Icon of the Monk Simeon the Stylite. Simeon the Stylite: Prayers of the Troparion to the Monk Simeon the Stylite
In detail: akathist to Simeon Stylpnik - from all open sources and different parts of the world on the site site for our dear readers.
Kontakion, voice 2nd:
Seek the highest, mate with the lower, and made a pillar of fire chariot: that interlocutor was an angel you, reverend, with them praying to Christ God ceaselessly for all of us.
Sedalen Voice 8:
We take the Lord's Cross in a wise way, and having followed that to the end, you did not return with your mind to the world, God-wise: by temperance and the labors of passion you killed, and prepared a temple for your Lord. Thou didst accept the same gifts of retribution, heal the sick, and drive away the spirits, Reverend Simeone, pray to Christ God of sins for the abandonment of the tribute to those who celebrate with love your holy memory.
Prayer:
Reverend Father Simeon! Look at us with mercy and raise those who are devoted to the earth to the height of heaven. You are a mountain in heaven, we are on the earth below, removed from you, not only by a place, but by our sins and iniquity, but we are running to you and crying out: instruct us to walk in your way, teach us and guide. Your whole holy life has become a mirror of every virtue. Stop not, please God, crying to the Lord for us. Ask for your intercession from the All-Merciful God of our God the peace of His Church, under the sign of the militant cross, harmony in faith and unanimity, superstition and schisms, destruction, confirmation in good deeds, healing for the sick, for the sad consolation, for the offended intercession, for the needy help. Do not put us to shame, who come to you with faith. All Orthodox Christians, by your miracles of fulfillment and mercies of beneficence, confess that they are their patron and intercessor. Reveal your ancient mercy, and you have helped them all with their father, do not reject us, their children, who are marching towards you with their feet. The upcoming more honorable icon of yours, as if I am living for you, we crouch down and pray: accept our prayers and lift them up on the altar of God's goodness, so we will receive you grace and timely help in our needs. Strengthen our cowardice and confirm us in faith, so that we undoubtedly hope to receive all that is good from the Master's mercy through your prayers. Oh, great servant of God! To all of us who flow to you with faith, help your intercession to the Lord, and rule all of us in peace and repentance, end our life and retire with hope in the blessed bosom of Abraham, where you rest joyfully in labor and labors, glorifying God with all the saints , in the Trinity of the glorious, the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, now and ever and forever and ever. Amen.
To the Monk Simeon the Stylite, like on the Divnaya Gora (troparion and kontakion)
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RџSѓSЃS,S РљРѕРЅРґР ° Рє, РіР »Р ° СЃ 2: Р'С ‹МЃС € РЅСЏСЏ жел Р ° МЃСЏ, РґРѕМЃР »СЊРЅР ° СЏ отл ожи́в, / Рё, СЏМЃРєРѕ РЅРµМЃР ± Рѕ, столде РРРѕ / S,RμRј RѕR ± P "RoSЃS,R ° MЃR" C ‡ RμSЃRoMЃ SѓRґRμMЃSЃ P · SЂRμMЃSЋ ° F, ± RїSЂRμRїRѕRґRѕMЃR RЅRμ // Pd RҐSЂRoSЃS,SѓMЃ, ... RІSЃRμS R'RѕMЃRіSѓ, RјRѕMЃR "Roes € RoSЃSЏ RЅRμRїSЂRμSЃS,R ° МЃРЅРЅРѕ Рѕ всех РЅР ° СЃ. РќР ° Р · Р ° Рґ Рє СЃРїРёСЃРєСѓ Venerable Simeon the Stylite Venerable Simeon the Stylite was born in the Cappadocian village of Sisan into a Christian family of Susotion and Martha. From the age of 13, he began to graze his father's sheep. He treated this first obedience conscientiously and with love. Once Simeon, having heard the Gospel commandments of the Beatitudes in the church, was shocked by their depth. Not trusting his own immature judgment, he immediately turned to an experienced elder with questions. The elder willingly explained to the youth the content of what he had heard and finally strengthened his resolve to follow the Gospel path. Without going home, Simeon went to the nearest monastery and, after tearful requests, was accepted into the number of the brethren a week later. When Simeon was 18 years old, he took monastic vows and devoted himself to the exploits of the strictest abstinence and unceasing prayer. His zeal, unbearable for the rest of the monastic brethren, alarmed the abbot, and he suggested that the monk either moderate his ascetic deeds or leave the monastery. Monk Simeon the Stylite, Antioch Then the Monk Simeon withdrew from the monastery and settled at the bottom of a dry well, where he could freely fulfill his severe vows. After some time, angels appeared to the abbot in a dream vision, who ordered him to return Simeon to the monastery. However, the monk did not stay long at the monastery. Soon he retired to a stone cave located near the village of Galanissa, and lived there for three years, improving more and more in monastic exploits. The rumor about the Monk Simeon reached the highest church hierarchy and the imperial court. Patriarch Domnin II of Antioch visited the monk, served the Divine Liturgy on the pillar, and gave the sacrament to the ascetic of the Holy Mysteries. The fathers who had labored in the wilderness also learned about the Monk Simeon, who had chosen such a difficult form of asceticism. Desiring to test the new ascetic and to find out whether his exorbitant deeds were pleasing to God, they sent their messengers to him, who, on behalf of the fathers, were to order the Monk Simeon to descend from the pillar. In case of disobedience, they had to forcibly drag him to the ground, and if he showed obedience, they were instructed on behalf of the fathers to bless him to continue the feat. The monk displayed complete obedience and deep Christian humility. The monk gradually increased the height of the pillar on which he stood. His last pillar was 40 cubits high. A double fence was erected around him, which prevented the disorderly crowds of people from coming too close to the monk and disturbing his prayer concentration. Women were not allowed outside the fence at all. Monk Simeon the Stylite of Antioch and his mother Martha of Cappadocia In this, the monk did not make an exception even for his own mother, who, after a long and unsuccessful search, finally managed to find her missing son. Not having achieved a date, she died, crouching against the fence that surrounded the pillar. Then the monk asked to bring the coffin to him and reverently bade farewell to his deceased mother - and then her dead face beamed with a blissful smile. The Monk Simeon the Stylite spent 80 years in intensified monastic exploits, of which 47 he stood on the pillar. God granted him to fulfill in such unusual conditions a truly apostolic ministry - many pagans accepted Baptism, shocked by the moral fortitude and bodily strength that the Lord gave to His ascetic. The first to know about the death of the monk was his closest disciple Anthony. Alarmed that his mentor had not shown himself to the people for 3 days, he climbed the pillar and found his dead body bowed in prayer. The burial of the monk was performed by Patriarch Martyrius of Antioch with a huge gathering of clergy and people. He was buried near the pillar. Anthony built a monastery on the site of his exploits, where the special blessing of the Monk Simeon rested. The Monk Simeon the Stylite of Antioch and his mother Martha of Cappadocia " Patience was a pillar, / you were jealous of the forefather, reverend, / Job in passion, Joseph in temptation, / and incorporeal living, in the body, / Simeon our father, / pray to Christ God, save our souls. Seek the highest, mate above, and made a pillar of fire for a chariot of fire, / that interlocutor was an Angel, reverend, / with them to Christ God / praying ceaselessly for all of us. Venerable Simeon the Stylite Oh, holy and great saint of God Simeone! Having fought on the earth with a good fight, thou art in heaven the crown of righteousness, which the Lord has prepared for all who love Him. The same, looking at your holy image, we rejoice at the glorious end of your residence and honor your holy memory. But you, standing before the Throne of God, accept our prayers and bring them to the All-Merciful God, forgive us every sin and help us to become against the wiles of the devil, and get rid of sorrows, diseases, troubles and misfortunes and all evil, piously and righteously we will live in the present forever and we will be honored by your intercession, if you are not worthy of me, see the good on the land of the living, glorifying the One in His saints glorified God, the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, now and ever and forever. Amen. Chosen to be the evangelist of the appearance of Christ in men, holy righteous elder Simeon, we bring praiseworthy singing to you, to God, you, as if you had boldness to the Lord, You carried Him in Your arms, pray that we be saved, who call love: Rejoice, Simeone, righteous elder, most blessed of God. The Angel of the Lord was sent to tell Elder Simeon that the promised Savior of the world Christ was truly born of the Virgin. Whenever I honor him with the book of the prophet Isaiah, reach the place where it is written: "Behold the Virgin in her womb will receive and give birth to the son of Immanuel," and wondering about those spoken, thinking in yourself how this can be, then an Angel appear to him and erect, as if he did not have to see death, he still sees the one born of the Virgin Christ of the Lord. Such a wondrous providence of God about him, we call to him as follows: Rejoice, with old gray hair and gaining true wisdom; rejoice, by the Spirit of God, for a righteous and pious man is witnessed. Rejoice, in all the justifications of the Lord, walking blamelessly and unstained; Rejoice, pleasing to all thy life of the Lord. Seeing the old man, as if the summer of his belly multiplies, his work and illness multiply, he grieves deeply in his soul, as if the time of his arrival on earth continues, the same desire to be resolved on earth and to his father, cryingly asking for absolution for himself, calling to God: Alleluia. Understand the misguided mind of those proclaimed by the Angel, the elder seeking, bewildered, the verb in himself: what is this strange and inconveniently spoken sacrament, as if the Virgin in her womb will conceive and give birth to a Son? The Virgin's food is pure, as if she does not know a husband, she can give birth, and Who will this be, Who will be born without a husband, the Son of the Virgin? More and more, experiencing the scriptures, understand from them the great mystery of this piety, as if it befits God to appear in the flesh, and save man by God and man. In the same way, we, to the wondrous wisdom of God, will seemingly sing of the blessed saint of wisdom, calling to him as follows: Rejoice, for you have purified your heart with the holy life; Rejoice, for you have acquired ardent love for God with the purity of your heart. Rejoice, for you have created your mind pure in love for God; Rejoice, for by the purity of the mind the mind of the Divine Scriptures has understood for itself. Rejoice, for by the understanding of the scriptures you were brought to faith in Christ; Rejoice, for you were instructed by faith and hope for the hope of the joy of Israel. Rejoice, Simeone, righteous elder, most blessed of God. The power of the Spirit of God will raise up on the day of the elder to enter the church, and when you enter the parent of the Child Jesus, create it according to the lawful custom about Him, and that, seeing the Child, abie the mind by the Spirit, as this is the promised Savior to the world Christ, and rejoicing cry out to God: Alleluia. Having a mind in vain for God and being in Dus, then Elder Simeon of the Infant Jesus will be pleased with his hand and bless God, and with a speech to Mary, His Mother: “Behold, this lies for the fall and rise of many in Israel, their thoughts will be opened from many hearts. " We marvel at such an insight of the holy, let us please the God-Receiver by singing this: Rejoice, God-wise discernment, Christ the Lord, in the form of a baby for four hundred days appeared, by the Spirit of God knowing abie; rejoice, holy preacher of God, having come to that God in the flesh, preaching great and loudly for the salvation of the world. Rejoice, God-loving pious, unspeakably delighted with the coming of the joys of Israel you hoped for; rejoice, blessed God in the sight, God in the flesh appeared, not clever to the point, but also beholding bodily eyes. Rejoice, Bogolriimche righteous, all creation containing a hand, having received your old hands; Rejoice, true God-bearer, God, His heaven and earth cannot bear, in your embrace bodily wears. Rejoice, Simeone, righteous elder, most blessed of God. A storm of anxious thoughts inside, into the soul of the Holy Divine Lady, when you bless Yu Simeon, attach the verb to Her: "And the weapon will pass your soul through yourself." Hearing the Holy Virgin, first of all, be embarrassed about this word, the same, like a servant of the Lord, surrendered to Himself into the will of the Lord, calling to Him: Alleluia. Joseph and the Most Pure Mother and the Virgin hear the wondrous prophecies of the perspicacious elder about Otrochat, wondering about the things that were said about Him. His mother, however, observes all these verbs that make up in their hearts. In the same way, we, a prophetic wondrous elder with a verb seeming, call out to him the following warmly: Rejoice, prophet of God, richly fulfilled of the prophetic gift; Rejoice, fertilization of the ancient prophets and praise of the new seers. Rejoice, for the guardian is faithful, in the midst of the two Testaments, the Old and the New, set on the divine guard; Rejoice, from here passed and the future of peace and the human race with a single vision of the eye spying. Rejoice, for the guardian is faithful, vigilant and stregy, I will come to the Householder Christ, abie gone to the meeting; Rejoice, the passion of Christ is still Foretelling to the Infant, and foretold the sickness and pain of the heart of His Mother. Rejoice, Simeone, righteous elder, most blessed of God. We see the God-of-God star, the forerunner of Divine light, the most blessed of God. This Bo, Thou Thou hast declared His light in the language of being, lifting up the enlightenment of truth in all the townspeople, from them, and we, with the light of His enlightenment, are grateful to God with skill: Alleluia. “See my eyes, your salvation, Master, you have prepared before the face of all people, light for the revelation of the tongue and the glory of your people, Israel,” you cried, blessed Simeon, take the baby Jesus into your hand, to whom we are now, with fear and love worshiping, we sing to you, like the God-receiver and the prophet, singing is as follows: Rejoice, to the whole world, as a Jew and a Greek, prepared for salvation in Christ, preaching; Rejoice, people sitting in darkness and the shadow of mortals, to shine a forerunner for them. Rejoice, arrogance of the Jews, who thought that they were the Kingdom of God, humiliating one; Rejoice, and with the tongue of salvation in Christ Jesus proclaiming Rejoice, forewarning the unbelief of the hardened Jews; Rejoice, salvation by faith in Christ of the elect from the Jews and predestinating the tongue. Rejoice, Simeone, righteous elder, most blessed of God. The God-bearing preacher of the coming of Christ, all who longed for deliverance in Israel was you, the God-bearing Simeon. Ottole bo began the people of God to believe, as if the Kingdom of God approached them, believing God: Alleluia. Ascending Jerusalem and all the land of the Jews, enlightening the truth with the light of your gospel, righteous elder; Behold, the righteous Anna, the prophetess, who sees on your hand the Child is God-magnificent, and she, understanding by the Spirit, that this is the One who came to deliver Israel, come in that hour and confess the Lord and speak of Him to all who seek deliverance in Jerusalem. Let us begin with a purified heart and a clever eye, we hold the God-Infant on the hand of the elder in sight, let us sing this: Rejoice, for you were the first to meet the promised King of Israel, having first come into your city and into the house of your Father; Rejoice, for you were the first to see the glory of the new Temple more than the glory of the ancient one. Rejoice, for you have indicated to all those who hoped for deliverance, the joy they desired to Israel; Rejoice, as for a star to shine from Jacob and to raise a man from Israel, as the prophecy of Balaam, you have proclaimed the good news to your people. Rejoice, for with your good news you have rejoiced the hearts of those who had hoped, but you strengthened and comforted the faint-hearted and despondent; rejoice, for by your testimony of Christ and us in faith and hope you affirm. Rejoice, Simeone, righteous elder, most blessed of God. Wanting to Simeon from the present century to leave the charming one, Thou art like a baby to that, O Lord, Lord, but he knew the perfect God: the same the old man wondered at Thy ineffable condescension and rejoicing cry: Alleluia. Wondrous are Thy deeds, O Lord, the old Denmi old man cries out, to the Savior of the world who is kept from him. Even if I think I’m holding Thee like a baby, I’m not holding You, but You hold me, like God and the Creator of all, and like the Lord of life and death, hold me in this belly, the old old man. Let go of me now, according to Thy word in peace, as my eyes see Thy salvation. Even so, the peaceful departure of the holy old man from the earthly is glorious, let us call to him as follows: Rejoice, as I put a ripe wheat on the ground, so quietly bowing your old head on the bed of death; Rejoice, as a traveler tired of a distant wandering, peacefully resting in the sleep of death. Rejoice, you have passed away your long course of goodness in faith and piety; Rejoice, from this temporary life in the deepest world to eternal rest. Rejoice, with the hope of a speedy deliverance from the mortal state to your father, you rejected; Rejoice, in the hope of eternal life your spirit joyfully betraying the Lord. Rejoice, Simeone, righteous elder, most blessed of God. Strangely, God is eternal, like a baby of fourty days, we hold onto the hand of the elder with a sight, we will be surprised at the ineffable One for the sake of exhaustion and lift our mind to heaven, gratefully cry to Him: Alleluia. All desire and desires for the sweetest land, Jesus, cry out righteous Simeon to Izhe in his arms we carry the Deliverer of the world. Obache, seeing Thy now, God is eternal, that I will delight other things, see on earth: “Let go of me now, Thy servant, Master, so I will announce Thy coming in Hell as a prisoner held in Hell, waiting for You with faith, as if I will be expelled with them. into the abode of Thy Kingdom, where I see Thy glory. " However, the blessed repose of the holy elder is commemorative, let us glorify him with our heart and lips as we sing this: Rejoice, good messenger of Christ, and in hell from time immemorial a prisoner of His coming, announcing His coming; Rejoice, rejoicing in the hope of speedy deliverance of the souls of the forefathers and forefathers. Rejoice, bought with them by the risen Christ, the conqueror of death and hell, taken out of the dwellings of darkness; Rejoice, with the host of God's elect, into the paradise of sweetness in the inhabitants of heaven, placed. Rejoice, companion to the host of holy kings, prophets and high priests of the Old Testament; Rejoice, joined to the bliss of the holy heavenly forces without the flesh. Rejoice, Simeone, righteous elder, most blessed of God. Every tribe of heavenly and earthly and hells will bow to the name of Jesus, and every tongue will confess, like the Lord Jesus Christ to the glory of God the Father. Have fun and rejoice, old righteous, as this is, He, as if the Infant was diminished into your hand, did you accept, and to Him now, as if to God from the face of incorporeal forces in heaven, call: Alleluia. Vitia of the many messages will be perplexed, baptize your great glory, holy God-receptive Simeon, with her also glorify Christ God in the Kingdom of His glory. Forthcoming near the Throne of the Holy Trinity, bought with the Most Pure Theotokos and the Forerunner John, boldly pray for all those who come to you in faith and ask for your intercession and help; For this sake, glorifying your wondrous glorification in heaven and on earth, crying to you like this: Rejoice, as with the Holy Forerunner, in inexpressible glory, who stood near the Throne of the Holy Trinity; Rejoice, Thou hast seen Him on the ground, Thou hast seen Him in Heaven with all the saints in vain, rejoicing. Rejoice, for you have borne Him in your arms with Christ, now you reign in heaven in His eternal glory; Rejoice, as from the faces of Angels in heaven, sing His Trisagion Song. Rejoice, for the great boldness of the Imash to the Lord, whose Child is welcomed into your hand, you have confessed God; Rejoice, for the whole Christian world is a great intercessor and an intercessor for thee. Rejoice, Simeone, righteous elder, most blessed of God. To save even from the imprisonment and bonds of the righteous Peter of Athos, the God-Receiver appears to him in prison, with Saint Nicholas of Christ, a marvelous vision, an honest image, an ephod is clothed in the Old Testament priesthood, and you have a