St. Symeon the New Theologian

Symeon was born to a noble family and educated for the court, but he became a monk in Constantinople under the elder Symeon the Pious. As a young man he had a vision of God as uncreated light, and his Hymns of Divine Love describe that experience with great boldness. He taught that every Christian, monk or lay, can know God personally through repentance, tears and prayer. His teaching made him enemies, and he died in exile across the Bosporus in 1022.

• Feast: March 12 (New Calendar)
• Lived: 949–1022
• Place: Chrysopolis