The Repose of Archbishop Simeon (Jakovlevič)

On March 19, 2024, at the age of 98, the Archbishop of the Orthodox Church of the Czech Lands and Slovakia, Archbishop Simeon of Olomouc-Brno, reposed in the Lord. 

Archbishop Simeon was born in Prague, the capital of then-Czechoslovakia.  He received his theological education at Charles University (in present-day Czechia), the University of Presov (in present-day Slovakia), and the Leningrad Theological Academy (now St. Petersburg in present-day Russia). In 1958 he was ordained to the diaconate and the priesthood.  In 1998, he was ordained a bishop.  On February 12, 2006, he was elevated to the rank of Archbishop of the Olomouc-Brno Diocese in the then-Czech Republic.  In 2013 he became Locum Tenens of the Metropolitan Seat of the Orthodox Church of the Czech Lands and Slovakia.

Archimandrite Alexander, Vicar of the Slavic Orthodox Vicariate of America and Bishop-elect of Nicopolis, sent condolences to Bishop Isaiah of Šumperk, Vicar of the Olomouc-Brno Diocese.

“Your Grace, beloved fathers, brothers and sisters in the Lord,

With great heartfelt sadness I received the news of the repose of the Archbishop Simeon of Olomouc-Brno.  Our earthly paths crossed in the lands of Moravia in the 2000s, when Archbishop Simeon accepted me as a Subdeacon.  For eight years we served, prayed and worked together in the diocese entrusted to him.  During this time, I got to know His Eminence well. He was a spiritual, kind, and friendly person.  His heart was open to everyone, including the clergy and believers of other faiths, with whom he often met and took part in joint events.  From a young age, devoting his life to the Church, Archbishop Simeon served God and people for almost 70 years, preached and worked in the field of Christ.  Thanks to His Eminence, I saw the life of the Orthodox Church in other countries compared with my native Transcarpathia.  In particular, I became acquainted with how Orthodox Christians in the Czech Republic and Slovakia serve and pray and lead a spiritual life.  Archbishop Simeon made a significant contribution to the development of the Orthodox Church of the Czech Lands and Slovakia as a theologian and church writer.  Thanks to him, new parishes were opened and the clergy was replenished.  I am glad that I spent part of my life under the spiritual guidance of His Eminence, and that it was by his holy hands that my diaconate and priesthood ordinations were performed.

On behalf of the clergy and faithful of the Slavic Orthodox Vicariate and myself, I convey condolences to his relatives, in particular his daughter Bogdana, the Diocesan Council, his clergy and flock, and to everyone who was orphaned by the repose of Archbishop Simeon.  May the merciful Lord comfort us all, ease our sadness, strengthen us and send us peace.  Archbishop Simon reposed in the Lord in the first days of Great Lent, when the entire Church offers intense prayers, especially for the departed.  I hope that as we pray for him now, he will pray for us before the throne of God.

     May our Lord Jesus Christ accept His faithful servant Archbishop Simeon into His monastery, where there is no sadness, sorrow and illness, and grant him the Kingdom of Heaven!  Memory Eternal!

+Alexander, Bishop-Elect of Nicopolis, Vicar

Slavic Orthodox Vicariate of America.”