James, Saint (redirected from James the Great)

James, Saint(St. James the Greater)

James, Saint, d. c.A.D. 43, in the Bible, one of the Twelve Apostles, called St. James the Greater. He was the son of Zebedee and the brother of St. John; these brothers were the Boanerges, or Sons of Thunder. St. James was killed by Herod Agrippa I. Veneration of St. James has been widespread, especially in Spain (where he is called Santiago); the shrine of the apostle at Santiago de Compostela, Spain, is one of the most celebrated of Europe. Feast: July 25.

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James, Saint(St. James the Less)

James, Saint, in the Bible, one of the Twelve Apostles, called St. James the Less or St. James the Little. He was the son of Alphaeus; his mother, Mary, was one of those at the cross and tomb. The Western Church identifies him with Saint James, "the Lord's brother." Feast (with St. Philip): May 1.

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James, Saint(the "brother" of Jesus)

James, Saint, in the Bible, the "brother" of Jesus. The Gospels make several references to the brothers of Jesus, and St. Paul speaks of "James the Lord's brother." While Protestants generally regard James as a child of Mary and Joseph conceived after the birth of Jesus, Catholic and Orthodox belief in the perpetual virginity of Mary precludes a blood relationship between Jesus and James, leading those churches to posit that James was a stepbrother (assuming a previous marriage for Joseph) or a cousin. The latter hypothesis, which is favored by the Roman Catholic Church, identifies James with St, James the Less.

The James whom Paul calls "the Lord's brother" witnessed the Resurrection and became a leader of the church in Jerusalem, by tradition the first bishop there. He apparently opposed the imposition of Jewish Law on gentile Christians but believed that Jewish Christians should continue to observe it. He is probably the James of the epistle of that name. Some scholars believe that he wrote it himself, others that it was written at a later date under his name. The Jewish historian Josephus records that James was stoned to death at the instigation of the priests c.A.D. 62.

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James, Saint

 or James the Great

(born Galilee, Palestine—died AD 44, Jerusalem; feast day July 25) One of the 12 Apostles of Jesus. He and his brother John (see St. John the Apostle) were fishermen on the Sea of Galilee and were among the first disciples to be called. As a member of the inner circle of disciples, he witnessed the major events in the ministry of Jesus, including the Transfiguration and the Agony in the Garden of Gethsemane. He was beheaded in AD 44 by order of Herod Agrippa. By tradition, his body was taken to Santiago de Compostela, Spain; his shrine there has long been a place of pilgrimage.