Venerable Simon of Serbia

Venerable Simon of Serbia is the monastic name under which Stefan the First-Crowned (Stefan Nemanjic), the first crowned king of Serbia, is commemorated on September 24. The son of Stefan Nemanja, the founder of the Serbian state, and the younger brother of St Sava, first archbishop of the Serbian Church, he received monastic tonsure with the name Simon before his death and is venerated among the saints of the Nemanjic dynasty.

The Serbian Orthodox Church keeps his memory on September 24 as 'St Stephen, King of Serbia, the First-Crowned (Simon the Monk),' the date traditionally given for his repose in 1224. By tradition, it was St Sava who tonsured him a monk near the end of his life and gave him the name Simon, so that he died in the monastic state. He was buried at the monastery of Studenica, where the relics of his father had earlier been translated from Mount Athos.

The Cloud of Witnesses anchor record preserves his commemoration as a Serbian monk under the name Simon, of whom no extended life is given in the Slavic synaxarion used as the spine of this database. The fuller biographical record belongs to his career as a ruler, which is treated in his commemoration as Saint Stephen the First-Crowned; the September 24 feast venerates him specifically in his final, monastic identity as the monk Simon.