St. James, the Brother of the Lord

The first bishop of Jerusalem and the voice that settled the Apostolic Council, when the Church had to decide whether Gentiles must keep the Law: his judgement was that they should not be troubled. He wrote the letter that says faith without works is dead. The Orthodox tradition understands brother of the Lord as the Church always has, a son of Joseph by an earlier marriage, because the Mother of God remained a virgin. Josephus records that the high priest had him stoned in 62, and the account preserved by Eusebius has him thrown from the Temple and clubbed while he prayed for his killers. The oldest liturgy still served bears his name, and is celebrated on his day. Feast: October 23.