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.