The New Testament names four brothers of Jesus (James, Joseph (Joses), Judas and Simon) as well as mentioning, but not naming, sisters. The most notable is James, whom Paul calls "the brother of our Lord."
Some scholars argue that Jesus' relatives held positions of special honor in the Early Christian Church. Christians of the Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, and Oriental Orthodox traditions, as well as some Anglicans and some followers of Lutheranism, reject the idea that Jesus had blood siblings, as their churches hold the doctrine of the Perpetual Virginity of Mary.
In the third century blood relatives of Jesus, without explicit reference to "brothers", were called the desposyni, from the Greek δεσπόσυνοι, plural of δεσπόσυνος, meaning "of or belonging to the master or lord". The term was used by Sextus Julius Africanus, a writer of the early 3rd century.
Read more about Brothers Of Jesus: Jesus' Brothers and Sisters, As Church Leaders, Degree of Consanguinuity Between Jesus and His Brothers, Family Trees and Pedigrees, Interpersonal Relationship With Jesus in The New Testament, In Popular Culture
Famous quotes containing the words brothers and/or jesus:
“Come, dear children, let us away;
Down and away below!
Now my brothers call from the bay,
Now the great winds shoreward blow,
Now the salt tides seaward flow;
Now the wild white horses play,
Champ and chafe and toss in the spray.”
—Matthew Arnold (1822–1888)
“Now I appeal to you, brothers and sisters, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you be in agreement and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be united in the same mind and the same purpose.”
—Bible: New Testament, 1 Corinthians 1:10.