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 Opening of the Holy Door in St Peter's Jesus and the Eleven (Right Panel) Scott 1134 (1999) In the Gospels, St. Simon is called Simon the Canaanite or the Zealot (after the strict Jewish sect, who encouraged Judeans to rise against Roman occupation at the time of the First Jewish War, 69-70, after which Roman armies destroyed the Temple). There are no Gospel citations identified with Simon. He is referenced in a list of Apostles in the Gospel of Luke 6: 14-16 as “Simon who was called the Zealot,” and a similar list in Acts (1:13). After Pentecost, it is generally suggested that Simon evangelized in Edessa and/or Egypt, later meeting up with Jude in Mesopotamia. The pair then travelled to Persia where they were martyred, although exactly where is uncertain. Their relics were translated to Rome in the 8th or 9th centuries. Some relics are said to be located in Toulouse, France. St Jude is also called Thaddeus. St. Jude is cited in John asking Jesus at the Last Supper, “How is it that you will manifest yourself to us and not to the world?” Jesus’s reply is that if a person loves him, he “will keep my word and my Father will love him and will come to him and make our home with him. He who does not love me does not keep my words; and the words which you hear is not mine but the Father’s who sent me.” (John 14:22-24). St Jude’s symbol is a club, believed to be the instrument used in his martyrdom. St. Simon’s symbol is a fish and/or a boat, because, as a cousin of the Zebedee family, he was a fisherman. St. Jude is often termed the ‘saint of hopeless causes,’ it is said because his name was seldom invoked in Christianity’s early years for fear of confusing him with Judas Iscariot, the betrayer of Jesus. There are no stamps specifically identifying Saints Simon and Jude. However, the 11 Disciples and the Virgin Mary are depicted in a group scene from Pentecost located on the 2nd panel of the bronze Holy Door at St. Peter’s Basilica (Scott 1134, 1999). REFERENCES: |
