Most American Protestants today believe James to be the biological younger brother of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Unfortunately, this is contrary to what the Church has historically believed concerning St. James, and following the biblical teachings, as well as, the church traditions concerning Jesus, His Virgin Birth, and Mary, the holy Theotokos (Mother of God). Here is a quote from Wikipedia concerning the doctrine of the Ever-Virginity of Mary:
The doctrine of the perpetual virginity of Mary expresses the Virgin Mary's "real and perpetual virginity even in the act of giving birth to Jesus the Son of God made Man". According to the doctrine, Mary was ever-virgin (Ancient Greek:ἀειπάρθενος aeiparthenos) for the whole of her life, making Jesus her only biological son, whose conception and birth are held to be miraculous.
By the fourth century, the doctrine was widely supported by the Church Fathers, and by the seventh century it had been affirmed in a number of ecumenical councils. The doctrine is part of the teaching of Catholicism and Anglo-Catholics, as well as Eastern and Oriental Orthodoxy, as expressed in their liturgies, in which they repeatedly refer to Mary as "ever virgin".
Some early Protestant reformers such as Martin Luther supported the doctrine, and founding figures of Anglicanism such as Hugh Latimer and Thomas Cranmer "followed the tradition that they had inherited by accepting Mary as 'ever virgin'". However, later Reformed teaching largely abandoned it. The doctrine of perpetual virginity is, however, currently maintained by some Anglican and Lutheran theologians.
Dr. Martin Luther held to this doctrine of the ever-virginity of Mary even as he, later in life, began to reject other Roman teachings concerning Mary. In the Latin text of the Smalcald Articles, the doctrinal "last will and testament" ("The Book of Concord" by Kolb and Wengert, page 295 paragraph 2) by Luther, Mary is referred to as "always virgin":
"That the Son became a human being in this way: he was conceived by the Holy Spirit without male participation and was born of the pure, holy [and always] Virgin Mary."
The Lutheran Confessions are very clear that the Lord was miraculously born in such a way that not only was Mary a virgin before and during her conceiving and carrying Jesus in her womb but that she remained a virgin even after giving birth to Him. It is also clear, in his writings and in his sermons on the Gospel of John, that Luther held to the teaching that Mary remained a virgin for the rest of her life and that the siblings of Jesus referred to in Holy Scripture were either step-siblings or cousins; and that he held to this teaching for the rest of his life. Whether or not the Lutheran Confessions teach the perpetual virginity of Mary is not as clear. At the very least, it seems to me that the confessions allow for one to hold to this teaching of the ancient church as a "pious opinion" but not necessarily as a Church Doctrine that must be held by every and all Christians. What is obvious is that what we believe and teach concerning differing things often affects other beliefs and teachings as well. My personal belief is in line with Luther, and the ancient Church, concerning Mary as the most-holy Theotokos and that she was a virgin all of her life. Therefore, I believe, it is important to understand what the early Church and the early Church Fathers believed and taught concerning Mary which then influences what is believed and taught concerning the brother of our Lord, St. James. The following is an excerpt from the OCA (Orthodox Church of America) site on the lives of the saints concerning St. James, whose feast day is October 23:
Apostle James, the Brother of the Lord
Holy Apostle James, the Brother of God (Adelphotheos) was the son of Righteous Joseph the Betrothed of the Most Holy Theotokos (December 26). From his early years James was a Nazarene, a man especially dedicated to God. The Nazarenes vowed to preserve their virginity, to abstain from wine, to refrain from eating meat, and not to cut their hair. The vow of the Nazarenes symbolized a life of holiness and purity, commanded formerly by the Lord for all Israel. When the Savior began to teach the nation about the Kingdom of God, St James believed in Christ and became His apostle. He was chosen as the first Bishop of Jerusalem.
St James presided over the Council of Jerusalem and his word was decisive (Acts 15). In his thirty years as bishop, St James converted many of the Jews to Christianity. Annoyed by this, the Pharisees and the Scribes plotted together to kill St James. They led the saint up on the pinnacle of the Jerusalem Temple and asked what he thought of Jesus. The holy Apostle began to bear witness that Christ is the Messiah, which was not the response the Pharisees were expecting. Greatly angered, the Jewish teachers threw him off the roof. The saint did not die immediately, but gathering his final strength, he prayed to the Lord for his enemies while they were stoning him. St James’ martyrdom occurred about 63 A.D.
The holy Apostle James composed a Divine Liturgy, which formed the basis of the Liturgies of Sts Basil the Great and John Chrysostom. The Church has preserved an Epistle of St James, one of the books of the New Testament.
In 1853, Patriarch Hierotheus of Alexandria sent to Moscow a portion of the relics of St James. The Church distinguishes between the holy Apostle James the Brother of God, and St James the son of Zebedee (April 30) and St James the son of Alphaeus (October 9).
All this being said, it must be stated, along with Luther and in accord with the Lutheran Confessions and the teachings of the Ancient Church, that nothing is to be believed and taught that in any way reduces or interferes with the belief and teachings concerning Jesus as the Son of God, the Christ (Messiah), and the only intercessor between God and man (1Timothy 2:5; Hebrews 9:11-15; 12:22-24). The saints, including the most-holy Theotokos, Mary, are to be held in holy reverence as those used by God, spoken through by God, and living examples of lives lived in glory, honor and praise to Jesus as Lord and Savior of all; but, they are not to be worshiped as there is only One who is to be worshiped, the One True God, Father, + Son, and Holy Spirit.
"To the King of ages, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen." (1Timothy 1:17)
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