Disciples: Apostle James Zebedee

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The shore of Lake Galilee during the time of Christ. The first apostles, Andrew and Peter, have just been called. And so the Savior saw the other two brothers, James Zebedee and John his brother, in a boat with Zebedee their father, mending their nets, and called them. And they immediately left the boat and their father and followed Him (Matthew 4:21-22).

Two brothers: John (the Theologian) and Jacob. John is a youth, James is a mature and accomplished man. Throwing away their nets, they follow Jesus and forever become His disciples, the closest - two of the Twelve.

Jesus called the brothers “Boanerges,” which means “Sons of Thunder” in Aramaic. They probably received this nickname because of their impetuous nature.

There was something about them that allowed Christ to distinguish them from the other apostles. Christ makes only these brothers, and even Peter, participants in the most mysterious moments of His ministry.

And he did not allow anyone to follow Him, except Peter, James and John, the brother of James (Mark 5:22) - this is in the story about the resurrection of the girl, the daughter of Jairus. Only these apostles He makes witnesses of the miracle of the Transfiguration. The Savior called them to share prayer with Him in the Garden of Gethsemane.

Transfiguration. Giovanni Bellini, 1480-1485

Theologians have thought a lot about why them? Peter, let’s say, is the foremost of the apostles. But why John and James? Because of the ardor of their nature and because they had to serve in a special way the cause of preaching Christianity? Very possible. In any case, John and James were extraordinary and decisive people and were ahead of others in their apostolic zeal.

One day Christ was not allowed into one village. Seeing this, His disciples, James and John, said: Lord! Do you want us to tell fire to come down from heaven and destroy them, just as Elijah did? But He, turning to them, rebuked them and said: You do not know what kind of spirit you are; for the Son of Man came not to destroy the souls of men, but to save. And they went to another village (Luke 9:54-56). The brothers cannot understand: how can you not let Christ in?

After the Resurrection of Christ they preach in Jerusalem and Palestine. On the direct instructions of the Savior, John takes the Mother of God into his house and takes care of Her. The name of Jacob as a tireless missionary and witness for Christ resounds throughout Judea. Therefore, in 44, wanting to stop preaching about the Risen One and destroy the seeds of Christianity, King Herod ordered the death of Jacob. At that time King Herod raised his hands against some of the church to do them harm, and killed James the brother of John with the sword” (Acts 12:1-2). The first apostle is a martyr of the Church, whose shed blood becomes evidence of the enmity of evil against the Church and the Truth. But, as Tertullian would say a century and a half later, “the blood of martyrs is the seed of Christianity.” Faith, which is greater and more beautiful than the thirst for earthly life, spread more and more throughout the earth.

The author is the editor of the website “ABC of Faith”

Continuing the theme of the issue “12 Apostles ” read :

4 questions about the 12 apostles
Apostle Bartholomew
Apostle Philip
Apostle Thomas, called the Twin
Apostle Matthew the Publican, aka Levi Alfeev
Apostle Jacob Alfeev
Apostle Simon the Canaanite
Apostle John the Theologian
Apostle Thaddeus, aka Judas Jacob, or Levway
Andrew the First-Called
Apostle Peter
Judas is one of the twelve

Reverence

Main articles: Santiago Matamoros

,
Way of Saint James

Commemoration in the Catholic Church - July 25, in the Orthodox Church - April 30 (May 13), June 30 (July 13) according to the Julian calendar.

According to legend, after the martyrdom of the apostle in 44 in the Holy Land, his remains were placed in a boat and floated across the waves of the Mediterranean Sea. Miraculously, this boat sailed to Spain, where the saint had preached earlier, and was thrown ashore at the mouth of the Ulya River (where the city of Santiago de Compostela would later appear). In 813, as church tradition says, the hermit monk Pelayo, who lived in this area, following a certain guiding star, discovered this ark with relics that remained incorrupt.

In 896-899, King Alfonso III issued a decree, and a small church was built on the site of the discovery over the relics. The place itself was named Compostella

(Latin:
Campus Stellae, "Place designated by a star"
). Saint James, who miraculously appeared during the battles with the Moors, became the patron saint of Spain and the Reconquista. As an apostle who, according to legend, during his ministry undertook a long journey from the Holy Land to Spain, he began to be considered the patron saint of pilgrims[5]. By the 11th century, the pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela acquired the status of the second most important pilgrimage (after the pilgrimage to the Holy Land).

