E00173: Eusebius of Caesarea gathers information about *James ('brother of the Lord', S00058) whom he presents as the first bishop of Jerusalem, ascetic and martyr. Account in his Ecclesiastical History, written in Greek in Palestine in 311/325, quoting the 2nd century Christian authors Clement of Alexandria and Hegesippus.

Eusebius of Caesarea, Ecclesiastical History 2.1.2-5, 2.23.3-18

2.1.2-5
(2.) τότε δῆτα καὶ Ἰάκωβον, τὸν τοῦ κυρίου λεγόμενον ἀδελφόν, ὅτι δὴ καὶ οὗτος τοῦ Ἰωσὴφ ὠνόμαστο παῖς, τοῦ δὲ Χριστοῦ πατὴρ ὁ Ἰωσήφ, ᾧ μνηστευθεῖσα ἡ παρθένος, πρὶν ἢ συνελθεῖν αὐτούς, εὑρέθη ἐν γαστρὶ ἔχουσα ἐκ πνεύματος ἁγίου, ὡς ἡ ἱερὰ τῶν εὐαγγελίων διδάσκει γραφή· τοῦτον δὴ οὖν αὐτὸν Ἰάκωβον, ὃν καὶ δίκαιον ἐπίκλην οἱ πάλαι δι’ ἀρετῆς ἐκάλουν προτερήματα, πρῶτον ἱστοροῦσιν τῆς ἐν Ἱεροσολύμοις ἐκκλησίας τὸν τῆς ἐπισκοπῆς ἐγχειρισθῆναι θρόνον· (3.) Κλήμης ἐν ἕκτῳ τῶν Ὑποτυπώσεων γράφων ὧδε παρίστησιν· «Πέτρον γάρ φησιν καὶ Ἰάκωβον καὶ Ἰωάννην μετὰ τὴν ἀνάληψιν τοῦ σωτῆρος, ὡς ἂν καὶ ὑπὸ τοῦ σωτῆρος προτετιμημένους, μὴ ἐπιδικάζεσθαι δόξης, ἀλλὰ Ἰάκωβον τὸν δίκαιον ἐπίσκοπον τῶν Ἱεροσολύμων ἑλέσθαι.» (4.) ὁ δ’ αὐτὸς ἐν ἑβδόμῳ τῆς αὐτῆς ὑποθέσεως ἔτι καὶ ταῦτα περὶ αὐτοῦ φησιν· «Ἰακώβῳ τῷ δικαίῳ καὶ Ἰωάννῃ καὶ Πέτρῳ μετὰ τὴν ἀνάστασιν παρέδωκεν τὴν γνῶσιν ὁ κύριος, οὗτοι τοῖς λοιποῖς ἀποστόλοις παρέδωκαν, οἱ δὲ λοιποὶ ἀπόστολοι τοῖς ἑβδομήκοντα· ὧν εἷς ἦν καὶ Βαρναβᾶς. (5.) δύο δὲ γεγόνασιν Ἰάκωβοι, εἷς ὁ δίκαιος, ὁ κατὰ τοῦ πτερυγίου βληθεὶς καὶ ὑπὸ γναφέως ξύλῳ πληγεὶς εἰς θάνατον, ἕτερος δὲ ὁ καρατομηθείς.» αὐτοῦ δὴ τοῦ δικαίου καὶ ὁ Παῦλος μνημονεύει γράφων· «ἕτερον δὲ τῶν ἀποστόλων οὐκ εἶδον, εἰ μὴ Ἰάκωβον τὸν ἀδελφὸν τοῦ κυρίου.»

'(2.) At that time, James, who is called brother of the Lord, because he was known as a son of Joseph, and Joseph was known as the father of Christ, because the Virgin, being betrothed to him, was found with child by the Holy Ghost before they came together as the account of the holy Gospels shows [Matthew 1:18]; this James then, whom the ancients surnamed the Just on account of the superiority of his virtue, they report was the first to be entrusted with the throne of the bishopric of Jerusalem. (3.) Writing in the sixth book of his Hypotyposes, Clement reports thus: "For they say that Peter and James and John, after the ascension of the Saviour, even though they were favoured by our Lord, strove not after honour, but elected James the Just as bishop of Jerusalem." (4.) But the same author, in the seventh book of the same work, relates also the following things concerning him: "The Lord after his resurrection bestowed the knowledge to James the Just and to John and Peter, and they bestowed it to the rest of the Apostles, and the rest of the Apostles to the seventy, of whom Barnabas was one. (5.) But there were two Jameses: one was the Just, who was thrown from the pinnacle of the temple and was beaten to death with a club by a fuller, while the other was the one that was beheaded." Of the same Just, Paul also makes mention as he writes: "I saw none other of the Apostles, save James, the Lord's brother" [Galatians 1:19].'

2.23.3
τὸν δὲ τῆς τοῦ Ἰακώβου τελευτῆς τρόπον ἤδη μὲν πρότερον αἱ παρατεθεῖσαι τοῦ Κλήμεντος φωναὶ δεδηλώκασιν, ἀπὸ τοῦ πτερυγίου βεβλῆσθαι ξύλῳ τε τὴν πρὸς θάνατον πεπλῆχθαι αὐτὸν ἱστορηκότος· ἀκριβέστατά γε μὴν τὰ κατ’ αὐτὸν ὁ Ἡγήσιππος, ἐπὶ τῆς πρώτης τῶν ἀποστόλων γενόμενος διαδοχῆς, ἐν τῷ πέμπτῳ αὐτοῦ ὑπομνήματι τοῦτον λέγων ἱστορεῖ τὸν τρόπον·

'The words of Clement quoted above have already described in some way the manner of James’ death, as he relates that he was thrown from the pinnacle and was beaten to death by a club; but his story is related most accurately by Hegesippus, who lived in the first generation after the Apostles and, in the fifth book of his Memoirs, writes as follows.'

Summary of the account by Hegesippus quoted by Eusebius (2.23.4-18):
James was a brother of Jesus, who succeeded him in the leadership of the church together with the Apostles. He was called ‘just’ by everyone for the holy life he lived from his birth. He never drank alcohol or ate meat, never cut his hair or used the baths. He wore simple linen clothes and no woollen ones. He used to enter the temple and pray alone on his knees, which made them go hard, like those of a camel. He was universally respected and confessed Christ to be the saviour when asked by the Jews. Through his testimony, many believed, even people from Jewish sects rejecting the doctrines of the resurrection and universal judgement. The Pharisees and Scribes, dismayed by the spread of the Christian faith, asked James to stand on the pinnacle of the temple during Passover and warn the people against believing in Jesus. When the day came, James stood on the pinnacle and declared that Jesus is in heaven to the right of God, and will come again on the clouds. This caused many to believe, but the Pharisees and Scribes threw him from the temple and when this did not kill him decided to have him stoned to death. During his stoning he prays for their forgiveness, while a priest attempts to stop the stoning. He is eventually killed by a fuller who hits him on the head with a club. He is buried on the spot, by the temple, and his tomb is still preserved. Immediately afterwards, Vespasian besieges Jerusalem [AD 66].

Text: Schwartz et al. 1999. Translation and summary: Efthymios Rizos.