Ephrem the Syrian

Ephrem the Syrian was a prolific Syriac language hymn writer and theologian of the 4th century. He is venerated by Christians throughout the world, but especially among Syriac Christians, as a saint.

Writings

Over four hundred hymns composed by Ephrem still exist. Granted that some have been lost to us, Ephrem's productivity is not in doubt. The church historian Sozomen credits Ephrem with having written over three million lines. Ephrem combines in his writing a threefold heritage: he draws on the models and methods of early Rabbinic Judaism, he engages wonderfully with Greek science and philosophy, and he delights in the Mesopotamian/Persian tradition of mystery symbolism.

Related Topics:
Hymn - Sozomen - Rabbinic Judaism

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The most important of his works are his lyric hymns (madrâšê). These hymns are full of rich imagery drawn for biblical sources, folk tradition, and other religions and philosophies. The madrâšê are written in stanzas of syllabic verse, and employ over fifty different metrical schemes. Each madrâšê has its qâlâ, a traditional tune identified by its opening line. All of these qâlê are now lost. It seems that Bardaisan and Mani composed madrâšê, and Ephrem felt that the medium was a suitable tool to use against their claims. The madrâšê are gathered into various hymn cycles. Each group has a title — Carmina Nisibena, On Faith, On Paradise, On Virginity, Against Heresies — but some of these titles do not do justice to the entirety of the collection (for instance, only the first half of the Carmina Nisibena is about Nisibis). Each madrâšâ usually had a refrain (`unîtâ), which was repeated after each stanza. Later writers have suggested that the madrâšê were sung by all women choirs with an accompanying lyre.

Related Topics:
Syllabic verse - Bardaisan - Mani

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Ephrem also wrote verse homilies (mêmrê). These sermons in poetry are far fewer in number than the madrâšê. The mêmrê are written in a heptosyllabic couplets (pairs of lines of seven syllables each).

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The third category of Ephrem's writings is his prose work. He wrote biblical commentaries on the Diatessaron (the single gospel harmony of the early Syriac church), on Genesis and Exodus, and on the Acts of the Apostles and Pauline Epistles. He also wrote refutations against Bardaisan, Mani, Marcion and others.

Related Topics:
Diatessaron - Genesis - Exodus - Acts of the Apostles - Pauline Epistles - Bardaisan - Marcion

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Ephrem wrote exclusively in the Syriac language, but translations of his writings exist in Armenian, Coptic, Georgian, Greek and other languages. Some of his works are only extant in translation (particularly in Armenian). Syriac churches still use many of Ephrem's hymns as part of the annual cycle of worship. However, most of these liturgical hymns are edited and conflated versions of the originals.

Related Topics:
Syriac language - Armenian - Coptic - Georgian - Greek

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The most complete, critical text of authentic Ephrem was compiled between 1955 and 1979 by Dom Edmund Beck OSB as part of the Corpus Scriptorum Christianorum Orientalium.

Related Topics:
1955 - 1979

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