At the end of the 20th century, the tradition was revived: in order to receive a certificate of the journey of Jacob, a pilgrim must walk one hundred kilometers or ride a bicycle two hundred kilometers. Upon arrival in the city, the pilgrim presents at the cathedral a special document “credencial” (a pilgrim’s passport, valid since the Middle Ages) with marks made at points along the way, after which he receives a “Certificate of Compostela” written in Latin. When the day of remembrance of the Apostle James, July 25, falls on a Sunday, the “year of St. James” is declared in Spain; accordingly, church festivities this year are especially solemn.

The capitals of Chile - Santiago de Chile and Cuba (until 1556) - Santiago de Cuba are named in honor of the Apostle James.

The Apostle is considered the patron saint of the Marjalva region in Portugal.

Passage characterizing Jacob Zebedee

- Who ordered? – the colonel asked gloomily. “I don’t even know, colonel, who ordered it,” the cornet answered seriously, “but the prince ordered me: “Go and tell the colonel so that the hussars come back quickly and light the bridge.” Following Zherkov, a retinue officer drove up to the hussar colonel with the same order. Following the retinue officer, fat Nesvitsky rode up on a Cossack horse, which was forcibly carrying him at a gallop. “Well, Colonel,” he shouted while still driving, “I told you to light the bridge, but now someone has misinterpreted it; Everyone there is going crazy, you can’t understand anything. The colonel slowly stopped the regiment and turned to Nesvitsky: “You told me about flammable substances,” he said, “but you didn’t tell me anything about lighting things.” “Why, father,” Nesvitsky said, stopping, taking off his cap and straightening his sweat-wet hair with his plump hand, “how come you didn’t say to light the bridge when the flammable substances were put in?” “I’m not your “father,” Mr. Staff Officer, and you didn’t tell me to light the bridge! I know the service, and it’s my habit to strictly carry out orders. You said the bridge will be lit, but who will light it, I cannot know with the Holy Spirit... “Well, it’s always like this,” Nesvitsky said, waving his hand. - How are you here? – he turned to Zherkov. - Yes, for the same thing. However, you are damp, let me squeeze you out. “You said, Mr. Staff Officer,” the colonel continued in an offended tone... “Colonel,” interrupted the retinue officer, “we must hurry, otherwise the enemy will move the guns to a grape shot.” The colonel silently looked at the retinue officer, at the fat staff officer, at Zherkov and frowned. “I’ll light the bridge,” he said in a solemn tone, as if expressing that, despite all the troubles being caused to him, he would still do what he had to do. Hitting the horse with his long muscular legs, as if it were all to blame, the colonel moved forward to the 2nd squadron, the same one in which Rostov served under the command of Denisov, and ordered to return back to the bridge. “Well, that’s right,” thought Rostov, “he wants to test me!” “His heart sank and the blood rushed to his face. “Let him see if I’m a coward,” he thought. Again, on all the cheerful faces of the squadron people, that serious feature appeared that was on them while they were standing under the cannonballs. Rostov, without taking his eyes off, looked at his enemy, the regimental commander, wanting to find confirmation of his guesses on his face; but the colonel never looked at Rostov, but looked, as always at the front, strictly and solemnly. A command was heard. - Alive! Alive! – several voices spoke around him. Clinging to the reins with their sabers, rattling their spurs and hurrying, the hussars dismounted, not knowing what they would do. The hussars were baptized. Rostov no longer looked at the regimental commander - he had no time. He was afraid, with a sinking heart he was afraid that he might fall behind the hussars. His hand trembled as he handed the horse to the handler, and he felt the blood rushing to his heart. Denisov, falling back and shouting something, drove past him. Rostov saw nothing except the hussars running around him, clinging to their spurs and clanking their sabers. - Stretcher! – someone’s voice shouted from behind. Rostov did not think about what the demand for a stretcher meant: he ran, trying only to be ahead of everyone; but at the bridge itself, without looking at his feet, he fell into viscous, trampled mud and, stumbling, fell on his hands. Others ran around him. “On both sides, captain,” he heard the voice of the regimental commander, who, riding forward, stood on horseback not far from the bridge with a triumphant and cheerful face. Rostov, wiping his dirty hands on his leggings, looked back at his enemy and wanted to run further, believing that the further he went forward, the better it would be. But Bogdanich, although he did not look and did not recognize Rostov, shouted at him: “Who is running in the middle of the bridge?” On the right side! Juncker, go back! - he shouted angrily and turned to Denisov, who, flaunting his courage, rode on horseback onto the planks of the bridge. - Why take risks, captain! “You should get down,” said the colonel. - Eh! he