Holy Apostle James the son of Alphæus

James, son of Alphaeus, is named in every list of the Twelve Apostles, but the Gospels tell nothing else about him. Eastern tradition, followed by the Rostov Lives, holds that he was a brother of the Apostle Matthew, the former tax collector, who is also called “son of Alphaeus”.

After Pentecost, tradition says, he preached among the gentiles, and his Life tells that he ended his life crucified, like his Lord. Eastern sources place his death in Egypt; in the West he is usually identified with James “the Less” and with James the brother of the Lord, whom the Orthodox Church remembers separately.