Mary, mother of James is identified in the
synoptic gospels
The gospels of Gospel of Matthew, Matthew, Gospel of Mark, Mark, and Gospel of Luke, Luke are referred to as the synoptic Gospels because they include many of the same stories, often in a similar sequence and in similar or sometimes identical ...
as
one of the women who went to Jesus' tomb after he was
buried. and refer to "Mary the mother of James" as one of the
Myrrhbearers, the women who went to the
tomb of Jesus.
Along with
Mary Magdalene
Mary Magdalene (sometimes called Mary of Magdala, or simply the Magdalene or the Madeleine) was a woman who, according to the four canonical gospels, traveled with Jesus as one of his followers and was a witness to crucifixion of Jesus, his cr ...
and
Mary of Clopas, Mary the mother of James is known as one of the
Three Marys.
Background
says that "Mary the mother of James and Joseph" was watching the
crucifixion
Crucifixion is a method of capital punishment in which the condemned is tied or nailed to a large wooden cross, beam or stake and left to hang until eventual death. It was used as a punishment by the Achaemenid Empire, Persians, Ancient Carthag ...
from a distance. calls her "Mary the mother of
James the younger and of Joses".
James the younger is often identified with
James, son of Alphaeus. The ''
Catholic Encyclopedia
''The'' ''Catholic Encyclopedia: An International Work of Reference on the Constitution, Doctrine, Discipline, and History of the Catholic Church'', also referred to as the ''Old Catholic Encyclopedia'' and the ''Original Catholic Encyclopedi ...
'' identifies him with both James, son of Alphaeus and
James the brother of Jesus (James the Just).
According to the surviving fragments of the work ''Exposition of the Sayings of the Lord'' of the
Apostolic Father Papias of Hierapolis
Papias () was a Greeks, Greek Apostolic Father, Bishop of Hierapolis (modern Pamukkale, Turkey), and author who lived c. 60 – c. 130 AD He wrote the ''Exposition of the Sayings of the Lord'' () in five books. This work, which is lost apart fr ...
, who lived c. 70–163 AD, "Mary, mother of James the Less and Joseph, wife of Alphaeus was the sister of Mary the mother of the Lord, whom John names of Cleophas".
For the Anglican theologian
J.B. Lightfoot, this fragment quoted above would be spurious.
Her relics are said to be both in France at the
Church of the Saintes Maries de la Mer, and in Italy.
See also
*
New Testament people named Mary
References
{{New Testament people
1st-century Christian female saints
Angelic visionaries
Followers of Jesus
People celebrated in the Lutheran liturgical calendar
Saints from the Holy Land
Women in the New Testament
Gospel of Mark
Gospel of Luke
Myrrhbearers
The Three Marys
Christian saints from the New Testament
James, son of Alphaeus