up praise and thanksgiving to God for all His mercies and which usually ends with a request or plea for salvation and mercy. The four hymns placed at the end of the Greek edition (52nd, 53, 54 and 55) may be called prayers in the strict sense; The last two of them even received general church use among us and among the Greeks 5, as devoid of special biographical features of their author and exemplary in the strength and depth of feelings. In addition to this general nature and content, in the hymns of St. Simeon, one can distinguish some particular elements: theological-dogmatic, moral-ascetic and historical-biographical. So in some hymns of St. Father touches on topics of a dogmatic or generally theological nature, treating, for example, the incomprehensibility of the Divine (hymns 41 and 42), about St. The Trinity (36, 45 and other hymns), about the Divine light and its actions (40 and 37 hymns), about the creation of the world (44 hymns), about the image of God in man (34 and 43 hymns), about baptism, communion and priesthood (3, 9, 30 and 38 hymns), about the Last Judgment, resurrection and future life (42, 46 and 27 hymns) and etc. Relatively few hymns present moral instructions of a general nature - for all believers, or specific ones - for monks (these are hymns: 13, 18 - 20 and 33). There are hymns that also have historical value: in one, for example, of the hymns (50th) by St. Simeon gives a detailed description of the different classes of his contemporary society, especially the higher and lower clergy, in another hymn (37th) he draws the spiritual appearance of his elder, Simeon the Reverent or Studite. Finally, there are hymns that contain indications of some facts from the life of Simeon the New Theologian himself (see 26th, 30, 32, 35, 53 and other hymns). In this case, especially noteworthy is hymn 39, where Rev. Simeon speaks about the attitude of his parents, brothers and acquaintances towards him and about the wondrous guidance of God's Providence in his life. However, external, factual material for the biography of the Rev. Very little of Simeon is reported in the hymns, while features and events relating to Simeon’s inner life are scattered throughout almost all the hymns. This is precisely, one might say, the common basis, the common background or outline for all Simeon’s hymns, that is, the fact that they all depict the inner life of the saint. Father, his experiences, thoughts, feelings, visions, contemplation and revelations, what was thought out, felt, suffered, seen and learned by him through direct, living and constant experience. In the hymns of Rev. Simeon does not have even a shadow of anything artificial, invented, composed or said for embellishment; all his words come straight from the soul, from the heart and reveal, as far as possible, his innermost life in God, the height and depth of his mystical experiences. Simeon's hymns are the fruit of the most direct spiritual experience, the fruit of the most vibrant religious feeling and pure, holy inspiration. Contemplating God, now outside of yourself, like a sweet Divine light, now inside yourself, like the unsetting sun, directly conversing with God, as with each other, and receiving revelations from Him through the Holy Spirit, separating from the visible world and becoming on the verge of the present and the future 6, being delighted to heaven, to paradise and being outside the body, burning inside with the flame of Divine love and hearing, finally, in the depths of the soul, a commanding voice to write down and tell about your wondrous contemplations and revelations, Rev. Simeon involuntarily took up the pen and expressed his thoughts, feelings and high experiences in a poetic, inspired form. The extraordinary nature of contemplation, the strength of feeling and the fullness of happiness and bliss in God did not give Simeon the opportunity to remain silent and forced him to write. “And I wanted,” he says, to remain silent (oh if I could!), but a terrible miracle stirs up my heart and opens my defiled lips. He who has now shone forth in my dark heart, who has shown me wondrous deeds that eyes have not seen, who has descended into me, makes me speak and write, even if I do not want to,.” 7 etc. “Within me,” Simeon writes in another hymn, a fire burns, as it were, and I cannot remain silent, not bearing the great burden of Your gifts. You, who created birds chirping in different voices, grant, the saint further asks. Father, a word to me, too, who is unworthy, so that I may tell everyone, in writing and not in writing, about what You have done to me out of boundless mercy and Your love for mankind alone. For it is beyond reason, terrible and great, that you gave me to a stranger, an unlearned, a beggar” 8, etc. In general, Rev. Simeon repeatedly declares in the hymns that he cannot endure silence and consign to oblivion what is seen and accomplished in him daily and hourly 9 . If so, then to the hymns of St. Simeon cannot be viewed as merely the free poetic creativity of a writer; you need to see something more in them. The reverend himself Simeon recognized the gift of “singing... hymns, both new and ancient, Divine and hidden,” as a gracious gift of new languages, 10 i.e., he saw in this gift something similar to the ancient early Christian glossolalia. Therefore, Simeon looked at himself only as a tool, and did not consider his spiritual talent to be anything special. “My mouth, the Word,” he writes, speaks what I have been taught, and I also sing hymns and prayers that have long been written by those who have received Your Holy Spirit” 11 . Rev. Simeon wanted to tell in hymns about the wondrous deeds of God’s mercy and goodness revealed in him and on him, despite all his sinfulness and unworthiness. With complete frankness, without sparing his pride, St. The Father reveals in the hymns all his spiritual weaknesses and passions, past and present, sins in deed and thought, mercilessly scourging and damning himself for them 12. On the other hand, he completely undisguisedly describes those visions and revelations that he was granted by God, and the glory and deification that he was awarded by the grace of God 13 . Presenting the spectacle of a soul, now repenting and lamenting its falls, now proclaiming to all the wondrous mercies and blessings of God, the hymns of St. Simeon are, as it were, his autobiographical notes, and in this respect they can only be compared with the “Confession” of Bl. Augustine, which was written by the latter also for the purpose of confessing his sins and glorifying God 14 and is, on the one hand, a kind of public repentance of Augustine, and on the other, a hymn of praise and thanksgiving to God for his conversion. Hymns by Rev. Simeon is also a confession of the soul, only written not in this form, not in the form of a sequential autobiography, but in the form of fragmentary dialogues, prayers and reflections 15. Both works give stories of two souls, imbued with the deepest consciousness of their sinful depravity and depravity, inspired by reverent feelings of love and gratitude to God and confessing, as it were, before the face and presence of God Himself. "Confession" bl. Augustine is an inimitable and immortal work in terms of the power of faith and extraordinary sincerity and depth of feeling. However, if we keep in mind those ideas and feelings that are captured by Rev. Simeon in his hymns, then they should be placed even higher than Augustine’s Confessions. Augustine is a man of great faith; he lives by faith and hope and is filled with love for God, as his Creator and benefactor, as a heavenly Father 16, Who illuminated him with the light of His knowledge and, after many years of slavery to passions, called him out of the darkness of sin into this wonderful light of His 17. But Rev. Simeon stands higher than Augustine: he surpassed not only the order of faith and hope, not only slavish fear, but also filial love for God. Not only contemplating the Divine Light before his eyes, but also having It inside his heart, as an indescribable treasure, as the entire Creator and King of the world and the kingdom of heaven itself, he wonders what else he should believe in and what else he should hope for 18. Rev. Simeon loves God not only because he has come to know Him and feels filial love and gratitude towards Him, but also because he directly contemplates His inexplicable beauty before him. “Don’t you see, friends,” Simeon exclaims, what and how wonderful the Lord is! Oh, don’t close your eyes while looking at the earth!” 19, etc. Soul of the Rev. Simeon, as a bride, is wounded by love for her Divine Bridegroom - Christ and, not being able to fully see and hold Him, melts away from grief and love for Him and can never calm down in search of her Beloved, enjoy the contemplation of His beauty and be satisfied with love for Him, loving Him not with the measure of love available to man, but with supernatural love 20. Rev. Simeon stands much closer to God than Augustine: he not only contemplates God, but also has Him in his heart and talks with him as with each other, and receives from Him the revelation of ineffable mysteries 21. Augustine is struck by the greatness of the Creator, His superiority over creatures, as an unchangeable and eternal Being over conditional, temporary and mortal being, and this consciousness of the immeasurable superiority of the Creator separates Augustine from God by an almost impassable line 22. And Rev. Simeon is aware of this superiority of the Creator over creatures, but he is struck not so much by the immutability and eternity of the Divine as by His incomprehensibility, elusiveness and ineffability. Going even further than Augustine in the knowledge of God, he sees that the Divinity exceeds the concept not only of human beings, but also of immaterial minds, that It is above even the essence itself, as the most essential, and that His very existence is incomprehensible to creatures, as uncreated 23 . However, Simeon, despite this and realizing much more deeply than Augustine of his sinfulness and depravity, so deeply that he considers himself worse not only than all people, but also all animals and even demons 24, despite all this, Rev. Simeon, by the grace of God, sees himself exalted to the heights of greatness, contemplates himself in close proximity to the Creator, as if another Angel, a son of God, a friend and brother of Christ and God