Simeon () at the

Temple A temple (from the Latin ) is a place of worship, a building used for spiritual rituals and activities such as prayer and sacrifice. By convention, the specially built places of worship of some religions are commonly called "temples" in Engli ...

is the "just and devout" man of

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who, according to , met Mary,

Joseph Joseph is a common male name, derived from the Hebrew (). "Joseph" is used, along with " Josef", mostly in English, French and partially German languages. This spelling is also found as a variant in the languages of the modern-day Nordic count ...

, and

Jesus Jesus (AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ, Jesus of Nazareth, and many Names and titles of Jesus in the New Testament, other names and titles, was a 1st-century Jewish preacher and religious leader. He is the Jesus in Chris ...

as they entered the

to fulfill the requirements of the Law of Moses on the 40th day from Jesus' birth, i.e. the

presentation of Jesus at the Temple The Presentation of Jesus is an early episode in the life of Jesus Christ, describing his presentation at the Temple in Jerusalem. It is celebrated by many churches 40 days after Christmas on Candlemas, or the "Feast of the Presentation of Jes ...

. According to the Biblical account, the

Holy Spirit The Holy Spirit, otherwise known as the Holy Ghost, is a concept within the Abrahamic religions. In Judaism, the Holy Spirit is understood as the divine quality or force of God manifesting in the world, particularly in acts of prophecy, creati ...

visited Simeon and revealed to him that he would not die until he had seen the Christ of God. Upon taking Jesus into his arms, he uttered a prayer which is still used liturgically as the Latin in the

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and other Christian churches, and gave a prophecy alluding to the

Crucifixion of Jesus The crucifixion of Jesus was the death of Jesus by being crucifixion, nailed to a cross.The instrument of Jesus' crucifixion, instrument of crucifixion is taken to be an upright wooden beam to which was added a transverse wooden beam, thus f ...

. Some Christian traditions commemorate this meeting on 2 February as the feast of

Candlemas Candlemas, also known as the Feast of the Presentation of Jesus Christ, the Feast of the Purification of the Blessed Virgin Mary, or the Feast of the Holy Encounter, is a Christian holiday, Christian feast day commemorating the presentation of ...

, or, more formally, the Presentation of the Lord, the Meeting of the Lord, or the Purification of the Virgin (Mary). His prophecy is involved in the devotion to Mary as

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. Simeon is venerated as a

saint In Christianity, Christian belief, a saint is a person who is recognized as having an exceptional degree of sanctification in Christianity, holiness, imitation of God, likeness, or closeness to God in Christianity, God. However, the use of the ...

in the Roman Catholic Church,

Lutheranism Lutheranism is a major branch of Protestantism that emerged under the work of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German friar and Protestant Reformers, reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practices of the Catholic Church launched ...

Anglican Communion The Anglican Communion is a Christian Full communion, communion consisting of the Church of England and other autocephalous national and regional churches in full communion. The archbishop of Canterbury in England acts as a focus of unity, ...

Eastern Orthodox Church The Eastern Orthodox Church, officially the Orthodox Catholic Church, and also called the Greek Orthodox Church or simply the Orthodox Church, is List of Christian denominations by number of members, one of the three major doctrinal and ...

and

Oriental Orthodoxy The Oriental Orthodox Churches are Eastern Christian churches adhering to Miaphysite Christology, with approximately 50 million members worldwide. The Oriental Orthodox Churches adhere to the Nicene Christian tradition. Oriental Orthodoxy is ...

. His

feast A banquet (; ) is a formal large meal where a number of people consume food together. Banquets are traditionally held to enhance the prestige of a host, or reinforce social bonds among joint contributors. Modern examples of these purposes inc ...

is commemorated on 3 February in the revised ''

Roman Martyrology The ''Roman Martyrology'' () is the official martyrology of the Catholic Church. Its use is obligatory in matters regarding the Roman Rite liturgy, but dioceses, countries and religious institutes may add duly approved appendices to it. It provid ...

