Name Jacob Nisibis Role Saint | Died 338 AD, Nusaybin, Turkey | |
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Venerated in Eastern Orthodox Church
Syriac Orthodox Church
Coptic Orthodox Church
Armenian Apostolic Church
Eastern Catholic Churches
Roman Catholic Church Feast January 13 & October 31 (Eastern Orthodox Church)
May 12 (Syriac Orthodox Church)
18th Day of Month of Tobi (Coptic Orthodox Church)
December 15 (Armenian Apostolic Church)
May 11 (Roman Catholic Church) | ||
Tomb of the 4th century saint and mountain climber jacob of nisibis
Jacob of Nisibis (Syriac: ܝܥܩܘܒ ܢܨܝܒܢܝܐ, Yaʿqôḇ Nṣîḇnāyâ; died c. AD 338 or 350), was a Syriac bishop still venerated as a saint. He was the second bishop of Nisibis after Babu (d. 309) and he was called the "Moses of Mesopotamia" for his wisdom and wonderworking abilities. He was also the spiritual father of the renowned Assyrian Ephrem the Syrian, a celebrated ascetic and one of the 318 fathers of the First Ecumenical Council at Nicaea.
Jacob was appointed bishop, in 309, of the Christian community of Nisibis in Mesopotamia (modern Nusaybin, located near the Turkey/Syria border). Jacob of Nisibis, also known as James of Nisibis and as Jacob of Nusaybin, is recorded as a signatory at the First Council of Nicaea in 325. He was the first Christian to search for the Ark of Noah, which he claimed to find a piece of on a mountain, Mount Judi (Turkish Cudi Dağı), 70 miles (110 km) from Nisibis.
He founded the basilica and theological School of Nisibis after the model of the school of Diodorus of Tarsus in Antioch. It was not until the 10th century that the "Persian Sage" who had been incorrectly identified with Jacob of Nisibis was finally identified with Aphrahat. Jacob was the teacher and spiritual director of Saint Ephrem the Syrian, a great ascetic, teacher and hymn writer who combatted Arianism.
Much of Jacob's public ministry, like that of other Assyrian ascetics, can be seen as socially cohesive in the context of the Late Roman East. In the face of the withdrawal of wealthy landowners to the large cities, holy men such as Jacob acted as impartial and necessary arbiters in disputes between peasant farmers and within the smaller towns.
Jacob of Nisibis died peacefully in Nisibis, according to some in A.D. 338, and according to others in A.D. 350. When Nisibis was yielded to the Persian monarch in 363, the Christian inhabitants carried his sacred relics with them, which according to the Menologion of the Armenians at Venice, were brought to Constantinople about the year 970.
He is commemorated in the Eastern Orthodox Church on January 13 and on October 31. He is commemorated in the Coptic Synaxarion on the 18th day of Month of Tobi (usually 26 January). In the Roman Catholic Church he is commemorated on 11 May.