James was a Christian who, in the early fifth century, served as a soldier and courtier under King Yezdigerd I of Persia. However, James abandoned his faith out of fear for his life during Yezdigerd's persecution of Christians.

After the monarch died and the persecution came to an end, James' family, who had not renounced their faith, visited him and rebuked him for having rejected his Heavenly King in favor of the earthly king of Persia.

James had a profound crisis of conscience after hearing his family criticize him for denying his faith. As a result, he underwent a genuine conversion and united and conformed to the living God. He was sentenced to death after he proclaimed his beliefs in front of the new king, Bahram, in an attempt to atone.

He goes by the name "Intercisus," which translates to "hacked to pieces." This moniker was given to him to record the way he passed away. He was suspended on a beam and progressively dismembered, starting with his fingers and moving on to his hands, toes, and so on, until the last cut—his beheading—was made.

He never rejected his faith, despite the crowd's (mostly Christian) insistence that he give up his beliefs and worship the sun since they could not stand to watch him go through such agonizing torment. He chose to become a martyr instead, surrendering every part of his body that was cut off as a sacrifice to the Living God.

James Intercisus is the patron saint of lost vocations and torture victims. His feast is celebrated on November 27.

Other Saints of the Day
Saint Bilhild
Saint Acharius
Saint Gallgo
Saint Valerian
Saint Maximus of Reiz