'' of the Roman Catholic Church and on 16 February (

Julian Calendar The Julian calendar is a solar calendar of 365 days in every year with an additional leap day every fourth year (without exception). The Julian calendar is still used as a religious calendar in parts of the Eastern Orthodox Church and in parts ...

) in the

Serbian Orthodox Church The Serbian Orthodox Church ( sr-Cyrl-Latn, Српска православна црква, Srpska pravoslavna crkva) is one of the autocephalous (ecclesiastically independent) Eastern Orthodoxy, Eastern Orthodox Eastern Orthodox Church#Constit ...

New Testament

The sole mention in the New Testament of Simeon is thus: Some writers have identified this Simeon with Shimon ben Hillel, although Hillel was not a priest. James F. Driscoll, writing in the ''Catholic Encyclopedia'', dismisses this as "untrustworthy legends".

In Christian tradition

Title

* ''Simeon the God-Receiver'' in

Eastern Orthodoxy Eastern Orthodoxy, otherwise known as Eastern Orthodox Christianity or Byzantine Christianity, is one of the three main Branches of Christianity, branches of Chalcedonian Christianity, alongside Catholic Church, Catholicism and Protestantism ...

(, ). * ''Simeon senex'' (Simeon the old man) occurs in some Latin texts and hagiographies. * ''Aged Simeon'' in poetry and music, including the

anthem "When Mary to the Temple Went" by

Johannes Eccard Johannes Eccard (1553–1611) was a German composer and kapellmeister. He was an early principal conductor at the Berlin court chapel. Biography Eccard was born at Mühlhausen, in present-day Thuringia, Germany. At the age of eighteen he went t ...

(1533–1611). * ''Simeon'', without any title, is normally used by

Protestants Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that emphasizes Justification (theology), justification of sinners Sola fide, through faith alone, the teaching that Salvation in Christianity, salvation comes by unmerited Grace in Christianity, divin ...

Age

The Bible is silent about Simeon's age at this point, though he is generally assumed (for example by Ian Howard Marshall, who refers to him as an "old man") to have been elderly. Orthodox tradition says that he was one of the seventy scholars who translated the Hebrew Scriptures into the Septuagint, and that he translated Isaiah 7:14 as saying "a young woman" would conceive rather than "a virgin" due to his disbelief. Because of this, a divine being told him he would live to see the fulfillment of this prophecy. When he was around 360 years old, he saw Jesus, uttered the benediction and died.

Relics

Sometime between 565 and 578 AD, a body believed to be that of Simeon was translated from Syria or

Constantinople Constantinople (#Names of Constantinople, see other names) was a historical city located on the Bosporus that served as the capital of the Roman Empire, Roman, Byzantine Empire, Byzantine, Latin Empire, Latin, and Ottoman Empire, Ottoman empire ...

. Sometime around the

Siege of Constantinople (1203) The siege of Constantinople in 1203 was a crucial episode of the Fourth Crusade, marking the beginning of a series of events that would ultimately lead to the fall of the Byzantine capital. The crusaders, diverted from their original missio ...

the relics were seized and shipped to

Venice Venice ( ; ; , formerly ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto Regions of Italy, region. It is built on a group of 118 islands that are separated by expanses of open water and by canals; portions of the city are li ...

; however, a storm forced the ship to put in to the port of

Zadar Zadar ( , ), historically known as Zara (from Venetian and Italian, ; see also other names), is the oldest continuously inhabited city in Croatia. It is situated on the Adriatic Sea, at the northwestern part of Ravni Kotari region. Zadar ...

on the Dalmatian coast. The relics were first placed in the ''Velika Gospa'' (Church of the Virgin) and then later translated to the Church of St. Stephen, which became known as the Sanctuary of St. Simeon the Godbearer. Simeon is one of the four patron saints of

; his feast day is celebrated on 8 October. In October 2010,

Archbishop In Christian denominations, an archbishop is a bishop of higher rank or office. In most cases, such as the Catholic Church, there are many archbishops who either have jurisdiction over an ecclesiastical province in addition to their own archdi ...