will find the culprit,” answered Vaska Denisov, turning in the saddle. Meanwhile, Nesvitsky, Zherkov and the retinue officer stood together outside the shots and looked either at this small group of people in yellow shakos, dark green jackets embroidered with strings, and blue leggings, swarming near the bridge, then at the other side, at the blue hoods and groups approaching in the distance with horses, which could easily be recognized as tools. “Will the bridge be lit or not? Who came first? Will they run up and set fire to the bridge, or will the French drive up with grapeshot and kill them? These questions, with a sinking heart, were involuntarily asked by each of the large number of troops who stood over the bridge and, in the bright evening light, looked at the bridge and the hussars and on the other side, at the moving blue hoods with bayonets and guns. - Oh! will go to the hussars! - said Nesvitsky, - no further than a grape shot now. “It was in vain that he led so many people,” said the retinue officer. “Indeed,” said Nesvitsky. “If only we had sent two young men here, it would have been all the same.” “Oh, your Excellency,” Zherkov intervened, not taking his eyes off the hussars, but all with his naive manner, due to which it was impossible to guess whether what he was saying was serious or not. - Oh, your Excellency! How do you judge! Send two people, but who will give us Vladimir with a bow? Otherwise, even if they beat you up, you can represent the squadron and receive a bow yourself. Our Bogdanich knows the rules. “Well,” said the retinue officer, “this is buckshot!” He pointed to the French guns, which were being removed from their limbers and hastily driving away. On the French side, in those groups where there were guns, smoke appeared, another, a third, almost at the same time, and at the very minute the sound of the first shot reached, a fourth appeared. Two sounds, one after the other, and a third. - Oh, oh! - Nesvitsky gasped, as if from burning pain, grabbing the retinue officer’s hand. - Look, one fell, fell, fell! - Two, it seems? “If I were a king, I would never fight,” Nesvitsky said, turning away. The French guns again hastily loaded. The infantry in blue hoods ran towards the bridge. Again, but at different intervals, smoke appeared, and buckshot clicked and crackled across the bridge. But this time Nesvitsky could not see what was happening on the bridge. Thick smoke rose from the bridge. The hussars managed to set fire to the bridge, and the French batteries fired at them no longer to interfere, but so that the guns were aimed and there was someone to shoot at. “The French managed to fire three grape shots before the hussars returned to the horse handlers. Two volleys were fired incorrectly, and all the buckshot was carried over, but the last shot hit the middle of a group of hussars and knocked down three. Rostov, preoccupied with his relationship with Bogdanich, stopped on the bridge, not knowing what to do. There was no one to cut down (as he always imagined a battle), and he also could not help in lighting the bridge, because he did not take with him, like other soldiers, a bundle of straw. He stood and looked around, when suddenly there was a crackling sound across the bridge, like scattered nuts, and one of the hussars, who was closest to him, fell on the railing with a groan. Rostov ran towards him along with others. Someone shouted again: “Stretcher!” The hussar was picked up by four people and began to be lifted. “Ohhh!... Stop it, for Christ’s sake,” the wounded man shouted; but they still picked him up and put him down. Nikolai Rostov turned away and, as if looking for something, began to look at the distance, at the water of the Danube, at the sky, at the sun. How beautiful the sky seemed, how blue, calm and deep! How bright and solemn the setting sun! How tenderly the water glittered in the distant Danube! And even better were the distant, blue mountains beyond the Danube, a monastery, mysterious gorges, pine forests filled to the top with fog... it was quiet, happy there... “I wouldn’t want anything, I wouldn’t want anything, I wouldn’t want anything, if only I were there,” thought Rostov. “There is so much happiness in me alone and in this sun, and here... groans, suffering, fear and this obscurity, this haste... Here again they shout something, and again everyone runs back somewhere, and I run with them, and here she is.” , here it is, death, above me, around me... A moment - and I will never see this sun, this water, this gorge again”...

Origin of the Apostle James

The Apostle James came from a poor fisherman's family, the son of Zebedee, who lived and worked in Galilee, and who had another son, the younger brother of the Apostle James, John the Theologian.

He was called by Jesus Christ while fishing on Lake Gennesaret, along with his other two brothers Andrew and Peter, who became the first disciples of Christ.

The Apostle James was one of Christ's closest disciples and a witness to several special events during His life , such as the Transfiguration of Christ on Mount Tabor, His Resurrection, as well as the Appearance of Christ to the disciples after His resurrection on the Tiberias River.