Iakobos 4 was superior of the monastery of St Zacharias at Atroa founded by Peter of Atroa (Petros 34); he instructed the monk Sabas 1 to compose an account of the Life of Peter: Vita Petr. Atr., prol., p. 65 (παρὰ του μικροῦ (sic; read, perhaps μετὰ μικρὸν) καθηγουμένου ταύτης τῆς ποίμνης ὁσιωτάτου πατρὸς Ἰακώβου), Vita Petr. Atr. Retractata, prol. (p. 78) (παρὰ τοῦ μικρὸν ὕστερον καθηγησαμένου τούτου τῆς ποίμνης ὁσιωτάτου πατρὸς Ἰακώβου). On this text, see the comments of Laurent, Vita Retractata, pp. 35-36, correcting his comments in La Vie merveilleuse, pp. 64-65, nn. 2 and 3. The date was in the mid ninth century; cf. Laurent, La Vie merveilleuse, intro., pp. 13-15.

He was nephew of Peter of Atroa (Petros 34) and of Paulos 26 and he succeeded Paulos 26 as head of the monastery of St Zacharias in August 844 (Paulos 26 succeeded in 837 and left after seven years as hegoumenos, in August 844): Vita Petr. Atr. 103 (Vita Petr. Atr. Retractata, p. 157) (τὸν αὐτοῦ ἀνεψιὸν Ἰάκωβον διάδοχον τῆς μονῆς καταλείψαντα), 104 (Vita Petr. Atr. Retractata, p. 157) (τὸν τῆς μονῆς πατέρα Ἰάκωβον ἀδελφιδὴν καὶ διάδοχον Παύλου). He was no longer hegoumenos of the monastery when Sabas 1 wrote the second version of the Vita (perhaps c. 860); see Vita Petr. Atr. Retractata, prol. (p. 78) (cited above), and cf. Laurent, Vita Retractata, pp. 48-49.

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