St. Simon

Faithfulness to Christ when it cost everything.

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October 28 · Apostle, Martyr

St. Simon

St. Simon

Faithfulness to Christ when it cost everything.

Traditional feast

October 28
1914 / pre-1969 calendar, per Baring-Gould (1897)

Current feast

October 28
Verified · General Roman Calendar

Represents

Apostle
Martyr

Their story

Adapted in modern English from the Catholic Encyclopedia (1913) · original text below · little is known

Simon appears in every list of the Twelve. To distinguish him from Peter he is called the Cananean or Zelotes, both meaning 'the Zealous': he had been zealous for the Jewish law before his call.

Where he preached is uncertain. Greek tradition names the Black Sea, Egypt, North Africa and even Britain. The Latin 'Passion of Simon and Jude' says he worked in Persia and was martyred there. Other traditions name Colchis or Iberia. His burial place is unknown. He is usually shown with a saw, since tradition says his body was sawn apart, and in the West he is honoured together with Jude.

Early life

Selected sentences from the original account, unaltered.

The pseudo-Hippolytus says, “ Simon the Canaanite, the son of Cleophas, also called Jude, was created bishop ot Jerusalem after James the Just fell asleep and was buried there, at the age of 120;” but this testimony is worth nothing.

What they represent

How they teach us to live

Drawn from themes in the original account

Share your faith, in words and by example. Preaching and conversion are central here.

Learn from the kind of life it was. Faithfulness to Christ when it cost everything.

From the homilies

Preached on Scripture

“The Apostles commemorated on this Festival direct our attention to the subject of Zeal, which I propose to consider, under the guidance of our Saviour's example, as suggested by the text. St. Simon is called Zelotes, which means the Zealous; a title given him (as is supposed) from his belonging before his conversion to the Jewish sect of Zealots, which professed extraordinary Zeal for the law. Anyhow, the appellation marks him as distinguished for this…”

Text: “The zeal of Thine house hath eaten Me up.”

From the Catholic Encyclopedia

1913 · 383 words

The name of Simon occurs in all the passages of the Gospel and Acts, in which a list of the Apostles is given. To distinguish him from St. Peter he is called (Matthew 10:4; Mark 3:18) Kananaios, or Kananites, and Zelotes (Luke 6:15; Acts 1:13). Both surnames have the same signification and are a translation [the solemn moving of a saint’s relics to a new shrine] of the Hebrew qana (the Zealous). The name does not signify that he belonged to the party of Zealots, but that he had zeal for the Jewish law, which he practised before his call. Jerome and others wrongly assumed that Kana was his native place; were this so, he should have been called Kanaios. The Greeks, Copts, and Ethiopians identify him with Nathanael of Cana; the first-mentioned also identify him with the bridegroom of the marriage of Cana, while in the "Chronicon paschale" and elsewhere he is identified with Simon Clopas.

The Abyssinians accordingly relate that he suffered crucifixion as the Bishop of Jerusalem, after he had preached the Gospel in Samaria. Where he actually preached the Gospel is uncertain. Almost all the lands of the then known world, even as far as Britain, have been mentioned; according to the Greeks, he preached on the Black Sea, in Egypt, Northern Africa, and Britain, while, according to the Latin "Passio Simonis et Judae" — the author of which was (Lipsius maintains) sufficiently familiar with the history of the Parthian Empire in the first century — Simon laboured in Persia, and was there martyred at Suanir. However, Suanir is probably to be sought in Colchis. According to Moses of Chorene, Simon met his death in Weriosphora in Iberia; according to the Georgians, he preached in Colchis. His place of burial is unknown.

Concerning his relics [the bodily remains of a saint, or objects they used, kept with honor] our information is as uncertain as concerning his preaching. From Babylon to Rome and Toulouse we find traces of them; at Rome they are venerated under the Altar of the Crucifixion in the Vatican. His usual attribute is the saw, since his body was said to have been sawed to pieces, and more rarely the lance. He is regarded as the patron of tanners. In the Western Church he is venerated together with Jude (Thaddaeus); in the East separately. The Western Church keeps his feast on 28 October; the Greeks and Copts on 10 May.

Read more

The full original · 535 words

Read Baring-Gould’s full account

Baring-Gould’s sources: Roman Martyrology. SS. Simon and Jude together always in later Martyrologies. In that of Jerome (the edition of Florentinus), on June 29, ** In Persia the nativity of the Apostles Simon and Jude,” and on July 1, “ In Persia the passion of the Holy Apostles Simon the Canaanite and Jude Zelotes.” But by the Greeks S. Simon on May io, S. Jude on June 19. The Constantinopolitan Kalendar has on Aug. 20, “The contest of the Holy Apostle Thaddaeus,” and no mention of S. Simon. On the marble Neapolitan Kalendar on May 26, S. Jude alone, and on July 1, both Simon and Jude; and on Sept 10, S. Simon alone. Some of the Latin Martyrologies have “ The Nativity of the R Apostle Simon, who is also called Jude,” on Oct 28. The Anglican Reformed Kalendar, Sarum, York, Hereford Kalendars.] TMON the Canaanite, one of the Twelve Apostles,1 is also called Simon Zelotes.2 This latter term, which is peculiar to S. Luke, is the Greek equivalent for the Chaldee term Canaanite (Kanne&n). This does not signify a descendant of Canaan, but one of the Jewish sect or faction of “ the Zealots,” who were conspicuous for their fierce advocacy of the Mosaic ritual. Some writers have identified Simon Zelotes with Simon the “brother” of Jesus,3 but this opinion rests on no evidence whatever.

