Simeon made his home in the village of Merkushino, near the town of Verkhoturye. The peasants saw nothing remarkable about him at first sight. In the seventeenth century, many were moving into Ural villages, as Russia had only recently incorporated Siberia into her lands, and life was busy with new settlers.
What did catch the locals' attention was his graceful manner and his ability to read and write – rare for a peasant of that time. They soon understood he was a man of high birth.
He lived simply, much like a monk. He had neither wife nor home, nor anything to call his own. He sewed fur coats and stayed in the customer's house while he worked, then moved on to the next. Sometimes, he would leave before the last bit of work was finished, and for this, he often received a beating. It was only afterwards that his patrons would find just a tiny stitch or two remaining and recall that Simeon had never taken any money for his labour.
With no steady earnings, he could not always be sure of his next meal, so Simeon often went fishing. He would go alone to the river and, in quiet prayer, catch just enough for the day, never more.
He spoke of the Christian way of life and guided not only his fellow villagers but also travellers passing through from nearby villages. He loved children and taught them to read and write.
Towards the end of his time in Merkushino, a new church was built, dedicated to the Holy Archangel Michael, and Simeon attended the services. He was laid to rest beside the church when he died, still a young man of about thirty-five or forty. This happened sometime between 1642 and 1650; no one kept the exact date.
About fifty years passed, and the memory of this unusual wanderer faded from the villagers' minds. The holy man's grave was forgotten and left untended.
Then, in 1692, the whole village watched in wonder as the coffin of the righteous Simeon rose from the earth by itself. Through the rotten wood, people could see the body within, untouched by decay. They tried to recall the name of the one buried there, but could not. Yet many healings began to occur near the relics.
In December 1694, Ignatius, the Metropolitan of Siberia and Tobolsk, was travelling to Verkhoturye to consecrate the Holy Trinity Cathedral. On his way, he received an invitation from Abbot Isaac of the Dalmatovsky Monastery to visit Merkushino. As he could not go himself, he entrusted the matter to Father Isaac and blessed him to set out with several clergy to examine the relics of the righteous man.
When they arrived and began their inspection, a pleasant scent filled the air, and Simeon's body lay almost untouched by decay. The Bishop had heard their account but saw nothing strange in the coffin's appearance and felt no rush to view the relics. Just then, a sharp pain shot through his eye. Taking this as a sign from God, he went personally to the remains of the righteous man.
The Bishop prayed: "Have mercy on me, Lord, and heal my eye; and you, righteous one, do not be angry with me." He then promised the holy man that after the liturgy he would return "to behold the grace given to you by God, which flows to us from your honoured relics." Instantly, the pain left him.
Once the liturgy was over, Metropolitan Ignatius went to the remains of the saint. Everything was just as he had been told. "I also bear witness," he announced, "that these are truly the remains of a righteous and holy man: in every way, they are like those of the saints of old. This holy man is like Alexis, Metropolitan of Moscow, or Sergius of Radonezh, for God made him worthy of incorruption, like these lights of our Orthodox faith."
The Bishop then turned to the gathered crowd and asked if anyone could remember the name of the holy man buried there. The years had faded it from memory. Only Athanasius, an old man of seventy, recalled that a Christian lay buried there: "He lived a good life, a life of virtue, a man of good family from one of the Russian towns. He came to the Verkhoturye area as a stranger. He made his living as a tailor, sewing coats and fur garments with trimmings of morocco or chamois leather. He was always willing and helpful, devoted to God, and never missed his prayers or church services. He was sick in the abdomen from much fasting, but I cannot recall his name." Hearing this, the Bishop urged everyone to pray for the Lord to make the holy man's name known. That night, both Metropolitan Ignatius and Father John had a dream in which they learned the stranger's name was Simeon.
