From the Prologue of Ochrid
The son of Zebedee and the brother of John, one of the Twelve. At the call of the Lord Jesus he left his fishing nets and his father, and together with John immediately followed the Lord. He belonged to that group of three Apostles to whom the Lord revealed the greatest mysteries, before whom He was transfigured on Tabor, and before whom He sorrowed before His Passion in the Garden of Gethsemane. After receiving the Holy Spirit he preached the Gospel in various lands, and traveled as far as Spain. Upon his return from Spain the Jews began to dispute with him over Holy Scripture, and being unable to prevail against him they hired a certain sorcerer named Hermogenes. But both Hermogenes and Philip, the disciple of Hermogenes, were defeated by the power of the truth which James preached, and both were baptized. Then the Jews accused James before Herod and persuaded a certain Josias to slander the Apostle. This Josias, seeing the manly bearing of James and hearing his clear preaching of the Truth, repented and believed in Christ. But when James was condemned to death, this Josias too was condemned to death. As they walked to the place of execution, Josias begged James to forgive him the sin of slander. And James embraced and kissed him and said: "Peace to thee, and forgiveness!" And both bowed their heads beneath the sword and were beheaded for the Lord, Whom they loved and Whom they served. The holy James suffered in the year 45 in Jerusalem. His body was taken to Spain, where at his tomb wondrous healings occur to this day.
