2012 Church Calendar Ver 3.5.pub - St. Gregorios Church

Saint Ephrem
Saint Ephrem the Syrian, “the eloquent mouth and pillar of
the Church”, was born sometime around the year 306 in
Nibisis, a Syrian town located in modern day Turkey. The
Church was suffering under the persecution of the Roman
Emperor Diocletian. It was long believed that Ephrem's
father was a pagan priest. But evidence from his own
writings suggests that both of his parents may have been
Christians; so his father may have converted to Christianity
later in life.
Ephrem was baptized around the age of 18 and he may have
been ordained a deacon at the same time. Since one of the
chief activities of a deacon is the preaching of the Gospel,
Ephrem began to write deeply theological hymns and
biblical commentaries. In his lifetime, he may have written
as many as three million lines, and about 400 of his hymns
still survive. His hymnography earned him the title "Harp of
the Spirit."
Fleeing westward from the Persians who were ravaging
Turkey, Ephrem settled in Edessa in southern Turkey, in 363.
There he continued to write hymns, especially defending
the teaching of the Council of Nicea against the Arian
heretics who were influential in Edessa. He died tending to
victims of plague in 373.