Želimir Puljić Želimir Puljić (7 March 1947) is a Croatian prelate of the Catholic Church who served as the archbishop of Zadar from 2010 to 2023 and bishop of Dubrovnik from 1989 to 2010. He briefly served as the apostolic administrator of the Archdiocese ...

of Zadar conveyed a small silver reliquary containing some of Simeon's relics to Archbishop Theofylactus of

Jordan Jordan, officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, is a country in the Southern Levant region of West Asia. Jordan is bordered by Syria to the north, Iraq to the east, Saudi Arabia to the south, and Israel and the occupied Palestinian ter ...

, representing

Theophilos III Patriarch Theophilos III of Jerusalem (; ; born 4 April 1952) is the current Greek Orthodox Patriarch of Jerusalem, Patriarch of the Orthodox Church of Jerusalem since 2005. He is styled Patriarch of the Holy City of Jerusalem and all Palestine, ...

, the

Greek Orthodox Patriarch of Jerusalem The Greek Orthodox patriarch of Jerusalem or Eastern Orthodox patriarch of Jerusalem, officially patriarch of Jerusalem (; ; ), is the head bishop of the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Jerusalem, ranking fourth of nine patriarchs in the Easte ...

, for the monastery of St. Simeon the Godbearer in

Festal observances

The events in the life of Simeon the Righteous are observed on both 2 and 3 February. The observances of the first day memorialize the act of Mary undergoing an act of ritual purification and presenting Jesus, her child, to the Temple, a

known as the

Presentation of Jesus at the Temple The Presentation of Jesus is an early episode in the life of Jesus Christ, describing his presentation at the Temple in Jerusalem. It is celebrated by many churches 40 days after Christmas on Candlemas, or the "Feast of the Presentation of Jes ...

. Because this day focuses on Jesus and Mary, the observation of 3 February is specific to Simeon, who was allowed to die after seeing the

Christ Jesus ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ, Jesus of Nazareth, and many other names and titles, was a 1st-century Jewish preacher and religious leader. He is the Jesus in Christianity, central figure of Christianity, the M ...

born of a virgin.

Feast of the Purification of the Blessed Virgin Mary

Under

Mosaic law The Law of Moses ( ), also called the Mosaic Law, is the law said to have been revealed to Moses by God. The term primarily refers to the Torah or the first five books of the Hebrew Bible. Terminology The Law of Moses or Torah of Moses (Hebr ...

, a mother who had given birth to a man-child was considered unclean for seven days; moreover she was to remain for three and 30 days "in the blood of her purification", for a total of 40 days. The Christian Feast of the Purification therefore corresponds to the day on which Mary, according to

Jewish law ''Halakha'' ( ; , ), also transliterated as ''halacha'', ''halakhah'', and ''halocho'' ( ), is the collective body of Jewish religious laws that are derived from the Written and Oral Torah. ''Halakha'' is based on biblical commandments ('' mit ...

(see ), should have attended a ceremony of ritual purification. The ''

Gospel of Luke The Gospel of Luke is the third of the New Testament's four canonical Gospels. It tells of the origins, Nativity of Jesus, birth, Ministry of Jesus, ministry, Crucifixion of Jesus, death, Resurrection of Jesus, resurrection, and Ascension of ...

