James the Less ( ) is a figure of

early Christianity Early Christianity, otherwise called the Early Church or Paleo-Christianity, describes the History of Christianity, historical era of the Christianity, Christian religion up to the First Council of Nicaea in 325. Spread of Christianity, Christian ...

. He is also called "the Minor", "the Little", "the Lesser", or "the Younger", according to translation, James is styled "the Less" to distinguish him from the Apostle

James the Great James the Great ( Koinē Greek: Ἰάκωβος, romanized: ''Iákōbos''; Aramaic: ܝܥܩܘܒ, romanized: ''Yaʿqōḇ''; died AD 44) was one of the Twelve Apostles of Jesus. According to the New Testament, he was the second of the apostles t ...

(also called "James the Elder") with "Less" meaning younger or shorter rather than less important. James the Great was the brother of

John the Apostle John the Apostle (; ; ), also known as Saint John the Beloved and, in Eastern Orthodox Christianity, Saint John the Theologian, was one of the Twelve Apostles of Jesus according to the New Testament. Generally listed as the youngest apostle, he ...

. James the Less has traditionally been commemorated along with St. Philip in the

Western Christian Western Christianity is one of two subdivisions of Christianity (Eastern Christianity being the other). Western Christianity is composed of the Latin Church and Western Protestantism, together with their offshoots such as the Old Catholic Ch ...

calendars. In the

Roman Catholic Church The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

their feast day was observed on 1 May until 1955, when it was moved to 11 May to accommodate the Feast of St Joseph the Worker on 1 May. A later revision of the calendar moved the feast to 3 May. In many other churches (for example, the

Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the State religion#State churches, established List of Christian denominations, Christian church in England and the Crown Dependencies. It is the mother church of the Anglicanism, Anglican Christian tradition, ...

) the feast has never moved from 1 May. He is identified by

Jerome Jerome (; ; ; – 30 September 420), also known as Jerome of Stridon, was an early Christian presbyter, priest, Confessor of the Faith, confessor, theologian, translator, and historian; he is commonly known as Saint Jerome. He is best known ...

as the same person also called "

James the Just James the Just, or a variation of James, brother of the Lord ( from , and , , can also be Anglicized as "Jacob"), was, according to the New Testament, a brother of Jesus. He was the first Jewish bishop of Jerusalem. Traditionally, it is beli ...

" and "

James, brother of Jesus James the Just, or a variation of James, brother of the Lord ( from , and , , can also be Anglicized as "Jacob"), was, according to the New Testament, a brother of Jesus. He was the first Jewish bishop of Jerusalem. Traditionally, it is bel ...

" in the Bible, thought of by Jerome and others as really a cousin of Jesus, and by

Papias of Hierapolis Papias () was a Greeks, Greek Apostolic Father, Bishop of Hierapolis (modern Pamukkale, Turkey), and author who lived c. 60 – c. 130 AD He wrote the ''Exposition of the Sayings of the Lord'' () in five books. This work, which is lost apart fr ...

he is also identified with "

James, son of Alphaeus James, son of Alphaeus (Greek: , ; Aramaic: ; ; ; ) 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 generally identified with James the Less ( , Mark 15:40) a ...

", one of the

Twelve Apostles In Christian theology and ecclesiology, the apostles, particularly the Twelve Apostles (also known as the Twelve Disciples or simply the Twelve), were the primary disciples of Jesus according to the New Testament. During the life and minist ...

New Testament

In the

New Testament The New Testament (NT) is the second division of the Christian biblical canon. It discusses the teachings and person of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus, as well as events relating to Christianity in the 1st century, first-century Christianit ...

, the name "James" identifies multiple men. James the Less is named only in connection with his mother "

Mary Mary may refer to: People * Mary (name), a female given name (includes a list of people with the name) Religion * New Testament people named Mary, overview article linking to many of those below * Mary, mother of Jesus, also called the Blesse ...