by grace and adoption 25. Seeing himself completely deified, adorned and shining with Divine glory in all his members, Simeon is filled with fear and reverence for himself 26 and boldly says: “We become members of Christ, and Christ our members. And my hand is the most unfortunate and my foot is Christ. I am pitiful - both the hand of Christ and the foot of Christ. I move my hand, and my hand is all Christ... I move my foot, and now it shines, just like Him” 27. Augustine did not rise far to such a height, and in general, in his “Confessions” and speeches about those lofty contemplations and the deification that the Venerable was vouchsafed. Simeon 28. In the end, about the “Confession” of Bl. Augustine and about the Divine hymns of St. Simeon must say that the autobiography of the Western teacher surpasses the characterized work of the Eastern Father in its harmony and, perhaps, literary grace 29 (although the hymns of St. Simeon are far from devoid of a kind of poetic beauty), but in the strength of religious feeling, the depth of humility and the height of his contemplation and deification, depicted in the hymns, St. Simeon is far superior to Bl. Augustine in his Confessions. The last work depicts, one might say, the ideal of holiness to which Western Christianity could ever achieve; whereas in the Divine hymns of St. Simeon the New Theologian was given an even higher ideal of holiness, characteristic and akin to our Eastern Orthodoxy. Augustine, as he appears in his Confessions, is an undeniably holy man who thinks, speaks and lives completely like a Christian, but still has not yet completely renounced earthly wisdom and is not free from the bonds of the flesh. Rev. Simeon is not only a saint, but also a celestial being in the flesh, barely touching the earth with his feet, but soaring in heaven with his mind and heart; this is a heavenly man and an earthly Angel, not only renounced from all carnal wisdom, but also from earthly thoughts and feelings, not at times restrained even by the bonds of the flesh, not only sanctified by the soul, but also deified by the body. In Augustine, for all the moral impeccability of his spiritual appearance, we still see very much that is akin to us: earthly, material, carnal, human; whereas Rev. Simeon amazes us with his detachment from the world, from everything earthly and human, with his spirituality and, as it seems to us, unattainable heights of perfection. About the “Confession” of Bl. Augustine has written and said a lot of approving and praiseworthy things not only in the West, but also here in Russia. About the Divine hymns, St. Nobody said or wrote anything about Simeon the New Theologian, and not only here, but also in the West. Allations are found in the hymns of St. Simeon's special piety, lush flowers with which the soul-bride desires to adorn herself, and fragrances that surpass all aromas; They talk about God, according to him, not only edifyingly, but also delightfully, although often more in a frenzy 30. “The captivating hymns (of Simeon), in which he depicted his aspirations and his happiness, writes Gaulle, in their immediate power far surpass anything that Greek Christian poetry has ever produced.” 31 That's almost all that can be found about the hymns of St. Simeon in Western literature. But this would be too little to describe them. In order to better highlight the content and merits of the Divine hymns of St. Simeon, we tried to compare them with the most remarkable autobiography in all world literature - “Confession” by Bl. Augustine. But Rev. Simeon gives in the hymns not an autobiography of his earthly existence, but rather a description of his heavenly raptures into paradise, into the inaccessible light - this is the abode of God, and a story about those Divine contemplations, ineffable verbs and hidden mysteries that he was honored to see, hear and know there. In the hymns of Rev. Simeon, one hears not the voice of a mortal man speaking about earthly things and about earthly things, but rather the voice of an immortal and deified soul, speaking about life that is super-earthly, equal to the angels, heavenly and Divine. Hymns by Rev. Simeon is a story of a soul that speaks not quite in ordinary human speech, but either with repentant sighs and groans or joyful exclamations and rejoicings; a story written not with ink, but rather with tears, tears of either sorrow and contrition, or of joy and bliss in God; a story written not only on a scroll, but deeply inscribed and imprinted in the mind, heart and will of its author. Hymns by Rev. Simeon depict the story of the soul, from the darkness of sins ascending to the Divine light, from the depths of fall rising to the height of deification. Hymns by Rev. Simeon is a chronicle of the soul, telling how it was cleansed from passions and vices, convinced by tears and repentance, completely united with God, became ignorant of Christ, partook of His Divine glory and found peace and bliss in Him. In the hymns of Rev. Simeon is described and captured as if the breath or tremulous beating of the soul of a pure, holy, impassive, Divine soul, wounded by love for Christ and melting away from it, inflamed by Divine fire and burning inside, constantly thirsting for living water, insatiably hungry for heavenly bread, constantly drawn to the mountain, to heaven, to the Divine light and to God. The author of the Divine hymns is not a man sitting in the vale of the earth and singing boring songs of the earth, but like an eagle, now soaring high above the earthly heights, barely touching their wings, now flying far into the vast, transcendental blue of heaven and from there bringing heavenly motifs and songs. Like Moses from Mount Sinai or like some celestial being from the heights of heaven, Rev. Simeon speaks in his hymns about what is not seen with bodily eyes, not heard by sensual ears, not embraced by human concepts and words, and not contained by rational thinking; but what exceeds all ideas and concepts, all mind and speech, and what is known only by experience: contemplated with mental eyes, perceived by spiritual feelings, known by a purified and blessed mind and expressed in words only in part. Rev. Simeon tried to say in the hymns something about the order not of earthly existence and earthly relationships, but about the otherworldly, heavenly world, where he penetrated in part, while still living on earth in the flesh, about unconditional, eternal, Divine Being, about the life of impassive and equally angelic men and disembodied forces, about the life of spirit-bearers, about heavenly, mysterious and ineffable things, about what the eye cannot see. saw, the ear did not hear, and what did not enter the human heart (I Cor. 2:9), and what is therefore completely incomprehensible to us, amazing and strange. Rev. Simeon, with his hymns, tears our thought away from the earth, from the visible world and raises it to heaven, to some other world, otherworldly, invisible; removes it from the body, from the everyday environment of sinful, passionate human life and lifts it into the realm of the Spirit, into the realm of some other phenomena unknown to us, into the grace-filled atmosphere of purity, holiness, dispassion and Divine light. In Simeon’s hymns, the reader is revealed, as it were, those depths of Divine knowledge that are experienced only by the Spirit of God and to look into which, even for a moment, is not safe for limited and weak human thinking. In the Divine Hymns, Rev. Simeon has such detachment from the world, such spirituality, such depth of spiritual knowledge, such a dizzying height of perfection, to which man has hardly ever reached. If this is the content of Simeon’s hymns, if there is so much in them that is unusual and incomprehensible to us, then for the reader of the hymns there is a double danger: either not to understand St. Simeon, or worse to understand and reinterpret him. To some of the readers, much in the hymns will undoubtedly seem strange and incomprehensible, incredible and impossible, and some even temptation and madness. To such readers, Rev. Simeon may appear from the hymns as some kind of seduced and frenzied dreamer. We consider it our duty to say the following to these readers: the sphere of knowledge of both the human person in general, and especially of any private person, is too limited and narrow; a person can comprehend only what is accessible to his created nature, what fits within the framework of space-time relations, that is, our present earthly existence. In addition, for each individual person, only what he has experienced and learned from his own small experience is clear and understandable. If so, then anyone who doubts and does not believe has the right to say the following about an incomprehensible and miraculous phenomenon for him: it is incomprehensible to me at the present time, and nothing more. What is incomprehensible to the private experience of one person may be understandable to another by virtue of his personal experience; and what is incredible for us at the present moment, perhaps, will become accessible and possible for us sometime in the future. In order not to be in the grip of oppressive doubt and unbelief or not to remain with the stupid complacency of an imaginary know-it-all sage, every person must think too modestly both about himself and about the sphere of human knowledge in general, and not at all generalize his tiny experience to the universal and universal. Christianity as the gospel of the kingdom of God, the kingdom of heaven on earth, has always been and will be a temptation and foolishness for the carnal wisdom and for the pagan wisdom of this world. This was said long ago and predicted by Christ Himself and His Apostles 32 . And Rev. Symeon the New Theologian, who, according to him, tried only to renew the gospel teaching and gospel life in people and who in his hymns only revealed those deep secrets that are hidden and hidden in the God-loving soul and believing heart of a person, also repeatedly repeats that those things that he writes about in the hymns are not only unknown to sinful people obsessed with passions (hymn 34), but also generally incomprehensible, ineffable, inexpressible, indescribable, indescribable, surpassing all mind and word (hymns: 27. 