The Apostolic Fathers · AD 70–130
Symeon, son of Clopas
d. c. 107 (crucified under Trajan) · Bishop of Jerusalem · Cousin of the Lord · Martyr at 120 years · Jerusalem
The Apostolic Fathers
Who Symeon, son of Clopas was
After James’s stoning “the apostles and disciples of the Lord that were still living came together from all directions with those that were related to the Lord according to the flesh… and all unanimously judged Symeon, son of Clopas, worthy of the episcopal throne” — a cousin of Jesus, Hegesippus says, Clopas being Joseph’s brother. He led the mother-church across the catastrophe of 70 (the flight to Pella belongs to his story’s edge), and under Trajan, denounced by heretics as both Davidic and Christian, was “tortured for many days” and crucified at the reported age of 120 — the governor Atticus marveling at his endurance. In him the church of James kept an apostolic-family head into the second century.
Also listed in the bishops of Jerusalem and martyrs.
Common questions
When did Symeon, son die?
Symeon, son of Clopas is dated d. c. 107 (crucified under Trajan) in the archive, which places Symeon, son in the Apostolic Fathers (AD 70–130). The dating is traditional and approximate; the archive marks it as uncertain rather than fixing a year the sources do not give.
Which early sources mention Symeon, son?
Symeon, son of Clopas is named in 3 primary-source passages catalogued here, drawn from Hegesippus, Epiphanius of Salamis and The Constitutions' compiler. Every passage is quoted from a named public-domain translation, earliest first.
Where was Symeon, son from?
The archive associates Symeon, son of Clopas with Jerusalem.
Who were Symeon, son’s contemporaries?
The archive links Symeon, son of Clopas to 10 other figures, including James the Just, Jude, the Brother of the Lord, The Grandsons of Jude and Clopas (Cleopas?). Each connection is drawn from a source that places them together, not from inference.
Primary-source mentions (3)
Every passage below is quoted from a named public-domain translation, earliest first.
Hegesippus, via Eusebius III.32
c. AD 180Certain of these heretics brought accusation against Symeon, the son of Clopas, on the ground that he was a descendant of David and a Christian; and thus he suffered martyrdom, at the age of one hundred and twenty years, while Trajan was emperor and Atticus governor.Hegesippus · III.32 · source text
Panarion 66.20 (the Jerusalem succession)
c. AD 375Apostolic Constitutions VII.46 ('the second was Simeon the son of Cleopas')
c. AD 380Upon whose death the second was Simeon the son of Cleopas.The Constitutions' compiler · Apostolic Constitutions VII.46 · source text
Names proposed by later tradition
Symeon son of Clopas = Simon, brother of the Lord
A frequent identification, and the source of the tradition that a brother of the Lord succeeded James at Jerusalem. Hegesippus, the witness for Symeon, instead calls him the Lord’s cousin and makes Clopas the brother of Joseph. The archive follows Hegesippus and holds the two as separate figures, recording the identification on both pages.
Connected in the archive
People
- James the Just
- Jude, the Brother of the Lord
- The Grandsons of Jude
- Clopas (Cleopas?)
- Justus of Jerusalem
- Pliny the Younger
- Emperor Trajan
- Hegesippus
- Mary of Clopas
- Simon, brother of the Lord
Events in this lifetime
- AD 44 · Persecution under Herod Agrippa I, AD 44
- AD 49 · The Council of Jerusalem, AD 49
- AD 57 · Paul writes Romans, AD 57
- AD 62 · James the Just stoned, AD 62
- AD 64 · The Great Fire and Nero’s persecution, AD 64
- AD 70 · The fall of Jerusalem, AD 70
- AD 95 · Domitian’s reprisals, AD 95
- AD 96 · Rome writes to Corinth: 1 Clement, AD 96
Place
Places served
The one place the sources put Symeon, son.