golden rod in your hand. Even so, the monk was amazed at this wondrous vision, he was led out of prison, rejoicing, cry out to God: Alleluia. Eternal Tsar, wondrous intercessor from here and strong intercessor to show us to you, the great saint of God Simeone. Saint Nicholas of Christ Himself, although to save the monk, instruct him to scream diligently to you for intercession and help, God is multifaceted, God, and the great boldness of the Imash to Him. As if the Monk Peter the Athonite appeared, saved you, granting him freedom and deliverance from bonds, so also do not preserve us in our troubles and the circumstances of existence by your intercession, but we call you: Rejoice, warm prayer for all who call upon you with faith; Rejoice, quick helper of all those resorting to your intercession. Rejoice, for the great hierarch of Christ Nicholas, the most powerful representative of your decree to Christ God; Rejoice, for you appeared with Saint Nicholas to the Monk Peter the Athonite, miraculously you freed you from bonds and prison. Rejoice, for by this you have instructed him on the path of monastic life; Rejoice, for by this you also taught us to resort to your intercession in our needs. Rejoice, Simeone, righteous elder, most blessed of God. The tender singing brings the whole Christian world to you, the holy servant of God Simeone, the great Novgrad glorifies thee, as if his merciful deliverer from mortal illness and destruction. When the righteous wrath of God is comprehended by our fathers and the mortal illness attacked nya, God was pleased to reveal to His people your celibate icon, even to this day in the monastery of monasticism shines brightly, grace giving healing to all who come running to you with faith, calling God: Alleluia. A radiant illumination to our father who was in the darkness of temptations and troubles is the miraculous icon of the Holy God-Receiver Simeon, more than hopes with the hope of salvation that amuse their hearts. Although it is more to save the city from the destruction of the mortal, the saint appeared to the archbishop of Novgorod Jonah, and commanded to build an ordinary temple in his name, and to erect that holy icon, let it ooze healing by people, in repentance with faith, resorting to it. For this reason, the holy miracle worker righteously hears from us the singing of thanks: Rejoice, our city is a wall and an affirmation; Rejoice, a reliable fence from deadly ulcers and destructive diseases. Rejoice, quick deliverance from misfortunes and troubles; rejoice, powerful defense against the enemy of the visible and invisible. Rejoice, in all who are good, strong help; Rejoice, O warm propitiation of our sins. Rejoice, Simeone, righteous elder, most blessed of God. The grace of inexhaustible healings and the source of inexhaustible spiritual gifts and in the future people will leave in rapture, the philanthropist Lord has given us your most pure icon, holy God-receptive Simeone, from nothing like your God-bearing hands, holding the giver of all the blessings of God, we now accept various gifts to Him, gratefully calling : Alleluia. We singing praise of thy powerful intercession and strong intercession for us sinners, holy God-receiving Simeon. Truly, the wall is indestructible and the cover of the powers is hail and abode, in it from the ancient years, like a shining star, lifted up your miraculous icon to us, to it we are now leaning and warmly praying, we cry out to you with tears: Rejoice, as the monastery, you are guarded, as a valuable treasure of property, your honest icon, is gratefully comforted and rejoices about it; Rejoice, for you want to live in it piously from the temptations of the world, protect the flesh and the devil with your cover. Rejoice, for you are a strong helper to those who work good; Rejoice, for consolation for those who grieve, healing for those who are sick, and for the faint-hearted, you give me peace with your prayers. Rejoice, for everyone in need has recourse to your holy icon; he will receive quick consolation and timely help; Rejoice, God-given refuge, hope, protection and intercession of ours. Rejoice, Simeone, righteous elder, most blessed of God. O great servant of God and God-receptive Simeon! Accept now this little, both our prayer offered to you from a pure heart, and, as a powerful representative to Christ God, ask us for the remission of sins and the peaceful end of our life, and with your eternal prayers deliver us the torment, crying to God for you: Alleluia. This kontakion is read three times, then the 1st ikos "Angel of the Lord ..." and the 1st kontakion "Chosen as an evangelist ..." O great servant of God and God-receptive Simeon! Look at me as a sinner, she crouches down to your holy icon and asks for your intercession and help: sorrow will hold me back from the troubles and evils that are happening to me now, and the consolation is not for the imam of my painful soul. He sought help from a person, and did not find it. I cried out to the Lord, and did not hear me, I was angry with His most pure goodness through my transgressions, and many of my many sins that were bitter for His humane womb. And who will show me help now; who will satisfy my sorrow; who will give joy and comfort to my many-reigning soul? To you, the great servant of God, I resort to the sinful and unworthy, I know, as if the imperial boldness of Imash to Christ God and the many-mighty intercessor are you about all who come running to you with faith, and who demand your intercession and help. Pray to the Lord's Man-lover, as if having forgiven my countless sins, will not turn His mercy from me, but as good and compassionate, He will also show me His endless mercy, and in the fierce misfortunes and troubles of my anger, He will give me His all-powerful help, and the bitter soul my weakness, peace, strength, consolation and tranquility bestows. To her, great servitor of God, lift up your God-bearing hand to Whoever, in your arms, rush to our God, who has pleased Christ, and pray for His goodness, that He will not reject the prayer of my heart of unworthiness for my sake, but show me His mercy in time of time, for the glory of His endless mercies and many-powerful intercession all glory and thanksgiving is bought with the Father and His Holy Spirit, now and ever and ever and ever. Amen. Oh, great servitor of God to God-receptive Simeone! Standing before the Throne of the Great King and our God Jesus Christ, the great boldness of the Imash to Him, in your embrace of ours, for the sake of salvation, he deigned to rush. To you, like a powerful representative and a strong prayer book for us, we resort to sin and unworthiness. Pray His Goodness, as if He would turn away His anger from us, righteously moved by our deeds, and, despising our innumerable sins, will turn us to the path of repentance and establish us on the path of His commandments. Protect our belly with your prayers in the world, and ask for good haste in all that is good, giving us all that is necessary for the belly and piety. Just as in ancient times, Veliky Novograd by the manifestation of your miraculous icon from the destruction of mortality, you saved us, so now we and all the towns and villages of our country from all misfortunes and troubles and vain death by your intercession, save from all visible and invisible enemies with your cover. Like yes, we will live a quiet and silent life in all piety and purity, and so this temporary life has passed in the world, we will achieve peace in eternal rest, where we will also be vouchsafed to the Heavenly Kingdom of Christ our God. To Him, all glory is due with the Father and His Most Holy Spirit, now and ever and forever and ever. Amen. Simeon the Elder is having fun today, they will take the Infant of the Eternal God into their hand, asking and crying out from the bonds of the flesh: my eyes see Your salvation is worldly. The Elder is now renouncing himself from praying this life of corruption, Christ will be taken into his arms, the Creator and the Lord. We magnify thee, holy righteous Simeone God-receiving, and we honor your holy memory, you pray for us Christ, our God. Reverend Father Simeon! Look at us with mercy and raise those who are devoted to the earth to the height of heaven. You are a mountain in heaven, we are on the earth below, removed from you, not only by a place, but by our sins and iniquity, but we are running to you and crying out: instruct us to walk in your way, teach us and guide. Your whole holy life has become a mirror of every virtue. Stop not, please God, crying to the Lord for us. Ask for your intercession from the All-Merciful God of our God the peace of His Church, under the sign of the militant cross, harmony in faith and unanimity, superstition and schisms, destruction, confirmation in good deeds, healing for the sick, for the sad consolation, for the offended intercession, for the needy help. Do not put us to shame, who come to you with faith. All Orthodox Christians, by your miracles of fulfillment and mercies of beneficence, confess that they are their patron and intercessor. Reveal your ancient mercy, and you have helped them all with their father, do not reject us, their children, who are marching towards you with their feet. The upcoming more honorable icon of yours, as if I am living for you, we crouch down and pray: accept our prayers and lift them up on the altar of God's goodness, so we will receive you grace and timely help in our needs. Strengthen our cowardice and confirm us in faith, so that we undoubtedly hope to receive all that is good from the Master's mercy through your prayers. Oh, great servant of God! To all of us who flow to you with faith, help your intercession to the Lord, and rule all of us in peace and repentance, end our life and retire with hope in the blessed bosom of Abraham, where you rest joyfully in labor and labors, glorifying God with all the saints , in the Trinity of the glorious, the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, now and ever and forever and ever. Amen. Prayer to the Monk Simeon the Stylite Reverend Father Simeon! Look at us mercifully and raise the devotees to the vain earthly ones to the heights of heaven. You are on the heights of heaven, and we are on earth below, removed from you, not so much by a place as by our sins and iniquities, and we come running to you and cry: guide us on the right path, give reason and guide. Your whole holy life has been a mirror of all virtue. Do not stop, saint of God, to pray to the Lord for us. Ask for your intercession from our All-Merciful God the peace of His Church, under the sign of the militant cross, harmony in faith and like-mindedness, extermination and schisms, confirmation in good deeds, healing for the sick, for sorrowful consolation, for the offended protection, for the needy help. Do not disappoint us, who come to you with faith. Show your ancient mercies, with which you helped our fathers, do not reject us, their descendants, who are marching towards you with their footsteps. Standing in front of your precious icon, to you, as to a living, we fall and pray: accept our prayers and lift them up on the altar of God's mercy, so that through you we will receive grace and timely help in our needs. Strengthen our cowardice and confirm us in faith, but without a doubt we hope to receive all the blessings from the Master's mercy through your prayers. Oh, great saint of God! To all of us who are flowing to you with faith, help your intercession to the Lord, and give all of us in peace and repentance to end our earthly life and move with hope to the blessed bowels of Abraham, where you joyfully rest in your labors and deeds, glorifying God with all the saints. , in the Trinity glorified, the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, now and always and forever and ever. Amen. Troparion to the Monk Simeon the Stylite, Voice 1 Thou was a pillar of patience, jealous of the forefather, reverend, Job in passion, Joseph in temptation, and incorporeal living, in the body, Simeon our father, pray to Christ God for our souls to be saved. Kontakion to the Monk Simeon the Stylite, voice 2 Seek the highest, mate with the lower, and made a pillar of fire chariot: that interlocutor was an angel you, reverend, with them praying to Christ God ceaselessly for all of us. Sedal to the Monk Simeon the Stylite, voice 8: We take the Lord's Cross in a wise way, and having followed that to the end, you did not return with your mind to the world, God-wise: by temperance and the labors of passion you killed, and prepared a temple for your Lord. Thou didst accept the same gifts of retribution, heal the sick, and drive away the spirits, Reverend Simeone, pray to Christ God of sins for the abandonment of the tribute to those who celebrate with love your holy memory. Memory: September 1/14, Saint Simeon laid the foundation for a new type of asceticism - "pillage". Having built a pillar several meters in height, he settled on it and thus deprived himself of the opportunity to lie down and rest. Standing day and night, like a candle in an upright position, he almost continuously prayed and meditated on God. In addition to abstinence in food, he endured many hardships: rain, heat and cold. He ate soaked wheat and water that people brought him. His extraordinary feat became known in many countries, and many visitors from Arabia, Persia, Armenia, Georgia, Italy, Spain and Britain began to flock to him. Seeing his extraordinary strength of spirit and listening to his inspired instructions, many pagans were convinced of the truth of the Christian faith and were baptized. Saint Simeon was honored with the gift of healing mental and physical diseases and foresaw the future. They pray to him for the healing of illnesses, the gift of patiently enduring illnesses and accepting the temptations and providence of God. They also pray to him for the admonition and conversion of non-Christians and those of little faith, for the return to the bosom of the Church of people who have fallen into sects. Oh, holy head, reverend father, blessed Abvo Simeone! Do not forget your poor ones to the end, but remember us always in holy and auspicious prayers to God: remember your flock, you yourself have saved yourself, and do not forget to visit your children, pray for us, holy father, for your spiritual children, like have boldness towards the Heavenly King: do not be silent for us to the Lord, and do not despise us, who honor you with faith and love: remember us unworthy at the Almighty Throne, and do not cease praying for us to Christ God, for you have been given grace to pray for us. We do not think that you are dead: even if you are dead from us in body, but you are still alive after death, do not depart from us in spirit, saving us from the arrows of the enemy and all delights of the demonic and the wiles of the devil, our good shepherd. Even though your cancer is always visible in front of our eyes, your holy soul with angelic hosts, with incorporeal faces, with heavenly powers, standing by the throne of the Almighty, rejoices with dignity, leading you truly and after death is alive, we fall to you and We pray to you: pray for us to the Almighty God, for the benefit of our souls, and ask for time for us to repent, so that we may pass from earth to heaven without restraint, from the ordeals of bitter demons, princes of the air, and from eternal torment let us get rid of, and the Heavenly Kingdom of the heiress let us be with all the righteous, who have pleased our Lord Jesus Christ from time immemorial: all glory, honor and worship befitting Him, with His Fatherless Father, and with His Most Holy and Good and Life-giving Spirit, now and ever, and forever and ever. Amen. Prayer to the Monk Simeon the Stylite for the return of the Church to those who have been torn away from her by the slander of the devil O holy head, reverend father, blessed Abba Simeone, do not forget your unfortunate ones to the end, but remember us in your holy and auspicious prayers to God. Remember your flock, which you yourself shepherded, and do not forget to visit your children. Pray for us, holy father, for your spiritual children, as one who has boldness towards the Heavenly King, do not stop praying for us to the Lord and do not neglect us, who honor you with faith and love. Remember us, unworthy, at the Almighty Throne and do not stop praying for us to Christ God, for you have been given grace to pray for us. For we do not consider you dead: although you have bodily moved from us, you remain alive even after death. Do not depart from us in spirit, keeping us from the arrows of the enemy, and all deception of the demons, and the wiles of the devil, our good shepherd. Although the relics of your cancer are always visible before our eyes, but your holy soul with angelic armies, with disembodied faces of saints, with Heavenly Forces, will have worthy fun at the Almighty Throne. And now, knowing that you are truly alive and after death, we fall to you and we pray that you pray for us to the Almighty God for the benefit of our souls, and ask for time for us to repent, and an unhindered transition from earth to Heaven, and deliverance from ordeals bitter, demons, princes of the air and eternal torment. And may we be heirs of the Kingdom of Heaven with all the righteous who have pleased our Lord Jesus Christ from time immemorial. Who deserves all glory, honor and worship with His Originless Father, and with the Most Holy, and Good, and His Life-giving Spirit now, and ever, and forever and ever. Amen. For our readers: Simeon the Stylite Life with a detailed description from various sources. Irmos: Let us take God for all people, / in the sea we immersed Pharaoh's Chermnem, / singing a song of victory, / as if glorified. Give me the organ of the rotten tongue, / O, Bogonos Simeon, / weaving song to you, / by your prayers, knowledge is the light of God. Knowing wisdom, father, yours, / Persians, Ethiopians, Indians, Scythians, and Arabs are many, / and the glorification of Christ, you are glorified. Thanks to the fulfillment of the spirit, / from the shepherd's schools like Jacob, David and Moses, / the head of the verbal was the flock, blessed. Bogorodich: Blessed Mother of God, rejoice Honest, / Incompatible God in Thy morning, she contained, / be rid of the fierce ones who asked for Ty. Irmos: Thy fear, O Lord, put Thy servant into our hearts, / and give us an affirmation, / Thee in truth calling. Soon he escaped the winter troubles of the spirits, / to the salvation of the inhabited, Simeone, / from the inadequate and timeless life I accepted. I bowed down rejoicing, / your submissive hearing, all-mercifully, I am blessed, / and you have found blessed life. Words I receive seeds, / your heart is in reins, and tears to drink, / Christ is wise the class of virtues has reaped. Divine: Indescribably she conceived thou, the God of God, / Spas and the Lord, delivering us from the fierce, / You who call in truth. All the earthly remains, / and in the world this body, / the heavenly angel was the spirit, / finding the passion of death by slaying the plane, / of the Trinity was the pleasing one, blessed. / Healed the passions the same, / and with the word of the spirits drive away grace, / Simeone is blessed, / pray to Christ God, sins are easier to bestow / to those who love to sacred your memory. Glory to this day: Insist on the path of repentance, / deviating from evil inadvertence, / and the Most-blessed, angry Lord, Inconceivable, Blessed Mary, / refuge of desperate men, Dwelling. Hearing, O Lord, Thy hearing, and we were afraid, / For the understanding of Thy deeds, / and glorified Thy authority, O Lord. Not on the Arctic fox, beloved, / but on your deepest labors, having laid the foundation of abstinence, / of virtues, you have created a pillar of steadfastness. Having put your body in your dwelling cruelly, / with fear you nailed the spirit, / and you have found the dwelling of the heritage of the Divine, reverend. He tamed the bodily innermost passions, you are rich, / in pus lying worms, father, / you have found good fortune. By the passion of the warrior, to the Life-giving Dead, I have sought, / I am the grave, I will dig the dark, / I have given myself alive. The Divine Mother of God: God, who gave birth to Him, the Most Pure Mary, / pray always to Thy works / grant simplicity of sin. Irmos: Enlighten us with Thy commandments, O Lord, / and with Thy high arm, / Give us your peace, Human-loving. New Daniel to Simeone, / Christ showing you, / from the pit of the beast, you return unharmed by the phenomenon. Having laid all to himself the Lord, / slot, and filth, and with the heat of the opposite rage, Thou was exposed. The new Moses and Elias appeared as you, / they received food throughout the whole fourty days, / in all your life, venerable. It’s like a golden-bodied, Simeone, a monastic reverend, already taxed, / the heavenly appeared to be as / Divine krila. God-born: Prayer for Thy Son and our God, / inconspicuous Mary the Pure, / send down to us the faithful goodness of mercy. Irmos: Give me a garment with light, / dress with light as with a garment, / Many-merciful Christ our God. Signs and miracles are Christ's homemaker showing, / Divine blessed, deeds, pleasant dwelling. Thy body ascended, Simeone, / as to the Cross on the pillar. / By this you wondered, / on the tree you were for the sake of the Ascended Christ. The higher procession will gain, Simeone is