32, 40, 41, etc.) and that, being partly incomprehensible to him 33, they make him tremble at the time when he writes and talks about them 34. Moreover, Rev. Simeon himself, as it were, warns his readers when he declares that without experience it is impossible to know the things about which he speaks 35, and that whoever tried to imagine and imagine them in his mind would be deceived by his imagination and his own fantasies and would move far from the truth 36. Likewise, Simeon’s disciple Nikita Stiphatus, in his preface to the hymns, which in the present translation is prefaced by the hymns, saying that the height of Simeon’s theology and the depth of his spiritual knowledge are accessible only to dispassionate, holy and perfect men, in very strong terms warns spiritually inexperienced readers from reading the hymns, so that instead of benefit they do not receive harm 37 . Every prudent reader, we think, will agree with us that we are either completely alien to spiritual experience, or too imperfect in it, and recognizing ourselves as such and still wanting to familiarize ourselves with the hymns of St. Simeon, let us, together with the reader, remember that with our rational thinking we cannot understand and imagine what is completely unthinkable and super-rational, therefore we will not try to penetrate into a forbidden and alien area; but let us be extremely careful and attentive so that with our base earthly ideas we do not in any way vulgarize the pictures and images that the saint draws. Simeon in his hymns, so as not to cast an earthly shadow on the crystal purity of the soul of St. The Father, for his holy and dispassionate love for God, cannot even sensually understand those expressions and words that he found for his most sublime thoughts and feelings in the extremely poor and imperfect human language. Let us not, reader, because of our lack of faith and unbelief, deny the wondrous miracles in the lives of those who, according to Christ, can move mountains with their faith (Matt. 17:20, 21:21) and do even something greater than what Christ did (John 14:12); Let us not, with our own impurity and depravity, stain the dazzling whiteness of dispassion that the venerable man achieved. Simeon and spirit-bearing men like him. The only way to understand at least some of the lofty contemplations and extraordinary experiences of St. Simeon, is for the reader the path of spiritual experience or the most precise observance of all those instructions that the Venerable himself gives. Simeon, both in his words and partly in the Divine hymns. Until all these instructions are most carefully fulfilled by us, we agree, reader, that you and I do not have the right to judge such a great man as the Rev. Simeon the New Theologian, and at least let us not deny the possibility of all the incredible and wonderful things that we find in his hymns. For readers who are not alien to spiritual experience and are familiar with the phenomena of so-called spiritual delusion, when reading the hymns of St. Simeon may experience a different kind of bewilderment. Rev. Simeon so openly describes his visions and contemplations, so boldly teaches everyone, so self-confidently says about himself that he has received the Holy Spirit and that God Himself speaks through his lips, so realistically depicts his own deification, that it is natural for the reader to think: isn’t all this charming? Shouldn’t we consider all these contemplations and revelations of Simeon, all his inspired words and speeches to be charming, that is, not a matter of genuine Christian experience and truly spiritual life, but illusory, false phenomena, representing signs of seduction and incorrect spiritual activity? And in fact, wasn’t the author of the hymns proposed in the translation in delusion? after all, he himself says that during his lifetime some considered him proud and seduced 38 . – No, we answer, he was not, and for the following reasons. In the hymns of Rev. Simeon is struck not only by the height of his contemplations and revelations, but also by the depth of his humility and self-abasement. Rev. Simeon constantly denounces and reproaches himself for his past and present sins and misdeeds; He especially mercilessly castigates himself for the sins of his youth, with amazing frankness calculating all his vices and crimes 39; with the same frankness he confesses to those smallest attacks of vanity and pride that were quite natural in Simeon at the time when, for his holy life and teaching, he began to enjoy universal fame and fame and attracted very many listeners to himself with his conversations (hymn 36). Describing his extraordinary contemplations, Rev. Simeon at the same time exclaims: “Who am I, O God and Creator of all, and what good have I done in life... that You glorify me, despised, with such glory?” 40, etc. In general, all of Simeon’s hymns from beginning to end are imbued with the deepest self-reproach and humility. Constantly calling himself a stranger, beggar, unlearned, pitiful, despicable, tax collector, robber, prodigal, nasty, vile, unclean, etc. etc. 41, Rev. Simeon says that he is completely unworthy of life, that he unworthily looks at the sky, unworthily tramples the earth, unworthily looks at his neighbors and talks with them 42. Saying that he became all sin 43, Rev. Simeon calls himself the last of all people, even moreover, he does not consider himself a man 44, but the worst of all creatures: reptiles, beasts and all animals, even the worst of the demons themselves 45. Such a depth of humility, incomprehensible to us, is an indicator of the extraordinary height of perfection, but it is by no means unthinkable in a deluded person. Rev. Simeon, as he himself says about himself, never desired or sought that Divine glory and those great gifts that he was granted by God, but, remembering his sins, he sought only remission and forgiveness of them 46 . Moreover, while still in the world, Rev. Simeon hated worldly glory from the bottom of his heart and ran away from all those who spoke to him about it 47 . But when later this glory, against his wishes, came to him, Rev. Simeon prayed to God in this way: “Give me not, O Master, the vain glory of this world, nor the riches of perishing... nor a high throne, nor authority... 48 unite me with the humble, the poor and the meek, so that I too may become humble and meek; and... deign me to mourn only my sins and to have concern only for Your righteous judgment..." 49. The biography of Simeon and his student Nikita Stifat speaks about the Venerable. Simeone, that he had great care and constant care to ensure that his exploits remained unknown to anyone. If Simeon sometimes offered lessons and examples from his life and his own experience in conversations for the edification of listeners, he never spoke about himself directly, but in the third person, as about someone else (words 56 and 86). Only in four words, placed last in the Greek edition and Russian translation (89th, 90, 91 and 92), Rev. Simeon, sending thanks to God for all His good deeds to him, clearly speaks of the visions and revelations that he had. In one of these words he remarks: “I did not write anything in order to show myself. God forbid... But, remembering the gifts that God gave to me, an unworthy one, I thank and glorify Him as a gracious Master and benefactor... and, in order not to hide the talent that He gave me, like a bad and unworthy servant, I preach His mercy, I confess grace, I show everyone the good He has done to me, in order to motivate you and me with the word of teaching - to strive to receive for yourself what I received." (word 89). In the last of these words you read: “I wanted to write this to you, my brothers, not in order to gain fame and be glorified by people. It won't happen! For such a person is foolish and alien to the glory of God. But I wrote it so that you could see and know the immeasurable love of God,” etc. “Behold,” Simeon says further at the very end of the word, I have revealed to you the mysteries that were hidden in me; for I see that the end of my life is near.”... (Word 92) From this last remark of St. The father can see that the four indicated words of Simeon were written and spoken by him, obviously, shortly before his death. As for the hymns of St. Simeon, it is unlikely that during his lifetime they were known to many, with the exception of only a few, very few hymns. Hymns by Rev. Simeon, as noted above, are nothing more than his memoirs or cell notes, probably written for the most part at the time when St. Simeon went into silence - into seclusion. Rev. Simeon wrote his hymns not for any other reason (which is also mentioned above), but because he could not keep silent about his wonderful visions and contemplations, he could not help but pour out, at least in a book or on a scroll, the thoughts and feelings that excited and filled his soul. Nikita Stifat writes in the life of Simeon that St. During his lifetime, his father told him, as his closest student, all his secrets and handed over all his writings so that he would publish them later 50. If Nikita, releasing hymns by St. Simeon, considered it necessary to write a special preface to them with a warning to spiritually inexperienced readers, then from here it can undoubtedly be concluded that the hymns of St. Simeon's works remained unknown during his lifetime and were first published only after the death of Simeon by his disciple. Simeon's Divine Hymns describe visions and revelations that are relatively rare in the writings of other fathers. But one should not conclude from this that they did not exist in the lives of other saints. ascetics; Other saints, no doubt, were granted similar visions and revelations, only St. Simeon, according to the talent given to him, spoke about his contemplations and experiences with extraordinary clarity, frankness and detail, while other saints either completely kept silent about their spiritual experiences or told only very little. However, it is also certain that Rev. Simeon was awarded some extraordinary talents and contemplations, which not all ascetics were awarded. If Rev. Simeon in his hymns speaks so confidently about himself and so boldly denounces everyone, this is, of course, because he abundantly received the grace of God and an unusually real sense of the undeceitfulness of his experiences, confirmed by the many years of ascetic experience of St. Father, they gave him great boldness and gave him the right to speak in exactly this way, just as the apostle spoke about himself. Pavel 51. All