St. James the Lesser

St. James the Lesser, son of Alphaeus, was one of the Twelve Apostles, called "the Lesser" (or "the Younger") to distinguish him from James the son of Zebedee. He is widely identified with James "the brother of the Lord," that is, a close kinsman of Jesus, who according to the Acts of the Apostles became the first bishop of Jerusalem and a pillar of the early Church, presiding at the Council of Jerusalem that opened the faith fully to the Gentiles.

Esteemed even by many Jews for his piety and earning the name "the Just," he is traditionally regarded as the author of the New Testament Epistle of James, with its memorable teaching that faith without works is dead. The historian Josephus and early Christian writers record that he was martyred in Jerusalem about the year 62, cast down from the Temple and then stoned. He is honored in the West with St. Philip on 3 May.