wonderful, / to the heights of heaven, singing thee, you will surely erect. God-born: Horus, in the south of the province of Daniel, / Christ cut off the stone of faith from Neyazhe, / We cognize Thee. Seek the highest, copulate with the lower, / and made a pillar of fire for a chariot of fire: / by that interlocutor an angel was you reverend, / with them praying to Christ God / ceaselessly for all of us. Symeon's blameless living, / is the tongue of man dominant when it comes to the praise of confession? / both I will sing, with God's wisdom, / for this gigantic suffering and progress, even on the earth, / as a luminary I am, with all man, / I have a lot of patience, lack of patience, in the line of Christyangels / / praying incessantly for all of us. Irmos: The mothers of piety in Babylon, / you did not worship the image of gold, / but in the midst of the sand of fire we are good, / the song of the singing glorious: the exalted father and God bless us. Allowed you ubo dryness to those who were perplexed, / and the gates of the rain hole were you, / and the earth swaying with prayers did he set, / and the people learned the name of those who gave God: / blessed them. Like the greatest luminary of the church, / and the glorious one, Simeone, the sun, emitting rays everywhere, enlightened you, / and taught people to name: / blessed God of our fathers. Water dripping from everywhere, the pleasing of Christ, / people of pucina, abstinence is gathered in your fence, / we will punish you from crying: / blessed is God our fathers. To the tree the elder embraces, / the tablets of your heart, reverend, in invisible power, Christ rests, Simeone. / And thou didst cry: blessed be God of our fathers. Divine God: Like the seedlessly incarnate of Thee, Proity, Virgin: Thou art the purity of all the great. / To Him we call out crying songs: / Blessed be God of our fathers. Irmos: On the holy mountain you were glorified, / and in the bush fire of the Ever-Virgin Moses and the tainu of God, / sing the Lord, / and exalt forever. Addiction has been absent from every thing, / and the matter has been harmed, / as he was alive, he was dead, / sing the Lord, and exalt Him, crying, forever. The young man was strapped when he was weak, / and you command Philarch's bed on the frame to bear the most holy cry: / Sing the Lord, and exalt Him for all ages. We bless the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit, the Lord. He who understood Job's passion, / burned your flesh with rottenness, / transformed it into beser, you, Christ's pleasing, Simeone, / glorify for all ages. And now, God-born: I received joy from the angel, / and the One who gave birth to the Lord of Glory, / and the light of the world that has shone forth, / I will give all Thee to the Virgin God-Mother, for all ages. Irmos: Manifested on the mountain to the lawyer in the fires and bush, / Christmas of the Ever-Virgin, / in our faithful salvation, / we magnify the dumb songs. Reigning over the passion of patience, / Christ welcomed you, Simeone Bogonos, / To His kingdom’s general: / so we will honor thee. Having been rewarded with more healing grace, / treasures from the inevitable Spirit, Godonos Simeon, / you have given healing to the triumphant memory of yours. The ascent, venerable, of the heavenly flow in the good air, / girded with suffering, flying to the heavenly tabernacles, / pray that our souls be saved. Bogorodichen: The bush is burning with fire, and the unbreakable appeared thou, oh, the Sovereign, / conceived incessantly God and the Spa of the world, / He is constantly magnified. Chosen from infancy, the lamp of the world and the healer of mental and physical ailments to our Reverend Father Simeon, humbly flowing, as if he can free us from passions and all troubles, from the depths of our souls we will bring praise and prayer, earnestly calling: Rejoice, Simeone, wondrous pillar and great miracle worker. The Guardian Angel was given to you from God, when the fruit of fervent prayer was given to you by your parent. Keeping the same, even more in wisdom, teaching spiritually, when you were clothed with snow-white clothes at your baptism. We, leading thee of the wonderful chosen one of God to be, this praise to you, as if we should, dare to bring: Rejoice, the fruit of your parents, the fruit of God-given prayer. Rejoice, you who were honored with the gifts of the Holy Spirit in holy baptism. Rejoice, chosen vessel of God's grace. Rejoice, a manifestation of God's love by man. Rejoice, unlearned wisdom of earthly wisdom. Rejoice, especially enriched in heaven. Rejoice, mysteriously deified in the Body and Blood of Christ. Rejoice, delighted in prayer. Rejoice, Simeone, wondrous pillar and great miracle worker. Seeing the Lord the humility and simplicity of your heart, choose you as His weapon, and shame the wicked wisdom of the wise men of this age, and from the sheep of your fathers make you a shepherd of the verbal sheep of Christ's flock, and sing to the Creator: Alleluia. Having your mind hungry and thirsty for the righteousness of Christ, you did not hesitate to ask the honest elder about the words of the Holy Gospel. And, having learned from his God-learned verbs, at the same hour you firmly desired to leave your father's house and all the red of this world and drink by the narrow path leading to the eternal belly. For this, for the sake of crying out: Rejoice, beloved dwelling in the temple from youth. Rejoice, you came from your father's house. Rejoice, you fleeing shroud of the world. Rejoice, godly image. Rejoice, having received the good yoke of Christ with love. Rejoice, as you have cut the flesh with the sword. Rejoice, instruct those who are mistaken. Rejoice, affirm the goodness of those who live. Rejoice, Simeone, wondrous pillar and great miracle worker. The revelation of God gave you a vision in a dream: laying the foundation of the building, you dug a ditch and you heard the voice of the trirats, even deeper, and, when I reach many depths, the Lord command to create with all your zeal. And this wonderful vision over you will come true: with the depth of humility you laid a solid foundation for all virtue, decorated with an image, you constantly cried out to the Lord: Alleluia. Having a strong desire for a monastic life, you came to a single monastery. For the sake of humility for seven days without food and drink before her gates, you fell on the earth, you had no boldness to bring it into it. The blessed abbot of that monastery, foreseeing thee of God's chosen one, in the past days has tested you, as if you want the Lord to work, and face your brethren. And we all honor thee: Rejoice, true hearer of the commands of Christ. Rejoice, zealous living with equal angles. Rejoice, for leaving this world. Rejoice, fiery fiery life of the fasting life. Rejoice, armed with abstinence on passion. Rejoice, good warrior of Christ. Rejoice, having subdued yourself in humility to obedience. Rejoice, you have shown diligence for the teaching of the monastery. Rejoice, Simeone, wondrous pillar and great miracle worker. Calming the storm of passions, as the meek lamb of the spiritual fathers always listened to you and, for your humility, still young, you were vouchsafed to the image of the angel, in the same abstinence and labors aggravating, you mortified your flesh, saving your soul, and in the depths of your heart crying out to God: Allie. Hearing the abbot will tell the brethren, as if the stench emanates from you and the worms fall from your body, ask thee, for the sake of this taco. You, bowed head, stood in silence. Then, taking one odozhdu with you and your blood-stained body, I saw it, with a hard rope thrust into it. With the horror of many of your sufferings, thinking and we call you right now: Rejoice, Holy Spirit is the sanctified dwelling. Rejoice, the image of God is not darkened in yourself. Rejoice, for astonishing the brethren with Jovlem's patience. Rejoice, for manifesting great courage in yourself. Rejoice, jealous of the truth. Rejoice, fragrant oil lamp; Rejoice, renew the corrupted temples of our souls. Rejoice, cast down the idols of our wisdom. Rejoice, Simeone, wondrous pillar and great miracle worker. We strengthen by the power of grace, you have borne new deeds for the mortification of your flesh. For the sake of fear, as the brethren, imitating you, will not perceive feats according to reason, command the abbot to discourage them. You, without malice, fulfilling his will, in the desert in a well of waterlessness, you settled, packs and tamo sang a song to Christ God: Alleluia. Seeing the blessed hegumen Timothy a vision in a dream, as if a multitude of people had his abode and they were asking about the servant of God Simeon, we were possessed with horror and, having risen from sleep, told the brethren this. Abiye, however, went with them to the desert and called out to thee. Respectfully your exploits, and we honor thee according to our duty: Rejoice, showing the strength of spirit of Joseph. Rejoice, accomplished great deeds of Christ for the sake of. Rejoice, bearing the Cross of Christ without complaint. Rejoice, decoration of the Church. Rejoice, wonderful servant of the truth of God. Rejoice, good helmsman of the ship of Jesus. Rejoice, the rule of pious faith. Rejoice, image of spiritual meekness. Rejoice, Simeone, wondrous pillar and great miracle worker. The preacher of the word of God, Bishop Vass, by the will of God, came when you settled in a desert cell. Having shown great zeal for Moses and Elijah, you have longed for fourty days of fasting. Yes, do not partake of the brush during this time, arrange for your saint's cell that is not entered in a prayer, create a hedgehog and leave, the Lord singing: Alleluia. Thou art shone, reverend, with thy marvelous abstinence, when the Holy Hierarch of God found thee as dead, lying on the ground, erecting thee and the Mysteries of Christ's immortal communion, when the day of thy fasting passed away. Therefore, having told many brethren about your wondrous labors, teach them to glorify the Lord, wondrous deeds in His saints manifesting, and to you, His saint, chant your sits: Rejoice, your earthly path in the footsteps of Christ. Rejoice, imitating Moses and Elijah by fasting. Rejoice, having placed your trust in the Lord. Rejoice, you did not partake of this hope of food and drink. Rejoice, for you shone with divine light. Rejoice, for you strengthen us too, the faithful, with your prayers. Rejoice, for you have become like you by incorporeal abstinence. Rejoice, because you have conquered invisible enemies with a spiritual weapon. Rejoice, Simeone, wondrous pillar and great miracle worker. Although your deeds are even more aggravated, as if you climbed the ladder leading to heaven, you ascended to the top of the mountain: if you do not come down from there, fix yourself on it with fetters, having listened to the verbs of St. Thou cried out: Alleluia. New Bethesda is a mountain, on which you have asceticised, free. Not only did you give healing to everyone in the summer and who were the first to enter the summer, but always to everyone in trouble, illness and sorrow for those who exist and with hope to God flowing in your good help, you were given, and I all return, glorifying God, and you, the saint of His greatness, Calling: Rejoice, candle, kindled by the Divine flame. Rejoice, burning lamp and shining. Rejoice, healer of mental illnesses. Rejoice, physician of bodily ailments. Rejoice, feeder of those hungry for righteousness. Rejoice, source of thirst for truth. Rejoice, prayer for our souls. Rejoice, I also intercede with earthly blessings. Rejoice, Simeone, wondrous pillar and great miracle worker. Thou art a strange life, blessed, when seeing many people coming to you, mind, as if they honor and glorify you. Escaping glory, but loving humility, you were well pleased to stay on a pillar with a height, and, as if by the degree of a ladder to heavenly heights, ascending both filth, and rain, and enduring scorching heat, the Lord ceaselessly sang: Alleluia. You were all filled with obedience, testing thee by the holy father as a wilderness: obeying their command, like God, you shook yourself off your pillar on the ground, he saw that he saw that your work is from God, and decide that you may abide on your pillar without being removed. ... Then the enemy of the human race will try to tempt you: in the image of an angel of light to appear, you for a moment did not comprehend, blessedly, the flattery of the enemy, and by the sign of the honest Cross you conquered the treachery. Afterwards, you have brought repentance to the Lord, and this also we have learned, we praise thee: Rejoice, having fired back the arrows of the evil one. Rejoice, conquering the cunning of the enemy. Rejoice, armed with the power of the cross. Rejoice, blazing lies with the fire of truth. Rejoice, by prayer, as if armed with a sword. Rejoice, crowned with the helmet of salvation. Rejoice, you have brought deep repentance to God. Rejoice, having placed your hope in God's mercy. Rejoice, Simeone, wondrous pillar and great miracle worker. The Lord accept every repentant sinner and your repentance is pleasing, and glorify the packs. The devil, who cannot endure your feat, will strike you with a fierce ulcer, and fierce pus with worms will be in your nose. After a long time, having taken away your mother about you, I will come to your pillar and weep bitterly. But you, blessed, trusting in the will of the Lord, in the future, you promised to find thee for her, and, having betrayed her spirit in the hand of the Lord, having made a prayer, the Lord sang: Alleluia. Vetias of supernatural wisdom will not be able to explain the power of your miracles, they were also for the glory of God and you did the wonderful name of the Lord. I had no place for water, by your prayer, holy, the earth shook and water abundantly gave. A certain wife, a little serpent in water in her belly, receiving, having been drunk with your water, heal abie. And others will heal you at your pillar with your holy prayers. People, seeing the great miracles of God, glorify thee with joy: Rejoice, Heavenly King, good and faithful servant. Rejoice, aggravating talent pleasant from Him. Rejoice, joyous heavens by your life. Rejoice, wondering the universe. Rejoice, our helper and man of prayer. Rejoice, protector from the temptations of the enemy. Rejoice, for through you our passions are satisfied. Rejoice, for through you our good desires are fulfilled. Rejoice, Simeone, wondrous pillar and great miracle worker. To save the sinner and call on to repentance, you followed the footsteps of our Lord Jesus Christ and you did not betray the thief Jonathan who sought to kill him, but after the commandment of his repentance, you prayed to him in peace to the Lord, so that you could improve the blessedness of heavenly heaven. eternity will praise the All-Blessed Man-lover God with a song of thanks: Alleluia. You were a good slave and faithful servant of the King of Heaven and the Lord, but your spiritual child was a father and teacher of many mercy: in one place, on your pillar, a multitude of people, both faithful and unfaithful, I come to you, and you were all helpers , healing all mental and bodily diseases, especially those who do not believe in the light of Christ's Gospel have you enlightened, as if baptism in the name of the Most Holy Trinity, the Lord will be exalted to you, your good shepherd, they will cry: Rejoice, mirror of the Trisian Light. Rejoice, full of heavenly illumination. Rejoice, enlighten from the riches of your neighbor's spirit. Rejoice, teach the fear of God. Rejoice, uncomplaining performer of the will of the Lord. Rejoice, for the glory of His jealous one. Rejoice, our good shepherd. Rejoice, merciful and meek father. Rejoice, Simeone, wondrous pillar and great miracle worker. Singing to your beloved Christ in your life, bringing you the gift of prophecy, you were vouchsafed a coming drought, glory and pestilence foreshadowing the invasion of the infidels, and with many tears and the warm prayer of the Lord you propitiated you, may you turn away your anger, righteously moved by Christ, and do not allow yourself to conquer bringing repentance and thanking the Lord for His great mercy and constantly singing to Him: Alleluia. Thou didst appear to be the chosen one of the heavenly vessel, when thy hour came from this world to the villages, beloved and desired to pass. Your disciple Anthony narrates about the blessed end of your taco: “One day, on Friday, at the ninth hour, awaiting us his teaching and blessing, he did not look at us from the pillar. It is the same on Saturday and week. And I was frightened, and he sighed against the pillar, and saw the monk with his head drooping down and his hand on the persech. Mnyakha, as if he is giving a prayer, keep silent, follow the rekokh: "Bless us, father!" He's not answering. Then he thought, as if the reverend father had gone away to the Lord, and enlightened, as there is such, and wept bitterly, and, approaching, kissing him, saying: "To whom will you leave us, father?" And we ask you: do not leave us sinners with your prayers favorable to the Lord, from the depths of your soul calling to you: Rejoice, from infancy you have given yourself to the Lord all over. Rejoice, commandments of God, for you have received a good treasure in your heart. Rejoice, fragrant with the grace of heaven. Rejoice, enlightened by the light of prayer. Rejoice, clothed in Christ. Rejoice, adorned with the garment of incorruptibility. Rejoice, turning all your thoughts to the Lord. Rejoice, you who love your neighbors as you are. Rejoice, Simeone, wondrous pillar and great miracle worker. Kontakion 12 Seek the gift of grace from the Lord, Father, those who have praised you faithfully; Take in our sighing, and do not despise our tears, and do not leave us, as you promised not to leave either your pillar or the mountain, chosen by you, for the benefit of a man who comes running to you, under your roof, and who sings to the Lord: Alleluia. Singing your life, blessed father, we glorify God, and, as if for your burial the saints and shepherds descended to your grave, and the myrrhment with tears and many prayers, wears candles and incense, so we, descended on the day of your remembrance, zealous praises and we offer prayers to you: Rejoice, you who died from youth to the world. Rejoice, taken away the good yoke of Christ. Rejoice, joyfully gone forth from the body to eternal life. Rejoice, enjoying the sight of the Divine light. Rejoice, for you stand before the Most Holy Trinity. Rejoice, for you are incessantly offering prayers for us. Rejoice, leaving us celibate power. Rejoice, helper of the Christian clan. Rejoice, Simeone, wondrous pillar and great miracle worker. Oh, great and wondrous servant of God, venerable our father Simeon! Now stand before the throne of God and bring our petitions to the Lord, and accept this little prayer from us sinners, and, as if you did not cast away the thief who ran to your pillar, but you also delivered that person from earthly troubles, and the leader was Him into the Kingdom of Heaven, tako and us, sinners, do not leave your intercession, but also in this temporary life help us, and in the future heavenly mansions with your prayers, so that you can reach Christ, our Savior, where with you we will cry: Alleluia. (This kontakion is read three times, then ikos 1 and kontakion 1). Oh, holy and great saint of God Simeone! Having fought on the earth with a good fight, thou art in heaven the crown of righteousness, which the Lord has prepared for all who love Him. The same, looking at your holy image, we rejoice at the glorious end of your residence and honor your holy memory. But you, standing before the Throne of God, accept our prayers and bring them to the All-Merciful God, forgive us every sin and help us to become against the wiles of the devil, and get rid of sorrows, diseases, troubles and misfortunes and all evil, piously and righteously we will live in the present forever and we will be honored by your intercession, if you are not worthy of me, see the good on the land of the living, glorifying the One in His saints glorified God, the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, now and ever and forever. Amen. I. Saint Simeon was taken out of his mother's womb by the Lord, and he prepared himself to follow God and be pleasing to Him. His father was a man named Susotsion. And the parents of Simeon brought up. When he was thirteen years old, he once tended his father's sheep, and he saw the church, and leaving the cattle to graze, entered it and heard the Apostle reading there. And he asked one elder: "Lord, what is this, what are they reading about here?" And the elder answered him: "About the essence of the soul, so that a man may learn to fear God with all his heart and with all his soul." And then Blessed Simeon asked: "What does it mean to fear God?" And the elder said to him: "Why do you demand this of me, son?" And he answered him: “I ask you, like God. For I wish to learn what I hear from you, because I am foolish and ignorant. " And the man answered him: “If someone will fast and begin to perform solemn prayers, and will put himself below other people, and he will not love gold, nor parents, nor clothes, nor possessions, and will honor his father and mother, and will follow priests of God, he will inherit the eternal