Jacob of Serugh
| Jacob of Sarug | |
|---|---|
| Born | c. 451 Kurtam on the Euphrates |
| Died | November 29, 521 Batnan da-Srugh |
| Venerated in |
Syriac Orthodox Church Malankara Orthodox Church |
| Feast | 29 November |
Jacob of Sarug (Syriac: ܝܥܩܘܒ ܣܪܘܓܝܐ, Yaʿqûḇ Srûḡāyâ; his toponym is also spelled Serug or Serugh; c. 451 – 29 November 521), also called Mar Jacob, was one of the foremost Syriac poet-theologians among the Syriac, perhaps only second in stature to Ephrem the Syrian and equal to Narsai. Where his predecessor Ephrem is known as the 'Harp of the Spirit', Jacob is the 'Flute of the Spirit'. He is best known for his prodigious corpus of more than seven-hundred verse homilies, or mêmrê (ܡܐܡܖ̈ܐ), of which only 225 have thus far been edited and published.
Jacob was born around the middle of the fifth century AD in the village of Kurtam (Aramaic: ܟܘܪܬܘܡ) on the Euphrates, in the ancient region of Serugh, which stood as the eastern part of the province of Commagene (corresponding to the modern Turkish districts of Suruç and Birecik). He was educated in the famous School of Edessa and became chorepiscopus back in the Serugh area, serving rural churches of Haura (ܚܘܪܐ, Ḥaurâ). His tenure of this office extended over a time of great trouble to the Christian population of Mesopotamia, due to the fierce war carried on by the Sassanian Shah Kavadh I within the Roman borders. When, on 10 January 503, the city of Amid (modern Diyarbakır) was captured by the Persians after a three months' siege and all its citizens put to the sword or carried captive, a panic seized the whole district, and the Christian inhabitants of many neighbouring cities planned to leave their homes and flee to the west of the Euphrates. They were recalled to a more courageous frame of mind by the letters of Jacob.
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