Which of Jesus' Disciples Are You?

Your Result: James, son of Alpheus








Often identified with James the Less, who is only mentioned three times in the New Testament, each time in connection with his mother. Since there was already a more prominent James (James, son of Zebedee) among the twelve disciples, equating James, son of Alpheus with James the Less made sense. (James, son of Zebedee is sometimes called "James the Greater"). This identification was accepted by early Church leaders &, therefore, tradition knows him more commonly as James the Less. James, son of Alpheus, has also been identified with James, the brother of Jesus. This is widely accepted in the Roman Catholic Church, while the Eastern Orthodoxy and Protestants tend to distinguish between the two. Alpheus is also the name of the father of Matthew, which has led some to conclude that James & Matthew might have been brothers. However, there is no biblical account of the two being called brothers, even when they appear side by side in the lists of the Twelve Apostles, next to the fraternal pairs of Peter & Andrew & the sons of Zebedee. James is reported to have been martyred by crucifixion at Ostrakine in Lower Egypt, where he was preaching the Gospel. A carpenter's saw is the symbol associated with him in Christian art because it is also noted that his body was later sawed to pieces. Another story says that he was martyred at Jerusalem in 62 CE by being thrown from a pinnacle of the Temple, & then beaten to death with clubs while praying for his attackers. Patron Saint of: dying people, terminally ill people, hatmakers, milliners, pharmacists, Frascati, Italy; Monterotondo, Italy; Nemi, Italy & the country of Uruguay