James, the son of Zebedee, was a fisherman of Galilee and one of the Twelve Apostles, the elder brother of the Apostle and Evangelist John the Theologian. According to the Gospel account, he and John were at work by the sea with their father Zebedee when the Lord called them, and they left their nets to follow Him. The Orthodox Church commemorates him on April 30, and distinguishes him from the other apostolic figures who bore the name James: James the Brother of the Lord, the first bishop of Jerusalem, and James the son of Alphaeus.
With Peter and his brother John, James belonged to the inner circle of the Twelve who were present at three pivotal moments of the Lord's earthly ministry: the raising of the daughter of Jairus, the Transfiguration on Mount Tabor, and the Lord's agony in the Garden of Gethsemane. The Gospel of Mark records that Jesus gave the two brothers the name Boanerges, that is, 'Sons of Thunder' (Mark 3:17), a designation traditionally associated with the fervor of their temperament.
According to the tradition received in the synaxarion, after the descent of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost James preached in Spain and in other lands before returning to Jerusalem, where he proclaimed Christ boldly and disputed with the religious authorities. The Acts of the Apostles records that Herod Agrippa, who reigned from 40 to 44, had James put to death by the sword (Acts 12:1-2). He was beheaded at Jerusalem in the year 44 and is honored as the first of the Twelve Apostles to die a martyr's death.
