Jacob Baradaeus facts for kids

Jacob Baradaeus (also known as Jacob bar Addai or Jacob bar Theophilus) was an important religious leader from the 500s. He served as the Bishop of Edessa from about 543 until his death in 578. Many people honor him as a saint in the Oriental Orthodox Churches. His special feast day is July 31. Jacob worked very hard to help the non-Chalcedonian Syriac Orthodox Church grow and survive. This church is sometimes called the "Jacobite" Church, named after him.

Why Jacob Baradaeus Was Important

After a major church meeting called the Council of Chalcedon in 451, Christians in the Eastern Roman Empire had different ideas. Some supported the council's decisions, and others, known as non-Chalcedonians, did not.

When Emperor Justin I became ruler in 518, he made things difficult for the non-Chalcedonians. Many of their religious leaders were gone. Even though many people in places like Syria, Armenia, and Egypt supported them, their church faced a tough time. Jacob Baradaeus played a key role in helping this group continue their faith.

Jacob's Early Life and Miracles

Jacob was born around the year 500 in a city called Tall Mawzalt. His father, Theophilus bar Manu, was a priest. When Jacob was only two years old, he went to live at the Monastery of Fsilta. There, he studied Greek, Syriac, and many religious books.

Later, Jacob's mother tried to bring him home, but he chose to stay at the monastery. He wanted to dedicate his life to Christ. After his parents passed away, Jacob gave his inheritance to people in need. He also freed several slaves he had inherited and gave them his parents' house.

Jacob later became a deacon and then a priest at the monastery. People started to know him as someone who could perform miracles. They came to him for healing. Stories say he brought people back to life, helped the blind see, made it rain, and even stopped the sun's movement. It's also said he ended a siege of Edessa when the enemy king, Khosrow I, had a vision and left.

Becoming a Bishop and Missionary Work

Empress Theodora, who was also a non-Chalcedonian, heard about Jacob. She invited him to meet her in Constantinople, the capital city. Jacob was not eager to go, but after a vision, he traveled there around 527.

Theodora welcomed Jacob with great respect. However, he preferred a simple life and stayed at the Monastery of Sykai for 15 years. While in Constantinople, he gained the support of Empress Theodora and Al-Harith ibn Jabalah, the King of the Ghassanids. Both were non-Chalcedonians.

When a leader named Ephraim, the Patriarch of Antioch, started making things hard for non-Chalcedonians, Empress Theodora and King Al-Harith asked Pope Theodosius I of Alexandria to appoint new bishops. This was to help the non-Chalcedonian church survive. So, in 543 or 544, Pope Theodosius made Jacob the Bishop of Edessa in Constantinople.

After becoming a bishop, Jacob traveled to Alexandria. There, with two other non-Chalcedonian bishops, he appointed Conon as Bishop of Tarsus and Eugenius as Bishop of Seleucia. Jacob then began traveling widely, appointing non-Chalcedonian religious leaders across Mesopotamia, Anatolia, Syria, Palestine, and Egypt. His goal was to help the non-Chalcedonian faith become strong again.

The Roman government tried to stop Jacob and even tried to arrest him. But Jacob traveled in disguise, wearing simple, ragged clothes. Because of this, he became known as Burde'ana, meaning "man in ragged clothes." This is where his nickname "Baradaeus" comes from.

Jacob continued his work, appointing Sergius bar Karya as Bishop of Harran and Sergius of Tella as Patriarch of Antioch in 544. After Sergius of Tella died in 547, Jacob appointed Paul as Patriarch of Antioch in 550. Later, Jacob had disagreements with Eugenius and Conon over different ideas about God.

Efforts to Unite the Church

In 553, Emperor Justinian I called a meeting called the Second Council of Constantinople. He hoped to bring together the Chalcedonians and non-Chalcedonians. However, the non-Chalcedonians in Syria were not convinced. Jacob then started to form a separate non-Chalcedonian church, which later became the Syriac Orthodox Church.

Jacob appointed John of Ephesus as Bishop of Ephesus in 558. In 559, he also appointed Ahudemmeh as the Metropolitan of the East.

In 566, Jacob attended discussions held by Emperor Justin II in Constantinople. These talks aimed to find a compromise between the two groups. By 567, they agreed on a statement. However, a non-Chalcedonian council in Raqqa later rejected this agreement.

Later, in 571, Jacob Baradaeus and other non-Chalcedonian bishops approved a plan to unite with the Chalcedonian church. They believed they shared the same faith, just expressed it differently. Jacob and the other bishops even took communion with John Scholasticus, the Patriarch of Constantinople. This made many non-Chalcedonians upset, so the bishops soon changed their minds and withdrew their approval.

Later Conflicts and Death

Without Jacob knowing, Paul, the Patriarch of Antioch, and other non-Chalcedonian bishops had faced harsh treatment from the Roman government. They had unwillingly agreed to follow Chalcedonian beliefs. Because of this, Jacob stopped Paul from receiving communion. Paul then found safety in the Kingdom of the Ghassanids.

Three years later, Paul appeared before a non-Chalcedonian meeting. Jacob allowed him to receive communion again after Paul showed he was sorry. This angered the Egyptian non-Chalcedonians. In 576, Pope Peter IV of Alexandria removed Paul as Patriarch of Antioch, which was against church rules. Jacob spoke out against Peter.

However, to bring the non-Chalcedonians back together, Jacob traveled to Alexandria. He agreed to Paul's removal, but only if Paul was not completely cut off from the church. This helped improve relations between the Syrian and Egyptian non-Chalcedonians.

Still, when Jacob returned to Syria, many Syrian non-Chalcedonians were angry about the compromise. Violence broke out between Jacob's and Paul's supporters. King Al-Mundhir III ibn al-Harith, who was Al-Harith's successor, and Paul tried to talk with Jacob about the conflict. But Jacob refused to seek another compromise.

Jacob, along with several other bishops, suddenly left Syria, planning to go to Alexandria. On their journey, they stopped at the Monastery of St. Romanus in Maiuma. There, they became ill, and Jacob died on July 30, 578. According to Cyriacus, the Bishop of Mardin, Jacob's remains were kept at the Monastery of St. Romanus until they were moved to the Monastery of Fsilta in 622. Some historians say the monastery was called the Monastery of Cassian.