The Ladder of Spiritual Ascent in the Reflection of the Divine Hymns of St. Simeon the New Theologian

Abstract

The author of the article suggests looking at the Divine Hymns of St. Simeon the New Theologian in an extended perspective. He argues that they are not only purely poetic works, reflecting the feelings of the soul, experiencing a whole range of conditions — from the despair of God-forsakenness to upheavals at the moments of meeting with God. The article presents the rationale that the Divine hymns are also a rare example of the poetic expression of the fullness of ascetic experience. The inclusion of hymns Simeon among the texts representing the mystical-ascetic tradition of Eastern Christianity gave rise to a research task: to compare the path of spiritual ascent presented in them with another ascetic guide — «The Ladder» of St. John of Sinai. A comparison of these two systems of pastoral instructions for ascetics led to the conclusion that the methodology of St. Simeon the New Theologian is a vivid example of the creative assimilation and development of the Tradition, evidence that asceticism is essentially creativity and cannot but be so due to the exclusively personal nature of the process of Communion with God, which is its core.