Apostle Jude (Thaddaeus, Lebbaeus), brother of the Lord

Holy Apostle Jude, one of the Twelve closest disciples of Christ, was descended from the line of King David and Solomon and was a son of righteous Joseph the Betrothed from his first marriage — in this sense called "brother of the Lord." The Evangelist Matthew also calls him Lebbaeus and Thaddaeus, to avoid confusion with Judas Iscariot the traitor. At first, like Joseph's other sons, he did not believe that Jesus was the promised Messiah, but he later became one of the most zealous apostles. He preached the Gospel in Judea, Galilee, Samaria, Idumea, Syria, Mesopotamia, and according to tradition reached Armenia and Persia, from where he wrote his brief but profound Catholic Epistle. He was martyred. His memory is kept on June 19/July 2, as well as June 30/July 13 in the Synaxis of the Twelve Apostles.