Apostle James the Brother of God Resource Page

St. James the Just and Brother of God (Feast Day - October 23)

 

 Verses

The brother was hurled to the condemning club,
By this the all-blessed one died being struck with a club.
On the twenty-third the good brother of God was struck with a club.

Synaxarion of the Holy Apostle and First Bishop of Jerusalem James the Brother of God

Holy Apostle James, the Brother of God

Book of James (Complete NKJV Translation)

The Martyrdom of James the Just, the Brother of God and First Bishop of Jerusalem 

On James the Just, the Brother of our Lord (St. Jerome)

 

The Martyrdom of the Apostle James the Just (George Synkellos) 

Saint James the Brother of God as a Model for our Lives 

 

Saint James the Brother of God in the Hymnography of the Orthodox Church 

 

October: Day 23: Teaching 1: Holy Apostle James, the Brother of the Lord

 

October: Day 23: Teaching 2: Holy Apostle James, the Brother of the Lord

 

The Liturgy of Saint James: the Trojan Horse of "Liturgical Renewal" (1 of 7)

The Liturgy of Saint James: the Trojan Horse of "Liturgical Renewal" (2 of 7)

The Liturgy of Saint James: the Trojan Horse of "Liturgical Renewal" (3 of 7)

The Liturgy of Saint James: the Trojan Horse of "Liturgical Renewal" (4 of 7)

The Liturgy of Saint James: the Trojan Horse of "Liturgical Renewal" (5 of 7)

The Liturgy of Saint James: the Trojan Horse of "Liturgical Renewal" (6 of 7)

The Liturgy of Saint James: the Trojan Horse of "Liturgical Renewal" (7 of 7)

An Unforgettable Vigil for Saint James the Brother of God in Kefallonia

The Liturgy of Saint James: the Trojan Horse of "Liturgical Renewal" (7 of 7)

Papal Mass - Liturgy of James

...continued from part six.

D) Press Release of the Sacred Church of Saint John the Theologian in Peristeri

"In the Sacred Church of Saint John the Theologian in Peristeri there will be performed the archaic Divine Liturgy of Saint James, outside of the Holy Sanctuary, on 10/29. It is performed every year and the faithful have the unique opportunity and blessing to receive the body and blood of the Lord separately, as it was done by the early Christians."

It is emphasized here that the Divine Liturgy will be performed outside of the Holy Sanctuary. They are thus emphasizing that they are violating the rules of the Sacred Canons. They are emphasizing that they are advertizing arbitrariness. Does this not, therefore, make it clear that the purpose of this Liturgy is the "renewal" of our worship? It is surprising that they consider it a "blessing" to receive the elements of Communion separately. In fact is it not a blessing that they are receiving the Lord Himself? Is it thus a greater blessing to receive Communion separately, and if so, why? Is not such an observation blasphemous to the Body and Blood of the Master? Do we not show by this that we are wrongly catechizing our faithful and leading them into errors? Many times we have received complaints from good and innocent people who have participated in this Liturgy where the priest first gave them antidron! This means that these good and innocent people thought the Body of the Lord was antidron and they received Communion completely unprepared. Instead of catechizing our faithful we confuse them with our tricks and novelties.

The Liturgy of Saint James: the Trojan Horse of "Liturgical Renewal" (6 of 7)

...continued from part five.

Appendix

In the following pages we will practically support all that has been written in this text regarding the so-called Divine Liturgy of James. We will demonstrate in the most incontrovertible way the facts, that the restoration of this Liturgy has no other purpose than to bring a forced liturgical renewal into the life of our Church, a renewal that in turn is solely intended to remove liturgical differences with Catholics in order to bring about faster and with the least possible resistance from the faithful the union of "churches". But the One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church is not an organization, a company or a religion that requires the discussion of union for it is the very Body of Christ, Truth itself. The liturgical life as it developed in our Church is so perfect that it does not require the slightest change, rather, it is only required to live it and leave it be so we can understand how easily it brings us into communion with God.

