ST. JAMES THE GREATERApostle & patron Saint of Spain

-Hebrew JACOB

-Latin IACOBUS

-French JACQUES

-English JAMES, JACOB

-Italian GIACOMO

-Spanish JACOBO, DIEGO, JAIME, YAGO

WHAT DO WE KNOW ABOUTJAMES, SON OF ZEBEDEE & SALOME

Acording to the Bible:Was a fisherman with his father and brother John, the Evangelist

Saint Mark Saint John Saint Luke Saint Mathew

VENEZIA

The Transfiguration

Resurrection of Jairo’s daughter

Was James a cousin of Jesus??

James was part of a prominent and choosen group of Apostles and was present at various important acts of Jesus…

Was James a cousin of Jesus??

ZEBEDEE SALOME

JOHN JAMES

VIRGIN MARY

JESUS

?

The legend holds it that just before his Crucifixion, Jesus divided up the world among his Apostles.

Peter went to…

And James went to…

HISPANIA BEFORE THE ROMANS

Iberians – the “natives” (actually a group of different peoples with different cultures)

Celts – from the East & North of Europe Greeks – they colonized the coast Carthaginians – in the coast as well Romans – they will conquer the whole peninsula

People who’s been living around here…

ROMAN HISPANIA

The north part of the peninsula has never been easy to conquer = pagan traditions were strong

JAMES is sent to Hispania

Basílica del Pilar, Zaragoza

He seems not to have been very convincing: he attracted only 7 disciples…

On his way back to Holy Land, still in Hispania at Caesaraugusta…

In 44 AC Herod Agrippa beheaded him

He’s the first Apostle who dies for Jesus

THE TRASLATIO

Friends sneaked his body out of Jerusalem

Put it in a boat that with no sails, oars or sailors, traveled across the Mediterranean Sea…

THE TRASLATIO

…through the Strait of Gibraltar, and north along the Iberian coast to Galicia

Padrón, where the boat finaly stopped…Padrón, where the boat finaly stopped…

PADRÓN

Where his disciples tied the boat

Is now at Padrón’s church…

Padrón bollardPadrón bollard

THE LEGEND OF LUPA

A tale of a very bad Queen, some Roman soldiers, angels, wild oxes, falling bridges and even a dragon…with a happy ending

THE SEPULCHER

- It’s actually a 1st Century Roman Sepulchre- You can still see it at the Cathedral of Santiago…

http://www.archicompostela.org/web/catedral/movie.html

THE VISIGOTHS IN HISPANIA

The “Barbarians” took advantage of the Roman weakness…

HISPANIA 8th Century

Visigoths were fighting each other. There were basically two factions. Eventualy one of them asked the

Muslims for help…

HISPANIA 9th Century

Small Christian kingdoms on the north started a Reconquista that took 800 years to complete…

THE DISCOVERY OF THE TOMB

- In 813 the Christian hermit Pelayo heard music and saw lights shining over a small cave in the woods on Mount Libredón…

- He found bones and parchment…

TEODOMIR, BISHOP OF IRIA FLAVIA

-Pelayo took the Bishop to the site and Teodomir authenticated the bones as those of the Apostle St. James and his disciples, Atanasio and Teodoro

ALFONSO II “The Chaste” KING OF ASTURIAS*

- He goes to see the relics and builds a small church.

-He’s the first pilgrim and this is the origin of the city of Santiago

*Spain doesn’t exist yet!!

COMPOSTELAThe name Compostela: Probably comes from “CAMPUS STELLAE” or Field of Stars Or maybe “COMPOSTUM” o cemetery….

Obviously everybody there prefers the first option!

WHY WAS SO IMPORTANT TO IDENTIFY THAT TOMB AS THE BURIAL PLACE OF ST. JAMES?

After the fall of the Roman Empire, the new kingdoms were competing to proof wich one was more Christian

why?

WHY WAS SO IMPORTANT TO IDENTIFY THAT TOMB AS THE BURIAL PLACE OF ST. JAMES?

After the fall of the Roman Empire, the new kingdoms were competing to proof wich one was more Christian

= power of Kings emanate from God

= The more Christian the more legitimate

SANTIAGO the MOOR-SLAYER

Battle of Clavijo

-Year 844, in Clavijo, La Rioja

-King Ramiro I of Asturias against the army of Abderramán II

- Ramiro refuses to pay the 100 maidens tribute

- Ramiro had a dream the night before the battle

- Santiago appeared riding a white horse and bearing a white standard, and aided Asturian troops to defeat the Moors

WHY THIS LEGEND?

To help the Christians fight the Muslims (God is with us, it’s a Holy War for us as well, not only for the Muslims)

To consolidate the King’s position against the rest of Christian kingdoms…

CONSEQUENCES: King Ramiro, after the battle is said to have instituted the Voto (vow) de Santiago

a mandatory tax for the benefit of the Church

…..It was finally repealed in 1812.

Alphabet

ROMAN CAPITALS

Latin

Latin languages

Numbers

Law

- Each member of a society has some rights

- UNIVERSAL CITYZENSHIP

- Roman Law is the origin of our laws

Roman roads

Calendar

- Months of the year

- Weeks of the month

- The names of the months

Months-January (Ianuro, month of god Iano)-February (month of god Februo or Pluto)-Mars (month of god Mars)-April (from “afros”: foam, froth , from Goddess Venus was born, symbolizing fertility)-May (dedicated to the elder people or maiorum)-Junio (dedicated to the young people or iuvenis )-July (dedicated to Julius Cesar)*-August (dedicated to Octavius Augustus)*-September (it was the 7th month: septem)-October (the 8th)-November (the 9th)-December (the 10th)

Days

-Lunes (Luna, Lunae dies; en inglés Moon day=Monday)-Martes (god Marte, Mars dies)-Miércoles (god Mercury)-Jueves (god Jupiter)-Viernes (goddess Venus)-Sábado (god Saturn, later changed to sabath; in English Saturn day=Saturday)-Domingo (day of the sun, later changed to Day of the Lord or Dominicus. English Sun-day)

The Planets

Christianity

PRISCILIAN

Who’s buried at Compostela?

WHO WAS PRISCILLIAN? He was born in the 4th Century in the Roman Gallaecia (today Galicia) and was a theologian, a layman, and later ordained as bishop of Ávila Priscillian’s followers were required to be celibate, refuting marriage and

procreation, to be vegetarian and to practice voluntary poverty.  He rejected the union between Church and the State He condemned the corruption in the ecclesiastical hierarchy

Obviously, the ecclesiastical hierarchy tried to stop those ideas.

A synod was held at Zaragoza in 380 resulting in his condemnation and excommunication.

At the consequent trial, Priscillian and his followers were accused of engaging in sorcery, and of heresy

Priscillian and his followers confessed under torture .

THE END Additional charges were levied, with Priscillian accused of praying

naked, invoking magic rites, and to meeting with “evil women”.

Priscillian and five of his followers were sentenced to death and subsequently beheaded.

THE LEGEND Priscillian’s body could have been returned to Spain, and been buried in

great splendor; leading to Priscillian being venerated as a martyr.

In 1900 one Louis Duchesne published « Saint Jacques en Galice » where he first proposes the theory that is quickly accepted by sceptics and anti-religiouse authors

Santiago or Priscillian?

As Martin Luther said:

“Nobody knows if it's Saint James or a dead dog that's buried in

Santiago de Compostela".