[9] At the age of two, Jacob was left in the care of Eustathius, Abbot of the Monastery of Fsilta,[10] and studied Greek, Syriac, and religious and theological texts.
[11] Several miracles are attributed to Jacob, such as the resurrection of the dead, the healing of the blind, procurement of rain, and stopping the movement of the sun.
[12] Theodora received Jacob with honour, however, he was uninterested in life at court,[10] and entered the Monastery of Sykai,[12] where he remained for 15 years.
[14] At this time, through his missionary work, Jacob aimed to restore non-Chalcedonianism as the official position of the church in the Eastern Roman Empire.
[14] The Roman government attempted to hinder the non-Chalcedonian revival and imprison Jacob, however, in his travels he wore a disguise and thus became known as Burde'ana, "man in ragged clothes", from which the sobriquet "Baradaeus" is derived.
[17] In 566, Jacob attended discussions held by Emperor Justin II at Constantinople between Chalcedonians and non-Chalcedonians with the goal of a compromise between the two factions.
[18] Later, in 571, Jacob Baradaeus and other non-Chalcedonian bishops gave their approval to an edict of union with the Chalcedonian church as they both agreed they held the same beliefs but expressed them differently.
[19] Unbeknownst to Jacob, Paul, Patriarch of Antioch, and several other non-Chalcedonian bishops, had been tortured by the Roman government and unwillingly agreed to adhere to Chalcedonianism.
This angered Egyptian non-Chalcedonians, and, in 576, Pope Peter IV of Alexandria deposed Paul as Patriarch of Antioch, contrary to canon law.