Ignatius Jacob I

Ignatius Jacob I was the Patriarch of Antioch, and head of the Syriac Orthodox Church from 1512 until his death in 1517.

Biography

Jacob was born in the 15th century in the village of al-Ahmadiyya to the monk known as Ibn al-Muzawwiq. Jacob became a monk at the Monastery of Saint Moses the Abyssinian in An-Nabk where he studied calligraphy under Musa Ubayd, metropolitan bishop of Sadad and was also ordained as a priest. Later, he moved to the Monastery of Mor Hananyo and to the Monastery of Mor Abhai, near Mardin, in 1480.

In 1482, Jacob visited the Monastery of the Syrians in Egypt. Five years later, he resided at the Monastery of Mor Balai for two years before returning to the Monastery of Mor Hananyo in 1489. In 1496, Jacob was ordained metropolitan of Amid under the name Philoxenus. He was consecrated as Patriarch in 1512, upon which he took the name Ignatius.

Whilst residing at the Monastery of Mor Hanayo, the monastery was attacked and looted by Kurds in 1516, forcing Jacob to sell church property to help rebuild the monastery.

Works

Jacob is known to have been an efficient writer and poet, whose works include a historical tract containing the chronicles of the monk of David of Homs as well as comments on festivals.

References

• The Scattered Pearls: A History of Syriac Literature and Sciences - Ignatius Aphrem I Barsoum.