St. James the Less
| James, son of Alphaeus | |
|---|---|
Statue of St James at the Church of the Mafra Palace, Portugal
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| Apostle | |
| Born |
c. 1st century BC Galilee, Judaea, Roman Empire |
| Died |
c. 62 AD Jerusalem, Judaea, Roman Empire or Aegyptus (Egypt) |
| Venerated in | Roman Catholic Church, Anglican Communion, Eastern Orthodox Church |
| Feast | 1 May (Anglican Communion), May 3 (Roman Catholic Church), 9 October (Eastern Orthodox Church) |
| Attributes | Carpenter's saw; fuller's club |
| Patronage | Apothecaries; druggists; dying people; Frascati, Italy; fullers; milliners; Monterotondo, Italy; pharmacists; Uruguay |
James, son of Alphaeus (Ἰάκωβος, Iakōbos in Greek; Hebrew: יעקב בן חלפי Ya'akov ben Halfay) was one of the Twelve Apostles of Jesus, appearing under this name in all three of the Synoptic Gospels' lists of the apostles. He is often identified with James the Less (Greek Iakōbos ho mikros, Ἰάκωβος ὁ μίκρος Mark 15:40) and commonly known by that name in church tradition. He is also labelled "the minor", "the little", "the lesser", or "the younger", according to translation. He is distinct from James, son of Zebedee and in some interpretations also from James, brother of Jesus (James the Just). He appears only four times in the New Testament, each time in a list of the twelve apostles.
James, son of Alphaeus is often identified with James the Less, who is only mentioned four times in the Bible, each time in connection with his mother. (Mark 15:40) refers to "Mary the mother of James the younger and of Joses", while (Mark 16:1) and (Matthew 27:56) refer to "Mary the mother of James".
Since there was already another James (James, son of Zebedee) among the twelve apostles, equating James son of Alphaeus with "James the Less" made sense. (James son of Zebedee was sometimes called "James the Greater").
Jerome identifies James, son of Alpheus with James the Less writing in his work called The Perpetual Virginity of Blessed Mary the following:
Do you intend the comparatively unknown James the Less, who is called in Scripture the son of Mary, not however of Mary the mother of our Lord, to be an apostle, or not? If he is an apostle, he must be the son of Alphæus and a believer in Jesus, "For neither did his brethren believe in him."
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