How many brothers did Jesus have?

According to many sources in the New Testament, Jesus had four brothers and an unknown number of sisters. The four brothers were named James, Joseph, Judas and Simon, while the sisters were not named.

The subject of the siblings of Jesus is a controversial topic in Christianity. The Catholic, Eastern Orthodox and some Protestant sects maintain a belief that his mother, Mary, was a perpetual virgin and would not have given birth to any children other than Jesus. They argue that the four brothers and unknown sisters of Jesus were either half-siblings from his father, cousins or simply members of a close-knit religious community.