Join us for Mass on SS. Simon and Jude Day.
The only thing the Gospels tell us about Simon is that he was one of the disciples, and that he was called “the Zealot” (Zelotes). John mentions Jude in his description of the Last Supper. The Epistle of Jude may be the work of the disciple Jude, who is the man mentioned by John as the brother of James the Greater.
Tradition has consistently associated Simon and Jude as apostles to Persia. Some accounts state that they were martyrs, a tradition generally accepted by the Western Church. The Monology of Basil, however, says that Simon died a peaceful death at Edessa. Jude, who was surnamed Thaddeus, has been confused with another Thaddeus, who was also said to have died a quiet death, either in Beirut or Edessa. Whatever the facts, accounts conflict and reliable data are lacking.
There are other scholarly questions about both men. One involves Simon’s appellation “Zelotes.” Whether in fact he had been a member before his conversion of one of the several factions called “Zealots,” or whether this title refers to his zeal for the Jewish law, is not known, but he has consistently been identified by it. For some centuries, and even today, Jude has been regarded in popular devotion as the “patron of desperate or lost causes,” but the basis of this tradition is obscure.
The Epistle of Jude concludes with this striking doxology: “Now to him who is able to keep you from falling, and to present you without blemish before the presence of his glory with rejoicing, to the only God our Savior, be glory, majesty, dominion, and authority, through Jesus Christ our Lord, before all time and now and for ever” (Jude 24–25).