The Feast of St. James the Great

For the second time this week, we celebrate a special day in the Anglican Church known as a Red-Letter Feast. These are counted among the most important feasts of the year, and many of them celebrate the lives of apostles, disciples, and evangelists. Saturday, therefore, we celebrate the Feast of James the Great, one of several important people named “James” who were followers and witnesses to the life of Jesus Christ.

This James is known as James the Great (or Greater), James the Elder, and James, son of Zebedee. He and his brother John (who was also the writer of the Fourth Gospel) were early disciples of our Lord and left their father, Zebedee and his fishing business to follow Jesus. Both James and his brother, John, may have been well known for their tempers, too, since, together, they were nicknamed “Boanerges”, or “Sons of Thunder”.

This James, in the Roman Catholic Church is celebrated as the Patron Saint of Spain, and his remains are held in Santiago de Compostela in Galicia (Church of Saint James). His feast day is held yearly on July 25. The Acts of the Apostles records that James was executed by the sword. The Roman Catholic Church suggests that he was beheaded in Jerusalem in AD 44 (perhaps the weapon used for the beheading was, in fact, a sword). Since this James was martyred, the paraments and the vestments used in the church are colored red.

More about James the Great can be accessed from the GAFCON (Global Anglicans) website. One can read along while listening to the narrator. Go to: https://www.gafcon.org/devotion/eve-of-saint-james-the-apostle.