Hierarch James, Bishop of Nisibis

Hierarch James, before his episcopate, led a strict eremitic life in forests and caves. In 314 he was elected Bishop of the city of Nisibis in Mesopotamia. In 325 he took part in the First Ecumenical Council at Nicaea, opposing the Arian heresy.

As bishop he became renowned for miracles during the Persian siege of Nisibis under King Shapur II — according to tradition, he cursed the besieging army, bringing on a plague of insects (gnats/mosquitoes) that put the Persians to flight. He is considered the mentor and teacher of Venerable Ephrem the Syrian, who dedicated hymns of praise to him (the Carmina Nisibina, "Nisibene Hymns"), calling Nisibis "daughter of James." He is also associated with legends of seeking Noah's Ark on Mount Ararat.

He reposed around 338; his relics were later translated to Amida (present-day Diyarbakır, Turkey).

IMPORTANT CORRECTION: category righteous→hierarch — the original text already called him "Hierarch," which contradicted the stated category of "righteous." The commemoration date was also corrected: the original feast_days field listed "October 10/23" — contamination not attested by any source; the correct date, fully matching what was already given in the stub's own text ("January 13 (26)"), is January 13/26. Other traditions mark his commemoration on different days: April 17 (Syriac tradition), December 15 (Armenian tradition, where he is deeply venerated as "Hakob Mtsbnetsi"), July 14 (Western/Latin tradition) — none of which matches the erroneous "October 10/23" date.