Simon the Tanner (), also known as Simon the Shoemaker (; ), is the Coptic Orthodox saint associated with the story of the moving the Mokattam Mountain in Cairo, Egypt, during the rule of the Muslim Fatimid Caliph al-Muizz Lideenillah (953–975) while Abraham the Syrian was the Pope of the Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria.
Life
Simon the Tanner lived toward the end of the 10th century and many Coptic Christians in Egypt were engaged in handicrafts. Simon worked in tanning, a craft known there till this day. This profession involved other crafts that depend on the process, from whence Simon carried several titles related to skins: Tanner, Cobbler, Shoemaker.
Miracle of moving the mountain
According to a traditional story, Caliph al-Muizz, who reigned during AD 972–975, used to invite religious leaders to debate in his presence. In one of those meetings in which the patriarch Abraham, also known as Pope Abraam, and a Jew named Yaqub ibn Killis (in another account of this story he was referred to as Moses) were present, Abraham got the upper hand in the debate. Plotting to take revenge, Ibn Killis quoted the verse where Jesus Christ said in the Gospel of Matthew: "He replied, "Truly I tell you, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, 'Move from here to there,' and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you."" (), and demanded that the Pope prove that his religion is right by means of this. After hearing ibn Killis say this, the caliph asked Abraham "What sayest thou concerning this word? Is it your gospel or not?" This story is rejected by influential Muslim historians such as Ahmad Zaki Pasha and Muhammad Abdullah Enan.
In commemoration of this miracle, the Coptic Orthodox Church observes three extra days of fasting before the beginning of the Nativity Fast.
Many more details of the story are found on a Coptic website, which claims that the miracle occurred on November 27, 979 AD.
Discovery of Saint Simon's relics
During the years of 1989–91, Coptic clergymen and archaeologists searched for the relics of the 10th century tanner and saint, Simon. Simon was apparently buried in the cemetery of al-Habash in Old Cairo; however, while searching for Simon's relics, his skeleton was discovered in the Coptic Orthodox Church of the Holy Virgin at Babylon El-Darag behind the Zabbaleen village. The Zabbaleen village where the garbage collectors of Cairo live. In 1969 the governor of Cairo decided to move all of the garbage collectors to the Mokattam. In 1987 there were approximately 15,000 people living in the Zabbaleen village.
Monastery of Saint Simon, Aswan
The Monastery of Saint Simon, Aswan does not seem to have any direct connection with St Simeon. It is accessible by either crossing the desert from Qubbet el-Hawa or by sailing across the Nile from Aswan and then walking up the Wadi al-Qurqur.
One of the churches in the monastery had numerous Coptic inscriptions inside and there were slabs of stones giving the history of many of the monks that had lived there.