St. James of Nisibis

St. James of Nisibis was bishop of Nisibis, a great Christian city on the eastern frontier between the Roman and Persian empires, in the early fourth century, and is honored as one of the Fathers of the Syriac Church. Renowned in his own day for his holiness, austerity, and reputed gifts of miracles, he was, according to tradition, present among the bishops at the First Council of Nicaea in 325, which condemned the Arian heresy and defined the true divinity of Christ.

He is closely associated with St. Ephrem the Syrian, who is said to have been his disciple, and with the founding and building up of the Christian life and learning of Nisibis, later famed for its school of theology. Tradition credits his prayers with the deliverance of the city when it was besieged by the Persian king Shapur II. He died about 338, and his memory was long and warmly honored in both the Syriac and the wider Church. He is venerated as a saint, his memory kept on 15 July.