The Church commemorates Venerable Simeon of the Admirable Mountain.
Venerable Simeon lived under Emperor Justin II (574 AD). He came from Edessa, Syria, but was born in Antioch.
When he was five years old, he experienced a terrible earthquake that destroyed the larger part of the city of Antioch. His father Ioannis died because the roof of their house collapsed when he was inside.
However, his mother Martha and Symeon were saved because they had gone to the Church of Saint Stephen to pay their respects. Since then, Martha was charged with bringing up her son.
When he got older, Simeon went to Seleucia and visited a famous monastery on the mountain, where a well-known ascetic was living. Simeon studied the Gospel by his side and was praying with humility. He inspired his brothers of the monastery by his modest and discrete paradigm.
But the devil, who hates the good and spiritual progress of human beings, prompted an envious man to attempt to kill him with a knife, but his hand miraculously turned into stone. Simeon did not get angry, but also prayed fervently to the Almighty Lord to heal his brother’s hand which He did.
Later, the Venerable withdrew to the Wonderful Mountain. He lived there an ascetic life for forty-five years. He fell asleep in the Lord peacefully and brought him to eternal bliss in 590 AD, at the age of eighty-five.
It is noteworthy that Venerable Simeon as given the gift of preventing and healing all diseases. He foretold the passing of his spiritual father, Archbishop Ephraim (545 AD) and the earthquakes of Antioch and Constantinople (557 AD).
Source: Church of Cyprus
