Saint James the Greater

Apostle and Martyr
(died c. 44)

Saint James the Greater, called the Greater to distinguish him from another James among the Twelve, was the son of Zebedee and Salome and the brother of the Evangelist John. He was a fisherman of Galilee when Jesus called him and his brother from their boats on the Sea of Galilee, leaving their father and their nets to follow the Lord. Together with Peter and John, James formed the inner circle of the disciples, the three who were present at the Transfiguration on Mount Tabor, at the raising of the daughter of Jairus, and at the agony in the Garden of Gethsemane.

His mother Salome made the bold request of Jesus that her two sons might sit one on His right hand and one on His left in His kingdom. Jesus responded by asking them if they were able to drink the cup He would drink, and when they answered that they were, He told them that they would indeed drink His cup. This was a prophecy of martyrdom, and it was fulfilled first for James, who was the first of the Twelve to shed his blood for the faith.

Saint Luke records in the Acts of the Apostles that Herod Agrippa I had James the brother of John killed with the sword, and that when he saw this pleased the Jews he proceeded to arrest Peter also. This brief notice is the only scriptural record of James's martyrdom, but it tells us the essential facts: he died by the sword, in Jerusalem, around the year 44, the victim of Herodian persecution and Jewish hostility to the Church.

A later tradition, known in Spain from the seventh century onward, holds that James had previously preached the Gospel in Spain, and that his body was miraculously transported to Galicia in northwestern Spain after his martyrdom. The Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela, built over what is believed to be his tomb, became one of the three great pilgrimage destinations of medieval Christendom, alongside Rome and Jerusalem, and it continues to attract hundreds of thousands of pilgrims each year. His feast is celebrated on July 25th.