St Oswald's Magazine StOM 1705 | Page 15

For news of activities and events across the seven dioceses of the Scottish Episcopal Church, check out the diocesan websites: Aberdeen & Orkney Argyll & The Isles Brechin Edinburgh Glasgow & Galloway Moray, Ross & Caithness St Andrews, Dunkeld & Dunblane www.aberdeen.anglican.org www.argyll.anglican.org www.brechin.anglican.org www.edinburgh.anglican.org www.glasgow.anglican.org www.morayepiscopalchurch.scot www.standrews.anglican.org SAINTS COMMEMORATED IN MAY 3 May Philipp and St James the Less Two apostles whose actual dates of death are not known are commemorated on one day because a Basilica in Rome was dedicated to them. All reference to them is found in the New Testament. Several disciples of Jesus are called James. We are only certain of the identities of two of them: The elder James, also called ‘St James the Great’, Son of Zebedee, whose grave is venerated at Santiago de Compostella, which is the destination of the pilgrim paths of St James – and the other James, who is said to be the brother of Jesus. Protestant tradition assures us that he is not identical with James number 3, the Son of Alpheus, since they take the word ‘brother’ literally, although it could mean ‘cousin’ in Old Testament tradition. According to Catholic and Orthodox tradition this James is called ‘the Less’, sometimes ‘St James the Just’. He was, as a relative of Jesus, such an important figure in the early Christian community in Jerusalem, that the Jewish historian Flavius Josephus mentions his execution in the year 62. Legend has it that he was thrown off the temple walls and then beaten to death with a fullers’ club, Josephus reports stoning, which was a judicial murder about which the Community complained to the Roman Procurator, where upon the High Priest Annas lost his job. The great esteem which James enjoyed with his contemporaries justifies that he is today the Patron Saint of pastry-and cake makers, a trade which has produced the goods, at least before the cake mixture or deep freeze was invented. StOM Page 15