Jacob of Nisibis

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This article or section does not adequately cite its references or sources.
Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. (help, get involved!)
This article has been tagged since March 2007.

Jacob's tomb in the crypt of his church in Nisibis.

Jacob (died c. AD 338) was the first catholicus (Mar Jacob) or bishop (appointed in 308) of the Christian community of Nisibis in Mesopotamia (modern Nusaybin, located near the Turkey/Iraq 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, Cudi Dagi, in a region near Ararat, 70 miles from Nisibis.

He prayed for the death of Arius, a main proponent of the Arian heresy.

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" identified with Jacob of Nisibis was finally identified with Aphraates. He was the teacher and spiritual director of Saint Ephrem the Syrian, a great ascetic, teacher and hymn writer who helped dispel many heresies of his day including Arianism.

Under the auspices of Mar Jacob, St Awgin founded the first monastery of Mesopotamia that followed the new cenobitic model from Egypt. It was set up on Mt. Izla above the city.

Saint Jacob of Nisibis's relics are in Edessa.