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Saint James, Son of Alphaeus
One of the Twelve; distinct from the son of Zebedee
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Life and witness
The lists in Matthew 10:3, Mark 3:18, Luke 6:15, and Acts 1:13 identify this apostle as James son of Alphaeus. That designation distinguishes him from James son of Zebedee. The New Testament does not provide an individual missionary narrative under this name or an explicit account of his death.
Historical setting
The lists in Matthew 10:3, Mark 3:18, Luke 6:15, and Acts 1:13 identify this apostle as James son of Alphaeus. That designation distinguishes him from James son of Zebedee. The New Testament does not provide an individual missionary narrative under this name or an explicit account of his death.
Legacy and remembrance
Later traditions preserve accounts of his preaching and martyrdom, but the shared name James has led to differing identifications. This profile does not merge him with James the Lord’s brother or invent a family relationship from a shared patronymic. His selected fixed feast is October 9.
More about the life
The individual church Life supplies a short traditional account of James’s preaching with Andrew in several places and of his death at Ostrachina in Egypt. This adds a received missionary remembrance to the sparse apostolic lists, but its brevity leaves many questions unanswered. The source also gives a family identification with Matthew; that is not an explicit statement in the New Testament and is not adopted here as certain genealogy. A fuller profile should acknowledge these limits rather than invent education, conversations, or dates that the evidence does not provide.
Quotes
A sourced selection, not a popularity ranking. Quote wording stays in the cited language; context notes are editorial.
No quotations have been approved for this collection yet. This does not mean that no authentic words survive. See the readings and sources below.
Readings
Selected reading
Luke 6:12-16 (the choosing of the Twelve)
And it came to pass in those days, that he went out into a mountain to pray, and continued all night in prayer to God. And when it was day, he called unto him his disciples: and of them he chose twelve, whom also he named apostles; Simon, (whom he also named Peter,) and Andrew his brother, James and John, Philip and Bartholomew, Matthew and Thomas, James the son of Alphaeus, and Simon called Zelotes, And Judas the brother of James, and Judas Iscariot, which also was the traitor.
English: cited historical translation. Modern Greek, Russian and Macedonian: LogosPharos translations through English, not direct translations from ancient Greek.
Editorial context
After a night of prayer on the mountain Jesus calls his disciples and chooses twelve of them, naming them apostles, among them James the son of Alphaeus. The Gospel reports the choosing and the naming.
View source text
Source text and edition
And it came to pass in those days, that he went out into a mountain to pray, and continued all night in prayer to God. And when it was day, he called unto him his disciples: and of them he chose twelve, whom also he named apostles; Simon, (whom he also named Peter,) and Andrew his brother, James and John, Philip and Bartholomew, Matthew and Thomas, James the son of Alphaeus, and Simon called Zelotes, And Judas the brother of James, and Judas Iscariot, which also was the traitor.
King James Version, the English translation cited here. Modern Greek, Russian and Macedonian below are relay translations through this English text, not direct translations from the Greek.
https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Luke%206&version=KJV
Words recorded in the sources
No words are reliably recorded for this saint in the sources used here, so only the selected reading is published.
Translations and context are AI-assisted and editorially reviewed, not independently certified by a scholar. Compare the displayed source text; short selections are not complete works.
Writings and works
Checked against Eastern Orthodox sources. Written works, recorded teaching, and works about the saint are distinguished.
No securely attributed writing is listed in the sources reviewed for this profile. This is not proof that the saint never wrote; the Church account below is a work about the saint, not by the saint.
Church life and commemoration
Work about the saint
Attribution source: Eastern Orthodox Church account
External sources may be in another language. Modern editions and translations can be copyrighted; full books are not copied here.
Miracles and testimony
These summaries distinguish Scripture, hagiographical accounts and later testimony. A source establishes that an event was reported, not independent proof of its supernatural cause. Miracles are attributed to God, not autonomous powers of saints. Reports of healing are not medical advice or a promise of recovery.
Scriptural account
Acts 5:12–16
Acts reports signs and healings through the apostles collectively. This passage does not identify which individual apostle performed each event; it is not evidence for a separate personal miracle attributed to this apostle.
Read the sourceResearch and reading notes
These are original editorial biographies, not copied source translations. Scripture, historical writing, and hagiographical tradition are distinguished in the text. This page is a study introduction, not an exhaustive critical edition or a personal spiritual rule.
The saints listed here are commemorated by Eastern Orthodox churches. These summaries and translations are independent editorial work, not official Church publications or Church-approved translations.
Church sources
https://www.oca.org/saints/lives/2026/06/30/101711-synaxis-of-the-holy-glorious-and-all-praised-twelve-apostles
https://www.oca.org/saints/lives/2026/10/09/102916-apostle-james-son-of-alphaeus