Saint Jacob of Nisibis (Jacob the Nisibian) was a cousin of Saint Gregory the Illuminator and came from a Parthian lineage. From his youth, he lived a life of asceticism. For his unceasing prayers and spiritual labors, the Lord endowed him with the gifts of prophecy and wonderworking. By his God-pleasing way of life, having become like the angels, he was rightly called an “angel in the flesh.”
Saint Jacob preached the Gospel of Christ in Northern Mesopotamia and Armenia. Seeking to obtain a fragment of Noah’s Ark, he ascended Mount Ararat. At the foot of the mountain, he grew weary and fell asleep. Upon awakening, he found beneath his head a cross-shaped fragment of the wood of Noah’s Ark, placed there by an angel. This fragment of the Ark is preserved to this day in the Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin.
Having become bishop of the city of Nisibis (Mtsbin), located in Armenian Mesopotamia, Saint Jacob brought many to Christ and founded numerous churches and centers of learning. In 325, he participated in the First Ecumenical Council in Nicaea. He reposed in 350.
The Venerable Maruge the Hermit was a disciple of Saint Jacob of Nisibis. He preached Christianity in Syria and in Armenian Mesopotamia.
Saint Meletius (Meletios), Bishop of Antioch, was born in the city of Melitene of Lesser Armenia. In 358, he became bishop of Sebastia in Lesser Armenia, and then, in 360, he was elevated to the See of Antioch. He was a like-minded companion and close friend of Saint Barses the Great (Basil the Great). He took an active part in the struggle against the Arians, for which, at their instigation, he was condemned and exiled three times.
In 381, Saint Meletius presided over the Second Ecumenical Council in Constantinople and, before the council had concluded, fell asleep in the Lord.