Remembering the other Judas from the Bible

The Church celebrates the feast of Saint Jude, also known as Judas or Thaddeus, on October 28.

While the name Judas was once an honorable title recalling Judah, son of Jacob, and the defender Judas Maccabeus, the reputation of the name changed following the betrayal of Jesus by Judas Iscariot. Because of this, Gospel writers used specific identifiers to distinguish the apostle Jude from Iscariot. Luke refers to him as Judas the son of James, while Matthew and Mark call him Thaddeus. The Gospel of John identifies him specifically as Judas, not Iscariot.

Tradition identifies Jude as a missionary who traveled to Persia with the apostle Simon, where both were martyred. The Gospels record one question from Jude during the Last Supper, when he asked Jesus how the Lord would manifest himself to the apostles rather than to the world. Scholars also debate whether the author of the Letter of Jude was this apostle or another relative of Jesus.