", who is also the mother of Joseph, who is called

Joses Joses () is a name, usually regarded as a form of Joseph, occurring many times in the New Testament: * Joses, one of the four "brothers" of Jesus () * Joses or Joseph, son of a Mary of Clopas and brother of a James ( James the Less according t ...

by Mark (Joseph and Joses are variants of the same name). There are four mentions: * "Mary, the mother of James and Joseph" ( Matthew 27:56); * "Mary, the mother of James the younger and of Joses" ( Mark 15:40) ("James the younger" here has also been translated "James the less"); * "Mary, the mother of James" ( Mark 16:1 and Luke 24:10). This "Mary" may have been

Mary of Clopas According to the Gospel of John, Mary of Clopas (, ''María hē tou Clōpá'') was one of the women present at the crucifixion of Jesus and bringing supplies for his funeral. The expression ''Mary of Clopas'' in the Greek text is ambiguous as t ...

, mentioned only in . It is unlikely to be

Mary the mother of Jesus Mary was a first-century Jewish woman of Nazareth, the wife of Joseph and the mother of Jesus. She is an important figure of Christianity, venerated under various titles such as virgin or queen, many of them mentioned in the Litany of Loreto. ...

since she is not identified as Jesus' mother but only called the mother of James the Less and Joseph/Joses. In Matthew 27:56, she is clearly distinguished from the mother of

James, son of Zebedee James the Great ( Koinē Greek: Ἰάκωβος, romanized: ''Iákōbos''; Aramaic: ܝܥܩܘܒ, romanized: ''Yaʿqōḇ''; died AD 44) was one of the Twelve Apostles of Jesus. According to the New Testament, he was the second of the apostles t ...

Identification as James the brother of Jesus

According to

, James the Less is identified with

James the brother of Jesus James the Just, or a variation of James, brother of the Lord ( from , and , , can also be Anglicized as "Jacob"), was, according to the New Testament, a brother of Jesus. He was the first Jewish bishop of Jerusalem. Traditionally, it is bel ...

and with James, the son of Alphaeus. Jerome first tells that James the Less must be identified with James, the son of Alphaeus. After that, James the Less being the same as James, the son of Alphaeus, Jerome describes in his work called ''De Viris Illustribus'' that James "the brother of the Lord" is the same as James, son of Alphaeus: Thus, Jerome concludes that James the Less, James, son of Alphaeus and James the brother of Jesus are one and the same person. According to the ''

Golden Legend The ''Golden Legend'' ( or ''Legenda sanctorum'') is a collection of 153 hagiographies by Jacobus de Voragine that was widely read in Europe during the Late Middle Ages. More than a thousand manuscripts of the text have survived.Hilary Maddo ...

'', which is a collection of

hagiographies A hagiography (; ) is a biography of a saint or an ecclesiastical leader, as well as, by extension, an adulatory and idealized biography of a preacher, priest, founder, saint, monk, nun or icon in any of the world's religions. Early Christian ...

, compiled by

Jacobus de Voragine Jacobus de Voragine, OP (13/16 July 1298) was an Italian chronicler and archbishop of Genoa. He was the author, or more accurately the compiler, of the '' Golden Legend'', a collection of the legendary lives of the greater saints of the mediev ...

in the thirteenth century: The same work adds " Simon Cananean and

Judas Thaddeus Jude the Apostle (Ancient Greek: Ἰούδας Ἰακώβου translit. Ioúdas Iakóbou Syriac/Aramaic: ܝܗܘܕܐ translit. Yahwada) was one of the Twelve Apostles of Jesus according to the New Testament. He is generally identified as Tha ...

were brethren of James the Less and sons of

Mary Cleophas According to the Gospel of John, Mary of Clopas (, ''María hē tou Clōpá'') was one of the women at the crucifixion, women present at the crucifixion of Jesus and Myrrhbearers, bringing supplies for his funeral. The expression ''Mary of Clopas ...

, which was married to Alpheus."

