§ 102. Святитель Иаков Низибийский.

St. James, Bishop of Nizibia (in other words, Antioch of Mingidon on the borders of Persia and the Empire), was called wise because of the many miracles he performed, a miracle worker, because of the abundance and height of spiritual wisdom. St. James was the son of one of the regional princes of Armenia and the nephew of the Parthian King Anak, the father of St. Gregory, the enlightener of the Armenians 51. His writings show that in his youth he made use of the means of education that his high birth afforded him. And yet, even in his early years he renounced the pleasures of the world; his solitary life was an example of a strict life; In the summer he lived in forests and on the mountains, in the winter in a cave, his forest consisted of tree fruits, herbs and roots, and his clothing was leather. Under Maximin he became famous for his confessional feat; Having heard about the emerging Christianity in Persia, he went there to affirm the faith, and by the power of miracles he converted many pagans to the faith. Elected in 314 to the bishop of Nisibia, he did not change his way of life 52. In 325, as a courageous defender of right-wing dogmas, he went to the Ecumenical Council 53. In 336, he forced sincere friends of the faith in Constantinople to pray for the aversion of the disaster that threatened the Church by accepting Arius into communion with the children of the Church, and the blasphemer of the Son of God died 54. In 338, the formidable hordes of Shapur fruitlessly besieged Nisibiya for two whole months; Nizibia was protected by the strength of spirit of a Christian shepherd 55. Ten years later, the Persians besieged Nisibia for the second time, made a breach in the wall, but did not crush the faith of the shepherd who defended it; By his order, the wall was repaired in one night, and Shapur, amazed by his firmness and vision, frightened by the execution that struck his army, hastened to move away from Nizibia 56. The defender of faith and fatherland died in 350 57. According to the testimony of Zinovy (history of Daron in Armenian, published in Venice 1832, p. 22), Khosrovui, the mother of Jacob, was the sister of Anak and the wife of one of the princes of Gephala (Sl. Neumann, Gesch. d. Armen. Litter. S. 18. Lpz. 1839. Theodorite H. E. 1, 7; Philoth. P. 1. S. 3. 767. Gennady De vir. illust. § 1. The year of his installation as a bishop should be set to 314, when St. Miles saw him building a magnificent church (Acten d. h. Märtyrer d. Morgenlandes. S. 55 and 4. Theodorite. Philoth. r. 767. Theodorite H. E. 1, 14. Philoth. r. 739. Dionysius bar Salibi at Asseman. Bibl. Or. T. 1. r. 17. Philostorgius N. E. 3. 23. Chronicle of Alex. r. 287. Chronicle of Jeronimov, Feofanova r. 28. Theodorite Philoth. N. E. 2. 30. Feofan r. 33. Zonara T. 2. b. 44. Chronicle of Alex. Zosima 1. 3. In the Christian reading for 1827, part 26, there is a description of the life of St. Jacob, compiled according to the instructions of Theodoret; but it has long been noted that Theodoret confused the circumstances of the two sieges of Nisibia. Miraculous circumstances accompanied the second siege, which took place in 348. And since St. survived this siege. Jacob, and according to Gennady, he died under Constantius, then the year of his death should be attributed to 350, and not to 338, to which the Syrian chronicles of Asseman refer; The death of Jacob and Cellacheo, the author of the history of Armenia, dates to 350. His memory is on January 13 and October 31; among the Syrians on January 18; at the Romans on July 11; for Armenians in December. You might be interested in: