James (the Greater)

In the Christian tradition

James the Greater is one of the first apostles called by Jesus, alongside his brother John (Mark 1:19-20). Tradition holds that he preached in Spain and was the first apostle to be martyred (Acts 12:2). The Camino de Santiago, the pilgrimage to his traditional burial site at Santiago de Compostela in Galicia, is one of the major Christian pilgrimage routes.

James the Greater is distinguished from James the Less (son of Alphaeus) and from James the Just (the brother of the Lord, leader of the Jerusalem church). The Greater James, son of Zebedee and brother of John, was part of the inner circle of three (with Peter and John) at the Transfiguration and Gethsemane. He was the first of the apostles to be martyred (Acts 12:2). Spanish tradition holds that he preached the gospel in Hispania before returning to Jerusalem; his traditional burial site at Santiago de Compostela in Galicia is the destination of the Camino de Santiago, one of the major Christian pilgrimage routes. The English name James derives through Latin Iacobus from the same Hebrew Yaakov that gives us Jacob; the apostolic form is the more common in Western Christian naming. The Catholic and Anglican calendars commemorate James the Greater on July 25; the Orthodox calendar honors him on April 30.