St. Simon redirects here. For others, see Saint- The name of Simon occurs in all of the synoptic gospels Simon. and the Book of Acts each time there is a list of apostles, without further details: The apostle called Simon Zelotes, Simon the Zealot, in Luke 6:15 and Acts 1:13; and Simon Kananaios or 14 Simon, whom he named Peter, and his hearken- brother Andrew, and James, and John, and“ שמעון Simon Cananeus (“Simon” signifying ing; listening”, Standard Hebrew Šimʿon, Tiberian He- Philip, and Bartholomew, 15 and Matthew, brew Šimʿôn, “Shim'on”), was one of the most obscure and Thomas, and James son of Alphaeus, and among the apostles of Jesus. Little is recorded of him Simon, who was called the Zealot, 16 and aside from his name. A few pseudepigraphical writings Judas son of James, and Judas Iscariot, who were connected to him, and the theologian and Doctor became a traitor. of the Church, Saint Jerome, does not include him in De —Luke 6:14–16, NRSV viris illustribus written between 392–393 AD.[3]
To distinguish him from Simon Peter, he is called Kananaios, or Kananites (Matthew 10:4, Mark 3:18), and 1 Identity in the list of apostles in Luke 6:15, repeated in Acts 1:13, Zelotes, the “Zealot”. Both titles derive from the Hebrew word qana, meaning The Zealous, though Jerome and others mistook the word to signify the apostle was from the town of Cana, in which case his epithet would have been “Kanaios” or even from the region of Canaan. As such, the translation of the word as “the Cananite” or “the Canaanite” is traditional and without contemporary extra-canonic parallel. Robert Eisenman has pointed out[4] contemporary talmudic references to Zealots as kanna'im “but not really as a group — rather as avenging priests in the Temple”. Eisenman’s broader conclusions, that the zealot element in the original apostle group was disguised and overwrit- ten to make it support the assimilative Pauline Christian- ity of the Gentiles, are more controversial. John P. Meier points out that the term “Zealot” is a mistranslation and in the context of the Gospels means “zealous” or “jeal- ous” (in this case, for keeping the Law of Moses), as the Zealot movement did not exist until 30 to 40 years after the events of the Gospels.[5] In the Gospels, Simon the Zealot is never identified with Simon the brother of Jesus mentioned in Gospel of Mark 6:3 :
3 Is not this the carpenter, the son of Mary and brother of James and Joses and Judas and Simon, and are not his sisters here with us?” And they took offense at him.(NRSV)
The Catholic Encyclopedia suggests that Simon the James Tissot - Saint Simon - Brooklyn Museum Zealot may be the same person as Simeon of Jerusalem or Simon the brother of Jesus. He could perhaps be
1 2 2 LATER TRADITION
Statue of St. Simon in the Archbasilica of St. John Lateran by Francesco Moratti.
the cousin of Jesus or a son of Joseph from a previous marriage.[6] The Eastern Orthodox Church tradition holds that it was Simon’s wedding that Christ and his disciples attended in Cana of Galilee in which Christ turned water in six stone jars to wine. He is called zealot because in seeing this miracle, Simon left his home, his parents and his bride and followed Christ. It is also said that after Pentecost, his mission was in a place called Mauretania in Africa. Another tradition holds that this is the Simeon of Jerusalem who became the second bishop of Jerusalem, although he was born in Galilee.[7][8]
2 Later tradition
St. Isidore of Seville drew together the accumulated anec- Saint Simon the Zealot with his attribute of a saw dotes of St. Simon in De Vita et Morte; the fully developed legend is presented in the Legenda Aurea (ca 1260).[9] In later tradition, Simon is often associated with St. Jude as an evangelizing team; in Western Christianity, they 3
share their feast day on 28 October. The most widespread of God".[12] Muslim exegesis and Qur'an commentary, tradition is that after evangelizing in Egypt, Simon joined however, names them and includes Simon amongst the Jude in Persia and Armenia or Beirut, Lebanon, where disciples.[13] Muslim tradition says that Simon was sent both were martyred in 65 AD. This version is the one to preach the faith of God to the Berbers, outside North found in the Golden Legend. He may have suffered cru- Africa.[14] cifixion as the Bishop of Jerusalem. One tradition states that he traveled in the Middle East and Africa. Christian Ethiopians claim that he was cru- 5 In popular culture cified in Samaria, while Justus Lipsius writes that he [2] was sawn in half at Suanir, Persia. However, Moses • In the rock opera Jesus Christ Superstar, Simon of Chorene writes that he was martyred at Weriosphora Zealotes tries to persuade Jesus to stir hatred among [2] in Caucasian Iberia. Tradition also claims he died the masses against the Roman occupiers. peacefully at Edessa.