James, son of Alphæus
Little is known about St. James, whose name is ninth in the three lists in the New Testament. The Roman church also callsJames the Just or James the Less; no one knows if he was shorter or younger than James, son of Zebedee. James Alphæus is sometimes identified as the son of Mary, wife of Cleopas, one of the women who stood at the cross, because Alphæus and Cleopas are assumed to be two forms of the same Aramaic name and James is once called the son of Mary. The Roman church has traditionally considered James to be James, the brother of the Lord, although that identification is now disputed because the writers of the New Testament distinguish between the band of the apostles and the brethren of the Lord.
Karen Rae Keck
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