James, son of Alphaeus was one of the Twelve Apostles of Jesus, appearing under this name in all three of the Synoptic Gospels' lists of the apostles. He is generally identified with James the Less and commonly known by that name in church tradition. He is also labelled "the Minor", "the Little", "the Lesser", or "the Younger", according to translation. He is distinct from James, son of Zebedee and in some interpretations also from James, brother of Jesus. He appears only four times in the New Testament, each time in a list of the twelve apostles.
St James the Minor by Peter Paul Rubens (1613)
James, son of Alphaeus, detail of the mosaic in the Basilica of San Vitale, Ravenna, 6th century
Fresco of Saint James the Less in the Orthodox Church of Vladimir, Russia. 12th century.
Statue of St. James in the Archbasilica of St. John Lateran by Angelo de Rossi.
Apostles in the New Testament
In Christian theology and ecclesiology, the apostles, particularly the Twelve Apostles, were the primary disciples of Jesus according to the New Testament. During the life and ministry of Jesus in the 1st century AD, the apostles were his closest followers and became the primary teachers of the gospel message of Jesus. There is also an Eastern Christian tradition derived from the Gospel of Luke that there were seventy apostles during the time of Jesus' ministry.
The Last Supper, a late 1490s mural painting by Leonardo da Vinci, is a depiction of the last supper of Jesus and his Twelve Apostles on the eve of his crucifixion. Santa Maria delle Grazie, Milan
Jesus and his Twelve Apostles, fresco with the Chi-Rho symbol ☧, Catacombs of Domitilla, Rome
The Synaxis of the Twelve Apostles. Russian, 14th century, Moscow Museum
Vocation of the Apostles, a fresco in the Sistine Chapel by Domenico Ghirlandaio, 1481–82
