by COGwriter
NOTE: THIS IS A DRAFT UNFINISHED ARTICLE EXPECTED TO BE FINISHED IN THE SUMMER OF 2025
Did Jesus have human relatives?
Did He have what could be considered non-blood relatives?
What does the Bible teach?
If Jesus did have relatives, where did they go?
Where might they have gone?
Could they have had any impact on apostolic succession?
Let's look at the first reference to any relatives of Jesus in the Bible:
18 Now the birth of Jesus Christ was as follows: After His mother Mary was betrothed to Joseph, before they came together, she was found with child of the Holy Spirit. (Matthew 1:18)
From this, we see that Mary would be Jesus' mother, but Joseph was not the father. Before they came together Mary was found with child is a reference to Jesus being conceived by the Holy Spirit--what is called the virgin birth. However, that passage does NOT state that Mary was a perpetual virgin as some state.
Let me add that the idea that she was first came to light in false gospels. Origen of Alexandria basically stated that the ‘perpetual virginity’ teaching was based upon two false gospels:
And they spoke, wondering, (not knowing that He was the son of a virgin, or not believing it even if it was told to them, but supposing that He was the son of Joseph the carpenter,) "is not this the carpenter's son?" And depreciating the whole of what appeared to be His nearest kindred, they said, "Is not His mother called Mary? And His brethren, James and Joseph and Simon and Judas? And His sisters, are they not all with us?" They thought, then, that He was the son of Joseph and Mary. But some say, basing it on a tradition in the Gospel according to Peter, as it is entitled, or “The Book of James,” that the brethren of Jesus were sons of Joseph by a former wife, whom he married before Mary. Now those who say so wish to preserve the honour of Mary in virginity to the end (Origen. Commentary on Matthew, Book X, 17).
Thus, it is generally believed that the earliest written claim as to Mary's so-called perpetual virginity comes from two false documents known as the Gospel of Peter and the Protoevangelium of James (McNally, p. 73) which Origen called "The Book of James" (Origen was NOT referring to the epistle of James). Why are they false?
The James "gospel" falsely claims to have been written by James in Jerusalem and in the first century (The Protoevangelium of James. Translated by Alexander Walker. From Ante-Nicene Fathers, Vol. 8. Edited by Alexander Roberts, James Donaldson, and A. Cleveland Coxe. (Buffalo, NY: Christian Literature Publishing Co., 1886.) Revised and edited for New Advent by Kevin Knight. <http://www.newadvent.org/fathers/0847.htm>). It states Joseph had sons before marrying Mary and was concerned about Mary and that a midwife checked, and found, intact proof of Mary's viginity shortly after Jesus was born. The claims of its authorship and date of writing are both being claims scholars realize are false (The Infancy Gospel Of James; Alternate title: The Protovangelion. Geoff Trowbridge's Introduction. http://www.maplenet.net/~trowbridge/infjames.htm viewed 08/13/11; Kirby, Peter. "Infancy Gospel of James." Early Christian Writings. 2011. 13 Aug. 2011 http://www.earlychristianwritings.com/infancyjames.html; Reid, George. "Apocrypha." The Catholic Encyclopedia. Vol. 1. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1907. 17 Aug. 2011 <http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/01601a.htm>). The "Gospel of Peter" is also a false gospel and it was denounced by Church of God Bishop Serapion of Antioch.
Thus, this perpetual virginity teaching seems to have started from false sources.
That said, here is a reference to the royal geneaology of Jesus through Mary in scripture:
23 Now Jesus Himself began His ministry at about thirty years of age, being (as was supposed) the son of Joseph, the son of Heli, 24 the son of Matthat, the son of Levi, the son of Melchi, the son of Janna, the son of Joseph, 25 the son of Mattathiah, the son of Amos, the son of Nahum, the son of Esli, the son of Naggai, 26 the son of Maath, the son of Mattathiah, the son of Semei, the son of Joseph, the son of Judah, 27 the son of Joannas, the son of Rhesa, the son of Zerubbabel, the son of Shealtiel, the son of Neri, 28 the son of Melchi, the son of Addi, the son of Cosam, the son of Elmodam, the son of Er, 29 the son of Jose, the son of Eliezer, the son of Jorim, the son of Matthat, the son of Levi, 30 the son of Simeon, the son of Judah, the son of Joseph, the son of Jonan, the son of Eliakim, 31 the son of Melea, the son of Menan, the son of Mattathah, the son of Nathan, the son of David, 32 the son of Jesse, the son of Obed, the son of Boaz, the son of Salmon, the son of Nahshon, 33 the son of Amminadab, the son of Ram, the son of Hezron, the son of Perez, the son of Judah, 34 the son of Jacob, the son of Isaac, the son of Abraham, the son of Terah, the son of Nahor, 35 the son of Serug, the son of Reu, the son of Peleg, the son of Eber, the son of Shelah, 36 the son of Cainan, the son of Arphaxad, the son of Shem, the son of Noah, the son of Lamech, 37 the son of Methuselah, the son of Enoch, the son of Jared, the son of Mahalalel, the son of Cainan, 38 the son of Enosh, the son of Seth, the son of Adam, the son of God. (Luke 3:23-38, NKJV throughout unless otherwise specified)
So, the above list has Jesus' relatives before He was born.
Note that Jesus is the son of David. As the physical son of David, that is one way He is entitled to sit on the physical throne of David once He returns. That is prophesied:
31 … Jesus . 32 He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Highest; and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David. (Luke 1:31-32)
So, notice that David, as a progenitor is listed as a relative, a father, of Jesus.
Since the British Royal Family occupies the throne of David now, they would be relatives, though quite distant, from Jesus. More on them can be found in the free e-book Lost Tribes and Prophecies: What will happen to Australia, the British Isles, Canada, Europe, New Zealand and the United States of America?
Now, since all came from Adam and then later through Noah, all humans are in that sense related to Jesus.
But when speaking of relatives of Jesus, what we plan to cover are people in the family He grew up in.
55 Is this not the carpenter's son? Is not His mother called Mary? And His brothers James, Joses, Simon, and Judas? 56 And His sisters, are they not all with us? (Matthew 13:55-56)
3 This is the carpenter, surely, the son of Mary, the brother of James and Joset and Jude and Simon? His sisters, too, are they not here with us?' And they would not accept him. (Mark 6:3, New Jerusalem Bible)
From the above, we see that Mary was Jesus' mother, that Jesus had at least four brothers (as they are named), and at least two sisters (since sisters is plural). Notice also:
56 ... Mary the mother of James and Joseph, ... (Matthew 27:56, DRB)
We see that Mary is specifically named as the mother of James and Joseph (written as Joses and Joset in other translations). So, Mary clearly had children herself.
Mary was the mother of James and Joseph. And this is the Mary, mother of Jesus (Mark 6:3; John 2:1)--the Greek term for mother, meéteer, is the same as the one in John 2:1 where Mary is referred to as Jesus' mother. James and Joseph were not Jesus' relatives from a sometimes claimed prior marriage for Joseph, Mary's husband. This is not just my opinion. Notice what Roman Catholic priest and scholar Bagatti has published:
Of the relatives of the Lord mention is made in the Gospels; four are called "brothers of Jesus", namely James, Joseph (Josuah), Simon and Jude. The first two have Mary as their mother Matt. 27, 56). (Bagatti, Bellarmino. Translated by Eugene Hoade. The Church from the Circumcision. Nihil obstat: Marcus Adinolfi. Imprimi potest: Herminius Roncari. Imprimatur: +Albertus Gori, die 26 Junii 1970. Franciscan Printing Press, Jerusalem, 1971, p.52)
Hence, since the Bible does not say Mary would remain a virgin and it shows that Mary was the mother of at least two of Jesus' brothers, there is no biblical reason to accept the doctrine of Mary’s perpetual virginity (but many still do).
That said, it is been claimed, outside of the Bible in the second century, that the sisters were named Salome and Mary (Baukham R. The Relatives of Jesus. Volume 21 - Issue 2, January 1995. themelios: an international journal for students of theological and religious studies. pp. 18-21).
That said, these family members, of course, are only what we would term half-brothers or half-sisters since they were not, like Jesus, miraculously begotten through the Holy Spirit.
Some have claimed that the terms translated as brothers and sisters should be understood as cousins, but the Greek does not really support that. And the Protestant NKJV and the Roman Catholic NJB & DRB agree with that assessement.
Some have claimed that these are step-brothers and sisters from a previous marriage, but there is not real evidence of this. And the statement about Mary being the mother of at least two, eliminates the view they all had to be from a previous marriage.
Reading the Greek the way it was inspired and without evidence that these came from a prior marriage, it is proper to conclude that James, Joses, Simon, and Judas were the half-brothers of Jesus, by blood.
The Apostle Paul wrote something about Jesus' brothers:
4 Have we not every right to eat and drink? 5 And every right to be accompanied by a Christian wife, like the other apostles, like the brothers of the Lord, and like Cephas? (1 Corinthians 9:4-5, NJB)
This puts the brothers of Jesus as apostles like Peter (Cephas). So, that is a major elevation of those relatives in the Bible. The "right to eat and drink" went with traveling missionaries, which the "brothers of the Lord" seemingly also were.
Paul also noted:
18 Then after three years I went up to Jerusalem to see Peter, and remained with him fifteen days. 19 But I saw none of the other apostles except James, the Lord's brother. (Galatians 1:18-19)
So, we specifically see James mentioned as an apostle and Jesus' brother.
There are other relatives of Jesus mentioned by name in the Bible.
Mary had blood relatives. For example:
36 Now indeed, Elizabeth your relative has also conceived a son in her old age; and this is now the sixth month for her who was called barren. ... 39 Now Mary arose in those days and went into the hill country with haste, to a city of Judah, 40 and entered the house of Zacharias and greeted Elizabeth. (Luke 1:36, 39-40)
57 Now Elizabeth's full time came for her to be delivered, and she brought forth a son. 60 ... he shall be called John. (Luke 1:57, 60)
So, those are three other relatives. John is commonly known as John the Baptist.
Notice also:
25 ... His mother's sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, (John 19:25)
So, Mary had a sister, also named Mary, who was married to one called Clopas. That would make Clopas the uncle of Jesus.
Furthermore, the historian Eusebius reported that Clopas was also the brother of His mother Mary's husband Joseph:
Hegesippus records that Clopas was a brother of Joseph. (Eusebius. History Of the Church, Book III, Chapter 11, verse 1, p. 86)
So, reportedly, Jesus' uncle Clopas was the brother of His mother' Mary's husband Joseph.
Well, though seemingly odd, it is not that uncommon for brothers of one family to marry sisters of another family.
There is a legend that Joseph of Arimathea was Jesus' uncle or perhaps great uncle. Although the Bible says he was looking for the Kingdom of God, wrapped Jesus' body, and placed Him in a tomb (Mark 15:43-46), it does not state he is a relative.
