Misunderstood in his time as a bearer of a "new theology," Symeon the New Theologian influenced prominent later Hesychasts and became the subject of extensive study.

However, the acrobatic dialectic that permeates his theological contribution, the contradictions found in his work, and the "vitriolic" critique he makes of the Church of his time make any attempt at a "definitive" classification and evaluation particularly difficult.

Who was Symeon in the end? A peculiar exponent of the Hesychast and mystical tradition of the Orthodox Church? An eccentric mystic with Neoplatonic and idealistic tendencies? Or an unresolved theological "enigma" that constantly seeks our attention and openly challenges all our theological frameworks?