The Orthodox Church commemorates today Venerable Simeon of the Wonderful Mountain.
Venerable Simeon lived under Emperor Justin II (574 AD). He was originally from Edessa but was born in Antioch, Syria. 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 indoors. His mother Martha however, had gone with Simeon to another city in order to worship the Lord at the Church of Saint Stephen. Since then, Martha was charged with bringing up her son alone by the Grace of God.
When Simeon got older, he went to Seleukia and visited a famous monastery on the mountain, where a well-known ascetic was living. He 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 kill him with a knife, but his hand miraculously turned into stone. Simeon did not get angry. Instead, he 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 he was brought to eternal bliss in 590 AD, at the age of eighty-five.
It is noteworthy that Venerable Simeon was given the gift of preventing and healing all diseases. Thus, he announced the falling sleep in the Lord of his spiritual father, Archbishop Ephraim (545 AD), and he foretold the earthquakes of Antioch and Constantinople (557 AD).
Source: Church of Cyprus
