St James the Great, son of Zebadee. St James the Less, son of Alphaeus
James of Jerusalem
St James the Great, son of Zebadee.
Statue of St James at the West Door of Seville Cathedral. Photo by Howard Nelson
Taken from The Confraternity of Saint James
James together with his brother John were Galilean fishermen. They were with their father Zebedee preparing their fishing nets when Jesus called them to him
(Matthew 4:21; Mark 1:19). James was one of the first disciples and with Peter and his brother John witnessed the rasing of Jairus' daughter (Mark 5:37; Luke 8:51).
James and John were present at the healing of Peter's mother-in-law (Mark 1:29) and the trio attended the 'transfiguration' of Jesus (Mark 9:2; Matthew 17:1; Luke 9:28) and were with him again in the garden of Gethemane.
According to Mark (10:35-45) James and John annoyed the other disciples by asking Jesus, "Let one of us sit at your right ans the other at your left in your glory".
They also declared themselves ready to drink from the same cup as Jesus, i.e. to accept martyrdom. In Matthew (20:20-28) it is their mother Salome that requests these favours on their behalf.
James and his brother were rebuked by Jesus when they wished a Samaritan village be struck by fire for refusing hospitality (Luke 9:52-55). Jesus called them Boanerges (sons of thunder) on account of their irascibility (Mark 3:17).
The death of James is recorded in Acts (12:1-2), King Herod Agripa (AD 44) had James put to death by the sword. According to a later legend James travelled to spain and died there his body is said to be buried in Santiago de Compostela.
St James (The Great) is celebrated on 25th July.
St James the Less, son of Alphaeus
Apostle James (Son of Alphaeus)
Taken from orthodoxwiki.org
Not much is known of this James except that he was sent out as one of the twelve apostles by Jesus to spread the word (Matthew 10:3). He is sometimes identified as the son of Mary, wife of Cleopas one of the women who stood at the cross. He may have been the brother of Matthew also known as Levi (Mark 2:14). He was present when Matthias was chosen to replace Judas (Acts 1:13). James heard the Lord's words and witnessed his miracles.
St James (The Less) is celebrated on 1st May.
James of Jerusalem
James, 'the Lord's brother' was a leader of the church of Jerusalem from a very early date. After his conversion Paul visited James in Jerusalem. He served for thirty years as head of the Church at Jerusalem and was martyred (stoned to death) in the year 62.James of Jerusalem is celebrated on 23rd October.(Ireland, Scotland and Wales.)