History of St. James Day: and El Camino de Santiago
St. James, by Rembrandt, 1661. Image: Wikipedia
HISTORY OF ST. JAMES DAY: AND EL CAMINO DE SANTIAGO
July 25 is the Feast Day of St. James, and Roman Catholics, Lutherans, Anglicans, and some Protestants accordingly celebrate St. James Day. For Orthodox churches that follow the Julian calendar, it’s on April 30.
Each summer, pilgrims walk the Camino de Santiago, or the Way of St. James, which finds its way to the traditional grave of Saint James in Spain.
Who was St. James, and what is his relation to the pilgrimage of El Camino de Santiago?
Who was St. James
There are two St. Jameses mentioned in the New Testament:
- One James the Just, understood by Catholics as a cousin or step-brother of Jesus, and by Protestants as a half-brother, wrote the Book of James in the New Testament and was the leader of the church in Jerusalem after the departure of St. Peter.
- But we will discuss the other one, James the Greater, or James the Great, so designated because he was older or taller than the other James.
Hymnal, Sts. John and James, Sons of Thunder, Walters Manuscript. Image: Wikipedia
St. James the Great was one of the Sons of Zebedee, along with his brother St. John the Evangelist. Jesus called these two brothers “the Sons of Thunder” or Boanerges (probably from the Aramaic bene reghesh, “sons of the tumult”).
When Jesus and his disciples were traveling through Samaria, and the inhabitants did not respond to their message, they asked,
“Lord, do you want us to call fire down from heaven to destroy them?”
Another time, they (or their mother Salome) asked Jesus
“Teacher, we want you to do for us whatever we ask… Grant us that we may sit, one on your right hand and the other on your left, in your glory.”
These brothers, along with Peter, were among the earliest whom Jesus called to follow him and were considered his “inner circle.” They saw Jesus’ Transfiguration (Mark 9:2), the raising of Jairus’ daughter from the dead (Mark 5:37 and Luke 8:51), and Jesus’ agony in the Garden of Gethsemane (Mark 14:33 and Matthew 26:37).
James’ brother John was the last to die of all the disciples. But James was the first to be martyred for Jesus.
Ministry of St. James
James and his younger brother John had a fishing business in Galilee. John had connections in Jerusalem with the High Priest, as his Gospel tells us much about what happened at Jesus’ trial, while their fishing partner Peter remained outside by the fire. While James did not write any books of the New Testament, his brother wrote five books.
Jesus had called the brothers to follow him and become “fishers of men.”
2nd-century circular “fish” symbol with superimposed ΙΧΘΥΣ characters (ichthus, Greek word for fish), from Ephesus, Türkiye. Image: Wikipedia
While the Book of Acts in the New Testament does not mention James’ ministry with the early church after Easter, tradition holds that he traveled and preached the Gospel in Spain after serving in and around Jerusalem, where he eventually returned.
Death of St. James
The Book of Acts, Chapter 12, discusses how James and Peter were imprisoned by “Herod the King.” Biblical and extra-biblical ancient sources (like Josephus, Philo of Alexandria, and the Jewish rabbis) tell us much about Herod Agrippa I.
- He was the grandson of Herod the Great, whom we met in the Christmas narrative.
- He was the nephew of Herod Antipas, who had John the Baptist beheaded (Luke 9:9; 23:7-11) and had Jesus appear before him (Luke 23:7) during his Trials.
- Herod Agrippa had grown up in Rome and tutored Emperor Tiberius‘ grandson, but Tiberius imprisoned him for his reckless comment about the emperor. Following Tiberius’ death, his friend and Tiberius’ successor, Caligula, gave him a chain of gold equal in weight to the iron one that had imprisoned him. Emperor Claudius promoted him to the kingship of Judea and Samaria.
Due to Herod Agrippa I’s influential friendships with the Roman emperors, he pieced together what was essentially his grandfather’s old kingdom plus the region of Abilene to the north. He wielded great power over the whole territory of Palestine and Syria, including Tyre and Sidon, from A.D. 37–44.
Herod Agrippa exerted almost autonomous control over much of Palestine. He could arrest and execute with impunity.
The Martyrdom of St. James the Greater, by Zurbarán. The Prado, Madrid. Image: Christian Iconography
He put James to death by the sword and “saw that it pleased the Jews” (Acts 12:3) and intended to do the same with the apostle Peter, but divine intervention released him from prison. James was the first of Jesus’ Twelve Apostles whose martyrdom is mentioned in the Bible. James died in A.D. 44, at least a decade after Jesus’ crucifixion.
St. James in Spanish
Saint James, Latin Sancti Iacobi, became in Spanish, shortened to Diogo/Diego, or Tiago in Portuguese. The complete word Santiago means “Saint James.” So Camino de Santiago is the Way of St. James. He is the patron saint of Spain.
St. James in Spain
Cross of St. James, symbol of the Order of Santiago. Image: Wikipedia
A 9th-century Catholic tradition states that James’ disciples carried his remains by sea from Jerusalem to the coast of Spain, where they ventured to Santiago de Compostela. At that time, King Alfonso II decided to walk from Oviedo to Santiago de Compostela to visit James’ grave. It remains the third most popular Christian pilgrimage after Jerusalem and Rome. Other traditions suggest that he was miraculously translated to Spain. Various legends tie the scallop shell to the sea voyage.
The Cross of St. James resembles a sword-shaped cross in red — the symbol of the Order of Santiago.
Camino milestone by St. Leonard’s church, Wojnicz, Poland. Image: Wikipedia
Separately, the scallop shell has become the symbol of St. James. In French, it’s coquille Saint-Jacques. You’ll notice it on the shoulder of the painting of St. James by Rembrandt (at the top of this article).
Route marker, Way of St. James. Image: Wikipedia
It also serves as a marker along the Way of St. James pilgrimage.
There are classical as well as modern stylized versions.
Pilgrimage of the Camino de Santiago
The Way of St. James was one of the most important Christian pilgrimages, dating back to the 9th century, and a pilgrimage route on which one could earn a plenary indulgence from the Roman Catholic Church. This involves, among other Catholic requirements, walking the Camino’s last 100 km or cycling the Camino’s last 200 km to the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela.
Map of the Way of St. James. Image: Wikipedia
The pilgrimage starts along many European routes, including France (Chemins de Saint-Jacques), Switzerland, Germany (Jakobuswege), Poland, Italy, and England. Travelers from my hometown in Colorado have walked the Way of St. James.
Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela. Image: Wikipedia
I was recently in Krems, Austria, at the Göttweig Abbey, a Benedictine monastery. There is a sign there with the scallop shell directing pilgrims on their way along the Camino.
“Austrian Way of St. James,” Göttweig Abbey, Krems, Austria. Author’s photo
In recent years, more than 400,000 pilgrims register annually to complete the final 100 kilometers (62 mi) walk to Santiago to qualify for the compostela, the certificate of completion. The last part of the pilgrimage is along the northern part of Spain.
It ends at the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela, in the northwest of the Iberian Peninsula — the region the ancient Romans called finis terrae, the end of the Earth. Indeed, some pilgrims extend their journey nearly 90 kilometers further to Fisterra, where the land literally ends at the Atlantic.
Fisterra, the end of the world, Spain. Image: Google Maps
Fisterra lies in the community of Galicia in northwestern Spain. The reliquary of St. James rests in the crypt of the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela.
Reliquary of St. James in the Cathedral of Santiago. Image: Wikipedia
Bill Petro, your friendly neighborhood historian
billpetro.com
