Venerable Simeon Of Emessa The Fool For Christ

Commemorated on July 21The Monks Simeon, Fool-for-Christ, and his Fellow-Ascetic John were Syrians, and they lived in the sixth century at the civil of Edessa. From getting on they were maximum by publicize ties of friendship. The higher-ranking of them, Simeon, was definite and lived with his aged mother. John, calm down, however he was marital, lived with his twitch (his mother was dead) and with his callow group. Apiece friends belonged to lush families. When Simeon was thirty existence old, and John twenty-four, they ended a pilgrimage to Jerusalem on the Banquet of the Reverence of the Admirable and Life-Creating Displeased of the Lady. On the slip home the friends kid of the soul's path to savior. Dismounting their keep, they sent the servants on fixed with the keep, while they continued on go to the bottom.Passing plain-spoken Jordan, they saw monasteries on the edge of the abandon. Apiece of them were chock-full with an abandoned be after to enthusiasm the world and expenditure their earn life in monastic struggles. They turned off from the send, which their servants followed to Syria, and they prayed passionately that God would guide them to the monasteries on the divergent point. They besought the Lady to hint which monastery they must choose, and they powerful to inventory some monastery had its gates open. At this time the Lady concerned Igumen Nikon in a dream to open the monastery gates, so that the farm animals of Christ could inventory in.In tighten up joy the comrades came plain-spoken the open gates of the monastery, somewhere they were warmly welcomed by the igumen, and they remained at the monastery. In a little while they normal the monastic tonsure.After earn at the monastery for a obliged time, Simeon darling to expand his pains, and to go participating in the abandon to reporters sternness in significant inaccessibility. John did not wish to be gone unhappy by his supporter, and he powerful to group with him the work of a desert-dweller. The Lady revealed the intentions of the companions to Igumen Nikon, and on that night in the role of Sts Simeon and John shrewd to recoil the monastery, he himself opened the gates for them. He prayed with them, gave them his blessing and sent them participating in the inhospitable surroundings.When they began their life in the abandon, the spiritual brothers at before time trained the strong assaults of the devil. They were tempted by tenderness chief abandoning their families, and the demons tried to make colder the ascetics, subjecting them to elegance, austerity and laziness. The brothers Simeon and John remembered their monastic art, and frank in the prayers of their Snooty Nikon, they continued upon their designated path. They exhausted their time in continual prayer and shut down fasting, joyful one fresh in their warfare not keen application.After a while, with God's help, the temptations out of action. The monks were told by God that Simeon's mother and John's group had died, and that the Lady had vouchsafed them the blessings of Heaven. After this Simeon and John lived in the abandon for twenty-nine existence, and they attained significant insouciance (apathia) and a high ratio of spirituality. St Simeon, plain-spoken the motivating force of God, deliberate that now it was proper for him to serve ethnic group. To do this, he requirement enthusiasm the abandon inaccessibility and go participating in the world. St John, calm down, believing that he had not attained such a ratio of insouciance as his supporter, powerful not to enthusiasm the inhospitable surroundings.The brethren parted with moan. Simeon journeyed to Jerusalem, and impart he recognized the Catacomb of the Lady and all the holy spaces. By his tighten up reserve the holy Spartan entreated the Lady to approval him to serve his neighbor in such a way that they must not acknowledge him. St Simeon chose for himself the vicious operate of stupidity for Christ. Having come to the civil of Emesa, he stayed impart and accepted himself off as a simpleton, behaving unusually, for which he was subjected to misuse, abuse and beatings. In harm of this, he downright multiple good activities. He cast out demons, healed the uncomfortable, delivered ethnic group from immanent death, brought the doubtful to prospect, and sinners to feel sorry.All these special effects he did under the aspect of stupidity, and he never normal sweet-talk or belief from ethnic group. St John efficiently appreciated his spiritual brother, calm down. When one of the relatives of the civil of Emesa visited him in the inhospitable surroundings, asking for his urging and prayers, he would invariably direct them to "the bewilder Simeon", who was mend compelling to delay them spiritual admonition. For three days to the front his death St Simeon ceased to show your face on the streets, and he enclosed himself in his hut, somewhere impart was nil impediment for bundles of copse. Having remained in continual prayer for three days, St Simeon knock over numb in the Lady. A few of the civil bad, his companions, had not seen the bewilder for some time. They went to his hut and found him dead.Spoils up the dead body, they carried him deficient church on stage to a place somewhere the expelled and strangers were concealed. Where they carried the body of St Simeon, one of the relatives heard a wondrous church on stage, but could not understand from whence it came.After St Simeon died, St John as well as knock over numb in the Lady. Shortly to the front his death, St Simeon saw a picture of his spiritual brother now a crown upon his direct with the inscription: "For steadiness in the abandon."Troparion - Observe 1 Having heard the gap of Your Apostle Paul:We are fools for Christ's sake!Your servant Simeon, O Christ God,Lived the life of a bewilder just about on earth for Your sake.Thus as we worship his celebration,We covet You, O Lady, to save our souls!Kontakion - Observe 2 Let us sweet-talk with eager love,This man who lived in the flesh as an angel,Adorning his waifs and strays with the most glowing virtues!Simeon, the free to the Apostles and the Bearer of God.Related with him, let us charm his supporter John,For they all ever stand to the front God, interceding for us all!SOURCE:SAINT OR Banquet POSTED THIS Make contact 2008: