James the Greater
· Is one of the first four in the list of Apostles in the New Testament.
· The son of Zebedee and Salome. His parents are thought to have been well-off financially.
· James was called “the Greater” to distinguish him from the Apostle James the Less.
· Nothing is known about James’s early life.
· He was the brother of John the Evangelist and probably the elder of the two. They were of Galilean origin.
· It is probable that neither James nor John had received any technical training of the rabbinical schools so in this sense they were unlearned and without official position among the Jews. However, because of the social rank of their parents, they must have had ordinary educations.
· Some scholars believe that James and John’s mother, Salome, was a sister of Jesus’ mother, Mary. Therefore, James and John would be first cousins of Jesus, which may explain the discipleship of the two brothers, and their position in the top four apostles. However, there is no concrete proof as to this familial connection.
· James is never mentioned in his brother’s gospel, the Gospel of John.
· Met Jesus while catching fish with John, their father, Zebedee, and their partner Simon Peter. Simon kept bringing in his nets filled with fish that he had caught at the command of Jesus. James and John left their boat and their father behind and followed Jesus.
· Both James and John are referred to in the synoptics as “Boanerges,” sons of thunder, a name given to them by Jesus. They were known for their burning, impetuous evangelical zeal and fiery temperaments.
· Preached in Samaria, Judea, and, some believe, Spain.
· James was the first Apostle to be martyred. He died in 44 A.D., in Jerusalem, during the reign of Herod Agrippa I, grandson of Herod the Great. During his reign, Agrippa perpetuated cruelties upon the Christian church. James’s zealous temper and his leading role in the Jewish Christian communities, probably led Agrippa to choose him as the first victim. In Acts, it is written that Agrippa killed James with a sword.
· Legend says that James’s body was taken by angels, and sailed in a rudderless, unattended boat to Spain, where a massive rock closed around it. Relics of this are said to be in Compostela, Spain.
· Patron Saint of Laborers.
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