**1. Introduction**

Evangelical Christians have been interested in the history of the Early Church since the time of the formation of Evangelical churches themselves. It was only a question of time before Evangelical scholars would discover one of the logical ancillary areas associated with Early Christianity: patristic studies. While much of the attention of Evangelical scholars has been directed towards the Apostolic Fathers, Saint Augustine and the Fourth-Century Fathers, a recent interest in Saint Symeon the New Theologian (ca. 949–1022) can now be detected among Pentecostal/Charismatic theologians. This is a welcome development that should be acknowledged warmly by Orthodox theologians. In this article, I would like to recognize some of the work on Symeon by Pentecostal/Charismatic theologians and share some insights from modern Orthodox scholarship that might prove helpful to them in their ongoing reception of him. I would also like to point out some potential pitfalls.

My intention is not to analyze recent Orthodox scholarship in detail; instead, I propose to highlight important moments in that scholarship that give us keys to understanding Symeon. When placing the latter insights beside those of contemporary Pentecostal/Charismatic scholars, we notice right away the possibilities for further conversation. The conversation from the Pentecostal/Charismatic side has already begun. Now I believe it is time for Orthodox theologians to respond to Pentecostal/Charismatic theologians. As a modest beginning, I suggest four areas in Saint Symeon's teaching on asceticism for further consideration. The idea is to respond to Pentecostal/Charismatic theologians from within the work of Saint Symeon himself and engage in the conversation by explicating some of the salient points from the New Theologian's teaching on asceticism.
