Jesus Brethren

The brothers of Jesus or the adelphoi (Ancient Greek: ἀδελφοί, romanized: adelphoí, lit. 'of the same womb, brothers') are named in the New Testament as James, Joses (a form of Joseph), Simon, Jude, and unnamed sisters are mentioned in Mark and Matthew. They may have been: (1) sons of Mary, the mother of Jesus, and Joseph; (2) sons of Joseph by a former marriage; or (3) sons of Mary of Clopas, named in Mark 15:40 as the "mother of James and Joses", who has been identified as either the sister of Mary, the mother of Jesus, or a sister-in-law to Joseph. Those who uphold the perpetual virginity of Mary reject the idea of biological brethren and maintain that the brothers and sisters were either cousins of Jesus (option 3, the position of the Catholic Church) or children of Joseph from a previous marriage (option 2, the Eastern Orthodox Churches). Some Lutheran Churches have accepted both option 2 and option 3 as being valid explanations for the doctrine of the perpetual virginity of Mary.