{"id":6389,"date":"2019-03-01T08:37:40","date_gmt":"2019-03-01T15:37:40","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.poetry-chaikhana.com\/blog\/?p=6389"},"modified":"2019-03-01T08:37:40","modified_gmt":"2019-03-01T15:37:40","slug":"symeon-the-new-theologian-how-is-it-i-can-love-you","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.poetry-chaikhana.com\/blog\/2019\/03\/01\/symeon-the-new-theologian-how-is-it-i-can-love-you\/","title":{"rendered":"Symeon the New Theologian – How is it I can love You"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

<\/p>\n\n\n

How is it I can love You
\nby Symeon the New Theologian<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

English version by Ivan M. Granger<\/font><\/p>\n

How is it I can love You
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 within me,
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 yet see You from afar?<\/em><\/p>\n

How is it I embrace You
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 within myself,
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 yet see You spread across the heavens?<\/p>\n<\/em>

You know. You alone.
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 You, who made this mystery,
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 You who shine
\nlike the sun in my breast,
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 You who shine
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 in my material heart,
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 immaterially.<\/em><\/p>\n

<\/a> \u2014 from The Longing in Between: Sacred Poetry from Around the World (A Poetry Chaikhana Anthology)<\/a>, Edited by Ivan M. Granger<\/font><\/p>\n


\/ Image by JudiLiosatos<\/a> \/<\/em><\/font><\/p>\n

The mystic\u2019s riddle: How can such immensity be found within? How can the Eternal be discovered within such a limited space as the human awareness? And yet, at the same time, the Eternal permeates the vastness of creation, which itself is ultimately limited. How can this be?<\/p>\n

How is it I can love You
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 within me,
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 yet see You from afar?<\/i><\/p>\n

Symeon is not asking these questions as an intellectual game. This is not a dry theological exercise. His questions arise from the genuine surprise at this paradox as it reveals itself through direct perception: The Divine is both intimate and all-encompassing; within, yet everywhere<\/p>\n

How is it I embrace You
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 within myself,
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 yet see You spread across the heavens?<\/i>
\nIn blissful states, we look within and see God. We look outside ourselves, and equally we see God. Near and far: God. Above and below: God. The mountain seats God, but so too does the pebble, and also the mote of dust that settles upon it. Friend\u2013God; enemy\u2013God; self\u2013God.<\/p>\n

It cannot be. And yet it is. The intellect balks at it, yet the mystic is confronted with it undeniably. This is not just a pleasant idea; when we really learn to look, this is what we see.<\/p>\n

You know. You alone.
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 You, who made this mystery,
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 You who shine
\nlike the sun in my breast,
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 You who shine
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 in my material heart,
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 immaterially.<\/i>
\nLet theologies try\u2013and fail\u2013to solve this riddle. Let us, instead, join with the world\u2019s mystics and watch in wonder.<\/p>\n


\n<\/p>

<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

<\/a>Recommended Books: Symeon the New Theologian<\/font><\/b><\/p>\n

<\/p>

<\/p>

<\/p>

<\/p>

<\/p>

<\/p>

<\/p>

<\/p>

<\/p>

<\/p>

<\/p>

<\/p>\n\n\n \n \n
<\/a><\/td>\n<\/a><\/td>\n<\/a><\/td>\n<\/a><\/td>\n<\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
The Longing in Between: Sacred Poetry from Around the World (A Poetry Chaikhana Anthology)<\/a><\/small><\/td>\nThis Dance of Bliss: Ecstatic Poetry from Around the World<\/a><\/small><\/td>\nReal Thirst: Poetry of the Spiritual Journey<\/a><\/small><\/td>\nThe Enlightened Heart: An Anthology of Sacred Poetry<\/a><\/small><\/td>\nThe Book of Mystical Chapters: Meditations on the Soul\u2019s Ascent from the Desert Fathers and Other Early Christian Contemplatives<\/a><\/small><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
More Books >><\/a><\/i><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody><\/table>\n

