Feast of St. James celebrated in Kamuli

The feast of St. James the Brother of God was celebrated yesterday, 23 October 2024 at St Jacob – Nawango as the parish marked their patronal feast day. The Divine Liturgy was co-served by Reverend Fathers Stephen Lunagula, John Ngobi and Emmanuel Kungo, assisted by Deacon Samuel Kirunda.

The former is the parish priest of the oldest Orthodox mission center in Kamuli district whereas the latter serves as the second clergyman. An artoklasia service was offered with the blessing of bread for thanksgiving after the Divine Liturgy. During the celebrations, a special dedication prayer service was also offered for the candidates of St Jacob – Nawango and St. John – Nakyaka who are preparing for their final national examinations.

The event was attended by local political leaders as well as teachers of the two schools whose candidates were prayed for. The feast climaxed with merrymaking through entertainment in form of music and dance provided by school children as well as a festal meal in the church compound.

St. Jacob (Iakovos) – Nawango mission center is located in Bugaya zone, Nawango parish, Kitayunjwa sub-county in Kamuli district, fifteen-minute drive easterly of Kamuli town. It was started as a community in 1973 by the late Fr. Joachim Foola Kaawonawo and in 1993, Fr. Steven Lunagula settled there and took on the pastoral responsibility since.

A health center and a primary school sit on the five acres of land along with the church, all donations of St. John Chrysostom Fraternity Nikaia in Greece. The temple was consecrated on the feast day in 2019 by His Eminence Metropolitan Jonah Lwanga of blessed memory.

Who was Saint James the brother of the Lord?

According to the synaxarion, this Saint was a son of Joseph the Betrothed, born of the wife that the latter had before he was betrothed to the Ever-virgin. Hence he was the brother of the Lord, who was also thought to be the son of Joseph (Matt. 13: 55).

But some say that he was a nephew of Joseph, and the son of his brother Cleopas, who was also called Alphaeus and Mary his wife, who was the first cousin of the Theotokos. But even according to this genealogy, he was still called, according to the idiom of the Scriptures, the Lord’s brother because of their kinship.

This James is called the Less (Mark 15:40) by the Evangelists to distinguish him from James (30 April), the son of Zebedee, who was called the Great. He became the first Bishop of Jerusalem, elevated to this episcopal rank by the Apostles, according to Eusebius (Eccl. Hist., Book II: 23), and was called Obliah, that is, the Just, because of his great holiness and righteousness.

Having ascended the crest of the Temple on the day of the Passover at the prompting of all, he bore testimony from there concerning his belief in Jesus, and he proclaimed with a great voice that Jesus sits at the right hand of the great power of God and shall come again upon the clouds of heaven.

On hearing this testimony, many of those present cried, “Hosanna to the Son of David.” But the Scribes and Pharisees cried, “So, even the just one hath been led astray,” and at the command of Ananias the high priest, the Apostle was cast down headlong from thence, then was stoned, and while he prayed for his slayers, his head was crushed by the wooden club wielded by a certain scribe. The first of the Catholic (General) Epistles written to the Jews scattered abroad who believed in Christ was written by this James.

James is just the English version of the Greek transliteration of the Hebrew name Jacob (Yakob) which is Ἰάκωβος. Since the New Testament was written in Greek, the English translation of the name is James whereas Jacob is maintained for usage in the Old Testament because the latter was written in Hebrew.