James Intercisus (

Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...

: ''Jacobus Intercisus''; born in Beth Huzaye, died 27 November 420 AD in Beth Lapat), commonly known as Mor Yaqoub M’Pasqo Sahada (), also called James the Mutilated, James the Persian or Jacob the Persian (also known in

Cyprus Cyprus (), officially the Republic of Cyprus, is an island country in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Situated in West Asia, its cultural identity and geopolitical orientation are overwhelmingly Southeast European. Cyprus is the List of isl ...

as Akouphos) , was a Christian

saint In Christianity, Christian belief, a saint is a person who is recognized as having an exceptional degree of sanctification in Christianity, holiness, imitation of God, likeness, or closeness to God in Christianity, God. However, the use of the ...

born in Beth Huzaye in the city of Beth Lapat. His

epithet An epithet (, ), also a byname, is a descriptive term (word or phrase) commonly accompanying or occurring in place of the name of a real or fictitious person, place, or thing. It is usually literally descriptive, as in Alfred the Great, Suleima ...

, ''Intercisus'' (or ''Pasqo'' in Syriac), is derived from the word for "cut into pieces," which refers to the manner of his

martyrdom A martyr (, ''mártys'', 'witness' stem , ''martyr-'') is someone who suffers persecution and death for advocating, renouncing, or refusing to renounce or advocate, a religious belief or other cause as demanded by an external party. In colloqui ...

. His death, along with the persecution of other Christians in the Sasanid Empire, started the Roman-Sassanid War (421-422).

Life

Tradition states that he was a military officer and

courtier A courtier () is a person who attends the royal court of a monarch or other royalty. The earliest historical examples of courtiers were part of the retinues of rulers. Historically the court was the centre of government as well as the officia ...

Yazdegerd I Yazdegerd I (also spelled Yazdgerd and Yazdgird; ) was the Sasanian King of Kings () of Iran from 399 to 420. A son of Shapur III (), he succeeded his brother Bahram IV () after the latter's assassination. Yazdegerd I's largely-uneventful reig ...

who had apostatized after this ruler began to persecute Christians. Under the influence of his Christian family, however, he expressed his faith to Yazdegerd's successor,

Bahram V Bahram V (also spelled Wahram V or Warahran V; ), also known as Bahram Gur (New Persian: , "Bahram the onager unter), was the Sasanian Empire, Sasanian King of Kings (''shahanshah'') from 420 to 438. The son of the incumbent Sasanian shah Ya ...

, leading to his execution.

Death

He was killed in Beth Lapat ( Gundishapur). The ruins of this city are near Dezful,

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) and also known as Persia, is a country in West Asia. It borders Iraq to the west, Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Armenia to the northwest, the Caspian Sea to the north, Turkmenistan to the nort ...

. At his execution, he survived the loss of limbs until he was beheaded. His followers requested to receive his remains as relics, but this request was denied; according to some they went on to steal them, after which they were sent to the Portuguese

cathedral A cathedral is a church (building), church that contains the of a bishop, thus serving as the central church of a diocese, Annual conferences within Methodism, conference, or episcopate. Churches with the function of "cathedral" are usually s ...

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and put into a sarcophagus in the Relics Chapel.

Legend

James' story is recounted in '' The Golden Legend''. According to Katherine Rabenstein, he may be a composite character of James of Beit (who, having renounced Christianity under Yazdegerd, was shamed by his parents and changed his mind, becoming a martyr under the persecution of Bahram); Mar Peros (similarly shamed by his parents and martyred in 448); and James of Karka (a 20-year-old notary to Bahram, tortured alongside many others after casually remarking that he'd rather be cut into pieces than renounce God).

Relics, churches and monasteries

Guillermus Ludovicus, bishop of Salpi, gifted to the abbey of St Paul in Cormery, the place where he had been a monk, several relics, including the head of James, on 19 July 1103. A piece of bone from the finger of James the Mutilated (Mor Yaqoub M’Pasqo Sahada) is kept in a golden casket in the holy cross (kurishupalli) dedicated to the saint in the Orthodox Syrian Old Church of St Peter & Paul in Pengamuck,

Kerala Kerala ( , ) is a States and union territories of India, state on the Malabar Coast of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, following the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, by combining Malayalam-speaking regions of the erstwhile ...

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

. It was dedicated by Gregorios Geevargese (Parumala Thirumeni) and metropolitan Dionysious Joseph (Pulikkottil II), a native of Pengamuck, who had received the bone at his consecration as metropolitan by the

patriarch of Antioch The Patriarch of Antioch is a traditional title held by the bishop of Antioch (modern-day Antakya, Turkey). As the traditional "overseer" (, , from which the word ''bishop'' is derived) of the first gentile Christian community, the position has ...

Ignatius Yakoob II. Several churches and monasteries are dedicated to Saint James: *Church of St. James Intercisus in the

Armenian Quarter The Armenian Quarter (, ; , ''Harat al-Arman''; , ''Ha-Rova ha-Armeni'') is one of the four sectors of the walled Old City of Jerusalem. Located in the southwestern corner of the Old City, it can be accessed through the Zion Gate and Jaffa G ...

Jerusalem Jerusalem is a city in the Southern Levant, on a plateau in the Judaean Mountains between the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean and the Dead Sea. It is one of the List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest cities in the world, and ...

*Church of Saint Jacob Intercisus (ܥܕܬܐ ܕܡܪܝ ܝܥܩܘܒ ܡܦܣܩܐ Syriac: ‘ēdtā dmār ya’qōḇ mpassqā) in Tesqopa, Iraq *Monastery of St. James the Persian in Sireți,

Strășeni Strășeni () is a city and municipality of about 20,000 inhabitants in central Moldova, the administrative center of Strășeni District. The city administers one village, Făgureni. There are several legends about its name. One tells that t ...

Moldova Moldova, officially the Republic of Moldova, is a Landlocked country, landlocked country in Eastern Europe, with an area of and population of 2.42 million. Moldova is bordered by Romania to the west and Ukraine to the north, east, and south. ...

*Monastery of St. James the Persian in Deddeh,

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* Monastery of St James the Mutilated in Qara, Syria
St. Peter's & St. Paul’s Jacobite Syrian Othodox Old Church, Pengamuck, Kerala, India

References

External links

San Giacomo l'Interciso (il Solitario) Martire in Persia

Monastery of St. Jacob Persian
*

Bibliography

*Thieleman J. van Braght, ''Martyr's Mirror'', 1660 {{DEFAULTSORT:James Intercisus Persian saints 421 deaths 5th-century Christian saints 5th-century Iranian people Year of birth unknown People executed by the Sasanian Empire Christians in the Sasanian Empire Converts to Zoroastrianism from Christianity Converts to Christianity from Zoroastrianism