The life of St. Iakovos the New Venerable Martyr celebrated on November 1st

The life of St. Iakovos the New Venerable Martyr celebrated on November 1st


Saint Iakovos was born in the villiage of Kastoria to Christian parents, Matrino and Paraskevi. He became a shepherd and over time became wealthy, which caused his brother to become jealous. His brother then slandered Iakovos to a judge, claiming that he had found treasure (which must mean that he claimed that his wealth was not rightly earned…) In order to escape his brother’s envy, Iakovos left for Constantinople where he worked as a sheep trader and again became wealthy.

One day, however, he went to the Patriarch, confessed [his sins] and then distributed his wealth to the poor and went to Mount Athos, where he became a monk in the Docheariou Monastery. Afterward he went to the Monastery of the Venerable Forerunner (which was a skete of the Sacred Monastery of Iviron), where he lived in peace under obedience to a certain elder named Ignatios.

While striving [in asceticism] to acquire the virtures, he departed from there and went to the interior of Mount Athos, where he established himself together with six disciples, and distinguished himself as a teacher of virtue in monastic lifestyle. Later he departed with his disciples from Mount Athos and went to Kastro Petra and from there to Meteora, where he became a teacher of monks. Afterwards he went to the Monastery of the Venerable Forerunner of Deverkistas, near Nafpaktos, where he lived prayerfully on the Word of God. 

It was there that he was slandered by the Turks, which in turn caused the Christians to revolt against their authority. He was arrested and led together with two of his disciples to the Bey of Trikala, who locked him in jail for 40 days. From this jail he was sent in irons, together with his disciples, Iakovos the Deacon and Dionysios the Monk, to Didymoteicho of Thrace, to Soultan Selim. Then after unspeakable tortures, they were sent to Adrianopolis, where the Sultan met them and pressured them to to convert. The Saint, with his disciples, responded with one voice saying: “We will never deny our Lord Jesus Christ, even if you punish us with countless tortures.” Then the Sultan gave the order for the executioners to pierce their flesh with iron nails, they punched Iakovos in the face, and removed strips of flesh from his chest and sprinkled salt and vinegar into the wounds. They whipped his two disciples mercilessly with the sinews of cattle. However, because the three were unbending in their faith, they were hanged on November 1, 1520. 

The relics of the Venerable Martyr Iakovos and those martyred with him, can be found in the Monastery of Saint Anastasia near Thessaloniki. The life and akolouthy (rite) of this new martyr was authored by Theophanes the Rhetorician of Thessaloniki, who was his contemporary. 

I am very grateful for this provisional translation by an Orthodox Christian, prior to this I have been unable to find this in English.

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