The Pneuma Review » symeon

The Baptism of Tears: The Two Baptisms of St. Symeon the New Theologian

Gene Mills — Sat, 06 Apr 2019 21:59:58 +0000

One of the distinctives of the contemporary Pentecostal movement has been the understanding that there are two distinct baptisms. Many outside of the movement do not realize that this is not original, though. Beyond the biblical support for this understanding, one can find different personalities and movements throughout the recorded history of the church who attest to the same realization, not the least of which is St. Symeon the New Theologian of the late 10^th and early 11^th centuries. St. Symeon the New Theologian is one of three individuals honored with the title “theologian” by the Eastern Church: St. John the Evangelist, St. Gregory of Nazianzus and St. Symeon. This in itself shows the high regard that this tradition has for his theological insight. Symeon was a theologian unlike most others, though. His interest was not in discussions concerning the nature of God, rather his concern was in how an individual may come to know God.

It is from the Eastern tradition of which Symeon is a part that we are given the foundational, theological concept of theosis. Theosis is the deification of an individual Christian by the grace of God.¹ Deification, also known as divination, is the process by which humanity becomes assimilated, or united with God. This occurs through the energies of God by which God communicates. Deification is understood as a five stage process. The first stage was the deification of human nature that occurred in the Incarnation. As it is based upon the Incarnation, it is concurrently based upon the salvific work of the Christ who was incarnated. It is this salvific work which is the provision of the means for our divination and is the second stage in the process. Deification is, in fact, part of that redemptive work. It is in essence the recapitulation of humanity; that is, it provides for a new ontological reality of humanity.² It is the τελοσ and culmination of salvation. The third stage is in the initial salvation of the believer which is understood as coming at baptism. The deification of the individual commences in principle at this point. The fourth stage is the process of growth that occurs in the individual believer’s life, the process of emptying of the self and becoming in union with God. This stage is not unlike the concept of Christian perfection as found in Wesleyan thought. The final and full deification of the believer occurs in the reception of the individual into heaven, the beatific vision. For Symeon, deification is the highest possibility for humanity, for it is becoming a god by adoption, not that the creature becomes Creator, but the creature is allowed to share in the divine nature through the grace of God.

What can St. Symeon the New Theologian say to the church today?

Integrally related to this process of deification in the thought of Symeon is his understanding of baptism(s). He is firmly rooted in the Eastern tradition, and Christianity as whole of this period, in his appreciation for infant baptism, yet what sets him apart from most of the contemporaneous theology is his understanding of what should occur subsequently. In Symeon’s effort at re-vivifying the church, he came to several conclusions regarding the personal aspects of Christianity and its practices. Symeon emphasized the personal nature of religion and the validity of personal experience as theological source. He accentuated the need for personal, cognitive acceptance and appropriation of the grace that had been predestined in infant baptism. He accented the necessity of the known presence of the Holy Spirit in the life of the minister for the validation of the ministry. Each of these are tied to his understanding of the “baptism in the Holy Spirit” or the “baptism of tears.” Symeon’s argument, and mine also, is that the “second baptism” is necessary for a vital Christian life. To live without it is to forfeit the efficacy of the first baptism.
In the Eastern tradition it is generally understood that the baptismal rite of initiation is integrally tied to Pentecost. This is in contrast to the Western tradition which places more emphasis on Easter. This process of water bath and anointing signifies the descending of the Spirit upon the baptized. “As He descended upon the disciples in tongues of fire, so the Holy Spirit descends invisibly upon the newly-baptized in the sacrament of the holy chrism.”³ This integrity of the rite is based partially on the theological understanding that the Holy Spirit is active in both baptism and confirmation. It is understood that this is a re-creative act by the purification and the unification of humanity with Christ. This is the culmination and the commencement of the work of Christ. The Spirit confers the complete work of Christ in redemption and new birth upon the baptized. Yet this is only the beginning for the newly baptized infant, for her life from this point on is to be lived for Christ. Symeon goes on to attribute knowledge of God, predestination of salvation, grafting into the vine of Christ and freedom from the bondage to original sin to the work of baptism. The baptized are sealed by the cross and are adopted into the flock of the Shepherd⁴ All of these theological metaphors point toward one inescapable fact. For Symeon, baptism is salvific, even for the infant who is unable to consciously embrace that which occurs in baptism.⁵

St. Symeon the New Theologian, On the Mystical Life: The Ethical Discourses

Dony Donev — Mon, 30 Oct 2006 14:34:12 +0000

St. Symeon the New Theologian, On the Mystical Life: The Ethical Discourses
Vol. 1 The Church and the Last Things (Crestwood: St. Vladimir’s Seminary Press, 1995)
Vol. 2 On Virtue and Christian Life (Crestwood: St. Vladimir’s Seminary Press, 1996)
Vol. 3 Life, Times and Theology (Crestwood: St. Vladimir’s Seminary Press, 1997)

I first heard of Symeon the New Theologian from one of my professors in seminary, Steven J. Land. Dr. Land defended a dissertation on Pentecostal Spirituality, which has now become a standard text for students of Pentecostal theology. One of the prime examples of proto-Pentecostal mysticism used in the text is Symeon the New Theologian, a 10^th century mystic. Since my first encounter in seminary, I have desired to examine Symeon’s writings in person and being Slavic in background I have been partially able to do so because some are available through the Eastern Orthodox tradition. Therefore, I was thrilled when St. Vladimir’s Seminary published the trilogy in English. The point I would like get across is that if you are a Pentecostal scholar, reading Symeon’s writings is a must.