kingdom; the one who, on the contrary, will not observe this, will inherit the outer darkness, which the Lord has prepared for the devil and his angels (Mt 22:25)... All this, son, is accumulated in the monastic life ”. Hearing this, blessed Simeon fell at his feet, saying: “You are my father and my mother, the teacher of good deeds, the guide to the kingdom of heaven. You have acquired my soul, which I have already cast into destruction, the Lord will give you in exchange for my soul. That, it turns out, is what they teach here. I, without delay, will go, as you said, to the monastery, for the Lord so willed. And may His will be with me. " And the elder said to him: “Son! Before you enter the monastery, listen to what I am saying. You will find many torments, for you will need to stay awake and serve, deprived of everything, and you will constantly have to endure various unkind deeds. So, I repeat, you should be strengthened, vessel, precious to the Lord ”. II. Leaving the church, Blessed Simeon immediately went to the monastery of the remarkable man, Saint Timothy, and, approaching the gate of the monastery, he lay prostrate for five days, eating neither water nor food. On the fifth day, the abbot Timothy left the monastery and asked him: “Where are you from, son? And who are your parents, whom you lament so much? And what is your name? Or maybe you did something wrong, or maybe you are a slave and ran away from your master? " Then Blessed Simeon, with tears in his eyes, answers him: “No, no, sir, but with all my soul I wish to become a servant of God, if He permits, for I want to save my soul from destruction. Order me to enter the monastery and serve everyone there, do not allow me to remain outside of it any longer. " Then, taking him by the hand, the abbot led him into the monastery and said to the brothers: "My children, I betray this brother to you, teach him the rules of monastic life." Simeon spent four months in the monastery, unquestioningly serving everyone and everyone. He learned the Psalms from the brethren by heart and daily ate divine food. The same food that he ate with the brethren, he secretly distributed to the poor, not caring about tomorrow. The brethren ate in the evenings, and he ate on the seventh day. III. Once he went up to the well to drink water, took a rope from a ladle, with which they drew water, wrapped it all over himself from loins to neck, and, coming to the brothers, said to them: "I went out to drink water and did not find a rope from the ladle." And they answer: “Keep quiet, brother, lest the abbot find out about it by chance. Let some time pass. ” His body, from what was tied with a barbed rope, festered, for she cut his flesh to the bone. And so she crashed into him that she was barely visible. But one day, some brothers went outside and saw how he was giving his food to the beggars. When they returned, they said to the abbot: “Where did you bring this man to us? We cannot abstain from food as he did; He fasts from resurrection to resurrection, and the food that he receives is distributed to the poor; besides, a very heavy stench emanates from his body, so that no one can stand next to him. And when he walks, worms fall off him, and his bed is also full of worms. " Then the abbot went outside and saw that everything was as they said. And he turned to Simeon: “Son, what did the brothers tell me about you? Isn't it right for you to fast like we do? Or have you not heard the Gospels where the teacher is spoken of (Mt 10:24) that there is no student above the teacher; and will he be perfect in everything if his teacher is also perfect? And tell me, son, where does this stench come from? " But Saint Simeon stood without saying a word. Then the abbot, angry, ordered him to expose himself and they all saw a rope twisted around the body. And the abbot exclaimed in a loud voice: “Where did this man come to us, wishing to destroy the monastery rules? I beg you - go away and continue to do what you want. " But in spite of this, with great care and diligence they removed this rope from his body, which he wrapped around, and with it pieces of rotten flesh fell off. When they did this, they looked after him carefully and healed him. IV. After recovering from this incident, he left the monastery and no one found out about it. And he came to an empty well, in which there was no water (and he was not far from the monastery) and where unclean spirits dwelt. And on the same night, the abbot had a vision of how many people surrounded his monastery, in their hands they held sticks and swords, and they said: “O Timothy, give us the servant of God Simeon. If you do not do this, then we will burn you together with your monastery, for you have denigrated a righteous man ”. Rising from sleep, the abbot said to the brethren: "My children, I had a vision and I am very worried about it." The next night, he dreamed of a great crowd of people who surrounded him even more and said: “Give us the servant of God Simeon, for God and the angels loved him. Why did you insult him? You are great before God, but all the angels grieve for him. But the Lord placed him higher in this world, so that through him many miracles, which no one had done, could be manifested. " Then the abbot rose from his sleep and with great fear turned to the brethren: “Find me this man and bring him here, so that we all do not die because of him. For he is truly the saint of God; I saw a great miracle and heard extraordinary things about it. " Then all the monks went to look for him, and they examined the whole area, but did not find him and returned to the abbot, saying: “We did not leave a single place unseen, but we did not find it anywhere; unless he can be at the empty well. " The abbot answered them: "I beg you, brothers, go and find him, I will also go with you, for truly he is a saint and a servant of God." Taking with him five of them, he went to the well. Blessed Simeon, seeing him, inquired like this: “I beg you, servants of God, leave me for one hour, so that my spirit may return, for he, unpretentious, is dying. My soul was greatly tormented, for I hardened the Lord. " Then the abbot turned to him: "Come, servant of God, and we will take you to the monastery, for I learned about you that you are a servant of God." Simeon did not want this, but they took him to the monastery by force and there they prostrated themselves at his feet, crying and saying: "We have sinned against you, servant of God, forgive us." Blessed Simeon sighed and said: “Why do you multiply the number of sinners and wicked? You are God's servants and Fathers ”. And he stayed there for another year. V. After this period, he secretly left the monastery, where he spent a lot of time, and, having gone not far from it, made a shelter for himself out of solid stone, where he spent three years, and many people came to him with prayers. Then he built a pillar of four cubits and stood there for four years. The fame of him spread to all corners of the earth and they built for him a pillar twelve cubits high, and he stood on it for twelve years. Again they built a pillar of twenty cubits for him, and he stood on it for twelve years. Then all the inhabitants of that place gathered and erected near the pillar itself two basilicas and a pillar of thirty cubits, and he began to work miracles. Many relaxed people came to him, and possessed by demons, and he healed them: the blind received sight, the paralyzed hands were restored, the lepers got rid of leprosy. And many peoples turned to the Christian faith, namely the Saracens, Persians, Armacens, Laots, and allophiles as well1. Those who heard about him and his miracles gathered and praised him. Vi. Then the wicked devil took the form of an angel and appeared in radiance on a fiery horse. And near the pillar where blessed Simeon stood, a fiery chariot appeared and the devil appeared in brilliance and radiance, like an angel of light. And here the devil uttered such gentle words: “Listen, Simeon, what the Lord has commanded to convey to you. He sent me, His angel, in a chariot and on a fiery horse, so that I lifted you up, as I lifted Elijah (4 Kings 2)... For your time has come. Ascend with me in the chariot, for the Lord of heaven and earth sent it. Ascend to heaven with me, so that the angels and archangels with Mary, the Mother of God, with the apostles and martyrs, confessors and prophets may see you, so that they may rejoice when they see you praying to the Lord, who created you in His image. So I tell you, let's go without delay ”. After listening to the speech to the end, Simeon asked: "Lord, do you wish to take me to heaven as a sinner?" And, raising his right leg to climb onto the cart, he raised his right hand and made the sign of the cross. As soon as he overshadowed himself with the sign of the cross, the devil could no longer remain in this place and he disappeared along with all his persuasions, like dust in the face of the wind. It was then that Simeon understood that all these were the tricks of the devil. Vii. Coming to his senses, he said to his leg: "You will not come back, but you will stand here until my death, until the Lord calls me, a sinner." Meanwhile, the devil in the cold season inflicted a wound on his thigh, and it rotted so badly that many worms began to erupt from it, which descended through his body, from his foot to the pillar, and from there to the ground. And for a whole year he stood on one leg. Next to him stood a certain young man named Antony, who saw and heard all this. He, on his order, picked up the worms falling to the ground and held them up to the saint. And he again put them in his wound, like the righteous Job, saying: "Feed on what the Lord has given you." VIII. The king of the Saracens, Basilic, also learned about his glory, and he came to him. The king saw that he was standing above and praying, and he saw a worm fall out of his body. The king hastily, with prayer, caught him and laid him on his eyes. Seeing the king, the saint said: "Why did you do this, most worthy man, this is a worm from the body of my rotten one." Hearing this, King Basil opened his palm and found the most precious pearl in it. And he said to blessed Simeon: "This is not a rotten worm, but a priceless pearl," and he answered him: "Man, according to your faith it was given to you and blessed be in your hands all the days of your life." And so this man went, filled with faith. IX. Much time has passed under the bridge, and now the fame of his deeds flew to Simeon's mother, and she came to see him. But she was not allowed to do this, because the place was closed to women. When Blessed Simeon heard his mother's voice, he said to her: "Wait, mother, a little more time and, if God wishes, we will see you soon." When she heard something like that, she began to cry and ask to be allowed to see him, and, loosening her hair, exclaimed, turning to him: “Why are you doing this, son? The belly that has borne you, you hurt; instead of the milk with which I nourished you, you gave me tears; instead of the joy of the lips that kissed you, you gave me the bitter longing of the heart; instead of the pain and labor that I endured, you sentenced me to even more difficult trials. " And so she said that we all began to cry. Blessed Simeon heard the words of his parent and, covering his face with his hands, he wept bitterly for love, and said to her like this: "My lady, be patient a little and we will see you and me in eternal rest." And she began to speak like this: “By Christ, that he created you, I implore, if there is such an opportunity to see you, who was so long away from me, let me see your appearance; if not, then let me at least hear your voice and I will die right there, for your father also died, grieving immensely for you. So don't ruin me in the same grief, son. " Having said this, she fell into sleep from grief and crying, for for three days and three nights she incessantly pleaded with him. Then Blessed Simeon prayed to the Lord for her, and immediately the soul returned to her. And those who had gathered brought her body before his eyes. And he, crying, said: "May the Lord take you in joy, for you were tormented because of me, and in your womb you carried me for nine months, and fed me milk, and nourished from your labors." When he said all this, we saw how the mother's face was covered with sweat, and the body moved. He, turning his eyes to grief, continued: “The Lord God Mighty, who sits over the cherubim and examines the foundation of the abyss, who knew Adam even before he was born, bush (Ex Z) Who blessed our father Abraham (Genesis 22) Who brought the souls of the righteous into paradise, and cast the souls of the wicked into destruction, Who pacified two lions and for Your servants coped with the danger that threatened from the Chaldeans (Dan 6) Whom Elijah feared when the ravens brought him food (1 Kings 17), accept her soul in peace and take her to the places of the holy fathers, for you have strength forever and ever. " X. After that they again erected a pillar for him, forty cubits high, and he stood on it for sixteen years until his death. At that time, in the northern lands, where even the grass did not grow, not very far from those places lived a dragon of extraordinary size, and a tree fell into his right eye. And so, one day this crooked dragon came and, limping, settled down at the dwelling where this man of God spent his time. There he curled up in a ring and, as if begging, began to shake his low bowed head. When Blessed Simeon saw him, he immediately withdrew from his eye a stick the size of an elbow. All who saw this praised God, but out of fear they fled from there. But this beast, curled up, lay motionless in one place, until all the people bypassed it. Afterwards, having risen, he bowed for almost two hours, standing at the entrance to the monastery, and then returned to his home without harming anyone. XI. One woman wanted to drink water at night and she followed her to the hydria2, in which there was a small snake. And when she drank the water, she swallowed it, and the snake entered her womb. And many doctors, spellcasters, magicians, carefully examining her, could not do anything. After a while they brought her to Saint Simeon. He also ordered to put her on the ground and pour water from the monastery well into her mouth. The woman screamed strongly, and immediately a snake came out of her mouth, and it was three cubits long. At the same moment, the snake itself hissed, which was inside her, according to the testimony of many, for seven whole days. And from that time on, the woman regained health. XII. It is unlikely that even the most eloquent person will have the strength to enumerate all his deeds, however, I cannot completely keep silent about them. It so happened that there was no water in that place and all people began to suffer, and even the animals did not have enough drink. Seeing their contrite state, Saint Simeon went out to prayer. And at about ten o'clock in the afternoon the earth suddenly dissolved and a great abyss opened on the eastern side of this monastery; and they found there something like a cave, in which there was an innumerable amount of water. Then Simeon commanded the people to dig the earth for another seven cubits, and from that time the water in this place was in abundance, which we see to this day. Once, some people were waiting for his prayer and deeds for a long time, and at noon, due to the heat, they dispersed and sat down in the shade of a tree, wanting to rest. So they sat, and suddenly a pregnant deer suddenly appeared in front of them and began to walk back and forth. And they said to her: "By the prayer of Saint Simeon we conjure you, stand still, and we will catch you." She stopped immediately. They grabbed her, killed her and ate some of the meat. And immediately they were speechless and began to walk in the same way as that deer walked. Then they hastened to Saint Simeon and came to him, carrying with them the skin of a deer, and they stayed there for two years and they could hardly regain their health. It is difficult for me to talk about their sin. They hung the deer hide there for the edification of many. XIII. There was a leopard of extraordinary size in that place; he killed both people and animals, and in this way he devastated the whole area. And the inhabitants of those regions came to Saint Simeon and told him that this leopard had done so many and so many atrocities. Then Saint Simeon gave orders to sprinkle that land with water from the monastery or to scatter there a handful of monastery soil. And they did so. Then, having gone in search, they found this leopard on the ground, dead, and praised all the God of Simeonov. XIV. When he healed someone, he turned to this person with the following prescription: “Go,” he said, “to your home, and pay homage to the Lord who healed you, and do not think that it was Simeon who healed you, so that suddenly nothing worse has happened to you; and do not swear presumptuously in the name of the Lord, for then you will sin grievously, but swear — whether justly or unjustly — only by me, an unworthy sinner. " That is why all the inhabitants of the East and all barbarian peoples swear by his name. XV. There lived in Antioch a certain robber whose name was Jonathan, and he did many atrocities. When they began to persecute him and he found himself unable to hide from his persecutors, becoming like a lion fleeing from the face of those who pursued him, he came to the monastery and, clutching the pillar of St. Simeon, began to cry mournfully. And the saint says to him: “Who are you? And where did you come from, man, and why did you come here? ”. And he replies: “My name is the robber Jonathan. I have done a lot of evil and now I have come here to repent ”. And then Saint Simeon said to him: “Such is the kingdom of heaven (Mt 19:14)... But you, of course, want me to test you, so that you do not find a way back to those crimes from which you turned away. " After he said this, officials came to Antioch and said: “Give us this wicked wicked Jonathan, so that he does not stir up disturbances in the city. The beasts are already ready to devour him. " Blessed Simeon answered them: “My children, it was not I who brought him here, for the One who brought him is greater than all of us, but He comes to such help, because theirs is the kingdom of heaven. And if you can get in, then take it. But I cannot do this, for I am afraid of the One who sent him to me ”. Having heard all this, these men withdrew with great fear and told the whole Antioch about what had happened. Jonathan the robber, having wept for seven days at the pillar, said to blessed Simeon: "I want, sir, with your permission, to leave." And the righteous man answered him: "Do you want to go to your evil deeds?" "No, sir," Jonathan answered him, "but my time is up." And having said this, he gave up his spirit. And when they wanted to bury him near the monastery, other officials came to them from Antioch and they began to shout loudly: "Give us our enemy, for because of him the whole city is seething." Simeon answered the speaker: “The one who brought him came Himself with the multitude of the heavenly army, and He can bring down your city with all that dwell with him into Tartarus, and He brought it closer to Himself. I myself was afraid that He would immediately kill me. So don't bother me, miserable beggar. " And they departed in fear and informed everyone of what they had seen and what they had heard. XVI. Several years passed, and then came the sixth day from Saturday, and he began to pray and pray for three days, that is, Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Then, trembling with fear, I went up to him and stood in front of him, and turned to him: "Arise, sir, bless us, for people have been waiting for your blessing for three days and three nights." And he did not answer me. And again I said to him: “Why do you grieve me, sir, what do you not like? I beg you, extend your hand to me, or maybe you have already left us? " And seeing that he did not speak to me, I resolved not to utter a word again, for I was afraid to touch him. And I stood like that for about half an hour and I bent down and put my ear to listen, but I did not hear a breath, except perhaps as if the smell of many aromas emanated from his body, and then I realized that he had rested in the Lord. And, almost fainting, I wept bitterly. And, stooping down, I kissed his eyes, and his beard, and the hair on his head. And, having cried out, I said: “To whom are you leaving me, master? And where will I find your angelic teaching? What will I say for you? And whose soul will this pillar accept without you, and will it not grieve? What will I say to those who are unsteady in the faith when they come here and look for you and do not find you? What will I say and what will I talk about with ordinary people? Today I see you, and tomorrow I look to the right, I look to the left and I don’t see? And with what cover will I wrap your pillar? Alas for me, for those who want to see you will come from afar, but you are not! ”. And then, tired of grief, I fell asleep. And immediately the saint appeared to me and said: “No, I did not leave this pillar, just as this place and this blessed mountain, in which I shone. However, go down and calm the people and inform secretly about me to Antioch, so that indignation does not kindle in people. I rest as the Lord