this is evidenced by, for example, strong passages from the hymns and words of St. Simeon: “Although they say, writes Simeon, that I, Your servant, am seduced, I will never believe, seeing You, my God, and contemplating Your most pure and Divine face, and perceiving from it Your Divine insights, and being enlightened by the Spirit in my intelligent eyes” 52. Or again: “I boldly, says Simeon, proclaim that if I do not philosophize and say what the Apostles and St. fathers, if I do not repeat only God’s words spoken in St. Gospel..., let me be anathema from the Lord God and our Savior Jesus Christ, through the Holy Spirit..., and you will not just stop your ears so as not to hear my words, but stone me and kill me as an ungodly and godless person" 53. In the hymns of Rev. Simeon has a lot of wonderful, extraordinary and even incredible and strange things for us; but this is because we ourselves are far from the kingdom of God and neither in our concepts nor in our lives have we internalized the foolishness of Christian preaching, but we also think and live in a semi-pagan way. Finally, as the final proof that Simeon’s visions and contemplations were not charming, let us point to his miracles and glorification. During his lifetime, Rev. Simeon made predictions and performed several miraculous healings, just as soon after his death he performed many different kinds of miracles. All these predictions and miracles of St. Simeon is described in great detail in his life 54, which also tells about the discovery of the relics of St. Simeon; this last happened thirty years after the death of the Reverend 55. All this taken together assures us that Rev. Simeon was by no means in delusion, but that his visions and contemplations and all spiritual experiences are a truly grace-filled life in Christ, a truly Christian mysticism, and his speeches and teachings, contained both in words and in hymns, are a natural expression and fruit of a truly spiritual Christian life. Rev. Simeon not only himself was alien to spiritual delusion, but he also taught and teaches others to recognize it and run. Wise from long experience and being a subtle connoisseur of spiritual work, Rev. Simeon in the word “about three ways of attention and prayer” indicates the correct and incorrect ways of doing prayer. In this word, Simeon himself conveys the exact signs of prelest and speaks about its different types 56. After this, all grounds for suspecting Simeon the New Theologian of delusion are lost. Divine hymns by Rev. Simeon were written, as noted above, in a poetic, verse form 57, but not in the form of ancient, classical poetry. The ancient Greeks accurately observed quantity in poetry, that is, the length and brevity of syllables; but in later times among the Greeks the strict observance of quantity began to be lost sight of. In the 10th century in Byzantium, so-called political poems 58 arose, apparently from folk poetry, in which we see a disregard for quantity; in these verses, line after line, only the same number of syllables and a known direction of stress are observed. The most common verse of this kind is the 15-syllable iambic, which is probably thought to have come from an imitation of the octagonal (i.e., 16-syllable) iambic or trochee. Less common is the 12-syllable political verse. Political poems got their name because they became civil in Byzantium - publicly accessible and commonly used (πολίηκός - civil, public) in contrast to classical poetry, which among the Greeks subsequently became accessible only to a few. This kind of verse, used in Greek literature in works intended for public use, is to this day in all Greek countries almost the only poetic measure of folk songs 59 . Rev. Simeon wrote his hymns, with the exception of a few, in precisely such political verses 60, which in his time had already come into general use. Of the 60 given in the present translation of Simeon's hymns, the vast majority are written in typical 15-syllable political verse, a significant minority in 12-syllable verse (14 hymns in total), and only 8 hymns are written in iambic octometer 61 . If Simeon's hymns are written in poetic, verse form, then one cannot look for dogmatic accuracy in the presentation of the truths of faith, or generally treat individual words and expressions of the author strictly. Hymns by Rev. Simeon is a lyrical outpouring of his deeply religious feelings, and not a dry and calm presentation of Christian doctrine and moral teaching. In the hymns of Rev. Simeon expresses himself freely, naturally, like a lyricist - a poet, and not like a dogmatist, pursuing not only clarity and precision of thought, but also the beauty of form. Since Simeon needed to give his thoughts a poetic form and constantly had to calculate the number of syllables in a verse and observe a certain rhythm in stress, therefore in the hymns we do not always find a complete, clear and distinct presentation of thoughts. In words or conversations, Simeon usually expresses himself more simply, more clearly and definitely; therefore the hymns of St. Simeon and should be compared with his words. In catalogs and descriptions of various libraries, hymns by St. Simeon the New Theologian are found in fairly ancient manuscripts, starting from the 12th century and later; such manuscripts are available in the Paris National Library, Venice, Patmos, Bavaria, etc. 62. Manuscripts from the Athos monasteries were available to us, the most valuable of which we will indicate here. Not to mention the manuscripts containing excerpts from the hymns of Simeon 63, which Greek manuscripts are also in our Synodal Library 64, let us name those Athonite manuscripts in which there are collections of hymns of St. Simeon. This is the Dionysiatic manuscript No. 220 (in the Lambros catalog vol. I, No. 3754), which contains, together with the life and words of St. Simeon and his 12 hymns, mainly of moral, ascetic and edifying content, and several excerpts from other hymns; but this manuscript is not ancient - it is from the 17th century, and the hymns contained in it are all available in the printed Greek edition. We found a similar collection of hymns numbering 11 in two manuscripts of the Athos Panteleimon Monastery No. 157 a and 158 (Lambros catalog vol. II, nos. 5664 and 5665), which are even less valuable as belonging to the 13th century. The manuscript of the same monastery No. 670 (in the Lambros catalogue, vol. II, No. 6177) turned out to be very valuable for us, not in itself, since it is of a very later date - the 19th century, but as a copy of the Patmos Codex of the 14th century No. 427, which contains almost exclusively the works of Simeon the New Theologian 65. This Patmos manuscript, and the named copy of it, contain mostly the hymns of St. Simeon, which is preceded by a preface to the hymns of Simeonov's student Nikita Stifat and a complete table of contents of the hymns numbering 58. The indicated number of hymns, presumably, is the most complete collection of them, since in those descriptions of the manuscripts where the number of hymns of St. Simeon, it is significantly smaller 66, and since Allatius, who familiarized himself with the hymns of Simeon from Western manuscripts, indicates them no more, no less, as well as 58, and in the same order as in the Patmos manuscript 67. It was this copy of the Patmos Codex that we used for our translation, which we constantly quote in the notes to the hymns (for brevity, simply calling it the Patmos Manuscript). Unfortunately, in it, as in the Patmos Codex itself, not all the hymns survived, but only the first 35 or even 34, while the rest were not preserved due to the loss of the end of the code. However, this loss is not so significant and important, in view of the fact that all the lost hymns of the Patmos manuscript, from the 35th to the end, are in the original text in the Greek edition of the works of Simeon, with the exception of only one hymn 53, which, unfortunately, remained unknown to us 68. However, it should be noted that the Patmos manuscript, even in its entirety, does not yet give us the full number of all written venerables. Translate hymns by Rev. Simeon into Russian we had initially from their Latin translation of the Patrology of Min (ser. gr. t. CXX coll. 507 - 6021), a translation made by Pontanus and containing 40 chapters or hymns 70. The printed Greek edition of the works of Simeon the New Theologian, which contains the original text of 55 hymns in the 2nd part, we could first see and purchase only on Athos. Having compared our translation with the original text of the hymns and corrected it, we left almost all the hymns in the Latin translation in the same external form in which they were translated from Latin, i.e. in prose (since they were translated into prose in Latin). The same hymns that had to be translated directly from the original, we found it more convenient to translate verse by line 71; hence, we quite naturally ended up with heterogeneity in the external form of the translation, which, however, could not be avoided, since insertions and additions had to be made from the Latin translation to the original text 72 . These insertions and additions in our translation are usually taken in brackets and noted in the notes under the line, just as what is not in the Latin translation compared to our Greek text, we also tried to note under the line. In this translation, round brackets ( ) indicate not only borrowings from the Latin translation, but also those words and expressions that, although not in the Greek text, are directly implied in it or hidden in the meaning of the Greek words; in straight brackets [ ] we put words introduced out of necessity for clarity and meaning of speech and which, being absent in the original, can only be implied with the greatest probability. The basis for this Russian translation of the hymns is the original Greek text from the Greek edition of the works of Simeon the New Theologian 73. But since this edition is very imperfect due to many typos and other omissions, the Latin text of the hymns 74 helped us a lot during the translation. but a copy of the Patmos manuscript rendered us an incomparably great service: comparing the text of the hymns in it with the printed Greek text, we, firstly, corrected its proofreading errors 75 from it, often preferring its text over the printed one, and secondly, borrowed from it verses missing from the Greek