Today, the Church commemorates Saint Apostle Simon the Zealot, mentioned in the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and the Acts of the Apostles (Matthew 10:4; Mark 3:18; Luke 6:15; Acts 1:13). He is recognized as one of the Twelve Apostles and hailed from Cana of Galilee. In the Scriptures, he is referred to as the Canaanite and the Zealot to distinguish him from Simon Peter. The nickname "Zealot" translates from Greek as "enthusiast" or "devotee," indicating his piety and dedication to Jewish law, while "Canaanite" likely signifies his origin from Cana or could also mean "zealot" in Aramaic.

According to tradition, Simon the Zealot is identified with Simeon, an apostle from the Seventy, "the brother of the Lord," and the son from Joseph's first marriage. After the martyrdom of James the Just, he became the second bishop of Jerusalem. The first miracle of Jesus, the turning of water into wine, took place at Simon’s house in Cana of Galilee, which solidified his faith, leading him to follow Christ.

Simon the Zealot received the Holy Spirit on the day of Pentecost and preached Christ's teachings in Judea, Egypt, Libya, Cyrene, and Britain. Tradition holds that he met a martyr's death on the Black Sea coast of the Caucasus, presumably in Abkhazia, in the latter half of the 1st century. Other accounts suggest he was killed in Persia. His death is described variably as being beheaded by a sword, crucified, or sawn in half.

The location of Simon the Zealot’s burial remains a subject of debate: some believe it to be in modern-day New Athos in Abkhazia, while others claim it is in the village of Novomikhailovsky in the Krasnodar Krai. In the 19th century, the New Athos Monastery of Simon the Canaanite was built at the purported site of his martyrdom. The relics of the apostle are now housed in the Simon the Canaanite Church in New Athos, as well as partially in Germany and the Vatican.

Saint Apostle Simon the Zealot is venerated as the patron saint of Christian spouses, as the passage about the wedding at Cana of Galilee is read during the Sacrament of Marriage.