The Sermons of Symeon Stylites the Younger

Abstract This chapter focuses on the sermon collection attributed to Symeon, which sheds light on how a holy man could construct his spiritual authority. The chapter considers the state of scholarship on late antique sermons and preaching, before discussing the evidence relating to the authorship of the sermon collection attribute to the stylite. It argues that there is good evidence to think that the collection was created at Symeon’s monastery at an early date and may well reflect the saint’s own preaching. Whereas Symeon’s hagiographer presents his healing miracles as the basis of his popularity, the sermons reveal the power of the stylite’s own rhetoric: starkly polarized in his thought, he eschews the compromises adopted by many clerical preachers, focusing on the opposition of demon and monk, rich and poor, and heaven and hell. He presents himself as a visionary prophet, bringing a stark message. Although the sermons are shorn of specific references to their social context, they do suggest that Symeon at times played a divisive role in society, playing on social tensions to increase his authority. He vehemently criticizes the rich, going so far as to associate them with one of the most vilified groups in Christian society: pagans.