THE HOLY APOSTLE SIMON THE ZEALOT (MAY 10)

St. Simon the Zealot

Collected and Edited by Bp. Joseph (Ancient Church of the West) 

Simon the Zealot, one of the glorious Twelve, was a native of Cana in Galilee, the humble village where the Lord Jesus Christ worked His first public miracle. On the day of Simon’s own wedding, he welcomed Jesus and His blessed Mother to his feast, never imagining that this would be the very hour when heaven would break open upon his life. For when the wine failed, and the guests were distressed, Christ manifested His glory by turning water into wine, and Simon’s heart was pierced by the divine majesty of the Word made flesh. 

Struck with awe and burning with fervent love, Simon left behind his bridal chamber, his household, and his former life, and followed Christ as a disciple without looking back. For this reason, the Church has called him the Zealot, not for a party or faction, but for the divine flame which consumed his earthly affections and bound his heart to the true Bridegroom of souls. In the mystical marriage of Christ and His Church, Simon found the eternal union for which all human loves are but a shadow.

After the Ascension of the Lord, Simon received the Holy Ghost at Pentecost, together with the rest of the apostles, and went forth into all the world with apostolic courage and unyielding zeal. By God’s providence, his feet were set upon paths far and wide: first through Egypt and Libya, thence across North Africa through Numidia and Mauritania, until he reached the lands beyond the Bosporus and the Caucasus. In Abkhazia, he endured great hardship and proclaimed the Gospel to pagan peoples, sowing the word of God where it had never before been spoken. 

According to the testimony of St. Dositheos of Gaza and confirmed by the historian Patriarch Nikephoros, Simon journeyed even to the wild and misty shores of Britain, a land shrouded in paganism and druidic rites. There, in that distant island at the edge of the world, he met his martyr’s death, being crucified by those who would not receive the Gospel of peace. He departed this life in imitation of his Lord, crucified in body but glorified in spirit, bearing the wounds of faithfulness and crowned with the unfading wreath of martyrdom.

Let it be known that Simon the Zealot is to be distinguished from Simon Peter, the Chief of the Apostles, and from Symeon the kinsman of the Lord, Bishop of Jerusalem. Yet he stands with them in the ranks of the apostolic company, and is remembered not only on this tenth day of May, but also on the thirtieth day of June, when the whole chorus of the Twelve is celebrated.

Though he died in a strange land, Simon is at home with Christ, and even now intercedes for all those who seek the true Wine of the Kingdom, that their vessels may be filled with the joy that cannot be taken away.

A COLLECT FOR THE FEAST OF SAINT SIMON THE ZEALOT

O Almighty God, who didst call thy servant Simon the Zealot from the bonds of earthly love to the service of thy heavenly kingdom, and didst send him forth as a flame of divine zeal into the dark places of the earth: Grant unto us, we beseech thee, the same fervent spirit, that forsaking all that would hinder us, we may proclaim thy Gospel with boldness, endure the cross with joy, and attain to the crown of righteousness; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who liveth and reigneth with thee and the Holy Ghost, ever one God, world without end. Amen.

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