Official feasts used to be an important part of the human community. People would gather together to remember something sacred, express their faith and hope for the future, and / or just be together formally, recognizing each other as being part of a shared community. Few things express a desire for shared companionship and social intimacy more than dining together. Sadly, the gathering together for feasting is increasingly a relic of the past – at least here in the West.
It need not be so! Today we will remember the ancient feasts.
The Feast of St. Jude Thaddeus and St. Simon the Zealot
This feast is a Christian religious celebration of Sts. Jude Thaddeus and Simon the Zealot, two of the twelve original disciples of Jesus Christ, both subsequently Apostles of the early Church. In much of Christian tradition, they are associated together as an evangelical team. The most widespread tradition is that after evangelizing in Egypt, Simon joined Jude in Persia and Armenia or Beirut in today’s Lebanon, where both were martyred in 65.
St. Jude Thaddeus is a patron saint of Armenia, lost causes, desperate situations, and hospitals.
St. Simon the Zealot is a patron saint of curriers, sawyers, and tanners.
Jude (Greek: Ἰούδας Ἰακώβου translit. Ioúdas Iakóbou) was one of the Twelve Apostles of Jesus according to the New Testament. He is generally identified as Thaddeus (Greek: Θαδδαῖος; Coptic: ⲑⲁⲇⲇⲉⲟⲥ; Syriac/Aramaic: ܝܗܘܕܐ ܫܠܝܚܐ), and is also variously called Judas Thaddaeus, Jude Thaddaeus, Jude of James, or Lebbaeus and is considered as the founding father and the first Catholicos-Patriarch of the Armenian Apostolic Church. He is sometimes identified with Jude, the brother of Jesus, but is clearly distinguished from Judas Iscariot, the apostle who betrayed Jesus prior to his crucifixion. Catholic writer Michal Hunt suggests that Judas Thaddaeus became known as Jude after early translators of the New Testament from Greek into English sought to distinguish him from Judas Iscariot and subsequently abbreviated his forename. Most versions of the New Testament in languages other than English and French refer to Judas and Jude by the same name.
Jude is commonly attributed with a club. He is also often shown in icons with a flame around his head. This represents his presence at Pentecost, when he received the Holy Spirit with the other apostles. Another common attribute is Jude holding an image of Jesus Christ, known as the Image of Edessa. In some instances, he may be shown with a scroll or a book (the Epistle of Jude) or holding a carpenter’s rule.
Identity
New Testament
Jude is clearly distinguished from Judas Iscariot, another apostle and later the betrayer of Jesus. Both Jude and Judas are translations of the name Ὶούδας in the New Testament, which in turn is a Greek variant of Judah, a Hebrew language name which was common among Jews at the time. In most Bibles in languages other than English and French, Jude and Judas are referred to by the same name.
Aside from Judas Iscariot, the New Testament mentions Jude or Judas six times, in four different contexts:
“Judas (or Jude) of James”, explicitly listed as one of the twelve apostles (Luke 6:16 and Acts 1:13);
“Judas, (not Judas Iscariot)”, apparently an apostle (as he was present at the Last Supper) (John 14:22);
the writer of the Epistle of Jude, who identifies himself as “the brother of James” (Jude 1).
Protestants generally believe 1 and 2 to be one person, although theologian Raymond Brown saw the identification as uncertain.
Brother of James or son of James
Translations into English from the original Greek of the New Testament vary in their rendering of Luke 6:16 and Acts 1:13. A literal translation of the references to Jude in these passages gives “Judas of James” (Ancient Greek: Ἰούδας Ἰακώβου, romanized: Ioudas Iakōbou), as in Young’s Literal Translation of the Bible, but scholars differ on whether this means “Jude/Judas, brother of James” or “Jude/Judas, son of James”. The King James version calls him “Judas the brother of James” and the Douay-Rheims version calls him “Jude the brother of James”, making him the same person as the writer of the Epistle of Jude, who identifies himself as “Jude, the servant of Jesus Christ, and brother of James” (Jude 1:1).
