St. James Parish Church
July 4 - August 1
Activities Celebrating
The Feast of St. James
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Diary: Feast of Title Activities 2021
St. James Parish Church
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James the Greater
was one of the twelve disciples of Jesus Christ.
was the son of Zebedee and Salome;
was the brother of John the Beloved;
was also called James, son of Zebedee;
is believed to have been the cousin of Jesus since his mother, Salome, and Mary, the Mother of Jesus appears to have been sisters;
was one of the first four disciples to be called along with Peter, Andrew and John, his brother;
with his brother John and / or his mother, requested that he be seated at the right/left hand of Jesus;
(see Matthew 20)
was the first Apostle to be martyred;
is believed to have travelled to Spain immediately following the crucifixion of Christ and influenced the country to become followers of Christ;
is the Patron Saint of Spain (and Nicaragua);
returned to Jerusalem on a pilgrimage in 44 AD, was arrested by Herod and beheaded;
was designated the Patron Saint of Pilgrims based primarily on the above;
in the Anglican Community, July 25 is celebrated as his Feast Day;
has the scallop shell as his iconic symbol;
was one of the favored three who had the privilege of witnessing the Transfiguration, the raising to life of the daughter of Jairus, and the agony in Gethsemane;
along with his brother John, was called the Sons of Thunder by Jesus.
The Cross of St. James
The Cross of St. James combines a pointed lower limb, as if to be driven into the ground, with flared limbs or limbs that are forked and rounded.
It is said that the shape of this cross originated in the era of the Crusades, when the knights took with them small crosses with sharpened bottoms to stick them in the ground and carry out their daily devotions.
The Shell of St. James
The scallop shell or cockleshell is an emblem of the apostle Saint James the Great. In times past it was used to take water for drinking from streams by soldiers on the way to the Crusades and in later times, by pilgrims as they visited the Holy Shrine dedicated to St. James in Spain.
St. James Parish Church (the building), Barbados was:
first erected as a wooden church in 1628.
destroyed by hurricanes on two occasions.
replaced by a stoned structure in the 1690s.
repaired and renovated during the 18th and 19th Centuries.
enlarged and consecrated by Easter 1875.
Most of what we have today as the church building dates from the late 1800s.
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Diary: Feast of Title Activities 2021
St. James Parish Church
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