Almost immediately after the relics were discovered, miracles began to be recorded. The first accounts tell of Ivan Grigoriev and then his daughter restoring their health at the shrine. Next, Pyotr, a servant to the local governor, was healed of an injury from a wild horse. A writer of the time noted how Grigory, in the service of Governor Savelyev of Nerchinsk, found his sore feet healed after wiping them with soil from the coffin. Another man, Ilya Golovachyov, who served Governor Naryshkin, also found a cure. He suffered from a serious eye complaint, but after placing a cloth with earth from the grave over his eyes, his vision returned.
Soon, pilgrims flooded into Verkhoturye to venerate the saint's relics. The villagers decided it was right to move the holy man's body from Merkushino to the Holy St Nicholas Monastery. The transfer was planned for early September 1704. However, the days were heavy with relentless rains, and the people grew anxious, questioning whether the move was truly pleasing to Saint Simeon. Then came a wondrous sign: one of the officials had a dream in which he saw a scented column of light rising from the coffin, showing him the precise route the procession should follow to its destination.
Thus, the procession made its way from Merkushino to Verkhoturye, carrying the shrine with the holy relics into the monastery. To mark the occasion, the Church established an annual feast day on 12/25 September for the righteous Simeon of Verkhoturye.
At his original burial site in Merkushino, a spring of healing water emerged from the earth. Later, a chapel was built over it, dedicated to the Righteous Simeon of Verkhoturye.
By the start of the twentieth century, the festivals honouring Saint Simeon – the 'Simeon Days' – had become nationwide celebrations. Thousands would gather for the liturgy and to pray before his holy relics. One year, in 1914, a cross procession set out from Yekaterinburg bound for Verkhoturye, involving over six thousand participants, and the journey lasted about nineteen days.
The Imperial family also venerated the saint and sent many gifts to Verkhoturye. On 16 July 1914, Grand Duchess Elisabeth Feodorovna visited St Nicholas Monastery. She prayed before the relics and lit a silver lamp she had given for the reliquary of Saint Simeon. Just days later, with news of mobilisation and the outbreak of the First World War, she sent a message to the monastery's abbot, Archimandrite Xenophont: "I earnestly request your prayers, especially for my entire family and our beloved Motherland. These are terribly mournful, grievous times. Your heavenly patron, the righteous Simeon, strengthened me through the last war, and now it seems I have received his blessing once more. Elisabeth." When Empress Alexandra Feodorovna went into exile, she carried the Life of the Righteous Simeon with her. Later, three of the saint's icons were found inside the Ipatiev House.
After the Revolution, during the Soviet years, the Bolsheviks broke open the shrine and attempted to destroy the holy relics, ignoring the protests of the faithful. They did not succeed, but their work of destruction continued. They looted local churches, dynamited some, and left others in ruins. The relics themselves were taken to the Museum of the Revolution.
It was not until the 1980s that Archimandrite Melchisedek persuaded the authorities to release the righteous relics. On 11 April 1989, they were moved from the museum and placed within the bishop's cell. On 25 May of that year, the holy relics were transferred to the Sverdlovsk Church of the All-Merciful Saviour. That day is now commemorated annually as the Second Finding of the Relics of the Righteous Simeon.
On 24 September 1992, the holy relics were brought home to Verkhoturye in a cross procession.
From the first unveiling of the relics to the present, the people of the Urals and Siberia have called upon Saint Simeon for his help. Chronicles tell of wonders throughout the Verkhoturye area: the paralysed walked, those with failing eyes regained sight, and travellers were kept safe on their journeys. Countless accounts describe how people who approached the holy relics with humility received cures for their bodies and peace for their souls. Many made vows to Saint Simeon to lead a good and Godly life from then on.
To this day, pilgrims travel to the resting place of the Righteous Simeon of Verkhoturye, coming not only from across Russia but also from distant lands. Through his prayers, miracles of healing continue to occur, both at the site of his relics and even in our own time, far from Verkhoturye itself.
The feast days of Saint Simeon are kept on:
- 12/25 September – the Transfer of the Relics from Merkushino to Verkhoturye;
- 18/31 December – the Glorification of the Righteous Simeon;
- 12/25 May – the Second Finding of his Relics.
Holy Righteous Simeon, pray to God for us!
