James and his brother John, the sons of Zebedee, were among the Twelve, the “inner circle” of disciples of our Lord. They, together with Peter, were privileged to behold the Transfiguration, to witness the healing of Peter’s mother-in-law, and the raising of the daughter of Jairus, and to be called aside to watch and pray with Jesus in the garden of Gethsemane on the night before his death. Jesus nicknamed the two brothers “Boanerges”, which means “sons of thunder”, perhaps signifying that they were headstrong, hot-tempered, and impulsive. James was the first of the Twelve to suffer martyrdom, and the only one of the Twelve whose death is recorded in the New Testament.
James is often called James the Greater to distinguish him from other New Testament persons called James, especially from another of the Twelve who is called James the Lesser and from James the Brother of our Lord. Tradition has it that he made a missionary journey to Spain, and that after his death his body was taken to Spain and buried there at Compostela. His supposed burial place there was a major site of pilgrimage in the Middle Ages.
(Feast transferred from July 25, 2010)