The pseudo-Hippolytus says, “ Simon the Canaanite, the son of Cleophas, also called Jude, was created bishop ot Jerusalem after James the Just fell asleep and was buried there, at the age of 120;” but this testimony is worth nothing. The ignorance of the writer is shown by his confounding Simon with Jude. In like manner the Menology and Menaea confound Simon with Nathaniel. On April 22, they have “ the memorial of the holy Apostle Nathaniel, who is also called Simon Zelotes;” and the Synaxarium, on May 10, says, “This is Simon, who is called also NathanieL” The Menology of Basil does not make this mistake: it commemorates S. Simon on May 10, and Nathaniel on April 22, whom it also distinguishes from S. Bartholomew on June n. A misunderstanding of the title “Canaanite” has led the Greeks to suppose that Simon was of Cana of Galilee, and the Synaxarium for May 10 says of him: “He was the bridegroom at the marriage to which Christ and His disciples were called, in Cana, where He changed water into S. Simon.

wine.” And it adds that Simon left the marriage table and wine, to follow Christ, and become His Apostle. But Bede [English monk and historian (d. 735)] and others think that the bridegroom was S. John the Divine, and that he left his bride to follow Christ. S. Augustine believed the same.1 It is very uncertain where Simon preached. Moses of Chorene, an Armenian writer of the 5th century, says that he preached in Persia. But he adds that “ some relate that a certain Simon the Apostle perished at.Bosphorus in Iberia. But whether it be true I know not, nor why he should have gone there.” Ado and S. Isidore of Seville, late writers and of no authority, take him to Egypt, but neither Copts nor Abyssinians have any commemoration of him. The Pseudo-Dorotheus says he preached in Africa and Britain, but this testimony is also worthless. As no certainty exists as to where he preached, so also is it doubtful whether he died a martyr’s death or not, and where he died. The Menology of Basil says he preached at Edessa and there died peacefully. The Latin Martyrologies generally say that he was martyred in Persia, but it is improbable that he died a cruel death, as Easterns say he died in peace, and the Latins had no authority whatever for their statement In the year 1204 an Armenian bishop or some wandering Oriental who gave himself out to be such, came to Cologne, pretending that he had made the journey from his native land for the purpose of venerating the Three Kings. He brought with him an arm of S. Simon Zelotes and gave it to Bruno, provost of Bonn, who made the precious relic over to the Pr&nontr£ convent of Seyn in the diocese of Trfeves, where it has performed many notable miracles. In art S. Simon is represented with a long saw, as he is supposed to have been sawn asunder; but sometimes he 1 In Prsefat. ad Tract. *eu Sermones in Joannem. [Oct. it.

holds one or two fish. The Greek paintings represent him as an old man, bald, and with a rounded beard.

Feast days

Feast: October 28

Nine days · Free

Pray the novena
with us.

One short email a day for nine days. The day's prayer, a line from St. Simon's story, and a nudge to keep going.

Also on October 28
St. Jude

St. Jude

October 28 · Apostle, Martyr
T

St. Thaddaeus

October 28 · Feast
C

St. Cyrilla

October 28 · Virgin, Martyr
← All 1726 saints in the library
Sources & notes

Feast-day sources

Story sources

Sources

Credits

Image: Rubens apostel simon.jpg · Peter Paul Rubens · Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

From Sabine Baring-Gould, The Lives of the Saints, new edition in 16 vols. (London: John C. Nimmo, 1897–98); text from the Internet Archive scan (OCR, lightly cleaned; errors possible). Public domain.

Image: Peter Paul Rubens, Wikimedia Commons (Public domain)

John Henry Newman, “Christian Zeal” (Sermon 31) · Scripture: John ii. 17; Rom. x. 1; 1 Sam. ii. 30; Rev. iii. 15, 16
John Henry Newman, Parochial and Plain Sermons, vol. 2 (London: Rivington, 1835). Written in English; public domain. Published 1835 (before 1931): public domain in the U.S. Read the full text →

From “Catholic Encyclopedia (1913)/St. Simon the Apostle,” The Catholic Encyclopedia (New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1907–1914), via Wikisource. Public domain. Matched by name and feast date; text unedited except for our bracketed notes in grey.

From Sabine Baring-Gould, The Lives of the Saints, new edition in 16 vols. (London: John C. Nimmo, 1897–98); text from the Internet Archive scan (OCR, lightly cleaned; errors possible). Public domain in the United States. Reproduced unedited, except for short bracketed notes in grey that we added to explain names and terms (“S.” is the old abbreviation for Saint). Some history and judgments reflect 19th-century scholarship.