Ascetic Life
The life of Simeon the Ancient follows the pattern of the early Syrian eremitic movement. As a child he left settled life for the wilderness and made his home in a cave, where his discipline consisted of unceasing prayer, meditation, and the contemplation of God. His austerity extended to his diet: he is said to have eaten only the grass that grew around his cave.
His reputation for holiness drew visitors seeking direction, which threatened the solitude he prized. To preserve his silence he abandoned the cave and moved into the mountains of the Aman (Amanus) range, continuing his ascetic struggle in a more secluded setting.
Mount Sinai and Monastic Foundations
Simeon withdrew to Mount Sinai, the mountain associated in Scripture with the revelation given to the Prophet Moses. His life relates that, by divine Providence, he returned to the Aman range after only a short stay on Sinai.
Back in the Aman mountains he established two monasteries, one at the top of the mountain and the other at its base. As their head he guided the monks, warning them about the wiles of the enemy of mankind, teaching them how to struggle against temptations, and encouraging them in ascetic labors.
Veneration
Because of the holiness of his life, Simeon is said to have received from God the gift of wonderworking. He is commemorated on January 26 and is styled in the liturgical texts a venerable father associated with Mount Sinai. The epithet "the Ancient" or "the Elder" serves to distinguish him from Symeon the Stylite, commemorated on September 1.
His place within the wider history of Syrian asceticism is illuminated by Theodoret of Cyrrhus, whose History of the Monks of Syria (Religious History) records the lives of some thirty Syrian ascetics of the fourth and fifth centuries—many of whom Theodoret knew personally—and includes among them a figure known as Symeon the Elder.