Most modern translations (including the New International Version, Revised Standard Version and New Revised Standard Version), identify him as “Judas the son of James”, and not the same person as the author of the Epistle of Jude. Protestant scholar Darrell L. Bock writes that it must mean “son” not “brother”, because when “brother” is intended, the Greek word for ‘brother’ (adelphos) is present. Bock also says that means he was not the brother of Jesus. Additionally the use of the genitive case of “James” (Iakovou) in Greek, usually signifies or implies the person’s father to be distinguished from his homonyms.
Opinion is divided on whether Jude/Judas the apostle was also Jude, brother of Jesus, the traditional author of the Epistle of Jude. Generally, Catholics believe the two Judes are the same person.
Mary the wife of Cleophas or Alphaeus, who was the mother of James the bishop and apostle, and of Simon and Thaddeus, and of one Joseph…
— Fragment X
However, the above fragment is properly attributed by J.B. Lightfoot to a different Papias, an 11th century Latinlexicographer. The quotation is found in this Papias’ Elementarium Doctrinae Rudimentum.
In the apostolic lists at Matthew 10:3 and Mark 3:18, Jude is omitted, but there is a Thaddeus (or in some manuscripts of Matthew 10:3, “Lebbaeus who was surnamed Thaddaeus”, as in the King James Version) listed in his place. This has led many Christians since early times to harmonize the lists by positing a “Jude Thaddeus”, known by either name. This is made plausible by the fact that a number of New Testament figures have multiple names (such as Simon Peter and Joseph Barnabas). It has been argued that the name “Judas” was tarnished by Judas Iscariot and for this reason Mark and Matthew referred to him by an alternative name.
Some Biblical scholars reject this theory, however. They have proposed alternative theories to explain the discrepancy: an unrecorded replacement of one for the other during the ministry of Jesus because of apostasy or death; the possibility that “twelve” was a symbolic number and an estimation; or simply that the names were not recorded perfectly by the early church.
Thaddeus, one of the twelve apostles, is often indistinguishable from Thaddeus of Edessa, whom Eastern Christianity considers as one of the Seventy disciples.
In some Latin manuscripts of Matthew 10:3, Thaddeus is called Judas the Zealot.
This Judas was called by many names. He was said Judas of James, for he was brother to James the Less, and he was called Thaddeus, which is as much to say as taking a prince; or Thadee is said of Thadea, that is a vesture, and of Deus, that is God, for he was vesture royal of God by ornament of virtues, by which he took Christ the prince. He is said also in the History Ecclesiastic, Lebbæus, which is as much to say as heart, or worshipper of heart. Or he is said Lebbæus of lebes, that is a vessel of heart by great hardiness, or a worshipper of heart by purity, a vessel by plenitude of grace, for he deserved to be a vessel of virtues and a caldron of grace.
The Epistle of Saint Jude was traditionally attributed to the Apostle Jude, and is a short piece. Some statues of Saint Jude include the letter (such as the statue of Saint Jude by Adam Kossowski in Faversham, Kent).
In all probability, he spoke both Greek and Aramaic, like almost all of his contemporaries in that area, and was a farmer by trade. According to the legend, Jude was the son of Clopas and Mary of Clopas, sister of Mary, mother of Jesus.
A different tradition holds that Jude suffered martyrdom about 65 AD in Beirut, in the Roman province of Syria during the 1st century in Lebanon together with the apostle Simon the Zealot, with whom he is usually connected. The axe that he is often shown holding in pictures symbolizes the way in which he was killed. Their acts and martyrdom were recorded in an Acts of Simon and Jude that was among the collection of passions and legends traditionally associated with the legendary Abdias, bishop of Babylon, and said to have been translated into Latin by his disciple Tropaeus Africanus, according to the Golden Legend account of the saints.
According to one account, Jude’s body was brought from Beirut to Rome and placed in a crypt in St. Peter’s Basilica which is visited by many devotees. His bones are in the left transept of St. Peter’s Basilica under the main altar of St. Joseph, in one tomb with the remains of the apostle Simon the Zealot. These were moved here on 27 December 1665. An arm was removed from St. Jude’s remains centuries ago and placed in a wooden reliquary carved in the shape of an upright arm imparting a blessing. From September 2023 to May 2024, the arm of Saint Jude Thaddeus went on a pilgrimage in the United States, making stops in 100 cities.
