Body of the Saint Who Held the Child Jesus in his Arms Is Found in Zadar

In the Church of St Simeon in Zadar, in a silver casket of immeasurable artistic value, there is a mummified body of Simeon the God-receiver (Šimun, Šime), a God-fearing old man and sage who held the child Jesus in his arms.

From the New Testament Gospel of Luke, we learn that Simeon the Elder, a man inspired by the Holy Spirit and one of those who were called prophets, came to the Jerusalem temple to take the Child of God in his arms and greet the one in him, who would bring salvation to all peoples. His body is kept in Zadar, the city whose patron saint is Saint Simeon, and the casket in which the body of the biblical God-receiver is preserved, is considered to be the most valuable work of Medieval goldsmith art in Croatia.

The casket has been officially declared a cultural monument of zero category, and by its artistic qualities and dimensions, it is also considered one of the most valuable Medieval works of art in Europe.

Tradition says that the body of the Saint was first transferred from Palestine to Constantinople, where it stayed until the 13^th century, and then in 1203 it was brought to Zadar. It is said that on that occasion, a Venetian nobleman, returning from a crusade in Syria, took the body of St Simeon the God-receiver with him, but his ship was caught by high winds and he was forced to sail into Zadar. The nobleman fell ill and died, so the body of the Saint remained in Zadar as the most precious relic. The relics of St Simeon are kept in a casket or chest of exceptional value, which was ordered by Elizabeth of Bosnia, the wife of one of the most powerful European rulers of the time, Louis the Great (Lodovicus, Nagy Lajos, Louis I, Ludwik). The casket was made in 1380 from embossed silver sheet metal by the goldsmith Franciscus de Mediolano (of Milan), who had a workshop in Zadar. In the honour of this biblical prophet, the Church of St Simeon was built, decorated with works of art and valuables. Zadar celebrates its patron Saint on 8^th October, when the casket with the body of the Saint in St Simeon’s Church is opened for its citizens and visitors.