The Martyrdom of St . Simeon the Zealot, the Apostle who is known by (Simeon the Canaanite).

On this day, St . Simeon the Zealot, the apostle of our Lord (Whose name also is Nathanael, Jn1:45-55), was martyred . He was born in Cana of Galilee, and was expert in the Law and books ofthe prophets . He had a fervor zeal, so he was called the Zealot, and he was righteous, pious, anddid not show favor to anyone . So when Philip the Apostle said to him: "We have found Him ofwhom Moses in the law, and also the prophets, wrote; Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph ."Nathanael said to him, "Can anything good come out of Nazareth?" Philip said to him, "Come andsee ." Jesus saw Nathanael coming toward Him, and said of him, "Behold, an Israelite indeed, inwhom is no guile!" Nathanael said to Him, "How do You know me?" Jesus answered and said tohim, "Before Philip called you, when you were under the fig tree, I saw you ." Nathanael, who347realized that He knew the hidden secrets, answered and said to Him: "Rabbi, You are the Son ofGod! You are the King of Israel!"It was said that when he was a young man, he quarrelled with a man, killed him, and buried himunder the fig tree, and no one knew about it . It was also said that at the time of the slaughter ofthe children of Bethlehem by Herod, his mother hid him under a fig tree that was in her house .She nursed him during the night and hid him during the day, and continued to do so until thepersecution of Herod died down . His mother did not tell him about this until he was fully grownand he never told anyone about this . When Jesus revealed that to him, he realized that He was theomniscient God, bowed before him, and was obedient to Him . He believed, followed Him, andbecame one of His twelve disciples .After he had received the grace of the Holy Spirit on the day of Pentecost, he spoke with tongues,enlightened the world with his evangelism, and returned many to the faith in the Lord Christ . Hepreached in Africa, and in the country of El-Bejah which extended from Aswan to the Red sea . Healso preached in the island of Bertanah, which was probably one of the islands by the shore of theRed sea . He preached there with the Name of Christ, and many tribulations befell him, but Godadded to his courage and strength . God manifested on his hands many signs, and finally he wasmartyred, crucified on a tree, and he received the crown of martyrdom .May his intercession be with us . Amen .