 | Ephrem the Syrian: Encyclopedia II - Ephrem the Syrian - Veneration as a saint
Ephrem the Syrian - Veneration as a saint
1 February (Roman Martyrology)
10 February (Eastern Orthodoxy)
8 June (Scottish Episcopal Church)
9 June (Church of England
9 June (Roman Catholic Church)
10 June (Church in Wales)
10 June (Episcopal Church in the USA)
18 June (Maronite Church)
18 June (former Catholic date)
O Lord, may the works of your herdsman
not be squandered.
I will not then have troubled your sheep,
but as far as I was able,
I will have kept the wolves away from them,
and I will have built, as far as I was capable,
Enclosures of hymns
for the lambs of your flock.
I will have made a disciple
of the simple and unlearned,
And I will have given them a strong hold
on the shepherd's staff,
the healers' medicine,
and the combatants' armour
Ephrem the Syrian. Hymns against Heresy, LVI.
Soon after Ephrem's death, legendary accounts of his life began to circulate. One of the earlier 'modifications' is the statement that Ephrem's father was a pagan priest of Abnil or Abizal. However, internal evidence from his authentic writings suggest that he was raised by Christian parents. This legend may be anti-pagan polemic or reflect his father's status prior to converting to Christianity.
The second legend attached to Ephrem is that he was a monk. In Ephrem's day, monasticism was in its infancy in Egypt. He seems to have been a part of the members of the covenant, a close-knit, urban community of Christians that had 'covenanted' themselves to service and refrained from sexual activity. Some of the Syriac terms that Ephrem used to describe his community were later used to describe monastic communities, but the assertion that he was monk is anachronistic. Later hagiographers often painted a picture of Ephrem as an extreme ascetic, but the internal evidence of his authentic writings show him to have had a very active role, both within his church community and through witness to those outside of it. Ephrem is venerated as an example of monastic discipline in Eastern Christianity. In the Eastern Orthodox scheme of hagiography, Ephrem is counted as a Venerable Monk.
Ephrem is popularly believed to have taken legendary journeys. In one of these he visits Basil of Caesarea. This links the Syrian Ephrem with the Cappadocian Fathers, and is an important theological bridge between the spiritual view of the two, who held much in common. Ephrem is also supposed to have visited Anba Bishoi (Pisoes) in the monasteries of the Wadi Natun, Egypt. As with the legendary visit with Basil, this visit is a theological bridge between the origins of monasticism and its spread throughout the church.
On 5 October 1920, Pope Benedict XV proclaimed that Ephrem is a Doctor of the Church. This proclamation was made before critical editions of Ephrem's authentic writings were available.
The most popular title for Ephrem is Harp of the Spirit (Syriac Kenārâ d-Rûḥâ). He is also referred to as the Deacon of Edessa, the Sun of the Syrians and a Pillar of the Church.
Today, Saint Ephrem presents an engaging model of Asian Christianity, which might prove a valuable source of theological insight for Christian communities that wish to break out of the European cultural mould. Ephrem also shows that poetry is not only a valid vehicle for theology, but is in many ways superior to philosophical discourse for the purpose of doing theology. He also encourages a way of reading the Bible that is rooted more in faith than in critical analysis. Ephrem displays a deep sense of the interconnectedness of all created things, which could develop his role in the church into that of a 'saint of ecology'. There are modern studies into Ephrem's view of women that see him as a champion of women in the church. Other studies have focused on the importance of 'healing' imagery in Ephrem. Ephrem, then, confronts the contemporary church as an orthodox saint engaged in a theology that is at once nonwestern, poetic, ecological, feminist, and healing.
Other related archives1 February, 10 February, 10 June, 18 June, 1920, 1955, 1979, 298, 300s births, 306, 306 births, 308, 325, 337, 338, 346, 350, 359, 363, 373, 373 deaths, 4th century, 5 October, 8 June, 9 June, Acts of the Apostles, Ancient Roman Christianity, Arabic, Aramaic, Arians, Armenian, Bardaisan, Bardaisanites, Basil of Caesarea, Benedict XV, Bible, Cappadocian Fathers, Christian writers, Christians, Church Fathers, Church in Wales, Church of England, Church of the East, Constantine I, Constantius, Coptic, Ctesiphon, Diatessaron, Diocletian, Diyarbakır, Doctor of the Church, Doctors of the Church, Eastern Christianity, Eastern Orthodox, Eastern Orthodoxy, Edessa, Egypt, Episcopal Church in the USA, Exodus, First Council of Nicea, Genesis, Georgian, Gnostic sects, Greek, Hymn, Jacob, Jacob of Serugh, Jovian, Judaism, Julian, Late Antiquity, Latin, List of Syriacs, Mani, Manichees, Marcion, Marcionites, Maronite, Mesopotamia, Nerses, Nisibis, Noah's Ark, Pauline Epistles, Persian, Rabbinic Judaism, Roman Catholic Church, Saints, School of Edessa, School of Nisibis, Scottish Episcopal Church, Shapur II of Persia, Slavonic, Sozomen, Syria, Syriac, Syriac Christianity, Syriac Christians, Syriac dialect, Syriac language, Syriacs, Turkish, baptistery, biblical commentaries, bishop, couplets, deacon, eastern Christianity, hagiography, homilies, hymn, hymns, members of the covenant, monasticism, monk, pagan, poems, prose, pseudepigraphous, pseudepigraphy, refrained from sexual activity, saint, son of the covenant, syllabic verse, theologian, theology, verse, Şanlıurfa
 Adapted from the Wikipedia article "Veneration as a saint", under the G.N U Free Docmentation License. Please also see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki |
