Symeon Salos

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Symeon Salos (German: "Symeon the fool") from Emesa (* around 510 or 530; † on a July 21st at the end of the 6th century in Emesa) was a Christian monk and hermit in the 6th century, who was mainly by a Work of Leontius of Neapolis is known. He is venerated as a saint and his feast day in the Catholic Church is June 21. His way of life has been paraphrased with the words “ fool for Christ's sake ”.

The legend of Symeon Salos quickly became known, especially in Russia, and shaped the ascetic culture there among the devout believers, especially the Jurodiwy type . Although his way of life was often offensive, it was continued years later by Andrew of Constantinople , even if it is not known whether he had any knowledge of Symeon at all.

Live and act

Symeon was born in Edessa and came from a wealthy and educated family. On a pilgrimage to Jerusalem , on the feast of the Exaltation of the Cross, he met a certain Johannes and became friends with him. Together they decided to leave their travel company and not return to their families. Instead, they wanted to enter a monastery dedicated to Saint Gerasimos and whose abbot Nikon encouraged them to make this decision. After a great conversion experience in a dream, however, they turned away from this way of life and left the monastery again to live in solitude. They then spent more than 30 years as anchorites in the desert on the other side of the Jordan , namely in the ravine of the Arnon River . There the devil is said to have appeared to them and tried to think of their relatives (John's wife, Symeon's mother) , but Abbot Nikon consoled them with dreams and prayers. After all, both had become perfect ascetics and Symeon in particular had shown almost superhuman abilities.

After a few decades Symeon left the desert again and chose the way of life of a "fool for Christ's sake", while John remained in solitude for fear of the devil's ruse. After another three-day stay in Jerusalem, Symeon moved to Emesa, where he began to practice his new, self-chosen way of life: he is said to have been naked most of the time, sometimes wrapped in rags, but was also able to dress appropriately when necessary. Through his "freedom from fools" he gained access to the rich and other outcasts without having to bear responsibility. His approach was pure provocation, for which he suffered frequent humiliations and punishments, but with which he helped people to know the truth and preached the gospel . Various miracles are also narrated from him.

Symeon died in his little hut and was buried without any effort. Only after his death did his identity, previous life, and extent of his holiness become known. Thereupon the population is said to have reopened his grave, but no longer found his body because it had already been raptured to God .

Background of his behavior

According to Jan Hofstra, the strange behavior of Symeon can be seen as the “mask of the failed monk”: With his behavior he wanted to escape social pressure. The stresses and strains of a monk / holy man, especially when he was living without guidance, often resulted in psychological stress. Therefore, Symeon could also pretend that the social pressure was getting too great for him and that he was driving him crazy. In this way he achieved his characteristic position in society and was able to escape the responsibility of social power and religious patterns. Although he was not considered a saint during his lifetime, he managed to live up to God's claims and to convert people to the Christian faith. His central motives were, on the one hand, the urge to help and save others and, on the other hand, the desire to hide his success and his religious "exemplary nature".

Often times, his behavior was a conscious examination and interpretation of the life and deeds of Jesus Christ . In addition to numerous parallels, there are also some clear but intended differences. At the same time, the biography of Symeon by Leontius of Neapolis also refers to Diogenes of Sinope and the behavior of the Cynics , which coincided with the moral views of the late ancient ascetics in central points.

Typical behavior of Symeon

Have and good

Symeon Salos lived in a hut that was only equipped with a bundle of brushwood . He begged from door to door from rich people, wearing only an old coat. Among other things, he tried to dissuade prostitutes from their profession by offering them a certain amount of money that God had given him for their loyalty. Overall, Symeon is not susceptible to the attraction of money and wealth, nor to erotic stimuli.

Food, sleep, heat and cold

Symeon had voluntarily fasted during his time in the desert. After arriving in Emesa, he no longer fasted continuously, but received nothing to eat for a longer period of time - up to a week. During Lent , however, he kept the fasting regulations. Overall, Symeon played a dual role. On the one hand he continued his fast even after the time in the desert, on the other hand he showed himself to be a "eater" in public. Because when he ate food, he always did so in the crowd and ate almost exclusively meat.

Uninhibited freedom of movement

Symeon Salos showed no shame because he exposed himself in public and even went naked in a women's bath, whereupon he was beaten out of it. He also relieved himself on the street. He did not respond to accusations of various women about alleged rape and the resulting pregnancy with indignation or defenses, but left these allegations unresolved. He publicly displayed his uninhibited passion, whereas sexual desire was completely alien to him.

The Vita Symeonis Sali des Leontios of Neapolis

The central source for the life of Symeon is a hagiography by Leontius of Neapolis , which is decorated with numerous colored reports and doxologies . Your author states that the source of his information is a deacon named Johannes, whom Symeon met in Emesa and to whom he was the only one who truthfully confided. In reality, the interval between Symeon and Leontius was too great for such an eyewitness; presumably he used the work of Euagrios Scholastikos as a basis for his text.

It was first printed in 1558 in Rome in a Latin translation by Guglielmo Sirleto ; the Editio princeps of the Greek text was published in Antwerp in 1719 by the Bollandist Johannes Pinius in the Acta Sanctorum . This version was reprinted in 1865 in the Patrologia Graeca by Jacques Paul Migne . Lennart Rydén published a first historical-critical edition of the Greek text with a detailed text-critical analysis of the manuscripts :

  • Lennart Rydén: The life of the holy fool Symeon of Leontios of Neapolis (= Acta Universitatis Upsaliensis. Studia Graeca Upsaliensia. Volume 4). Almqvist & Wiksell, Uppsala 1963 (also dissertation, Faculty of Humanities, Uppsala University 1963).

Rydén also wrote an extensive commentary on Vita Symeonis Sali :

  • Lennart Rydén: Comments on the life of the holy fool Symeon by Leontios of Neapolis (= Acta Universitatis Upsaliensis. Studia Graeca Upsaliensia. Volume 6). Almqvist & Wiksell, Uppsala 1970.

Lennart Rydén published a slightly revised critical edition together with a French translation and a further commentary by André-Jean Festugière in 1974:

  • Léontios de Néapolis: Vie de Syméon le Fou et Vie de Jean de Chypre. Edited by André-Jean Festugière in collaboration with Lennart Rydén (= Institut Français d'Archéologie de Beyrouth. Bibliothèque archéologique et historique. Volume 95). Librairie Orientaliste Paul Geuthner, Paris 1974, pp. V – 253.

The study by Derek Krueger contains an English translation of the saint's biography:

  • Derek Krueger: Symeon the Holy Fool. Leontius's Life and the Late Antique City. University of California Press, Berkeley / Los Angeles / London 1996, ISBN 0-520-08911-1 , pp. 131-171.

A very free Syrian translation was made of the Vita of Leontios of Neapolis, some information was included in the Armenian Synaxarion .

Web links

literature

The editions and commentaries of the Symeon-Vita of Leontius von Neapolis (see section above ) contain, in addition to the original text, also important information about the life and work of Symeon Salos.

  • Vincent Déroche: Études sur Léontios de Néapolis (= Acta Universitatis Upsaliensis: Studia Byzantina Upsaliensia. Volume 3). Almqvist & Wiksell, Uppsala 1995, ISBN 91-554-3586-6 , pp. 96–116 (sources of the “Vita Symeonis Sali”) and pp. 154–225 (on the spirituality of the “holy fool”).
  • Vincent Déroche: Syméon Salos. Le fou en Christ ( Saints et sages de la Méditerranée ). Paris-Méditerranée, Paris 2000, ISBN 2-842-72080-6 .
  • Jan Hofstra: Leontius of Neapolis and Symeon the holy fool. A pastor as a hagiographer. Karmel, Drachten 2008, ISBN 978-90-805673-5-1 (also dissertation, Reichsuniversität Groningen 2008; with a focus on the theological and literary-historical backgrounds of the Vita des Leontius).
  • Derek Krueger: Symeon the Holy Fool. Leontius's Life and the Late Antique City. University of California Press, Berkeley / Los Angeles / London 1996, ISBN 0-520-08911-1 (with a focus on the history of ideas and sociological backgrounds).
  • Ekkart Sauser:  Symeon Salos from Emesa. In: Biographisch-Bibliographisches Kirchenlexikon (BBKL). Volume 11, Bautz, Herzberg 1996, ISBN 3-88309-064-6 , Sp. 351-353.
  • Ekkart Sauser:  Symeon, the "fool in Christ" u. John. In: Biographisch-Bibliographisches Kirchenlexikon (BBKL). Volume 15, Bautz, Herzberg 1999, ISBN 3-88309-077-8 , Sp. 1297-1298.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ On the dates and chronology of Lennart Rydén: The life of the holy fool Symeon of Leontios of Neapolis (= Acta Universitatis Upsaliensis. Studia Graeca Upsaliensia. Volume 4). Almqvist & Wiksell, Uppsala 1963, pp. 20-25.
  2. ↑ Jan Hofstra: Leontius of Neapolis and Symeon the holy fool. A pastor as a hagiographer. Karmel, Drachten 2008, ISBN 978-90-805673-5-1 , p. 173.
  3. ^ Derek Krueger: Symeon the Holy Fool. Leontius's Life and the Late Antique City. University of California Press, Berkeley / Los Angeles / London 1996, ISBN 0-520-08911-1 , pp. 108-125.
  4. ^ Derek Krueger: Symeon the Holy Fool. Leontius's Life and the Late Antique City. University of California Press, Berkeley / Los Angeles / London 1996, ISBN 0-520-08911-1 , pp. 90-107 and pp. 126-129.
  5. ↑ Jan Hofstra: Leontius of Neapolis and Symeon the holy fool. A pastor as a hagiographer. Karmel, Drachten 2008, ISBN 978-90-805673-5-1 , pp. 146-153.
  6. ^ Derek Krueger: Symeon the Holy Fool. Leontius's Life and the Late Antique City. University of California Press, Berkeley / Los Angeles / London 1996, ISBN 0-520-08911-1 , pp. 19-35.
  7. ↑ Lennart Rydén: The life of the holy fool Symeon of Leontios of Neapolis (= Acta Universitatis Upsaliensis. Studia Graeca Upsaliensia. Volume 4). Almqvist & Wiksell, Uppsala 1963, pp. 28-30.
  8. ↑ Jan Hofstra: Leontius of Neapolis and Symeon the holy fool. A pastor as a hagiographer. Karmel, Drachten 2008, ISBN 978-90-805673-5-1 , pp. 133-140.
personal data
SURNAME Symeon Salos
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Symeon by Emesa
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Syrian monk
DATE OF BIRTH 5th century or 6th century
DATE OF DEATH 6th century