Holy Apostle Jude Thaddeus. Tag Archives: Judas Thaddeus

Judas Levway, Thaddeus, Barsabas... Even his amazing name causes a series of controversies. He is united, praising, warm-hearted, after repentance he stood in the ranks of those who believed in the Messiah and loved Him with all his heart. After the unexpected betrayal of Judas Iscariot, Christians tried not to say this name out loud and not to use it in their vocabulary at all.

But the holy Apostle Judas Jacob was faithful to the Creator until the end of his days, until his martyrdom. But very little information has survived to this day about the life of the great saint.

Life of Saint Jude

Judas Jacob (aka Thaddeus, or Levway) is an apostle from the twelve, brother (paternal) of Jesus Christ.

He was born in Nazareth, Galilee, and was one of the sons of Joseph the Betrothed from his first marriage. Later, Joseph was betrothed to be his wife by the Immaculate Virgin Mary, who through the immaculate conception brought into the Light of God the Savior of Heaven and Earth Jesus Christ. It is difficult to believe in seedless conception, but God has his own laws. What is impossible for us today is possible for Him.

Judas Thaddeus is often referred to as Judas Jacob, he is the brother of James the Righteous - the holy apostle, primate of the Church of Jerusalem. He was so named solely of his own free will, because he considered himself unworthy to be considered the brother of the Lord, because earlier he had sinned against Him by lack of faith, doubting the Divine essence of Christ.

More about apostolic ministry:

Saint Jude Thaddeus

Serving the Lord

The beginning of the Lord's earthly ministry is marked by a story that happened in His family. Joseph the Betrothed, upon returning from a trip to Egypt, decided to divide his land holdings among his sons. Part of the possessions was also intended for the Son from Jesus’ second marriage. The older boys opposed their father's will, but the eldest of the brothers, Jacob, shared his share with his brother, born prenaturally and incorruptibly from the Virgin Mary.

For the good deed accomplished, Christ the Savior called Jacob the brother of the Lord. A little later, Judas of little faith believed in the Messiah and loved Him with all his heart, after which he was chosen as the Savior as one of His 12 disciples.

But Judas could not forget about his complete sin of lack of faith and did not dare to call himself, unworthy, the brother of the Lord, therefore he was called as Judas Jacob.

The apostle's middle name is Thaddeus. After the unexpected betrayal of Judas Iscariot, they tried not to mention this name in the community of the holy apostles, so they began to call Jacob Thaddeus, which means “to praise.” And the name Levvey was similar in meaning and meaning to the name Thaddeus.

After the Crucifixion of the Messiah and His Ascension, Judas Jacob went around the world to preach the Word of God and the Holy Gospel. He visited many countries: Samaria, Mesopotamia, Galilee, Judea, Syria, Arabia.

While in Persia, the holy apostle wrote the Epistle in Greek. His brief words preserved many deep truths. The Book, consisting of only one chapter, contained dogmas about the Holy Trinity, the difference between Angels, the future Coming of Christ to earth and the Last Judgment.

Judas exhorted Christian believers:

beware of fornication and carnal impurities;
lead a godly life in Christ;
live in love, faith and unceasing prayer;
to guide the lost to the path of salvation.

He tried to convey to the human race that faith in God alone is not enough, it is important to follow His Commandments and do good deeds.

Important! Judas actively converted people to the faith of Christ, instructing peoples on the true, saving path. The great apostle exhorted people to get rid of pride, envy, disobedience, treacherous thoughts and actions.

in deeds, thoughts, actions;
in prayer, in faith, in love;
live in harmony;
convert the lost to the faith, avoid heretics.

Read about the practice of spiritual life:

He assured that for eternal life in Christ it is not enough to consider oneself a Christian. It is important to practice virtue!

Apostle Jude Thaddeus

The end of the earthly journey

In great labors he reached Ararat, turning many pagan people away from idolatry. Thanks to his efforts, they became believing Orthodox Christians. But the local priests took up arms against the apostle. The executioners grabbed him and subjected him to cruel torture, after which they crucified him on the cross and pierced his body with sharp arrows.

The martyrdom of Judas Thaddeus took place in Armenia around the year 80 in the city of Ararat.

Relics of the Saint

The relics of Christ's saint rest in the Church of Alexander Nevsky in Prince Lake, while another part of them resides in the Vatican Cathedral of St. Peter.

The supposed burial site of Judah Jacob is located in the mountains on the northwestern side of Iran on the territory of a now defunct monastery. But once a year a service is held at the monastery, which attracts many pilgrims from all over Iran.

