Life
The Holy Apostle Jude Thaddaeus was one of the Twelve Apostles whom the Lord Jesus Christ chose as His immediate collaborators and witnesses to His earthly ministry. He was named Judas — but in order to distinguish him from Judas Iscariot, who betrayed the Lord, the apostolic assembly and the Church’s tradition always call him Jude Thaddaeus or Levi, or in Serbian tradition simply the Holy Apostle Thaddaeus. In Holy Scripture he is mentioned as “Judas of James” (Lk 6:16; Acts 1:13) — the son (or brother, by another interpretation) of James the Less. Tradition regards him as a bodily kinsman of the Most Holy Theotokos and of the Lord in His flesh, as a son of the righteous Joseph from his first marriage, which is why he bears the honorable title “Brother of the Lord.”
During Christ’s earthly ministry Jude Thaddaeus, like the other apostles, listened to the Teacher, was witness to His miracles, the Last Supper, the Crucifixion, Resurrection, and Ascension. At the Last Supper it was he who put to the Lord a profound question: “Lord, how is it that Thou wilt manifest Thyself unto us, and not unto the world?” (Jn 14:22). Christ’s answer — that whoever loves Him will keep His word, and that the Father and Son will come and make their abode with him — remained a cornerstone of apostolic theology about the inner dwelling of the Trinity in the soul.
After the descent of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost, Jude Thaddaeus zealously preached the Gospel. The apostolic tradition records that he was active in Judea, Samaria, and Galilee, and then went to distant lands — Arabia, Mesopotamia, Persia, and neighboring territories. Wherever he arrived, he converted peoples to Christ, taught them the truth of the Holy Trinity, founded church communities, and ordained bishops and presbyters. Poor in outward appearance, insignificant in origin, yet rich in the Holy Spirit, the Apostle Thaddaeus showed signs and wonders that brought the pagans to faith.
The only Scripture he wrote is the Epistle of Jude the Apostle — brief but extraordinarily powerful, addressed to all believers, in which he earnestly urges contending for the faith once delivered to the saints, warns against false teachers, and concludes with a soaring doxology: “Now unto him that is able to keep you from falling, and to present you faultless before the presence of his glory with exceeding joy… to the only wise God our Saviour, be glory and majesty, dominion and power, both now and ever. Amen” (Jude 24–25).
The martyrdom of the Apostle Jude Thaddaeus took place in Persia or Armenia, where, according to tradition, he was slain by a multitude of arrows and axes, together with the Apostle Simon the Zealot. The Church commemorates them together on June 19 by the Julian calendar. The holy relics were kept in various churches of the East; a portion of the relics also reached Rome. The Apostle Jude Thaddaeus is the patron of the faithful who find themselves in desperate and grave situations, and the people pray to him in the most difficult trials of life.
Tropar (Tone 3)
O holy Apostle Jude Thaddaeus, kinsman of Christ and glorifier of distant peoples, thou who didst defend the faith once delivered to the saints and didst sow the word of God throughout the world — intercede with the merciful God to grant us forgiveness of sins and the salvation of our souls.
Kontakion (Tone 2)
Let us praise the Apostle Jude Thaddaeus, glorious heir of Christ and companion of Simon; he who wrote the Epistle with divine wisdom, thereby establish us in the true faith and preserve us from the temptation of false teachers, interceding with the Lord for us.
About the Feast
The Holy Apostle Jude Thaddaeus is not celebrated as a widespread patron feast in the Serbian people.