Yaqob I

Yaʿqob I was a legendary primate of the Church of the East, from the family of Joseph the carpenter, who is conventionally believed to have reigned c.190.

Life of Abraham
The following account of the life of Yaʿqob is given by Mari:

Yaʿqob, a Hebrew, from the family of Joseph, the husband of Mary, was sent from Jerusalem after he had modestly attempted to refuse such a dignity, pleading that he was too humble to accept an office which he later fulfilled splendidly. He was invested with all the grades of the priesthood at the same time, and governed the church exceptionally well. He was a prudent man of high morals, who devoted himself to prayer and fasting. He selected bishops who were as upright as he himself was, and the results matched his hopes. Churches were built and the faithful were governed wisely. In his time there flourished the second empire of Persia, and the city of Ardashir was built and named after its king. Then too the philosopher Porphyry flourished in Egypt, who published a refutation of the Gospel. Yaʿqob died after ruling the church for eighteen years and six months, and was buried in al-Madaʿin.

The brief notice of the life of Yaʿqob given by Bar Hebraeus is entirely dependent on Mari's slightly longer account:

After Abraham, Yaʿqob. He too was of the family of Joseph the carpenter. He was elected and consecrated at Jerusalem, and sent into the East. There he deliberately chose to lead a life of poverty and asceticism. He died after fulfilling his office for eighteen years, and was buried at Seleucia. In his time lived Porphyry the Sicilian, who attacked the truth of the Gospel.