BROTHERS OF JESUS. - Blood relatives of Jesus who in the Gospels (Mt. 12:46; 13:55; Mk. 3:31; 6:3; Lk. 8:19-21; Jn. 2:12; 7:3-5) and Acts 1:14 are called "his brothers" and in the epistles of St. Paul (1 Cor. 9:5; Gal. 1:19) "brothers of the Lord" (οἱ ἀδελφοί τοῦ Κυρίου). Mt. 13:55 and Mk. 6:3 name 4 of these brothers: James, Joses (Ἰωσήφ) or Joseph, Judas and Simon.
Two questions arise: 1) what degree of kinship existed between Jesus and his so-called brothers? 2) who are, historically considered, these brothers of Jesus?
I. THE DEGREE OF KINSHIP
The term "brothers" often took on a very broad meaning. Both the Hebrew ἀδ. and the Greek ἀδελφός, as appears from the many sacred and profane texts, can indicate: a) a brother in the true and proper sense (Gen. 4, 8; Mt. 4, 21; 17, 1, etc.); b) a blood relative of any degree (Gen. 13, 18; 28, 2; I Par. 23, 21); c) a neighbor (Deut. 15, 3; Ios. 22, 2; Iudc. 1, 3; Ier. 7, 15; Rom. 9, 3; Iac. 1, 9; Plato, Men., 8, 239; Xenophon, Anab., 7, 2, 25, 38). Therefore the question arises: in what sense do the Evangelists use the word "brothers" when they speak of the brothers of Jesus? Are these his brothers in the strictest sense, that is, sons of St. Joseph and the Most Holy Mary, or rather his relatives of an unspecified degree?
The various answers can be classified into 3 theories:
1. The "Helvidian" theory: it regards the brothers of Jesus as sons of St. Joseph and the Most Holy Mary. This theory, upheld by Helvidius and by very few of his followers, was promptly rejected by the Fathers (St. Jerome, De perp. virg. adversus Helv.: PL 23, 193-216), condemned (Denz-U, 91) and finally abandoned by all. Unfortunately it was revived in the 18th century by certain reformers, and today it is upheld by nearly all Protestants.
2. The "Epiphanian" theory: it considers the brothers of Jesus as sons had by St. Joseph in a presumed previous marriage. This theory, which is based on the fables of the apocrypha, was later upheld by the Greek Fathers, and today is defended by certain schismatic doctors.
3. The "Jeromean" theory: it maintains that the brothers of
Jesus are his cousins. This theory, already advocated by St. Jerome and upheld by all the Latin Fathers and by some Greek ones, can today be considered as the official doctrine of the Catholic Church.
This last theory finds proof both in the Gospel and in tradition. The Gospels teach clearly that neither Mary nor Joseph had any children other than Jesus (Lc. 1-2; Mc. 6, 3; Io. 19, 27); tradition knows cousins of Jesus, and precisely: James, Simon and Jude, who are indicated as sons of Clopas, brother of St. Joseph (Eusebius, Hist. Eccl., III, 11-20; 4, 22; 2, 22; PG 20, 196, 252-61, 380). Io. 19, 25 indicates that the wife of Clopas is a sister of the Mother of Jesus, identical with Mary the mother of James and of Joseph, mentioned by the Synoptics (Mt. 27, 56; Mc. 15, 40; Lc. 24, 49).
Hence it is probable that the brothers of Jesus are the sons of Clopas, brother of St. Joseph, and of Mary, sister of Mary the mother of Jesus: therefore cousins of Jesus. For other hypotheses, v. ALFEO, CLEOFA.
II. THE HISTORICAL PERSONALITY
It is necessary to confront the question of whether or not the cousins of the Savior were apostles.
We consider it more probable that Jesus called some of his brethren to be part of the College of the 12 Apostles. St. Paul seems to prove this in 1 Cor. 9:5. On the other hand, the argument that the opponents of the apostolicity of the brethren of Jesus believe they find in John 7:3-5 does not appear to have probative value, because John here does not speak of absolute unbelief, but rather of relative unbelief, which is therefore reconcilable with the apostolate. In fact, the Apostles, until the coming of the Holy Spirit, had an imperfect faith (John 14:13-22; Acts 1:8; Luke 24:21).
James, a brother of Jesus, was the first bishop of Jerusalem; cf. Acts 15:13; 21:18; Gal. 1:19; 1 Cor. 15:7; Hegesippus relates many things about him (Eusebius, Hist. eccl., II, 4-6; PG 20, 197 ff.).
This brother of Jesus is in all probability the same as the apostle James of Alphaeus. The identification of James the brother of Jesus with the apostle James of Alphaeus is not opposed by the fact that the former is called the son of Clopas and the latter the son of Alphaeus, because the name Clopas can etymologically be considered a Greekized form of the Aramaic Halfoj; on the other hand, the father of the brethren of Jesus could have had the names Alphaeus and Clopas. St. Luke in Acts 1:12, 15 presents us with only two Jameses, namely the son of Zebedee and the brother of Jesus; indeed, after having indicated the death of the former, he speaks of the latter as if he were the only one of this name among the leaders of the nascent Church.
Tradition does not know a distinct James of Alphaeus, but knows very well James the brother of Jesus: it calls him an apostle, and although some texts give him this title in a broad sense, the most ancient and most esteemed texts regard him as one of the 12 Apostles, identifying him with James the son of Alphaeus (cf. I Cor. 15, 5-7; Gal. 1, 19).
(for the portfolio of Brother Leone)
Jude (v.), the brother of the Lord, author of the catholic Epistle, presents himself to his readers as the brother of James (Jud. 1), because the latter was better known than he.
It is almost certain that this brother of the Lord is identical with the apostle Jude of James (Lk. 6, 11; Acts 1, 13), surnamed Thaddaeus or Lebbaeus (Mt. 10, 3; Mk. 3, 18). In fact tradition is almost unanimous in favor of the apostolate of this brother of the Lord. As far as is known, only Cyril of Alexandria and St. Chrysostom indirectly hold the contrary, relying on exegetical, not historical, reasons.
Simon, the brother of the Lord, was the second bishop of Jerusalem. If Hegesippus is to be believed (Eusebius, Hist. eccl., III, 32: PG 20, 255), he lived a long time and suffered much. It is not entirely clear, but probable, that this brother of the Lord too was a member of the College of the 12 Apostles; he must be the same as Simon the Canaanite or Zealot.
About Joseph, the brother of the Lord, nothing is known.
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