Память святого Апостола и священномученика Симеона, сродника Господня

Saint Simeon, called the kinsman of our Lord Jesus Christ in the flesh, was the son of Cleopas, the brother of Saint Joseph the Betrothed, as the Greek church historians unanimously testify to: Eusebius 2814, Bishop of Caesarea in Palestine, George Kedrinus and Nikephoros, son of Callistus, Xanthopoulos. Joseph, betrothed to the Most Holy Theotokos, and Cleopas were descended from the same father and mother, the first was the elder brother, the second the younger. When Joseph returned from Egypt, Cleopas married his daughter Mary. From this marriage was born Saint Simeon, who, already in adulthood, having seen the miracles of our Lord Jesus Christ, believed in Him. After the free suffering, resurrection and ascension into heaven of Jesus Christ, Simeon was numbered among the host of the seventy holy Apostles and, along with others, preached the teachings of Christ, moving from city to city, instructing and performing miracles, enlightening peoples in the truths of the holy faith and exposing idolatry. At that time, the first bishop of Jerusalem was Saint James, brother of the Lord, son of Joseph the Betrothed. The wicked Jews, for glorifying Christ, threw him from the porch of the church and killed him with a blow to the head with a club. Soon after this murder, Titus, the son of Vespasian, ravaged Jerusalem, as predicted by the Lord Himself. Having gathered after the defeat, the surviving disciples of Christ and His relatives in the flesh elected in the place of James, the brother of God, the second bishop of Jerusalem, Simeon, the son of Cleopas, also a relative of Christ, the grandson and at the same time nephew of Joseph the Betrothed. Jerusalem began to be populated again. Saint Simeon occupied the throne of Jerusalem with honor, leading the erring to Christ. Many years later, during the reign of Trajan, some heretics, out of envy, reported to Atticus, the Roman ruler, about the imaginary crimes of Simeon, that he came from the house of King David and that he professed the Christian faith. For both of these, there was persecution by the Roman emperors at that time. The descendants of David were diligently searched for and killed everywhere, so that not a trace of the royal Jewish family would remain and the Roman emperors would forever own the land of Judea. Believers in Christ were also tortured and killed so that the entire universe would honor only pagan gods. Therefore, Saint Simeon, both as a descendant of King David, and as a follower and relative of Christ, having already reached the age of one hundred, was captured by the wicked pagans by order of the ruler of Atticus. After much torment, the saint, like our Lord Jesus Christ, was nailed to the cross and gave up his soul to God. We firmly and sacredly praise you, a relative of Christ, Simeon the priest, and a martyr, who consumed grace and kept the faith. Moreover, today we celebrate your all-holy memory; the resolution of sins through your prayers is acceptable. Like a great star, the Church today possesses the God-speaking Simeon, the light is calling: Rejoice, honorable crown of martyrs. Eusebius Pamphilus (28Z – 340), bishop, participant in the first Ecumenical Council. George Kedrin, Byzantine writer of the late 11th or early 12th century. Nikephoros Xanthopulos, Patriarch of Constantinople from 1350 to 1362. You might be interested in: