Jude Thaddaeus

Judas is simply the Greek form of Judah, Jude is the Latin form of Judah. Jerome called this Judas, ‘Trionius,’ which means, the man with three names. In Matthew 10:3 he is called ‘Lebbaeus’ whose surname was ‘Thaddaeus’. In Mark 3:18 he is called ‘Thaddaeus, Luke 6:16 and Acts 1:13 refers to him as, ‘Judas the son of James.’ I found two translations of Luke 6:16 saying ‘brother’ rather than ‘son.’ In the Greek it merely says, ‘Judas of James’ but the common meaning of this is ‘son of.’
James the Great, sometimes called James the Elder, as the father of Judas. Judas Thaddaeus Lebbaeus as the grandson of Zebedee and the nephew of John the Apostle. The name Thaddaeus may be a diminutive of Theudas or Theodore, derived from the Aramaic known tad which means breast and which would mean dear or beloved, that is, one closer to the heart of the one who named him. The other name, Lebbaeus, may be a derivation of the Hebrew known leb, which means heart, and in that cast it would bear the same meaning as Thaddaeus.
Jude according to the Book of the Bee, he was of the tribe of Judah as befits a man whose name is the Greek form of Judah. Jerome identifies this same Thaddaeus with Lebbaeus and Judas of James. The Church of the East in India confirms the movement of Jude from Jerusalem eastward. This church makes a claim that the leaven which they used in their communion bread is made from the Holy Leaven…a portion of the original bread used by Y’Shua at the Last Passover was brought to the East by the Apostle Thaddaeus. The bread of the L-rd’s Passover could not have been made with leaven, since the Passover celebration was with unleavened bread as a commanded by the Mosaic Law, according to Ex. 12:15. Thus we cannot accept the tradition that Thaddaeus (Jude) brought the leaven or sour-dough from the original Passover. Nevertheless, the name of the city of Edessa appears in connection with Thaddaeus (Jude) and this as least demonstrates the historical continuity of that association.
Thaddaeus (Jude) preached in Syria, Arabia, Mesopotamia and Persia. He adds that Thaddaeus (Jude) suffered martyrdom in Syria. The generally accepted chronology gives a period of eight years to the mission of Thaddeus (35-43 A.D.) and sixteen years to that of Bartholomew (44-66 A.D.), both of whom suffered martyrdom in Armenia (Thaddeus at Ardaze in 50 A.D. and Bartholomew at Derbend in 68 A.D.
The first Illuminators of Armenia were Thaddaeus and Bartholomew whose shrines still stand in the churches of Artaz (Macco) and Alpac (Bashkale) in south-east Armenia and have always been venerated by Armenians. The first evangelization of Armenia was Judas Thaddaeus who spent the years 43-66 A.D. in that country and was joined by Bartholomew in the year 60 A.D. The latter was martyred in 68 A.D. at Derbend. A roll of a thousand victims including men and women of noble descent lost their lives with Thaddaeus, while others perished with Bartholomew.
The association of Jude with Persia, where part of the ancient Armenia is found today (the other parts being within Turkey and the Soviet Union) is acknowledged by the Roman Catholic tradition as follows: ‘Jude preached throughout Samaria, Edessa and Mesopotamia and penetrated as far as Persia where he was martyred with a javelin or with arrows or by being tied to a cross. He is pictured as a young or middle age man in sacred art. His relics are widely distributed. Some are in Peter’s, Rome, and others in the Church of Saturninus in Tolosa, Spain.’
On the other hand the Assyrian Church leaders, as well as a major general of the Iranian Army, informed the author during a visit to Teheran (October 16, 1971) that the original tomb of Jude Thaddaeus was in a small village called Kara Kelisa near the Caspian Sea, about 40 miles from Tabriz. This is in Iran, near the Soviet border. This could well be the site of the original tomb of Jude even though it is likely that to keep the relics safe from the invasion of Genghis Khan, the relics themselves may have been moved westward and scattered from Rome to Spain. The tremendous tomb which is built for these relics in Peter’s Basilica in Rome, which is located directly south of the main altar in a side area, attest to the firm belief among the Catholic authorities that some of the genuine relics of Jude are indeed to be found there in Rome to this day.
Jude followed his father into the ranks of the Apostles from the place near Capernaum where they were engaged in fishing. He may have had a close alliance with the Seventy who were also disciples of Y’Shua. But he had as well, a firm position as one of the Twelve. After the resurrection Thaddaeus is listed in the official roster of the Apostles (Acts 1:10). He was present on the day of Pentecost. He was one of the first Apostles to leave Jerusalem for a foreign country. Jude became one of the first Apostles to witness directly to a foreign king, a Gentile He spent his years of evangelistic effort in Syria and Northern Persia and his relics are now to be found in Rome and Tolosa, Spain.