Jude the Apostle

Jude was one of the Twelve Apostles of Jesus. He is generally identified with Thaddeus, and is also variously called Jude of James, Jude Thaddaeus, Judas Thaddaeus or Lebbaeus. He is sometimes identified with Jude, "brother" of Jesus, but is clearly distinguished from Judas Iscariot, another disciple and later the betrayer of Jesus. 
The Armenian Apostolic Church honours Thaddeus along with Saint Bartholomew as its patron saints. In the Roman Catholic Church he is the patron saint of desperate cases and lost causes. He is also the patron saint of Clube de Regatas do Flamengo,http://globoesporte.globo.com/Esportes/Noticias/Times/Flamengo/0,,MUL1358160-9865,00-RUBRONEGROS+CELEBRAM+DIA+DO+PADROEIRO+E+PEDEM+BENCAOS+PARA+FLA+CHEGAR+AO+HE.html the most popular football team in Brazil.
Saint Jude's attribute is a club. He is also often shown in icons with a flame around his head. This represents his presence at Pentecost, when he received the Holy Spirit with the other apostles. Occasionally he is represented holding an axe or halberd, as he was brought to death by one of these weapons. In some instances he may be shown with a scroll or a book (the Epistle of Jude) or holding a carpenter's rule.
== Identity==
=== New Testament ===
Jude is clearly distinguished from Judas Iscariot another disciple and later the betrayer of Jesus. Both "Jude" and "Judas" are translations of the name Ιούδας in the Greek original New Testament, which in turn is a Greek variant of Judah, a name which was common among Jews at the time.
"Jude of James" is only mentioned twice in the New Testament: in the lists of apostles in and .
The name by which Luke calls the Apostle, "Jude of James" is ambiguous as to the relationship of Jude to this James. Though such a construction sometimes connotated a relationship of father and son, it has been traditionally interpreted as "Jude, brother of James," though Protestants (for instance, the New International Version translation) usually identify him as "Jude son of James".
The Gospel of John also once mentions a disciple called "Judas not Iscariot." This is often accepted to be the same person as the apostle Jude,Commentary on John 14:22, Expositor's Bible Commentary CDROM, Zondervan, 1978 though some scholars see the identification as uncertain.Raymond E. Brown, The Gospel According to Saint John volume 2, p. 641. 
In some Latin manuscripts of , he is called Judas the Zealot.
===Possible Identity with Thaddeus===
In the comparable apostle-lists of and , Jude is omitted, but there is a Thaddeus (or in some manuscripts of Matthew 10:3, "Lebbaeus who was surnamed Thaddaeus") listed in his place. This has led many Christians since early times to harmonize the lists by positing a "Jude Thaddeus", known by either name. 
Some Biblical scholars reject this theory, holding that Jude and Thaddeus did not represent the same person.John P. Meier, A Marginal Jew volume 3, pp 130-133, 200 ("Christian imagination was quick to harmonize and produce Jude Thaddeus, a conflation that has no basis in reality."); Rudolf Pesch, "Simon-Petrus. Geschichte und geschichtliche Bedeutung der ersten Juengers Jesu Christ", Paepste und Papsttum 15, Hiersmann, 1980. p.36. Scholars have proposed alternate theories to explain the discrepancy: an unrecorded replacement of one for the other during the ministry of Jesus because of apostasy or death; the possibility that "twelve" was a symbolic number and an estimation;E. P. Sanders, Jesus and Judaism, Fortress Press, 1985. ISBN 0-334-02091-3. p.102 or simply that the names were not recorded perfectly by the early church.Joseph Fitzmyer, The Gospel according to Luke: Introduction, translation, and notes, Volume 2, The Anchor Bible, Garden City, NY: Doubleday, 1981-1985. ISBN 0385005156. p.619-620
However, some conservative Christian writers argue that, because the name "Judas" was so tarnished by Judas Iscariot, it was reasonable for Mark and Matthew to refer to him by his alternate name.For instance Otto Harpan, in "The Apostle" (Sands, 1962), quoted at 12apostlesofthecatholicchurch.com
Thaddeus the apostle is generally seen as a different person from Thaddeus of Edessa, one of the Seventy Disciples
===Possible Identity with Jude brother of Jesus===
Opinion is divided on whether Jude the apostle is the same as Jude, brother of Jesus, who is mentioned in and , and is the traditional author of the Epistle of Jude.Jerome H. Neyrey, 2 Peter, Jude, Anchor Bible Reference Library, Doubleday, 1993. p.44-45. 
Some Catholics believe the two Judes are the same person,The Brethren of the Lord, Catholic Encyclopedia, 1907 while Protestants do not.The situation is similar with James: Catholics tend to identify James the brother of Jesus with the apostle James, son of Alphaeus, but Protestants and Orthodox generally do not
==Tradition and legend==
Tradition holds that Saint Jude preached the Gospel in Judea, Samaria, Idumaea, Syria, Mesopotamia and Libya. He is also said to have visited Beirut and Edessa, though the emissary of latter mission is also identified as Thaddeus of Edessa, one of the Seventy. Jude is reported as suffering martyrdom together with Simon the Zealot in Persia. The 14th century writer Nicephorus Callistus makes Jude the bridegroom at the wedding at Cana.
The legend reports that St. Jude was born into a Jewish family in Paneas, a town in Galilee later rebuilt by the Romans and renamed Caesarea Philippi. In all probability he spoke both Greek and Aramaic, like almost all of his contemporaries in that area, and was a farmer by trade. According to the legend, St. Jude was a son of Clopas and his wife Mary, a sister of the Virgin Mary. Tradition has it that Jude's father, Clopas, was murdered because of his forthright and outspoken devotion to the risen Christ. After Mary's death, miracles were attributed to her intercession. 
