The Apostle Paul writes in his Epistle to the Galatians that, along with the Apostle Peter, the apostles James and John were also revered as pillars of the Church. Saint James was the son of Joseph the Betrothed by his first wife, and therefore in the Gospel is called the brother of the Lord. According to legend, the Lord Jesus Christ appeared to him after His Resurrection and appointed him bishop of the Church of Jerusalem. Thus, a special activity fell to the lot of the apostle James: he did not travel with preaching to different countries like the other apostles, but taught and officiated in Jerusalem, which is so important for the Christian world. 
As the head of the Jerusalem Church, he presided over the Apostolic Council in Jerusalem in 51. His voice was actually decisive here, and the proposal he made became the resolution of the Apostolic Council (Acts 1:16).15). This circumstance is important in view of the claims of Catholics to elevate the Apostle Peter to the degree of head of the Church in order to then establish this primacy for the Pope.
The importance of the Apostle James was further strengthened by his ascetic life. He was a strict virgin, did not drink wine or other alcoholic beverages, abstained from meat, and wore only linen clothes. He used to retire to prayer in the temple and there he prayed on his knees for his people. He prostrated himself on the ground in prayer so often that the skin on his knees became rough.
The ministry of the Apostle James was difficult: among the many most ardent enemies of Christianity. But he acted with such prudence and justice that he was respected not only by Christians, but also by Jews, and was called the pillar of the people and the righteous.
Serving as Bishop of Jerusalem for about 30 years, he spread and established the holy faith in Jerusalem and throughout Palestine. When the Apostle Paul visited the Apostle James on his last journey, the elders gathered to him at that time, and they told him about the success of Christian preaching among the Jews in the following words: "You see, brother, how many thousands of Jews have believed, and they are all zealots of the law" (Acts 1:16).21:20). Many of the Jews turned to the Church out of sheer trust in the word of the righteous.
Seeing such an influence of the apostle, the Jewish leaders began to fear that the whole people would turn to Christ, and decided to take advantage of the interval between the departure of prosecutor Festus and the arrival of Albinus in his place (62 A.D.) in order to either persuade James to renounce Christ or put him to death.
The high priest at that time was the godless Sadducee Ananus. In front of a large gathering of people, the apostle was led to the portico of the temple, and after a few flattering words, he was asked disparagingly: "Tell us about the Crucified One?" "Are you asking me about Jesus?  The righteous man said loudly. "He sits in heaven at the right hand of the Most High Power and will come again on the clouds of heaven." There were many Christians in the crowd, who joyfully exclaimed: "Hosanna to the Son of David!" The chief priests and scribes shouted: "Oh, the righteous man himself is in error!" and threw him to the ground. Jacob could still get down on his knees and said: "Lord, forgive them! They don't know what they're doing." "Let's stone him," his enemies shouted. One priest from the Rihava tribe (they did not drink wine, lived in tents, did not sow wheat or grapes) began to persuade them: "What are you doing? You see, the righteous one is praying for you." But at that moment one fanatic, a draper by trade, struck the apostle on the head with his hammer and killed him. Many Christians were killed with him.
The Jewish historian Josephus, listing the reasons for the fall of Jerusalem, says that the Lord punished the Jews, among other things, for the murder of righteous Jacob. The Apostle James wrote a conciliar epistle shortly before his death. The main purpose of the message is to comfort and strengthen Jews converted to the faith in the sufferings that lay ahead of them, and to warn them against the delusion that faith alone can save a person. The Holy Apostle explains that faith, not accompanied by good deeds, is dead and does not lead to salvation. Church tradition attributes to the Apostle James the compilation of the most ancient rite of the Divine Liturgy.
The reason why the Orthodox Church distinguishes James the Lord's brother from James Alphaeus is partly indicated in Scripture, in which the brothers of Jesus Christ in the flesh are distinguished by this very name from His twelve disciples (e.g. John 2:12,7:3-5. Mark 3:31, Luke 8:19), as well as The writers of the Church also differ. Thus, Eusebius of Caesarea, St. Cyril of Jerusalem (+365-385), St. Epiphanius of Cyprus (+404), Blessed Jerome (+420) and others clearly distinguish James the brother of the Lord from James Alpheus.