The son of Clopas, who is mentioned in the Gospels of Luke and John, and a cousin of Jesus, Simeon became bishop of Jerusalem after the martyrdom of St. James about 62. During his episcopate, Christians fled Jerusalem for Pella, on the far side of the Jordan River. Arrested during the reign of Emperor Trajan, Simeon was tortured “for being a descendant of David and a Christian,” according to the historian St. Hegesippus, who witnessed Simeon’s crucifixion at the age of 120. Another early Christian writer, Eusebius, said Simeon’s advanced age probably meant that he “saw and heard the Lord”; he considered Simeon an important figure in the early church. Several European cities claim to hold his relics.