According to another popular tradition, the remains of Jude were preserved in an Armenian monastery on an island in the northern part of Issyk-Kul Lake in Kyrgyzstan at least until the mid-15th century.
A plain ossuary marked with the inscription “Judas Thaddaeus” (Ιουδας Θαδδαιου) was found in Kefar Barukh, Jezreel Valley, alongside fragments of four uninscribed ossuaries. The site was dated by lamps and other pottery to no later than the early second century.
Jude is traditionally depicted carrying the image of Jesus in his hand or close to his chest, betokening the legend of the Image of Edessa, also known as the legend of Abgar, a story resulting from the accretion of several narratives over the centuries. (The oldest source for the legend is Eusebius‘ Ecclesiastical History, I, xiii written between 311 and 325 A.D., reproducing apocryphal correspondence between Jesus and Abgar – but no mention of the image of Edessa – whilst details about the image appear notably in the Doctrine of Addai, written about 400 A.D., the Acts of Thaddaeus, probably written around 700 A.D., and the Narratio De Imagine Edessena composed in 944 A.D.). According to some versions of the legend, King Abgar of Edessa (now Şanlıurfa in southeast Turkey) sent a letter to Jesus seeking a cure for an illness afflicting him. With the letter he sent his envoy Hannan (also known as Ananias), the keeper of the archives, offering his own home city to Jesus as a safe dwelling place. The envoy painted a likeness of Jesus with choice paints (or alternatively, impressed with Abgar’s faith, Jesus pressed his face into a cloth and gave it to Hannan) to take to Abgar with his answer. Upon seeing Jesus’ image, the king placed it with great honor in one of his palatial houses. After Christ’s execution, Thomas the Apostle sent Addai (identifiable with Thaddaeus and often conflated with Judas Thaddaeus), to King Abgar and the king was cured. Astonished, he converted to Christianity, along with many of the people under his rule. Additionally, Jude is often depicted with a flame above his head, representing his presence at Pentecost, when he was said to have received the Holy Spirit with the other apostles.
Veneration
Statue of St. Jude in the Archbasilica of St. John Lateran by Lorenzo OttoniProcession in Lima, PeruOther picture Procession in Lima, PeruImage of Saint Jude Thaddeus in Saint Jude Thaddeus Mission Station, Malabon City, Philippines19th century statue of St. Jude in a Philippine museum
According to tradition, after his martyrdom, pilgrims came to his grave to pray and many of them experienced the powerful intercessions of St. Jude. Thus the title, ‘The Saint for the Hopeless and the Despaired’. St. Bridget of Sweden and St. Bernard had visions from God asking each to accept St. Jude as ‘The Patron Saint of the Impossible’. Jude is remembered (with Simon the Zealot) in the Church of England with a Festival on 28 October.
The Order of Preachers (better known as the Dominicans) began working in present-day Armenia soon after their founding in 1216. At that time, there was already a substantial devotion to Saint Jude by both Catholic and Orthodox Christians in the area. This lasted until Muslim persecution drove Christians from the area in the 18th century. Devotion to Saint Jude began again in earnest in the 19th century, starting in Italy and Spain, spreading to South America and finally to the United States (starting in the vicinity of Chicago) owing to the influence of the Claretians who established the National Shrine of St. Jude in 1929.
Among some Roman Catholics, Jude is venerated as the “patron saint of hopeless causes”. This practice is said to stem from the belief that few Christians invoked him for misplaced fear of praying to Christ’s betrayer, Judas Iscariot, because of their similar names. The ignored Jude thus supposedly became quite eager to assist anyone who sought his help, to the point of interceding in the most dire of circumstances.
Jude is the patron saint of the Chicago Police Department, of Clube de Regatas do Flamengo (a soccer team in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil) and of two St Jude’s GAA teams, the first in Templeogue Dublin 6W and also St Jude’s GAA club in Southampton & Bournemouth (UK). His other patronages include desperate situations and hospitals. One of his namesakes is St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital in Memphis, Tennessee, which has helped many children with terminal illnesses and their families since its founding in 1962.
