Very little is known about the life of St. Simeon of Verkhoturye, but miracles that quite often occur at the tomb with his remains in the St. Nicholas Monastery in the city of Verkhoturye instill in people faith, hope and love for their heavenly patron.
The holy righteous Simeon of Verkhoturye lived in the 17th century, historians could not establish his exact date of birth. He was from a noble family, but left his home and became a wanderer. Simeon spent most of his life in the Siberian village of Merkushino. There he was often seen in the church of St. Michael the Archangel, located on the banks of the Tura River.
In the summer, Simeon would retire and indulge in prayer. He ate fish, which he caught himself in the river. With the onset of cold weather, the wanderer walked around the peasant huts and sewed fur coats. Among the people, he was considered a very good craftsman, always doing his job properly. Simeon of Verkhotursky refused to accept remuneration for his work and often left the house, leaving his fur coat unheated - only so that they would not have time to forcefully give him money.
Simeon died in 1642 and was buried in the cemetery next to the church of the Archangel Michael. 50 years after the death of Simeon, in 1692, the coffin with his remains suddenly miraculously began to rise from the grave. No one could remember the name of the saint, but the miraculous finding of his incorruptible relics was regarded by everyone as a sign from above. Since then, people began to turn to the righteous elder for help, and the earth taken from his grave led to miraculous healings.
On September 12, 1704, according to the old style, the relics of the saint were transferred to the monastery of the city of Verkhoturye, but soon the monastery church was destroyed by fire. The shrine, which preserved the relics of the saint, still had to go through many events. In 1920 it was sealed due to anti-religious propaganda. From the church, the relics got to the museum. And only on September 25, 1992, the relics of St. Simeon were transferred to the monastery of the city of Verkhoturye.
Since then, for 20 years in a row, Orthodox Christians have been celebrating the Transfer of the relics of the righteous Simeon of Verkhoturye. On this day, in St. Nicholas Monastery, where the relics of the saint are now kept, solemn liturgies, processions and other events are held, in which local residents and pilgrims who have come specially for this day from different parts of Russia take part.
The excursion and pilgrimage department of the Yekaterinburg diocese organizes special trips for everyone to the day of the transfer of the relics of St. Simeon. On the website of the Novo-Tikhvinsky Women's Monastery in Yekaterinburg, individual pilgrims can familiarize themselves with the directions to Verkhoturye from St. Petersburg and other Russian cities.
On this day, at the shrine with the relics of the righteous Simeon, the monk Dalmat meets numerous guests, who has been obedient here for many years in a row. With love and great patience, he now and then opens a special window so that the pilgrim can venerate the honest head of the saint.
There are numerous cases of miraculous healings of sick people who came to the relics of Simeon of Verkhotursky. Many people who have visited this place say that they feel a special peace and love sent to them by the heavenly patron of the Urals.