edition, and sometimes entire large inserts 76, which is all the same noted during translation in footnotes. In addition, from the Patmos manuscript we translated the preface to the hymns of St. Simeon, written by his disciple Nikita Stiphatus, which in the Greek edition of Simeon’s works is printed not in the original, but in the modern Greek dialect, and three more hymns: 57, 58 and 59, two of which are in the Latin translation, and one - the last one is not printed anywhere. The original text of the preface by Nikita Stifat, the three indicated hymns and another small one - the very last 60th hymn, taken from the Athonite Xenophian manuscript of the 14th century. No. 36 (see Lambros catalog vol. I, no. 738), printed with this translation in Appendix I (which, like Appendix II, is not available with all copies of this publication). Thus, what has been translated here into Russian, but has not yet been published in print, is all given in the original text, as the first appendix to this edition. The last four hymns in our translation: 57 - 60 were not included in the Greek edition of the works of Simeon 77 for very obvious reasons: 57 hymn is of a private nature and, undoubtedly, was written by St. Simeon on the occasion of the death of one of those close to him; in hymn 58, very openly, very bold thoughts are expressed about the complete deification of man, which, however, are closely connected with the entire theological system of St. Simeon and find parallels in other places in his works 78; 59 the hymn is nothing more than a lengthy message, only written in verse on one particular incident in the life of St. Simeon 79, and is more like a theological treatise than a hymn; 60 the hymn is actually a small epigram to one of the words of St. Simeon. Although all these hymns were not included, we say, in the Greek edition of the works of Symeon the New Theologian, there can be no doubt about their authenticity. Hymns 57 and 58 are found not only in the Patmos manuscript, but are also indicated by Allation in the complete table of contents of Simeon's hymns and exist, in addition, in a Latin translation among other hymns of Simeon 80. That hymn 59 was written by Rev. Simeon - this is clearly evidenced by his life, in some lists of which he is even included in its entirety 81. Finally, the hymn with the name of Simeon the New Theologian is found in many manuscripts, in which it is usually placed with the famous word of Simeon “about three forms of attention and prayer” 82. In addition, it must be said that in all these hymns the favorite idea of ​​Symeon the New Theologian is developed. Rather, it seems, one can doubt the authenticity of the 54th hymn, which is a prayer to the Holy Trinity. This prayer in the Slavic translation is found in some old handwritten 83 and in old printed psalms, but not with the name of Symeon the New Theologian, but of Symeon Metaphrastus. Here's one reason. Another reason to doubt that this prayer belongs to Simeon the New Theologian is that, although it is written in political verse (12 syllables), it has a rather unique form, not found in other hymns of Simeon, consisting of repeated repetition of the same verse at the beginning of the prayer and in the constant parallelism of very many expressions and words throughout almost the subsequent text of the prayer. However, neither one nor the other is sufficient to deny the authenticity of this Simeon hymn or prayer. How this prayer could have been mistakenly inscribed with the name of Symeon Metaphrastus, we said about this in the note to it (on page 245). In this place, in favor of the attribution of this prayer to Simeon the New Theologian, we add the following: an accurate analysis of the content of this prayer shows that from beginning to end it consists not only of thoughts, but also expressions, especially characteristic of Simeon the New Theologian, 84 and does not contain almost anything new in comparison with what is said in other hymns of Simeon. As a second appendix to this translation of Simeon's hymns, we offer (not available with all copies) a subject index, but not to just the hymns, but together to the words of St. Simeon, which were translated into Russian by Bishop. Feofan and published in two editions, since these latter do not have any index 85. We invite readers to preview the amendments placed at the end of the book, relating mainly to the translation 86, and make appropriate corrections in the text of the book. Nikita Stifat, monk and presbyter of the Studite monastery, on the book of divine hymns of the Venerable Father Simeon 87 The very sublime, rising above the senses (content) of what is written here, and the height of theology and the depth of direct knowledge of it are not for everyone, I think, understandable and accessible, because, being illuminated by the Divine reflections of an unapproachable light above all human understanding, it requires, in order to comprehend the proposed things, those who, with a sound mind and spiritual feelings, through the breath of the Spirit, are inspired by the mind to heights and have a clear way of thinking, all completely turned to heaven and penetrating into the depths of God. Therefore, I, paying due respect to (my) teacher, 88 considered it very timely, very useful and suitable to warn those who would like to lean here with their minds, so that some, poorly, of course, and without experience, perceive Divine, supersensible things, through inexperienced observation of the depths of the Spirit and having a mind untrained by exercise in Divine things, would not cause themselves harm from these things instead of benefit. So, one should know that whoever prefers to incline to the writings of theologians, attracted to this by the love of reading, must first of all, being faithful, in body and spirit, flee the world and everything in the world in general, shaking off the temporary enjoyment of pleasures - therefore lay a good foundation on the solid rock of faith through doing and keeping the commandments of Christ and on it skillfully build a house of virtues; to put off the old man, which is decaying in his lusts, and to put on the healthy man, who is renewed in Christ, having, of course, reached the highest possible perfection, having come to a perfect man, to the measure of the age of the fulfillment of Christ. He must also be pre-cleansed, pre-illuminated and enlightened by the Spirit; first see every creature with the pure eye of the mind, having first learned to clearly predict its words and movements; to become beyond visible base things, that is, above all flesh and feelings. Then, having clearly opened his mouth, forcefully attract the grace of the Spirit, and having been filled from there with the blessings of light, in proportion to the purification, clearly theologize about the sacred reflections that were in him from above. And thus, having, as it were, a far-sighted mind, bow before what is written here. I am talking about a work that belonged to the most sublime and theological mind of the most blessed and blessed Father Simeon. Therefore, whoever is still drawn down by his chest and belly, that is, by his earthly thoughts and material desires, being bound by the bonds of a seductive worldly feeling, who is unclean and greatly damaged in the feelings of the mind, we warn him not to dare to read what is written here, so that, looking at the rays of the sun with pus in his eyes, he will not be blinded, losing even that weak vision of his eyes (which he had). For first one must cleanse oneself from all illness and impurity of thoughts, and thus approach the pure and super-infinite, shining sun into infinity and converse with it - both to that which is a sensual image according to us, and to the Sun of truth and the rational and mental rays sent from It, because exploring the depths of the Spirit is characteristic only of those who are illuminated from the top, of course, of purification with the immaterial light of God and acquired a completely enlightened mind and soul. For others, it is very useful and decent to beat themselves on the chest, asking for mercy from above. the author of all things, in many names from all things having (in Him) the cause of things, calling Him “sometimes good, now beautiful, now wise, now beloved, now the God of gods, now the Lord of lords, now the Holy of Holies, now the eternal, now the existent and the author of the ages, now the giver of life, now the giver of wisdom, now the mind, now the Word, now the leading, now containing all the treasures of all knowledge, now the power, now the mighty, now The King of kings, now the ancient of days, now ageless and unchanging, now salvation, now righteousness, now sanctification, now redemption, now surpassing all in greatness, now appearing in the subtle breath of the wind, in souls and bodies, and in those in whom He Himself dwells, as well as in heaven and on earth, being always and everywhere identical with Himself, (καὶ ἅμα ἐν ταὐτῷ τὸν αὐτόν) being in the world and being pre-worldly, super-celestial, super-essential, being the sun, star, fire, water, the breath of dew, cloud, stone and rock - everything that exists and being nothing that exists” 90. Hence, Dionysius himself, the great in Divine things, in the essay “On the Divine Names,” like the frenzy in God of this divine Father, as if co-witnessing him through his writings, says exactly the same thing: “So, the Cause of everything, existing above all, is appropriate both namelessness and everything to which existing names belong, so that she would definitely be the king of all things, and everything would be around her and from her, as the cause, the beginning and the end, would depend, and she herself, according to the saying, was “all in all” (1 Cor. 15:28); and in justice the foundation (ὑπόστασις) 91 of everything is sung.”