Thaddeus – The Apostle With Four Names

In lists of the Twelve, he is called Thaddeus or Thaddaeus, a surname for the name Lebbaeus (Matthew 10:3, KJV), which means “heart” or “courageous.”

The picture is confused further when he is called Judas but is distinguished from Judas Iscariot. Church tradition holds that Thaddeus founded a church at Edessa and was crucified there as a martyr.

Jude, also known as Judas Thaddaeus,^[3]“Saint Judas“. Encyclopedia Brittanica. Retrieved 19 October 2015. 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, the brother of Jesus, but is clearly distinguished from Judas Iscariot, the apostle who betrayed Jesus prior to his crucifixion. Judas Thaddaeus became known as Jude after early translators of the New Testament from Greek into English sought to distinguish him from Judas Iscariot and subsequently abbreviated his forename.^[4]“The Letter of Saint Jude“. Agape Bible Study. Retrieved 19 October 2015. Most versions of the New Testament in languages other than English and French refer to Judas and Jude by the same name.^[5]“Frequently Asked Questions Regarding Saint Jude“. Catholic Doors. Retrieved 19 October 2015.

The Armenian Apostolic Church honors 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.

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. Another common attribute is Jude holding an image of Jesus Christ, in the Image of Edessa. In some instances, he may be shown with a scroll or a book (the Epistle of Jude) or holding a carpenter’s rule.

New Testament

Jude is clearly distinguished from Judas Iscariot, another apostle and later the betrayer of Jesus. Both Jude and Judas are translations of the name Ὶούδας in the Greek original New Testament, which in turn is a Greek variant of Judah (Y’hudah), a name which was common among Jews at the time. In most Bibles in languages other than English and French, Jude and Judas are referred to by the same name.

“Jude of James” is only mentioned twice in the New Testament: in the lists of apostles in Luke 6:16 and Acts 1:13. The Epistle of Jude states that it was written by “Jude, a servant of Jesus Christ and a brother of James” (Jude 1:1).

The name by which Luke calls the Apostle, “Jude of James”, is ambiguous as to the relationship of Jude to this James (Jacob). Though such a construction sometimes connoted a relationship of father and son, it has been traditionally interpreted as “Jude, brother of James” (Luke 6:16).^[6].Jude 1:1 Although some modern Protestants identify him as “Jude, son of James” (in the New International Version translation for example), in the King James Version and Revised Standard Version he is “Judas the brother of James”.

The Gospel of John also once mentions a disciple called “Judas, not the Iscariot” (Greek: οὐχ ὁ Ἰσκαριώτης, ouch ho Iskariōtēs), who asks Jesus, “Lord, how is it that You will manifest Yourself to us, and not to the world?” (John 14:22). This is often accepted to be the same person as the apostle Jude,^[7]Commentary on John 14:22, Expositor’s Bible Commentary CDROM, Zondervan, 1978 although theologian Raymond Brown saw the identification as uncertain.^[8]Brown, Raymond E., The Gospel According to Saint John volume 2, p. 641.

In some Latin manuscripts of Matthew 10:3, he is called Judas the Zealot.

In the apostolic lists at Matthew 10:3 and Mark 3:18, Jude is omitted, but there is a Thaddeus (or in some manuscripts of Matthew 10:3, “Lebbaeus who was surnamed Thaddaeus”, and so in the King James Version) 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. This is made plausible by the fact that “Thaddeus” seems to be a nickname (see Thaddeus).

A further complication is the fact that the name “Judas” was tarnished by Judas Iscariot. It has been argued that for this reason it is unsurprising that Mark and Matthew refer to him by an alternate name.^[9]For instance Otto Harpan, in “The Apostle” (Sands, 1962), quoted at “St. Jude”. 12apostlesofthecatholicchurch.com. Archived from the original on 2005.

Some Biblical scholars reject this theory, however, holding that Jude and Thaddeus did not represent the same person.^[10]Pesch, Rudolf. “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;^[11].Meier, John P., 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.”). the possibility that “twelve” was a symbolic number and an estimation;^[12].Sanders, E.P., 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.^[13].Fitzmeyer, Joseph, The Gospel according to Luke: Introduction, translation, and notes, Volume 2, The Anchor Bible, Garden City, NY: Doubleday, 1981–1985. ISBN 0-385-00515-6. p.619-620

Thaddeus, one of the twelve apostles, is often indistinguishable from Thaddeus of Edessa, one of the Seventy Disciples.^[14]Kutash, V. Rev. Ihor,. “Thaddeus, Apostle of the Seventy”. Ukrainian-orthodoxy.org. Retrieved 2013-12-16., ^[15]Emanuela Marinelli (2014). “Judas, Thaddeus, Addai: possible connections with the vicissitudes of the Edessan and Constantinopolitan Mandylion and any research perspectives | Mimmo Repice and … Continue reading

Opinion is divided on the traditional author of the Epistle of Jude.^[16]Neyrey, Jerome H., 2 Peter, Jude, Anchor Bible Reference Library, Doubleday, 1993. p.44-45. Generally, Catholics believe the two Judes are the same person.^[17].”CATHOLIC ENCYCLOPEDIA: The Brethren of the Lord”.

According to the surviving fragments of the work Exposition of the Sayings of the Lord of the Apostolic Father Papias of Hierapolis, who lived c. 70–163 AD, Mary the wife of Cleophas or Alphaeus would be the mother of Judas the brother of Jesus that Papias identifies with Thaddeus:

Mary the wife of Cleophas or Alphaeus, who was the mother of James the bishop and apostle, and of Simon and Thaddeus, and of one Joseph…(Fragment X)^[18]of Hierapolis, Papias. Exposition of the Sayings of the Lord. Fragment X. earlychristianwritings.com. Retrieved 10 September 2015.

Clement of Alexandria who lived c. 150–215 AD wrote in his work “Comments on the Epistle of Jude” that Jude, the Epistle of Jude’s author, was a son of Joseph and a brother of the Lord (without specifying whether he was a son of Joseph by a previous marriage or of Joseph and Mary).

Jude wrote the Catholic Epistle, the brother of the sons of Joseph, and very religious, while knowing the near relationship of the Lord, yet did not say that he himself was His brother. But what said he? “Jude, a servant of Jesus Christ,”— of Him as Lord; but “the brother of James.” For this is true; he was His brother, (the son) of Joseph.^[19]of Alexandria, Clement. Comments on the Epistle of Jude. www.newadvent.org. Retrieved 24 September 2015.

According to tradition, Saint Jude suffered martyrdom about 65 AD in Beirut, in the Roman province of Syria, together with the apostle Simon the Zealot, with whom he is usually connected. The axe that he is often shown holding in pictures symbolizes the way in which he was killed.^[20].”St. Jude Shrine Koothattukulam : St.Jude the Apostle“. 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.^[21].”CATHOLIC ENCYCLOPEDIA: Apocrypha“.

Sometime after his death, Saint Jude’s body was brought from Beirut to Rome and placed in a crypt in St. Peter’s Basilica which was visited by many devotees. Now his bones are in the left transept of St. Peter’s Basilica under the main altar of St. Joseph in one tomb with the remains of the apostle Simon the Zealot. According to another 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 the mid-15th century. Later legends either deny that the remains are preserved there or claim that they were moved to a yet more desolate stronghold in the Pamir Mountains.