'' relates that Mary was purified according to the religious law, after which Jesus was presented in the Temple in

. This explains the formal names of the feast. In the

liturgy Liturgy is the customary public ritual of worship performed by a religious group. As a religious phenomenon, liturgy represents a communal response to and participation in the sacred through activities reflecting praise, thanksgiving, remembra ...

of Evening Prayer in the

, Anglicans recite the or sing it in Evensong in the canticle the Song of Simeon, traditionally every evening. The liturgical hour of

Compline Compline ( ), also known as Complin, Night Prayer, or the Prayers at the End of the Day, is the final prayer liturgy (or office) of the day in the Christian tradition of canonical hours, which are prayed at fixed prayer times. The English wor ...

of the

and of

Vespers Vespers /ˈvɛspərz/ () is a Christian liturgy, liturgy of evening prayer, one of the canonical hours in Catholic (both Latin liturgical rites, Latin and Eastern Catholic liturgy, Eastern Catholic liturgical rites), Eastern Orthodox, Oriental O ...

in Orthodoxy also use it. Many notable composers have set the to music, e.g. the ( ''All-Night Vigil'' of

Rachmaninoff Sergei Vasilyevich Rachmaninoff; in Russian pre-revolutionary script. (28 March 1943) was a Russian composer, virtuoso pianist, and conductor. Rachmaninoff is widely considered one of the finest pianists of his day and, as a composer, one of ...

). The feast of 2 February is often known as "

" because, in honor of the ritual purification of the Virgin Mary,

candles A candle is an ignitable candle wick, wick embedded in wax, or another flammable solid substance such as tallow, that provides light, and in some cases, a Aroma compound, fragrance. A candle can also provide heat or a method of keeping time. ...

beeswax Bee hive wax complex Beeswax (also known as cera alba) is a natural wax produced by honey bees of the genus ''Apis''. The wax is formed into scales by eight wax-producing glands in the abdominal segments of worker bees, which discard it in o ...

, which will be used for the whole liturgical year, are brought into a church and blessed. In the

the Presentation is commemorated as the fourth Joyful Mystery of the

Rosary The Rosary (; , in the sense of "crown of roses" or "garland of roses"), formally known as the Psalter of Jesus and Mary (Latin: Psalterium Jesu et Mariae), also known as the Dominican Rosary (as distinct from other forms of rosary such as the ...

. In the

Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the State religion#State churches, established List of Christian denominations, Christian church in England and the Crown Dependencies. It is the mother church of the Anglicanism, Anglican Christian tradition, ...

the Presentation of Christ in the Temple is a principal feast. In the

it is one of the twelve Great Feasts.

2 February

This feast day has a number of different names: * '' The Meeting of Our Lord, God and Saviour Jesus Christ'' (

) *'' The Coming of the Son of God into the Temple'' (

Armenian Apostolic Church The Armenian Apostolic Church () is the Autocephaly, autocephalous national church of Armenia. Part of Oriental Orthodoxy, it is one of the most ancient Christianity, Christian churches. The Armenian Apostolic Church, like the Armenian Catholic ...

) * ''

Feast of the Purification of the Virgin The Presentation of Jesus is an early episode in the life of Jesus Christ, describing his presentation at the Temple in Jerusalem. It is celebrated by many churches 40 days after Christmas on Candlemas, or the "Feast of the Presentation of Jes ...

'' ( Eastern Rite Catholic Churches) * '' The Presentation of the Lord'' ( ordinary form of the Roman Rite of the Roman Roman Catholic Church) * '' Feast of the Purification of the Blessed Virgin Mary'' (1962 and earlier forms of the Roman Rite of the

) * '' The Presentation of Our Lord Jesus Christ in The Temple'' (

Episcopal Church of the United States The Episcopal Church (TEC), also known as the Protestant Episcopal Church in the United States of America (PECUSA), is a member of the worldwide Anglican Communion, based in the United States. It is a mainline Protestant denomination and is ...

) * '' Presentation of Our Lord'' (

Evangelical Lutheran Church in America The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) is a mainline Protestant church headquartered in Chicago, Illinois. The ELCA was officially formed on January 1, 1988, by the merging of three Lutheran church bodies. As of December 31, 2023, it ...

) * '' The Presentation of Christ in the Temple'' (

Anglican Church of Canada The Anglican Church of Canada (ACC or ACoC) is the Ecclesiastical province#Anglican Communion, province of the Anglican Communion in Canada. The official French-language name is ''l'Église anglicane du Canada''. In 2016, the Anglican Church of ...

