Simeon of Jerusalem was a

Jewish Christian Jewish Christians ( he, יהודים נוצרים, yehudim notzrim) were the followers of a Jewish religious sect that emerged in Judea during the late Second Temple period (first century AD). The Nazarene Jews integrated the belief of Jesus ...

leader and according to most Christian traditions the second Bishop of Jerusalem (63 or 70–107 or 117), succeeding

James, brother of Jesus James the Just, or a variation of James, brother of the Lord ( la, Iacobus from he, יעקב, and grc-gre, Ἰάκωβος, , can also be Anglicized as "Jacob"), was "a brother of Jesus", according to the New Testament. He was an early le ...

. Simeon is sometimes identified with Simon, brother of Jesus, and has also been identified with the Apostle

Simon the Zealot Simon the Zealot (, ) or Simon the Canaanite or Simon the Canaanean (, ; grc-gre, Σίμων ὁ Κανανίτης; cop, ⲥⲓⲙⲱⲛ ⲡⲓ-ⲕⲁⲛⲁⲛⲉⲟⲥ; syc, ܫܡܥܘܢ ܩܢܢܝܐ) was one of the most obscure among the apostl ...

Life

In his '' Church History'' Eusebius of Caesarea gives the list of these bishops. According to tradition the first bishop of Jerusalem was James the Just, the " brother of the Lord", who according to Eusebius said that he was appointed bishop by the apostles Peter, James (whom Eusebius identifies with

James, son of Zebedee James the Great, also known as James, son of Zebedee, Saint James the Great, Saint James the Greater, Saint James the Elder, or Saint Jacob ( Aramaic ܝܥܩܘܒ ܒܪ ܙܒܕܝ, Arabic يعقوب, Hebrew בן זבדי , '' Yaʿăqōḇ'', Latin ...

), and John. According to Eusebius, Simeon of Jerusalem was selected as James' successor after the conquest of Jerusalem which took place immediately after the martyrdom of James (i.e. no earlier than 70 AD) which puts the account in agreement with that of Flavius Josephus, who puts James' first arrest and subsequent release by Procurator Lucceius Albinus in 63 AD and the modern footnotes show that his martyrdom took place some years afterwards, shortly before the destruction of Jerusalem. According to Hegesippus, Simeon prevailed against Thebutis, whom the church fathers deemed a heresiarch, and led most of the Christians to Pella before the outbreak of the

First Jewish–Roman War The First Jewish–Roman War (66–73 CE), sometimes called the Great Jewish Revolt ( he, המרד הגדול '), or The Jewish War, was the first of three major rebellions by the Jews against the Roman Empire, fought in Roman-controlled ...

in 66 and the destruction of Herod's Temple in 70. According to Eusebius, Simeon was executed about the year 107 or 117 under the reign of emperor

Trajan Trajan ( ; la, Caesar Nerva Traianus; 18 September 539/11 August 117) was Roman emperor from 98 to 117. Officially declared ''optimus princeps'' ("best ruler") by the senate, Trajan is remembered as a successful soldier-emperor who presi ...

by the proconsul Tiberius Claudius Atticus Herodes in Jerusalem or the vicinity. However, this must be a mistake by Eusebius because the administrator (

Legate Legate may refer to: * Legatus, a higher ranking general officer of the Roman army drawn from among the senatorial class :*Legatus Augusti pro praetore, a provincial governor in the Roman Imperial period *A member of a legation *A representative, ...

) of the Roman province of Judea at the time of the crucifixion was

Quintus Pompeius Falco Quintus Pompeius Falco (c. 70after 140 AD) was a Roman senator and general of the early 2nd century AD. He was governor of several provinces, most notably Roman Britain, where he hosted a visit to the province by the Emperor Hadrian in the last ...

(between 105 and 107 AD) and Tiberius Claudius Atticus Herodes was there much earlier, from 99 to 102 AD.

Identifications

Simeon is sometimes identified with Simon, the " brother of the Lord", who is mentioned in passing in the Bible (Matthew 13:55, Mark 6:3) and pointing to Hegesippus referring to him as the second bishop of Jerusalem and as a cousin of Jesus. Other exegetes consider the brothers to be actual brothers and Hegesippus' wording as subsuming both James and Simeon under a more general term. He has also been identified with the Apostle

.Appendix to the Works of Hippolytus 49.11

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Simeon Of Jerusalem Year of birth unknown 100s deaths 1st-century bishops of Jerusalem 2nd-century bishops of Jerusalem 2nd-century Christian martyrs 2nd-century executions People executed by crucifixion People executed by the Roman Empire People in Acts of the Apostles Saints from the Holy Land

Life

Identifications

See also

References