Holy Apostle James, the brother of St John the Theologian (45)
"The son of Zebedee and brother of John, he was one of the Twelve.
At the call of the Lord Jesus, he left his fishing nets and his father
and, together with John, immediately followed Christ. He was one of the
three apostles to whom the Lord revealed the greatest mysteries:
before whom He was transfigured on Tabor and before whom He was in agony
in the Garden of Gethsemane before His Passion. After receiving the
Holy Spirit, he preached the Gospel in various places, going as far as
Spain. On his return from Spain, a violent quarrel broke out between
the Jews and himself on the Holy Scriptures, and, being unable to
withstand him, they hired a magician, Hermogenes. But Hermogenes and
Philip his pupil were overcome by the power and truth that James
preached, and were baptised. Then the Jews denounced him to Herod, and
persuaded one Josias to slander the Apostle. This Josias, seeing
James's manly bearing and hearing his clear preaching of the truth,
repented and came to faith in Christ. When James was condemned to
death, this Josias was also condemned. Mounting the scaffold, Josias
begged James's forgiveness for the sin of slander, and James embraced
him, kissing him and saying: 'peace be to thee, and forgiveness.' And
they both laid their heads under the sword and were beheaded for the
sake of the Lord whom they had loved and served. St James suffered in
Jerusalem in the year 45. His body was taken to Spain, where to this day
miracles of healing are performed at his tomb." (Prologue)
His relics are venerated at his shrine in Compostela, Spain.
source: http://www.abbamoses.com