... And a little later: “she simply and indefinitely anticipated in herself everything that exists, because of the all-perfect goodness of her alone - the all-guilty Providence (προνοίας), who is praised and named accordingly from all existing things. Therefore, theologians honor not only these Divine names, borrowed from her private providential actions, already committed or still foreseen, but also from such Divine phenomena that enlightened the mysteries and prophets that have ever been in sacred churches or anywhere else. In accordance with one or another reason and force, they name the above-shaped and above-named Goodness, attaching to it images and likenesses of man, or fire, or amber, chanting its eyes and ears, face and hair, arms and spine, wings and shoulders, back and legs, attaching to it wreaths and seats, cups and bowls and some other mysterious images” 92 . Yes, this Divine man (Simeon), having completely purified his soul, about which his writings cry louder than a loud trumpet, was rewarded with great revelations, ineffable contemplations, mysterious conversations and Divine voices miraculously proclaimed to him from above - in short, he was rewarded with apostolic grace, completely enkindled by the Divine Spirit, from the Divine fire. Therefore, even without having fully tasted the external knowledge of the sciences, through the eloquence of words, the abundance of (divine) names and prudence, he rose above any rhetorician and sage to the height of wisdom, as truly wise in Divine things and a theologian very knowledgeable in dogmas. And no wonder. “For the wisdom of God, according to the words of the Wise One, in its purity passes through and penetrates everything. She is the breath of the power of God and the pure outpouring of the glory of the Almighty... She is alone, he says, but she can do everything and, being in herself, renews everything and, passing from generation to generation into holy souls, prepares the friends of God and the prophets; for God loves no one except the one who lives in wisdom” (Wis. Sol. 7, 24 – 25. 27 – 28). For this reason, having desired wisdom, he loved its kindness, and having loved it according to Solomon, he sought through the labors of wisdom and asceticism, and found it. Having found it, he multiplied with tears and not without difficulty, which is why understanding was given to him. He called her with firm faith, and the Spirit of wisdom descended on him; from here, throughout his entire life, he had an inexhaustible, unartificial light from her. And through him all the blessings of eternal life and innumerable wealth of wisdom and knowledge came to him. Truly, having artlessly learned from God the ineffable mysteries, he without envy communicated them to everyone through his writings for spiritual joy together and benefit. He did not become like a foolish servant who hid the talent given to him by God, but, as a faithful steward, he wisely did not bury, according to what is written, the wealth of inexhaustible wisdom that he received from God. “Without cunning,” he says, “I learned, and... I teach without envy, I do not hide its wealth” (Wis. Sol. 7:13) 93 . Therefore, his tongue is kindled silver, his soul is full of truth, his lips, like a true righteous man, saw sublime speech, and his throat poured out graceful currents and the ineffable wisdom of God. This came from his truly great humility and purity. “For the lips of the humble, says Solomon, will learn wisdom; and in the good heart of a man wisdom rests, but in the heart of the foolish it is not known” (Proverbs 11:2; 14:33). In fact, being filled with humility, he constantly had a heartfelt concern for the wisdom of God, which, according to what has been said, is generally known by the humble of heart, and not by the foolish sages of the world. And the light of God has truly always been his breath. Having the latter in his mind, like a lamp, he spoke and wrote very clearly with knowledge about what his eyes saw intelligently, like an oracle. What I say, he says, is what my eyes saw 94 . And saying this, he very clearly sang of the Divinity from existing things, as being the common property of all things. Since “the Good does not remain incommunicable to anything that exists, as Dionysius, the great in Divine things, says, but it in itself constantly appears decently at the time when the super-essential ray overshadows 95 through the corresponding illumination of each of the existing things, and elevates the mental minds to possible contemplation of itself, communication and assimilation, as lawfully and sacredly decently following Him” 96. So, following in everything the theologians who preceded him, Simeon sang the hidden things in the Divinity above the mind and nature (in hymns), not exploring and in sacred reverence of the mind, as Dionysius says about theologians, but completely honoring the ineffable sacraments with prudent silence, in sacred thoughts he stretched out to the rays that illuminated him. And richly enlightened and illuminated by them, he was imbued with super-worldly images and impressions from them for God-initiated and God-befitting hymns and sacred hymns, became capable of contemplating the God-initiated Light bestowed through them, according to his state, and with love (ἐρωτικῶς) glorified the benefactor of the Lord, as the author of every sacred principle and light manifestation 97 . This is the ancient form of manifestation of the primordial Wisdom. For the descending grace of the Spirit from above, which, due to extreme purification, coexisted with the ancient faithful men, who from ancient times philosophized the philosophy of their fathers, thus aroused their minds to divine hymns and various kinds of poetry filled with love. So, what is glorified by this Father in Divine names, is also said by Dionysius the Great, initiated into the mysteries of Divine utterances. But no one can acquire any kind of sacred hymnology of theologians, developing expressive Divine names for the beneficial clarification of the Divine nature, without spiritual effort, of course, and without examining the Divine Scriptures with a pure mind. And the same Father 100, being very firmly confident regarding our words, so clearly adds in favor of what has been said, saying another time: “God-like minds, imitating the Angels as much as possible, and uniting 101 with them, that is, with the Divine angelic powers (since deified minds, during the cessation of all mental activity, have the same unity with the divine Light as those), in the proper sense they glorify Him through stripping themselves of all existing things. These are truly minds supernaturally illuminated due to the most blissful union with him, because he is the creator of everything that exists, while he himself is nothing from existence, as super-essentially removed from everything 102. So, knowing this, the Divine Father Simeon, as a wise theologian, sang of the Divine, supernatural nature, sometimes as nameless, sometimes as the cause of every name that is named, theologically speaking about it as being nameless above all. On the one hand, collecting from various theological teachings what is the subject of this work, and using for his own purposes what was said, as if some kind of sample, he set out on the path of developing intelligent Divine names. On the other hand, considering with a God-seeing mind the revealed images and contemplations, certified by the Divine tradition of the Apostle, he added the “holy of holies.” And without envy he showed the Divine visions sacredly envisioned by him to those who, by the will of fate, followed him, as the first to the second and weakest, in proportion to their condition, teaching the dignity of sacred objects to those who consciously and fully participated in priestly perfection. “He avoided the jokes and ridicule of those not initiated into the mysteries of those objects, or better yet, those very people who only turned out to be such, being himself free from such atheism” 103, without wearing this out for many while he was (and appeared) alive, and following in this the great Dionysius, who writes to Timothy: “Be careful, he says, lest you turn the Holy of Holies into a mockery. Be God-fearing and honor the sacraments of God with intelligent and invisible knowledge, keeping these uncommunicable and immaculate sacraments from the imperfect and sacredly communicating them only to those initiated from among the priests with sacred enlightenment. This is how theology betrayed us, God-worshipers” 104. Therefore, we, having learned this from him and knowing the height and depth and breadth of his wisdom, through the spoken and real (our) word, we excommunicate those who are completely stupid and not initiated into the sacraments, not wanting to wear out these subjects for them, and clearly revealing them only to those, of course, who have sacredly open ears because of their care for morals and for the Divine understanding, simply to say - to the saints in life and higher knowledge. After all, this is what the Divine Paul desires, writing to Timothy: “Then entrust it to faithful people who will be able to teach others.” (2 Tim. 2:2). So, those who have ascended from wise deeds to contemplation and have come to the depths of theological thoughts, let them turn to this study of the soul with faith, and I am quite sure that they will receive great benefit three times. For the rest, whose mind is scattered over many different subjects and darkened by the darkness of ignorance, who have never known what action and contemplation and revelation of Divine mysteries mean, let them refrain from reading what is written here. For those who have a mind that cannot accommodate sublime speeches and revelations usually trample and desecrate Divine objects, not being able to raise their gaze to anything that exceeds us. Whereas to the angelic life every soul, being immortal and intelligent, rises only well, having finally been purified by the help of Divine power, according to the words of the sacred keeper Dionysius, who says in this way: “Just as in a certain circle 105 there is a non-wandering body, so for itself (i.e. of the soul) in every circular movement and uniform assembly from outside its mental powers, the good given to it by God is manifested from the beginning (αὐτῇ ἡ θεία δωρουμένη ἀγαθαρχία), which, turning it from many external objects and collecting first into itself, and then into a state of simplicity, unites through angelic forces united together 106. For 107 through them, as good leaders, souls with their good properties, following the sacred and holy minds, are raised to the very original Good of all goods, and according to their purification 108, they partake of the insights poured out from Him, participating abundantly in the gift of the Good One, to the extent of their strength.” I don’t think that it is fair to have sublime contemplations of her (i.e. After the truly Divine and purest soul of our mentor rose to such a