Eastern Rite - Feasts of 27 April AM 7531

Today is the Feasts of the Holy Hieromartyr Simeon, Kinsman of Our Lord, Second Bishop of Jerusalem and of Our Venerable Father Stephen, Abbot of the Kyiv Far Caves and Bishop of Volodymyr in Volhynia.

✠✠✠✠✠

The Holy Apostle and Hieromartyr Simeon, a kinsman of the Lord, was the son of Cleopas, who was the younger brother of Saint Joseph the Betrothed. Thus, Saint Simeon is Joseph's nephew and a cousin of the Lord. As an adult, he witnessed the miracles of the Lord Jesus Christ, believed in Him, and became one of the 70 Apostles. Saint Simeon proclaimed the teachings of Christ, was instructed in the truths of the Holy Faith and denounced idol worship. After the murder of the Holy Apostle James (October 23), the first Bishop of Jerusalem, Christians chose the Apostle Simeon to succeed him.

The Emperors Vespasian and Domitian had ordered that all descendants of King David be put to death. Emperor Trajan (98-117) renewed that decree, and certain heretics and some others denounced Saint Simeon as a descendant of King David, as well as a Christian.

The pagans arrested Saint Simeon, who at that time was more than one hundred and twenty years old. He astonished the judge and his attendants by enduring several days of torture, and then he was crucified in the year 107, during Trajan's reign, when Atticus was consul.

The Parisian Codices contain a Service in honour of Saint Simeon, the poem of the hymnographer Theophanēs. (Some Synaxaristes also commemorate him on September 18).

Troparion — Tone 1

The Church glorifies you as a kinsman of Christ, O Hierarch Simeon, / and as a steadfast martyr, for courageously you destroyed all deceptions and preserved the Faith. / Therefore, we celebrate your holy memory today, / and by your prayers, we receive the remission of our sins.

Kontakion — Tone 2

As one who has become a citizen of Zion on high, / you had been ordained to the throne of Zion below. / You guided your flock to the heavenly sheepfold, blessed Simeon, / and for the sake of Christ, you were crucified, / imitating His passion.

✠✠✠✠✠

Saint Stephen, Igumen of the Caves, Bishop of Volodymyr in Volhynia, pursued asceticism at the Kyiv Caves monastery under the guidance of Saint Theodosius (May 3). Saint Theodosius sometimes entrusted him to exhort the brethren with edifying words.

Before the death of Saint Theodosius, the monks asked him to appoint Saint Stephen as Igumen, who was the domesticus (chief arranger for the choir). “He grew up under your instruction,” they said, “and he served you. Give him to us.” So Saint Theodosius transferred the guidance of the monastery to Saint Stephen.

During his tenure as Superior, he laid the foundations of a spacious church in honour of the Dormition of the Most Holy Theotokos, begun under Saint Theodosius. The cells of the brethren were moved near the new church. At the front of the place, there were several cells for monks who were entrusted with burying the dead. They served the Divine Liturgy each day, and also commemorated the dead.

In 1078 Saint Stephen was removed from office and driven from the monastery through the malice of an evil monk. He endured this meekly and without bitterness, and continued to pray for those who had turned against him.

Saint Stephen learned that master builders had come from Greece with an icon of the Theotokos, and they told him of the appearance of the Heavenly Queen at Blachernae. Because of this, Saint Stephen also built a church at Klovo in honour of the Theotokos (in memory of the Placing of Her Robe at Blachernae). The monastery was founded in thanksgiving for the solicitude of the Most Holy Theotokos for the Caves monastery.

In 1091 Saint Stephen was made Bishop of Volodymyr in Volhynia, and he participated in the transfer of the relics of Saint Theodosius from the cave to the monastery (August 14). He also laboured to convert the inhabitants of Volhynia to Christianity.

Saint Stephen died on April 27, 1094 during the sixth hour of the night.

Troparion — Tone 8

By a flood of tears, you made the desert fertile, / and your longing for God brought forth fruits in abundance. / By the radiance of miracles you illumined the whole universe! / O our holy father Stephen, pray to Christ our God to save our souls!