That said, what happened to relatives of Jesus?
There are historical accounts outside of the Bible that show what happened to some of the relatives of Jesus in Jerusalem and other areas
Now, it was dangerous being a relative of Jesus in and near Jerusalem:
2. Then James, whom the ancients surnamed the Just on account of the excellence of his virtue, is recorded to have been the first to be made bishop of the church of Jerusalem. This James was called the brother of the Lord because he was known as a son of Joseph, ... 4. But there were two Jameses: one called the Just, who was thrown from the pinnacle of the temple and was beaten to death with a club by a fuller, and another who was beheaded. (Eusebius. History Of the Church, Book II, Chapter 1, verses 2,4 p. 24)
3. The manner of James' death has been already indicated by the above-quoted words of Clement, who records that he was thrown from the pinnacle of the temple, and was beaten to death with a club. But Hegesippus, who lived immediately after the apostles, gives the most accurate account in the fifth book of his Memoirs. He writes as follows: 4. James, the brother of the Lord, succeeded to the government of the Church in conjunction with the apostles. He has been called the Just by all from the time of our Saviour to the present day; for there were many that bore the name of James.
5. He was holy from his mother's womb; and he drank no wine nor strong drink, nor did he eat flesh. No razor came upon his head; he did not anoint himself with oil, and he did not use the bath. 6. He alone was permitted to enter into the holy place; for he wore not woolen but linen garments. And he was in the habit of entering alone into the temple, and was frequently found upon his knees begging forgiveness for the people, so that his knees became hard like those of a camel, in consequence of his constantly bending them in his worship of God, and asking forgiveness for the people. 7. Because of his exceeding great justice he was called the Just, and Oblias, which signifies in Greek, 'Bulwark of the people' and 'Justice,' in accordance with what the prophets declare concerning him.
8. Now some of the seven sects, which existed among the people and which have been mentioned by me in the Memoirs, asked him, 'What is the gate of Jesus?' and he replied that he was the Saviour. 9. On account of these words some believed that Jesus is the Christ. But the sects mentioned above did not believe either in a resurrection or in one's coming to give to every man according to his works. But as many as believed did so on account of James.
10. Therefore when many even of the rulers believed, there was a commotion among the Jews and Scribes and Pharisees, who said that there was danger that the whole people would be looking for Jesus as the Christ. Coming therefore in a body to James they said, 'We entreat you, restrain the people; for they are gone astray in regard to Jesus, as if he were the Christ. We entreat you to persuade all that have come to the feast of the Passover concerning Jesus; for we all have confidence in you. For we bear you witness, as do all the people, that you are just, and do not respect persons. {Matthew 22:16} 11. Therefore, persuade the multitude not to be led astray concerning Jesus. For the whole people, and all of us also, have confidence in you. Stand therefore upon the pinnacle of the temple, that from that high position you may be clearly seen, and that your words may be readily heard by all the people. For all the tribes, with the Gentiles also, have come together on account of the Passover.'
12. The aforesaid Scribes and Pharisees therefore placed James upon the pinnacle of the temple, and cried out to him and said: 'You just one, in whom we ought all to have confidence, forasmuch as the people are led astray after Jesus, the crucified one, declare to us, what is the gate of Jesus.'
13. And he answered with a loud voice, 'Why do you ask me concerning Jesus, the Son of Man? He himself sits in heaven at the right hand of the great Power, and is about to come upon the clouds of heaven.'
14. And when many were fully convinced and gloried in the testimony of James, and said, 'Hosanna to the Son of David,' these same Scribes and Pharisees said again to one another, 'We have done badly in supplying such testimony to Jesus. But let us go up and throw him down, in order that they may be afraid to believe him.'
15. And they cried out, saying, 'Oh! Oh! The just man is also in error.' And they fulfilled the Scripture written in Isaiah, 'Let us take away the just man, because he is troublesome to us: therefore they shall eat the fruit of their doings.' 16. So they went up and threw down the just man, and said to each other, 'Let us stone James the Just.' And they began to stone him, for he was not killed by the fall; but he turned and knelt down and said, 'I entreat you, Lord God our Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.' {Luke 23:34}
17. And while they were thus stoning him one of the priests of the sons of Rechab, the son of the Rechabites, who are mentioned by Jeremiah the prophet, cried out, saying, 'Stop. What are you doing? The just one prays for you.'
18. And one of them, who was a fuller, took the club with which he beat out clothes and struck the just man on the head. And thus he suffered martyrdom. And they buried him on the spot, by the temple, and his monument still remains by the temple. He became a true witness, both to Jews and Greeks, that Jesus is the Christ.
And immediately {Emperor} Vespasian besieged them. 19. These things are related at length by Hegesippus, who is in agreement with Clement. James was so admirable a man and so celebrated among all for his justice, that the more sensible even of the Jews were of the opinion that this was the cause of the siege of Jerusalem, which happened to them immediately after his martyrdom for no other reason than their daring act against him. 20. Josephus, at least, has not hesitated to testify this in his writings, where he says, These things happened to the Jews to avenge James the Just, who was a brother of Jesus, that is called the Christ. For the Jews slew him, although he was a most just man.(Eusebius. History Of the Church, Book II, Chapter 23, verses 3-20, pp. 39-40)
James himself the first bishop there, the one who is called the brother of the Lord, were still alive, and dwelling in Jerusalem itself, remained the surest bulwark of the place. (Eusebius. History Of the Church, Book III, Chapter 1, verses 1-4, p. 86)
Jesus taught:
22 And you will be hated by all for My name's sake. But he who endures to the end will be saved. 23 When they persecute you in this city, flee to another. For assuredly, I say to you, you will not have gone through the cities of Israel before the Son of Man comes. (Matthew 10:22-23)
Beginning in 66 A.D., there were revolts in Jerusalem by the Jews that resulted in perhaps all the Christians fleeing from there. That revolt ended in Jerusalem's destruction by the imperial Roman authorities.
Dr. Michael Germano reported:
... scholars speculate that the flight of the last remaining members of the church at Jerusalem on the Feast of Pentecost in CE 69, may have been recorded by Flavius Josephus who writes:
Moreover, at that feast which we call Pentecost as the priests were going by night into the inner court of the temple...they said that, in the first place, they felt a quaking and heard a sound as of a multitude saying, Let us remove hence. (Josephus, Wars, bk. VI, ch. v, sec. 3; Whiston 1957:825.) (Germano M. Pella. http://www.bibarch.com/ArchaeologicalSites/Pella.htm 06/20/07)
Being warned, apparently by the Holy Spirit on the Day of Pentecost, the faithful ended up fleeing Jerusalem and going to Pella. That would have seemingly included any relatives of Jesus who were in Jerusalem at that time. Eusebius wrote:
3. But the people of the church in Jerusalem had been commanded by a revelation, vouchsafed to approved men there before the war, to leave the city and to dwell in a certain town of Perea called Pella. And when those that believed in Christ had come there from Jerusalem, then, as if the royal city of the Jews and the whole land of Judea were entirely destitute of holy men, the judgment of God at length overtook those who had committed such outrages against Christ and his apostles, and totally destroyed that generation of impious men.(Eusebius. Church History, Book III, Chapter 5, Verse 3, p. 45)
It is traditionally understood that Jesus' relative cousin Symeon led the Christians to Pella. Additionally, Jude, the brother of Jesus (Matthew 13:55-56) reportedly he preached in Pella after the Jewish revolt of 67-70 A.D. (Cheney DH. Jesus, His Brother, and Paul Their Lives and Archaeological Evidence. Gatekeeper Press, ebook, 2022)--he then may have continued to then go to Edessa.
General Titus conquered Jerusalem under Emperor Vespesian's orders from 67-70 A.D.
Many, including Symeon, came back to Jerusalem after it was conquered, though some Christians remained in Pella, like probably Jude. Those that came back were the ones that would have ended up building a church there, known as the Cenacle. This was believed to have, at least partially, been made from large stones (called ashlars) that were part of the 'Second Temple' in Jerusalem. The Second Temple, consistent with the prophecy in Daniel 9:27, had been destroyed by the forces of General Titus.
Eusebius also reported:
1. After the martyrdom of James and the conquest of Jerusalem which immediately followed, it is said that those of the apostles and disciples of the Lord that were still living came together from all directions with those that were related to the Lord according to the flesh (for the majority of them also were still alive) to take counsel as to who was worthy to succeed James.
2. They all with one consent pronounced Symeon, the son of Clopas, of whom the Gospel also makes mention; to be worthy of the episcopal throne of that parish. He was a cousin, as they say, of the Saviour. For Hegesippus records that Clopas was a brother of Joseph. (Eusebius. History Of the Church, Book III, Chapter 11, verses 1, 2, p. 86)
The second century Hegesippus and third century Hippolytus mention Clopas as well as one of his sons. Notice that he is in the succession list of early leaders in Jerusalem:
Hegesippus … describes the beginnings of the heresies which arose in his time, in the following words: And after James the Just had suffered martyrdom, as the Lord had also on the same account, Symeon, the son of the Lord’s uncle, Clopas, was appointed the next bishop. All proposed him as second bishop because he was a cousin of the Lord. (Eusebius. History Of the Church, Book IV, Chapter 22, verses 1, 4, p. 86)
Simon the Zealot, the son of Clopas, who is also called Jude, became bishop of Jerusalem after James the Just, and fell asleep and was buried there at the age of 120 years. (Hippolytus. On the Twelve Apostles).
Eusebius reported:
1. It is reported that after the age of ... Domitian, under the emperor whose times we are now recording, a persecution was stirred up against us in certain cities in consequence of a popular uprising. In this persecution we have understood that Symeon, the son of Clopas, who, as we have shown, was the second bishop of the church of Jerusalem, suffered martyrdom. 2. Hegesippus, whose words we have already quoted in various places, is a witness to this fact also. Speaking of certain heretics he adds that Symeon was accused by them at this time; and since it was clear that he was a Christian, he was tortured in various ways for many days, and astonished even the judge himself and his attendants in the highest degree, and finally he suffered a death similar to that of our Lord. 3. But there is nothing like hearing the historian himself, who writes as follows: Certain of these heretics brought accusation against Symeon, the son of Clopas, on the ground that he was a descendant of David and a Christian; and thus he suffered martyrdom, at the age of one hundred and twenty years, while Trajan was emperor {98-117 A.D.} and Atticus governor.
4. And the same writer says that his accusers also, when search was made for the descendants of David, were arrested as belonging to that family. And it might be reasonably assumed that Symeon was one of those that saw and heard the Lord, judging from the length of his life, and from the fact that the Gospel makes mention of Mary, the wife of Clopas, who was the father of Symeon, as has been already shown.