Do not be scared by the word mystical. Reading Symeon, one quickly finds out that the Pentecostalism experienced in any given holiness church is much more drastic, than any mystical example Symeon may have had.

Symeon’s writings do not fit a concrete type of literature. They explain theology in laymen’s terms, while taking the reader to the depth of the most intense theological discussions of the ages. Much like a Pentecostal testimony, the words have a way of bringing the experience of God close to the heart, while at the same time exalting His glory to the highest of all.

Therefore, a true Pentecostal commentary of the trilogy must begin with Symeon’s testimony of his experience. It is hardly an enigma to recognize that Symeon speaks about the same experience, which we Pentecostals testify of – the experience of the Holy Spirit. He describes the event as “seeing the light” that is felt emotionally and physically and which transforms the soul with its divine power.

The first volume, entitled The Church and the Last Thing, begins with the Genesis stories of the Creation, Adam and Eve in the Garden, the first sin and God’s pan for salvation. For the Western reader, this approach resembles Augustine’s De Civitate Dei. For the Eastern Pentecostal reader it is similar to the sermons we were accustomed to under the Communist Regime, where the pastor would begin a message with Genesis and finish with Revelation. And for any Pentecostal, Symeon’s approach reveals God’s plan for man and His divine provision through the ages in the ultimate goal of history beginning with the first creation and finishing with the already-not-yet eschatological reality.

Eschatology for Symeon is not just the last things, but the first things now made perfect by God. It is both near and immanent, much like the Pentecostal expectation of the Lord’s return. It includes Israel, the Heavens and the Judgment Day. Interestingly, Symeon brings in the experience of a personal new beginning based on a free human will. He sees the end as closely connected to the personal choice for eternity. The terms “foreordained” and “called” are examined in the saying “Those Whom He Foreknew, the Same He Also Predestined.” The claim that some are elected and others rejected is refused by Symeon with the simple, but strong words: “Did he ever say to some: ‘Do not repent for I will not accept you?’ … Of course not!”

The second volume, dedicated to the life of the Christian believer, comes as close to a Pentecostal experience as can be imagined. Symeon is quick to point out his own experience with God identifying it with the words of the apostle, “He appeared also to me” (1 Corinthians 15:8).

He speaks of the conscious possession of the Holy Spirit, claiming that one cannot “have” the Spirit and not know about it. For Symeon, the knowledge of the Spirit is the experience of the Sprit accompanied with feelings and emotions. For “only the dead feel nothing,” but when you possess the Spirit you know because you can feel. How close is this terminology to the Pentecostal, “I’ve got the Holy Ghost” and “I feel it. I feel it?” To the skeptic, Symeon further declares: “Do not say that it is impossible to receive the Spirit of God. … On the contrary, it is entirely possible when one desires it.”

Symeon continues with the statement, that the believer is “called to see God in this life.” The conscious possession of the Holy Spirit is not only a personal experience with God, it is a present eschatological foreseeing and a prophetic anticipation of what is yet to come. According to Symeon, “Hearsay is not enough. The saints describe what they have seen” (emphasis mine); therefore, “through the Holy Spirit the saints become eyewitnesses of the world to come.”

In the last volume, Symeon speaks of the Christian sacraments clearly differentiating between the sacramental and personal experience of God. His theological overview articulates the incarnation, but refuses to explain the Trinity with human terms. Instead, Symeon calls the Church to “participate in the life of the Trinity,” again juxtaposing theological reasoning against personal experience of God. This particular practice is accompanied with an interesting note from the author about church politics. In a typical mystical manner, Symeon urges the believer to follow the mandate of the Spirit rather than the mandate of the Church.

The trilogy presents the New Theologian as new in name, but old in religion and original in the personal experience of God. This fact proves that through the ages, there have always been people searching for God with an open heart and experiencing His presence in a Pentecostal manner. It further defines the Pentecostal experience of the Spirit as the true restoration of the Early Church praxis. And finally, it proves Land’s thesis that Pentecostalism is more Orthodox than Catholic and more Eastern than Western.

When I became Pentecostal, I did not know this would become the “new fad” of 21st century spirituality. What I knew was that I experienced God personally and He personally saved my soul. Symeon’s testimony is not much different and can be summed up in one statement: one can make the reality of heaven the reality of this life by having a real experience with God.

Reviewed by Dony K. Donev