The temple of Simon the Canaanite was built in the lX-X century and is named after the Holy Apostle who preached Christianity. During the time of the Abkhazian kingdom, the church was the burial place of the clergy. The temple was repeatedly destroyed and rebuilt. On November 27, 1875, Emperor Alexander III handed over the temple to the New Athos Simon-Kananite Monastery, timed to coincide with the start of construction of the monastery. The idea of establishing a monastic brotherhood in Transcaucasia belongs to the monks of the Russian Panteleimon Monastery on Old Athos in Greece. They implemented their idea with the help of Grand Duke Mikhail Nikolaevich Romanov, governor of the Caucasus. It was he who ordered the allocation of land in the Sukhumi district for the estate and grounds of the New Athos Monastery. The choice of the site for the monastery was determined by the fact that there was an ancient temple in honor of the Apostle Simon the Canaanite nearby, where, according to legend, his holy relics are located, and a little further from the temple, there is a cave in which, according to legend, the saint retired and prayed. On May 10, 1882, the temple was completely restored, consecrated and visited by Grand Duke Mikhail Nikolaevich Romanov (the last of the four sons of Nicholas I), governor of the Caucasus. In 1888, on September 24 (October 6, present), the temple of Simon the Canaanite Emperor Alexander III and his family visited. The tsar arrived at 11:00 on the cruiser "Moscow" in New Athos, to participate in the laying of the first stone during the construction of the Cathedral of St. Panteleimon of the New Athos Monastery. As a gift, he presented the monastery with musical chimes for the bell tower in the center of the western building, a steam locomotive for the monastery railway and a diesel engine for the power plant. In memory of the emperor's visit, cypresses were planted along the entire route of the royal family. Currently, part of the emperor's path is called "Tsar's Alley". The Orthodox Church celebrates the memorial day of St. Simon the Canaanite on May 23. In Abkhazia The Day of the celebration of St. Simon the Cananite has been declared a public holiday and a day off is provided. Despite this, the temple has not been restored and is not in operation for many years. May 23 is the only day of the year when a procession takes place near this temple. In 2021, only 5 pilgrims from the Esher Hermitage arrived at the procession.

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