The Holy Apostle of the 12th Jude Thaddeus is commemorated by the Orthodox Church on June 19 and June 30. The last date coincides with the celebration of the Council of the Twelve Apostles.

Watch a video about the life of Judas Thaddeus

Saint Apostle Jude is one of the 12 disciples of the Lord. He came from the tribe of David and Solomon.

Saint Jude was born in the Galilean city of Nazareth from the righteous Joseph, to whom the Most Pure Virgin Mary was later betrothed. It is not known with certainty who Judas' mother was. According to some, this was Salome 1, the daughter of Haggai, son of Barachias, brother of Saint Zechariah, father of the holy prophet and forerunner of the Lord John. This Judas was the brother of the holy Apostle James the Righteous, primate of the Jerusalem church 2.

The Holy Apostle Jude is usually called Judas of Jacob, that is, the brother of the Apostle James 3. He accepted this name out of humility, for he considered himself unworthy to be called the brother of the Lord according to the flesh, especially since he sinned before the Lord, firstly, through his lack of faith, and secondly, through unbrotherly love. That Judas sinned through lack of faith, St. John the Theologian testifies to this, saying: “For neither did His brothers believe in Him” (John. 7 :5).

Explaining this passage of the Gospel, Saint Theophylact 4 means here by the brothers of Christ the children of Joseph. Namely, he says:
- The brothers, the children of Joseph (among whom was this Judas) also brought reproach to Him - that is, to Christ; Where did they get such unbelief towards Him? - From one’s own bad will and from envy, for relatives tend to envy their own more than strangers.

So, from here it is clear that Judas sinned before the Lord through his lack of faith.

But Judas, in addition, showed unbrotherly love to Christ, as is written about in the life of Jacob, the brother of God. When Joseph, upon returning from Egypt, began to divide his land between his children born from his first wife, he wished to give a part to the Lord Jesus, born prenaturally and incorruptibly from the Most Pure Virgin Mary, who was then still a small child. But the three sons of Joseph did not want to accept Christ as their share, as born from another mother; only the fourth son, Saint James, accepted Him into joint ownership of his part and therefore was later called the brother of God. Realizing these past sins of his - lack of faith and unbrotherly love - Judas did not dare to call himself the brother of God, but only called himself the brother of James, as he writes in his epistle: “Judas, the servant of Jesus Christ, the brother of James” (Jude. 1 :1-25).

In addition to the name Judas Jacob, the Apostle Judas also has other names. The Evangelist Matthew calls him Levway and Thaddeus. These names were given to the Apostle Jude not without a reason, namely: the word “Levvey” means: “cordial.” In relation to the Apostle Judas, this name will mean that he is Judas, after the sins he committed out of ignorance against Christ God, when he was convinced that Jesus is the true Messiah - Christ God, he united with Him with all his heart.

The Apostle Jude is also called Thaddeus, which means “one who praises,” for he glorified and confessed Christ God and proclaimed the Gospel to many nations.

We know very little about the life and work of Saint Apostle Jude. It is only known that at the end of the reign of Domitian 5, two grandsons of Judas, who were engaged in cultivating the land with their own hands, were brought, through the slander of heretics, to this emperor, as descendants of David and relatives of the Lord; but when the emperor was convinced that they did not pose any political danger to him, they were released.

The Apostle Jude, like other “brothers of the Lord” according to the flesh, carried out many evangelistic labors, spreading the Gospel of Christ. Soon after the ascension of the Lord Jesus Christ into heaven, Apostle Judas, like all the Apostles of Christ in general, went to preach the Gospel.

According to the testimony of the church historian Nicephorus 6, “the divine Judas, not Iscariot, but another, who had the double name Thaddeus and Levway, the son of Joseph, the brother of Jacob, thrown from the roof of the temple of Jerusalem, preached the Gospel and spread Christianity first in Judea, Galilee, Samaria , Idumea, then in Arabia, Syria and Mesopotamia, finally came to the city of Edessa, which belonged to King Abgar 7, where even before him another Thaddeus, one of the seventy Apostles, preached the Gospel. Here the Apostle Jude finished and corrected what was not completed by that Thaddeus” 8.

There is news that the holy Apostle Jude preached Christianity in Persia, from where he wrote his conciliar epistle in Greek. The motivation or reason for writing this message was the fact that wicked people crept into the society of believers, who turned the grace of God in cases of lawlessness and, under the guise of Christian freedom, allowed themselves all sorts of vile deeds. This short message contains many profound thoughts and edifying teachings. It contains part of the dogmatic teaching: about the sacrament of the Holy Trinity, about the incarnation of Jesus Christ, about the difference between good and evil angels and about the future Last Judgment; partly the teaching is moral: an exhortation to avoid sinful uncleanness - carnal, blasphemy, pride, disobedience, envy, hatred, deceit and guile; The Apostle advises everyone to be constant in his office, in faith, in prayer, in love - he advises to take care of the conversion of the lost, to preserve himself from heretics, whose spiritually harmful morals he clearly depicted and declared that those heretics will perish, like the inhabitants of Sodom (Jude. 1 :7).

