File:James,_brother_of_Jesus_Emmanuel_Tzanes.png · Wikimedia Commons · See Wikimedia Commons
James the Just
Sign in to saveAlso known as James the brother of the Lord, Saint James the Just, James the Lesser, James, brother of Jesus
Jewish bishop of Jerusalem figure in Early Christianity
James the Just was a prominent Jewish leader of the early Christian church in Jerusalem, likely in the first century CE. He matters historically because he played a key role in shaping early Christian practice and doctrine during a pivotal period when the religion was still closely connected to its Jewish roots.
AI-generated from the Wikipedia summary — may contain errors.
Wikidata facts
- Instance of
- human
- Part of
- siblings of Jesus
- Gender
- male
- Place of birth
- Nazareth
- Place of death
- Jerusalem
- Child
- Justus of Jerusalem
- Mother
- Mary
- Sibling
- Jesus
- Occupation
- presbyter
- Position held
- bishop
- Religion
- Judaism
- Notable work
- Gospel of James
- Student of
- Jesus
- Image
- Saint James the Just.jpg
- Said to be same as
- James the Less
Show 10 more facts
- Commons category
- James the Just
- date of death
- 0062-00-00
- canonization status
- saint
- date of birth
- 0100-00-00
- cause of death
- stoning
- feast day
- May 3
- manner of death
- capital punishment
- member of
- seventy disciples
- present in work
- Epistle to the Galatians
- name in native language
- יעקב
via Wikidata · CC0
~40 min read
Encyclopedic overview
James the Just, or a variation of James, brother of the Lord (Latin: Iacobus from Hebrew: יעקב, Ya'aqov and Ancient Greek: Ἰάκωβος, Iákōbos, can also be Anglicized as "Jacob"), was, according to the New Testament, a brother of Jesus. James was personally known to Paul the Apostle (Gal 1:19). He was the first leader of the Church of Jerusalem. According to Josephus, he was martyred either in 62 AD by being stoned to death on the order of High Priest Ananus ben Ananus, while Hegesippus places his death in 69 AD by being thrown off the pinnacle of the Temple by scribes and Pharisees and then clubbed to death. James, Joses, Simon, and Judas are mentioned as the brothers of Jesus as well as two or more unnamed sisters. (See Matthew 13:55; Mark 6:3.)
Catholics, Orthodox, and some Protestants teach that James, along with others named in the New Testament as brothers of Jesus, were not the biological children of Mary, mother of Jesus, but were cousins of Jesus, or step-brothers from a previous marriage of Joseph (as related in the non-canonical Gospel of James). Others consider James to be the son of Mary and Joseph.
Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “James the Just” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.