St James the Less, the son of Alphaeus, was the brother of St Matthew. This is about as much as The Bible tells us about James the Less; most other information about the man is either myth or hearsay. The only other mention he receives in The Bible is a listing indicating him to be one of the Apostles.
Some scholars believe that he may have been a tax collector before he became a follower of Jesus.
After the Resurrection, certain traditions place him as the first bishop of Syria, others say that he remained in Jerusalem and was stoned to death by a mob in possibly the same persecution that many other Christians died in AD62.
Another tradition indicates that James the Less is represented by a Fuller's Pole because he was killed by a blow on the head with a pole dealt him by Simon the Fuller.
According to tradition James the Less is buried in Rome at the Church of Saint Phillip and Saint James.
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