Jacob of Edessa

Jacob of Edessa (born c. 640, ʿEn-deba, Antioch province, Syria [now Antioch, Turkey]—died 708) was a distinguished Christian theologian, historian, philosopher, exegete, and grammarian, who became bishop of Edessa (c. 684). His strict episcopal discipline giving offense to the patriarch Athanasius II of Antioch, he retired and devoted himself to study and teaching. He is considered a saint in the Syriac Orthodox Church and is commemorated on June 5. A prodigious writer, Jacob composed Syriac...