James

James the Great, (son of Zebede) was the second of the apostles to die (after Judas Iscariot), and the first to be martyred.

James was the son of Zebedee and Salome. Salome was a sister of Mary (mother of Jesus) which made James the Great a cousin of Jesus. He was called "the Greater" to distinguish him from the Apostle James "the Less," (son of Alphaeus). "Greater" likely meant older or taller. James the Great was the brother of John the Apostle.

James was one of the first disciples to join Jesus. The Synoptic Gospels report that James and John were with their father by the seashore when Jesus called them to follow him.

James, along with his brother, and Peter, formed an important triumvirate among the Twelve Apostles. They alone were allowed to be  present at three particular occasions during his public ministry, the raising of Jairus' daughter, transfiguration of Jesus and agony in the Garden of Gethsemane.

Either James and John, or their mother, asked Jesus to grant them seats on his right and left in his glory. Jesus rebuked them, saying the honor was not even for him to grant. This made the other apostles were angry with them. James and his brother also wanted to call down fire on a Samaritan town, but were again rebuked by Jesus.

The Book of Acts records that "Herod the king" (i.e. Herod Agrippa) had James executed by the sword. Some suggest that this may have been caused by James's fiery temper, as Jesus gave James and his brother John the nickname Boanerges or "Sons of Thunder". The site of martyrdom is located within the Armenian Apostolic Cathedral of St. James in the Armenian Quarter of modern Jerusalem. The Chapel of St. James the Great, located to the left of the sanctuary, is the traditional place where he was martyred when King Agrippa ordered him to be beheaded (Acts 12:1-2).