height and was rewarded with such visions and such grace of the fishermen - the Apostles, having achieved, thanks to the lightness of his fiery mind, the most primordial Good of all (goods); now all the souls of the righteous, ascending to the same height, abundantly partake of its insights. What do his creations publicly proclaim: the outpourings of love (ἔρωτες) in his divine hymns, if not that his holy soul dissolved with Him who is holy by nature, and with the ancient saints, like light with light, fire with fire and a ray with the sun, as a secondary with a primary, as an image and likeness with its Prototype and the Truth itself? How can one not sing with hymns that soul which, being worthy of all hymns and words of praise, surpasses them and all earthly and human glory together? Let envy, which always envies good, fall, and let Simeon be praised, very worthy of hymns and all kinds of praise. For this reason, we, together with sacred testimonies, have expounded in the most extensive manner this word, directed against those who reproach the saints 109 . After all, if these revelations and voices are not the voices of God and the deified soul, which was beyond all worldly feelings and wholly holy, then hardly anything else from human deeds, performed by us with all zeal, will seem acceptable to God and praiseworthy to people, although for the highest God's wisdom and knowledge the ego is not glorious and famous. So, these (lines) to the Divine hymns of the teacher filled with love are offered by us for the sake of those possessed by envy of good, unbelief and ignorance, so that those who come across them for the first time either become better, finally becoming above envy and slander, and glorify, as far as possible, the one who glorified God in deed and word and contemplation, sanctifying in their members that name that is above every name, or, as not those who have tasted (spiritual) blessings and are completely unable, due to their inherent dullness, to have sublime contemplations, would not take (these hymns) into their hands and would not examine with curiosity what is written here. Simeon the New Theologian, St. The beginning of the divine hymns, i.e. introduction. (Prayer - call, from composition.) 110 Come, true Light. Come, Eternal Life. Come, hidden secret. Come, nameless treasure. Come, ineffable one. Come, Incomprehensible Face. Come, unceasing joy. Come, non-evening light. Come, true hope for all who wish to be saved. Come, lying uprising 111. Come, resurrection of the dead. Come, Almighty, who creates, transforms and changes everything with one will. Come, invisible, completely inviolable and intangible. Come, you who are always motionless and who are constantly moving and coming to us who lie in hell, You who are above all Heavens. Come, thou most exalted and ever-proclaimed name; It is absolutely impossible for us to say what exactly You are, or to find out what You are and what kind. Come, eternal joy. Come, unfading wreath. Come, great God and King of our purple. Come, belt crystal-shaped and studded with precious stones. Come, unapproachable foot. 112 Come, royal scarlet and truly autocratic right hand. Come, You, whom my unfortunate soul has loved and loves. And where will You hide 113, having nowhere Your resting place? or why would You hide, resolutely (τῶν πάντων τινά) not turning away from anyone, not disdaining anyone? So, dwell in me now, Master, and dwell and abide in me, Thy servant, the Good One, inseparably and inseparably until death, so that at my exodus and after the exodus I would be in You, the Good One, and reign with You, the God who exists above all. Stay, Master, and do not leave me alone, so that my enemies, always seeking to devour my soul, having come and finding You abiding in me, completely run away and are not strengthened against me, seeing You, the strongest of all, resting within, in the house of my humble soul. Hey, Master, just as You remembered me when I was in the world, and You Yourself chose me, not knowing You, separating me from the world and placing me before the face of Your glory, so now, through Your dwelling in me, keep me always standing and motionless inside. So that, continuously contemplating You, I, the dead one, would live and, having You, I, always poor, would be rich and richer than all the kings and, eating and drinking You and hourly putting on You, I would now and in the future enjoy unspeakable blessings. For You are every good and every joy, and You are due the glory of the holy and consubstantial and life-giving 114 Trinity, revered, known, worshiped in the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, which is served by all the faithful now, and ever, and unto the ages of ages. Amen. This publication is entitled as follows: Θεολόγου τά εὑρισκόμενα, διῃρημένα εἰς δύω ὡν τὸ πρῶτον ?? ? κυρίου Λιονυσίου Ζαγοραίου, τοῦ ἐνασκήσοντος ἐν τῇ νήςῳ Πιπέρι, τῇ κειμένη ἀπ??αντι τοῦ ἁγίου Ὄρους τὸ δὲ δεὑτερον περιέχει ἑτέρους λόγους αὐτοῦ διὰ ατίχων πολιτικπνυ ὠφελίμους μετ’ ἐπιμελείας πολλῆς διορθωθέντα, καὶ νῦν πρῶτον τύηοις ἐκδοθέντα εἰς κοινὴν τῶν ὀρθοδόξων ὠφέλειαν. ’Ενετίηοιν. 1790. The second exactly the same Greek edition of the work. Simeon NB. published ἐν Σύρῳ 1886. In the handwritten life of St. Petersburg, which is available to the author of these lines. Simeon NB. (copies from the codex of the Athonite Panteleimon Monastery No. 764 = No. 6271 in the Lambros catalog vol. II, p. 428) on page 28 we read: ἀποστολικῆς ἀξιωθεὶς δωρεᾶας, τοῦ λόγου τῆς διδασκαλίας φημὶ, ὁργανον ἦν καὶ ὡρᾶτο τοῦ Πνεύματος μυσυικῶς κρουόμενον ἄνωθεν καὶ πῇ μὲν τῶν θείων ὖμνων τοὺς ἔρωτας ἐν ἀμέτρῳ μέτρῳ συνέταττε πῇ δὲ τοὺς λόγους τῶν ἐξηγήσεων ἐν πυκυότητι ἔγραφε νοημάτων καὶ ποτε μὲν τοὺς κατηχηκοὺς συνεγράφετο λόγους ποτὲ δὲ τισιν ἐπιστέλλων ἐξάκουστος πᾶσιν ἐγίνετο. The hymns in our handwritten life of Simeon are mentioned on pages 91 and 118. See also K. Hotl: Enthusiasmus und Busagewalt beim Griechischen Mönchtum. Leipzig 1898 s. 27. These codes are listed below on page XXV in note one. Wed. especially word 45 and hymn 58; words 60 – 61 and 34 of the hymn; 89 word and hymns: 2, 17, 46 and 51; words: 86, 90 – 92 and hymns: 3, 32, 40, etc. We mean “prayer to St. Trinity" I "prayer to our Lord I. X. about St. communion”, which were included in the procession to St. communion, especially the second. See the notes for these prayers on pp. 245 and 250 of this. translation of hymns. See especially hymns: 1, 2, 4, 6, 13, 21, 39, 46, etc. In Greek. ed. creativity Simeon NV. (hereinafter we quote everywhere the second edition of ἐν Σύρῳ (1886) μέρος II, λόγος I, σελίς. 3 2 (the small number below means column); λ. 2, σ. 7 1 – 2; λ. 4, σ. 13 1 ; λ. 6, σ. 13 1 – 2 ; λ. 13. σ. 21 2 : λ. 21, σ. 32 1 ; λ. 39, σ 59 1 – 2 : λ. 46, σ. 69 2 . В настоящ. русск. переводе см. стр. 19–20, 29–30, 42–43, 46–47, 70, 98–99, 176–177, 211–212, etc. 27 hymn, in Greek. ed. μ, II, σ. 39 2; in Russian translation page 118. 39 hymn. in Greek ed. σ. 58: in Russian translation page 172. See also in Greek, ed., μ. II, 8, σ, 15 2; λ. 21, σ. 32 1; λ. 32, σ. 46 1; λ. 47, σ. 75 1. For the Russian translation, see hymns: 8, 21, 32 and 56; pp. 54, 99 137 and 256. See hymn 49, in Greek. ed. o. 75 2 – 76 1; in Russian translation p. 225. 9 hymn, in Greek. ed. σ. 17 2; in Russian translation p. 59; Wed 56 hymn, page 254. See hymns: 2, 8, 31, 36, 39, etc.: in Greek. ed. σσ. 5 2, 14 2 – 15 1, 45 1 – 2, 52 2 – 53 3, 57 2 – 58 1; in Russian translation, pp. 24, 50 – 51, 135 – 136, 155 – 156, 171, etc. See especially hymns: 1, 7, 27, 28, 32, 40, 58, etc.; in" Greek ed. σσ. 3 1 – 4 2 . 14 1, 39 1, 42 1 2, 46 1, 59 2; in the present translation pp. 19 – 21, 48, 118. 123–124, 137–138, 177 – 178. 201, etc. Confessionum liber. I, p. 6; ibid. s. 13, I, X, p. 2. 3. 4. MP. lat. t. XXXII, coll. 664–665, 671, 779–781. In Russian. translation creativity Part I (2nd edition Kyiv, 1901), pp. 8, 19, 269–273. See hymns: 2, 31, 39; and Greek ed. σσ. 5 2, 44 2, 59 1; in the present translation pp. 24, 132, 175. Hymn: 31, 39, 49, etc.: in Greek. ed. σσ. 45 1, 59 1 – 2, 76 1; in Russian translation pp. 133 – 131, 175 – 176, 225–226, etc. 28 hymn, in Greek. ed. σ. 41 2; in Russian translation pp. 123 – 124. 58 hymn, p. 261; authentic for its text see Appendix I; Latin, translated MR. gr. t. CXX Divinorum amorum c, XV. col. 532B. How alien and unacceptable for all Western Christian thinking is the idea of the complete deification of man, developed by Simeon and further in the above-quoted 58th hymn, can be seen from the fact that a very significant part of this hymn is completely omitted by the Latin translator, who in the note he made on this occasion says among other things: Porro apud Symeonem sequebatur hic disputatio de membris nostris in membra Christi transformatis, deque Christi membris in nostra conversis, quam silentio praetermittendam, Latinisque auribus non satis dignam censuimus. MP... col. 531D, adnotatio 19. Augustine's language in the Confessions, despite its conciseness, is distinguished by its extraordinary playfulness, frequent metaphors, antitheses, etc. Deo Allatius: De Sytneonum scriptis=MP. gr. t. CXX Symeon Junior, Xotitia. col. 310A. Herzog – Hauck: Realencyklopadie b. 19 Leipzig 1907 9. 319. Mf. 11, 25 – 27; 13, 11 – 15; John 14, 16 – 17; I Cor. 1, 18–25; 2, 4 – 15, etc. So, for example, Rev. Simeon is told that although he saw God and contemplated the Divine light, the method of contemplation remained incomprehensible to him. Hymn 1, σ. 4; 6 hymn, σ. 13 2; in Russian translation pp. 21, 47; Wed page 112. Hymns 39, 39; Greek ed. σσ. 56 1, 59 1; in Russian translation pp. 166, 176. Hymn 22, σ. 33 2 – 34 1; hymn 41, σ. 63 1 – 2, in Russian. translation pp. 103–104, 192–194; Wed, hymn 59, pp. 289 – 270, 8 hymn, σ. 16 2 – 17 1; in Russian translation pp. 56–57. We invite readers to read especially carefully what Nikita says at the beginning and end of the preface, on pp. 1 – 3 and 9 – 12. Hymn 51, σ. 80 1 ; in Russian translation pp. 237 – 228; Wed word 87, in Greek. ed. μ. I, σ. 501 1 ; in Russian translation issue II, p. 459. See note five above on page VI. 58 hymn, p. 258; authentic Greek for the text of this hymn see Appendix I; Latin translation MR. gr. t. CXX Divinorum amorum p. XV col. 530A. See especially hymns: 8, 9, 31, 39 and many more. etc.; in Greek ed. σσ. 14 2 – 15 1, 18 2, 45 1 – 2, 57 2 – 58 1, 58 1, 59 1; in" Russian translation pp. 50 – 51. 