Who then was Mary, mother of James and Joses

[Mary Naeem]

Pope Shenouda III










Who then was Mary, mother of James and Joses? Was she the Virgin Mary? Is it reasonable to assume that the Virgin Mary begot all those children?
The mother of James and Joses was Mary, the wife of Halfa or Clopas, of whom St. John the Apostle said: “Now there stood by the cross of Jesus His mother, and His mother's sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene” (John.19: 25). Compare this verse with verses 55 and 56 of chapter 27 of the Gospel according to St. Matthew.