The Liturgy of Saint James: the Trojan Horse of "Liturgical Renewal" (5 of 7)

Christ the Great High Priest

...continued from part four.

Priestly Vestments

Another novelty introduced by the Liturgy of Saint James concerns the originality of the vestments. The innovators have often sought for the abolition of the cassock and the change of the sacred vestments. What they essentially want to achieve, as much as possible, is the outer resemblance with Catholic vestments so that the steps towards union will be even less. What is sought for with this Liturgy, therefore, is coming closer since, according to them, many liturgists and even hierarchs take care to wear different vestments during its performance. For example, the Archbishop of Athens often performs this Liturgy not with the standard hierarchical sakkos, but with the phelonion and omophorion of a priest, like we see in iconography, on the basis that these were the vestments of the time. What they who use this argument forget is that the priests of the time also did not drive to Liturgy in expensive cars. It seems we want to imitate the times of the saints only in clothing and not imitate their life and works.

The Liturgy of Saint James: the Trojan Horse of "Liturgical Renewal" (4 of 7)

...continued from part three.

The Participation of the People

While all the above complaints are ignored by the aspiring "innovators", they also claim that during the Liturgy of Saint James the people are more involved because they are able to see and hear everything. This serves the purpose of the "liturgical renewal", which among other things seeks greater participation in the Liturgy, meaning, together with hearing and seeing, common chanting as well. Another Protestantized misconception!

The Liturgy of Saint James: the Trojan Horse of "Liturgical Renewal" (3 of 7)

...continued from part two.

The Reading of Prayers13

Another innovation sought for by the innovators, which is presented as part of the "archaic" Liturgy of Saint James, is for the people to be able to listen to the secret prayers of the Divine Liturgy being recited out loud. Even clergy who read the secret prayers silently during the regular Divine Liturgy, when they perform the Liturgy of Saint James, they become lured by the novelty of it and recite the prayers out loud in order to better impress and move people. Yet the prayers of the Liturgy are to be read silently, and this tradition has been maintained from the first century until today.

The Liturgy of Saint James: the Trojan Horse of "Liturgical Renewal" (2 of 7)

The Veil (το καταπέτασμα), the Sanctuary Doors (τα βημόθυρα) and the Beautiful Gate (Η Ωραία Πύλη)

...continued from part one.

The Place and Position of the Holy Altar

It has become customary for this Liturgy to be performed not on an established and sanctified Holy Altar, but on a table placed in the middle of the church. This act is certainly contrary to our Sacred Tradition and the Sacred Canons of the Church. But it is the long-standing demand of certain "professors", clergy and laity who have been educated in the West (Fr. Vasilios Thermos,5 Fr. Demetrios Tzerpos,6 Mr. Peter Vasiliadis,7 etc.), who persistently seek the abolition of the icon screen and therefore the distinction of the Sacred Sanctuary.

The Liturgy of Saint James: the Trojan Horse of "Liturgical Renewal" (1 of 7)

By Fr. Vasilios Spiliopoulos

In recent years, more often and more priests celebrate the so-called Divine Liturgy of Saint James the Brother of God. The celebration of this Liturgy and its sudden appearance in the life of our Church on the one hand shows the secular spirit that pervades many clergy, and on the other hand it serves the plan of the "reformists" of our liturgical life, the self-appointed saviors of the Church. The plan is simple: this Liturgy has been "baptized" by the reformists as "archaic". However, when it is performed, it is performed in a manner envisioned by the reformists, so that the faithful people are thrilled by the originality and effects, and they conclude, quite wrongly, that this is the archaic and traditional way it is supposed to be performed. This leads people to ask their priests to liturgize this same way when they perform the Divine Liturgies of Saints John Chrysostom and Basil the Great. But is this really so? Can any priest perform any Liturgy they want and how they want? Let us analyze this in detail.