5. The same historian says that there were also others, descended from one of the so-called brothers of the Saviour, whose name was Judas, who, after they had borne testimony before Domitian, as has been already recorded, in behalf of faith in Christ, lived until the same reign.
6. He writes as follows: They came, therefore, and took the lead of every church as witnesses and as relatives of the Lord. And profound peace being established in every church, they remained until the reign of the Emperor Trajan, and until the above-mentioned Symeon, son of Clopas, an uncle of the Lord, was informed against by the heretics, and was himself in like manner accused for the same cause before the governor Atticus. And after being tortured for many days he suffered martyrdom, and all, including even the proconsul, marveled that, at the age of one hundred and twenty years, he could endure so much. And orders were given that he should be crucified.
7. In addition to these things the same man, while recounting the events of that period, records that the Church up to that time had remained a pure and uncorrupted virgin, since, if there were any that attempted to corrupt the sound norm of the preaching of salvation, they lay until then concealed in obscure darkness. (Eusebius. History Of the Church, Book III, Chapter 32, pp. 63-64)
Eusebius reported that not all were killed:
1. But when this same Domitian {81-96 A.D.} had commanded that the descendants of David should be slain, an ancient tradition says that some of the heretics brought accusation against the descendants of Jude (said to have been a brother of the Saviour according to the flesh), on the ground that they were of the lineage of David and were related to Christ himself. Hegesippus relates these facts in the following words. (Eusebius. History Of the Church, Book III, Chapter 19, pp. 54-55)
1. Of the family of the Lord there were still living the grandchildren of Jude, who is said to have been the Lord's brother according to the flesh. 2. Information was given that they belonged to the family of David, and they were brought to the Emperor Domitian by the Evocatus. For Domitian feared the coming of Christ as Herod also had feared it. And he asked them if they were descendants of David, and they confessed that they were. Then he asked them how much property they had, or how much money they owned. And both of them answered that they had only nine thousand denarii, half of which belonged to each of them.
4. And this property did not consist of silver, but of a piece of land which contained only thirty-nine acres, and from which they raised their taxes and supported themselves by their own labor. 5. Then they showed their hands, exhibiting the hardness of their bodies and the callousness produced upon their hands by continuous toil as evidence of their own labor. 6. And when they were asked concerning Christ and his kingdom, of what sort it was and where and when it was to appear, they answered that it was not a temporal nor an earthly kingdom, but a heavenly and angelic one, which would appear at the end of the world, when he should come in glory to judge the quick and the dead, and to give unto every one according to his works.
7. Upon hearing this, Domitian did not pass judgment against them, but, despising them as of no account, he let them go, and by a decree put a stop to the persecution of the Church. 8. But when they were released they ruled the churches because they were witnesses and were also relatives of the Lord. And peace being established, they lived until the time of Trajan. These things are related by Hegesippus. (Eusebius. History Of the Church, Book III, Chapter 20, p. 55)
So, despite being a church leaders, these relatives of Jesus also worked as farmers. In the mid-3rd century, Conon of Nazareth was also a farmer/gardener and he stated he was a relative of Jesus (Baukham, p. 122).
In the third century, Julius Africanus reported Nazareth and elsewhere had relatives of Jesus:
3 For the kinsmen of the Saviour after the flesh, whether to magnify their own origin or simply to state the fact, but at all events speaking truth, ... 4 Herod, knowing that the lineage of the Israelites contributed nothing to him, and goaded by the consciousness of his ignoble birth, burned the registers of their families. This he did, thinking that he would appear to be of noble birth, if no one else could trace back his descent by the public register to the patriarchs or proselytes, and to that mixed race called georae.
A few, however, of the studious, having private records of their own, either by remembering the names or by getting at them in some other way from the archives, pride themselves in preserving the memory of their noble descent; and among these happen to be those already mentioned, called desposyni, on account of their connection with the family of the Saviour. And these coming from Nazara and Cochaba, Judean villages, to other parts of the country, set forth the above-named genealogy as accurately as possible from the Book of Days {Chronicles}. (Africanus J. The Epistle to Aristides. From Ante-Nicene Fathers, Vol. 6. Edited by Alexander Roberts, James Donaldson, and A. Cleveland Coxe. (Buffalo, NY: Christian Literature Publishing Co., 1886)
Notice something related to Jesus' brother Jude and one of his descendants.
Jude died and was buried at ... Edessa. ...
Jude also had a grandson named Judah Kyriakos, who despite the Greek name became the last Jewish Bishop of Jerusalem. ... He is regarded as the great grandnephew of Jesus. He is said to have lived at least beyond the Bar Kochba's revolt ... (Cheney DH. Jesus, His Brother, and Paul Their Lives and Archaeological Evidence. Gatekeeper Press, 2022)
Some sources point to Jude's burial in what is now Lebanon. That said, notice that it is claimed that the last Jewish bishop of Jerusalem was a relative of Jesus.
What about Judah Kyriakos? Kyriakos (Κυριακός) means "belonging to the Lord" or "of the Lord." It comes from the root "Kyrios" (Κύριος), which means "Lord," often referring to God or Jesus in religious contexts.
Let's consider some reports related to Judah Kyriakos.
He is listed as last of the 15th Jewish bishops of Jerusalem.
Eusebius wrote about them:
1. The chronology of the bishops of Jerusalem I have nowhere found preserved in writing; for tradition says that they were all short lived. 2. But I have learned this much from writings, that until the siege of the Jews, which took place under Adrian, there were fifteen bishops in succession there, all of whom are said to have been of Hebrew descent, and to have received the knowledge of Christ in purity, so that they were approved by those who were able to judge of such matters, and were deemed worthy of the episcopate. For their whole church consisted then of believing Hebrews who continued from the days of the apostles until the siege which took place at this time; in which siege the Jews, having again rebelled against the Romans, were conquered after severe battles. 3. But since the bishops of the circumcision ceased at this time, it is proper to give here a list of their names from the beginning.
The first, then, was James, the so-called brother of the Lord;
the second, Symeon;
the third, Justus;
the fourth, Zacchæus;
the fifth, Tobias;
the sixth, Benjamin;
the seventh, John;
the eighth, Matthias;
the ninth, Philip;
the tenth, Seneca;
the eleventh, Justus;
the twelfth, Levi;
the thirteenth, Ephres;
the fourteenth, Joseph;
and finally, the fifteenth, Judas.4. These are the bishops of Jerusalem that lived between the age of the apostles and the time referred to, all of them belonging to the circumcision. (Eusebius. The History of the Church, Book IV, Chapter 5, Verses 1-4, p. 71)
It is possible that James, Symeon, and Judas were not the only ones who were relatives of Jesus. But definitive information seems to be lacking.
As far as the type of Chrisitianity these Jewish bishops practiced, notice that Emperor Constantine's official Greco-Roman historian Eusebius reported:
James, the first that had obtained the episcopal seat in Jerusalem after the ascension of our Saviour ... But the people of the church in Jerusalem had been commanded by a revelation, vouchsafed to approved men there before the war, to leave the city and to dwell in a certain town of Perea called Pella ... until the siege of the Jews, which took place under Adrian, there were fifteen bishops in succession there, all of whom are said to have been of Hebrew descent, and to have received the knowledge of Christ in purity, so that they were approved by those who were able to judge of such matters, and were deemed worthy of the episcopate. For their whole church consisted then of believing Hebrews who continued from the days of the apostles until the siege which took place at this time; in which siege the Jews, having again rebelled against the Romans, were conquered after severe battles. But since the bishops of the circumcision ceased at this time, it is proper to give here a list of their names from the beginning. The first, then, was James, the so-called brother of the Lord; the second, Symeon; the third, Justus; the fourth, Zacchæus; the fifth, Tobias; the sixth, Benjamin; the seventh, John; the eighth, Matthias; the ninth, Philip; the tenth, Seneca; the eleventh, Justus; the twelfth, Levi; the thirteenth, Ephres; the fourteenth, Joseph; and finally, the fifteenth, Judas. These are the bishops of Jerusalem that lived between the age of the apostles and the time referred to, all of them belonging to the circumcision. (Eusebius. The History of the Church, Book III, Chapter V, Verses 2,3.& Book IV, Chapter 5, Verses 2-4, pp. 45, 71)
So the 1st and early 2nd century Christian leaders in Jerusalem were all circumcized Jews.
Since these early bishops “received the knowledge of Christ in purity,” their teachings should have been continued. Judah of Jerusalem would have been a Church of God Christian that held apostolic succession, kept the seventh day Sabbath, kept the Holy Days, avoided unclean meat, etc.
We in the Continuing Church of God hold to those original teachings--see also the free ebook: Beliefs of the Original Catholic Church: Could a remnant group have continuing apostolic succession?
Now in the 2nd century, in order to be officially allowed back into Jerusalem after the Jewish Bar Kochba revolt (c. 135), Roman soldiers said that the professors of Christ needed to eat unclean animals like they did (Pines S. The Jewish Christians of the Early Centuries of Christianity according to a New Source. Proceedings of the Israel Academy of Sciences and Humanities, Volume II, No.13; 1966. Jerusalem, pp. 14-15; see also The New Testament Church, History, and Unclean Meats).
The compromisers who followed the lead of ‘Bishop Marcus’ of Jerusalem and did eat unclean meat in order to be able to live in Jerusalem. The faithful, like Judah Kyriakos, did not—they fled to places like Pella and Edessa and did not eat unclean meat.
But some came back as Dr. Bagatti wrote:
Jerusalem … the Judeao-Christians, after having left the city for a time, returned very quickly. This is explained by the fact that a distinction was made between the Jew and the Judeao-Christians … (The Church from the Circumcision, p. 10)
Some that came back may have included relatives of Jesus. While that is not certain, consider the following from Eusebius:
The chair of James, who first received the episcopate of the church at Jerusalem from the Saviour himself and the apostles, and who, as the divine records show, was called a brother of Christ, has been preserved until now, the brethren who have followed him in succession there exhibiting clearly to all the reverence which both those of old times and those of our own day maintained and do maintain for holy men on account of their piety. So much as to this matter. (Eusebius. Church History. Book VII, Chapter 19, pp. 155-156)
It would have been great if Eusebius would have listed the names of the later bishops, but he did not. But notice he claimed they existed into the fourth century, which was his time. There was one Judeao-Christian who lived near Jerusalem in the 3rd century until his martyrdom c. 311, Peter Absalon (Bagatti, The Church from the Circumcision, p. 16) --also known as Peter Abselamus, Peter Balsamus, and Peter of Atroa--perhaps he was considered the Jewish bishop of Jerusalem in the late 3rd to early 4th century.
Eusebius also reported:
14. A few of the careful, however, having obtained private records of their own, either by remembering the names or by getting them in some other way from the registers, pride themselves on preserving the memory of their noble extraction. Among these are those already mentioned, called Desposyni, on account of their connection with the family of the Saviour. Coming from Nazara and Cochaba, villages of Judea, into other parts of the world, they drew the aforesaid genealogy from memory and from the book of daily records as faithfully as possible. (Eusebius. Church History, Book I, Chapter 7, verse 14, p. 16)
So, there were still relatives of Jesus in Judea in the 4th century.