61 – 62, 135 – 136, 171, 172, 175. Hymns: 31, 33, 54, etc.; in Greek ed. σσ. 45 1, 47 1, 88 1 in Russian. translation pp. 133, 135, 139, 247; Wed hymn 8, page 31. Hymn 30, σ. 43 1; hymn. 31, σ. 45 1; in Russian translation pp. 128, 135. Hymn 53. in Greek. ed. σ. 82 2; in Russian translation page 244. See note three above on page IX. Word 90; in Greek ed. μ. I, σ. , 514 1 ; in Russian translation Words vol. II, p. 484. 39 hymn, in Greek. ed. μ. I, μ. 58 1 present Russian translation pp. 172–174. From the life of St. Simeon, it is known that Patriarch Sergius once promised, under a certain condition, to place Simeon in one of the prominent metropolises, which Simeon flatly refused. In our handwritten copy of the life of σ. 85 et seq.; in the cited op. Holl, see part 22. 32 hymn, Fr. 81 2; in Russian translation pp. 242–243. In our handwritten copy of the life of Simeon σσ. 114 – 115; in Russian translation of the life pp. 52 – 53 (the above-cited ed.). 1 Cor. 2, 16; 7, 40, etc.; Wed 89 word of Simeon. issue II, p. 476. 51 hymns, and Greek. ed. μ. II, σ. 80 1 ; in the present translation page 288. 89 word, in Greek. ed. μ. I, σ. 510 2; in Russian translation issue II, p. 477. V. our handwritten copy of the life of σσ. 93 –110, 112 – 114, 123 – 137; in abbreviated modern Greek. translation see σσ. 16 1 –19 1, 19 2, 21 – 23 and in Russian. translation of this latter pp. 40–50, 52, 57–64. “After thirty years, it is said in the life of St. Simeon, after the death of this glorious Father, according to his prophecy, the discovery of his sacred remains is revealed... So, at the end of the fifth indictment, in 6560 his remains are suddenly worn out [full] of all grace and fragrance... sanctifying through touch and kissing” (σ. 112) reads this way; ...τριάκοντα χρόνων μετὰ τὴν τελευτὴν τοῦ ἀοιδίμου τούτου ἡ ἀνακομιδὴ τῶν ἰερῶν τοῦτου λειψάνων... Τοένυν καὶτῆς πέμπτης τελειωθείσης ἰνδίκτου κατὰ τὸ ς φ’ ξ" ἐτος, ἀνακομίζονται ἀπροσδοκήτως τὰ πάσης χάριτος καὶ εὐωδίας αὐτοῦ λείψανα... τῇ προσφαύσει καὶ τῷ ἀσπασμῷ ἄγιάζοντα. Β new Greek translation of the life, see σ. 19 2 and in Russian” 51 – 52 pp. About the church glorification of St. Simeon's death is evidenced, in addition, by the repeated mention in his life (mainly in the description of his posthumous miracles) about the tomb of Simeon's relics, about the holiday in honor of him, about his icon, etc. See Greek. ed. creativity Simeon NB. μ. I, l. 68, especially σσ. 364 2 – 365 1; in pycc. translation of Words vol. II, pp. 180 – 181. All except for the Ἀοχή τῶν θείων ὕμνων or introduction, written in prose. Emperor" Constantine Porphyrogenitus (reign 912–959), in his essay on the ceremonies of the Byzantine court, cites, among other things, a folk spring song, which is political verse in 15 syllables. See Krumbacher: Geshichte der Byzantlnischen Literatur... München 1697, s. 255. On political poems see Krumbacher cit. op. s. 650 – 651; as well as MP. gr. t. CXX. Symeon Junior, Notitia, col. 305ABCD. Nikita says in the life of St. Simeon that he wrote hymns ἐν ἀμέτρῷ μέτρῳ, that is, without observing the number of syllables. See above on page. II note one. There are several more hymns”: the 12th, 39 and 15, written half in 12-syllable and half in 15-syllable political verses; The 59-hymn is also written in 12-syllable political verse, but at the end there are 15 syllables per verse. Below are examples of those poetic meters that Rev. Simeon wrote his hymns. 15-syllable political verse Σύ με γινώσκεις. ὥ Χριστὲ, πάσης παρανομίας (3rd hymn) So in manuscript No. 419 (according to Vladimir’s description), sheet 308 vol. there is a small excerpt from hymn 59 (according to our account) and there on sheet 365 vol. ― 366 in prose form were rewritten and combined into one first half of the 19th and second 18th hymns; hand-drawn No. 423, l. 223 before the word of Simeon about the three forms of attention and prayer, an epigram in verse is told, which is in our translation under the name 60 of the hymn; finally, in hand. 76 434, l. 379 rev. The small 5th hymn was rewritten in poor Greek cursive. As for manuscripts No. 74 306 and 307, which are unique liturgical collections of the Athonite monk Fikara, in which, judging by the description, one would expect something from the hymns or about the hymns of St. Simeon. then these manuscripts contain only a few small excerpts from the chapters, and not from the hymns of Simeon: in the first manuscript there is one passage (fol. 158 vol.), and in the second three passages (fol. 259 vol.), which speak of the need to glorify and thank God. See Σακκελίωνος: Ιιατμιακὴ βιβλιοθήκη σ. 188 – 9. So, for example, in code. Monac. N° 526 lists only 37 hymns of Simeon; see Hardt's catalog vol. V. page 316. See MR. gr. t, CXX. Symeon Junior, Notitia (Leo Allatius de Symeonum scriptis; coll. 300 – 305. In the Patmos manuscript. and Allaius gives only the title of this hymn; here it is: ὅπως ὑπο τοῦ Ἁγίου Πνεύματος ἐλλαμπόμενος ὁ θεῖoς οὔτος Πατὴρ ὡμίλει θεῷ, καὶ ὑπ’ ἐκείνου ἐμυσταγωγεῖτα τὰ θεῖτά τε καὶ ἀνθρώπινα. See Patrology Minya Notitia about Simeon NB. col. 309C. These 40 chapters represent a translation of the 38 hymns themselves, since the first chapter is a translation of Άρχή τῶν θεἰων ὕμνων or an introduction written in prose, and the last 40 chapter is a translation of the 91st word of Simeonov. This form is still closer, I think, to the original than continuous lines of prose: in the original translation, the reader can see more clearly the frequent parallelism of expressions in poetry, the repetition of some words, the omission of others, and other features of poetic speech. Insertions and additions in the Latin translation occurred because the translator sometimes conveyed the original more extensively and descriptively, and sometimes, of course, from those discrepancies, insertions and omissions that were present in his Greek original. We used the second edition, published in 1886. The hymns are printed in it (as in the first edition) in the second part in two columns, with a special page count. Which, in turn, is far from free from typos: see, for example. coll. 532B, 538B, 570D, 577D. 579C etc. The 58th hymn is printed in the Greek edition, only as the second half of the 47th hymn; see notes on pp. 223, 252–253 present. translation. See, for example, the 45th word of Simeon; in Greek, ed. μέρος I, a – 218, 221 1 – 2; in Russian translation issue I, ed. 2nd M. 1892, pp. 383 – 388, 394 – 308. See here. translation note: first on page 265. To fully understand this message, you need to know the life of St. Simeon. in particular, the attitude of the addressee of this message towards him, what preceded the writing of the message and what happened afterwards. See MR. gr. t. CXX. Symeon Junior: Divinorum amorum c. X n XV, coll. 521 and 529 – 533; cp. Notitia col. 301AB. It is placed, for example, in our above-quoted handwritten copy of the life of St. Simeon, taken from the Athonsk manuscript. Panteleimon Monastery No. 764 (in Lambros catalog vol. II. No. 6271). These manuscripts (not all yet) are indicated in the second note on page 279 of this. translation. See, for example, the psalter with the subsequent Moscow. Synodal Library No. 406 (description of Gorsky and Nevostruev, department III. part 1, p. 421) or the psalter of the fundamental library of the M.D. Academy No. 9 (description of Archimandrite Leonid, issue II, p. 316 seq.), in which Simeon Metaphrast is mixed with Simeon NB. (see sheets 838, 839 vol.). In this last psalter, it is especially noteworthy that the prayer to the Holy Trinity: “About the Father, the Son and the Soul” ... is placed in it immediately after the prayer for communion: “From profane lips” ..., undoubtedly belonging to Simeon NB., but both of these prayers, not only the first, but also the second, are erroneously attributed there to Simeon Metaphrastes. So, for example, Simeon in this prayer calls God “many-loving beauty, which has no saturation”, “Three-radiant Light”, “three-bright and one King”, asks himself for “rains of tears”, calls himself “unclean and indecent, evil and nasty, darkened and defiled”, etc. We also suggest comparing the line in this prayer on page 245 4th, 7th and 9th from the beginning of the prayer and the corresponding thoughts and phrases on pp. 61 – 62 of the present. translation; on page 246 lines 9 – 8 from the end and below and pages 50 – 51: on page 247 lines 5 – 8 from the beginning and pages 133, 135, 244; on the same page 247, lines 6 – 3 from the end and page 135: on page 248, line 12 from the top and further and pages 75, 134; on the same 248 page, lines 4 – 1 from the end and pp. 139 – 140, etc. Thus, the index attached to this edition can be called an index to all the works of Simeon the New and the Theologian existing in Russian translation. It does not, however, quote the twelve words of St. Simeon, published by Optina Pustyn. but almost all of these words are included in the 92 words published in two editions. Quite a lot of incorrectness and inaccuracies in the translation are indicated especially in the preface to the hymns of Nikita Stifat; all of them were noticed when printing the original Greek text of the preface and comparing it with the already printed translation of the preface. In the text of op. Dionysia best reading: ὑποστάτις – creator. De divin. nomin. c. 1, §§ VII – VIII, coll. 597AB. The author here obviously has in mind one place from the 89th word of Rev. Simeon NB. See his “Words” in Russian. translation issue II (second ed.), pp. 478 – 479. This is the general spirit of the teaching of St. Simeon, who very often in his words and hymns refers to his direct experience. ἰδοῦσαν – a typo, instead of ἱδρῦσαν, as in the text De divin. nomin. De divin. nomin. c. I, §II, col. 588CD. Ibid. § ΙΙΙ, col. 589B. Taken with some changes, insertions and rearrangements. Another inscription of the same work by Philo (i.e. “On the Life of Contemplation”) reads properly: Ἰκέται ἢ περὶ ἀρετῶν, i.e. pleading or for virtues. See pp. 65 – 66 in ed. Philo: About the contemplative life. Oxford 1895. In meaning and in accordance with the text" De divin. nomin, should read ἐνούμενοι, instead of ἑμνούμενοι. De divin. nomia. c. 1, § V, col. 593BC. About minor changes taken from Dionysius; De divin. nomin. c. 1, § VIII, col. 597C. Dionysii Areopagitae: De eccles. hierarch. c. 1, § 1. MP. gr. t. III, col. D72A. That is, the atmosphere or planetary system.