By Fr. George Dorbarakis
Saint Symeon of Jerusalem was the son of Joseph, the betrothed, and the brother of James the Just. Christ Himself, our God, condescended to call him His brother, and would eventually adorn the throne of Jerusalem as Bishop, leading many souls to the light of salvation. For the sake of his faith he endured terrible torments, and in the end they crucified him, when he had already reached one hundred and twenty years of age.
Although Saint Symeon of Jerusalem does not belong to the twelve disciples of our Lord, nor is he especially known to many, he holds a distinct place in the firmament of the Church. Saint Joseph the Hymnographer, among other praises that present his great personality, mentions in the Oikos of the Kontakion:
“Let us acclaim today Symeon the thrice-blessed, the one from the race of Abraham and from the line of David, the son of Joseph and kinsman of Jesus; as being greatly glorified by the kinship with Christ, splendidly adorned by the throne of the mother of the Churches, and gloriously beautified by the blood of martyrdom; for he also, as the Master, was fastened to the cross, having imitated His divine Passion.”
His cruciform sacrifice becomes, certainly, an occasion for the Holy Hymnographer — and not only once — to emphasize even more his brotherly relationship with the Lord; brotherly not according to the flesh, of course, but because they were brought up in the same household under the protection of Joseph the betrothed.
“You suffer as a brother, Symeon, with the Lord, having been hung upon the wood as a brother of the Lord” (Verses of the Synaxarion).
The greatness of Saint Symeon — as was also implied above — does not lie simply in the fact that he had kinship with the Lord. Such an external relationship with Christ is not justified in a Christian way, and this was something the Lord Himself rejected. In response to a similar questioning that the Jews posed to Him, He said the words considered harsh:
“Who is My mother and who are My brothers? My mother and brother and sister are those who hear the word of God and keep it.”
A fact which means: even the Theotokos herself, as well as all the relatives of the Lord, have such a great place in the Church precisely because of their obedience to their Lord and God and not because of their kinship.
The Hymnographer of our Church indeed repeatedly emphasizes that Saint Symeon became like Christ because of the complete turning of his heart toward God and because of the radiance of his martyrdom.
“By inclination toward God being deified, wholly, O Hierarch, you became God-like, flashing all around with the radiances of martyrdom, most sacred one” (Ode 3).
And for this reason he became so great, so immense, that even the so-called mountains of impiety and the hills of demonic temptations were shattered upon him.
“The mountains of impiety were shattered before your face, O Hierarch, and all the hills of the demons were melted, as Christ strengthened you” (Ode 4).
Saint Joseph proceeds even further, guiding us into the secret and sacred depth of the heart of Saint Symeon, there where the divine love inflamed his mind: “Having been inflamed in mind by divine love” (Ode 7).
The Saint became a beautiful ornament, indeed of the high priests, because he strove to hate the pleasures of the world fallen into sin, and by his contest he was deemed worthy of heavenly glory.
“You hated the pleasures of the world and became a delightful ornament of the High Priests, and having contended, O Father, you were deemed worthy of supramundane glory” (Ode 3).
And his strength — and a strength, as we saw, of Christ — was his fervent prayer. This he used as an invincible weapon, both to overcome the idols and to guide the deceived people toward the light:
“You destroyed the temples of idols with the lever of your prayers and guided the deceived toward the light” (Ode 5).
And this light toward which he guided people was none other than his beloved brother and Lord. Like John the Baptist, so also Saint Symeon could with humility confess:
“He must increase, but I must decrease.”
“As dawn you shone upon those in darkness, pointing out the Sun of righteousness, who rose for men from the cloud, the Virgin Maiden” (Ode 3).
Source: Translated by John Sanidopoulos.