Shrines and churches
Many countries venerate the Apostle Jude and have constructed shrines or churches dedicated to his memory. Such sites include those in Australia, Brazil, Sri Lanka, Cuba, India, Iran, the Philippines, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, the United States and Lebanon. The Nationwide Center of St. Jude Devotions in Baltimore was founded in 1917 by the Pallottines. The National Shrine of Saint Jude Thaddeus in the Philippines was erected by the Archdiocese of Manila in 1954 as Espíritu Santo Chinese Parish. The Shrine holds the saint’s novena liturgy every Thursday and is now under the Society of the Divine Word that also runs the attached Saint Jude Catholic School. The National Shrine of Saint Jude at Faversham in England was founded in 1955. There is also a shrine of St. Jude built by the Dominicans (Order of Preachers) in Lagos, Nigeria.
The name Simon occurs in all of the Synoptic Gospels and the Book of Acts each time there is a list of apostles, without further details:
Simon, (whom he also named Peter,) and Andrew his brother, James and John, Philip and Bartholomew, Matthew and Thomas, James the son of Alphaeus, and Simon called Zelotes, And Judas the brother of James, and Judas Iscariot, which also was the traitor.
To distinguish him from Simon Peter, he is given a surname in all three of the Synoptic Gospels where he is mentioned. Simon is called “Zelotes” in Luke and Acts (Luke 6:15Acts 1:13). For this reason, it is generally assumed that Simon was a former member of the political party, the Zealots. In Matthew and Mark, however, he is called “Kananites” in the Byzantine majority and “Kananaios” in the Alexandrian manuscripts and the Textus Receptus (Matthew 10:4Mark 3:18). Both Kananaios and Kananites derive from the Hebrew word קנאיqanai, meaning zealous, so most scholars today generally translate the two words to mean “Zealot”. However, Jerome and others, such as Bede, suggested that the word “Kananaios” or “Kananite” should be translated as “Canaanean” or “Canaanite”, meaning that Simon was from the town of קנה Cana in Galilee. If this is the case, his epithet would have been “Kanaios”.
Robert Eisenman has argued that contemporary talmudic references to Zealots refer to them as kanna’im “but not really as a group—rather as avenging priests in the Temple”. Eisenman’s broader conclusions, that the zealot element in the original apostle group was disguised and overwritten to make it support the assimilative Pauline Christianity of the Gentiles, are more controversial. John P. Meier argues that the term “Zealot” is a mistranslation and in the context of the Gospels means “zealous” or “religious” (in this case, for keeping the Law of Moses), as the Zealot movement apparently did not exist until 30 to 40 years after the events of the Gospels. However, neither Brandon nor Hengel support this view.
The apocryphal second-century Epistle of the Apostles (Epistula Apostolorum), a polemic against gnostics, lists him among the apostles purported to be writing the letter (who include Thomas) as “Judas Zelotes”. Certain Old Latin translations of the Gospel of Matthew substitute “Judas the Zealot” for Thaddeus/Lebbaeus in Matthew 10:3. To some readers, this suggests that he may be identical with the “Judas not Iscariot” mentioned in John 14:22: “Judas saith unto him, not Iscariot, Our Lord, how is it that thou wilt manifest thyself unto us, and not unto the world?” As it has been suggested that Jude is identical with the Apostle Thomas (see Jude Thomas), an identification of “Simon Zelotes” with Thomas is also possible. Barbara Thiering identified Simon Zelotes with Simon Magus; however, this view has received no serious acceptance. The New Testament records nothing more of Simon, aside from this multitude of possible but unlikely pseudonyms.
In the apocryphal Arabic Infancy Gospel a fact related to this apostle is mentioned. A boy named Simon is bitten by a snake in his hand; he is healed by Jesus, who told the child “you shall be my disciple”. The mention ends with the phrase “this is Simon the Cananite, of whom mention is made in the Gospel.”
Isidore of Seville drew together the accumulated anecdotes of Simon in De Vita et Morte.
