Apostle
Apostle Simeon Niger
I век
Apostle Simeon, called Niger ("the black one"), of the Seventy — one of the prophets and teachers of the Antiochian church (Acts 13:1) who laid hands on Barnabas and Saul (Paul) for their ministry; he has no separate feast day of his own and is commemorated only in the Synaxis of the Seventy Apostles.
Apostle Simeon, called Niger (Greek for "black," indicating dark skin), is mentioned by the Evangelist Luke among the prophets and teachers of the Antiochian church: "Now there were in the church that was at Antioch certain prophets and teachers; as Barnabas, and Simeon that was called Niger, and Lucius of Cyrene, and Manaen... and Saul" (Acts 13:1). It was these prophets and teachers who, by the command of the Holy Spirit, laid hands on Barnabas and Saul and sent them on their first missionary journey (Acts 13:2-3). The later fate of Apostle Simeon Niger is not attested in reliable sources; he has no separate individual feast day in the calendar and is mentioned only in the general list of the Synaxis of the Seventy Apostles on January 4/17.