Saint Ephrem the Syrian
The Syriac deacon and poet called the Harp of the Spirit
- Rank
- Saint
- Kind
- Doctor of the Church, Mystic
- Life
- ~306 – ~373
- Era
- 4th century
- Feast
- 9 June
- Countries
- Türkiye, Syria
Life story
Ephrem was born around 306 in Nisibis, a frontier city of the Roman empire, today Nusaybin in Turkey. He grew up in the city's Christian community under Bishop James and was baptised young. He was ordained a deacon but never became a priest. In Nisibis he worked as a teacher and interpreter of Scripture.
In 363 the emperor Julian died during the war with Persia, and his successor was forced to hand Nisibis over to the Persians. Ephrem left with many other Christians and eventually settled at Edessa, now Şanlıurfa. There he went on teaching and composing. He wrote a great many hymns in verse, called madrashe, for congregations to sing, together with verse sermons called memre and biblical commentaries, all in Syriac. In an age when Arian ideas were spreading, his hymns helped teach doctrine to ordinary believers.
Tradition says he cared for the sick and hungry during a famine and epidemic at Edessa and died in 373, though this detail is uncertain. He came to be called the Harp of the Spirit because of his hymns. In 1920 Pope Benedict XV declared him a Doctor of the Church. The Church keeps his feast on 9 June. His hymns were widely translated, and later Greek and Latin writers drew on them, while the Syriac churches have continued to sing his verse in worship through the centuries. He is also venerated in the Orthodox and Eastern Catholic churches.
Works and witness
- Served as a deacon and was never ordained a priest
- Left Nisibis in 363 when it was ceded to Persia and settled in Edessa
- Composed madrashe hymns and memre verse sermons in Syriac
- Wrote biblical commentaries in Syriac
- Declared a Doctor of the Church in 1920
Saints from the same country
References
- Ephrem the Syrian, Hymns (Madrashe) and Commentary on Genesis
- Martyrologium Romanum
- Dicastery for the Causes of Saints – biographical profile
Written by Anawim from documented history. Some details about ancient saints rest on tradition and are marked as such.