Simon the Athonite (died 1287) was a Greek Orthodox monk of the 13th century, later sanctified by the

Eastern Orthodox Church The Eastern Orthodox Church, also called the Orthodox Church, is the second-largest Christian church, with approximately 220 million baptized members. It operates as a communion of autocephalous churches, each governed by its bishops via ...

as Saint Simon the

Myroblyte A myroblyte (; from Byzantine Greek , , 'whose relics produce myron'; la, myroblyta; cu, мѵрото́чецъ; ro, izvorâtor de mir; ka, მირონმდინარე) is a Christian saint from whose relics or burial place "an aromatic ...

His

feast day The calendar of saints is the traditional Christian method of organizing a liturgical year by associating each day with one or more saints and referring to the day as the feast day or feast of said saint. The word "feast" in this context do ...

is 28 December.

Date of birth

Simon's date of birth is uncertain, but he has been described as being of the second half of the thirteenth century, and the monastery's records state that he died in 1287. However, the

British Museum The British Museum is a public museum dedicated to human history, art and culture located in the Bloomsbury area of London. Its permanent collection of eight million works is among the largest and most comprehensive in existence. It docum ...

adventurously suggests his life as c. 1200 to c. 1300.

Life

Simon was a hermit living in a cave on

Mount Athos Mount Athos (; el, Ἄθως, ) is a mountain in the distal part of the eponymous Athos peninsula and site of an important centre of Eastern Orthodox monasticism in northeastern Greece. The mountain along with the respective part of the peni ...

near the rock now known as

Simonopetra Simonopetra Monastery ( el, Σιμωνόπετρα, literally: "Simon's Rock"), also Monastery of Simonos Petra ( el, Μονή Σίμωνος Πέτρας), is an Eastern Orthodox monastery in the monastic state of Mount Athos in Greece. Simonopet ...

, or Simon's Rock. In a dream, the

Theotokos ''Theotokos'' ( Greek: ) is a title of Mary, mother of Jesus, used especially in Eastern Christianity. The usual Latin translations are ''Dei Genitrix'' or '' Deipara'' (approximately "parent (fem.) of God"). Familiar English translations a ...

called on him to build a monastery on the rock, promising to protect it and to look after him and the monastery. Another version is that one night he saw a star so bright that he identified it with the

Star of Bethlehem The Star of Bethlehem, or Christmas Star, appears in the nativity story of the Gospel of Matthew chapter 2 where "wise men from the East" (Magi) are inspired by the star to travel to Jerusalem. There, they meet King Herod of Judea, and ask hi ...

. Watching it over several nights, he saw it stay motionless, at first thinking it was a demonic temptation, but on Christmas Eve the star stood over a high rock and a voice said "Here, Simon, you must lay the foundations of your monastery for the salvation of souls." So he built the monastery and gave it the name of New Bethlehem (Greek: Νέα Βηθλεέμ).Venerable Simon the Myrrh-gusher of Mt Athos
at oca.org, accessed 31 October 2017 It remains dedicated to the

Nativity of Jesus The nativity of Jesus, nativity of Christ, birth of Jesus or birth of Christ is described in the biblical gospels of Luke and Matthew. The two accounts agree that Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judaea, his mother Mary was engaged to a man ...

. Simon died, or reposed, in 1287, and was later glorified by many miracles, leading to his beatification. His holy relics are reported to exude

myrrh Myrrh (; from Semitic, but see '' § Etymology'') is a gum-resin extracted from a number of small, thorny tree species of the genus '' Commiphora''. Myrrh resin has been used throughout history as a perfume, incense and medicine. Myrrh m ...

, giving him the alternative names of Myrrhbearer or Myrrhgusher. The date of foundation claimed by his monastery is 1267.Josep Maria Mallarach i Carrera, ''Protected Landscapes and Cultural and Spiritual Values'' (2008), p. 55

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Simon Athonite Athonite Fathers Christian monasticism Greek saints of the Eastern Orthodox Church Saints of medieval Greece 13th-century Christian saints 13th-century Byzantine people 1287 deaths Myroblyte saints People associated with Simonopetra Monastery