Historical Figures Codexery

Ephrem the Syrian

Prominent Christian theologian and hymnographer of Syriac literature.

He wrote hymns, poems, sermons, and prose exegesis, and his performance practice of all-women choirs singing his teaching hymns was particularly notable.[1] Born in Nisibis around 306, Ephrem the Syrian was a Christian theologian and writer who served as a deacon and later resided in Edessa.[2] Eastern Christianity venerates Ephrem as a saint, and Pope Benedict XV declared him a Doctor of the Church on October 5, 1920.[3][4]

Quick Facts

Born
c. 306
Birthplace
Nisibis, Syria, Roman Empire
Died
373
Place of death
Edessa, Osroene, Roman Empire
Canonized by
Pre-Congregation
Attributes
  • Vine and scroll, deacon's vestments and thurible
  • with Saint Basil the Great
  • composing hymns with a lyre
Patronage
Spiritual directors and spiritual leaders
Venerated in
  • Catholic Church
  • Eastern Orthodox Church
  • Assyrian Church of the East
  • Oriental Orthodox Churches
  • Anglican Communion

Facts from the source article.

Life and work

Ephrem was born around 306 in Nisibis, a city in the Roman province of Mesopotamia, and internal evidence from his hymnody suggests both his parents were part of the growing Christian community there.[5] After the surrender of Nisibis to Persia in 363, Ephrem fled with other Christians, first to Amida and eventually settling in Edessa in 363.[6][7] As a youth, Ephrem received baptism and very likely entered the "son of the covenant," a distinctive Syriac form of early monastic life.[8] According to the later Syriac author Jacob of Serugh, Ephrem trained choirs composed entirely of women to perform his hymns, which were set to Syriac folk melodies, in Edessa's forum.[9]

During 370, Ephrem traveled to Caesarea to see Basil the Great and afterward went to visit the monks in Egypt.[9]

What the cited sources add

A 2021 article by Darcy notes that when Ephrem was a boy, Emperor Constantine issued the Edict of Milan in 313, ending persecutions of the Church and allowing Christianity full freedom of worship.[10] The same source states that Ephrem died in 373 while serving victims of the plague.[10] A Franciscan Media account describes Ephrem as the only Syriac Christian recognized as a doctor of the Church and notes he lived in a small cave overlooking Edessa.[11] The Orthodox Church in America records that Ephrem was born into a family of impoverished toilers of the soil and that after the capture of Nisibis in 363 he went to a monastery near Edessa.[12]

A Guideposts article by Hostetler reports that Ephrem was baptized by Bishop James of Nisibis and is most famous today for "The Prayer of Righteous Ephrem" used during Lent by Orthodox Churches.[13] The Syriac Heritage Project describes Ephrem as "the master of the Syriac language and the poet par excellence of the Syrians".[14]

References

  1. Wikipedia, "Ephrem the Syrian" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Parry 1999, p. 180; Brock 2009, p. 21 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  2. Wikipedia, "Ephrem the Syrian" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Brock 1992a, p. ; Brock 1999a, p. (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  3. Wikipedia, "Ephrem the Syrian" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "ЕФРЕМ СИРИН", www.pravenc.ru (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  4. Wikipedia, "Ephrem the Syrian" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: PRINCIPI APOSTOLORUM PETRO at Vatican.va (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  5. Wikipedia, "Ephrem the Syrian" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Karim 2004, p. 3; Possekel 1999, p. 1; Lipiński 2000, p. 11; Russell 2005, p. 179-235; Brock 1992a, p. (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  6. Wikipedia, "Ephrem the Syrian" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Russell 2005, p. 179-235; "Saint Ephrem", June 9, 2022, p. Franciscan Media; "Venerable Ephraim the Syrian", p. The Orthodox Church in America; "Harp of the Holy Spirit: St. Ephrem, Deacon and Doctor of the Church", p. The Divine Mercy (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
  7. Wikipedia, "Ephrem the Syrian" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Russell 2005, p. 179-235 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  8. Wikipedia, "Ephrem the Syrian" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Parry 1999, p. 180 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  9. Wikipedia, "Ephrem the Syrian" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Schaff, "Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers: Second Series Volume IV Anthanasius", Cosimo, Inc., 2007; Darcy, "St. Ephrem's Marvelous Sermon on the Cross of Christ", Sacred Windows, February 27, 2021 (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
  10. Darcy, "St. Ephrem's Marvelous Sermon on the Cross of Christ", Sacred Windows, February 27, 2021. facts only, no text reused. sacredwindows.com
  11. "Saint Ephrem", June 9, 2022, p. Franciscan Media. facts only, no text reused. franciscanmedia.org
  12. "Venerable Ephraim the Syrian", p. The Orthodox Church in America. facts only, no text reused. oca.org
  13. Hostetler, "Pray the Lenten Prayer of St. Ephrem", Guideposts, January 25, 2023. facts only, no text reused. guideposts.org
  14. "St Ephrem the Syrian", Syriac Heritage Project. facts only, no text reused. syriacheritageproject.org

Each numbered sentence above was checked against the source it cites before publication. Sentences citing Wikipedia adapt text from the English Wikipedia article Ephrem the Syrian (contributors), used under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is available under the same licence. Other sources were used for facts only; no text or images are copied from them.

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