Among the many theologians of the Orthodox Church, three saints are given the appellation Theologian: St. John the Theologian, St. Gregory the Theologian, and St. Symeon the New Theologian. There is a monastery in Panorama, at Thessaloniki suburbs, the Monastery of the Holy Trinity, which is the only one all over the world with a chapel dedicated to these three theologians, celebrating their annual Panegyris, the Feast of the Synaxis of the Three Theologians, on the first Saturday of each November.

Here are some words of Elder Symeon Kragiopoulos of blessed memory, spiritual father and founder of the monastery, about these three theologians, and St. Symeon the New Theologian, his patron Saint, in particular, that shed light into his decision to dedicate the brotherhood to them.

St. John the Theologian: Love

“Throughout his gospel, he writes about himself: John 13:23 “Now there was leaning on Jesus’ bosom one of his disciples, whom Jesus loved” (and 19:26; 21:7 and 20) … Saint John had this understanding that he was the disciple whom Christ loved. …Let us all focus on this. Do I possess God’s Love? Do I feel God’s Love? God is offering His Love, but does it reach my soul?”

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St. Gregory the Theologian: Unceasing Prayer and Hesychia

“Remember God more often than you breathe.”

Μνημονευτέον γὰρ Θεοῦ μᾶλλον ἢ ἀναπνευστέον»

“No sooner do I conceive of the Οne than I am encircled, illumined by the splendour of the Τhree; no sooner do I distinguish them than I am carried back to the Οne.

When I contemplate the three together, I see but one torch, and cannot divide or measure out the undivided light.”

The first of all beautiful things is the continual possession of God.

For God loves to be entreated, He loves to be compelled.

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Saint Symeon the New Theologian: Insatiable Thirst for God, Extreme Humility and Sacramental Obedience to his spiritual father [obedience given to the spiritual father for Christ’s sake which thus becomes obedience to Christ].

All aspects of St. Simeon’s life are most noteworthy, but what is probably the most striking element of all is his sacramental love and obedience to his spiritual father.

Look at the spiritual heights St. Symeon reached:

Light

In the midst of that night, in my darkness

In the midst of that night, in my darkness,
I saw the awesome sight of Christ
opening the heavens for me.
And he bent down to me and showed himself to me
with the Father and the Holy Spirit
in the thrice holy light —
a single light in three, and a threefold light in one,
for they are altogether light,
and the three are but one light,.
And he illumined my soul
more radiantly than the sun,
and he lit up my mind,
which had until then been in darkness.
Never before had my mind seen such things.
I was blind, you should know it, and I saw nothing.
That was why this strange wonder
was so astonishing to me,
when Christ, as it were, opened the eye of my mind,
when he gave me sight, as it were,
and it was him that I saw.
He is Light within Light, who appears
to those who contemplate him,
and contemplatives see him in light —
see him, that is, in the light of the Spirit…
And now, as if from far off,
I still see that unseeable beauty,
that unapproachable light, that unbearable glory.
My mind is completely astounded.
I tremble with fear.
Is this a small taste from the abyss,
which like a drop of water
serves to make all water known
in all its qualities and aspects?…
I found him, the One whom I had seen from afar,
the one whom Stephen saw
when the heavens opened,
and later whose vision blinded Paul.
Truly, he was as a fire in the centre of my heart.
I was outside myself, broken down, lost to myself,
and unable to bear the unendurable brightness of that glory.
And so, I turned
and fled into the night of the senses.

Pay attention to his starting point:

Obedience

Experiences of a man named “George“.

In Saint Symeon’s “On Faith” found in the “Philokalia“, there is an account of the experiences of a young man named “George” [- Symeon himself of course -][Saint Symeon the New Theologian reposed in the Lord in 1022].

THERE was someone called George, very young in age, nearly twenty years old, living in Constantinople – in our own day.

He was very good-looking, and he went about with such ideas of his own appearance, that many people had a mean opinion of him, especially those who judge things by a man’s outward show, and who, without taking into consideration what is hidden in each person, condemn, and become indiscriminate judges of others.

This young man made the acquaintance of a very holy monk, who lived in a monastery in Constantinople, and opening up to him all that was hidden in his heart, he even told him that he longed for the salvation of his soul, and had a great desire to remove from the world, and become a monk.

Now, the honourable Elder praised him for the goal he had set for himself; he counselled him, as was proper, and gave him that book of Saint Marc the Ascetic to read, in which he writes about the spiritual law.

… Every evening, when he went to bed to sleep, he made the prayer and the prostrations which that holy Elder had encouraged him to do, and then fell asleep. … Thus grew from day to day the prayer he made each evening, to which he applied himself until midnight. … So then it was, that one evening at the time when he was praying, and was saying with heart-sight (νοερῶς) in the eye of his heart, the “God be merciful to me a sinner”, suddenly a divine illumination shone out upon him, and that whole place was filled with that light.

And that blessed young man, I mean to say, George, remained in wonderment and forgot whether he was in his house, because he saw light everywhere, as if he were outdoors.

Nor did he comprehend whether his feet were still planted on the earth, or whether he was standing upon air; but at the same time, he had no bodily or worldly concern in his heart-mind (νοῦς) at all, but he completely forgot the whole world, and everything met and became one with the divine light; and it seemed to him, that he too became light, and was wholly filled with tears and an indescribable joy.

And at the last, his heart-mind went up to the heavens, and there he saw another light, brighter still, and beside that light it seemed to him that there stood the holy Elder who had given to him, as we said, the book of St Marc, and the prayer rule which he observed.

Now I myself, as I heard these things from the young man, came to the conclusion that the intercession of the holy Elder contributed a great deal to this, and that God so ordered things to show the young man to what height of virtue the holy Elder had come, which is why he saw him standing beside that light.”

Saint Symeon the New Theologian, “On Faith”.

Most importantly, even, at the height of God’s revelations, St. Symeon saw his holy Elder standing and attributed everything to his prayers.

May these three Saints inspire us and intercede for us, help us ascend the Divine Ladder towards the goal: eternal life in the Kingdom of God.