Simon () is described in the

New Testament The New Testament (NT) is the second division of the Christian biblical canon. It discusses the teachings and person of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus, as well as events relating to Christianity in the 1st century, first-century Christianit ...

as one of the "brothers" of Jesus ().

New Testament

In , people ask concerning Jesus, "Is not this the carpenter's son? is not his mother called Mary? and his brethren, James, and Joses, and Simon, and Judas?" while in they ask, "Is not this the carpenter, the son of Mary, the brother of James, and Joses, and of Juda, and Simon? and are not his sisters here with us?" The Catholic Church defined that "brothers of Jesus" are not biological children of Mary, because of the

dogma Dogma, in its broadest sense, is any belief held definitively and without the possibility of reform. It may be in the form of an official system of principles or doctrines of a religion, such as Judaism, Roman Catholicism, Protestantism, or Islam ...

of the

perpetual virginity of Mary The perpetual virginity of Mary is a Christian doctrine that Mary, the mother of Jesus, was a virgin "before, during and after" the birth of Christ. In Western Christianity, the Catholic Church adheres to the doctrine, as do some Lutherans, Ang ...

, by virtue of which it rejects the idea that Simon and any other than Jesus Christ God could be a biological son of Mary, suggesting that the so-called '' Desposyni'' were either sons of

Joseph Joseph is a common male name, derived from the Hebrew (). "Joseph" is used, along with " Josef", mostly in English, French and partially German languages. This spelling is also found as a variant in the languages of the modern-day Nordic count ...

from a previous marriage (in other words, step-brothers) or else were cousins of Jesus. The ''

Catholic Encyclopedia ''The'' ''Catholic Encyclopedia: An International Work of Reference on the Constitution, Doctrine, Discipline, and History of the Catholic Church'', also referred to as the ''Old Catholic Encyclopedia'' and the ''Original Catholic Encyclopedi ...

'' suggests that Simon may be the same person as

Simeon of Jerusalem Simeon of Jerusalem, or Simon of Clopas (), was a Jewish Christian leader and according to most Christian traditions the second Bishop of Jerusalem (63 or 70–107 or 117), succeeding James, brother of Jesus. Simeon is sometimes identified wit ...

or Simon the Zealot. Some Protestant interpreters who deny the perpetual virginity of Mary usually take Simon to have been a half-brother of Jesus. According to the surviving fragments of the work ''Exposition of the Sayings of the Lord'' of the Apostolic Father

Papias of Hierapolis Papias () was a Greeks, Greek Apostolic Father, Bishop of Hierapolis (modern Pamukkale, Turkey), and author who lived c. 60 – c. 130 AD He wrote the ''Exposition of the Sayings of the Lord'' () in five books. This work, which is lost apart fr ...

, who lived c. 70–163 AD, Mary the wife of Cleophas or Alphaeus would be the mother of Simon, the brother of Jesus: James Tabor, in his controversial book '' The Jesus Dynasty'', suggests that Simon was the son of Mary and Clophas. While Robert Eisenman suggests he was Simon Cephas (Simon the Rock), known in Greek as

Peter Peter may refer to: People * List of people named Peter, a list of people and fictional characters with the given name * Peter (given name) ** Saint Peter (died 60s), apostle of Jesus, leader of the early Christian Church * Peter (surname), a su ...

(from ''petros'' "rock"), who led the Jewish Christian community after the death of James in 62 CE.Eisenman, Robert (2007), "James the Brother of Jesus" (Watkins)

References

Sources

* People from Nazareth Brothers of Jesus {{Bible-stub