wished. Do not hesitate to begin to rule in this place, for the Lord will reward you in heaven. " Rising from sleep, I said in fear: "Lord, remember me in the comfort of your holiness." And lifting up his clothes, I bowed down at his feet, and I kissed the feet of his feet. And holding his hand, I laid it on my eyes, saying at the same time: "Bless, I beg you, my lord." And I cried, and said: "What will remain for me of you as a keepsake?" When I said this, his body moved; I was afraid to touch him. XVII. And so that no one would know, I quickly went downstairs and sent my faithful brother to the bishop in Antioch. He quickly returned with three bishops, with them was the master of militum3 Ardavogiy with his people, and they installed a curtain around the pillar of the saint and placed their clothes there. And they had gold on them. And they laid him at the altar before the pillar, and they gathered there, and over that place the birds flew. They shouted and, as it were, mourned Simeon, so that everyone saw it. The bitter cries of the people and the roars of animals echoed for seven miles. And the mountains, and fields, and trees around the place indulged in extraordinary sorrow. A thundercloud even appeared in the area. I thought that an Angel would come to see him. About seven o'clock the seven elders were talking with an angel whose features were radiant and his clothes were as white as snow. And in fear and trembling I listened to his voice as long as I could listen to him; but who it was, I do not know. XVIII. When Simeon was laid on the funeral stretcher, the Pope of Antioch wanted to take at least one hair from his beard for blessing, and he held out his hand, and immediately it dried up. And many public prayers were performed for him, and only in this way was his hand restored to life. XIX. So, having laid the body on a stretcher, with the singing of psalms and hymns, they carried it to Antioch. All the same, the people who lived around these places wept bitterly, for the relics that protected them were carried away from them, and also because the bishop of Antioch ordered no one to touch his body. XX. After passing the fifth mile from Antioch, they entered a village called Meroe4, and there no one could move his body. Then one man, who had been deaf and dumb for forty years, quickly fell in front of the stretcher and immediately began to say: “You have arrived well, servant of God,” he exclaimed, “for your dust has healed me. And if I have deserved to live, then I will serve you all the days of my life. " And he got up, and took one of the mules that were carrying the stretcher, and immediately withdrew from that place. And so the man was cured from that hour. His sin was this. He loved another man's wife and wanted to seduce her, but could not do it. She died and her body was placed in a tomb. He came and destroyed her grave, and at the same moment became deaf and dumb and was tied to that place for forty years. XXI. Then all came out of the city of Antioch and, supporting the body of Saint Simeon over gold and silver, with psalms and hymns, in the shining of many lamps, they carried him to the main church, and from there to another, which is called Repentance. Many miracles were over his grave, even more than during his lifetime. But the man who regained his health served there until the very day of his death. Many brought treasures to the Bishop of Antioch, by faith, begging for part of the relics of the saint's body, but he, because of an oath, did not give them to anyone. Translated from Latin by M. Timofeev Simeon Stolpnik(Greek Συμεών ὁ Στυλίτης; circa 390 - September 2, 459) - Syrian Orthodox monk, the founder of a new form of asceticism - stolpniki. He is famous for having spent 37 years on the pillar in fasting and prayer, as well as for other unparalleled ascetic deeds. He was a preacher, according to his life, he received from God the gift to heal mental and physical illnesses, to foresee the future. Revered as a saint in the Orthodox (commemorated September 1 according to the Julian calendar) and Catholic (commemorated January 5) churches. He should be distinguished from the Monk Simeon the Stylite Divnogorets (+ 596; Comm. 24 May), who also asceticised in the vicinity of Syrian Antioch. Information about the life of Simeon the Stylite is reported by Theodorite of Kirsky in the book "History of God-lovers". He was born in the village of Sisan on the border of Kirestika and Cilicia in a Christian family and was baptized as a child. Hearing the reading of the Gospel Beatitudes in the church, Simeon asked the elder who was standing next to explain their meaning, and after his sermon he left for a desolate place and began his ascetic deeds. Life reports that, praying to God with a request to show him the way to salvation, Simeon received a vision that he was digging a kind of moat for a building, and his voice urged him to dig deeper and deeper. After calling him three times to dig, a voice told him - “ if you want to build a building, do it, but work hard, for without labor you won't be able to do anything". After that Simeon came to one of the monasteries, where he lay in front of the gates for seven days and on the eighth was received by the abbot among the brethren and at the age of 18 he took monastic vows. In the monastery, Simeon began to exhaust his body, which caused bewilderment to the brethren: Simeon once went to a well to draw water. Taking a rope from a scoop, very stiff, woven from palm branches, he wrapped it around his naked body, starting from the hips to the neck, so tightly that the rope cut into the body. Ten days passed, and his body was festering from wounds, and many worms swarmed in these wounds. The brethren began to complain to the abbot: The hegumen questioned Simeon and found out that he was wearing a hair shirt, and said that he should not exhaust himself so much at such a young age. Simeon's hair shirt was removed, and his wounds gradually healed, but the brethren continued to notice that the young monk was exhausting his body, and the abbot ordered Simeon to leave the monastery. He spent some time all alone, settling in a waterless well. Once the abbot had a dream that a multitude of people surrounded his monastery and began to demand that Simeon be brought to them, threatening to burn the monastery. After that, he sent the monks in search of Simeon, who removed him from the well and brought him to the monastery. However, he soon left the monastery again and settled near the village of Talanissa. There he decided to test himself by fasting for forty days, which he did during a visit to the village by Bishop Wass: … Having put bread and water in the cell, he blocked the doors with stones and set off on his way. As soon as forty days had passed, he again came to the monk and, throwing stones, opened the doors and entered the cell. Here he saw that the monk, like a dead man, was lying on the ground, and the bread and water were intact in the same place where they were placed: the great fasting man did not even touch them. Taking a sponge, Vass washed and cooled the lips of the monk, and as soon as he recovered a little, he communed him with the Divine Mysteries. After that Simeon strengthened himself by taking light food. In 423 he chooses the form of asceticism that glorified him - he retires on a small stone platform at the top of the pillar (tower) and spends all his days in prayer and sermons, which he delivers to numerous pilgrims. Remains of the pillar on which Simeon the Stylite stood The Life ascribes to the Monk Simeon numerous miracles and predictions of the future (for example, the prediction of Theodosius, the founder of the Palestinian communal monasticism, pastoral ministry). While standing on the pillar, according to the life, Simeon was tempted by the devil, who appeared to him in the form of an angel on a fiery chariot and said that for his deeds Simeon, like the prophet Elijah, would be lifted up to heaven alive. Simeon was about to stand on the chariot with one foot, but he made the sign of the cross, and the vision disappeared. Repented, Simeon stood for a year on the leg which he wanted to get on the chariot. Life reports that the devil struck that leg with an ulcer and “ the body rotted on the leg, many worms appeared, and pus with worms oozed from the wound down the pillar to the ground. One young man named Anthony collected worms that fell to the ground, and, at the command of the holy sufferer, again carried them to him on a pillar. But the saint, enduring the illness with great patience, like the second Job, applied worms to the wound, saying: 'Eat what God sent you.'. Emperor Theodosius II the Younger (408-450) greatly respected the Monk Simeon and often followed his advice. When the emperor died, his widow Evdokia began to patronize the Monophysites. The Monophysites did not recognize in Christ two natures - Divine and human, but only one Divine. The Monk Simeon sent Eudokia to Euphemia the Great, who lived in the Palestinian desert, a well-known ascetic of his time. It " consoled Evdokia, convinced her of her delusions and returned to Orthodoxy». The new emperor Marcian (450-457), dressed as a commoner, secretly visited the monk and consulted with him. On the advice of the Monk Simeon, Marcian convened the IV Ecumenical Council in Chalcedon in 451, which condemned the Monophysite teaching. The first life of Simeon the Stylite was compiled by his disciple Anthony. The exploits of Simeon inspired many ascetics of faith and piety, and a new direction of Christian asceticism arose - stolpniki. His first follower was Daniel, who, with the blessing of Simeon, repeated his asceticism in Thrace. Of the Russian pillars, the most famous are Nikita, Savva Vishersky and Seraphim of Sarov, who, imitating Simeon, prayed to God for 1000 days while standing on a stone. In the country of Cappadocia39, in the village of Sisan, lived the Christians Susotion and Martha. God blessed their marriage with the birth of a son, whom they named Simeon and, according to Christian custom, washed them with a baptismal bath40. This youth was brought up not in book learning, but in simplicity and gentleness; but the wisdom of God often instills in ordinary people and chooses them as his instrument in order to shame the wisdom of this age (1 Cor. 15:21). The future shepherd of the verbal sheep41 Simeon, when he was thirteen years old, began to feed his father's flock of sheep. Like Jacob, Moses and David, who also tended the sheep and were rewarded with divine revelations, Simeon was also called by God. Once, during the winter, the sheep were not driven out to the pasture for several days, because a lot of snow fell42. Free from business, the blessed youth went to church with his father and mother on Sunday. Simeon listened attentively to what was being sung and read in the church, and he heard the Holy Gospel, in which the beggars were called blessed, weeping, meek and pure in heart43. He asked an honest old man who was standing next to him what these words meant. Guided by the Spirit of God, the elder began to explain to Simeon and lecture him for a long time, showing him the way to spiritual poverty, purity, God's love and a virtuous life. The good seeds of the elder's teachings fell on good soil: for immediately a zealous striving for God arose in Simeon's soul and a strong desire to walk the close path leading to Him grew (Luke 13:24; Matthew 7:14). He put it in his mind - immediately give up everything and strive only for what he wanted. Bowing to the honest elder and thanking him for the useful teaching, Simeon said to him: 39 Cappadocia is a region in Asia Minor. Cappadocia was formerly an independent state. From 363 to 370 BC, it was first ruled by the Persians and then the Macedonians. Then, until 16 AD, it again had its own kings. In 17, under the emperor Tiberias, it was united with Pontus and Lesser Armenia and turned into a Roman province. At the end of the XI century. (1074) Cappadocia fell under the rule of the Turks and still belongs to them. During the time of St. Simeon's Christianity flourished here. Great teachers of the Church: St. Gregory Nazianzen, his friend St. Basil the Great, brother of St. Basil St. Gregory of Nyssa were a Cappadocian family. Icon, Prayers to the Monk Simeon the Stylite September 1, all dates are in the old style All the Holy Saints ... Born in the Cappadocian village of Sisan into a Christian family of Susotion and Martha. From the age of 13, he began to graze his father's sheep. He treated this first obedience conscientiously and with love. Once Simeon, having heard the Gospel commandments of the Beatitudes in the church, was shocked by their depth. Not trusting his own immature judgment, he immediately turned to an experienced elder with questions. The elder willingly explained to the youth the content of what he had heard and finally strengthened his resolve to follow the Gospel path. Without going home, Simeon went to the nearest monastery and, after tearful requests, was accepted into the number of the brethren a week later. When Simeon was 18 years old, he took monastic vows and devoted himself to the exploits of the strictest abstinence and unceasing prayer. His zeal, unbearable for the rest of the monastic brethren, alarmed the abbot, and he suggested that the monk either moderate his ascetic deeds or leave the monastery. Monk Simeon the Stylite, Antioch Then the Monk Simeon withdrew from the monastery and settled at the bottom of a dry well, where he could freely fulfill his severe vows. After some time, angels appeared to the abbot in a dream vision, who ordered him to return Simeon to the monastery. However, the monk did not stay long at the monastery. Soon he retired to a stone cave located near the village of Galanissa, and lived there for three years, improving more and more in monastic exploits. The rumor about the Monk Simeon reached the highest church hierarchy and the imperial court. Patriarch Domnin II of Antioch visited the monk, served the Divine Liturgy on the pillar, and gave the sacrament to the ascetic of the Holy Mysteries. The fathers who had labored in the wilderness also learned about the Monk Simeon, who had chosen such a difficult form of asceticism. Desiring to test the new ascetic and to find out whether his exorbitant deeds were pleasing to God, they sent their messengers to him, who, on behalf of the fathers, were to order the Monk Simeon to descend from the pillar. In case of disobedience, they had to forcibly drag him to the ground, and if he showed obedience, they were instructed on behalf of the fathers to bless him to continue the feat. The monk displayed complete obedience and deep Christian humility. The monk gradually increased the height of the pillar on which he stood. His last pillar was 40 cubits high. A double fence was erected around him, which prevented the disorderly crowds of people from coming too close to the monk and disturbing his prayer concentration. Women were not allowed outside the fence at all. In this, the monk did not make an exception even for his own mother, who, after a long and unsuccessful search, finally managed to find her missing son. Not having achieved a date, she died, crouching against the fence that surrounded the pillar. Then the monk asked to bring the coffin to him and reverently bade farewell to his deceased mother - and then her dead face beamed with a blissful smile. The Monk Simeon the Stylite spent 80 years in intensified monastic exploits, of which 47 he stood on the pillar. God granted him to fulfill in such unusual conditions a truly apostolic ministry - many pagans accepted Baptism, shocked by the moral fortitude and bodily strength that the Lord gave to His ascetic. The first to know about the death of the monk was his closest disciple Anthony. Alarmed that his mentor had not shown himself to the people for 3 days, he climbed the pillar and found his dead body bowed in prayer. The burial of the monk was performed by Patriarch Martyrius of Antioch with a huge gathering of clergy and people. He was buried near the pillar. Anthony built a monastery on the site of his exploits, where the special blessing of the Monk Simeon rested. Kontakion 1 Chosen servitor of Christ, a lamp of peace and a healer of mental and physical ailments, reverend our father Simeone, who shines in the world, like a star of God, of your life with kindness and many miracles, we bless your exploits and labors, for the sake of the inheritance of the Kingdom of Heaven by you, glorifying the Lord glorifying, with warm love, crying ti: Ikos 1 Thou had an angelic disposition, our God-bearing Father Simeone, and as if you were incorporeal, immaculate life you performed on earth, leaving us a wondrous image of spiritual perfection, but we imitate your virtue, and leading you to the wonderful chosen one of God to be, these praises to you, as if you should, with love we bring: Kontakion 2 Seeing with the spiritual gaze in the days of your youth, Saint Simeone, vanity of vanities and pride of life, rejecting the sinful ways of the world, and Christ for us Crucified with all your soul and with all your thoughts you loved, with eternal wisdom illuminated, tirelessly proclaimed with your heart to the Enlightened and called Jesus : Hallelujah! Ikos 2 With a bright mind and a pure heart, you obeyed the will of God, wonderful Simeone, as if you surpassed your peer in love to Our Lord, as if you did not doubt the honest elder about the words of the Holy Gospel. Following his divinely inspired verb, at the same hour you firmly desired to leave all the red of this world and to drink by the narrow path leading to the eternal belly. For this, for the sake of crying out: Kontakion 3 By the power and blessing of the All-Holy Spirit, moved, blessed Simeone, you left your earthly father in order to serve only the heavenly Father, and be not the heir of the righteous riches of the earth, but the imperishable treasures of heaven; thinking about this, you called out to Our Wise and Merciful Creator: Hallelujah! Ikos 3 Having a desire from youth to live a monastic life, to the search for a single one for need, you directed your thoughts, Christ's servitor Simeone, the same love for Christ's sake, having freed all vain addictions, you flowed to a single monastery. The blessed abbot of that monastery, foreseeing thee of God's chosen one, in the past days has tested you, as if you want the Lord to work, and face your brethren. And we all honor thee: Kontakion 4 Calming the storm of passions, as if the meek lamb of the spiritual fathers you listened to and, for your humility, still young, you were vouchsafed to the image of the angel, in the same abstinence and labors you aggravated, all carnal wisdom you laid aside, venerable father, and like a warrior Having acquired the armor of salvation, and armed with the invincible weapon of the Cross of Christ, you strongly fought against the enemy of the invisible devil, conquering his ascended pride with deep humility, and take out a cry to the Lord: Hallelujah. Ikos 4 Hearing the Lord's verb: "At whom I will look, only at the meek and humble, trembling words of My words," you, holy Simeon, vainly adorn yourself with these virtues. For that sake, we please you: Kontakion 5 A divinely most luminous star, in the gloom of vanity and trembling of this world, shining, truly like you appeared, venerable our father Simeon, you strengthen with grace, you have raised new and great labors in the name of love to the Lord. For fear's sake, as the brethren, who imitate you, will not perceive feats according to reason, command the abbot to get away from them. You, without malice, fulfilling his will, in the desert, in a well of waterlessness, you settled in, packs and tamo you brought angelic singing to Christ God: Hallelujah! Ikos 5 Seeing the blessed hegumen Timothy a vision in a dream, as if a multitude of people came to his monastery and inquired about the Monk Simeon, having risen from a dream, he told the brethren this. Abiye, on the other hand, bought them with them to go to the desert and urge you to return and serve as people not only by prayer, but by a wise word. Respectfully your exploits, and we honor thee by duty: Kontakion 6 The preacher of the true life in Christ Jesus appeared, glorious Father Simone, gathering lukewarm people into the Church on earth. In it is the Holy Tree of Life, the Holy Altar of Reconciliation, the life of the faithful exudes. The Church is more a spiritual hospital, the joy of those who rejoice, the consolation of those who are discouraged. Even so, thou didst convert many to Christ the Life-Giver, singing thanksgiving to Him: Alleluia. Ikos 6 Thou art shone with the gifts of God's grace to all who came to you in the days of your earthly life, venerable our father Simeone, and you were the warring ones - the reconciler, the suffering - the healer, the grieving - the comforter, the natural elements - the God-given conqueror and the immutable prayer book to the Creator throughout the world. But we, believing that you, our holy patron, remain with us after death, humbly bring you this praise: Kontakion 7 Although your deeds are even more aggravated, as if you climbed the ladder leading to heaven, you ascended to the top of the mountain: if you do not come down from there, fix yourself on it with fetters, having listened to the words of St. Meletius, not the flesh, but the mind in Christ's obedience, captivated, to