Mar Ephraim the Syrian
Mar Ephraim the Syrian
Today we speak about an ascetic saint who was one of the most famous Fathers of the fourth century, and at the same time one of the most renowned teachers of the Church, and a hero of the faith: Saint Mar Ephraim the Syrian.
Saint Mar Ephraim the Syrian
They call him the Prophet of the Syrians, and they give him the title “Harp of the Holy Spirit,” for he was a poet whose musical hymns were filled with the Spirit. He chanted them in defense of the faith, as hymns to resist Arianism.
His Upbringing and His Trial:
He was raised in a Christian family in the city of Nisibis in Mesopotamia, around the year 306 A.D. He was taught by Saint Jacob, Bishop of Nisibis, who was a deeply spiritual man. He loved him and housed him with him in the episcopal cell. It is said that he took him with him to the Ecumenical Council of Nicaea, where he gained trust and fame because of his knowledge, zeal, and asceticism.
Then Saint Jacob appointed him as a preacher of the Church. Satan then fought him with a severe trial.
It happened that the church lamp-keeper (the one responsible for the lamps), whose name was also Ephraim, sinned with a virgin girl and she became pregnant by him. He instructed her to attribute the matter to Mar Ephraim the preacher. She did so, and her father came carrying her child to the bishop and caused a scandal in the church. So he summoned Mar Ephraim and handed the child over to him to raise.
Mar Ephraim took the child and entered the church with him in silence and humility. When the people stumbled because of him, Mar Ephraim wept and asked the bishop to allow him to ascend the ambo. He ascended carrying the child and turned toward the altar. Then he cried out in a loud voice, “Child, for God’s sake, tell us whose son you are.” The child spoke, saying, “The son of Ephraim, the church lamp-keeper.”
The people were greatly astonished and asked Mar Ephraim to forgive them for doubting him. The trial passed peacefully. As for the child, he died.
His Learning and Experiences in the City of Edessa:
When Nisibis fell into the hands of the Persians, Mar Ephraim moved to Edessa, where his learning became famous and his disciples increased. There he established a theological school that gained great renown.
On his way to Edessa, he asked the Lord to send him a beneficial word through the mouth of whoever met him. A sinful woman met him and began looking at him without shame. He said to her, “Are you not ashamed to look at me like that?” She replied:
“The woman was taken from the man, so it is natural for her to look at him. But you are a man created from dust, so you ought to look at the dust from which you were taken!”
He marveled at her words and benefited greatly from them.
In Edessa he worked at a simple trade to earn his living, and he preached to the pagans. He lived in a room which unfortunately had a window overlooking a woman’s house. The woman kept looking at him, and he ignored her. One day she said to him maliciously, “Do you need anything from me? I am ready.”
He answered, “Yes, I need two bricks to close this window between me and you.”
Apparently this woman did not lose hope, and she asked him for sin. He said to her, “No objection, on condition that it be done in the city marketplace.”
She said to him, “Are you not ashamed of those who would see us there doing such an evil deed?”
He replied, “And are you not ashamed of God who sees us?”
His words affected her, and she repented.
His Writings:
Mar Ephraim worshiped in a cave on the mountain of Edessa under the guidance of one of the solitaries, and then returned to serve in the city by a divine calling. He wrote many books and articles in defense of the faith. He also wrote many homilies and hymns. He explained the majority of the divine Scriptures. His style is distinguished by verbal music, deep imagination, and a poetic character, and some of his works have been translated.
His Character:
He was humble and fled from vainglory, and he was an ascetic who repeatedly fled from the priesthood. He was also a man of tears. Saint Gregory, Bishop of Nyssa, said about him: “Just as breathing does not cease in a living person, so tears were unceasing in Mar Ephraim.” He fasted frequently, to the point that it was said of him that he resembled the angels who have no bodies.
He reposed in the year 373 A.D. in his cave in Edessa.
For better translation support, please contact the center.
