St. James the Elder

Today is the feast day of St. James the Elder, Apostle. (Also known as St. James the Great.) He is described as one of the first disciples to join Jesus, and is the brother of St. John the Evangelist. Though there are no scriptural or patristic records, he is held as the evangelist to the Spaniards and Moors, and is often depicted in Moorish clothing. According to tradition, he was martyred in Jerusalem in AD 44, by the hand of Herod Agrippa.