Ephrem the Syrian
| Saint Ephrem the Syrian | |
|---|---|
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mosaic in Nea Moni of Chios (11th century)
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| Harp of the Spirit, Deacon, Confessor and Doctor of the Church; Venerable Father | |
| Born | c. 306 Nisibis (modern-day Turkey) |
| Died | 9 June 373 Edessa (modern-day Turkey) |
| Venerated in |
Roman Catholic Church Eastern Orthodox Church Church of the East Oriental Orthodoxy Anglican Communion |
| Feast |
28 January (Eastern Orthodox and Eastern Catholic Churches) |
| 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 |
28 January (Eastern Orthodox and Eastern Catholic Churches)
7th Saturday before Easter (Syriac Orthodox Church)
June 9 (Roman Catholic Church, Church of England)
June 18 (Maronite Church)
Ephrem the Syrian (Syriac: ܡܪܝ ܐܦܪܝܡ ܣܘܪܝܝܐ Mār Aprêm Sûryāyâ;Greek: Ἐφραίμ ὁ Σῦρος; Latin: Ephraem Syrus, also known as St. Ephraem (Ephrem, Ephraim); ca. 306 – 373) was a Syriac Christian deacon and a prolific Syriac-language hymnographer and theologian of the 4th century. He is especially beloved in the Syriac Orthodox Church, and counted as a Venerable Father (i.e., a sainted Monk) in Eastern Orthodoxy. His feast day is celebrated on 28 January and on the Saturday of the Venerable Fathers. He has been declared a Doctor of the Church in Roman Catholicism in 1920.
Ephrem wrote a wide variety of hymns, poems, and sermons in verse, as well as prose biblical exegesis. These were works of practical theology for the edification of the church in troubled times. So popular were his works, that, for centuries after his death, Christian authors wrote hundreds of pseudepigraphal works in his name. He has been called the most significant of all of the fathers of the Syriac-speaking church tradition.
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