![\"st-james\"](\"https:\/\/www.in2greece.com\/english\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/st-james-300x264.jpg\")
Saint James (Iakovos in Greek) was the son of Zebedee and Salome and the brother of John the Apostle, another of the Twelve Apostles. He, along with John and Peter, formed an inner circle around Jesus, witnessing key events such as the Transfiguration and the Agony in the Garden of Gethsemane..<\/p>\n
He is called “brother god”, because he was Joseph’s son from his marriage that preceded his betrothal to the Virgin Mary. His memory is honored by the Christian church on October 23 and the Sunday after Christ’s Birth. Those with the name Iakovos celebrate this day.<\/p>\n
Saint James did not follow Christ during his public life. After the Resurrection, when the Lord appeared before him, he believed and assumed responsible activities in the early Church.<\/p>\n
He was the first bishop of Jerusalem and took part in the Apostolic Council of Jerusalem (49 AD).
He always remained closely connected with the Judeo-Christian communities and was surrounded with special honor by the Jews. Joseph gives him the title of “Righteous” and mentions that Saint James was martyred by stoning in 62 AD.<\/p>\n
Saint James is considered the author of the first Divine Liturgy, which later, due to its long duration, was shortened first by Basil the Great and then by John Chrysostom. The first of the seven Catholic letters of the New Testament also belongs to Saint James.<\/p>\n
This wealth of St. Saint James, above all the apostles, to have the office of the Lord’s brother in the flesh, beyond his brotherhood in faith – “in spite of all the rich, excellent office, brother of the Lord” – was not for him something painless. The saint was aware of the Lord’s gift, that is why he struggled daily to confirm the grace given to him, with his godly life.<\/p>\n
The reason for this was certainly the fact that he had fully understood that God’s grace is indeed His gift, but if it is not activated as life according to His will, then it is lost, it goes into the void. In other words, what God gives to man, he gives with the perspective of man assuming responsibility and mission, for the sake of his fellow man. And on this mission, which confirms and increases God’s grace, man can also give his life.<\/p>\n
The initiation of Saint Saint James in all the mysteries by the Lord constitutes, according to the hymns of our Church, the acquisition of true Wisdom by him. Saint Saint James was the truly wise man, because he was taught by “inherent wisdom”, that is, Jesus Christ himself. He is the Wisdom of God, which is offered to every person who will believe in Him and will practically follow His holy commandments.<\/p>\n
Saint James’s life as an apostle ended in martyrdom in Jerusalem. He was executed by Herod Agrippa I around 44 AD, becoming the first of the apostles to be martyred, as recorded in the Acts of the Apostles (Acts 12:1-2). His death marks him as a significant martyr in the Christian faith.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"