James Intercisus


Saint James Intercisus, also known as Saint James the Mutilated was a Syriac Christian saint born in Beth Huzaye in Persia. His epithet, Intercisus, is derived from the Latin word for "cut into pieces," which refers to the manner of his martyrdom: he was slowly cut into twenty-eight pieces. His death started the Roman-Sassanid War.
His feast day is November 27.

Life

Tradition states that he was a military officer and courtier to Yazdegerd I 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, leading to his execution.

Death

He was killed in Beth Lapat. The ruins of this city are near Dezful, Iran.
At his execution, he survived the loss of limbs until he was beheaded. His followers requested his body parts as relics, but this request was denied, so they stole the body parts, which were somehow sent to the Portuguese cathedral of Braga 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 ; Mar Peros ; and James of Karka.

Churches and monasteries

The Church of St. James Intercisus in the Armenian Quarter of Jerusalem was dedicated to him.
The Monastery of St. Jacob Persian in Sireți, Strășeni Moldova, the Monastery of St. Jacob Persian in Deddeh, Lebanon and the monastery of St James the Mutilated in Qara, Syria are all dedicated to him.