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His Siblings

Faith Q&A › Metropolitan Youssef › Our Lord and the Faith › His Siblings

The question

Is what is written in the Antiphonary of the feast for James, the Lord's brother that he is the son of Joseph wrong? Or is what the church believes that James is son of Cleopas wrong?

The answer

There are two views regarding the brothers of Jesus: one view states that they are Joseph's sons and the other that they are his cousins. In the Holy Bible the term brothers or sisters could refer to brothers by blood or nationality or close cousins or close friendship. Abraham used to call his nephew Lot 'brother' (Gen 13:8) and Laban used the same term referring to his son in law (Gen 29:15). The Jews used to call their uncles, aunts and first cousins 'brothers and sisters' and it was common that they would live under the same roof. St. Jerome says that the brothers of the Lord are the sons of St. Mary the wife of Cleopas, the sister of Holy St. Mary (Jn 19:25).

Answered by His Eminence Metropolitan Youssef (opens in a new tab)

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Questions answered by His Eminence Metropolitan Youssef (opens in a new tab) of the Coptic Orthodox Diocese of the Southern United States. Question 1000 on the Diocese’s Q&A site. Questions and answers © Coptic Orthodox Diocese of the Southern United States. All rights reserved.