Identification as James, the son of Alphaeus

The title, "the Less", is used to differentiate James from other people named James. Since it means that he is either the younger or shorter of two, he seems to be compared to one other James. In the lists of the

twelve apostles In Christian theology and ecclesiology, the apostles, particularly the Twelve Apostles (also known as the Twelve Disciples or simply the Twelve), were the primary disciples of Jesus according to the New Testament. During the life and minist ...

in the

synoptic Gospels The gospels of Gospel of Matthew, Matthew, Gospel of Mark, Mark, and Gospel of Luke, Luke are referred to as the synoptic Gospels because they include many of the same stories, often in a similar sequence and in similar or sometimes identical ...

, there are two apostles called James, who are differentiated there by their fathers:

, and

. Long-standing tradition identifies James, the son of Alphaeus, as James the Less. James, son of Zebedee, is then called "James the Great" (although that designation does not appear in the New Testament). Some propose that Alphaeus was the same man as Cleophas or at least the husband of Mary Clopas. In this regard,

identified James the Less with James, son of Alpheus writing in his work called ''

The Perpetual Virginity of Blessed Mary ''On the Perpetual Virginity of Blessed Mary Against Helvidius'' () is an apologetic work of Saint Jerome which refutes Helvidius’ stance on Mary’s virginity. (–420). Helvidius took the view that although Mary was a virgin at the time s ...

'' the following:

, who lived circa 70–163 AD, in the surviving fragments of his work ''Exposition of the Sayings of the Lord'' relates that Mary, wife of Alphaeus is mother of James the Less: Therefore, James, son of Alphaeus would be the same as James the Less. In Catholic tradition, James's mother is none other than Mary of Clopas who was among the women at the foot of the Cross of Jesus, weeping. For that reason, and given the fact that the Semitic word for brother is also used for other close relatives, James son of Alpheus is often held as a cousin to Jesus. He is also thought by some to be the brother of

Matthew the Apostle Matthew the Apostle was one of the Twelve Apostles, twelve apostles of Jesus. According to Christian traditions, he was also one of the four Evangelists as author of the Gospel of Matthew, and thus is also known as Matthew the Evangelist. Th ...

, since the father of both was named Alphaeus (compare Mark 2:14 and 3:18). Modern Biblical scholars are divided on whether this identification is correct. Catholic priest and biblical scholar John Paul Meier finds it unlikely. Amongst evangelicals, the ''New Bible Dictionary'' supports the traditional identification, while

Don Carson Donald or Don Carson may refer to: * D. A. Carson (born 1946), theologian and professor of the New Testament * Donald "Tee" Carson (died 2000), American jazz pianist * Don Carson (rugby union), Canadian rugby union player * Don Carson (wrestler) ...

and Darrell L. Bock''Luke'', by Darrell Bock (Baker 1994), commentary on Luke 6:15 both regard the identification as possible, but not certain.

References

Citations

Sources

Eusebius Eusebius of Caesarea (30 May AD 339), also known as Eusebius Pamphilius, was a historian of Christianity, exegete, and Christian polemicist from the Roman province of Syria Palaestina. In about AD 314 he became the bishop of Caesarea Maritima. ...

, ''

Historia Ecclesiae The ''Ecclesiastical History'' (, ; ), also known as ''The History of the Church'' and ''The Church History'', is a 4th-century chronological account of the development of Early Christianity from the 1st century to the 4th century, composed by Eu ...

'' * Ronald Brownrigg, ''Who's Who in The New Testament'', Oxford University Press, 1993.

External links

Catholic Encyclopedia: Saint James the Less
identifying the Apostle James with

(James the Just)
St. James the Less, Apostle
at th
Christian Iconography
web site

from Caxton's translation of the Golden Legend

{{DEFAULTSORT:James The Less Followers of Jesus Saints from the Holy Land Family of Jesus James, brother of Jesus Judean people James, son of Alphaeus de:Jakobus, Sohn des Alphäus he:יעקב בן חלפי ja:ヤコブ (アルファイの子) ru:Иаков Алфеев fi:Jaakob nuorempi sv:Jakob (apostel, Alfeus son) tl:Santiagong Makaunti