Feast Day of James, the brother of Jesus

ExecutedToday.com ^ | May 3, 2020 | Headsman

[CheshireTheCat]

....May 3 is the current Catholic feast date of the author of the Epistle of James — James, the brother of Jesus, also known as James the Just.

He’s a major leader in the New Testament accounts of the primitive church, closely associated with the traditionalist Jewish side of the movement, wont to give precedence to Mosaic law and ritual — a contrast compared to the Gentile-evangelizer St. Paul. James, however, also appears in Acts of the Apostles as a principal decider of the circa CE 50 Council of Jerusalem edict to the effect that non-Jewish converts to Christianity would not be required to circumcise or observe Jewish dietary strictures.

This James has been debatably conflated at times with the Apostle James, son of Alphaeus and/or James the Less* — as in this passage from the Golden Legend:

James the Apostle is said the Less, how well that was the elder of age than was St. James the More. He was called also the brother of our Lord, because I have resembled much well our Lord in body, in visage, and of manner. He was called James the Just for his right great holiness. He was also called James the son of Alpheus. He sang in Jerusalem the first mass that ever was there, and he was first bishop of Jerusalem.

These associations are all matters of scholarly debate, for the name “James” appears repeatedly in the New Testament, and the contexts do not always make it obvious when one encounters a recurring character. No matter how many other faces we might attribute to him, James the first century Jerusalem patriarch was clearly a figure of great authority among the earliest Christians and a co-leader of the Jerusalem Church. His consanguinity with the Messiah cannot have hurt his cause....

[PAR35]

May 3 is the current Catholic feast date of the author of the Epistle of James — James, the brother of Jesus,

Except it's Rome's position that Jesus didn't have a brother.

[MarineBrat]

It’s a shame that the article uses CE instead of AD when referring to the period since the time of Christ. To me that’s like meeting somebody who has a small triple six tattoo behind the ear.

[jocon307]

Good one today. RIP St. James.

[frogjerk]

Cousin.

[skr]

Mark 6:3 All English versions, including the Orthodox Jewish Bible

http://www.biblegateway.com/verse/en/Mark%206:3

[frogjerk]

How about the Greek text? I trust St. Jerome, much closer to the facts and is much more learned then both of us. Especially his writing of On the Perpetual Virginity of the Blessed Mary

[campaignPete R-CT]

“Except it’s Rome’s position that Jesus didn’t have a brother.”

As James is the son of Alphaeus, that would makes Jesus the son of Alphaeus. Per your reasoning.

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The fact that the King James translates the Greek texts brother is not relevant. That is the choice of the translator.

The Greek word used is Adelphos. It means brothers but in the Hebrew culture, it was common to call a close relative of any kind, a brother. From Genesis, we know that Lot was Abraham’s nephew, yet in some texts he is called Abraham’s brother. (Genesis 14:12-16 and Genesis 29:10-15)

[Piers]

see catholicstraightanswers.com/did-jesus-have-blood-brothers-and-sisters/

On the cross Jesus said to disciple John, Here is your mother because Mary had no actual children other than Jesus but maybe cousins or step brothers is what is referred to. The link above explains it well and is a short read.

[campaignPete R-CT]

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hegesippus_(chronicler)

Hegesippus wrote that Alphaeus (or Clopas) was the brother of St Joseph