Simon of Cyrene

Simon of Cyrene is the man whom the Roman soldiers compelled to carry the cross of the Lord Jesus Christ on the way to Golgotha. He is mentioned by the three synoptic Gospels, and Mark calls him the father of Alexander and Rufus. The Church honours in him the one who carried the cross of the Lord.

The Cyrenian

Cyrene was a Greek city in present-⁠day Libya, in the province of Cyrenaica, where a numerous Jewish community lived. In Jerusalem there was a synagogue of the Cyrenians (Acts 6:9), and at the feasts believers came from every corner of the world. Simon was on the road, probably come for the Passover, when the soldiers stopped him. Mark says he was coming in from the country.

On the way of the cross

The Gospel of Matthew says: "As they went out, they found a man of Cyrene, Simon by name. They compelled this man to carry his cross" (Matthew 27:32). Mark adds that he was "the father of Alexander and Rufus" (15:21), and Luke says they laid the cross on him to carry behind Jesus (23:26). The Gospel of John says only that Jesus went out "bearing his own cross" (19:17). Commentators understand that the Lord bore His cross for part of the way, and when His bodily strength failed, the soldiers took Simon. The burden was laid on him by force, but it became a service without equal: carrying the cross of Christ. In the Church's reading, Simon is an image of every Christian, called to take up the cross and follow Him (Matthew 16:24).

His sons

The fact that Mark names his sons without further explanation shows that Alexander and Rufus were known to the readers of the Gospel, and so were members of the Church. A Rufus is also mentioned by the holy Apostle Paul in the Epistle to the Romans (16:13): "Greet Rufus, chosen in the Lord; also his mother, who has been a mother to me as well." It is commonly supposed that this is the same man, but the identification is not certain. No reliable word has been preserved of Simon's later fate.

Veneration

In the Greek calendar Simon of Cyrene is commemorated on 13 March. He is not listed in the present calendar of the Russian Orthodox Church. He is honoured as a person of the Gospel, without a proper service.