Simon:  the Saints

St. Simon the Zealot

James, son of Alphaeus, Thaddeus (Jude)
and Simon the Zealot

Curiously, very little is known abouth these three from the New Testament beyond their inclusion in the lists of Apostles. Simon, for example, is called a Zealot. We know that Zealots were political activists attempting to overthrow Roman occupation. Does this suggest that jesus and his followers had some sort of political agenda qith the inclusion of a Zealot in their group?

We suggest that their anonymity was not accidental. These three have been systematically downplayed because of one startling and embarrassing fact - they were in fact brothers of Jesus. Is it coincidental that three of the four actual 'named' brothers of Jesus in the New Testament are James, Simon and Judas?

Melvyn Bragg, Bob Bee - Producer/Director, "THE APOSTLES" a series on ITV1

St. Simon of Zealot
Feastday October 28

Simon Zelotes, called the Zealot was one of the twelve disciples. Simon had the words "the Zealot" added to his name. It helped to distinguish him from Simon Peter, and to keep his name different from Saint Simeon, the brother of Saint James the Less. Andrew and Simon Peter were brothers, Saint James the Greater and Saint John the Evangelist were brothers, and Saint Jude, Saint James the Less (called that because he was shorter, not less important) and Saint Simeon were brothers.

"The Zealot" also shows that he was a member of an organization called the "Zealots". The Zealots were the political, violently anti-Roman, wing of the Pharisees.  The zealots begun in an effort to resist the Roman census.  Another view is that Simon was surnamed the Zealot for his rigid adherence to the Jewish law and to the Canaanite law.

Simon was the groom at the wedding in Cana where Jesus performed his first miracle in public, turning water into wine. Seeing this miracle caused Simon to become the eleventh apostle. He was present at the first Pentecost and he committed himself there to spreading the message of Jesus.

Simon may have been 40 years old when he became a disciple. At first he may have thought that Jesus would lead an uprising to get rid of the Romans ruling their land. It turned out that Jesus changed him. He had been a man of violence and he became a man of peace. Jesus knew that the Zealots and Publicans were bitter enemies. One group worked against the Romans, the other for them. Even so, Jesus chose a disciple from both groups. They became friends in His work.

Matthias along with the apostles Jude (Thaddaeus), Bartholomew, Simon the Zealot and Andrew are credited by Armenian tradition as the apostles who evangelized Armenia. Simon's frequent missionary journeys, it is reported, took him to preach in such far away places as Africa and England. Western tradition is that he preached from Egypt to Mauritania and even into Britain. It is believed that having left Britain, Simon at some point went to Persia in the company of the apostle Jude.

Simon was the co-worker of Jude, or Thaddeus. They traveled together in Mesopotamia which both were martyred. Variously conjectured to have preached and to have been crucified while preaching at Ostrakine in Lower Egypt. He was also said to have preached the gospel in Mauritania, Africa, and even in Britain, in which latter country he was crucified, AD 74.

Eastern tradition says Simon died peacefully at Edessa. It was said that Simon was tortured and finally crucified in pagan England. It is also said that Simon and Jude went to Persia where they suffered martyrdom
His feast day is October 28th

Compiled from the following sources:

Catholic Online

BiblePath.Com

Latter Rain. Com

Domestic Church Communications Ltd

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