In addition, in his letter, the holy Apostle Jude says that for salvation it is not enough to be converted from paganism to Christianity, but one must, with faith, do good deeds befitting Christianity and worthy of salvation, and cites as an example angels and people punished by God. God bound the angels with eternal bonds in darkness and preserves them for His terrible judgment because they did not preserve their dignity (Jude. 1 :6). God destroyed the people brought out of Egypt in the wilderness because they fell into depravity, living not according to the law of God (Jude. 1 :5). Thus, the Apostle Jude, in brief words, reveals to us great truths in his epistle.

The holy Apostle Jude visited many different countries, preaching the Gospel, converting peoples to the faith of Christ and instructing them on the path of salvation. In such labors he reached the countries of Ararat and here, having turned many people away from idolatry, he made them Christians. By this the Apostle strongly armed the priests of idols against himself: they seized him and, after various tortures, hung him on a cross and pierced him with arrows. This is how the holy Apostle Judas ended his feat and his life and departed to Christ God in order to receive from Him the crown of eternal reward in heaven 9 .

Troparion, tone 1:

We sacredly praise you, O Judas, a kinsman of Christ, and a strong martyr, having corrected delusion and keeping your faith: so today we celebrate your all-holy memory, the resolution of sins through your prayers is acceptable.

Kontakion, voice 2:

The interlocutor of the Apostle appeared to Paul, and hereby you preached to us the sermon of divine grace, O blessed Judas, for this reason we cry to you: do not cease praying for us all.

Kontakion, voice 2:

You appeared as a chosen disciple with a strong mind, and you became an invincible pillar of the Church of Christ: you preached the word of Christ with your tongue, believing, saying, in one deity: having become famous from Him, you received the gift of healings, to heal the ailments of those who come to you, the Apostle Jude of all.

1 One should also distinguish from this Salome the old woman Salome, a resident of Bethlehem (the betrothed grandmother of the Lord); this Salome was a relative of the Most Holy. Virgin Mary and rights. Joseph; see about her in the legend of the Nativity of Christ - month of December, 25th

2 The Holy Apostle James, the brother of the Lord in the flesh, according to legend, accompanied his father Joseph, the Ever-Virgin Mary and the Infant Jesus during their flight to Egypt. After the Ascension of the Savior, he was appointed bishop of the Jerusalem church; he was the first to compose the Divine Liturgy. He died, having been overthrown by the Jews from the wing of the church, in 61 or 62 AD; he owns the conciliar epistle bearing his name. The memory of this St. Apostle - October 23.

3 However, some distinguish Judas of Jacob (mentioned in Luke 6 and Acts. 1 :13) and the following circumstance reported in the Gospel is attributed to this Apostle. During His last farewell conversation with the disciples, the Lord, having announced to them about His departure to God the Father, said to them in consolation: “I will not leave you orphans; I'll come to you. A little more and the world will no longer see Me; and you will see Me, for I live, and you will live. On that day you will know that I am in My Father, and you in Me, and I in you. He who has My commandments and keeps them, he loves Me; and whoever loves Me will be loved by My Father; and I will love him and show myself to him” (John. 14 :18-21); then Judas said to the Lord: “Lord! What is it that You want to reveal Yourself to us and not to the world?” (John. 14 :22). From this question it is clear that the Apostle Jude had not yet parted with the favorite idea of the Jews about the Messiah as an earthly king, and understood the promised appearance of the Lord in the sense of a visible, sensory appearance, in the glory of an earthly king and conqueror. The Lord, by His answer, made him understand that He is not an earthly king, and His appearance in His Kingdom is not a visible, external, bodily phenomenon, but an internal, spiritual one, His mysterious communication with believers (John. 14 :23).

