Witnesses to the Resurrection: St Simon the Zealot

By Jordan Grantham, Eastertide 2017
St Simon, El Greco. Image: Wikimedia Commons.

Name: St Simon the Zealot

Death: Late 1st or early 2nd century AD. Disputed location and circumstances.

One tradition holds he was sawed to death.

Feast Day: October 28

Patronage: Sawyers, Tanners, and Curriers

Customs: Bread of the Dead is prepared on this day in some cultures.

Shrine: Altar of the Crucifixion, St Peter’s Basilica, Vatican City.

The Crucifixion of St Peter, Guido Reni, St Peter’s Basilica. Image: Wikimedia Commons

Scripture and Life Story:

The scriptures write very little about St Simon the Apostle.

St Simon was called “the Zealot” because of his devotion to the Jewish Law.

Church Fathers:

Apocryphal texts hold St Simon and St Jude Thaddeus were martyred in Persia.

 

With thanks to Rev Dr Paul Stenhouse MSC, Whatever happened to the twelve apostles? (2006, Chevalier Press)

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