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The Monastery of Saint Simeon is located in the Katamon neighborhood of Jerusalem. It encloses the house and tomb of St. Simeon.
Monastery of Saint Simeon
The first monastery was built by the Georgians in the 12th century. It was destroyed and laid in ruins for several centuries until a Greek monk named Abramios purchased the property in the 19th century. Abramios worked for 20 years to rebuild the monastery and the church. The Monastery of Saint Simeon now belongs to the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Jerusalem.
Tomb of St. Simeon
In 1879, Abramios found the natural rock tomb of St. Simeon. It sits in a chapel on the left side of the church. The tomb is surrounded by icons depicting scenes in St. Simeon’s life.
The saint, who had moved from Jerusalem to Alexandria, was a translator of the Hebrew Bible into Greek. According to tradition, St. Simeon hesitated over a translation of a verse by Prophet Isaiah: “Behold, a virgin shall conceive…”.
Because of this verse, he dropped his ring in a river and said if he ever found the ring again, he would believe what Isaiah had written. Later, he was staying with friends in a small town and bought a fish to eat. While preparing the fish, he found the ring inside its belly. He then believed the verse and moved back to Jerusalem.
St. Simeon prayed to live long enough to see the Messiah. According to Luke 2:25-35, St. Simeon met the Virgin Mary and Joseph during the Presentation of Jesus at the Temple. After seeing Jesus, he uttered the prayer:
“Lord, now let your servant depart in peace, according to your word; for my eyes have seen your salvation which you have prepared in the presence of all peoples, a light for revelation to the Gentiles, and for glory to your people Israel.”
St. Simeon then died at the age of 270. His relics were transferred to Constantinople (now Istanbul) by Emperor Justinian I in the 6th century.
