He is the Apostle referred to in the Gospel as "Judas of 
	James", "Judas not the Iscariot". He also is known as 
	Thaddaeus or Lebbacus. Jude was the brother of James (or 
	the son of James RV), the "brethren of the Lord" - the 
	Lord's relative. Jude is the author of the Epistle of 
	Jude. The Apocryphal "Passion of Simon and Jude" depicted 
	them in Persia where they preached and underwent martyrdom. 
	
	The exact order of selection by the Messiah of the divine 
	twelve who were to serve as his disciples is hardly a 
	subject for debate in view of their proximity to the 
	divine, but there has been slight confusion as to whether 
	or not the eminent Saint Jude was the tenth or eleventh 
	choice. Had the great Saint Jude been chosen last out of 
	thousands rather than twelve, he would have served with 
	the distinction that places his exalted name in the New 
	Testament. Generally Saint Jude is accepted as the tenth 
	chosen by the Savior because it is mentioned in the 
	Gospel of Mark (3.18). 
	
	One account has Saint Jude as the son of Alphaeus with 
	the surname Thaddeus, an another refers to him as the 
	son of James (Iakovos); but he could have been given a 
	hundred names and it would have mattered little, because 
	in his one lifetime he served the Lord as well as a 
	hundred men combined. Known to us as the author of James 
	the Less, his Epistle is carried in the New Testament 
	wherein he addressed himself to the members of the New 
	Faith, commencing with the words, "Jude, the servant of 
	Jesus Christ and brother of James..." Church historians 
	are responsible for the emphasis on the addition of the 
	name Iscariot to Judas, the betrayer of the Savior, to 
	assure that his name not be confused under any 
	circumstances with the noble Saint Jude. 
	
	The presence of Saint Jude in so many places in his swift 
	rounds of missionary work for Jesus Christ might have been 
	a contributing factor in the confusion of his name. He was 
	much less interested in identifying himself than with 
	bringing forth the identity of the Son of God and making 
	His name a household word. This evidenced in his frenetic 
	pace in bearing the torch of the truth of Jesus Christ 
	through the lands of Judea, Galilee, Samaria and 
	Mesopotamia. One of the countries visited has a name that 
	has remained unchanged down through the centuries. 
	Although Saint Gregory the Illuminator is credited with 
	having Christianized this nation, the country of Armenia, 
	the first to make Christianity its national religion, 
	Armenia was approached in the time of Christ by Saint Jude, 
	accompanied by his devoted friend Bartholomew. It was 
	here in Armenia that Saint Jude established himself as 
	the true kinsman of Jesus Christ he was reputed to be. 
	The country's King Agbar was stricken with the deadliest 
	disease of the time, the dreaded leprosy, and in 
	desperation sent out word that he be attended by the 
	greatest healer of them all, Jesus of Nazareth, about 
	whom he had heard so much. Before this could be carried 
	out, the Messiah was put to death on the Cross, and acting 
	as his earthly vicar, Saint Jude answered the call. In 
	the name of the Lord and through the power of the divine, 
	the hand of Saint Jude was placed on the ailing king who 
	was cured of his disease and thereafter baptized a 
	Christian. 
	
	The power of healing impressed the general populace but 
	put fear into the hearts of other governing rulers who 
	viewed Saint Jude, already acknowledged to be related to 
	the Messiah as brother of James the Less. Since the Messiah 
	was of the house of David and for years his presence 
	symbolized to the ruling class a complete loss of their 
	power, and since Saint Jude was a living symbol of their 
	being driven from office, Saint Jude was sought out, together 
	with any who kin to him, as enemies of the state. In one 
	convincing statement, however, Saint Jude set aside the 
	fears of the aristocracy and assured the safety of his 
	family with the simple declaration that their concern was 
	with the kingdom of Heaven, which was not of this world. 
	He was echoing the words of the Savior so recently put to 
	brutal death. The statement was not enough for some of 
	the less convinced, and not too long after the miracle of 
	healing, the noble Saint Jude was martyred in a city 
	called Arand, near Beirut. This magnificent disciple is 
	commemorated on June 19.