Although Saint Gregory the Illuminator is credited as the "Apostle to the Armenians", when he baptized King Tiridates III of Armenia in 301, converting the Armenians, the Apostles Jude and Bartholomew are traditionally believed to have been the first to bring Christianity to Armenia, and are therefore venerated as the patron saints of the Armenian Apostolic Church. Linked to this tradition is the Saint Thaddeus Monastery (now in Northern Iran) and Saint Bartholomew Monastery (now in southeastern Turkey) which were both constructed in what was then Armenia.
==Death and remains==
According to the Armenian tradition, Saint Jude suffered martyrdom about AD 65 in Beirut, Lebanon together with the apostle Simon the Zealot, with whom he is usually connected. Their acts and martyrdom were recorded in an Acts of Simon and Jude that was among the collection of passions and legends traditionally associated with the legendary Abdias, bishop of Babylon, and said to have been translated into Latin by his disciple Tropaeus Africanus, according to the Golden Legend account of the saints.The Golden Legend: The Lives of Saints Simon and JudeCATHOLIC ENCYCLOPEDIA: Apocrypha Saints Simon and Jude are venerated together in the Roman Catholic Church on October 28.
Sometime after his death, Saint Jude's body was brought from Beirut, Lebanon to Rome and placed in a crypt in St. Peter's Basilica which is visited by many devotees. According to popular tradition, the remains of St. Jude were preserved in an Armenian monastery on an island in the northern part of Issyk-Kul lake in Kyrgyzstan at least until mid-15th century. Later legend either denounce remains as being preserved there or moved to yet more desolate stronghold in the Pamir mountains. Recent discovery of the ruins of what could be that monastery may put an end to the dispute. 
==Iconography of Saint Jude==
St. Jude is traditionally depicted carrying the image of Jesus in his hand or close to his chest, betokening the legend of the Image of Edessa, recorded in apocryphal correspondence between Jesus and Abgarus which is reproduced in Eusebius' History Ecclesiastica, I, xiii. According to it, King Abgar of Edessa (a city located in what is now southeast Turkey) sent a letter to Jesus to cure him of an illness that afflicts him, and sent the envoy Hannan, the keeper of the archives, offering his own home city to Jesus as a safe dwelling place. The envoy painted a likeness of Jesus with choice paints, or impressed with Abgar's great faith, Jesus pressed his face into a cloth and gave it to Hannan to take to Abgar with his answer. Upon seeing Jesus' image, the king placed it with great honor in one of his palatial houses. After Christ had ascended to heaven, St. Jude was sent to King Abgar by the Apostle St. Thomas. The king was cured and astonished. He converted to Christianity along with most of the people under his rule. Additionally, St. Jude is often depicted with a flame above his head. This represents his presence at Pentecost, when he received the Holy Spirit with the other apostles.
===Veneration===
The Order of Preachers (the Dominicans) began working in present-day Armenia soon after their founding in 1216. There was a substantial devotion to St. Jude in this area at that time, by both Roman Catholic and Orthodox Christians. This lasted until persecution drove Christians from the area in the 1700s. Devotion to Saint Jude began again in earnest in the 1800s, starting in Italy and Spain, spreading to South America, and finally to the U.S. (starting in the area around Chicago) owing to the influence of the Claretians and the Dominicans in the 1920s. Novena prayers to St. Jude helped people, especially newly arrived immigrants from Europe, deal with the pressures caused by the Great Depression, World War II, and the changing workplace and family life. 
Saint Jude is the patron saint of the Chicago Police Department and of Clube de Regatas do Flamengo (a popular football (soccer) team in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil). His other patronages include desperate situations and hospitals. One of his namesakes is St. Jude Children's Research Hospital in Memphis, Tennessee, which has helped many children with terminal illnesses and their families since its founding in 1962. His feast day is October 28 (Roman Catholic Church and Lutheran Church) and June 19 (Eastern Orthodox Church). A common Roman Catholic prayer is:
Alternative prayers are : 
and
.
To encourage devotion to St. Jude, it is common to acknowledge in writing favours received. "Thank you for favours granted". He is frequently thanked in the personals column of many daily newspapers such as the Daily Telegraph, Private Eye and other newspapers. A simple such as above and here "Thank you St.Jude for favours granted" is all that is required
==Notes==
==External links==
*St.Jude video on YouTube, including prayer,information etc. 
*Saint Simon and Saint Jude - article by Catherine Fournier
*The Acts of Thaddeus
Sites which are shrines to Saint Jude:
*St.Jude's Church, Ettekkar, Aluva, Kerala,India
*Dominican Shrine of St. Jude, Chicago, IL
*The National Shrine of St. Jude, Chicago, IL
*St. Jude Shrine, The Nationwide Center of St. Jude Devotions, Baltimore, MD
*St.Jude Pilgrim Shrine, Killippalam, Trivandrum, Kerala, India
*St.Jude Shrine, Koothattukulam, Kerala,India
* St. Jude's Shrine, St. Joseph's Church, Thevara, Kerala,India
*St.Jude Shrine, Kureekad,Chottanikkara, Kerala,India
*ST JUDE'S SHRINE, JHANSI-284 001, INDIA
Category:Catholicoi of Armenia
Category:Christian martyrs of the Roman era
Category:Eastern Orthodox saints
Category:Saints from the Holy Land
Category:Palestinian Roman Catholic saints
Category:Twelve apostles
Category:Saints of the Golden Legend
Category:1st-century Christian martyr saints
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arc:ܝܗܘܕܐ ܫܠܝܚܐ
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