) * '' The Purification of the Blessed Virgin Mary'' (

) * '' The Presentation of Christ in the Temple'' (

and

Anglican Church of Australia The Anglican Church of Australia, originally known as the Church of England in Australia and Tasmania, is a Christian church in Australia and an autonomous church of the worldwide Anglican Communion. In 2016, responding to a peer-reviewed study ...

3 February

Simeon the Righteous is commemorated in his own right on 3 February. In the

Simeon is not venerated with a festal observance, and 3 February is designated to recognize Blaise, Bishop of Sebastea, or in modern calendars, Saint Anskar (801–865), a missionary,

Archbishop of Hamburg-Bremen This list records the bishops of the Archdiocese of Bremen, Roman Catholic diocese of Bremen (), supposedly a suffragan of the Archdiocese of Cologne, Archbishopric of Cologne, then of the bishops of Bremen, who were in personal union archbishops ...

, and the first Bishop in

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in 864. In the Eastern Orthodox tradition, Simeon is commemorated with Anna the Prophetess on 3 February on the Feast of the Holy and Righteous Simeon the God-Receiver and Anna the Prophetess.

16 February

While both the Roman Catholic Church and Orthodox Church agree on the date of

as the 40th day after

Christmas Christmas is an annual festival commemorating Nativity of Jesus, the birth of Jesus Christ, observed primarily on December 25 as a Religion, religious and Culture, cultural celebration among billions of people Observance of Christmas by coun ...

, in accordance with the

Mosaic Law The Law of Moses ( ), also called the Mosaic Law, is the law said to have been revealed to Moses by God. The term primarily refers to the Torah or the first five books of the Hebrew Bible. Terminology The Law of Moses or Torah of Moses (Hebr ...

, the difference in the marking of Christmas on 25 December resulted from a theological dispute on the replacement by the

Gregorian calendar The Gregorian calendar is the calendar used in most parts of the world. It went into effect in October 1582 following the papal bull issued by Pope Gregory XIII, which introduced it as a modification of, and replacement for, the Julian cale ...

of the older

Julian calendar The Julian calendar is a solar calendar of 365 days in every year with an additional leap day every fourth year (without exception). The Julian calendar is still used as a religious calendar in parts of the Eastern Orthodox Church and in parts ...

. 25 December currently occurs 13 days later on the Julian calendar than on the Gregorian calendar. The Gregorian revision of the calendar occurred in 1582, well after the Great Schism between the Eastern and Western Christian churches in 1054. Consequently, many Orthodox Christians celebrate the feast of Saint Simeon on 16 February. As mentioned above, the

celebrates Saint Simeon on the day after the Feast of the Presentation, i.e. 3 February. However, for those churches that use the Julian calendar, 3 February is on 16 February of the modern Gregorian calendar. The

celebrates the Nativity of Christ on 6 January, and so its celebration of the Presentation, which its denominates The Coming of the Son of God into the Temple, is on 14 February. On 1 December occurs commemoration of his, James and Zacharias relics translation in 351, and 25 May is commemoration of their relics discover also in 351.

References

External links

Entry for February 3
from the Prologue from Ohrid with a brief hagiography of S t. Simeon.
Icon
an
hagiography
from the website of the

Orthodox Church in America The Orthodox Church in America (OCA) is an Eastern Orthodox Christian church based in North America. The OCA consists of more than 700 parishes, missions, communities, monasteries and institutions in the United States, Canada and Mexico. In ...

.
Pope John Paul II. "Simeon is Open to the Lord's Action", General Audience, December 11, 1996
{{Authority control Christian saints from the New Testament Gospel of Luke People in the canonical gospels Prophets of the New Testament 1st-century BCE Jews Saints from the Holy Land 1st-century BC Christian saints Seven Sorrows of Mary