4 Blessed Theophylact, Archbishop of Ahrida in Bulgaria, is known for his interpretation of the Four Gospels, in which he follows in many respects St. John Chrysostom. Died around 1085

5 Roman Emperor Domitian reigned from 81 to 96.

6 Nicephorus Callistus is a 14th century Greek historian who left us the “History of the Church.”

7 To this Abgar, according to legend, Jesus Christ sent His image not made by hands. Edessa is a city in Mesopotamia.

9 St. Judas died around 80 AD. - According to the month's word imp. Vasily ap. Judas was in Mesopotamia in Edessa, where he healed Abgar, and then in the city of Aratus he was pierced by an arrow on the cross; according to the Slavic prologue of the ap. Judas suffered on the island of Arad. There is a city and island of Arad, but in Phenicia, not in Mesopotamia. According to Armenian legend, ap. Judas arrived in Armenia around the year 60 and met here with the Apostle Bareolemaeus in the city of Artashat on the Araks; He enlightened many, and was nailed to the cross in 72 in Ormia in Greater Armenia, now Urmia. In this case, Arat should be sought near the Ararat Mountains. (Month of Arch. Sergius, vol. 2, deputy under June 19).

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Judah Jacob(akaThaddeus, or Levway) - apostle from 12, brother of the Lord.

Saint Jude was born in the Galilean city of Nazareth. He came from the line of King David and Solomon, was the son of the righteous Joseph the Betrothed from his first wife, to whom the Most Pure Virgin Mary was later betrothed. Judas was the brother of the holy Apostle James the Righteous, primate of the Jerusalem Church.

The Holy Apostle Jude is usually called Judas of Jacob, that is, the brother of the Apostle James. He accepted this name out of his humility, for he considered himself unworthy to be called the brother of the Lord in the flesh, especially since he sinned before the Lord, firstly, with his lack of faith, and secondly, with unbrotherly love, as evidenced by Saint John the Theologian.

At the beginning of the earthly ministry of the Lord Jesus Christ, the sons of Joseph, including Judah, did not believe in His Divine essence. Tradition indicates that when the righteous Joseph the Betrothed, returning from Egypt, began to divide his land between his children born from his first wife, he wished to allocate a part to Christ the Savior, born prenaturally and incorruptibly from the Most Pure Virgin Mary, who was then still a small child . The brothers opposed this, and only the eldest of them, James, accepted Christ Jesus into joint ownership of his share and for this was called the brother of the Lord. Later, Judas believed in Christ the Savior as the expected Messiah, turned to Him with all his heart and was chosen by Him to be one of the closest 12 disciples. But, remembering his sin, the Apostle Jude considered himself unworthy to be called the brother of God and in his conciliar letter he calls himself only Jacob's brother.

The same goes for his middle name. Thaddeus. After the betrayal of Judas Iscariot, the apostolic community tried not to use this name. Judas Jacob began to be called differently: Thaddeus. This name comes from a Hebrew verb meaning “to praise.” Another name - Levway (comes from the Hebrew word meaning heart), and in meaning it is close to the meaning of the name Thaddeus. So they began to designate another Judas, who did not betray Christ, but was faithful to Him even to the point of martyrdom.

The name of Judas appears in the Gospel only once, namely in the Gospel of John (John 14:22), when Judas, during the last conversation of the Lord with the disciples, asked Him the following question: “ God! What is it that You want to reveal Yourself to us and not to the world?“Then, almost nothing is said about the Apostle Jude, or very little.

After the Ascension of the Lord Jesus Christ, Apostle Jude set out to preach the Gospel. He spread faith in Christ first in Judea, Galilee, Samaria and Idumea, and then in the countries of Arabia, Syria and Mesopotamia, and finally came to the city of Edessa, which belonged to King Abgar. Here he completed what had not been completed by his predecessor, another Thaddeus, an apostle from among the 70.

The news has been preserved that the holy Apostle Jude went preaching to Persia and from there wrote his conciliar epistle in Greek, in the brief words of which many deep truths are contained.

The conciliar epistle of the holy Apostle Jude consists of only one chapter and is entirely, from beginning to end, one continuous speech directed against false teachers. It contains dogmatic teaching about the Holy Trinity, about the incarnation of the Lord Jesus Christ, about the difference between good and evil Angels, about the future Last Judgment. In moral terms, the apostle urges believers to protect themselves from carnal impurity, to be correct in their duties, prayer, faith and love, to convert the lost to the path of salvation, to protect themselves from the teachings of heretics. The Apostle Jude teaches that faith in Christ alone is not enough; good deeds characteristic of Christian teaching are also necessary.

According to 1 Cor 9:5, he was apparently married. During the persecution of Christians, two of his grandsons were interrogated by Emperor Domitian (81-96 AD) as members of the Jewish royal family, but were then released.

According to legend, the holy Apostle Jude died as a martyr around the year 80 in Armenia, in the city of Aratus, where he was crucified on the cross and pierced with arrows.

The alleged grave is located on the territory of the Armenian monastery of St. Thaddeus in northwestern Iran.

