Wednesday, October 23, 12:00 pm: Holy Eucharist for St. James of Jerusalem
Join us to commemorate this feast day with a simple Holy Eucharist in the church at 12:00 p.m. All are welcome.
***
James was a brother of Jesus--one who did not follow Jesus during Jesus' earthly ministry, as shown in passages like Mark 3:31-35. Yet after the resurrection, James had an encounter with the risen Jesus Christ. Paul writes that Christ "appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve. Then he appeared to more than five hundred brothers and sisters at one time. . . . Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles" (1 Corinthians 15:5-8).
James became the leader of the early Christian community in Jerusalem. He, Peter, and Paul were the three most prominent apostles of the first-century church. James represented the most conservative strand of the early Christian movement, following Jewish traditions closely and taking a cautious stance toward the inclusion of Gentiles. Peter took a middle course, while Paul argued that Gentiles should be fully included without having to be circumcised or to keep the Jewish Law. Despite real conflicts among them, James, Peter, and Paul managed to stay in communion with one another and to hold the church together as it weathered its first major controversy. (See Galatians 1-2 and Acts 15 for two perspectives on these events.)
James is also traditionally believed to be the author of the New Testament letter that bears his name, which emphasizes the importance of good works to accompany faith.
The Jewish historian Josephus reports that James was widely respected even outside the Christian movement for his piety. He was martyred for his faith in Jesus in about the year 62.
Image: St. James's Armenian Cathedral in Jerusalem
Tags: News & Notes / Worship Services
