The holy Apostle Simon the Zealot is mentioned in the lists of the twelve apostles in the Gospels according to Matthew, Mark, and Luke, as well as in the Acts of the Apostles (Matt. 10:4; Mark 3:18; Luke 6:15; Acts 1:13); however, very little is known about him.
Simon came from Cana of Galilee. In Holy Scripture he is called both Canaanite and Zealot, in order to distinguish him from Simon Peter. The nickname Zealot (Greek: ζηλωτής) in translation from Greek means “zealot” or “zealous one”, that is, a pious person who zealously follows the Jewish law. Sometimes the nickname Zealot is interpreted as indicating adherence to the party of the Zealots (Zealots) — active fighters against Roman domination. His other nickname, Canaanite (Aram. Qan'ana), according to one version, indicates his origin as a native of the city of Cana; according to another version, this name is explained based on the translation from Aramaic: “zealot”.
Tradition sometimes identified him with Simeon, an apostle from among the seventy, “brother of the Lord” (son from the first marriage of Joseph), who became the second bishop of Jerusalem after the execution of James the Just.
The first miracle that the Savior performed — the transformation of water into wine — took place in the house of Simon (John 2:1–11). During the feast, wine ran out for the guests. Then the Lord, at the intercession of the Most Holy Theotokos, turned water into wine. Struck by the miracle, Simon believed with all his heart and soul in the Lord Jesus as the promised Messiah and, leaving everything behind, followed Him.
On the day of Pentecost he received, together with the other apostles, the gift of the Holy Spirit. The holy Apostle Simon preached the teaching of Christ in Judea, Egypt, Libya, Cyrene and Britain. According to tradition, the holy Apostle Simon accepted a martyr’s death on the Black Sea coast of the Caucasus, presumably in Abkhazia, in the second half of the 1st century. According to another version, he was killed in Persia. It is believed that Simon was beheaded with a sword or sawn alive with a saw. There also exists a tradition that he was crucified on a cross.
Simon the Zealot was buried in the city of Nicopsis, the location of which also causes disputes. According to some opinions, this city is the present New Athos in Abkhazia; according to others, it was located at the site of the present settlement of Novomikhaylovsky in Krasnodar Krai. Subsequently, in the 19th century, on the presumed place of the apostle’s exploits, near Mount Apsara, the New Athos Monastery of Simon the Canaanite was built. At present, the relics of the apostle are under the spud of the Simon-Canaanite church in New Athos, part of the relics is located in Germany (in the basilica of the Apostle Andrew the First-Called in Cologne) and in the Vatican (in St. Peter’s Basilica).
The holy Apostle Simon the Zealot is considered the patron of Christian spouses, since during the celebration of the Sacrament of Matrimony the passage about the marriage in Cana of Galilee is read.