<\/p><\/center>
\n

<\/p>\n\n\n
\n\"Symeon<\/a>\n<\/td>\n\nSymeon the New Theologian<\/strong><\/a>

<\/p>\n

Turkey (949 \u2013 1032) Timeline<\/a>
\nChristian<\/a> : Eastern Orthodox<\/a>
\n<\/a><\/a><\/em>\n<\/p><\/td>\n

<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody><\/table>\n

<\/p>\n

Symeon was born into an aristocratic family in Asia Minor (Turkey) and was given the name George. This was when the region was still part of the Christian Byzantine Empire. From boyhood George was groomed for a life in politics. At age eleven, he was sent to the capital Constantinople (Istanbul) to live with his uncle who guided him in his early education. <\/p>\n

When he was 14, George met a monk at the monastery of Studios named Symeon the Pious. George accepted Symeon the Pious as his spiritual director while continuing to prepare for a life in politics.<\/p>\n

Somewhere around age 20, George was overcome by an ecstatic state in which he experienced God as a living presence of radiant light.<\/p>\n

Despite this radically transformative experience, he spent several more years attempting to fulfill his family\u2019s expectations, eventually becoming an imperial senator. However, his continuing mystical experiences were not compatible with such a public life and, at age 27, he renounced his previous life and became a monk, entering the monastery at Studios to continue under the direct guidance his spiritual director, even taking on the same monastic name \u2014 Symeon.<\/p>\n

The closeness teacher and disciple shared worried the monastic authorities and the two were separated. The young Symeon was given the choice of remaining at Studios and no longer receiving spiritual guidance from the elder Symeon, or he could go to another monastery and keep his spiritual director.<\/p>\n

So as not to lose the guidance of Symeon the Pious, the young Symeon chose to move to the monastery of St. Mamas in Constantinople. There, Symeon was ordained a priest and eventually became the abbot of the monastery, reviving the monastery\u2019s life of prayer and meditation. While abbot of St. Mamas, Symeon wrote extensive treatises (called the Catecheses) as guidelines for the ideal monastic and God-focused life, emphasizing the power of contemplative prayer and meditation.<\/p>\n

The mystical spiritual practices that he advocated led to further conflicts with authorities and Symeon was exiled in 1009 to a small hermitage on the far side of the Bosphorus.<\/p>\n

Disciples began to gather around Symeon and soon the small hermitage grew into a full monastery. It was there that Symeon wrote his most personal work, Hymns of Divine Love, a collection of poems describing his mystical experiences.<\/p>\n

Symeon\u2019s doctrines and poetry emphasize not only the possibility, but the necessity of personally experiencing the Divine. He also stated that one need not be a monk or renunciate, saying that one \u201cwho has wife and children, crowds of servants, much property, and a prominent position in the world\u201d can still directly experience communion with the divine.<\/p>\n

He is called Symeon the New Theologian to distinguish him from John the Evangelist (called John the Theologian in Greek) and Gregory of Nyzanius (also called Gregory the Theologian in the Eastern Orthodox tradition).<\/p>\n

More poetry by Symeon the New Theologian<\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

How is it I can love You by Symeon the New Theologian English version by Ivan M. Granger How is it I can love You \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 within me, \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 yet see You from afar? How is it I embrace You \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 within myself, \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 yet see You spread across the heavens? You know. You alone. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[825,1394,79,60,824,271],"class_list":["post-6389","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-poetry","tag-byzantine-poetry","tag-christian-mystical-poetry","tag-christian-poetry","tag-light","tag-orthodox-christian-poetry","tag-symeon-the-new-theologian"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.poetry-chaikhana.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6389","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.poetry-chaikhana.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.poetry-chaikhana.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.poetry-chaikhana.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.poetry-chaikhana.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6389"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.poetry-chaikhana.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6389\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6390,"href":"https:\/\/www.poetry-chaikhana.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6389\/revisions\/6390"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.poetry-chaikhana.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6389"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.poetry-chaikhana.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6389"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.poetry-chaikhana.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6389"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}