British Isles?
Perhaps it should be mentioned that there are legends that Joseph of Arimathea (Mark 15:43; John 19:38) and others made it to the British Isles (Wall JC. The first Christians of Britain. Talbot & Co., 1927, pp. 36-40, 168).
Note the following claim:
Though this seems possible, it may only be a later legend.Christianity was first introduced into Britain by Joseph of Arimathea, AD 36—39; followed by Simon Zelotes, the apostle; then by Aristobulus, the first bishop of the Britons; then by St. Paul. (Morgan RW. St. Paul in Britain; or, the origin of British as opposed to Papal Christianity. J. B. and Jas. Parker, 1861, p. 129)
Mesopotamia, the Church of the East, and Armenia
Some relatives of Jesus went to Edessa of Mesopotamia and reportedly, at least one, to Armenia.
A.N. Dugger and C. Dodd of CG7 published:
Jude “The brother of James, was commonly called Thaddeus. He was crucified at Edessa A.D. 72. (Dugger AN, Dodd C. A History of the True Religion Traced From 33 A.D. to Date. Originally Copyrighted, 1936. First Electronic Edition July 2003 Re-edited in Portable Document Format (PDF) by Massimo Marino – Italy For “The Andrew N. Dugger Republishing Project”)
The old Worldwide Church of God published:
Thaddeus Lebbeus ministered in upper Mesopotamia, including Assyria proper. I Will Build My Church, Part 1. Bible Correspondence Course, Lesson 49. Radio/Worldwide Church of God, 1967 Edition
Basically, there is a belief is that a disciple of Jesus named Thaddeus was one of the 70 that Jesus sent out to witness in Luke 10.
That Jude mentioned was also believed to be the brother of Jesus (Matthew 13:55-56)--and reportedly he preached in Pella after the Jewish revolt of 67-70 A.D. (Cheney DH. Jesus, His Brother, and Paul Their Lives and Archaeological Evidence. Gatekeeper Press, ebook, 2022)--he then may have continued to then go to Edessa and then to Armenia.
Notice the following:
Armenia in the first century was a pagan kingdom ruled by a powerful royal family. It held strongly to its inherited pagan practices—until a man named Thaddeus ventured to Armenia.
He was one of the apostles of Jesus Christ, and preached the Lord’s message in people’s homes, in hidden underground chambers, in the market and the streets. (Dawn of the Christian Faith in Armenia. Diocese of the Armenian Church of America-Eastern. https://armenianchurch.us/dawn-of-the-christian-faith-in-armenia-5/ accessed 05/10/25)
But it is not certain this man was related to Jesus, but may have been.
Here is another report:
Evidence that some of the desposynoi {a term meaning belonging to the sovereign} actually travelled east may be preserved in a list, given in medieval chronicles, of the early bishops of Ctesiphon-Seleucia on the Tigris, in central Mesopotamia. The three names following Mari, the late first-century founder of the church, are Abris, Abraham and Ya’qub (James). Abris is said to have been ‘of the family and race of Joseph’ the husband of Mary, while Abraham was ‘of the kin of James called the brother of the Lord’ and Ya’qub was Abraham’s son. While it may seem hazardous to trust such late sources, the medieval chronicles had access to good older sources. The claim to descent from the family of Jesus should not be regarded as a mark of legend, since claims to descent from the family of Jesus are extremely rare in Christian literature and the very few other such alleged descendants who are to be found in the literature ... are entirely credible. ...
At least it seems a reasonable possibility that some members of the desposynoi travelled as missionaries to the eastern diaspora, where their descendants were important Christian leaders in the early second century. (Baukham R. The Relatives of Jesus. Volume 21 - Issue 2, January 1995. themelios: an international journal for students of theological and religious studies. p. 20).
Here is a report on one called Abris:
Abris, also called Abres,[1] Abrosius and Abrisius, was a legendary Bishop of Seleucia-Ctesiphon in Persia, who is conventionally said to have sat from 121–137. ... Bar Hebraeus ... account ...:
After Mari, his disciple Abrosius. His master Mari had sent him to Antioch, to visit the brethren there and to bring him back news of them. After the death of the blessed Mari the faithful of the East sent to Antioch and asked to be given a bishop. And the disciples of that place laid hands upon Abrosius and sent him back to occupy the throne of his master. There he ruled the faithful for seventeen years until his death. Some say that the place of his burial is unknown, but in fact he was buried in the church of Seleucia. This Abrisius is said to have been from the family of Joseph the carpenter, the father of James and Jesus. (Abris. Wikipedia, accessed 04/17/25)
Let me add that if Abris was consecrated at Antioch by a true successor, he would have been a Church of God Christian leader.
Furthermore, it is claimed that Abris was a relative of Jesus, not by blood, but seemingly a descendant of Mary's husband Joseph's brother Clopas (Baukham R. The Relatives of Jesus. Volume 21 - Issue 2, January 1995. themelios: an international journal for students of theological and religious studies. pp. 18-21 {themelios means foundation or foundation stone}).
Though not commonly mentioned in lists for Mesopotamia, consider that Judah Kyriakos likely would also have been "deemed worthy of the episcopate"--in other words to have become either the overseer or bishop where he was.
He is believed to have lived until 148 AD:
Judah Kyriakos, also known popularly as Judas of Jerusalem, was the great-grandson of Jude, brother of Jesus, and the fifteenth Bishop of Jerusalem, according to Epiphanius of Salamis and Eusebius of Caesarea. According to those same chroniclers, he was the last Jew to hold the episcopate. He is sometimes regarded as the great-grandnephew of Jesus. Though the start of his period as bishop of Jerusalem is not known, Judas is said to have lived beyond Bar Kokhba's revolt (132–136), up to about the eleventh year of Antoninus Pius' reign (c. AD 148). (Judah Kyriakos. Wikipedia, accessed 04/26/25).
Judah Kyriakos ( from the family of Jesus ? ) lived until the eleventh year of Antonius Pius ( 148/149 ) (Arav R. Jesus and His World An Archaeological and Cultural Dictionary. Fortress Press, 1995, p. 117)
Note his name has been listed as simply Jude or Juda or Judas or Justus in some sources I have ran across.
About the time that Judah Kyriakos reportedly died, we see in some succession lists for the Church of the East (e.g. Baumer C. Church of the East: An Illustrated History of Assyrian Christianity. I.B.Tauris, 2016, pp. 330-331), Abraham (Abraham I of Kashker, 148–171 AD) and Yaʿqob I (Mar Yacob I, c. 172–190 AD), both Jews, hence they likely were faithful to the original faith.
Now here is a report on Abraham of Kashka:
Abraham (Mar Oraham) of Kashkar was a legendary person of the Church of the East, from the family of Jacob, the brother of Jesus, who is conventionally believed to have sat from 159 to 171. ...
The following account of the life of Abraham is given by Bar Hebraeus:
After Abrisius, Abraham. He was also from the family of Jacob, the Lord's brother. He was consecrated at Antioch and sent into the East, where the Christians were being persecuted at that time by the Persians. The Persian king's son suffered from epilepsy, and the king was told that Mar Abraham, the head of the Christian religion, was able to cure him. The king summoned Abraham to his presence, noticed that he looked sad and downcast, and asked him why. Then Abraham recounted the evils he and his people were suffering from the Persians. The king promised to end the persecution of the Christians if Abraham healed his son, and that holy man prayed and laid his hands on the king’s son. He was healed, and peace was given to the faithful. After fulfilling his office for twelve years, he died peacefully.
Historical doubts about existence
Although Abraham is included in traditional lists of primates of the Church of the East, his existence has been doubted by J. M. Fiey, one of the most eminent twentieth-century scholars of the Church of the East. In Fiey's view, Abraham was one of several fictitious bishops of Seleucia-Ctesiphon whose lives were concocted in the sixth century to bridge the gap between the late third century bishop Papa, the first historically attested bishop of Seleucia-Ctesiphon, and the apostle Mari, the legendary founder of Christianity in Persia. (Abraham of Kashkar. Wikipedia, accessed 04/11/25)
Let me add that if Abraham was consecrated at Antioch, he would have been a Church of God Christian leader.
Here is a report on Yaʿqob (which I believe has at least the year wrong):
Yaʿqob I was a legendary primate of the Church of the East, from the family of Joseph the carpenter, who is conventionally believed to have reigned c.190. ...
The following account of the life of Yaʿqob is given by Mari:
Yaʿqob, a Hebrew, from the family of Joseph, the husband of Mary, was sent from Jerusalem after he had modestly attempted to refuse such a dignity, pleading that he was too humble to accept an office which he later fulfilled splendidly. He was invested with all the grades of the priesthood at the same time, and governed the church exceptionally well. He was a prudent man of high morals, who devoted himself to prayer and fasting. He selected bishops who were as upright as he himself was, and the results matched his hopes. Churches were built and the faithful were governed wisely. In his time there flourished the second empire of Persia, and the city of Ardashir was built and named after its king. Then too the philosopher Porphyry flourished in Egypt, who published a refutation of the Gospel. Yaʿqob died after ruling the church for eighteen years and six months, and was buried in al-Madaʿin. (Yaqob I. Wikipedia, accessed 04/11/25)
Since there were reportedly 3 Jewish bishops in a row (counting Judah Kyriakos), they would have kept the 7th day Sabbath, biblical Holy Days, avoided unclean meats, and held to other original Christian beliefs and practices.
Notice a report about Abraham and Yacob:
Evidence that some of the desposynoi {a term meaning belonging to the sovereign} actually travelled east may be preserved in a list, given in medieval chronicles, of the early bishops of Ctesiphon-Seleucia on the Tigris, in central Mesopotamia. The three names following Mari, the late first-century founder of the church, are Abris, Abraham and Ya’qub (James). Abris is said to have been ‘of the family and race of Joseph’ the husband of Mary, while Abraham was ‘of the kin of James called the brother of the Lord’ and Ya’qub was Abraham’s son. While it may seem hazardous to trust such late sources, the medieval chronicles had access to good older sources. The claim to descent from the family of Jesus should not be regarded as a mark of legend, since claims to descent from the family of Jesus are extremely rare in Christian literature and the very few other such alleged descendants who are to be found in the literature ... are entirely credible. (Baukham R. The Relatives of Jesus. Volume 21 - Issue 2, January 1995. themelios: an international journal for students of theological and religious studies. pp. 18-21).
It may be that, like Judas Kyriakos was a blood relative of Jesus, he personally and/or the possible Jesus-family bloodline were factors in Abraham and then Yacob being successors in Edessa.
It appears that after the death of Yaʿqob something must have happened.
