Yet his origin in the North-African city of Cyrene was enough for many African-American communities to fashion a link to Simon, and an entryway to weaving both African-ness and blackness into the New Testament narrative. Cyrene was a coastal city in modern-day Libya .
Only John specifically says Jesus carried his cross , and all but John include Simon of Cyrene, who was recruited by the soldiers from the crowd to carry or help carry the cross .
Saint Simon the Apostle, also called Simon the Zealot, (flourished 1st century ad—died, Persia or Edessa, Greece?; Western feast day October 28, Eastern feast day June 19), one of the Twelve Apostles.
Just before they did so, they realized that Jesus was already dead and that there was no reason to break his legs. To make sure that he was dead, a Roman soldier (named in extra-Biblical tradition as Longinus) stabbed him in the side .
St. Veronica , (flourished 1st century ce, Jerusalem; feast day July 12), renowned legendary woman who, moved by the sight of Christ carrying his cross to Golgotha, gave him her kerchief to wipe his brow, after which he handed it back imprinted with the image of his face.
Simon’s act of carrying the cross , patibulum (crossbeam in Latin), for Jesus is the fifth or seventh of the Stations of the Cross . Some interpret the passage as indicating that Simon was chosen because he may have shown sympathy with Jesus. Mark 15:21 identifies Simon as “the father of Alexander and Rufus”.
Golgotha , (Aramaic: “Skull,”) also called Calvary , (from Latin calva: “bald head,” or “skull”), skull-shaped hill in Jerusalem, the site of Jesus’ crucifixion. It is referred to in all four Gospels.
Simon is a common name, from Hebrew שִׁמְעוֹן Šimʻôn, meaning “listen” or “hearing”. This practice carried over into English: in the King James Version, the name Simeon Niger is spelt Simeon (Acts 13:1) as is Simeon (Gospel of Luke) (Luke 2:25), while Peter is called Simon (John 1:44).
Cyrene was an ancient Greek city on the North African coast near present-day Shahhat, a town located in north-eastern Libya. The precise location of the ancient city was thirteen kilometres from the coast.
Jesus’ brothers and sisters The Gospel of Mark (6:3) and the Gospel of Matthew (13:55–56) mention James, Joseph/Joses, Judas/Jude and Simon as brothers of Jesus, the son of Mary . The same verses also mention unnamed sisters of Jesus.
He was solemnly entering as a humble King of peace. Traditionally, entering the city on a donkey symbolizes arrival in peace, rather than as a war-waging king arriving on a horse.
As Jesus was walking beside the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, called Peter and his brother Andrew. They were casting a net into the lake, for they were fishermen. “Come, follow me,” Jesus said, “and I will make you fishers of men.” At once they left their nets and followed him.
The Protestant Bible provides names for three angels: ” Michael the archangel “, the angel Gabriel , who is called “the man Gabriel ” in Daniel 9:21 and third “Abaddon”/”Apollyon” in Revelation 9:11.