Jerusalem - St James's Cathedral

St James's Cathedral in Jerusalem dates from the time of the Crusades (12th century). The porch on the south side has a fine doorway of that period. The church has associations with two St Jameses. A chapel to the left of the entrance is believed to mark the spot where St James the Great, son of Zebedee, was beheaded in A.D. 44 on the orders of Herod Agrippa I (Acts 12,2). According to the traditional account his body was transported by his disciples to Spain, where it later became the center of the cult of St James (Santiago) in the city which bears his name, Santiago de Compostela. Below the high altar is the tomb of the other St James, the Lord's Brother and the first bishop of Jerusalem, who was stoned to death in 62. On the south side of the cathedral is a doorway leading into the Etchmiadzin Chapel, in which stones from Sinai and Mount Tabor are preserved.