the end of your life cried: Hallelujah! Ikos 7 Having seen the new one of God's chosen one, the blessed gifts that have been abundantly acquired in the hedgehog of soul and body to heal, drive out evil spirits and give something good to salvation, people will flow to you from afar. Thou didst pour out healing to those who came to you, and you gave your good help to everyone in trouble, illness and sorrow, and to those who came to you with hope. Likewise, we praise thee with love, father, and cry out to thee: Kontakion 8 You have created a strange life, blessedly, when you see that there are many people coming to you, understand how they honor and glorify you. Escaping glory, loving humility, you were pleased to remain on a pillar high, and, as if by the degree of the ladder to the heavens, the height of sunrise, and scum, and rain, and enduring scorching heat, the Lord ceaselessly sang: Hallelujah! Ikos 8 Be filled with obedience all the time the Fathers are tired of the sacred wilderness. Obeying their will, like the will of God, you pondered to descend from your pillar to the earth, the hedgehog and seeing, understanding that your work is from God and your verb to stay on your pillar unrestrained. Then the enemy of the human race will try to tempt you: in the image of an angel of light to appear, you, blessedly, did not comprehend for a moment the flattery of the enemy and with the sign of the honest cross you defeated cunning. Afterwards, you have brought repentance to the Lord, and this also we, having learned, praise thee: Kontakion 9 Every angelic nature was astonished at the great gift from above, as if you showed an immaterial life on earth, and in the flesh, as incorporeal, you appeared. For this reason, you have received the gift of miracles of creation from the Lord, and you have exuded the mercy of God through your prayers to people who are suffering, you have approved many of them in the saving faith, for all teaching us the Eternal Lord to give thanks, singing to Him: Alleluia. Ikos 9 Vetiya supernatural will not be able to explain the power of your miracles, they are for the glory of God and you did the wonderful name of the Lord. You have acquired the miraculous power of wondrous grace in your saints from God, venerable our father Simeon, by a high life according to the commandment of the Lord. The source of Bo and the foundation of the gift of miraculous work is the grace and love of God, pouring out on you through prayer, the integrity and purity of your heart, most blessed. And the people of Mnoziah healed at your pillar with your holy prayers. Remembering the great miracles of God, you have not lost your image to this day, with joy we bring you such praises: Kontakion 10 To save the sinner and call upon him to repentance, you followed the footsteps of Our Lord Jesus Christ and, running under your roof, the robber Jonathan, who wanted to kill him, you did not betray, but seeing the command of his repentance, you reconciled him with the Lord, so that he would improve the blessedness of heaven. in eternity he praised the All-Merciful Man-lover God with a song of thanks: Hallelujah! Ikos 10 You were a faithful servant of the Heavenly King and the Lord, but to your children you were a spiritual father and teacher of many mercy. A multitude of people, both faithful and unfaithful, I come to you, and a good and many-merciful helper appeared to everyone, healing all mental and bodily diseases, especially those who did not believe with the light of Christ's Gospel, you enlightened. Sice ask you for help: strengthen our weak faith, join those who are lukewarm and have little faith in Christ and His Church, and graciously accept this magnificence: Kontakion 11 We lift up the sweet singing with hope, our holy father Simeone, and we ask you: us and our neighbors, wandering in the sea of this passionate life given to you from the Sun of the Truth of Christ Jesus, the true God, with grace illuminate and transform our nature darkened by sins, the darkness of sorrow and drive away the darkness of all ailments and sorrows, instruct everyone who flows to you with faith on the saved path, leading to the eternal Heavenly Fatherland, so that we will be honored with you for ever to the Lord to sing: Hallelujah. Ikos 11 Thou didst truly appear in the Heavenly vessel chosen, when your hour from this world is ready to go to the villages, beloved and desired. You are inspired by unchanging hope and fervent faith, you have betrayed your holy soul in the hand of the Living God, You have loved Him from youth, and You have worked unfeignedly for Him until old age, you have worked unfeignedly with good hope, and you have happily passed to the heavenly abode, where the Creator of the Universe Himself thee is the crown of thy incorruptible glory. That is why we ask you: and do not leave us sinners with your prayers favorable to the Lord, from the depths of our souls calling to you: Kontakion 12 Seek grace and mercy from the All-Holy Trinity, venerable our Father Simeon, all who honor thee with love and reverence; Take in our sighing, and do not despise our tender tears, do not leave us, as if you promised not to leave either your pillar or the mountain, which you have chosen, and wake up for a good deed by the man who comes running to you, under your shelter preserved, the Lord singing about you: Hallelujah! Ikos 12 Singing about your life, blessed Father, we glorify the All-Merciful Creator and Our Lord, as giving thee to all those seeking salvation a fair amount of helper and firm intercessor. To the same to us, your holy memory, Venerable Simeon, who revere your firm helping hand, give your help and take away your sins from the deadly depths, and other times of life in true repentance, help us, with hope and love crying to you now: Kontakion 13 O great and wondrous servant of God, venerable our father Simeon! Now stand before the throne of God in ineffable glory and bring our petitions to the Lord, and accept this small prayer for us sinners, in this temporary life help us and gracefully strengthen us, and in the future life of the heavenly mansions with your prayers, be able to reach with your prayers, as if Christ is bought with you. Our Savior, let us call: Alieluya! Sey Kontakion verbs three times. And paki Ikos 1st; and Kondak 1st.SIMEON THE STUDNIT
Troparion, voice 1Kontakion, voice 2
Prayer to the Monk Simeon the Stylite
ACAPHIST TO THE RIGHT SIMEON OF THE GOD
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Exaltation
All Orthodox Christians, filled with your miracles and blessed with mercies, confess you as their patron and protector.
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Kondak of Saint Simeon, voice 2:
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Prayer
I, the worthless sinner Anthony, composed, as far as I could, this short story. Blessed is he who takes the description of this in the form of a book and reads it in the church and in the house of God. And whoever creates memory for him, he will receive a reward from the Highest.Biography
- Where did you bring this man to us? It is impossible to endure him: the stench comes from him. Nobody can stand next to him. When he walks, worms fall from him: his bed is also full of worms.
Followers of Simeon the Stylite
Memory
To the cinema
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“You have now become a father and mother for me, a teacher for good deeds and a leader for my salvation.
Immediately after this Simeon left the church and, without going home, retired in a place convenient for prayer. Here he prostrated himself on the ground in a cruciform manner44 and with weeping prayed the Lord to show him the way to salvation. For a long time he lay there and prayed: at last he fell asleep and in a dream he saw such a vision. He dreamed that he was digging a moat for some building. And then he hears a voice saying: "dig deeper!" He began to dig deeper; then, thinking that it was already 45, he stopped, but again heard a voice commanding to dig even deeper. Again he began to dig, and when he stopped again, for the third time the same voice urged him to the same work. Finally he heard:
- Stop doing that. Now, if you want to build a building, build it, but work hard, for without labor you will not be able to do anything.
This wonderful vision came true over Simeon himself. In his deep humility, he laid such a foundation for the improvement of himself and others that his virtues and deeds seemed to be above human nature.
After this vision, Simeon got up and went to one of the monasteries in his native country. The abbot47 of this monastery was Blessed Timothy. Simeon fell to the ground in front of the monastery gates and lay for seven days, suffering hunger and thirst. On the eighth day, the abbot left the monastery and began to ask Simeon where he was from, where he was going, what his name was, whether he had done any evil and whether he had run away from his masters. Simeon, falling at the feet of the abbot, with a cry said to him:
- No, father, I'm not one of those; I did not harm anyone, but I wish to serve God with all diligence. Have mercy on me, a sinner: tell me to enter the monastery and be a servant to everyone.
Seeing God's calling in him, the abbot took him by the hand and led him into the monastery, saying to the brethren:
- Teach him how to live the monastic and monastic rules and regulations.
Having settled in the monastery, Simeon obeyed everyone and served without question. In a short time he learned by heart the entire Psalter. Still only eighteen years old from birth, he had already been tonsured into monasticism and soon surpassed all the monks of that monastery in the severity of his life. So some of the brethren ate food only once a day, in the evening, others - on the third day, but he did not eat food for a whole week.
Simeon's parents searched for him for two years and could not find him, since God was hiding him. They cried a lot for their son and grieved so much that his father died of grief. Simeon, having found a father for himself in God, gave himself up to Him from his youth.
While in the Lavra, 48 blessed Simeon once went to a well to draw water. Taking a rope from a scoop49, very stiff, woven from palm branches50, he wrapped it around his naked body, starting from the thighs to the neck, so tightly that the rope cut into the body. Ten days passed, and his body was festering from wounds, and many worms boiled in these wounds. The brethren began to complain to the abbot:
- Where did you bring this man to us? It is impossible to endure him: the stench comes from him. Nobody can stand next to him. When he walks, worms fall from him: his bed is also full of worms.
The abbot was surprised to hear about this; but, convinced that everything said to him was true, he asked Simeon:
- Tell me, child, why does such a stench come from you?
But Simeon, lowering his gaze, stood silently before the abbot. The hegumen was angry and ordered to forcefully pull off Simeon's outer garment. Then they saw that his hair shirt51 was covered in blood, and a rope had cut deep into his body to the very bones. Both the abbot and all those who were with him were horrified. With great difficulty, they could hardly remove this rope from Simeon, since the expelled body was also torn off with it. Simeon, patiently enduring these sufferings, said:
- Let me go like a stinking dog: I deserve this suffering for my sins.
- You are only eighteen years old, - the abbot said to him, - what are your sins?
- Father! - answered Simeon, - the prophet said: I was conceived in iniquity, and in sin my mother gave birth to me (Ps. 50: 7).
Hearing such an answer, the abbot was amazed at the prudence of Simeon and was amazed that such a simple young man could be so deeply imbued with the fear of God. He began, however, to convince him not to make himself such torments.
“There is no benefit,” he said, “to start something that is beyond strength: it is enough for a student if he will be like his teacher (cf. Matt. 10:24).
It took a long time for Simeon's wounds to heal. But when Simeon recovered, the abbot and the brethren again noticed that he, like before, was exhausting his body. Then, fearing that other weaker ones might imitate him and become themselves the culprits of their death, the abbot ordered Simeon to leave the monastery. Leaving the monastery, Simeon wandered for a long time in the desert and in the mountains, until, finally, he found a waterless well, in which the reptiles lived. Having descended into this well, Simeon began to pray to God there.
Some time after this, the abbot saw a vision at night, as if a multitude of people with weapons and candles in their hands surrounded the monastery and exclaimed:
- Where is Simeon, the servant of God? Show us someone who is so favorable to God and the angels. If you do not show it to us, then we will burn you and your entire monastery. Simeon is above all of you and God will perform many miracles through him on earth.
Rising from sleep, the abbot announced his terrible vision to the brethren and told them what horror he had endured because of Simeon. He sent everywhere to look for Simeon and even went in search of himself. Taking with him some of the brethren, the abbot walked through the wilderness and through the caves, looking for the ascetic. Soon he met shepherds grazing flocks of sheep, and after questioning them, he learned that Simeon was in an empty well. Hurrying to this well, the abbot began to call Simeon:
- Are you here, servant of God?
- Leave me, holy fathers, - answered Simeon, - only for a short time, until I give up my spirit: my soul is exhausted, for I have angered the Lord.
But the monks forcibly pulled him out of the well and brought him to the monastery. Having lived here for a short time, Blessed Simeon secretly left the monastery and began to wander again in the mountains and the desert. Guided by the Spirit of God, he came to a mountain located near the village of Talanissa, and, finding here a small cell 52 carved into the rock, he shut himself up in it. He stayed in this cell for three years. Here he remembered how Moses and Elijah fasted for forty days (Ex. 24:18; 1 Kings 19: 8), and wished to test himself in the same fast. At this time, the bishop of that country, by the name of Vass, came to Talanissa, visiting the churches in cities and villages. Hearing about the blessed Simeon, the bishop came to him. Simeon began to beg him to lock the doors of his cell for forty days, without giving him any food. But the bishop did not agree.
“It is not fitting,” he said, “for a man to kill himself with immeasurable fasting: for it is rather a sin than a virtue.
- Then give me, father, - the monk answered him, - only bread and water, so that, if it turns out to be necessary, I could slightly nourish my body with food.
Wass did just that: having put bread and water in the cell, he blocked the doors with stones and set off on his way. As soon as forty days had passed, he again came to the monk and, throwing stones, opened the doors and entered the cell. Here he saw that the monk, like a dead man, was lying on the ground, and the bread and water were intact in the same place where they had been placed: the great fasting man did not even touch them.
Taking a sponge, Vass washed and cooled the lips of the monk, and as soon as he recovered a little, he communed him with the Divine Mysteries. After this Simeon strengthened himself by eating light food. The bishop told about such great abstinence of Simeon for the benefit of many brethren. From that time the monk also began to fast every year at St. at four, he did not drink or eat anything, and spent time in unceasing prayer, standing on his feet for twenty days, and sitting for twenty days from great fatigue.
After spending three years in his cramped stone cell, Simeon ascended to the very top of the mountain. And in order not to leave here, he took an iron chain, twenty cubits long, 53 and with one end of it bound his legs, and the other end chained to the mountain. In this position, the monk all the time turned his gaze to heaven, his mind ascending to the One who is above heaven.
The archpastor of the Church of Antioch, Blessed Meletius, heard about the ascetic and came to visit him. Seeing that Simeon was chained to the mountain, he said:
- A person can control himself without shackles; it is possible not with iron, but only with reason and will to tie oneself to one place.
The monk, hearing this, hastened to take advantage of the instruction given and, wishing to be a voluntary prisoner of Christ, he took off his shackles and tied himself up with one will, “casting down thought and every exaltation that rose up against the knowledge of God and we take every thought captive into obedience to Christ” (2 Cor. 10: 5) 54
The fame of the holy ascetic spread everywhere. And everyone began to come to him - not only those who lived around, but also from distant countries, those who had to make a long journey for this. Some of them brought their sick to him, others asked for healing to the sick lying at home; some were themselves possessed by troubles and sorrows, others suffered torment from demons. And none of those who came to the monk did not return without consolation, but each received what was requested: some - healing, some - consolation, some - useful instruction, the other - some other kind of help. All returned to their homes with joy, glorifying God. The monk, if anyone received healing through his prayers, he always said:
- Glorify the Lord, who gave you healing, and do not dare to say that Simeon healed you - so that a greater calamity does not happen to you.
Like rivers, various peoples and tribes flowed to Simeon: they came to him from Arabia and Persia, from Armenia and Iberia55, from Italy, Spain and Britain. Thus God glorified Him who glorified Him. When such a multitude of people gathered to Simeon and everyone tried to touch him, accepting a blessing from him, the blessed one became burdened with such reverence and anxiety. And he invented an unprecedented way to get rid of the hustle and bustle of the people: so that those who come could not touch him, he conceived to build a pillar and stand on it. Having erected such a pillar, he made a cramped dwelling of two cubits on it, and here he began to spend his life in fasting and prayer. And he was the first pillar. The pillar was six cubits high, and Saint Simeon stood on it for several years. After that, the height of the pillar was increased to twenty cubits, and then to thirty-six. So the monk, with pillars of different heights, like ladders, ascended to the heavenly land, enduring suffering, soaked in the rain and scorching heat in the summer, and enduring the cold in winter; his food was soaked water, 56 and his drink was water. Two stone fences were soon built around its pillar57.
The holy fathers who lived in the deserts heard about such a life of Simeon, and were amazed at his extraordinary deeds: for no one had yet invented such a life for himself to stand on a pillar. Desiring to test him, they sent to tell him:
- Why do you not follow the path of our fathers, but invented another - a new one? Get off the pillar and follow the life of the ancient hermits.
At the same time, they taught the sent ones that if Simeon did not obey, they would force him to come down from the pillar; if he listens and wishes to come down, then leave him as he began: for then, they said, it will be clear that his new way of living is from God. When the messengers came to Simeon and announced the decision of the council of the holy hermit fathers, he immediately set foot on the stairs, wanting to go down.
Seeing this, the messengers cried out:
- No, don't go, holy father, but stay on the pillar: now we know that the work you started is from God. May He be your helper and end.
Domnos, patriarch of Antioch, successor of Saint Meletios, came to Simeon and, seeing his life, marveled and talked with him for a long time about what is good for the soul. Then the patriarch performed the divine service, and both of them received the Divine Mysteries.
After this, the patriarch returned to Antioch; the monk, however, indulged in even greater exploits, arming himself against the invisible foe. Then the devil, a hater of all good, assumed the form of a bright angel and appeared to the saint near the pillar on a chariot of fire with fiery horses, as if descending from heaven, and said:
- Listen, Simeon! The God of heaven and earth sent me to you, as you see, with a chariot and horses, so that I, like Elijah, would take you to heaven (2 Kings 2:11); for you are worthy of such honor for the holiness of your life, and the hour has come for you to partake of the fruits of your labors and receive the crown of praise from the hand of the Lord. Hurry, servant of the Lord, to see your Creator and worship Him who created you in His own image; angels and archangels with prophets, apostles and martyrs also wish to see you.
The saint did not recognize the enemy's seduction and said:
- Lord! Do you want to take me, a sinner, to heaven?
And Simeon raised his right foot to step on the fiery chariot, but at the same time he made the sign of the cross over himself. Then the devil with the chariot disappeared like dust swept away by the wind. And Simeon knew the demonic seduction, repented and executed his leg, which he wanted to step on the demonic chariot, by standing on that leg for a whole year.
