St. Symeon the New Theologian

E23110

Byzantine monk Christian mystic Christian saint Christian theologian spiritual writer

St. Symeon the New Theologian was a 10th–11th century Byzantine monk, mystic, and spiritual writer renowned for his teachings on inner prayer, direct experience of God, and the transformative work of the Holy Spirit in the Christian life.

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All labels observed (2)

Label	Occurrences
Symeon the New Theologian	13
St. Symeon the New Theologian canonical	2

How this entity was disambiguated

This entity first appeared as the object of triple T94270 — resolving that mention is where its identity was fixed. The disambiguator weighed these candidate entities and picked the highlighted one (or “None”, minting a new entity). This is how homonymy is resolved: the same surface form can point to different entities.

NED1 Entity disambiguation (via context triple) gpt-5-mini-2025-08-07

Target entity: St. Symeon the New Theologian
Context triple: [Philokalia, containsWorkBy, St. Symeon the New Theologian]

A. St. Nikodemos the Hagiorite
St. Nikodemos the Hagiorite was an 18th-century Athonite monk, theologian, and spiritual writer of the Eastern Orthodox Church, renowned for his influential ascetic and mystical works.
B. St. Isaac the Syrian
St. Isaac the Syrian was a 7th-century Christian monk, bishop, and mystical theologian renowned for his profound writings on asceticism, divine mercy, and contemplative prayer in the Eastern Christian tradition.
C. St. Maximus the Confessor
St. Maximus the Confessor was a 7th-century Byzantine Christian monk, theologian, and mystic renowned for his profound contributions to Eastern Orthodox theology, especially on Christology and the spiritual life.
D. Gregory of Nazianzus
Gregory of Nazianzus was a 4th-century Archbishop of Constantinople and influential theologian, revered as one of the Cappadocian Fathers and a key shaper of Trinitarian doctrine in early Christianity.
E. St. John Climacus
St. John Climacus was a 7th-century Christian monk and ascetic writer best known for his influential spiritual treatise "The Ladder of Divine Ascent," a classic of Eastern Orthodox spirituality.
F. None of above. chosen
G. Unsure - the case is ambiguous/there is not enough information to decide.

NED2 Entity disambiguation (via description) gpt-5-mini-2025-08-07

Target entity: St. Symeon the New Theologian
Target entity description: St. Symeon the New Theologian was a 10th–11th century Byzantine monk, mystic, and spiritual writer renowned for his teachings on inner prayer, direct experience of God, and the transformative work of the Holy Spirit in the Christian life.

A. St. Nikodemos the Hagiorite
St. Nikodemos the Hagiorite was an 18th-century Athonite monk, theologian, and spiritual writer of the Eastern Orthodox Church, renowned for his influential ascetic and mystical works.
B. St. Isaac the Syrian
St. Isaac the Syrian was a 7th-century Christian monk, bishop, and mystical theologian renowned for his profound writings on asceticism, divine mercy, and contemplative prayer in the Eastern Christian tradition.
C. St. Maximus the Confessor
St. Maximus the Confessor was a 7th-century Byzantine Christian monk, theologian, and mystic renowned for his profound contributions to Eastern Orthodox theology, especially on Christology and the spiritual life.
D. Gregory of Nazianzus
Gregory of Nazianzus was a 4th-century Archbishop of Constantinople and influential theologian, revered as one of the Cappadocian Fathers and a key shaper of Trinitarian doctrine in early Christianity.
E. St. John Climacus
St. John Climacus was a 7th-century Christian monk and ascetic writer best known for his influential spiritual treatise "The Ladder of Divine Ascent," a classic of Eastern Orthodox spirituality.
F. None of above. chosen

Statements (52)

Predicate	Object
instanceOf	Byzantine monk ⓘ Christian mystic ⓘ Christian saint ⓘ Christian theologian ⓘ spiritual writer ⓘ
birthDate	949 ⓘ
birthPlace	Byzantine Empire ⓘ Galatai, Paphlagonia ⓘ
centuryOfActivity	10th century ⓘ 11th century ⓘ
churchTradition	Eastern Orthodox Christianity ⓘ surface form: Eastern Orthodox Church
deathDate	1022 ⓘ
deathPlace	Byzantine Empire ⓘ Chrysopolis ⓘ
denomination	Byzantine Rite ⓘ surface form: Byzantine Christianity
feastDay	12 March ⓘ
honorificTitle	Saint Mary ⓘ surface form: Saint The New Theologian ⓘ
influenced	St. Gregory Palamas ⓘ surface form: Gregory Palamas later hesychast tradition ⓘ
knownFor	critique of formalism in religious life ⓘ doctrine of the indwelling Holy Spirit ⓘ emphasis on direct experience of God ⓘ hymns about divine light ⓘ insistence on personal conversion and repentance ⓘ teachings on inner prayer ⓘ writings on Christian mysticism ⓘ
language	Greek ⓘ
monasteryAffiliation	Monastery of St. Mamas in Constantinople ⓘ
monasticRole	abbot ⓘ
nationality	Byzantine ⓘ
occupation	abbot of St. Mamas monastery ⓘ
religion	Christianity ⓘ
residence	Istanbul ⓘ surface form: Constantinople
sharesTitleTheologianWith	Gregory of Nazianzus ⓘ Apostle John ⓘ surface form: John the Theologian
spiritualEmphasis	confession and obedience to a spiritual father ⓘ experience of God available to all baptized Christians ⓘ
spiritualPractice	hesychastic prayer ⓘ unceasing prayer ⓘ
theologicalTheme	deification (theosis) ⓘ importance of spiritual fatherhood ⓘ inner transformation of the Christian ⓘ personal experience of the Holy Spirit ⓘ vision of the uncreated light ⓘ
titleCount	one of the three saints called Theologian in Eastern Orthodoxy ⓘ
veneration	Eastern Catholic Churches ⓘ Eastern Orthodox Christianity ⓘ surface form: Eastern Orthodox Church
workAuthored	Catechetical Discourses ⓘ Ethical Discourses ⓘ Hymns of Divine Love ⓘ Chapters on Prayer ⓘ surface form: Theological and Practical Chapters

How these facts were elicited

Referenced by (15)

Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.

Philokalia → containsWorkBy → St. Symeon the New Theologian ⓘ

St. Nikodemos the Hagiorite → influencedBy → St. Symeon the New Theologian ⓘ

hesychast tradition → influencedBy → St. Symeon the New Theologian ⓘ