Work
153 Practical and Theological Texts
Practical advice combined with visionary theology
Symeon the New Theologian moves freely between concrete guidance on ascetic practice and rapturous descriptions of encounters with divine light — sometimes within a single text. The 153 number echoes the symbolic count used by Evagrius for his texts on prayer. The combination of the practical and the mystical is characteristic of Symeon: for him, these are not separate domains. The highest contemplative experience and the daily disciplines of repentance and self-examination are the same reality at different depths.
A good representation of Symeon's distinctive approach. Read it after On Theological and Practical Chapters, which provides more of the framework.