The devil, not tolerating such a feat, struck the monk's leg with a fierce ulcer, and the body rotted on his leg, a multitude of worms appeared, and pus with worms oozed down the pillar onto the ground from the wound. One young man named Anthony59 collected the worms that fell to the ground, and, at the command of the holy sufferer, again carried them to him on a pillar. The saint, enduring the illness with great patience, like the second Job, applied worms to the wound, saying: "Eat what God sent you."
At that time the prince of Saracen60 Vasilik, having heard a lot about Saint Simeon, came to him and, having talked with him, received great benefit and believed in Christ. Seeing the worm that fell to the ground from the saint's wound, the prince took it in his hand and walked away. The monk turned him around and said:
- Why did you take the stinking worm that fell from my rotten body into your honest hands?
Vasilik, straightening his hand, found a precious pearl in it and said:
- This is not a worm, but a pearl.
“It was according to your faith for you,” said the monk.
And the Saracen, having received a blessing from him, went home.
Many years passed, and the saint's mother, Martha, learning about her son, came to see him and, stopping at the entrance to the fence, wept deeply. But Simeon did not want to see her and sent to her to say:
- Do not disturb me now, my mother, - if we deserve it, I'll see you in the next world.
She longed to see him even more; and again sent the blessed one to her, begging her to wait a little in silence.
She lay down before the door of the fence and here she gave up her spirit to the Lord. St. Simeon immediately learned of her death and gave orders to bring her body to the pillar. Seeing his mother, he began to pray for her with tears. During his prayer, movements were noticeable in the body of Saint Martha, and a smile appeared on her face. All who saw this were amazed, praising God. They buried her at the pillar, and the saint remembered his mother in prayer twice every day. Soon afterwards, they again changed the pillar to the saint and made him a new one of forty cubits. On this pillar the monk stood until his very blessed death.
In the vicinity of the place where the monk spent his wondrous life, there was no water - it was brought from afar, from which those who came to the monk and their animals suffered greatly. The monk, seeing this suffering from the lack of water, prayed earnestly to God that He would send water, as once thirsty Israel in the wilderness (Num. 20: 2-10). And then, at about ten o'clock in the afternoon, the earth suddenly shook and settled on the eastern side of the fence, where a kind of cave opened, in which, beyond all expectation, there was a lot of water. The saint commanded to excavate that place seven cubits around, and water flowed from there in abundance.
One woman, feeling thirsty at night, swallowed a small snake with the water. This snake began to grow in the womb of the woman and became large. The woman looked green like grass, and many doctors treated her, but could not heal. They brought her to Saint Simeon. The blessed one said: "give her to drink with the water here." And when the woman began to drink, a large snake came out of her; crawling to the pillar, the snake immediately disintegrated into parts.
Some people, walking from afar to the monk, fleeing the heat, stopped under a tree to rest a little. Sitting there in the shade, they saw a pregnant deer walking by and shouted to her:
- With the prayers of Saint Simeon we conjure you, wait a little!
And a wonderful miracle happened: the deer stopped. So even the beasts became meek and obedient in the name of the saint! Grabbing the deer, the travelers killed it, peeled it off and prepared themselves a meal of its meat. But as soon as they began to eat, suddenly struck by the wrath of God, they lost their human voice and began to scream like deer. They ran at a run to Saint Simeon, carrying with them the skin of a deer, as a denunciation of their sin. They stayed at the pillar for two years and could hardly be healed and speak humanly; and the skin of a deer was hung on a pillar as a testimony of what had happened.
On the very mountain where Saint Simeon ascended, not far from the pillar settled a terrible serpent, because of which even the grass did not grow in the place of that. Once a bough, about the size of an elbow, stuck into the snake's right eye and caused severe pain to the snake. Then the serpent crawled to the pillar of the monk and, lying before the doors of the fence, bent over, as if showing humility and asking for mercy from Saint Simeon. And when the saint looked at him, immediately the branch fell out of his eye, and the serpent stayed there three days, lying before the door like a sheep. All fearlessly came and left without any harm from him. When the eye was completely healed, the serpent went into its lair. And everyone looked and wondered at this wonderful miracle.
In that country lived a pard61, a large and very terrible beast, devouring both people and cattle. No one dared to pass by the place where the beast settled - and he did a lot of misfortunes around the neighborhood. They announced him to the monk. He commanded to take the earth from his fence and water from the same place and, going around the place where the beast was, sprinkle and sprinkle from afar. And they did as the saint commanded. After a little time, seeing that the beast did not appear anywhere, they went to look for it and found it dead, lying on the very ground that had been taken from the fence of the monk. And everyone glorified God.
Soon another beast, fiercer than the first, appeared in that country, a verbal beast. This was a robber from Antioch62 named Jonathan. He killed many people on the roads and in houses, thieves and unexpectedly attacking villages and suburbs. No one could catch him, although many lay in wait for him on the road; he was very strong and brave, so that no one could resist him. When Antioch was agitated and soldiers were sent to take it, the robber, unable to hide from the numerous pursuit, ran to the fence of the Monk Simeon. Grasping the pillar like a harlot at Christ's feet (Luke 7: 37-38), he wept bitterly.
And he called to him from the height of the pillar of the saint:
- Who are you, where are you from and why did you come here?
He answered:
- I - Jonathan the robber, who did much of all evil, and I came here to repent of my sins.
As he spoke this, soldiers from Antioch came running and began to shout to the monk:
- Give us, father, our enemy, the robber, for the beasts are already prepared in the city to tear him to pieces!
But blessed Simeon said to them:
- My children! It was not I who brought him here, but God, who desires his repentance, sent him to me; if you can go inside, take him, but I cannot bring him out to you, for I am afraid of the One who sent him to me.
Hearing this and not daring not only to enter the fence, but even to utter a word against the saint, the soldiers returned with fear and told about everything in Antioch.
The robber stayed seven days at the pillar and wept with great weeping, falling down with prayer to God and confessing his sins. All those who were there, seeing his repentance and crying, were moved by themselves. After seven days the robber called to the saint:
- Father! Won't you tell me to go away?
- Are you returning to your evil deeds again? - the holy father told him.
- No, father, - he answered, - my time is ripe.
And while talking with him, he gave up his spirit to God. When the disciples of Saint Simeon wanted to bury the robber's body at the fence, the military commanders came from Antioch and began to shout:
- Give us, father, our enemy, because of whom the whole city was in confusion.
But the monk answered:
- The One who brought him to me came with a multitude of heavenly soldiers and took him, purified by repentance, to Himself; so don't bother me.
Seeing the reposed robber, the leaders were horrified and praised God, who did not want a sinner to die. Returning to the city, they announced what they had heard from the monk and what they had seen.
Standing on a pillar, like a candle on a candlestick, our Reverend Father Simeon appeared as a light for the world, enlightening the peoples who were in the darkness of idolatry, and instructing them to the light of the knowledge of the true God. Glory to the wondrous grace of God working in him! Standing in one place, the ascetic led so many to the faith, as if he went through the entire universe, teaching and preaching. For, like the sun, he emitted the rays of his virtuous life and sweet-speaking teaching and enlightened the surrounding countries. At his pillar one could see the Persians and Armenians receiving holy baptism; the Ishmaelites64 came in droves — two hundred, three hundred, and sometimes a thousand; with a cry they rejected the errors of their fathers, and bringing idols to the pillar, which they had venerated and worshiped from ancient times, smashed them at the pillar and trampled them underfoot; and having accepted the law of true faith from the honey-flowing tongue of the monk and having received the communion of the Divine Mysteries, they returned with great joy, enlightened by the light of the Holy Gospel.
One Saracen commander, whose relative was relaxed, prayed to the saint to give this patient healing. The saint gave orders to bring him to the pillar and asked:
- Do you deny the wickedness of your fathers?
He said:
- I deny it.
And again the saint asked:
- Do you believe in the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit?
The relaxed one confessed that he believed without any doubt.
Then the saint said, “Rise,” and immediately the young man got up healthy, as if he had no illness. And in order to more clearly show his recovery, the blessed one ordered the young man to take on his shoulders the military leader himself, fat in body, and carry him to his camp, which he did, throwing him on his shoulders like a sheaf. Seeing this, everyone gave praise to God, who works wonderful miracles through His saint.
The monk also had the gift of prophecy, for he predicted drought and famine, and a pestilence in two years, and also said that in thirty days locusts would come, and all this came true. Once in a vision he saw two rods descending from heaven, one of them falling to the east, the other to the west. The monk told about this vision to those who were with him and prophesied that the Persians and Scythians65 would rise up against the Greek and Roman regions. And with many tears and unceasing prayer, the monk propitiated God, so that He would turn away His righteous anger and would not allow the execution of that on Christians. And he pleaded with God for this: for all the Persian army, already ready for battle, by God's will, slowed down to march, and since the Persians began internecine feuds, they abandoned their intention.
Once it became known to the monk that the emperor Theodosius the Younger66 had returned to the Jews the prayer house, which had been given to the Christians. Immediately he sent a letter to the king and, not embarrassed by the king's face, threatened him with the wrath of God. After reading the letter, the tsar was afraid - again ordered the Christians to accept the house of prayer, the mayor, who advised the return of the church to the Jews, deposed him from the city administration and sent a prayer from himself to the monk, asking God. The monk admonished the wife of the same tsar, Queen Eudokia, who fell into the Eutychian heresy upon the death of her husband, 67 with his letters, and within four months again converted her to piety. Upon her conversion, having lived for another four years in repentance, she was honored with a blessed end in Jerusalem and was buried in the church of St. the first martyr Stephen, created by her. After Theodosius the Younger received the kingdom of Marcian, 68 he often secretly visited the monk and received much benefit from him.
The queen of Persia, having heard about the miracles and holiness of the Monk Simeon, sent to him asking for blessings and received from him blessed oil, which she revered as a great gift and kept with honor.
The queen of the Ishmaelites, being barren, sent to the monk, asking him to pray for her and hoping that through his holy prayers she would become a mother. And so it happened: for soon her sterility was resolved, and she gave birth to a son. Taking the baby, the queen set off on her way to the monk. But when she heard that women could not see the monk, for he did not even allow his mother to come to him, she sent her son in the arms of her servants, commanding them to say:
- Here, father, is the fruit of your holy prayers, bless this baby.
What to say about the incomprehensible deeds of the monk? It is impossible to express them, because they surpass human strength.
- I, - says Blessed Theodorite, - first of all am surprised at his patience: night and day he stands so that everyone can see him. It happened once that the doors and a large part of the upper wall collapsed from dilapidation, and until the wall and doors were rebuilt, the saint was visible to everyone for a long time. Then they saw a new and amazing sight: sometimes he stood motionless for a long time, sometimes he offered prayers to God, making frequent bows. One of those who stood at the pillar said that he wanted to count the bows that the ascetic did without ceasing, and, having counted one thousand two hundred and forty-four, he was exhausted and, being unable to look at the height of the pillar, stopped counting. The saint, however, did not faint from bows, but once a week he took food, and that was very small and light, became light and capable of frequent bows. After standing for a long time, an ulcer opened on his other leg, which did not heal, and a lot of blood flowed out of it. But even this suffering could not distract him from his divine thinking.
The voluntary martyr endured everything valiantly, but was forced to show his ulcer. One priest from Arabia, a kind and divinely inspired man, came to him and began to say:
- I ask you in the name of the Truth Itself, which attracted the human race to Itself, tell me: are you a human or an incorporeal creature?
- Why are you asking me about this? - said the monk to him.
“I heard about you,” the priest replied, “that you don’t eat, don’t drink, don’t sleep: but this is unusual for a person, and a person cannot live without food, drink and sleep.
And the monk commanded the priest to ascend to his pillar and allowed him to see and touch the ulcer, covered with pus and worms. The priest, seeing the ulcer and hearing about the monk that he ate food only once a week, marveled at the saint's patience and deeds.
With such deeds, doing so many miracles and pursuing such a virtuous life, the monk was meek and humble, as if he was lower and more obscene than all people. For everyone, his face was equally bright and his word was loving - both for the nobleman and for the slave, both for the rich and for the poor and for the very last monster: for he had no respect for persons. And all could not get enough - and the contemplation of his holy face, and his sweet-talked conversation, for his lips were filled with the grace of the Holy Spirit. Having the gift of wisdom, every day he filled the hearts of those who listened with a river of teaching, and many, guided by his teaching, left everything earthly and, like birds, ascended to grief - some going to monasteries, others to the desert, and others staying to live with him.
The daily routine of the life of the monk was as follows. All night and day until the ninth hour he stood in prayer, but after the ninth hour he spoke a lesson to those gathered at the pillar; then he listened to the needs and petitions of everyone who came to him and healed the sick. Then he tamed the quarrels and disputes of people and restored peace; finally, after sunset, he again turned to prayer. Carrying such labors, he did not stop caring for the church world, destroying pagan atheism, refuting Jewish blasphemy, uprooting heretical teachings; kings and princes and all sorts of authorities with his wise and useful letters directed to the fear of God, to mercy and love and aroused to the protection of the Church of God and taught a lot to all the soulful. Thus, spending a wondrous life, which seemed unbearable for human nature, he approached his death, having more than a hundred years of age. He stood on the pillar, as people who are quite worthy of faith write, for eighty years. He was completely perfected in virtues - he was an earthly angel and a heavenly man.
This is how his disciple Anthony narrates about the blessed death of the monk.
“One day,” he says, “just on Friday, after the ninth hour, when we expected from him the usual teaching and blessing, he did not look at us from the pillar; Likewise, on Saturday, and on Sunday, he did not teach us his fatherly word according to custom. And I was frightened, and ascended the pillar, and I see - the monk is standing with the head, drooping down, as if in prayer, and his hands are folded across his chest. Thinking that he was doing a prayer, I stood in silence, and then, standing in front of him, I said:
- Father! Bless us, for the people, for three days and three nights, a pillar has been surrounding, expecting a blessing from you. He didn’t answer me. And again I said to him:
- Why, father, do you not answer your son, who is in sorrow? Have I offended you in any way? Stretch out your hand to me, so that I can kiss it.
But there was no answer. After standing in front of him for half an hour, I doubted and thought: had he already gone to the Lord? I bent my ear to him, and there was no breath, only a strong fragrance, as if from various fragrant aromas, emanated from his body.
Then, realizing that he rested in the Lord, I grieved and wept bitterly. And coming to him, I laid down and hid his relics, and kissed his eyes, brada, mouth and hands, saying:
- To whom are you leaving me, father? Where will I hear your sweet teachings? Where will I be satisfied with your angelic conversation? Or what answer will I give to the people waiting for your blessing? What will I say to the sick who come here asking for healing? And who, seeing your pillar unoccupied, with the lamp not on you, will not weep? And when many come here from afar, looking for you, and do not find you, will they not mourn? Woe is me! Now I see you, but tomorrow - whether I go to the right or to the left - I will not find you!
Weeping so over him, in spiritual sorrow I dozed off, and now the monk appeared, like the sun, saying:
- I will not leave a pillar, no place, no mountain of this blessed one. Come down and bless the people, for I have already reposed. So the Lord delighted; and do not tell them, so that there is no rumor, but rather send the news about me to Antioch. It is for you to serve in this place, and the Lord will reward you according to your labor.
And I awoke from sleep, and in awe said: “Do not forget me, father, in your holy rest,” and I fell on his feet, and kissed his holy feet, and taking his hand, laid it on his eyes, saying: “Bless me, father,” and again he wept bitterly. Then I rose up, wiped away my tears so that no one would know about what had happened, went down and secretly sent my faithful brother to Antioch to Patriarch Martyrius69 with the news of the repose of the monk. And soon the patriarch arrived with three bishops, as well as the mayor with his troops, and a multitude of people not only from Antioch, but also from all the surrounding cities and villages, and from monasteries monks with candles and censers, and many a multitude of Saracens soon flocked, as rivers, for the news of the death of the monk passed everywhere, as carried by the wind. And the patriarch ascended with the bishops on the pillar, and, taking the honest relics, carried them down and laid them at the pillar. And all the people wept; even birds in great numbers, in full view of everyone, flew screaming around the pillar, as if weeping for the end of such a lamp to the world. The crying of the whole people was heard in seven stages70 and the surrounding mountains, fields and trees seemed as if they were lamenting and crying with the people, for everywhere the air was gloomy and dark clouds were rushing about. But I saw an angel appearing at the holy relics, and his face was like lightning, and his clothes were like snow, and with him were seven elders talking; I also heard their voice, but what was said, I did not understand, for fear and horror seized me. "
On the day when the Monk Simeon, his disciple and imitator of his holy life, the Monk Daniel71, reposed - not long before the time when he also intended to ascend the pillar at the mouth of the Black Sea, near Constantinople, - he saw from the side where the pillar was Saint Simeon, the multitude of the armies of heaven, ascending from earth to heaven, and in the midst of them the ascending joyful soul of Saint Simeon. And not only the Monk Daniel, but also the blessed Auxentius72, summoned from the wilderness to the Council of Chalcedon73, saw the same, being then in Bethany74.
When the venerable relics of Saint Simeon were placed on the prepared stretcher, the patriarch stretched out his hand, wishing to take as a blessed memory a little hair from the saint's brada, and his hand immediately dried up. And only after the fervent prayer of all for him to God and the saint of God, the hand of the patriarch became healthy. Taking the honest relics of Saint Simeon, with the singing of psalms, they carried them to Antioch, and the whole city went out to meet. There was a dumb and deaf man there for about forty years. As soon as he saw the holy body of the monk, immediately the bonds of his hearing and his tongue were broken, and he, falling before the holy relics, exclaimed: "For good, you have come, servant of God, for now your coming has healed me."
The inhabitants of Antioch, having accepted the body of the saint, dear gold and silver, carried him to the great patriarchal church75, and many miracles and healings were at his grave. A few years later, a church was created in the name of the Monk Simeon the Stylite, and his holy relics were transferred there.
The monk reposed during the reign of Leo the Great76, in the fourth year of this reign. This was the year 460 AD. King Leo sent to the Antiochians, asking them to give the relics of the monk to be transferred to Constantinople; but they, not wishing to lose such an intercessor, said to the emissaries of the Tsar:
- Since our city has no stone walls, for they fell, partly devastated by the royal wrath, partly crushed by the great earthquake77, for this reason we brought in the holy body of Simeon, so that it would be our wall and protection78.