Some lists have him followed by Ebid M’shikha. That does not sound like a Jewish name or a relative of Jesus. It is unclear what he believed or taught if he existed. But he may not have held to the original Christian faith.
Some lists have Ebid M’shikha followed by Ahadabui. If he existed, he supposedly hoped to be ordained by the Serapion, the patriarch of Antioch. Hwever, after getting there, he was reportedly accused of being a spy by the government and fled to Jerusalem and was ordained there (Bar Hebraeus, Ecclesiastical Chronicle, ed. Abeloos and Lamy, ii. 24–6). Ahadabui would NOT have been a true Christian as those in charge of the Jerusalem from 136 AD onwards into the 3rd century, including that later council in 231 AD, were NOT faithful Christians (though there could have been two groups there, Ahadabui seems to have been a Greco-Roman confederation supporter).
Now, going back to the statement about Judah Kyriakos, the last Jewish bishop in Jerusalem, going to Edessa. If he did get to Edessa, he may have done so after first stopping in Pella.
Notice what the historian Edward Gibbon wrote about, first of the faithful Christians fleeing Jerusalem in the first Jewish revolt (67-70) and then notice that some who returned left for Pella again after the Jew's Bar Kokba revolt:
The Nazarenes retired from the ruins of Jerusalem to the little town of Pella beyond the Jordan, where that ancient church languished above sixty years in solitude and obscurity. They still enjoyed the comfort of making frequent and devout visits to the Holy City, and the hope of being one day restored to those seats which both nature and religion taught them to love as well as to revere. But at length, under the reign of Hadrian, the desperate fanaticism of the Jews filled up the measure of their calamities; and the Romans, exasperated by their repeated rebellions, exercised the rights of victory with unusual rigour. The emperor founded, under the name of Alia Capitolina, a new city on Mount Sion, to which he gave the privileges of a colony; and denouncing the severest penalties against any of the Jewish people who should dare to approach its precincts, he fixed a vigilant garrison of a Roman cohort to enforce the execution of his orders.
The Nazarenes ... still preserved their former habitation of Pella, ... in Syria. (Gibbon E. Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, Volume I, Chapter XV, Section I. ca. 1776-1788)
So, some went to Pella again. Some may also have returned to Nazareth (Baukham, p. 122).
The 19th century scholar Joseph Barber Lightfoot wrote:
The Church of Ælia Capitolina was very differently constituted from the Church of Pella and the Church of Jerusalem ... not a few doubtless accepted the conqueror’s terms, content to live henceforth as Gentiles ... in the new city of Hadrian. But there were others who hung to the law of their forefathers ... Judaizing Christians. (Lightfoot JB. Saint Paul’s Epistle to the Galatians: A Revised Text with Introduction, Notes and Dissertations. Published by Macmillan, 1881, pp. 317, 331)
The Church of Pella was Sabbath-keeping (cf. Bagatti B. The Church from the Circumcision, p. 202) as had been the original Jerusalem church. It may have made a lot of sense for Judah Kyriakos to go to Pella at first, but since it was in the Roman Empire, he may have chosen to go to Edessa which was not, hence probably safer.
This also makes sense in light of the following:
We hear that the Jewish Christian Elxai was in Parthia, when he received his special revelation (Hippolytus, Ref: IX, 13). This shows that Jewish Christians were in these regions at a very early date. ...
A second indication that Edessa owed its Christianity to Palestine is the name Nazorees. The Syrian, Aramaic Christians did not call themselves Christians, but Nazorees, naseraja. We remember Christian was an Antiochene invention (Acts 11, 26): this argues against an Antiochene origin of Edessene Christianity. On the other hand we know that the Palestinian Christians were called Nazorees (Acts 24, 5). This was also the name of the later Jewish Christians in Beroea (Aleppo); ...
The Nazorees can be both the Jewish Christians in the Persian Empire and the indigenous Christians of Aramaic tongue. (Quispel G. The Discussion of Judaic Christianity. Vigiliae Christianae, Vol. 22, No. 2, Jun., 1968, pp. 81-93)
The above supports the view that Christians came to Edessa from Pella as those in Pella were called Nazarenes:
7,7 This sect of Nazoraeans is to be found in Beroea near Coelesyria, in the Decapolis near Pella, and in Bashanitis at the place called Cocabe—Khokhabe in Hebrew. (8) For that was its place of origin, since all the disciples had settled in Pella after their remove from Jerusalem—Christ having told them to abandon Jerusalem and withdraw from it because of the siege it was about to undergo. And they settled in Peraea for this reason and, as I said, lived their lives there. It was from this that the Nazoraean sect had its origin. Epiphanius Panarion. Section II, 29, Brill, 2009, p. 129)
Hence, they would have originally been Church of God Christians.
Here is something related the Edessa from the book Edessa: The Blessed City:
Thomas, sent Thaddaeus to him as an Apostle, being one of the Seventy, and he came and stayed with Tobias the son of Tobias. Now when news of him was heard, it was reported to Abgar, 'An Apostle of Jesus has come here, as he wrote to you'. So Thaddaeus began in the power of God to heal every disease and weakness so that all marvelled. ...
The association of Thomas with Thaddaeus-Addai integrated the evangelization of Edessa within the direct apostolic tradition. ...
Addai preached again, declaring that he was not 'a physician of medicines and roots . . . but a disciple of Jesus Christ'. He refuted the worship of the planets and of idols, he glorified Jesus and urged his hearers to acknowledge him also. The city, led by Abgar, his son Ma'nu, and his mother and wife, accepted the new faith. The king encouraged Addai to build a church, and gave him generous gifts so that Addai's word 'should be of authority and prevail in all this town'. In a scene of enthusiasm the chief priests of this town, . . . ran and threw down the altars on which they sacrificed before Nabu and Bel their gods, except the great altar in the midst of the town. . . . And Addai. . . baptized them . . ., and those who used to worship stones and stocks sat at his f e e t , . . . even Jews conversant with the Law and the Prophets . . . who sold soft [stuffs]— they too were persuaded and made the Christian confession. Aggai 'who made the silken [garments] and tiaras of the king', and Palut, and Barshelama (who is also called 'Abshelama) and Barsamya ministered with [Addai] in the church which he had built. . . .
A large multitude of people assembled day by day and came to the prayers of the service and to [the reading of] the Old Testament and the New [Testament] of the Diatessaron. They also believed in the resurrection of the dead. . . . They kept also the festivals of the Church at their proper season. . . . Moreover, in the places round about the city, churches were built and many received from [Addai] the hand of priesthood. So the people of the East also, in the guise of merchants, passed over into the territory of the Romans in order to see the signs which Addai did. And those who became disciples received from him the hand of priesthood, and in their own country of the Assyrians they found disciples, and made houses of prayer there in secret from fear of those who worshipped fire and adored water. Narseh, 'king of the Assyrians', enquired of Abgar about the deeds of Addai, and 'was astonished and marvelled'. Finally Addai was seized with that disease of which he departed from the world. And he called for Aggai.. . and made him administrator and ruler in his own place. And Palut who was a deacon he made presbyter, and 'Abshelama4 who was a scribe he made deacon. He admonished them concerning their conduct. Three days later, on 14 Iyar, Addai died. And the whole city was in great mourning and bitter distress on account of him. ...
In a brief sequel to the death of Aggai, we read that because he died suddenly and quickly at the breaking of his legs, he was not able to lay his hands upon Palut. And Palut himself went to Antioch, and received the hand of priesthood from Serapion, bishop of Antioch, ...
The influence of Jewish learning and tradition upon the early Christianity of north Mesopotamia is apparent from the writings of Aphraates, who lived near Mosul in the first half of the fourth century. There seems little doubt that his fellow-Christians in this area, like early Christians elsewhere, maintained Jewish practices; they avoided, for example, eating meat before the blood had been removed, and at the Passover they ate unleavened bread. (Segal JB. Edessa: The Blessed City. Gorgias Press, 2005. pp. 2, 66, 79, 81, 100) https://ebin.pub/edessa-the-blessed-city-1593331932-9781593331931.html
Now, there are concerns about the above document as it contains later information, some of which later traditions affected. For example, it claimed that Serapion of Antioch was made a bishop by Zephyrinus of Rome --which makes no sense as Rome and Antioch were not then in communion with each other then. Plus the timing does not work as history points to the fact that Serapion became Bishop of Antioch about a decade before Zephyrinus became Bishop of Rome, so scholars understand that Zephyrinus "certainly did not consecrate Serapion" (Burkitt, p. 26).
But the reality is that there are reports from several scholars that support the view that Edessa had original Church of God practices that the current 'Churches of the East' do not have.
That said, above I highlighted "They kept also the festivals of the Church at their proper season" when quoting Edessa: The Blessed City. Notice those in the church included Jewish converts. There was no such holiday as Christmas there and people like Serapion would have kept Passover on the 14th. Hence this is an indication from a non-Church of God source that the church in Edessa, at least near the end of the second century kept the biblical holy days.
On April 10, 2025, I also decided to ask ChatGPT the following:
Were the "Festivals of the Church" Referring to Jewish-Christian Festivals (and Not Christmas or Easter)?
ChatGPT responded with:
Absolutely — and your insight is spot-on. The reference to keeping “festivals of the Church at their proper season” is not referring to Christmas or the fully developed Easter of later centuries. Those feasts were either non-existent or still evolving at the time. ...
The phrasing and the Doctrine of Addai overall reflect a community strongly influenced by Jewish customs, especially in Edessa’s early Christianity.
These “festivals” were likely:
Sabbath observance
Passover
Possibly Pentecost and Tabernacles (Sukkot), reinterpreted in Christian ways
These festivals would have been continuations of Jewish liturgical cycles, now re-centered on Jesus as the Messiah.
Now, the above is not proof, but is consistent with what I considered was likely the case in early Edessa. And also agrees with the report that they would have kept Passover and Unleavened Bread.
Notice also the following:
Easter, the Christian version of Jewish Passover. As I have argued in other publications, there are strong indications that the Syriac churches till the Council of Nicea were Quartodeciman and that they celebrated Easter on the Jewish date, in the night of the fourteenth to the fifteenth Nisan, just as the Christians of Asia did in the second century. ... indeed, the Syriac-speaking Christians were Quartodecimans till the beginning of the fourth century, the conclusion must be that their Easter celebration retained for a remarkably long time some Jewish elements. First, there is the fact that the Jewish for such a long. (Rouwhorst G. Jewish Liturgical Traditions in Early Syriac Christianity. Vigiliae Christianae, Vol. 51, No. 1, Mar., 1997, p. 82)
how to explain the presence of such a large number of Jewish liturgical elements in Syriac Christianity? For what reasons did these elements enter the Syriac- speaking Churches east of Antioch?
