The New Student's Reference Work/James the Great

James the Great, held to be the oldest of the brothers of Jesus, was stoned to death by command of the high priest Ananias in 62 A. D. He is the James mentioned in Acts xii., xv., xxi. and Gal. i. 19, who was the head of the Christians at Jerusalem and, according to one authority, was called the Just. He is held to be the author of the epistle which bears his name. His epistle is the first of what are known as the catholic epistles, that is, those addressed to no one person or church but “to the twelve tribes scattered abroad.” It was written not later than 50 A. D., certainly before the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 A. D.