April 27: Commemoration of Saint Simeon, Son of Clopas
Today, April 27, we commemorate Saint Simeon, son of Clopas (Alphaeus), Bishop of Jerusalem.
Simeon was the son of Clopas. His brothers were James the Less, the Apostle Jude and Joses, as the Gospel of Matthew tells us (13:55). He was one of the seventy-two disciples.
He was in Jerusalem on the day the crowd rose up against his brother James, the first Bishop of Jerusalem, and threw him down from the pinnacle of the Temple, where he died a martyr. The apostles then agreed to elect his brother Simeon as his successor. He governed his flock with wisdom and apostolic zeal. At that time the Jews rebelled against the Roman garrison and slaughtered it, hoping to win their independence and restore the glory of their fathers, not knowing what would befall them. Bishop Simeon understood the situation and foresaw the ruin that would come upon Jerusalem. He left the city with his whole flock and led them east of the Jordan, where they lived in safety.
Soon afterwards the Roman armies came, surrounded Jerusalem in the year 70, stormed the city, put its people to the sword, killing tens of thousands, and fire consumed its magnificent Temple. So the prophecy of the Lord was fulfilled: “There will not be left here one stone upon another, that will not be thrown down” (Matthew 24:2). The Christians thanked God that they had escaped the Roman sword thanks to their bishop, Saint Simeon. When things calmed down, the bishop returned to Jerusalem with his flock and continued working for the good of his people for about thirty-five years. The number of believers grew in his time.
He was very old, said to be a hundred and twenty years of age, when the Emperor Trajan launched a persecution against Jews and Christians. Simeon was denounced to Atticus, governor of Palestine. When the governor got nothing out of him, he had him arrested, without regard for his old age. For many days he was subjected to all kinds of humiliations and bitter tortures, which he bore patiently, praising God. Finally the governor ordered him to be crucified. He gave up his pure soul on the cross, rejoicing to die like his Lord and divine Redeemer. This was around the year 107.