To begin with the oldest traditions which seem to have their origins in the formative period of Syriac Christianity, that is to say in the first or second century, ... The Syriac Christians-or at least a great number among them-wanted to remain faithful to the oldest ritual traditions they had received from the first missionaries. (Rouwhorst, p. 84)
from other sources we know that there were Jewish Christians who celebrated the Sabbath. (Rouwhorst, p. 86)
Yes, Passover was observed by Jesus and His followers on the night of the 14th of Nisan. Presuming the first missionaries were Apostles or knew the Apostles, they would have conveyed the original faith.
Even after the Council of Nicea, there were those of Mesopotamia that celebrated Passover "on the 14th of Nisan, glorying in the observance of Apostolic traditions" (Bagatti, p. 39). And, according to Epiphanius of Salamis "they choose to celebrate the Passover with the Jews--that is they contentiously celebrate the Passover at the same time as the Jews are holding their Festival of Unleavened Bread. And indeed that this used to be the church’s custom … they tell churchmen ... "You abandoned the fathers' Paschal rite in Constantine's time from deference to the emperor, and changed the day to suit the emperor" (Epiphanius of Salamis, Panarion, Book III, Haer. 70, Chap. 9.).
The faithful hold to that practice now into the 21st century--and that practice was an original eastern rite.
But there were others who became the majority. Sadly:
Most of these groups were open to Greek philosophical ideas and Gentile Christian ... conceptions. For the rest, as a result of a certain conservatism, isolation and due to contacts with Christians of Jewish descent, belonging to exclusively Jewish Christian communities
or otherwise, they preserved their oldest liturgical traditions which originated in Judaism and were profoundly marked by their Jewish roots. (Rouwhorst, p. 88)
So, some remained faithful whereas many chose to go a different way.
That said, a lot of information in Edessa: The Blessed City came from something called the Doctrine of Addai — a Syriac text likely composed in the late 4th or early 5th century--as well as something called the Book of the Bee, written c. 1222.
A ... list is to be found in the Book of the Bee compiled by Solomon of El-Basra, and in one or two similar collections of historical matter. It begins with Addai. Then comes his disciple Mari; but Ambrose and Abraham, the next in order, are distinguished in the list as being “of the consecration of Antioch.” Here, again, Addai is claimed as the founder of the Church, but the link is soon broken, and the succession goes back to Antioch. (Burkitt, pp. 28-29)
Related to the differing lists and dates, notice the following:
If, therefore, Serapion ordained Palut, Palut could not have been converted to Christianity by one of the seventy-two Disciples, nor could the King Abgar, in whose reign he lived, have been contemporary with our Lord. We are thus confronted in the Doctrine of Addai with two theories of the rise of Christianity in Edessa. On the one theory, which is that maintained in the body of the work, Christianity was planted there in the first century of our era : on the other, which is that of the epilogue, the third president of the Christian Society at Edessa was not ordained bishop till about 200 a.d., and Christianity itself cannot have reached the district much before the middle of the second century. ...
In the Martyrdom of Barsamya we find again the statement that Palut was ordained by Serapion .. (Burkitt, p. 19, 20)
Now here is something from the Acts of Mar Mari--which was probably penned in the 7th century:
After the ascension of our Lord, while the apostles dispersed over the inhabited earth, the grace of God worked. Thomas, one of the Twelve, sent one of the seventy-two disciples, whose name was Addai and who followed Thomas, to the city of Edessa. When Addai arrived there, he resided in the house of a man named ʉbn and began to make miracles. When news about him was heard, Abgar was informed that the disciple of Jesus had arrived there. The king sent after ʉbn, calling upon him, saying: “I heard that a powerful man resides in your house. Bring him up to me now!” Immediately, the man got up and brought Addai to Abgar. The former went into his presence, while a big crowd was before the king. Upon entering, the king saw an awe-inspiring scene in the person of Addai, and he fell down, paying homage to him. ...
Before the blessed Addai died, he selected one of his disciples named Mr, who was living in the love of God and was adorned with virtuous manners. He placed his right hand on Mr, as conferred to him by our Lord Jesus Christ, and sent him to the eastern region, to the land of Babylonia, ordering him to go and preach there the word of our Lord. 7 The blessed Mr Mr left Edessa to begin preaching un- til he reached the city of Nisibis. (The Acts of M¯ar M¯ar¯ı the Apostle Translated with an Introduction and Notes by Amir Harrak. Society of Biblical Literature. 2005, pp. 9, 13)
Let me add that the Acts of Mar Mari also contains trinitarian language that would NOT have been in Edessa in the 2nd or third centuries. So, there are serious reliability issues.
Regarding what else could be called the Church of the East, notice the following 19th century report:
There has been no period since the time of Christ when there were not Sabbath-keeping Christians in the church … 302 A.D. From that time until English missionaries entered Armenia early in the present century, Sabbath keeping continued without interruption. The … Chaldean Christians have also continued their original practice of Sabbath keeping through the present century. (Sanford EB. A Concise Cyclopedia of Religious Knowledge: Biblical, Biographical, Geographical, Historical, Practical and Theological. S.S. Scranton, 1890, pp. 853,854)
Commenting on that report, then evangelist in the Worldwide Church of God Dean Blackwell wrote, “They were the ancestors” (Blackwell D. A HANDBOOK OF CHURCH HISTORY: A Thesis Presented to the Faculty of the Ambassador College Graduate School of Theology. April 1973, p. 182)--meaning of certain later faithful Sabbatarian Christians. Note that:
For many centuries, from at least the time of Jerome (c. 347 – 420),the term "Chaldean" was a misnomer that indicated the Biblical Aramaic language ... Neither before nor after the 15th century did the term "Chaldean" indicate a supposed ethnic connection of the Church of the East with ancient south Babylonian Chaldea and its inhabitants, which emerged during the 9th century BC after Chaldean tribes migrated from the Levant region of Urfa in Upper Mesopotamia to southeast Mesopotamia, and disappeared from history during the 6th century BC: it referred instead to the use by Christians of that church of the Syriac language, a form of the biblical Aramaic language, ... Only in 1445 did it begin to be used to mean Aramaic speakers in communion with the Catholic Church, on the basis of a decree of the Council of Florence, ... Outside of Catholic Church usage, the term "Chaldean" continued to apply to all associated with the Church of the East tradition, whether they were in communion with Rome or not. (Chaldean Catholic Church. Wikipedia, accessed 04/28/25)
That said, it should be pointed out that the Chaldean Catholic Church is an Eastern Catholic Church which is in full communion with the Pope in Rome. Like other Greco-Roman Catholic churches, it observes Sunday as the day of worship.
The Continuing Church of God has remained faithful to the teachings of the original Church of the East, including when it comes to the Sabbath.
It may be that the Apostle Thomas and later Jude/Thaddeus were in Edessa.
According to the Greek Orthodox who claim Marcus of Jerusalem as Judah Kyriakos' successor, bishop Judah lived for a time after that (Judas of Jerusalem. Orthodox Wiki, accessed 04/11/25 https://en.orthodoxwiki.org/Judas_of_Jerusalem)--perhaps another decade or so. Judah Kyriakos would not have been in Jerusalem--so he would have had to go somewhere else. Edessa was NOT part of the Roman Empire then--only a client state--so while Edessa was far away (like 600 miles/1000 km) it could have been considered as a safe location to seek refuge in--and one that was too far.
If Judah Kyriakos really did end up in Edessa, then it is reasonable to conclude that there may have been other Christians after Thaddeus in Edessa before and after he arrived.
Furthermore, if Judah Kyriakos relocated the Jerusalem Church to Edessa in 136 A.D., he would have had original Christian teachings and practices with him. Since it looks like he could have been followed by two Jewish leaders-- Abraham (Abraham I of Kashker) and Yaʿqob I (Mar Yacob I)-- it is likely that they were faithful Christians. It is probable that one of their successors, perhaps Ebid M'shikha, was not faithful.
Whether or not, we have reports that Palut had hands laid upon him by Serapion. This may be because Palut and Serapion saw the emergence of the apostate church in that region.
In his c. 200 AD Epistle to Caricus and Ponticus, Serapion warned of a “lying confederacy" (Greek Ψευδοῦς τάξεως) that was affecting Rome, Alexandria, Asia Minor, and elsewhere. Although that related confederacy had been denounced by Thraseas of Eumenia around 160 and by Apollinaris of Hierapolis in 177, Bishops Eleutherius and Victor I of Rome seemingly had accepted it after that (Victor died in 199). Let me add that although some claim that Serapion was in communion with the Church of Rome, Serapion's denouncement of the false Gospel of Peter, which Rome and Alexandria had accepted to a degree, also shows he was not in communion with their confederacy.
From what I have been able to research, Barsamya was not a Church of God Christian (supposedly he taught Helena, mother of Emperor Constantine--Drijvers JW. Marutha of Maipherqat on Helena Augusta, Jerusalem and the Council of Nicaea. Papers presented at the thirteenth International Conference on Patristic Studies held in Oxford 1999. Peeters, pp. 58-59) nor was Papa Bar Gaggai. Actually, the Assyrian Church of the East admits that Papa Bar Gaggai changed things in the 4th century:
At the turn of the fourth century (c. AD 310) Papa bar Gaggai, the bishop of the capital city of the Persian Empire, Seleucia-Ctesiphon, organized the bishops of the Church in a form which resembled the model developed in the West. He centralized the administration of the Church under his own jurisdiction and assumed the title “Catholicos of the East.” From that time on, the bishop of the imperial capital held this office. ... The teaching of the Church of the East is based on the faith of the universal Church as set forth in the Nicene Creed. The mystery of the Holy Trinity and the mystery of the Incarnation are central to its teaching. The church believes in One Triune God: (About us. Holy Apostolic Catholic Assyrian Church of the East. https://www.assyrianchurch.org/about-us/ accessed 04/18/25)
But around the claimed start time (c. 247 A.D.) for Papa bar Gaggai, there was man named Macarius who ran a school in Edessa and trained Lucian of Antioch. Neither of them were trinitarian--the Nicene Creed referred to above was put forth by Roman Emperor Theodosius in 380 and adopted by the Greco-Roman confederation in 381--it was not the original creed nor are several of its statements consistent with the Bible or original Christianity (see also What Was the Original Apostles' Creed? What is the Nicene Creed?). The Nicene Creed was not something the early apostles could have ever agreed to!
List of Patriarchs of The Church of the East. ...
1 Mar Aggai (c.66-81). First successor to the Apostleship of his spiritual director the Apostle Saint Thaddeus, one of the Seventy disciples. He in turn was the spiritual director of Mar Mari.
2 Palut of Edessa (c.81-87) renamed Mar Mari (c.87 – c.121) Second successor to the Apostleship of Mar Addai of the Seventy disciples. During his days a bishopric was formally established at Seleucia-Ctesiphon.
