St. Simon

Simon the Zealot or the Zealous was one of the Twelve Apostles. We do not know much about him; in the Gospels and in Acts he is always referred to as the Zealot or the Zealous to distinguish him from Simon Peter. He may have belonged to the Zealot party, but many scholars think that his surname simply means that he was zealous for the Jewish Law. The Abyssinians recorded that after he preached the Gospel in Samaria, he became Bishop of Jerusalem upon the death of James, and that he was crucified in Jerusalem, but we do not know for certain. Another source says that he preached the Gospel in Persia and was martyred there. Still other sources have him traveling to Egypt and even to Britain. Some of his relics are believed to be under the Altar of the Crucifixion at the Vatican. St. Simon the Apostle is usually represented with a saw, since after his death his body is said to have been sawed apart; sometimes he is represented with a lance. The Western Church celebrates his feast, together with that of St. Jude Thaddeus, on October 28.