Sophie Métivier

Sophie Métivier offers a historical study devoted to Symeon the New Theologian, a major figure of Byzantine spirituality at the turn of the millennium. The article examines the position of this monk and theologian within the political and social tensions that characterized Byzantium at that time, particularly the conflictual relations between imperial power and the aristocracy. The approach adopted is that of the historian, attentive to the institutional contexts and networks of power within which Symeon's itinerary is inscribed. The central idea is that the trajectory of this figure cannot be fully understood without taking into account the social and political dynamics of his time. The contribution of the article lies in the historical perspective it brings to a figure usually approached from an exclusively spiritual or doctrinal angle, thereby enriching the understanding of medieval Byzantine theology in its context.