[10] Another tradition says he vis- ited Britain—possibly Glastonbury—and was martyred • In the play The Last Days of Judas Iscariot, Simon in Caistor, modern-day Lincolnshire. Another, doubtless the Zealot is a witness for the defense at the trial of inspired by his title “the Zealot", states that he was in- Judas Iscariot in Purgatory. volved in a Jewish revolt against the Romans, which was • brutally suppressed. In the miniseries Jesus of Nazareth, before joining the Apostles he is portrayed first as a member of the The 2nd century Epistle of the Apostles (Epistula Apos- Zealots, hence his name. tolorum),[11] a polemic against gnostics, lists him among the apostles purported to be writing the letter (who in- • Simon the Zealot is a blacksmith in The Bronze Bow. clude Thomas) as Judas Zelotes and certain Old Latin translations of the Gospel of Matthew substitute “Judas • Simon the Zealot is the omniscient voice in "The the Zealot” for Thaddeus/Lebbaeus in Matthew 10:3. To Gospel According to Simon the Canaanite: A Medi- some readers, this suggests that he may be identical with tation on Empire: 88 Monologues” , Country Valley the "Judas not Iscariot" mentioned in John 14:22: “Judas Press, 2012. saith unto him, not Iscariot, Our Lord, how is it that thou wilt manifest thyself unto us, and not unto the world?" As it has been suggested that Jude is identical with the apostle 6 Notes Thomas (see Jude Thomas), an identification of “Simon Zelotes” with Thomas is also possible. Barbara Thiering [1] “St. Simon the Apostle” (in Italian). Blessed Saints and identified Simon Zelotes with Simon Magus, however this Witnesses. 2005-03-15. Retrieved 29 March 2010. view has received no serious acceptance. The New Tes- tament records nothing more of Simon, aside from this [2] Jones, Terry H. “Saint Simon the Apostle”. multitude of possible but unlikely pseudonyms. He is Saints.SQPN.com. Retrieved 29 March 2010. buried in the same tomb as St. Jude Thaddeus, in the left transept of the St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome, under [3] “This work [De viris illustribus], as he reveals at its start and finish, was completed in the fourteenth year of Theo- the altar of St. Joseph. dosius, that is, between 19 January 392 and 18 January In art, Simon has the identifying attribute of a saw be- 393.” A.D. Booth, “The Chronology of Jerome’s Early cause he was traditionally martyred by being sawn in half. Years,” Phoenix 35 (1981), p.241.
[4] Robert Eisenman, James the Brother of Jesus: The Key to Unlocking the Secrets of Early Christianity and the Dead 3 Sainthood Sea Scrolls. (Viking Penguin). 1997. :33–34.
[5] Meier, John (2001). A Marginal Jew: Rethinking the Simon, like the other Apostles, is regarded as a saint Historical Jesus Volume 3: Companions and Competitors. by the Roman Catholic Church, the Eastern Ortho- Yale University. pp. 132–135. ISBN 978-0-300-14032- dox Churches, the Oriental Orthodox Churches, the 3. Eastern Catholic Churches, the Anglican Church and the Lutheran Church. [6] “The Brethren of the Lord”. New Advent. Retrieved 6 November 2011.
[7] St. Simon the Apostle, from the Catholic Encyclopedia 4 Islam [8] Appendix to the Works of Hippolytus 49.11
Muslims accept Jesus as a prophet of Islam. The Qur'an [9] “The Golden Legend - The Lives of Saints Simon and also speaks of Jesus’s disciples but does not mention their Jude”. The Catholic Community Forum and Liturgical names, instead referring to them as “helpers to the work Publications of St. Louis, Inc. Retrieved 29 March 2010. 4 7 EXTERNAL LINKS
[10] “St. Simon of Zealot”. Catholic Online. Retrieved 29 March 2010.
[11] “Epistula Apostolorum”. Early Christian Writings. Re- trieved 29 March 2010.
[12] Qur'an 3:49–53
[13] Historical Dictionary of Prophets In Islam And Judaism, Brandon M. Wheeler, Disciples of Christ: “Muslim exe- gesis identifies the disciples as Peter, Andrew, Matthew, Thomas, Philip, John, James, Bartholomew, and Simon”
[14] Historical Dictionary of Prophets In Islam And Judaism, Brandon M. Wheeler, Disciples of Christ
7 External links
• All appearances of “Simon” in the New Testament • Legenda Aurea: Lives of Saints Simon and Jude
• Catholic Encyclopedia: St. Simon the Apostle • (Greek) Ὁ Ἅγιος Σίμων ὁ Ἀπόστολος ὁ Ζηλωτής. 10 Μαΐου. ΜΕΓΑΣ ΣΥΝΑΞΑΡΙΣΤΗΣ.
• Simon the Zealot (novel) by Alfred Brenner 5
8 Text and image sources, contributors, and licenses
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