text: what does "the less" mean in church names such as st james the less?   i believe it was the rc church's way of distinguishing between the two james-es among the chosen twelve apostles of yeshua/jesus [pbuh].   james "the greater" or "the righteous" was the brother of yeshua/jesus and he eventually became the bishop of jerusalem; while james "the lesser" was the brother of john zebedee, who were also fishermen like peter and his brother, andrew...  peace be with you.