1st–2nd century
Saint Symeon of Jerusalem
A kinsman of the Lord and the second bishop of Jerusalem, crucified in old age under Trajan.
Biography
Symeon, according to tradition a kinsman of the Lord, succeeded Saint James the Brother of God on the episcopal throne of Jerusalem after the city's destruction by the Romans in 70. According to the historian Hegesippus he was a son of Clopas.
Under Emperor Trajan, Jews denounced him to the consul Atticus because he was descended from the line of David and was a Christian. He was harshly tortured and finally crucified in 107, at a great age, honored by the Church as a hieromartyr for his apostolic zeal.