Memorial Day of the Venerable Martyr Simon of Volomsky

Every year on July 25, Orthodox Christians remember the Holy Martyr Simon of Volomsk Simon Volomsky was called Simeon Mikhailovich in the world He was born in 1586 into the family of a peasant from a monastery estate in Volokolamsk In 1607, the young man’s father went bankrupt and went north, and Simeon went to the capital There he was sheltered by a tailor who taught him his craft After graduating, Simeon went to Ustyug, and then to the Solovetsky Monastery There he planned to bow to the founders of this monastery - the Monks Zosima and Savvaty Simeon decided to stay in Solovki: to learn to read and write and church singing The diligent young man spent all his time at tailoring, reading liturgical books and in soul-saving conversations with the elders The Solovetsky Monastery is a popular and very crowded place among Orthodox Christians Simeon wanted to perform feats in the name of God in solitude Then he went to a monastery on the Pinega River There, Abbot Macarius, heeding the young man’s fervent requests, tonsured him as a monk and named him Simon At that time he was 24 years old The pious monk became famous among the brethren for his zealous service; he resignedly accepted the most difficult obediences Gradually, his fame spread far beyond the monastery However, the abbot, knowing about Simon’s reluctance to communicate with worldly people, released him into solitude For some time, Simon traveled to the monasteries of Novgorod, Vologda and Moscow, looking for a suitable place for solitude In 1613 he settled near Ustyug, in the Volomsky forest The wild, deserted place attracted the monk, eager to perform silent feats Here he set up a monastery and planted a vegetable garden, which fully provided him with food Only sometimes did the recluse go out to neighboring settlements, asking for bread as alms So he lived in silence for 5 years The surrounding residents, having learned that a monk lived in the dense forest, persecuted him But Simon, who by this time had already sent several disciples before him, decided to build a church on the site of the monastery Tsar Mikhail Fedorovich presented him with a letter granting him ownership of land in an area several miles away This caused even greater anger among the people living nearby They burned Simon's church, but he did not complain about his fate and built a new one One day, three villains attacked Simon and threatened to kill him if he did not grant them land charters The man managed to deceive them and leave On July 12 (July 25, new style), 1641, several people made their way into the monastery territory Finding Simon there, they again demanded the letter with threats Having received a refusal, the villains cruelly tortured the monk and then beheaded him The body of the martyr lay for several days, untouched by wild animals The returning brethren found the monk at the very door of his cell Simon was buried on the left side of the church, and a chapel was erected over the grave Miracles of healing soon began to occur at the burial site In 1646, the church decided to honor Simon, so a service and his life were created A year later, an icon depicting the martyr was painted It was placed on the coffin of the saint, but at the beginning of the 20th century After the destruction of the church, she disappeared without a trace In 1996, on the anniversary of Simon's death, the first pilgrimage was made to his burial place Since then it has been performed annually On the day of remembrance of the saint, you can turn to him with prayers for deliverance from a variety of diseases