Apostle James Alfeev: Life, Prayer and Icon

Every year on November 29, akathist to the Apostle Iakov Alfeyev sounds in Russian churches. This day commemorates one of the closest disciples and followers of Jesus Christ, which we learn about from the pages written by the three Evangelists - St. Matthew, Mark and Luke. From the little that they deemed necessary to tell us, we will try to get an idea of this man who has dedicated himself to God.

The tax collector from Capernaum

As it is commonly believed, the birthplace of the Apostle James Alfeev was the city of Capernaum, located on the shores of Lake Tiberias, now called the Kinneret. This was largely due to his subsequent meeting with Jesus Christ, who chose this city as one of the main places of his sermons.

Before responding to the call of Jesus Christ to join his twelve closest followers and disciples, the apostle James Alfeev was a tax collector, that is, a tax collector. This occupation was considered despicable because the money went to the treasury of Rome, which won in those years, Judea, and assistance to the invaders at all times was regarded as a betrayal. In addition, tax collectors deliberately overstated the amount of tax and, profiting from this, ruthlessly plundered the people.

Brothers who followed Christ

According to the texts of the New Testament, the Apostle James Alphaeus was the brother of the Evangelist Matthew, as well as he, who served as a publican, but then believed in Christ, and broke with the sinful past. Together they became one of the twelve chosen ones of God, who were counted to the apostolic face and sent to the world to preach the Gospel. In addition, his other brother was also the closest follower of Jesus Christ and went down in history under the name of the apostle Thaddeus.

It should be noted that even in the first centuries of Christianity, serious difficulties arose associated with the establishment of a true history of the life of the apostle James Alfeev. The reason was that, according to the Gospel, two other followers of Christ bore this name - Jacob Zavedeev, who was a brother to John the Theologian, and also the half-brother of Jesus, who was among the seventy apostles under the name of James the brother of the Lord. Numerous discrepancies, which appeared in the later lives of St. James Alfeev, were the result of his identification with these personalities.

Sower of the Word of God

The apostle James Alphheus is one of those to whom grace was bestowed, seeing the risen Savior personally, personally, for forty days to hear the words of Divine truth that came from his mouth. From the pages of the Holy Gospel we also learn that on the tenth day after the ascension of Jesus Christ, along with the rest of his eleven disciples and the Blessed Virgin Mary in the Zion chamber, he was honored to receive the Holy Spirit descended in the form of fiery tongues.

The life of the apostle James Alphaeus tells how, igniting the fire of Christ's teaching and assiduously planting faith, he even during his lifetime began to be called the "Divine Seed". Such a high name the apostle earned, eradicating the thorns of sin and unbelief and planting in human hearts the sprouts of the coming Kingdom of Heaven. His harvest was human souls, saved from the abyss of hell and eternal death.

The path of the Apostolic ministry of Jacob Alfeev

Also, from the pages of the story, it is known which lands the apostle James the Alpha has borne, and where he sow the word of God. In the first months after the ascension of Jesus Christ, his extensive field was directly Judaea, but then, together with the apostle Andrew, he went to Edessa - the most important center of early Christianity in Asia Minor, located in the southeast of modern Turkey. About this period of his ministry is told in the book "Acts of the Apostles", included in the texts of the New Testament.

Then the Holy Apostle continued his ministry in Gaza, one of the most ancient Philistine cities on the border with Judea, and in the Gospel times was part of Syria. Returning to Jerusalem, the Apostle James Alfeev preached also to the inhabitants of the city of Eleutheropolis, who gathered in thousands of crowds to hear from his lips the words of the doctrine that gives eternal life. Their conversion to Christ was particularly important, since it was in this city that Saint Ananias, the Bishop of Damascus, who once baptized the apostle Paul, was killed .

Death, which became the beginning of universal veneration

As further evidenced by the life of the apostle James Alfeev, his earthly way was cut off in the seaside town of Ostrazin, where the saint turned out, heading with a sermon to Egypt. The words of the apostle were met with a flash of anger from the pagans, as a result of which he was seized and sentenced to crucifixion on the cross. Despite all the suffering, the closest disciple of Jesus Christ was happy to become like Teacher in his death.

The veneration of the apostle James, as well as the other closest followers of Jesus Christ, was established in the first centuries of Christianity and was widely spread in the IV century, when a new and persecuted religion had gained official status. In those years, many Christian communities declared their continuity directly from the apostles, thereby proving the right to independence in making decisions on the most important religious issues. This added to the complexity of the compilation of the life of St. John Alfeev, as it was the reason for a number of fictitious testimonies of his stay in a number of cities.

Apostle Andrew on the banks of the Volkhov

Having perceived the light of the Christian faith from Byzantium, Russia inherited the tradition of venerating its preachers - the holy apostles. In this regard, it is interesting to note that the Apostle James enjoyed special love among the inhabitants of ancient Novgorod, and it was in his churches that the icon of the apostle James Alphheev was met more often than anywhere else. This is connected with two legends.

According to one of them, set forth in the ancient chronicles, the Apostle Andrew the First-Called, turning to the Christ of the Gentiles, made a journey, during which he visited the Dnieper shores, and then continued on his way north to Novgorod. According to one version, according to Volkhov, he reached Ladoga Lake and even planted a cross on the island, where the Valaam Monastery was later founded . Perhaps this legend was born by the Novgorodians themselves, who wanted to prove the apostolic continuity of their clergy.

The birth of a legend

Not going into the arguments about whether it has any real grounds, one can only assume that this version gave rise to another legend, according to which, together with the apostle Andrew in Novgorod, accompanied and once he was accompanied to Edessa by the apostle James. Reasonable question: "Why could not he do the same thing as his closest associate?" In any case, it was from Novgorod that the troparion of the apostle James Alfeev and the akathist translated from Greek began his journey through the churches of boundless Russia. As it was said above, today his memory is celebrated annually on November 29.

Let this article be completed by a short prayer to the Apostle James Alphaeuve. In humility of our hearts we will utter words that have been sounded for many centuries: "Holy Apostle Jacob, pray to God for us!"