St. James the Persian (d. 421)

James was a noble of Beth Lapat in Persia, born a Christian, who at the court of Yazdegerd I denied Christ to keep the king’s friendship. His mother and his wife wrote to him that they would have nothing more to do with him while he denied his Lord, and he repented; when Bahram V came to the throne James confessed Christ before him, and in 421 he was condemned to be cut apart joint by joint, fingers and toes, hands and feet, arms and legs, praising God at every cut, until he was beheaded. The Church calls him Intercisus, "cut in pieces", and sings that his body was pruned like a vine. His church in the walled city of Nicosia stands on the ceasefire line. Feast: November 27.