James the Just

James the Just was a prominent leader of the Jerusalem church in the first century. Early Christian sources identify him as Jesus’s brother.

Epistle of James: A New Testament letter attributed to James that emphasizes practical ethics, endurance, and care for the poor. Its attribution connects James’s name with a distinctive body of early Christian teaching.
Peter the Apostle: A leading disciple of Jesus and an influential figure in the earliest Christian communities. Acts portrays Peter and James as central figures in Jerusalem’s leadership.
Jerusalem church: The early Christian community based in Jerusalem, influential in the movement’s first decades. James’s prominence arose from leading this community.
Desposyni: A term for relatives of Jesus who were remembered as leaders in early Christian communities. Later traditions connected James’s family status with continuing leadership by Jesus’s relatives.
Paul the Apostle: An early Christian missionary and letter-writer who helped shape the movement beyond Judea. Paul’s letters offer an early account of meeting James and negotiating Gentile inclusion.
Barnabas: An early Christian missionary who worked with Paul and supported the inclusion of Gentile converts. Barnabas accompanied Paul to Jerusalem, where the status of Gentile believers was debated.
Council of Jerusalem: A meeting described in Acts that addressed whether Gentile converts had to follow the Mosaic law. James’s speech in Acts frames the council’s decision about Gentile believers.
Proto-Orthodox Christianity: Early Christian currents that developed into the dominant forms later called orthodox. Later Christian writers incorporated James into accounts of legitimate apostolic authority.
Josephus: A first-century Jewish historian whose works describe Judea and the Roman world. Josephus reports James’s execution during the high priesthood of Ananus II.
Ananus ben Ananus: A first-century high priest in Jerusalem who briefly held office around 62 CE. Josephus names Ananus as the authority who ordered James’s execution.

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