His Beatitude Patriarch Kyrios Kyrios Theophilos III celebrated the Feast of Saint Simeon the God-Receiver

This news is shared from the website of the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Jerusalem.

From the General Secretariat of the Greek Patriarchate of Jerusalem

On Sunday, February 3/16, 2025, the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Jerusalem celebrated the memory of Saint Simeon the God-receiver in his Holy Monastery, located in the New Jerusalem in Katamon, in the church where his tomb and a small relic of his remains are also kept. The Divine Liturgy was led by His Beatitude Patriarch Kyrios Kyrios Theophilos III, the Greek Orthodox Patriarch of the Holy City of Jerusalem and Honorary President of the Middle East Council of Churches, with the participation of their Eminences, Metropolitan Kyriakos of Nazareth, the Archbishops Aristarchos of Constantina, Methodios of Tabor, and Dimitrios of Lydda, along with the Hieromonk Fathers of the Holy Sepulchre, with first in rank the Elder Kamarasis Archimandrite Nektarios, the Hegumen of Beit Jala, Archimandrite Ignatios, Archimandrite Christodoulos, Archimandrite Vassian of the Russian Spiritual Mission in Jerusalem (MISSIA), Archdeacon Mark and Hierodeacon Eulogios, as well as other Priests and Deacons from other Orthodox territories. The services were accompanied by the chanting of His Eminence Archbishop Aristovoulos of Madaba, with prayers from Greek-speaking, Romanian-speaking, Slavic-speaking, Serbian, and Georgian faithful, and the representative of the Greek Consulate.

His Beatitude delivered a sermon to the congregation, as follows:

“And Simeon took him up in his arms and blessed God, and said,

“Lord, now lettest thou thy servant depart in peace, according to thy word:
For mine eyes have seen thy salvation,
Which thou hast prepared before the face of all people;
A light to lighten the Gentiles,
And the glory of thy people Israel.” (Luke 2:28-32, KJV)

Beloved brothers and sisters in Christ,
Devout Christians and pilgrims,

The grace of the Holy Spirit has gathered us all together in this renowned monastic Church of the Righteous Simeon so that we might celebrate the Feast of the Meeting of our Lord Jesus Christ in the Temple, when “Simeon the Elder received Him in his arms”.

Today’s feast of the Meeting of the Lord refers to the event of the condescension of our Lord and God. He, the Lawgiver of the Old Testament, submits to the ordinances of the Mosaic Law. Therefore, the Son of God the Father, our Lord Jesus Christ, fulfilled the legal requirement which applied to every firstborn male child, “as it is written in the law of the Lord, Every male that openeth the womb shall be called holy to the Lord; and to offer a sacrifice, according to that which is said in the law of the Lord, A pair of turtledoves, or two young pigeons” (Luke 2:23-24, KJV).

This holy child, Jesus, was received into the arms of Simeon the Elder, a righteous man, who blessed Him and became an unerring witness to the revelation to the nations, that is, to the idolaters, of the “Saviour” and the “Light” of God. And this Saviour and Light of God is none other than the Messiah, Christ, the Son and Word of God, whom the Prophets proclaimed and foretold…

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This news was originally published on the website of the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Jerusalem, click here to read more.