Mary, mother of James | |
|---|---|
_with_two_of_their_sons_(SM_1398b)_(cropped2).png) Detail fromTorgauer Altar byLucas Cranach the Elder, 1509 | |
| Personal life | |
| Spouse | Alphaeus |
| Children | |
| Religious life | |
| Religion | Christianity |
Mary, mother of James is identified in thesynoptic gospels asone of the women who went to Jesus' tomb after he wasburied.Mark 16 (Mark 16:1) andLuke 24 (Luke 24:10) refer to "Mary the mother of James" as one of theMyrrhbearers, the women who went to thetomb of Jesus.
Along withMary Magdalene andMary of Clopas, Mary the mother of James is known as one of theThree Marys.
Matthew 27:56 says that "Mary the mother of James and Joseph" was watching thecrucifixion from a distance.Mark 15:40 calls her "Mary the mother ofJames the younger and of Joses".James the younger is often identified withJames, son of Alphaeus. TheCatholic Encyclopedia identifies him with both James, son of Alphaeus andJames the brother of Jesus (James the Just).[1]
According to the surviving fragments of the workExposition of the Sayings of the Lord of theApostolic FatherPapias of Hierapolis, 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".[2] For the Anglican theologianJ.B. Lightfoot, this fragment quoted above would be spurious.[3][4]
Her relics are said to be both in France at theChurch of the Saintes Maries de la Mer, and in Italy.