Simeon Niger
Character in the New Testament
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Simon Niger is a person in the Book of Acts in the New Testament. He is mentioned in Acts 13:1 as being one of the "prophets and teachers" in the church of Antioch:
In the church at Antioch there were prophets and teachers: Barnabas, Simon called Niger, Lucius of Cyrene, Manaen (who had been brought up with Herod the tetrarch) and Saul.[1]
Simeon Niger | |
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| Honored in | All Christian denominations that venerate saints |
The nickname Niger is interpreted by some to mean "black", referring to a dark complexion or African descent, since niger is the Latin word for black.[2]
Some commentators identify Simon as the same person as Simon of Cyrene, and Simon's son Rufus as the same person as Rufus named in Romans 16.