3 Abris (Abres or Ahrasius) (121–148 AD) Judah Kyriakos relocates Jerusalem Church to Edessa in 136 AD
4 Abraham (Abraham I of Kashker) (148–171 AD)
5 Yaʿqob I (Mar Yacob I) (c. 172–190 AD)
6 Ebid M’shikha (191–203)
7 Ahadabui (Ahha d'Aboui) (204–220 AD) First bishop of the East to get statikon as Catholicos. Ordained in 231 AD in Jerusalem Council.
8 Shahaloopa of Kashker (Shahlufa) (220–266 AD) https://www.easternorthodoxchristian.com/list-of-patriarchs-of-the-east accessed 04/11/25
The following speculative list is highly questionable as we have limited information to prove whether some of these actually lived and in the order they lived, but seems to show what could have been faithful succession in Edessa:
Thomas the Apostle seemingly visited Edessa.
1. Thaddeus (sometimes also known as Addai) apparently was killed in Edessa c. 65.
2. Mar Aggai (c. 66 – c. 81)
3. Mar Mari (c. 87 – c. 121)
4. Abris (Abres or Ahrasius) (c. 121 – c. 136 AD)
5. Judah Kyriakos (c. 136 - c. 148 AD)
6. Abraham (Abraham I of Kashker) (c. 148 – c. 171 AD)
7. Yaʿqob I (Mar Yacob I) (c. 172 – c. 190 AD)
8. Palut (c. 198 – c. 220)
9. ‘Abshelama (c. 220 – c. 254)
10. Macarius of Edessa (c. 254 – c. 275)
11. Lucian of Antioch (c. 275 – 312)
The above list is quite speculative. However, it is based on parts of numerous reports and put together in a way that would point to consistency of belief of those on the list. For example, Thomas and Thaddeus would have kept the 7th day Sabbath and Holy Days, as would Judah Kyriakos and his Jewish successors (as well as the predecessaors). Macarius taught Lucian, and Lucian also was a Sabbath keeper--and like all early faithful Christian leaders, Lucian was binitarian.
For the accepted (though subject to change as some names may be added/changed) succession list of the Continuing Church of God, check out the free ebook: Beliefs of the Original Catholic Church: Could a remnant group have continuing apostolic succession?
Jesus had blood relatives.
Those listed by name include his mother Mary, Elizabeth, Zacharias, John the Baptist, Mary's sister Mary, Clopas, James, Joses, Simon, and Judas.
Jesus' sisters may have been named Mary and Salome.
At least three relatives of Jesus were on the generally accepted early succession list of bishops in Jerusalem until 135 c. A.D.
The last one, Judah Kyriakos looks like he went to Pella, and then perhaps later to Edessa.
Legends and other reports point to three other relatives of Jesus being leaders in Edessa.
An evengelist in the old Worldwide Church of God taught that some in that area were our spiritual ancestors. We in the Continuing Church of God recognize that as well as we have a leader in Edessa in our succession list. We also consider ourselves to be the faithful remnant of the original Church of the East and could also be considered to hold to the liturgy of the original eastern rite.
What about later relatives?
The late Roman Catholic priest Malachi Martin lived and worked in Vatican City for years. He was deeply involved in researching and writing about Church history, theology, and the inner workings of the Roman Catholic Church.
Roman Catholic priest Malachi Martin lived and worked in Vatican City for years. He was deeply involved in researching and writing about Church history, theology, and the inner workings of the Roman Catholic Church. In a book he wrote, Malachi Martin reported a meeting between Jewish Christians and Bishop of Rome Sylvester I, but gave no source (so, perhaps, it may have come from the archives in the Vatican library?):
Jewish Christians … occupied the oldest Christian churches in the Middle East and whose leaders were always from the family of Jesus himself. … they shunned all worldly power … their first bishop was James, first cousin of Jesus. …
A meeting between Silvester and the Jewish Christian leaders took place in 318. ... The vital interview was not, as far as we know, recorded, but the issues were very well known, and it is probable the Joses, the oldest of the Christian Jews, spoke on behalf of the desposyni and the rest.
That most hallowed name, desposyni, had been respected by all believers in the first century and a half of Christian history. The word literally meant, in Greek, "belonging to the Lord." It was reserved uniquely for Jesus' blood relatives. Every part of the ancient Jewish Christian church had always been governed by a desposynos, and each of them carried one of the names traditional in Jesus' family--Zachary, Joseph, John, James, Joses, Simeon, Matthias, and so on. But no one was ever called Jesus. ...
Silvester knew their history well. Jewish Christians had composed the only church ever in Jerusalem until the year 135. … Jewish Christian churches were set up all over Palestine, Syria, and Mesopotamia ... and always in quarrel with Greek Christians who refused to … observe the Torah …
They therefore asked Silvester to revoke his confirmation of Greek Christian bishops at Jerusalem, in Antioch, in Ephesus, and in Alexandria, and to name instead desposynos bishops to take their place. …
Silvester curtly and decisively dismissed the claims of the Jewish Christians . He told them that the mother church was now in Rome, with the bones of the Apostle Peter, and he insisted that they accept the Greek bishops to lead them.
It was the last known discussion between the Jewish Christians of the old mother church and the non-Jewish Christians of the new mother church. …
The Jewish Christians had no place in such a church structure. (Martin M. The Decline and Fall of the Roman Church. Bantam edition, 1983, pp. 30-32).
So, apparently some leaders did attempt to see if the Church of Rome would accept various aspects the original orthodox faith, but they were denied. It has been claimed, elsewhere, that the leader of the desposyni was named James or Jacob. There was a Judeao-Christian doctor in Caesarea named James in the 4th century (Bagatti, The Church from the Circumcision, p. 19), but whether he was the leader is not certain. But, interestingly, there was also a Judeao-Christian doctor in the 4th century, named Jude, who was also a bishop (Ibid, p. 21).
Sylvester, who was a contemporary to Emperor Constantine—a man who detested Jews as well as Christians with practices he considered to be Jewish— refused to contend earnestly for the faith once for all delivered to the saints (Jude 3), even when he was reminded of aspects of it.
Dr. Baggati noted that in the 2nd century, at least three bishops of Rome (Pius I, Eleutheris, and Victor I) pushed back against attempts to return to original Judeao-Christians practices (Ibid, p. 25). Hence, true succession of doctrine was not coming from Rome.
Let it be understood that the historian Eusebius acknowledged that there was a succession of Jewish bishops in Jerusalem existing into his day (Church History, Book 7, chapter XIX, pp. 155-156).
Dr. Bagatti wrote:
The fact of having recognized the apostolicity of the primitive church of Jewish stock in the 4th century, when bitter strife raged between the two groups living in Jerusalem, is much to the credit of Eusebius. (Bagatti, The Church from the Circumcision, p. 83)
But notice there was a bitter struggle between the two groups. One reason Dr. Bagatti praised Eusebius is that Emperor Constantine did not care for the Judeao-Christian group, because it was the other group obtained major Imperial favor after that sun-worshiping Emperor claimed to have a vision and a dream.
Eusebius, himself, also acknowledged that the Desposyni still existed in Judea (Eusebius. Church History, Book I, Chapter 7, verse 14, p. 16). The “relatives of Jesus” (called the Desposyni) look to have been “descendants of Jude” who “returned to Nazareth” (Bagatti, The Church from the Circumcision, p. 20).
So in Eusebius, we see support that something like Malachi Martin’s account could have taken place. It has been elsewhere asserted that the Desposyni did exist into the fourth century and may have passed on various oral traditions (Harris T. Proving Biblical Nazareth: Evidence for the Key Sites of Jesus, Key-line Christian Research Pty, Limited, 2016, p. 120).
Because of persecution released by Roman Emperor Theodosius in the late 4th century, the faithful in many areas had to flee (Edessa was part of the Roman Empire then)--but some went further east. Such as into Armenia.
The Nazarenes clung to the ancient ceremonies, but they did not denounce Gentile believers. They were the remnant of the more moderate Jewish Christians who were not prepared to surrender the national customs. Late in the fourth century, they still lingered in the synagogues of the east. (Blackwell, p. 10)
Nazarenes removed to at the time they were beginning to be infiltrated by the Elkasites.
The first Armenian writer who notices them is the patriarch Nerses II in an encyclical of 553 where he condemns those “who share with Nestorians in belief and prayer, and take their breadofferings to their shrines and receive communion from them, as if from the ministers of the oblations of the Paulicians.”
This man first wrote the history, or had a comment about the Paulicians, in 553 so that they must have been there earlier than this. (Blackwell, p. 25)
Whether any relatives of Jesus made it to Armenia in the 3rd or 4th centuries is not clear. However, Jude reportedly did go there in the 1st century.
Anyway, there were many relatives of Jesus named in the Bible. And we have reports that many moved to various places.
Throughout the church age, the faithful have often had to move, consistent with Jesus' words in Matthew 10:23.
More details on that can be found in the free ebook: Beliefs of the Original Catholic Church: Could a remnant group have continuing apostolic succession?
Appendix A
The following is something that I am reviewing and I do not endorse--there is much that is nor right in it. In time, however, I hope to possibly glean points of value from it of value. One of the reasons I kept it is because, while I have issues with it, it has an alternative list of Bishops of Jerusalem after 135. Let me further preface this by stating that Eusebius wrote, "the bishops of the circumcision ceased at this time, ... and finally, the fifteenth, Judas." The author of the following disagrees:
Eusebius writing in the 4th century gives a list of 15 Jewish Christian or Hebrew Catholic Bishops of Jerusalem. It is claimed that the last of this list of Bishops is Judas a great grandson of St Jude and that the list ended in 135 with the defeat of Bar Kokhba. However some have commented that this list seems very long for such a short period. In fact this list that Eusebius uses may be the list of the Jewish Bishops or Abbots (Nasiim) (and Abbesses (Nessiyot)) of Jerusalem up until the time of Pope Sylvester I and Constantine when the Jewish Bishops broke with Rome. Eusebius has been given a list of the leaders of the Order of Sion in Jerusalem and of the Greek Gentile Bishops of Jerusalem. He doesn't realise they don't follow one another but that from 135 until his time they are two lineages of leaders- one Greek and the other Jewish.
"...The first, then, was James, the so-called brother of the Lord; the second, Symeon; the third, Justus; the fourth, Zacchaeus; the fifth, Tobias; the sixth, Benjamin; the seventh, John; the eighth, Matthias; the ninth, Philip; the tenth, Seneca; the eleventh, Justus; the twelfth, Levi; the thirteenth, Ephres; the fourteenth, Joseph; and finally, the fifteenth, Judas. These are the bishops of Jerusalem that lived between the age of the apostles and the time referred to, all of them belonging to the circumcision..."
