St Symeon was the most important teacher of mystical experience of God
in the Orthodox Church. This book seeks to place the teaching of the
discourses in their proper context, both among Symeon's other writings
and with regard to his sources in the Tradition. Included is a sketch of
Symeon's life and times, together with an extensive discussion of this
thought, particularly against its background in the ascetical, mystical
and theological literature of the Christian East prior to the 10th
century.