In the place where the pillar of the Monk Simeon was, a beautiful cruciform church was created in his name and a large monastery was built79. And the monk fulfilled his promise, which he had spoken to Anthony to his disciple in a vision, namely, that he would not leave his place: for miracles and healings of the sick did not fail there. And on the day of his remembrance, every year a great star appeared above the pillar and illuminated the whole country. Many historical writers testify to the appearance of that star, especially Evagrius Scholastic, who saw her with his own eyes. The same Evagrius writes that this holy place was inaccessible to women, and in every possible way they guarded so that a woman's foot would not dare to touch the threshold, beyond which even the mother of the saint was not allowed to enter. It is said that one woman dressed like a man so as not to be recognized to enter the church of St. Simeon, and when she touched the church threshold, she immediately fell on her back, dead. If women came there, as Nikifor writes, 81 they still did not dare to approach the fence, but stood at a distance and said their prayers, looking at the pillar.
And all who came in faith did not lose the grace of the monk, but received help and various healings and returned with joy, thanks to the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, One in the Trinity of God, to Him honor and glory and worship, now and forever, and forever and ever. ... Amen.
A word from Luga82 about Mina the deacon, who went into the world, having laid off his monastic image, and again through Saint Simeon put on him and was saved
Georgy Raifsky83 told us about a brother who was a deacon there, named Mina:
“He left the monastery, and - what happened to him, I don't know - but only he left the monastic rank and became a simple (layman). After many days had elapsed, he walked to the city of God Antioch, and when he passed Seleucia, 84 he saw from afar the monastery of St. Simeon the Stylite and said to himself: "I will go and see the great Simeon, for I have never seen him." When he approached the pillar and approached so much that he saw him as a saint, Simeon learned from God that Mina was a monk and was undergoing deacon service, and calling his servant, he said:
- Bring me the scissors here.
The clerk brought in. Simeon said to him:
- Blessed be the Lord, shave this one, - and pointed at Mina with his finger, and many stood near the pillar.
Mina, amazed at the words of the saint and embraced by great fear, did not contradict at all, realizing that God had revealed to the elder about him. After his tonsure, the great Simeon said to him: "Create a prayer, deacon," and when he made a prayer, the saint said to him: "Go to Raifa, whence you came out."
When he began to say: “I cannot endure the shame from the fathers,” Simeon said to him:
- Have faith in me, child, - in what was now, there is no shame for you, and the fathers will accept you in peace, and they will have joy and joy from your return. And know that God will show you a sign by which you will know that He has forgiven you your sin, for His grace is inexpressible.
When he came to Raifa, the fathers received him with open arms and left him in the rank of deacon. On the same Sunday day, when he was carrying the life-giving blood of the Great God and our Savior Jesus Christ, his eye suddenly flowed out. And from this sign the fathers understood that the Lord had forgiven him his sin, according to the word of Saint Simeon85.
The Miracle Performed by Saint Simeon over the Presbyter
A certain presbyter was once sitting in the narthex of the church and reading the Holy Gospel. And then an evil spirit came to him in the form of a dark and gloomy cloud and, like a cowl, wrapped around his head; and the light went out for him, and his mind was taken away, and all his bones were relaxed and he could not speak. The newcomers found him lying dead; and he stayed in that illness for nine years, and could not turn on the other side if someone did not help him. His family, hearing about Saint Simeon, went to the saint, carrying the sick man on the bed, and, not having reached the monastery for three miles, they stopped there to rest. And to Saint Simeon, who stood at prayer, it was revealed about the presbyter. At midnight the saint called one of his disciples and said to him:
- Take water from here and go quickly; you will find one elder, carried on the bed, sprinkle him with this water and tell him: "The sinful Simeon says to you: in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, get up and leave your bed and come to me on your feet."
The disciple went and did according to the word of the saint. And the presbyter got up completely healthy, and when he came, he put himself down before the saint.
The saint said to him:
- Get up, don't be afraid! Although the devil caused you sorrow for nine years, the love of God did not leave you to perish to the end. For the fact that you behaved without the fear of God and even insulting to the holy thing in the holy altar and before the discovery of the truth listened to slanderers who secretly condemn their neighbors, and without guilt insulted those whom they slandered, excommunicating them from the Holy Mysteries, and, doing this, he grieved the Man-lover God a lot, but he made the devil very happy - for this he received the power of the devil over you. But philanthropy and God's mercies have multiplied over you. Those whom you grieved by excommunication, you will find very sick: they pray for you, so that you, having recovered, forgive them; and as God has done mercy on you, so do you also do mercy on them, and, having taken the lands from here, sprinkle them on them.
And the presbyter went with joy, thanking God, and did as the saint commanded him. And they were immediately healed, glorifying God86.
Troparion, voice 1:
Thou was a pillar of patience, jealous of the reverend forefather, Job in passion, Joseph in temptation, and incorporeal living, in the flesh, Simeon our father: pray to Christ God for our souls to be saved.
Kontakion, voice 2:
Seek the highest, copulate with the highest, and made a pillar of fire chariot: that interlocutor was an angel, reverend art, with them praying to Christ God ceaselessly for all of us.
40 Ie the sacrament of St. Baptism, which in Holy Scripture is called a bathhouse (see Titus 3: 5; Eph. 5:26).
41 Prep. Simeon was not really a shepherd of verbal sheep, i.e. did not have a priestly rank, and is called so because by his very life and teaching (conversations) he guided people to salvation.
42 In the East, livestock is still grazed all year round and is not driven out only in heavy snow and storms, then remaining in special pens.
43 The Gospel Beatitudes are found in the Evangelists: Matthew in ch. 5, Art. 3-12, and Luke ch. 6, Art. 20-23.
44 Ancient Christians during prayer fell face down on the ground, depicting a cross, i.e. stretching out his arms to the sides; through this, faith in the crucified Lord and the consciousness of human sinfulness were expressed.
45 That is, that he dug up to solid (mainland) land.
46 Blessed Theodoret, Bishop of Cyrus, who lived at the same time as St. Simeon, he himself visited him during his stay on the pillar. He writes: "Although I can testify about his deeds by everyone, I am afraid to start the story, so that they do not seem fabulous and unreliable to descendants, since they exceed human nature."
47 Abbot (from Greek - leader) - the head of the monastic monastery.
48 Lavra (from Greek, part of the city, lane) - a row of cells located in the fence, around the abbot's dwelling, in the form of lanes in the city. On the first and last day of the week, hermits gathered together for divine services; the rest of the days they kept silent. Life in the laurels was much more difficult than in other monasteries. Since ancient times, the name laurel has been applied to populous and important monasteries. It first appeared in Egypt and then in Palestine.
49 Ie from the bucket with which they got water from the well.
50 A rope made of palm branches is like our sponge.
51 A hair shirt is an undergarment woven of horsehair and worn by ascetics on a naked body.
52 Cells from Latin means a cell itself.
53 The elbow, or lakt, is a measure of length equal to 10.5 vershoks.
54 Charges levied on the mind of God are bold thoughts against the truths of Revelation and the definitions of the Church. It captivates all reason into the obedience of Christ - it means to force the mind to submit to the truth of Christ, to recognize its height and power.
55 Iveria - present-day Georgia.
56 Soaked soy - soaked or boiled dry fruits, rice, wheat, etc.
57 These fences were built by the people who came from dry stones. Such fenced-off places were called mandras, and since they were settled by those who wanted to pursue asceticism under the leadership of St. Simeon, then he is called the archimandrite (for example, in the Service Minea).
58 St. Meletius was the patriarch of Antioch from 358 to 381, and Domnos II, or Domnin, from 441 to 448.
59 Anthony was a disciple of St. Simeon and wrote his life.
60 Saracens are residents of Arabia. Initially, this name was called a nomadic robber tribe, and then Christian writers transferred this name to everyone and Muslims in general.
61 The pard, or leopard, is a predatory animal, similar to a tiger, but with spotted rather than striped skin and less stature.
62 During the life of the monk there were several cities with this name; the closest thing to the place where he was saved was Antioch of Seleucia (near the city of Seleucia Pieria).
63 The devouring of criminals by wild beasts - a type of execution - usually took place in special buildings called circuses, and it was a nationwide spectacle inherited from pagan times.
64 The Ishmaelites are the descendants of Ishmael, the son of the patriarch Abraham from Hagar: see Gen. 25:12 et seq.
65 Scythians lived mainly along the northern coast of the Black Sea.
66 Reigned from 408 to 450
67 Eutyches, condemned by the IV Ecumenical Council, taught that Jesus Christ had one nature - the Divine, while St. The Church has always recognized and recognizes in Jesus Christ two natures, unmerged and inseparable - the Divine and the human.
68 Reigned from 450 to 457
69 Martyrius was the patriarch of Antioch from 456 to 468.
Stage 70 is a measure of length, about 88 fathoms; seven stadia - about 1.25 miles.
71 His memory 11 December.
72 Memory of St. Auxentia February 14.
73 The Council of Chalcedon - the 4th Ecumenical Council - was in 451.
74 Bethany is a village southeast of Jerusalem, a little over 2 versts, at the foot of the Mount of Olives.
75 Great churches in the East are the temples that are in the patriarchies and are designated for the performance of divine services in them by the patriarchs themselves.
76 Leo the Great reigned from 457 to 474.
77 Here, of course, Antioch of Syria, once the magnificent capital of the Syrian state, and now a poor town in Asiatic Turkey.
78 Some part of the relics of Saint Simeon was later transferred to the Monk Daniel the Stylite, through his prayers, as it is written in the life of this saint - December 11.
79 In the VIII century. St. John Damascus compiled the canon of St. Simeon, and from Patriarch German the Church accepted sacred hymns in honor of the monk.
80 Evagrius Scholasticus, who lived in the 6th century, wrote down the "Church History".
81 Nicephorus Callistus, who lived in the 14th century, wrote The History of the Church.
82 “Spiritual Meadow” - the work of the monk John Mosch, contains legends from the life of eastern hermits.
83 Raifa is a village on the eastern coast of the Sinai Peninsula.
84 Seleucia is a seaside city in Syria, on the shores of the Mediterranean Sea west of Antioch and at the mouth of the Orontes River.
85 The event with Deacon Mino can be understood in this way. For a hated reason, Mina voluntarily left monasticism and deaconism and spent time as a layman. This willfulness on his part, of course, was a grave sin, but at the same time, without the Church's judgment over him, he could not yet be considered as having lost the grace of deaconism. Accordingly, the tonsure performed over Mina, at the command of the monk, as well as the recitation of the prayer by Minya, i.e. the litany was only a figurative, visible reminder to Mina of his willfully monastic life and deacon service; Through this reminder, the monk evidently wanted to arouse repentance in Mina and, in addition, perhaps, to rid the brethren of the monastery from doubts about the possibility for Mina to continue her deacon service. As for the outpouring of Mina's eyes, it meant that Mina was punished for her sin by God Himself and, therefore, was no longer subject to punishment (according to the monastery charter and church rules).
86 It is remarkable in this narrative that those excommunicated by the presbyter for slander, although innocently deprived of the communion of the Holy Mysteries, nevertheless underwent a grave illness, and they themselves, as if forgetting about their innocence, prayed for the recovery of the one who had excommunicated them, so that, having received forgiveness from him , have the opportunity to partake of the Holy Mysteries. Such, therefore, is the power of the Holy Mysteries that their deprivation, although not through the fault of the one who is deprived, does not happen without a trace for him!
Akathist to the Monk Simeon the Stylite
Word on the first day of the indict, or new year
The life of our venerable and God-bearing father Simeon the Stylite
Memory of the righteous Joshua
Remembrance of the Cathedral of the Most Holy Theotokos in the Miasin monastery
Memory of the holy 40 virgins of fasting women and Ammun, their teacher
Memory of the holy martyrs Callista and her brothers Evod and Hermogenes
Rejoice, Holy Savior of Faith, unshakable pillar and strong affirmation;
Rejoice, flowing river, watering our hearts with saving teaching;
Rejoice, in the sea of many different misfortunes for the perishing, a safe haven.
Rejoice, you who drive away the malice of passions that come to you;
Rejoice, liberating temptations from the world, the flesh and the devil.
Rejoice, you who motivates unrepentant sinners to perfect repentance;
Rejoice, perverter of evil spirits and conqueror of demonic hordes.
Rejoice, all-good healer of sinful wounds and ailments of the soul;
Rejoice, Simeone, wondrous pillar and great miracle worker!
Rejoice, having received the good yoke of Christ with love;
Rejoice, zealous living with equal angles;
Rejoice, life of fasting fiery fiery;
Rejoice, armed with abstinence on passion;
Rejoice in humility in obedience to yourself;
Rejoice, great zeal for the teaching of the monastery.
Rejoice, instruct those who are lost and doubt;
Rejoice, affirm the goodness of those who live in piety;
Rejoice, Simeone, wondrous pillar and great miracle worker!
Rejoice, true hearer of the dictates of Christ;
Rejoice, beloved the narrow path of salvation from youth;
Rejoice, having laid the Lord's yoke on your neck;
Rejoice, pleasing God by cutting off the passions and being saved;
Rejoice, having bound your will with sacred vows;
Rejoice, for you and your whole belly have betrayed the Lord;
Rejoice, for the good of a zealous servant;
Rejoice, calmer of the sick and the weak;
Rejoice, Simeone, wondrous pillar and great miracle worker!
Rejoice, rooted in your heart of high virtues;
Rejoice, for you have adorned your youth with the purity of your life;
Rejoice, in the commandments of the Lord you walked all the days of your life;
Rejoice, having acquired the wisdom of an old man from youth;
Rejoice, with patience Iovlem astonished the brethren;
Rejoice, beholding the purity of your Lord's heart;
Rejoice, holy dwelling of the Holy Spirit;
Rejoice the image of God, not darkened in yourself;
Rejoice, Simeone, wondrous pillar and great miracle worker!
Rejoice, fragrant oil lamp;
Rejoice, renew the old temples of our souls;
Rejoice, teach young in goodness and chastity,
Rejoice, for you are old not with a word, but strengthen your life even more,
Rejoice, gloriously bestow peace and harmony on the family;
Rejoice, eradicate the customs of evil and superstition of the heathen;
Rejoice, cast down the idols of our wisdom;
Rejoice, teach Christ to please us;
Rejoice, Simeone, wondrous pillar and great miracle worker!
Rejoice, walking in the footsteps of Christ on your earthly path;
Rejoice, imitating Moses and Elijah by fasting;
Rejoice, you have placed your trust in the Lord;
Rejoice, by incorporeal self-control you have become like;
Rejoice, you have shone with the divine light;
Rejoice, so you strengthen us faithful with your prayers;
Rejoice, I am firm in faith in God's providence in us;
Rejoice, teach the gracious hand of God in everything to see;
Rejoice, Simeone, wondrous pillar and great miracle worker!
Rejoice, eagle, unbroken in prayer;
Rejoice, dove, acquiring spiritual peace;
Rejoice, saint of God, living on earth for heaven;
Rejoice, vine of Christ, bring forth good fruits to Him.
Rejoice, do not become impoverished by your mercy towards us;
Rejoice, feeder of those hungry for righteousness;
Rejoice, prayer for our souls;
Rejoice, I intercessor for the blessings of heavenly and earthly;
Rejoice, Simeone, wondrous pillar and great miracle worker!
Rejoice, crowned with the helmet of salvation;
Rejoice, you have brought deep repentance to God;
Rejoice, having placed your hope in God's mercy;
Rejoice, reflecting the fired up arrows of the evil one;
Rejoice, by prayer, as though armed with a sword;
Rejoice, conquering the cunning of the enemy;
Rejoice, armed with the power of the cross;
Rejoice, blazing lies with the fire of truth;
Rejoice, Simeone, wondrous pillar and great miracle worker!
Rejoice, turning all your thoughts to the Lord;
Rejoice, you who love your neighbors as you are;
Rejoice, joyous heaven by your life;
Rejoice, astonishing the universe with miracles;
Rejoice, our helper and man of prayer;
Rejoice, protector from the temptations of the enemy;
Rejoice, for through you our passions are satisfied;
Rejoice, for by you our good desires are fulfilled.
Rejoice, Simeone, wondrous pillar and great miracle worker!
Rejoice, pre-chosen servant of God the Father without beginning;
Rejoice, courageous confessor of the Lamb of God;
Rejoice, Church not made by hands of God the All-Holy Spirit;
Rejoice, the honest of the Most Holy Trinity was also praised;
Rejoice, in the non-evening days of the Kingdom of God you rest;
Rejoice, O saints of the trisagion song of cherubim with angels and all the saints;
Rejoice, as a shining light shining in the heavenly Kingdom of the Sun of Truth;
Rejoice, illuminating all those who honor your memory with the light of your grace;
Rejoice, Simeone, wondrous pillar and great miracle worker!
Rejoice, destroying the treachery of the heavenly spirits of evil by the power of God;
Rejoice, freeing our houses, fields and cattle from their destruction;
Rejoice, blessing the labor of landowners from heaven;
Rejoice, driving away harmful nature from the plant world;
Rejoice, you save crops and forests and everything that grows from destruction;
Rejoice, in earthly wanderings from stumbling blocks us;
Rejoice, healing from the ailment of wine drinking and other vain addictions;
Rejoice, gracious freedom from the burden of sorrow and anxiety;
Rejoice, Simeone, wondrous pillar and great miracle worker!
Rejoice, enjoying the sight of the Divine light;
Rejoice, for you stand before the Most Holy Trinity;
Rejoice, for you ceaselessly pray for us;
Rejoice, preacher who seek the Kingdom of Heaven on a saving path.
Rejoice, God-wise leader of those who seek the heavenly Jerusalem;
Rejoice, good helmsman overwhelmed by sinful passions;
Rejoice, patient teacher of the weak and unskilled.
Rejoice, who are weary of despondency and sorrow, favorable to the comforter;
Rejoice, Simeone, wondrous pillar and great miracle worker!