The term Abbot developed from the title for the Jewish Christian Nasi of Abba Abbot (the father of fathers) and the Nessiya as Abbess as Imma Abbot (the mother of fathers). The Cenacle in Jerusalem was to become the mother house or Messianic Synagogue of the early Jewish Church of the circumcision. This was the place called Zion from which the mystery of the Eucharist would radiate out to the four corners of the earth. At the time of Constantine the Jewish Church broke with the Pope and Rome after the visit of eight Jewish Christian Bishops (all belonging to the descendants of the Holy Family) to Pope Sylvester I around 318 AD. For a number of years the mother Church on Mt Zion was not in unity with the Gentile Church in Jerusalem and St Cyril of Jerusalem was unable to preach from there in 348 (see Bargil Pixner "Church of the Apostles Found on Mt Zion").
The eight Jewish Christian Desposyni Bishops or Exilarchs or Abbots that met with Constantine and Pope Sylvester represented the eight leading Jewish Christian Sees ruled by the descendants of Jesus relatives of the Royal House of David. The names of the eight Desposyni Bishops are not their actual names but the name of the founder of their Abbot or Bishop's See or Seat. In a sense these eight are the eight Jewish Christian Patriarchs of the Jewish Church of the Circumcision.
The Jewish Christians were often ruled by a Davidic Abbot or Abbess who may or may not also be a Bishop (Hegmon Parnas or governing overseer) or Priest (Chazan Parnas or the congregational liturgical overseer) or Rabbi (Teacher/ Catechist/Scribe) or Monk (Abba /Abouna) or Nun/ Deaconess (Imma/ Amah) or Deacon (Shamash). The Hebrew word parnas was Presbyteros (priest) in Greek and Hegmon means Governor or Bishop which is Episcopus in Greek. The Jewish Church modeled itself on the Synagogue or Rabbinic structure which in turn was modeled on the Temple structure. The Hegmon Parnas paralleled the Kohen ha Gadol (High Priest) of the Temple, the parnasim the priests (kohenim) and the shamashim the Levites. In the beginning neither the traditional Jewish Synagogue nor the Messianic Kehilla saw themselves as competing with the Temple but as complementing it. In fact the early Jewish Christians attended the Temple and participated in its rituals as well as the traditional synagogue and also their own Messianic Eucharistic (Bereikah) gatherings.In the far West there were the three Sees of Tara, Avalon and Camelon. Tara was the Irish See and House of Nathan. Nathan was a grandson of St Joseph of Arimathea who took the Gospel from Britian to Ireland and was the Rosh Galuta Erani. Avalon was the Southern British See and House of Joseph. This Joseph was St Joseph of Arimathea a paternal relative of the Blessed Virgin Mary and the Rosh Galuta or Golus of Britain (Britti). Camelon (Camelot) was the See and House of Phares. This Phares was a son of Nathan and greatgrandson of St Joseph of Arimathea who took the Gospel to Scotland and was the Rosh Galuta Scotti.
Scholars speak about the three British Bishops that attended the Council of Arles in 314 AD Eborius, Restitutus and Adelphius. Many think that Eborius of Eboracensi (Hibernia) was the Bishop of York (Eboracum) however it is more likely that this was the Bishop representing Hibernia where the Heber Lords reigned in the South of Ireland (known as Heber or Eber's Portion) representing the See of Tara (moved to Munster (Kenmare) in the South due to the revival of paganism in the North and the persecution of Christians). Bishop Restitutus of London represents the See of Glastonbury and its Episcopal province was called Londonium after its principal city Londinium (Lud/ London). Bishop Adelphius of Colonia (Camelon/ Camelot) in Scotland is the third Bishop from the British Isles. This Episcopal region or province of Scotland in olden times was known as Leudonia (Lothian).
However it would seem that the Jewish Bishops of Tara (Hibernia) and Camelon (Scotia) along with Restitutus the Bishop of London attended the Council of Nicea in 325. Restitutus may have represented the Abbot or Abba Abbot of Avalon (Glastonbury) at Nicea or it is possible that Restitutus represented the Gentile Church in Britain that remained loyal to Rome and that Glastonbury (Glas Isle) in solidarity with his five eastern Davidic Patriarchs remained out of communion with Rome.
There were five Desposyni Jewish Christian Sees in the East. Jerusalem was the Jewish See and House of Jacob/ James. This Jacob was St James the Just the cousin of Jesus. Antioch was Jewish See and House of Zachary. This Zachary was also the 4th Jewish Christian (Nazarenean or Notzrim) Nasi (Abbot) of Jerusalem. Alexandria was the Jewish See and House of Matthias. This Matthias was also the 8th Nazarean Nasi of Jerusalem. Kinyani in Iraq was the See and House of Yochanan/ John. This John was also the 7th Jewish Christian Nasi (Abbot) of Jerusalem. Takhte Sulieman (Soleyman) or Sarras in Persia was the See and House of Simeon. This Simeon was also the 2nd Nazarene Nasi of Jerusalem and a younger brother or cousin of St James the Just. This James and Simeon should not be confused with the Apostles St James the Less and St Simon Zelotes as has been done in the Western Church. While there were other Jewish Christian Bishops these eight Davidic sees were of special honour as having been founded and manned by the Desposyni Davidic Abbots or Bishops descended from the Holy Family of Jesus' blood relatives.
The Indian stories tell us that the famous Davidic Jewish Christian Thomas of Kanah was born in Edessa. It is possible that there was a Kinyani Yeshivah in southern Iraq and another one in Syria at Emesa. Emesa is named for the School of Emmaus there. Thomas of Kanah (Cana) was said to have been accompanied to India by Mar Joseph a Bishop of Edessa. Here we see that St Thomas of Kanah or Kinyani is the lay Abbot or Nasi of the community with Bishop Joseph under him in the model of the early Church among the Jews.
From the fourth century the monarchical Greek Bishops supplanted the original Jewish Christian Bishops or Abbots. The story of Thomas and Joseph as leaders of the Jewish Christian Church may reflect this exile of the Jewish Christians firstly to southern Iraq (Babylonia) and then India. Gradually many of the Jewish Christians assimilated back into the Jewish synagogue and communities while others came under the control of the Gentile Bishops and assimilated into a Gentile ruled Church.
Thus Jacob (James) who visited Pope Sylvester was most likely Judas of the list of Eusebius as the Successor of St James or Jacob the Just. This Judas is also known as St Judas Cyriacus and was a descendant of the Judas who was a great grandson of St Jude. He had been a Bishop to the Jewish Christian community in Ancona in Italy before being called to Jerusalem to succeed the Jewish Christian Abbot Joseph of Jerusalem.
This Joseph may be the same person as Count Joseph of Tiberias who was the Davidic Abbot or Nasi of the Order of Sion centred in Jerusalem. It is not clear if Joseph who was not a Bishop or Priest remained as the Abbot or Davidic Nasi of the Jewish Church until his death in 356 or whether he resigned in 315 after bringing Bishop Judas Cyriacus from Ancona and Joseph then moved to Tiberias to lead the Church there. It may have been that St Judas Cyriacus was the chief Bishop of the Community and Count Joseph the Davidic Nasi or Abbot. St Judas Cyriacus may have succeeded to the position of Abbot on the death of Count Joseph in 356.
Or it is also possible that when the Jewish Church split from Rome in 318 Count Joseph joined the Gentile Church while Judas Cyriacus led the Jewish Church. Joseph had formerly been a Rabbinic scholar, a member of the Sanedrin and a close associate and possibly a member of the Jewish Nasi of the House of Hillel's family. Joseph may have been descended from the House of Hillel on his mother's side and through her claimed Davidic status.
Joseph was born around 280 and he became a shaliach of the Jewish Nasi Gamaliel IV and was present at his death bed in 298, with Gamaliel's son Judah III and grandson Hillel II, when the Nasi asked for Christian baptism. Joseph after this started to explore the Gospel and was baptised and became the Jewish Christian Nasi or Abbot (Abuna/ Abba) around 299 on the death of the Jewish Christian Nessiya or Abbess Ephres (Efrat). Joseph met the Emperor Constantine around 330 and for his loyalty to Rome (after the break with the Jewish Church) he was made a Count (Komes). He at this stage of Church history was considered to be an orthodox Catholic eventhough he practiced Jewish observances as did the Jewish Church that had broken from Rome in 318 but reconciled in 394 but then subservient to the Gentile Church. The regime of assimilation to Gentile rule and customs in regards to Jews in the Church increased in intensity.
St Judas Cyriacus was associated with St Helena the mother of the Emperor Constantine in her search for the true Cross. He has been the substance of many legends. He was killed in a riot in Jerusalem during the reign of Julian the Apostate around 363. His body was preserved and given by the Empress Galla Placidia to Ancona and is still in the Cathedral of Ancona named for him until today. St Kyriacus the Anchorite was a descendant of St Judas Cyriacus. St Judas Cyriacus' grandson Alexander became the Bishop of Corinth and his son John who also became a priest was the father of St Kyriacus the Anchorite.
Relics of the Body of St Judas Cyriacus of Jerusalem in the Ancona Cathedral
It would seem that the last Jewish Christian Bishop of Jerusalem St Porphyry stepped down in 394 and recognised the Gentile Bishop of Jerusalem John II. St Porphyry was from a Jewish Christian family of Thessalonica who came to Jerusalem to be the Jewish Bishop or Patriarch (Rosh) of the Order of Sion. He was afterwards appointed as Bishop of Gaza. It would seem that from the 5th century the distinct Jewish Church assimilated in the West with the Gentile Church and only some pockets maintained in secret their Jewish traditions especially among those families of Davidic lineage.
The Gentile Church has modeled its structures on that of Roman government. Maybe it is time for a radical change to a structure more in harmony with the original Jewish one of the Church of the Circumcision and its later developments in the Gaelic or Celtic Churches of Ireland and Britain before the advent of St Augustine. The Irish Church preserved the Jewish model of the Church much later than other regions and due to the strong Jewish Christian roots they were often accused of being Judaisers by other Catholics because of their adherence to many of the laws of the Old Testament.
The Bishops and Priests should be the true servants of the people of God rather than their Gentile- style Lords. The Gentile Church has a real problem with clericalism which Pope Francis and others have pointed out many times. Vatican II was meant to rid us of clericalism and give the laity a full place in the life and mission of the Church. Unfortunately clericalism never went away and we have had a form of liberal and modernist clericalism in recent years, that is now being replaced by a rampant and virulent traditionalist or "orthodox" clericalism. We love and need our deacons, priests and bishops but we need them for the full sacramental life and as prayer intercessors and servants, not as administrative rulers and careerists who lord it over the flock rather than shepherding them.
Jewish Christian Abbots (and/or Bishops) of Jerusalem of the Order of Sion. (An Abbot must be of Davidic status (paternal or maternal) but a Bishop did not.)
Thiel B. Early Christianity in Edessa. COGwriter (c) 2025 https://www.cogwriter.com/relatives-of-jesus.htm 2025 0510