Monastery of Saint Thaddeus (Kara Kelisa) in Iran. Inactive. Located in the mountains. Once a year (on the day of St. Thaddeus), a service is held in the main church of the monastery, which attracts Armenian pilgrims from all over Iran.

Troparion to Judas, brother of the Lord
You are a relative of Christ, O Judas, a leader and a steadfast martyr, / we sacredly praise you, / having trampled down delusion and kept the faith. / Moreover, today we celebrate your all-holy memory, / the resolution of sins through your prayers is acceptable.

Kontakion, voice 2:
The interlocutor of the Apostle appeared to Paul, and hereby you preached to us the sermon of divine grace, O blessed Judas, for this reason we cry to you: do not cease praying for us all.

Judah Jacob(akaThaddeus, or Levway) - apostle from 12, brother of the Lord.

The news has been preserved that the holy Apostle Jude went preaching to Persia and from there wrote his conciliar epistle in Greek, in the brief words of which many deep truths are contained.

According to legend, the holy Apostle Jude died as a martyr around the year 80 in Armenia, in the city of Aratus, where he was crucified on the cross and pierced with arrows.

The alleged grave is located on the territory of the Armenian monastery of St. Thaddeus in northwestern Iran.

Monastery of Saint Thaddeus (Kara Kelisa) in Iran. Inactive. Located in the mountains. Once a year (on the day of St. Thaddeus), a service is held in the main church of the monastery, which attracts Armenian pilgrims from all over Iran.

Today I will tell you about a saint, a helper in the most hopeless situations, Saint Jude Thaddeus.

Personally, he has already helped me twice))

St. Jude (Luke 6:16 and Acts 1:13), or Thaddeus (Matthew, Mark), or Levi (John 14:22; Matt. 10:3) in the New Testament is called a relative (adelphos) of Jesus (Matt. . 13:55 and Mark 6:3), as well as the brother of James the Less (Epistle of Jude). He may also be the author of the shortest book of the New Testament, the letter of Jude (although verse 17 of this letter allows us to believe that the apostles of Jesus had already died by that time. “But you, beloved, remember what was spoken of by the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ.” Id. 1:17 ).

The Letter of Jude was written by a man greatly concerned both with the purity of the Christian faith and with the good reputation of the Christian people. The author, he tells us, had planned to write another letter, but having learned of the false views of some teachers in the Christian community, he urgently warns the Church to beware of them.

In the Western tradition, based on the apocryphal Passion of Simon and Judas, it is believed that after preaching in Egypt, Simon joined Judas and they both went on a mission to Persia. Since the 6th century, legends speak of the martyrdom of Simon and Judas in Persia in Sufian (Siani), while in the Eastern tradition it is believed that Simon rested peacefully in Edessa. Judas, called Saint Thaddeus, is confused with Saint Addai of Mesopotamia. It is believed that Simon and Judas were killed with a saw or a short sword (falchion) (Attwater, Bentley, Delaney, Farmer, Walsh, White).

In art, Saint Simon is a middle-aged man with a saw and a book, or a boat. Sometimes he holds an oar or a fish (Roeder). Or he is depicted as sawn in half (according to the Golden Legend, pagan priests killed him this way). Reims and Toulouse, France, are believed to contain the venerated remains of these saints. (Encyclopedia, White).

Judas Thaddeus usually holds a club - the instrument of his death. (He is often confused with James the Less, whose depiction usually resembles our Lord, while Judas does not.) Judas is sometimes shown (1) holding an ax or halberd (often confused with Matthias); (2) holding a saw; (3) holding a book (which may have "Judas" written on it); (4) with a scroll, his message, with Carnis resurrectionem; (5) holding a carpenter's ruler (which could lead to confusion with Gemini Thomas); or (6) holding a ship, and Simon holding a fish (since both were fishermen). Usually he is in the form of a young man or middle-aged. People resort to Saint Jude in hopeless situations (Roeder).

When Simon and Judas are depicted together, one holds a saw and the other a short sword, but the two are often confused. Fish, ships and oars can be added to the images of each saint solely because both were cousins of the sons of Zebedee, who were fishermen (Appleton).

Prayer to Saint Jude

Most righteous apostle, Saint Jude, faithful servant and friend of Jesus, the Church honors you and turns to you everywhere as a patron in hopeless, most desperate cases. Pray for me, I'm so defenseless and alone. I beg you, with the special right given to you, make help visible and quick where it is most needed. Become a helper in this great need, that I may receive the comfort and help of heaven in all my needs, afflictions and sufferings, especially in (here state your request) and that I may praise God with you and all the elect forever. I promise, O blessed Saint Jude, to remember this great favor, to always honor you as my special and powerful patron, and to be devoted to you with gratitude. Amen.