In later tradition, Simon is often associated with Jude the Apostle as an evangelizing team; in Western Christianity, they share their feast day on 28 October. The most widespread tradition is that after evangelizing in Egypt, Simon joined Jude in Persia and Armenia or Beirut in today’s Lebanon, where both were martyred in 65. This version is the one found in the Golden Legend. He may have suffered crucifixion as the Bishop of Jerusalem. According to an Eastern tradition, Simon travelled to Georgia on a missionary trip, died in Abkhazia and was buried in Nicopsia, a not yet identified site on the Black Sea coast. His remains were later transferred to Anakopia in today’s Abkhazia.
Saint Simon the Zealot’s (Simon Kananaios) cave in Abkhazia, Georgia
Simon born in Cana of Galilee who for his fervent affection for his Master and great zeal that he showed by all means to the Gospel, was surnamed Zelotes, having received the Holy Ghost from above, travelled through Egypt, and Africa, then through Mauretania and all Libya, preaching the Gospel. And the same doctrine he taught to the Occidental Sea, and the Isles called Britanniae.
Another tradition, doubtless inspired by his title “the Zealot“, states that he was involved in the First Jewish–Roman War (66–73 AD).
For those interested in this sort of thing (and since it is mentioned above), the Image of Edessa – of which St. Jude is argued to have been connected – is thought by many today to be one and the same relic as the Shroud of Turin.
What do you eat for The Feast of Sts. Jude and Simon the Zealot?
As St. Jude is a patron saint of Armenia, a dish from that country might be an excellent idea for his Feast Day celebration.
Dough: 3 cups flour 1 egg 1 cup water 1 cup veg. oil 1 tsp. salt
Filling: 1 lb. Muenster cheese, cut in small pieces (2 varieties of cheese may be mixed and substituted) 1 cup minced parsley salt, pepper to taste (mix filling together thoroughly)
Directions
Mix all dough ingredients together and knead. Divide into two balls, cover, and set aside 1 hour. Roll out each ball into circles 1/8″ thick Using plastic bowl of 4″ to 5″ diameter, cut out rounds of dough from larger circles.
Place 1 tablespoon filling on center of each round. Bring edges together to form turnover and press edges with fingers to seal. in deep hot fat until golden brown, turning over to brown both sides.
What is a Prayer You Might Say for This Feast?
St. Jude is the Saint associated with desperate situations and lost causes. It is likely for that reason that St. Jude is the name of an important children’s cancer research center in the United States. If you feel so led, you can donate to that cause HERE.
I would also add that in light of St. Jude’s status as Patron Saint of Armenia, it is a good time to remember and pray for Armenian Christians who are going through incredible hardship at this time.
Begin by making the sign of the crossIn the name of Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, Amen.
Call on St. Jude to pray with you“Most holy St. Jude – apostle, martyr, and friend of Jesus, today I ask that you pray for me and the intentions I now share …”
Name your intentionsNow, you call to mind or say aloud why you are praying this novena. You can choose one intention to pray with for the entire nine days, or you can name a different one each day of prayer.
Whether it is a physical, mental, or spiritual struggle you or a loved one endures, you can name these intentions of your heart in prayer.
Pray the St. Jude novena prayer“St. Jude, you are the patron of the impossible. Pray for me and my intentions! O St. Jude, pray that God’s grace and mercy will cover my intentions. Pray for the impossible if it is God’s will.
Pray that I may have the grace to accept God’s holy will even if it is painful and difficult for me.”
Rest with the daily meditationThe daily meditation focuses on a different theme each day, including faith, sacrifice, and hope. The first day of the novena asks St. Jude to lead us in loving God: “St. Jude, you loved our Lord, help me to love Him more.”
Close with the Sign of the CrossIn the name of Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, Amen.
Repeat this prayer with St. Jude for eight more days to complete the novena.
novena
noun
A recitation of prayers and devotions for a special purpose during nine consecutive days.
In the Roman Catholic Church, a devotion consisting of prayers said during nine consecutive days, for the purpose of obtaining, through the intercession of the Virgin or of the particular saint to whom the prayers are addressed, some special blessing or mercy. Also called by the French name neuvaine.
When is this feast celebrated?
St. Jude and St. Simon the Zealot’s Feast Day is celebrated on 28 October. If you celebrate, I hope you have a wonderful day.
